David Schramm Article - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Brian Hackett · 12-08-2008, 04:59 PM

Thought everyone would like to read this. I have often wondered where he had gone but I guess he is still doing a ton of acting in theater shows in the Northeast.

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/arts...n_the_sea.html

For 172 straight episodes, David Schramm played Roy Biggins, the blustery airline owner on "Wings." Now, though, Schramm portrays a man who's flying in a much different way: Richard, who drinks constantly and finds it affects his poker-playing in Conor McPherson's "The Seafarer."

The play starts a month-long run on Tuesday at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, where we talked to the 62-year-old actor during a rehearsal break.

Q: So do you play poker?

A: Bridge is my card game of choice, but when you come from Louisville as I do, you learn everything to do with gambling, from poker to horse racing. So, yes, I've played poker.

Q: Are you a better player than Richard?

A: I doubt that he ever had a night like the one I had when I had a royal straight flush in clubs. I was dealt four of the clubs, and got the fifth on the draw. But I'm not a real gambler, and I would have bet minimally had someone else not had a full house and kept betting. I wound up with a couple of thousand bucks.

Q: Richard's quite a slovenly guy.

A: Actually, I'm very house-proud in my homes in New York -- one's in Chatham, one's in Riverdale -- and I tend to keep them extremely well. But when you're working in regional theaters, you lead a less regimented life, and you tend to be less serious about picking up and putting things in their right place.

Q: Richard recently went blind. Is that hard for you to emulate?

A: Funny thing, though; the last play I did with this same director, Anders Cato, I had to play someone newly blind, too -- Pozzo in "Waiting for Godot" -- so I got a head start on this role. Playing someone who just went blind is very different from someone blind since birth. You've got to show that he's not yet used to perpetual darkness. He's still learning where the table is and how to get around certain chairs. He's still feeling his way in both senses of that expression.

Q: Can you relate to his drinking so much?

A: I'm not a drinker, though I come from an area where drinking is like breathing. My father was a bookie, so consequently we went to the track a lot, where there was plenty of booze. My entire family drank; on weekends, there were always plenty of cases of beer in the house. Don't ask me why, but I just didn't get that gene.

Q: And how does a bookie react when his son tells him he's going into "the theatuh?"

A: Oh, he was thrilled. So was my mother. They always came to see me in school, where I won trophies for speaking, and then in those big outdoor dramas we have in Kentucky, and then as an apprentice actor at the playhouse that eventually became the Actors Theater of Louisville.

Q: How old were you then?

A: All of 17. I got $25 a week to clean the toilets and be in a play. My big line in my very first one was, "I'm the station master, madam," and on opening night, I said, "I'm the station madam, master." People must have been thinking, "Get this kid off the stage." Not my parents, though. When my father heard I could get a full scholarship to Juilliard, he was packing my bags. "This is great!" he said. "This is what you should do!"

Q: How did you get the scholarship?

A: All thanks to a wonderful woman, Dr. Mildred Howard at Western Kentucky University. I was taking acting classes there, and she heard that Juilliard was starting a drama division. She told me, "You are going to go to school in New York" -- to which I said in my Southern twang, "Doctor, they ain't gonna take me in no school in New York." She worked on two audition pieces with me, arranged for the flight, packed a lunch, and said, "Go!" I did and got accepted on the spot.

Q: What do you remember most about "Wings"?

A: I knew when we started it was going to be a success. Not just because the writers had been involved with "Cheers," "Taxi" and "Mary Tyler Moore." But when we sat around the table reading the first script, and I saw this buffoon they created for me, this pompous guy who said garish things to women, and all the other rich characters, I turned to Rebecca (Schull, who played Fay) and said, "I think we've landed in a tub of butter." And we did. If only I put the money I made under my mattress instead of in the stock market.

TreeTrout · 01-16-2009, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Hackett

Thought everyone would like to read this. I have often wondered where he had gone but I guess he is still doing a ton of acting in theater shows in the Northeast.

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/arts...n_the_sea.html

Thank you SO much for posting this! I love David Schramm and think Roy was an amazing character. I know we were supposed to despise him (always makes it easy) but he busted me up every time -- and flat-out killed me when he cried.

