Well, the one night I was on beautiful Long Beach Island NJ this summer so far that I didn’t take my after dinner walk to check out the line at Dairy King, which is always an indication of what the crowds are like on the island, I missed George Costanza! Rumor was that he went to Stefanos for dinner, a very popular, revered Italian restaurant on Long Island and then had Dairy King for dessert. Yes, Dairy King. Dairy King is the dominant ice cream shop for a several block radius near 18th Street, after that, since there is just about an ice cream shop every 10 blocks or less, another dominates. But DK gets ice cream afficionados from all over. But I digress...
The multi-talented Jason Alexander was a special guest at this year's Lighthouse International Film Festival on Long Beach Island NJ. LBI, as it's known as, is only about 2 hours from Manhattan but a destination that is a world apart, full of sprawling beaches, activities and vacation homes. It's a place people, especially families, come to relax and have fun.
And for the last 14 years, it's also a place where people come to see an array of new and popular films and network at the respected festival. This growing event boasted over 100 films this year, run by over 200 volunteers. I might be partial because I had a film in it several years ago, but it's a great festival to screen a film and to meet prominent people in the industry. There's a reason it's been called the "coolest film festival" by Movie Maker Magazine.
Jason Alexander was at the fest for the 25th anniversary screening of his film, Just Looking. I had seen this film many years ago, but I did not know that he directed it. He did a talkback at the screening, and then the following afternoon he had a talk at the local playhouse, the Surflight Theater (another gem in Long Beach Island-I have never seen a bad play there).
At the near-capacity 400 seat theater in the middle of the afternoon I got to hear THE STORY of the rise of the iconic actor/director Jason Alexander, moderated by Nina Tassler, a good friend of his and by the way, a multi-hyphenate filmmaker and television executive who was the Chairwoman of CBS Entertainment until 2015. It was a great conversation between the two of them, I felt as if I was sitting at a table with them.
Here are some of the things I learned about Jason Alexander.
His Name
His real name is Jay Greenspan.
What He Wanted to Be
He wanted to be magician, but his hands were too small. He explained how magicians rely on the cover of their hands to make the illusions work, and well, though his hands are superb for modelling, they didn't work for magic.
How He Got Into Entertainment as a Child
He moved from Maplewood, NJ to Livingston NJ. His mom wanted him to take a swim class, so they went to the community pool. When he was in the pool, a really nice pretty girl randomly came up to him and asked, "Do you swim?"
He told her "Yeah". But in true George form, he told us in the audience, "of course I didn't sing." But that did not stop him. He went to the community theater where the girl was and realized he had "found his tribe." It was then he decided to pursue acting.
How He Met His Wife
He talked about how he had a job in an office - yes back in the old days - and how his wife Dana worked there. He recalled he had an opportunity to leave the job, but he stuck around just so he could "court" her. I guess it worked because they have been married for 45 years. You could hear the love and gratitude for her in his voice.
Believe it or Not, He Claims he is not an Inherently Funny Guy
He talked about how he does not think that he is an inherently funny guy. He had to learn how to be funny. He had to have his "bag of tricks". He talked about liking to mentor people once they have the tools to learn something, especially acting. He gives him the "blueprint" of how to do it, which is very important, in any career.
About Broadway and About Saying No
One of the things Jason talked about was the plays he has been in. You can tell how as a true actor, he loves the stage. He shared a story about when he was just starting out how he had the chutzpah to say no to something.
He talked about how, in one play, he was asked by the great Jerome Robbins on Broadway to do something with his part. He said he thought about it and said, "no, I’m not gonna do that." He said he just kept thinking that how if he did it, he'd have to do that eight times a week. So although he admitted it was rather gutsy of him to say no, he said it's important for actors to consider it. And he got lucky that Mr. Robbins went along with it!
He also talked about how he enjoyed directing "The Cottage" on Broadway, which is huge. It was quite successful with a roster of A-list actors. He seemed excited and hopeful that it will be made into a movie.
How He Handles His Success
He also talked about how it is hard to listen to other people tell him about all the good things that he's done, because that’s not really what he is like. In essence he said he "had had to learn how to be Jason Alexander even though he’s really still Jake Greenspan."
What He Does Now
He has many projects that he still works on, but he always thinks about the time it would take away from spending time with his grandchild, so he'll say no more often.
Jason talked for a good hour. It was really great getting to know more about him, this Jersey Boy who made it big. Jason, come back to LBI anytime!!
For information on the film festival visit: https://www.lighthouseff.com/