ShareThisBy CHRISTOPHER BORRELLI
Friday, October 27, 2006
It's classic Americana, a vintage image of can-do ambition brushing against gosh-gee naivete: the farm-fed Midwestern dreamer climbing from a cross-country bus into the harsh glare of Hollywood, suitcase in hand.
Swap the suitcase for a portfolio of modeling stills. Replace the bus with a 1991 Mazda pushing 250,000 miles, towing a U-Haul.
But very little has changed.
Including the flip side of that image _ the anxious parents back home, waiting for word of a successful audition before bedrooms start getting remodeled. They come in two types: stage parents, who dragged their miniature meal tickets to Los Angeles in the first place, and hand-wringers, who primarily fret, phone and offer support.
If you know some handwringers, give them a hug. They need it. Their child, hoping to break into show biz, has essentially set out to win the lottery. The odds are against them in a very big way.
The Screen Actors Guild, which claims about 5,500 adolescent members, has an unemployment rate of more than 85 percent _ and that's only if your child was lucky enough to act in something at least once and earn a SAG card.
Where to turn for advice?
Nancy Palicki of Toledo, Ohio, turned to Kathy Holmes, the mother of Katie, when her daughter Adrianne, now 23, began landing television roles, including the new NBC series "Friday Night Lights."
"She was very gracious," Palicki said. "My daughter thought it would be as easy for her to get work as it was for Katie. And of course it wasn't. But she did have an easier time than most. Kathy didn't know us but she gave us great advice: 'Get her an apartment, find her an agent you trust and make sure she lands a lawyer.' "
Adds Palicki's husband, Jeff:
"We had absolutely no affiliation with the entertainment industry. It felt like we were throwing our little girl to the wolves."
Tom Roemer, vice chairman of Toledo-based Roemer Insurance, turned somewhat to his own experience as a child entertainer when his daughter Tracey, 29, headed for Los Angeles five years ago. She's had bit roles on "Gilmore Girls" and the Rob Lowe flop "Dr. Vegas," and works as a waitress between auditions.
"But the only thing I was worried about was that she understand this is not a business for the faint of heart. When I was doing TV (such as "The Perry Como Show") there was less competition, and today the kids are so seasoned."
Both sets of parents admit, however, to the hard reality, or as Jeff Palicki put it: "Our daughter is extremely motivated, she believes in her heart it's going to happen for her, and she's pretty and very talented, and there's no question about that _ but there are 100,000 others just like her."
(Contact Christopher Borrelli at: cborrelli(at)theblade.com)
