Here's to Eight Years of Acting in Los Angeles

As I was looking at my Google Calendar to see the various writing tasks and calls I need to handle this week, I noticed that the 8th anniversary of our move to Los Angeles is this week.

In fact, it is today (as I write this blog on the 22nd).

It's hard for me to believe that so much time has passed. While Zach's career has certainly evolved, all of our lives have changed greatly over the past eight years.

The Decision to Move to Los Angeles

When we moved here in 2012, it was just Zach and his dad on their own as Dana stayed behind in St. Louis in case Zach didn't like living in Los Angeles or if the grind of auditions was too much for him. We didn't really need to worry because he took to California and auditions instantly and never looked back.

I'll always remember going back to St. Louis to see Dana after being in California for a little while:

• The first visit (about six weeks after we moved) had the feeling of "We're home!" Landing at LAX after that trip was very much the feeling of "Okay...Here we are...Woo"
• The second visit was about six weeks later and we were certainly thrilled to see Dana. This trip was different because Zach had already filmed a commercial for Hotmail as well as his first direct to DVD film. It really felt more like we were visitors in St. Louis instead of being at home. Plus, Zach's paycheck for his DVD movie was waiting for him in our mailbox when we got back to California so he was thrilled to be back in LA.
• Zach was also starting to be recognized and known by casting directors and it seemed like each trip also involved having to turn down a paid gig.  Don't get me wrong...We wanted to see Dana and Doc (the faithful dog) but we also wanted to strike while Zach was gaining momentum.

We eventually made the decision in the summer of 2012 for all of us to live in California. 

Changes for All of Us

One of the biggest changes for Zach was essentially going to school at home most of the time. He went to a place called Options for Youth which was the home of many teen actors that didn't have time to go to school on a regular basis. He went to Options one hour a week for tests and to check-in with his teacher. The rest of his work was done at home. While that might sound easy, his studies took eight hours a day (or more) so he was still doing school full-time but all of his school work was at home or on-set.

I was putting together writing gigs and other odd jobs because one of Zach's parents had to be on-set with him since he was underage. There are many times that I don't remember what I wrote at all but I do remember where I did my writing assignments. From a summer camp in the woods of Oregon to a move set in Illinois (outside of St. Louis) to Nick on Sunset to the set of "Modern Family" and libraries, coffee shops, airplanes and offices throughout the greater Los Angeles area, I wrote anywhere and everywhere I could find decent Wi-Fi.

Dana amazed and impressed me when she arrived in Los Angeles. She arrived late on a Saturday night, let me show her how to find Koreatown (since she had never driven in Los Angeles) on Sunday and then she drove to work on the 101 solo on Monday for the first day of her new full time job.

When it comes to the work of the parents, our respective career trajectories have both taken a few hits and bumps over the past eight years but we are still going strong.  Since 2012, some of the tasks I have handled include:

• Starting my own successful marketing and PR firm
• Writing more articles about plastic surgery than I can possibly remember for an online plastic surgery news and medical information journal 
• Edited and wrote the content for a plastic surgery journal that was printed and distributed to medical offices all across the United States
• Worked on a real estate crowdfunding project
• Worked on a website for online health insurance quotes
• Worked for a social media management company
• Planned and executed marketing campaigns for the World Congress on Insulin Resistance Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease 
• Did work for a PR firm that believed the Internet was not a viable marketing tool and they would only work with clients that agreed their PR should only be in print magazines

Isn't this a Blog about Acting?

Zach has been very lucky in that he has kept the same manager since we arrived in Hollywood. His manager is like a second mother to him and always has his best interests (personally and professionally) at heart.

Zach has had multiple agents due to some of his agent teams splitting up, leaving their agency or Zach aging out of the youth division of some firms. His current agents "get him" and are always sending him on interesting and challenging auditions.

His bookings in Hollywood have ranged from:

• A Hotmail commercial
• A direct to DVD family holiday movie
• A recurring role on a Nickelodeon show
• A Disney pilot
• A web series about a scout camp
• Stand-up gigs at multiple clubs in Los Angeles
• A feature film that was shot in the St. Louis area
• Cast member at Second City Hollywood
• Guest spots and background work on multiple sitcoms and dramas

At last count, he has 30 IMDb credits. He is also currently attending college to study screenwriting and directing.

He still performs stand-up at clubs in the LA area. The main difference is that he is now old enough to get in clubs as opposed to the days when he was not even 18 years old and we just kept quiet about that fact when he was performing. He did get busted the night he was scheduled to make his debut at The Comedy Store. Even though Zach was on the bill, the bouncer would not let him in the building since he was under the age of 21. He couldn't even go inside to tell the promoter that he could not get in the door so I had to go into the club and deliver the news. (That was "fun")

Like any good Dadager, I've kept plenty of photos over the years and here are some of my favorites of The Artist in action:

Zach's first booked gig in LA - A Hotmail spot shot near Venice Beach

Zach's second time on Modern Family - His connection with Jeff (the guy in charge of booking actors that can pass as football players on multiple shows) led to his recurring role on the show below:

"Quiet Chris" on "Bella and the Bulldogs"

His work on "Bella" also led to some work on "Fresh Off The Boat"

"Willy" from "Camp Abercorn"

A music video for (maybe) Walk the Earth (not 100% sure)

Various stand-up gigs

Zach on HBO's "Sharp Objects"

A New Decade and New Projects

The last decade was good to Zach and his career but the future looks just as bright.

