All In Good Taste on HGTV

For three years, I co-hosted the HGTV program All In Good Taste, a cooking show that aired in the mid-to-late 1990's. This is a very brief excerpt from an episode on Pizza which at least gives an idea of production values. Jerry Smith of Pinewood Television in Jacksonville, Florida produced the show for HGTV and made certain that the food was the star of the show. This was before cooking shows became dominated by personalities. Curiously, I was selected as the co-host because I had a gregarious on-camera personality and because I knew food and how to prepare it.

My co-host was Lisa Valdini with whom I also worked on other unrelated projects while I lived in Florida. The show was a very positive experience which I immensely enjoyed.

Link to My YouTube Page

With so many videos of work I conceived, wrote, produced and directed, rather than clutter my Webpage with one after another, it's more convenient to post them on YouTube. Here's the link:

http://www.youtube.com/user/JohnDrew2

Southern Defense Attorney Role for U.S. Treasury Training Film (click here for a higher resolution version)

An excerpt from a much longer training video for the U.S. Treasury Department's Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in which I played a somewhat arrogant defense attorney. The film's director allowed me to play the character as a very Southern attorney, based on several I have personally known.

The female D.A. who is seen in a brief cutaway shot was played by my friend and fellow Florida actor Lisa Valdini who co-hosted the HGTV program All In Good Taste with me. The unseen defendant actually looked just like a weasel. as described by the witness.

Over a 10-year period, I appeared in a number of diverse roles for FLETC--drug smuggler, Border Patrol agent, IRS CID agent, etc.--and narrated a number of training films. FLETC is now a part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Fox Baseball Promo with New York Yankees Pitcher Dave Cone (click here for higher resolution video)

This promo for Fox Baseball was shot in a stationary limo beneath Tampa Stadium during Spring Training. The car movement was achieved by the handheld Arri camera, and the passing cars are achieved with two headlight-sized mirrors mounted on a rotating arm into which an HMI lamp is directed. As the arm rotates, the headlight beams pass through the car. The sound effects, of course, are added in post as was the electrified effect on the bionic arm. The arm itself was quite realistic.

Dave Cone was as low key and self-deprecating in person as he appears in the promo, and he was very generous with his time. I returned with two signed baseball cards for my son.

A week after the promo began airing on Fox Sports, Dave had a career-threatening aneurysm in the armpit area of his throwing arm which required emergency surgery. The promo was pulled from the air. Dave returned to baseball the next season. I finally got to see him throw in person in a game against the Atlanta Braves. His fast ball was staggering. The New York Yankees easily won that game.

From the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon (click here for a higher resolution version)

Here are three of my scenes from the HBO miniseries From The Earth to The Moon, executive produced by Tom Hanks for Imagine Entertainment. This episode, Part V Spider, was directed by Graham Yost. In these scenes, I worked with Matt Craven, Grant Shaud, Mark Lainer (as my nemisis), Phillip Martinez, Russel Warner and Matthew Lussier.

From the Earth to the Moon is the story of the Apollo Space Program and Spider is about the Lunar Module which was built by Grumman Industries of Bethpage, NY. This was the most extraordinary production experience I've yet to have, and one for which I am humbled and proud to have been included among the cast.

From the Earth to the Moon, which won thirteen Emmy awards, still shows on cable networks in the U.S. and around the world. Several editions of the miniseries including the original release on DVD, the Signature Edition and aBlu-Ray version, all beautifully produced, are available for purchase. Buy one. The account is profoundly informative and entertaining... and I can use the residual check.

From the Motion Picture Jekyll Island (click here for a higher resolution video)

A fun role as a particularly slimy and lecherous Swiss jewel smuggler, Dietrich Mueller, in the motion picture Jekyll Island. This scene is with Brion James (now deceased), Everett McGill and Olivia Burnette. Although this action film went straight to tape, it was nevertheless beautifully shot--mostly on Jekyll Island--by cinematographer Maz Makhani and occasionally shows up on Starz and other cable networks. Brion and I became good friends on the shoot and, in spite of his often fearsome roles, he was a teddy bear of a guy. Olivia was an exceptional sport about the scene where I, as a 50-year-old man, came onto her as a high school teenager. Olivia was, of course, in her mid-20's when we shot the film. Coincidentally, if I correctly recall, I had auditioned for the role as her father in Clarissa Tells All.

Flat-Out Feeder Challenge Commercial for the Outdoor Channel (click here for a hi res link)

In early 2009, I had the pleasure of working again with the production team of Steve Finch and Marc Womack of Surf & Turf Entertainment. Steve and Marc are responsible for the top three programs currently on the Outdoor Channel. In the Flat-Out Feeder Challenge commercial, my role as a "thrill of victory, agony of defeat" sportscaster juxtaposed with Bone Collector co-host Travis T-Bone Turner's down home humor made for great fun. I've been the voice of Bone Collector -- http://www.michaelwaddell.com -- since its inception, along with two other Michael Waddell Outdoor Channel shows, but I'd never had the pleasure of working with T-Bone. He's the kind of guy who makes a long day go more quickly with his humor and generosity.

I promise that, in real life, I'm not that guy in the $19 polyester blazer... although it's still hanging in my closet.