"Larry, I'm sorry I painted you blue... !" Ha. He was amazing. You could always tell dude had theatre chops. I'd love to see him on stage.

Ya know, interesting... at the end of that article, he almost says a line from the show:
"We'll all be sittin' in butter." Episode anyone? WINGtips anyone?

12-08-2008, 04:59 PM	#1
Brian Hackett Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Feb 16, 2005 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 83	David Schramm Article Thought everyone would like to read this. I have often wondered where he had gone but I guess he is still doing a ton of acting in theater shows in the Northeast. http://www.nj.com/entertainment/arts...n_the_sea.html For 172 straight episodes, David Schramm played Roy Biggins, the blustery airline owner on "Wings." Now, though, Schramm portrays a man who's flying in a much different way: Richard, who drinks constantly and finds it affects his poker-playing in Conor McPherson's "The Seafarer." The play starts a month-long run on Tuesday at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, where we talked to the 62-year-old actor during a rehearsal break. Q: So do you play poker? A: Bridge is my card game of choice, but when you come from Louisville as I do, you learn everything to do with gambling, from poker to horse racing. So, yes, I've played poker. Q: Are you a better player than Richard? A: I doubt that he ever had a night like the one I had when I had a royal straight flush in clubs. I was dealt four of the clubs, and got the fifth on the draw. But I'm not a real gambler, and I would have bet minimally had someone else not had a full house and kept betting. I wound up with a couple of thousand bucks. Q: Richard's quite a slovenly guy. A: Actually, I'm very house-proud in my homes in New York -- one's in Chatham, one's in Riverdale -- and I tend to keep them extremely well. But when you're working in regional theaters, you lead a less regimented life, and you tend to be less serious about picking up and putting things in their right place. Q: Richard recently went blind. Is that hard for you to emulate? A: Funny thing, though; the last play I did with this same director, Anders Cato, I had to play someone newly blind, too -- Pozzo in "Waiting for Godot" -- so I got a head start on this role. Playing someone who just went blind is very different from someone blind since birth. You've got to show that he's not yet used to perpetual darkness. He's still learning where the table is and how to get around certain chairs. He's still feeling his way in both senses of that expression. Q: Can you relate to his drinking so much? A: I'm not a drinker, though I come from an area where drinking is like breathing. My father was a bookie, so consequently we went to the track a lot, where there was plenty of booze. My entire family drank; on weekends, there were always plenty of cases of beer in the house. Don't ask me why, but I just didn't get that gene. Q: And how does a bookie react when his son tells him he's going into "the theatuh?" A: Oh, he was thrilled. So was my mother. They always came to see me in school, where I won trophies for speaking, and then in those big outdoor dramas we have in Kentucky, and then as an apprentice actor at the playhouse that eventually became the Actors Theater of Louisville. Q: How old were you then? A: All of 17. I got $25 a week to clean the toilets and be in a play. My big line in my very first one was, "I'm the station master, madam," and on opening night, I said, "I'm the station madam, master." People must have been thinking, "Get this kid off the stage." Not my parents, though. When my father heard I could get a full scholarship to Juilliard, he was packing my bags. "This is great!" he said. "This is what you should do!" Q: How did you get the scholarship? A: All thanks to a wonderful woman, Dr. Mildred Howard at Western Kentucky University. I was taking acting classes there, and she heard that Juilliard was starting a drama division. She told me, "You are going to go to school in New York" -- to which I said in my Southern twang, "Doctor, they ain't gonna take me in no school in New York." She worked on two audition pieces with me, arranged for the flight, packed a lunch, and said, "Go!" I did and got accepted on the spot. Q: What do you remember most about "Wings"? A: I knew when we started it was going to be a success. Not just because the writers had been involved with "Cheers," "Taxi" and "Mary Tyler Moore." But when we sat around the table reading the first script, and I saw this buffoon they created for me, this pompous guy who said garish things to women, and all the other rich characters, I turned to Rebecca (Schull, who played Fay) and said, "I think we've landed in a tub of butter." And we did. If only I put the money I made under my mattress instead of in the stock market.