Are You A Best Supporting Actor?

Actor Richard Anderson

If you've ever watched any amount of television at all in your lifetime, then you just have to love seeing Richard Anderson. This guy has done it all and in every way possible in more shows than you can count. From Bonanza to the Rifleman, to The Six Million Dollar man and then the Bionic Woman, from Hawaii Five-O, the Fugitive, Charlie's Angels, Daniel Boone, all the way to the 23 episodes of my favorite character of his, Lieutenant Steve Drum of the Los Angeles Police Department, who worked directly for the District Attorney Hamilton Burger on the original Perry Mason series, this guy was believable from every angle.

No matter who he played, you can be sure that he played it all the way. From western gunslinger to card shark, from psychotic weirdo to just average villain, Richard played it just enough to not steal every scene from whomever the "lead" actors were on any particular show. His ability to make the scene as any character was only surpassed by his distinctive voice skills and ability to use several different accents without sounding hokey, and his seemingly endless vocabulary and tremendous timing. In my book, this guy was and has been the ultimate in what is described as a supporting cast member role. If they write a definition for a supporting actor on

television series, the definition will read "Richard Anderson".

Now that got me to thinking. Richard Anderson made an entire career, more than 60 years (not to mention he is still alive and working at 89) in television and movies. That is a miracle considering the flakiness and the fickleness of the American television watching public for the most part. Many actors can't even get a second role on anything if they've ever played a character part on a TV sitcom or dramatic series. That long of a career says something a lot deeper than just having a skill. It says something about the character who played the characters.

For example, what if Richard Anderson had decided "not" to take the part of the supporting character on a TV show? What if, since he wasn't called for the lead, or he wasn't considered for the top billing, he had just refused to participate? Well, if I can't be the star, I won't be in your stinking show at all. I'll take my baseball, my mitt, and bat and I'll go home. We all know that's the way it is today, and it's been that way for a while. A bunch of whining, high-minded, arrogant buffoons wanna be actors and actresses who pout and then go to the trailer if they don't get their way, or their salary goals are not met! I'm not talking about something that just started a few years ago.

What if Richard had just done that instead of accepting and then taking full advantage and responsibility of what he "was" able to do and where he "could" fit in and do the best possible job that he could in every situation and on every character that he played? Well by doing it right maybe he'd just wind up being a household face that everyone recognized immediately and a voice that you recognized the split second you heard it. So, you go on to make a successful 60 plus year career in almost more shows than anyone else has ever done and that certainly will not ever happen again given Hollywood's lack of creativity and refusal to produce anything of any artistic or real entertainment value. Well, Richard Anderson "did" do that. Do you know what that is called? That is called, interestingly enough, character!

Well, what I'm talking about actually started a long, long time ago. Lack of character really started in a garden that you probably have forgotten all about. The Bible in the Book of Isaiah and the Book of Ezekiel describes the angel Lucifer as being extremely beautiful and talented. For example, it says his covering was made up of every precious stone such as the sardius, the topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold. His covering was also made up of musical instruments. It goes on to say that on the day that he was created that his pipes (fifes, flutes, wind instruments), trumpets and viols (violins, cellos, and stringed instruments) were added to him. He also had taborets (artists tablets) attached to him that were prepared for the creation of beautiful musical and artistic compositions. It says he was the "anointed cherub" that walked up and down on the stones of fire and was set upon the holy mountain of God to cover it with music that would glorify and magnify God. Pretty cool job. He was in fact, the Music Minister and Worship Leader of the Universe.

Then, something went wrong. Iniquity was found in him.

Essentially what happened is that he decided...

I don't like my job. He decided that he wanted top billing.

The scripture says that:

1) His heart was lifted up because of his beauty 2) He became corrupt because of his talents and abilities 3) He was blinded by the brightness of his own personality and image 4) He had amassed to himself great fortunes through his business dealings 5) He had defiled the music by twisting and perverting it into something disgraceful

Instead of just doing the greatest job in the universe, he rebelled and talked one-third of the rest of the employees to sign his petition and become members of his new actors guild.

Then He delivered a speech that got them all to go on strike.

He had said in his heart . . .

1) I will ascend into heaven 2) I will exalt my throne above the stars of God 3) I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north 4) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds 5) I will be like the Most High

And then he got fired! He had to change his name to Satan (adversary) or (accuser). Ever since then he has been blaming it all on God and how unfair everything was, and he eventually got thrown out of Heaven and brought his infected and warped thinking to the Garden where he continued to cunningly talk Adam out of his authority.

This is the same attitude that a lot of actors, I mean people, have today. They have always had it since man was talked out of his position of authority by satan in the Garden of Eden. Blame someone else, usually God, for what you have caused.

Think of it. Lucifer could have played the role given to him. The role he was literally created for and would hold throughout eternity. He could have played the character with character and blessed the entire universe for every moment everywhere simultaneously, but instead he threw a temper tantrum and boycotted the boss because he didn't get to do it his way. So, he lost his role forever and has been blacklisted from ever working for God again and every one of us has suffered from it ever since. Thanks be to God for offering His son Jesus to give up His lead role as Best Actor and come to play the part of the dying substitute in order to buy back our authority to have a relationship with God after us having once lost it.

Lucifer could have done it the right way. He could have been like a Richard Anderson! He could have, we all could have been happier with the jobs and the roles with which we have been given in life. It doesn't really matter what they are or who we do them for, as long as we do them with an attitude of doing it as best we can. My analogy may be a little extreme, but I think it makes a good point. No one person is all that and a bag of chips as the young people sometimes say. I'm not going to think of myself so highly that I cannot do the job that is being asked of me without complaining and demanding that I am worth more than I am getting, and how unfair it is and of how I am being treated by the company or the boss.

I'm pretty sure that Richard didn't like every part he played, and may not have liked every actor he worked with, or maybe what he got paid for a particular part, but when the camera was rolling, when it counted, when it went on the screen, one thing is for sure. If he hadn't loved it, no one would have ever known about it.

Because he did his job