John Davidson

As the lights of the holiday season adorn our homes andstreets, we are reminded of the joy that comes with new beginnings.  Throughout this month, we celebrate withfriends and family as we approach the end of this year and embrace a new one.
 
There are always beginnings and endings.  The day starts with the sunrise and ends with the sunset.  A meal begins with the appetizer and ends with the desert.  Andso do our lives.  An in breath begins our journey, an out breath signals the end.  There are also cycles in our lives.  We may find ourselves in rough and rockywaters or feel the blessing of the smooth and calm waters when the waves haverelented and we feel at peace. No matter what the circumstances, there are certainties in life that bond us together.

The life of an actor is at best tentative.  As John Davidson commented to me,  “Your only as good as your last performance.” He and I metin a small hot room that left little to the imagination.  It was sparse, containing two green chairs and a small couch. There were apples and bananas, still in plastic wrap,sitting on a small table beneath a very large mirror. A windowpane on the doo rjust barely hinted at the brilliant sunshine that glistened outside on the Intracoastal Waterway.  As I sat in the “star’s” dressing room, I was struck by the contrast of the opulence of the Royal Poinciana Theatre and the behind the scenes reality.  As the actors in the ensemble were singing their scales in the background, John invited me to peer into his life, the life of an actor.

Davidson majored in Theatre Arts at Dennison University,Ohio.  In 1964 he went to New York and performed in two Broadway shows.  As luck would have it, he met Bob Banner, the man who discovered Carol Burnett and Bob Newhart.   In John Davidson, he saw great potential. He would turn him into a multi-faceted performer.  We used “ the pitch fork effect,” he told incorporating acting, singing, dance, and me to utilize film, theatre and television.  Bob Banner also taught mehow to tell a joke; when to deliver the punch line and how to make the whole thing work.”  He went on to talk about the business of show business, remarking that his first love is and always will be theater.  “All entertainment is designed to make you feel as if it’s live actors on a stage.  But film is the director’s medium ,television is fast paced, all cut up, and it is based on time and selling products.  The stage is the true actors’ medium and my greatest passion.”  “How did you come to theatre,” I asked?  “My father was a minister and I was intending to use the theatre to enhance my seminary studies.  I thought it would help me be a better minister.   It was my dad’s wish that his four boys would do something for people.  He believed that our mission in life was to make the world a better place.  My two brothers are both doctors and my other brother a math professor.  I loved the stage because plays are the study of human beings. I hoped this insight would help me become a better counselor.“  “Do you feel that becoming an actor has fulfilled your values and mission?” I queried him?   “I do.” he said. “ I am comfortable withthe idea that I have chosen the entertainment industry as the vehicle for helping people.  It is a people industry and I have touched many lives.”  With twelve albums under his belt, three Christmas specials, the host of That’s Incredible and Hollywood Squares, not to mention the musicals, televisions shows and theatre performances, John Davidson has indeed made a difference inthis world.

When I think of John Davidson, only positive images come to mind.  He has been typecast as the guy next door and Mr. Congeniality.  But I wondered, what’s behind the image.  He was reluctant to let his guard down. “It has worked for me and I’ve had fun playing my image.  I’ve taken it to the max,” he said. “ When I sing sad songs, nobody buys it.  I’ve tried a few times but the truth is, I’ve been typecast as an optimist and maybe that’s what I am.”  After assuring him that our interview would be an inspiration to others and that he was “safe to express himself fully,” he let his guard down.  “Life holds tragedyfor everyone and I am not different in this regard.  I’ve had down times in my career, sadness over my inactive role as a parent, and limitations that come from age. I’ve also have has a second chance at parenting.  I have two older children from a previous marriage, John Jr., 30 and Jennifer, 28.  She’s a professional skater at Bush Gardens.  I am more involved with my daughter Ashleigh whose 14 and my wife home schools her. This leaves many opportunities for us to travel together. Would you believe she wants to be in the theatre? But at 58,  I’m no longer the new kid on the block.  Television is for young blood, except in a few instances and television is where fame comes from.  The fame gives you power and the power gives you options.  When I left Hollywood Squares in 1991, I swore off game shows.  Now I would do it because it creates more opportunities.  In my down time, I venture into new territory.  I could get stuck in the pessimistic viewpoint but I don’t. Instead, I become grateful.  Look at my life, it’s really been great.”

When I commented on the room that we were sitting in and the stark differences between reality and appearances, John paused.  He looked around the room and took a deep breath. “You have to love what you do - to do this.  It’s not all that you would imagine.  My job is two-fold.  I must work to fit in with the ensemble and do the best I can while on stage. Especially in theatre, there are nights when you’re no good.  I want to decrease the margin of error, producing as many good shows as possible and increasing the percentage of shows where I perform well.  The rest comes from my heart and my passion.”

It takes a dedicated person to travel from town to town, leaving his wife and children behind to pursue a career that brings only a few moments of reward.  But John told me that he doesn’t perform for the accolades, or for the glamour.  He isn’t seduced by the bright lights of fame and knows the tides will always ebb and flow.  In his understanding of the nature of life and the human condition, John Davidson continues to make a difference in this world. So the next time you see bright lights on a stage or the glimmer and shimmer of a house adorned with Christmas lights, let’s remember it’s the people who make adifference. May the end of this year and the beginning of the New Year bring you peace, love and joy!  


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