Article About Commited's Tom Poston aka Clown

[tvfan0101]

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Despite his memorably cantankerous stints on the old "Mork & Mindy" and "Newhart" shows, Tom Poston had to audition for the role of a cranky old clown who lives in a closet on NBC's quirky new sitcom "Committed."

He also had to pull down his pants.

In the pilot episode, the clown was only given one line -- "I think it's a little weird" -- so the show's creators wrote an additional scene that involved dropping trou for those auditioning for the role.

"Tom, God bless him, he didn't pantomime it as the other actors had. He dropped his trousers and had on these gold lame boxer shorts," says co-creator and executive producer Eileen Heisler, still chuckling.

"I think almost everybody in town of a certain age was interviewed for it," says the 83-year-old Poston over breakfast at a Beverly Hills hotel. "It just was a remarkable fit for me ... he comes up with things that are funny. They make sense to the clown, and to me, but they are sometimes unexpected by others."

NBC ordered 13 episodes of "Committed" (9:30 p.m. EST Tuesdays) -- a relationship comedy about phobic neurotic Nate (Josh Cooke) and free-spirited Marni (Jennifer Finnigan.)

Poston's nameless clown lives in Marni's flat and was inspired by a visit the show's creators once made to a friend's New York apartment. They saw an old guy in a bathrobe walk out of a room little bigger than a closet and start making a cup of tea. The friend called him "a dying clown," told them to ignore him, and explained his presence was part of the terms of the lease.

"He was not as funny as Tom Poston," says Heisler, noting how each appearance he makes on the show is "like a little treat."

Because Poston can make the smallest moment count, she says, "We can do very tiny stories for him, like one he did, that hasn't aired yet, where he's just waiting for a peach to ripen ... he can get a huge laugh on just 'Tah-Dah!' We say that he can land a joke on the head of pin."

The article continues on about Poston's life and whatnot, you can read that at CNN:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/0....ap/index.html

[slackermonkey]

I hope they expand Clown's role next season, assuming there is another season. He's vastly underused, especially considering the talent.

[snl75]

i fully agree . hes way underused the man is a tv icon and should have a bigger role

[barwars]

Ahh, but not wanting to wish any bad luck on Tom Poston -- he's always been a favorite -- I don't know if it is wise to have an 83 year old take a prominent role in the series.

I think he's very funny, but it would be wise if they were to kill him off early on (provided the show returns for more seasons)

If they kill him off when the actor is in good health, it can be made humorous.
If it were to come to the sad time when Poston were to pass away -- it would be in bad taste to make light of it.

[slackermonkey]

Yeah, having a main character who's dying is kind of pointless, especially when the character is as underused as Clown is.