BEHIND THE CURTAIN BEHIND THE CURTAIN BEHIND THE CURTAIN by Dave Berg Page B
Authors: Dave Berg
Tags: Entertainment
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at age seventeen after his first starring role in the Disney film Holes. The Emmy-winning actor went on to star in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and the Transformers franchise. I believe his best work is still ahead of him, if he decides to continue making films. He has done well as a young actor despite growing up poor in Los Angeles with “hippie parents.” Shia once brought his divorced parents to the show to introduce them to Jay and me.
His dad, Jeffrey, had long, unkempt hair and looked like a homeless guy. He had once worked in the lower rungs of show business as a rodeo clown and as the opening act for the Doobie Brothers. During Shia’s childhood, Jeffrey didn’t work much and wasn’t often around. When Jay and I met Jeffrey, he was living in a car.
Shia told me he was very close with his mom, Shayna, who he affectionately called a “gypsy.” When we met her, she was wearing a tie-dyed dress and lots of beads. She had essentially raised her son alone, selling fabrics and brooches to earn money. As one would imagine, Shia had a colorful childhood and often talked about it with Jay at the panel. He never spoke about his background in a negative way, though. Shia found humor in every experience. He said that he was the only white kid at his school, making him the minority, and that he did whatever he could to stay out of fights. He even shaved his head, figuring that would help him be accepted. It actually had the opposite effect as his schoolmates then thought he was a skinhead.
Shia sought to become an actor as a way to escape poverty. He began searching for an agent at the age of twelve by looking through the phone book. The first name he decided to call was John Crosby . Disguising his voice to sound older, Shia told John he was the manager of a great European actor named Shia LaBeouf . John knew right away Shia was lying but was impressed with the young man’s resourcefulness and took him on as a client. John continues to represent Shia to this day.
The Civet
Animals were the perfect guests. Unlike actors, they never showed up saying “I have nothing to talk about with Jay today . ” They didn’t have demanding publicists. They didn’t ask for anything. They and their handlers, or animal ambassadors, were usually a pleasure to work with. And their appearances usually resulted in higher ratings. We worked with many potentially dangerous and unpredictable wild animals over the years and experienced only one minor incident: A civet once ran away and hid under the set during an appearance by zoologist Jarod Miller. After the show, Jarod and his crew were unable to coax the two-foot-long, cat-like mammal out. So Greg Elliott, the prop master, drove home and got his “varmint trap,” which Jarod baited with the civet’s favorite food. Later that night, they heard the trap snap, and the civet was captured unharmed.
The Bigfoot Playmate
I once booked a Playboy Playmate who claimed she had seen Bigfoot—and had video to show for it. When I pitched the idea for Thanksgiving Day 1995 I fully expected to get shot down, but my colleagues were intrigued, and wanted to know more. Besides, we were having a hard time booking the holiday, and the Playmate sounded as good as any of our other choices.
The Playmate, Anna-Marie Goddard, was a beautiful Dutch model who had made a successful appearance with Jay two years earlier, telling funny stories about working as a milkmaid in her childhood. My colleagues were understandably concerned about the legitimacy of the five seconds of night footage Anna-Marie had sent me, which was grainy, dark, and shaky, but definitely showed a large, eight-foot tall, hairy creature walking on its hind legs. She had made a very convincing argument to me that she actually believed she had seen Sasquatch, even though at the time she had never heard of the hominid and thought it was a bear. She, her husband, Colin, and a crew had been in the California Redwoods
His dad, Jeffrey, had long, unkempt hair and looked like a homeless guy. He had once worked in the lower rungs of show business as a rodeo clown and as the opening act for the Doobie Brothers. During Shia’s childhood, Jeffrey didn’t work much and wasn’t often around. When Jay and I met Jeffrey, he was living in a car.
Shia told me he was very close with his mom, Shayna, who he affectionately called a “gypsy.” When we met her, she was wearing a tie-dyed dress and lots of beads. She had essentially raised her son alone, selling fabrics and brooches to earn money. As one would imagine, Shia had a colorful childhood and often talked about it with Jay at the panel. He never spoke about his background in a negative way, though. Shia found humor in every experience. He said that he was the only white kid at his school, making him the minority, and that he did whatever he could to stay out of fights. He even shaved his head, figuring that would help him be accepted. It actually had the opposite effect as his schoolmates then thought he was a skinhead.
Shia sought to become an actor as a way to escape poverty. He began searching for an agent at the age of twelve by looking through the phone book. The first name he decided to call was John Crosby . Disguising his voice to sound older, Shia told John he was the manager of a great European actor named Shia LaBeouf . John knew right away Shia was lying but was impressed with the young man’s resourcefulness and took him on as a client. John continues to represent Shia to this day.
The Civet
Animals were the perfect guests. Unlike actors, they never showed up saying “I have nothing to talk about with Jay today . ” They didn’t have demanding publicists. They didn’t ask for anything. They and their handlers, or animal ambassadors, were usually a pleasure to work with. And their appearances usually resulted in higher ratings. We worked with many potentially dangerous and unpredictable wild animals over the years and experienced only one minor incident: A civet once ran away and hid under the set during an appearance by zoologist Jarod Miller. After the show, Jarod and his crew were unable to coax the two-foot-long, cat-like mammal out. So Greg Elliott, the prop master, drove home and got his “varmint trap,” which Jarod baited with the civet’s favorite food. Later that night, they heard the trap snap, and the civet was captured unharmed.
The Bigfoot Playmate
I once booked a Playboy Playmate who claimed she had seen Bigfoot—and had video to show for it. When I pitched the idea for Thanksgiving Day 1995 I fully expected to get shot down, but my colleagues were intrigued, and wanted to know more. Besides, we were having a hard time booking the holiday, and the Playmate sounded as good as any of our other choices.
The Playmate, Anna-Marie Goddard, was a beautiful Dutch model who had made a successful appearance with Jay two years earlier, telling funny stories about working as a milkmaid in her childhood. My colleagues were understandably concerned about the legitimacy of the five seconds of night footage Anna-Marie had sent me, which was grainy, dark, and shaky, but definitely showed a large, eight-foot tall, hairy creature walking on its hind legs. She had made a very convincing argument to me that she actually believed she had seen Sasquatch, even though at the time she had never heard of the hominid and thought it was a bear. She, her husband, Colin, and a crew had been in the California Redwoods
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