On being Dick

In this new show I play St. Peter. Though he's not really old bearded St. Peter of heaven's gate. He's Dick Martin. From Laugh-in.

Now I have no idea why I was cast. It certainly wasn't about any physical resemblance to Dick Martin. Basically, in the audition, at the very last minute it occurred to me: "Smile huge like a big fucking idiot!"

And I did. And it seemed to work.

But even though the director assured me it's not necessary to resemble Dick Martin, I do feel an obligation to capture something of his character beyond the big dumb grin. So I've been working hard on the voice, among other things.

Trouble is, he's not super-distinctive. It's not like Arnold Schwarzenegger or George Bush, where millions of people do an impression of him every day. And, in fact, most of my impressions are just that -- impressions of other peoples' impressions. 

But with Dick, I've got to start from scratch. From what I've picked up from YouTube, he's got kind of a nasal voice. Not high-pitched and whiny. Deeper and thicker. More like his sinuses are stuffed up. And he has a way of wrapping his mouth around consonants and elongating the vowels.

Then again, as I was explaining this detailed process the other night, one of the actors said, "It doesn't really matter." As in, hardly anybody in the audience will know or remember what Dick Martin sounded like. It was more than three decades ago, after all. So that's some good perspective, I suppose.

You bet your sweet bippy.