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A STAR IS BORN

On July 12th of this year a star with my mother's name on it will be dedicated on Hollywood Boulevard in acknowledgment of her many years of service and artistry in the entertainment business. There is not enough space here to begin to list her many accomplishments, but I thought I would mention a few things that I've learned from Marion Ross.

  • First of all, go on that audition that is all the way across town during rush hour traffic. Then, get the job. When you do get that job, be sure you get to work on time. While you are there, be completely professional. Make friends with everybody, especially the people who aren't the glamorous ones.
  • When you aren't working on TV or a movie, do theatre, and keep discovering new layers of your technique.
  • Don't complain about it, just go out and pull some weeds. Break your porcelain nails in the process. Tape them back on with Scotch tape.
  • Solve your problems with others by using love, not histrionics.
  • Buy another house. Decorate the hell out of it, and make it a work of art that people love to be in.
  • Don't flinch from fans. Be polite to them. Treat them like family, if but for a moment or two. Same goes for paparazzi. Learn the names of those people behind the flashbulbs.
  • Say what's on your mind; don't withhold anything you truly feel. Sometimes things are not better left unsaid.
  • Want more. Earn more to have more. Deserve more, and be willing to throw it all away. Live Shakespeare's great line, (oft quoted to the young Marion by her mother Ellen Ross) "Who steals my purse, steals trash,... But he who filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him and makes me poor indeed." Never value material things more than your own integrity. (But don't forget to drive the Rolls to important meetings.)
  • Always have a nice dog around.
  • Travel. Everywhere. Meet the people of earth, and smile at them.
  • That's just a few of the things I've learned from my mom, and everyone's "Mom.". And of course I'm still learning.

Want to send a message of congratulations to Marion? Send it to her via me at 2minds@appliedsilliness.com

Jim       

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