As I mentioned above, he is attending college to study screenwriting and directing as well as working on projects with his friends and classmates.

One of the most recent developments is the start of a YouTube channel with his good friend, Jake. The channel is called Some Skits 'N' Some Guys and the link is in the name if you want to learn more about their comedy offerings.

I mentioned his IMDb page earlier. If you want to check out his 30 (and growing) credits just click here for the Zach Louis IMDb page. 

Between acting, school, stand-up, YouTube and his never ending pile of laundry, Zach is busy but enjoying his life as an actor.

Here's to eight years (and counting) in Los Angeles. I can't wait to see what years nine, ten and beyond bring for my favorite actor.

Did I mention Zach has an IMDb page??? 

It's Almost Like A Billy Joel Song!

Billy Joel has a famous song called "Say Goodbye to Hollywood" (which has much less rage and angst than "Say Goodbye Hollywood" by Eminem) that first came out in 1976. Forty years after that song was released, our family is staying in Hollywood and officially saying goodbye to Missouri.

I can hear you asking, "Haven't you been away from Missouri for four years already? Why are you just getting around to saying goodbye?"

The answer is....We finally sold our home in St. Louis.

I've mentioned before that Zach and I moved to Los Angeles in January 2012. We put our house on the market but we were in no great hurry to sell it because the two of us would go back to Missouri if he didn't like trying to be an actor. It quickly became apparent that Zach had a future out here so we decided to seriously try and sell the house. While the "serious selling" was just starting to kick into gear, Dana landed a job with the American Cancer Society and had to be in California in two weeks. This left us no time to handle the necessary landscaping, painting and repairs that normally need to be done to any home to make it "seller friendly". Instead, we decided to use the home as a rental property so we could get the monthly mortgage covered and not have to pay both California rent and a Missouri house payment.

We were pretty lucky with our renters most of the time. We had one family rent it while they were repairing storm damage to their home that turned into eight months worth of rent as their repairs went on longer than expected. We also had a series of families that were temporary Missouri residents while their husbands were doing their medical residencies at Washington University. All of the families took care of the property and seemed to care about keeping it in good shape.

However, there were a few bumps along the way.

Here's a fun fact for you: If your home in the state of Missouri sustains water damage while the house is being used as a rental property, your homeowners insurance will not cover any of the damage. Let me repeat that for you: NONE OF THE DAMAGE!!!! After our last rental family failed to check the sump pump in the basement (to the tune of $6000 worth of out of pocket water damage repair expenses), we decided it was time to finally sell the house.

The ease of owning a rental property is often related to how easy it is to reach the property in times of need. When we first moved to St. Louis, we still owned a home in Memphis. In the 4-5 months it took us to sell that home, I would go check on it and take care of the yard and any small repairs. I also worked at a country radio station so my trips to Memphis would often go like this:

• Get off the air at Midnight in St. Louis
• Drive 4 hours to Memphis
• Take a sleeping bag and crash on the floor of the empty house for 3-4 hours
• Get up at 8am and take care of any pressing issues
• Leave by 1pm to drive back to St. Louis to be on the air at 7pm

Does that sound like a pain to you? Yes, it was a pain but at least I was close enough to drive there and take care of any issues that needed to be handled at the house. Using the water damage example again, I couldn't exactly jump in the truck and go take care of it because it would have taken me two days to get to Missouri. We were lucky enough to have a great rental property company watching after our home. Greg Rybacki, and the entire team at Rybo Properties, found the people to get the water out of the basement and fix the entire mess for the lowest price possible. Greg also watched over the whole project and made sure it was taken care of correctly and on time. I can't praise the guy enough for taking care of us over the past four years. 

When we made the final decision to sell the house, we turned to an old friend who would have our best interests at heart. Joanne Balis put up with way too many questions from me as well as a couple that flaked out on the first contract we had on the house this year. After that disappointment, she found the perfect couple to buy the property from us.  

When we made the decision to sell the house, I emailed some friends in St. Louis asking their advice and recommendations about painting and landscaping. I sent the email asking this question at 1am California time. At 8am California time, I woke up to a message from Mark Seibel asking me to call him. Mark runs a stone, paving and concrete company and instantly went over to my house when he got the email. He had already taken photos of the property and had a plan of what to do around the house. Zach and his son have remained friends over the years and I am glad to say that Mark and I are still friends. He went far beyond what my simple advice email asked and I can't thank him enough. Plus, I love the fact that he made his son mow our yard for free the entire time it was on the market.

