Soap Opera Secrets
Spring 2005
Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker: Actors' Secret Job

Waiting tables isn’t all aspiring actors do…some of their pre-soap jobs will shock and amuse you.

“I was an answering service operator. This is before the answering machine age. I enjoyed that because it was in Hollywood and of course I got to talk to interesting people and give them fun messages. I got to talk to Sharon Gless and Cathy Lee Crosby and Lenny Bruce’s mother. Oh, my God, so many other luminaries. This was the answering service in Hollywood. I didn’t make a whole lot of money doing it, but I loved going to work every day, and the secret of life is finding a job that you love.”