A Star Is Born: From Addict to Actor
Interviewed earlier this year for a View story about the homeless in Los Angeles, Thomas Gist said, “the distance from Skid Row to Bel-Air is not that great. I’m on my way now.”
Last week, Gist took a giant step on that short journey. The 47-year-old reformed alcoholic and drug addict went before cameras in his first job as a member of the Screen Actors Guild. Gist was cast as a bus passenger in a scene from actor Dabney Coleman’s new situation comedy, “The Slap Maxwell Story,” that will air this fall.
“I used to stand in front of a liquor store at 6 o’clock in the morning waiting for it to open,” he said. “I was as derelict as anybody could get. And now you can see me on television. To me, that means no matter how low you go, you can make it back up.”
Gist acknowledges that he’s had a bit of luck. Perhaps most important, the novice actor has been represented by Joan Scott of the Writers and Artists Agency. He and Scott met at City Stage, a Skid Row theater where Gist performs.
“He’s just a natural, born actor,” said Scott. Acting as his agent has “brought me a lot of joy.”
Gist recalled that he sent a letter to Scott, asking her to represent him and noting that no job was too small. “I wrote, ‘If I couldn’t act good enough for her, then just let me wash your car.’ ”
Scott has arranged other auditions for him, Gist said. He earned $850 for the day’s work and soon hopes to buy “a few material things, like clothes and a car and a real nice place to live.”
Eventually, Gist added, he’d like to earn enough to go back to school and train as a drug-addiction specialist with a recovery home.
Road to Education
The road to a college degree is difficult for most students, but David Bryant’s journey was extra hard.
Bryant, 28, lost all feeling from his chest down in a skiing accident nine years ago. For seven years he has traveled to school by pushing his wheelchair along a busy, six-mile route from his home in South Pasadena to California State University, Los Angeles.
The trips through often hilly terrain took an hour and a half when he started and left him so exhausted that he cut down his class load. With practice, he decreased the travel time to 20-30 minutes and took a full academic load the last two years. The arduous, 12-mile round trips will end Saturday when he graduates with a degree in industrial management.
“To me it’s like riding a bicycle. I get exhilaration from it,” said Bryant, a former runner at South Pasadena High School. “I get a real competitive sense. Every day I try to break my record for getting to school.”
For Beach Potatoes
The West Coast Inaugural California-Coppertone Power Lounging Competition at Will Rogers Beach last weekend promised hot tans, sun-baked bodies and warm snoozes.
Then the fog rolled in and Saturday turned windy, calling more for hot chocolate than wine coolers.
“But we got families, we got young people, we got older folks, we had about 18 entries in all,” said Craig Elledge, an organizer of the event. “It showed that Southern Californians are totally dedicated to the beach scene.”
This was an opportunity to indulge a quintessential California activity--being paid to create a personal lounging and tanning arena with no holds, ideas nor equipment barred.
Winners of the $500 first prize were Ken Armstrong, Allison Wittwer and Cheri McKirnan. “They had a huge cooler connected to three lengths of aluminum tubing,” explained Elledge. “They didn’t even have to get out of their chairs to get a drink.”
Second place and $300 went to Norman Wiles, leader of a six-person team. “They called themselves the Temescal Canyon Beach Club,” said Elledge. “They dug a pond, brought in some palm trees and fishing poles and made themselves ‘Gilligan’s Island.’ ”
Third prize of $200 went to Leif Pehrson and Craig Wiseman who made sure their entry featured all the comforts of home and backyard. “Believe this,” begged Elledge. “They built a tiled pool on the beach.”
A Family Tradition
Divorce may be rampant throughout society, but the institution of marriage remains healthy in the Rose and Sam Saporito family of Huntington Beach.
When the Saporitos celebrate their 50th anniversary at a dinner for 180 people Sunday night in a Newport Beach hotel, all four of Sam Saporito’s brothers and sisters will be there. All four have already celebrated golden anniversaries.
Saporito’s half-brother, Jim Mancusco, and his wife, Lucy, of Costa Mesa, wed 61 years ago. Luke and Mary Saporito of Downey married 55 years ago, while Ben and Marie Saporito of San Clemente tied the knot 52 years ago. Saporito’s sister, Josephine, of South Gate, recited vows with Nick Salvato 50 years ago last April.
Family members say they spend a lot of time together and Sam Saporito and his brother, Luke, have owned the same East Los Angeles liquor distributorship at the same address for 54 years.
“Our family’s been pretty lucky,” Sam Saporito said, explaining the long-term relationships. “We just try to communicate. We try to understand each other. That’s the main thing, I think.”