I haven't set foot in the house since 2012. I drove past it a few times when I was in town but that was just to check on the outside of the home and to make sure the property was being cared for by the renters. It long ago stopped being a home to me and was just a piece of property that I owned. It's only been in the last week that I've actually started to feel some nostalgia for the place. The sale closed yesterday so I'd like to say goodbye to:

• Ken - The neighbor we never saw and only knew was alive when the pizza delivery guy would show up at his door.
• Miss Norma - The widowed neighbor who was always nice to Zach and snippy with me.
• The homeowner next door - Thanks for showing me the kind of people I would never let rent my house.
• The neighbor on the other side of the house - I don't remember her name but I do remember her dislike for everyone else in the neighborhood. I think I sealed her hatred for me when I was playing with my dog and she came out to complain that the dog was barking too much. I replied with "Would you like me to teach her how to moo or meow? It would be a great trick and might not hurt your delicate ears so much." She had no use for me after that moment.
• The neighbors with the live chickens in their backyard - I'm pretty sure they were running drugs out of their home but they were low key about it.

Unlike Billy Joel, we will keep saying "Hello to Hollywood". I may not live in a big house in Los Angeles but at least I don't have a home in St. Louis anymore to give me constant worries about flooding and tornadoes and whether or not the renters are taking care of the place.

Having said all of that, I certainly wouldn't mind an order of toasted ravioli from St. Louis!

This actor is in Hollywood for the long run.

Where Were You Four Years Ago?

I can still remember the feeling of change in the air in January of 2012. I was spending my time taking care of business and school related odds and ends as Zach and I prepared to head to California. 

My time was also filled with Internet research trying to find an apartment while not knowing anything about the various cities in the Los Angeles area, touching base with friends before departing, making sure my truck was ready for the drive and trying to determine how many of our belongings could fit in my truck and still be a comfortable drive to California. We had to take a good amount of Zach’s clothes since he would have auditions and other acting events. I took some jeans, about ten shirts, some sneakers, socks and underwear. I figured I could buy anything else I needed once we got to California. We also packed a TV, Zach’s Xbox 360, pots, pans and our computer.

The afternoon of January 19^th, 2012 was a bittersweet one for us.  It was Zach’s last day at school and I went to pick him up as usual. I didn't say much to any of the parents that I visited with each afternoon because I didn't feel like having a long conversation about our plans. Zach came outside about ten minutes after school ended with a look that was a combination of sadness and excitement. The idea that we were going to California the next day hit him at that moment. We were excited but nervous at the same time. His friends were coming over to our house that afternoon but Zach still had one more task before leaving school. We went back inside so he could (as a joke) put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on his locker until he returned to school.

Think about how you feel on Sunday night once you realize you have to go to bed because of work the next morning. There is always a feeling of dread about the next day. I didn't feel a sense of dread because I didn't want to go to California. I was dreading the road trip that I was about to undertake in the morning. 

Dana, Zach and I hit the road at 5am on January 20th as a light dusting of snow fell over St. Louis. I took the snow as a sign to get the heck out of town! Dana took a week of vacation to drive with us and help us get settled. She needed to make sure her family was safe in California.

We made good time the first day as we went from Missouri to Oklahoma to Texas to New Mexico. We spent the night somewhere in New Mexico because the combination of high winds, winding roads and UFO talk made us ready to rest for the night. We hit the road again on Sunday around 8am and went from New Mexico to Arizona to California as we finally arrived in Los Angeles. 

We left at 5am on the 20^th and got to our hotel in Universal City at 10pm on the 21^st. Our drive across the country included stops in Tulsa, Amarillo, the car museum at Russell’s Truck & Travel Center in New Mexico (3 miles from the Texas/New Mexico state line), a hotel stay somewhere in New Mexico, fast food in Albuquerque and our arrival in California. 

After a week, Dana went back home and we settled into our new routine of being apart for what we thought would be about six months before heading back to Missouri. Dana and I were pretty sure that the lure of football season and his friends would make Zach want to go back to Missouri.

That's what we get for thinking we had any idea what the future held for our family! 

Here's to four years of Hollywood, child actors, stage parents, porn king neighbors, a cross country family relationship, a TIA stroke, agents, managers, making new (and good) friends, a near death hospital experience, family visiting us in California, blogs, casting directors, Disney, Nickelodeon, improv, making a life in California, Russian cell phone kings, high school graduation, sky poison (rain) sending the California natives into a panic, filming television shows and movies in Los Angeles as well as Missouri and Oregon, a series of freelance gigs that have found me working with people in the entertainment/physical fitness/life insurance/crowdfunding/spices/public relations/social media management/plastic surgery industries, theme parks, college, baseball, traffic, learning our way around Los Angeles and the three of us living in the same city again.

There hasn't been a dull moment since we arrived in California. I can't wait to see what the next year brings for all of us.

This Actor Explored Los Angeles With Me After We Moved Here.