STAGE TO SCREENS: Stage Actors Find a Home on TV's "Ed"
By Michael Buckley
Tom Cavanagh photo by Justin Lubin
This month we again look at New York actors working in television, in this
case on "Ed" (NBC, Wednesday, 8 PM ET), and chat with the series
co-executive producer, Merrill Karpf.
A production of David Letterman's Worldwide Pants company, in association with Viacom, "Ed" follows the adventures of lawyer Ed Stevens (Tom Cavanagh) who, following the end of his marriage and career in New York City, moves back to his hometown, Stuckeyville, Ohio. There, he takes over a bowling alley (where he practices law) and pursues his high school crush, Carol Vessey (Julie Bowen), now a teacher. Enjoying its fourth season, "Ed" debuted in October 2000.
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"Ed" shoots in New Jersey, "about a half-hour against traffic [from
Manhattan]," says Merrill Karpf. "We're here because we found a bowling
alley that had been abandoned. We needed a practical bowling alley [which
could also serve as a studio], and that dictated where we put our
operations. It's only 25-30 minutes up the Palisades Parkway."
Most New York actors who appear on the show share a van, are picked up on a designated street corner, and driven to the alley/studio. "Some, depending on their stature, get picked up alone," Karpf points out. "Little perks."
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On the East Coast for the nine months that the series is in production,
Karpf's home base is Seattle. "I don't commute, except on some holidays. I
go back during hiatus. I love the show, and I was born in New York. When my wife is here, we go to the theatre almost every weekend. I love work and theatre, and I relax in Seattle. It's kind of the best of both worlds."
Sometimes actors working in theatre are unable to do episodic TV because, for 60-minute shows, there has to be a 12-hour turnaround (break) between each day's shooting. "Rarely do we have to have an actor ask for a day off," explains Karpf. "If someone's in a play — and it's someone I really want — we make sure [he or she] works on a Monday, when the play is dark; or, if it's just one scene, I'll schedule it early in the day. I can't think of one instance where someone's missed a performance [onstage]."
Among the New York actors who have appeared on the series over the years: Philip Bosco and Jane Summerhays (as Ed's parents), Melissa Errico (as Ed's ex-wife — "one of my favorites," notes Karpf, "very professional"), Taye Diggs, Richard Easton, Christopher Sieber, Charles S. Dutton, Anne Meara, Shuler Hensley, Kevin Chamberlin, Karen Mason, Amy Spanger, Evan Handler, Jennifer Van Dyck, Robert Ari and William Duell.
"We just aired episodes with Len Cariou and James Barbour. We had Joel
Higgins [in an October episode]. He had a long history in theatre before
going into television. People forget that Timothy Busfield [who twice has
played Ed's older brother] was in A Few Good Men [before working in TV]. Coming up, we have Burt Reynolds [who began his career Off Broadway and may soon be appearing on Broadway], Blair Brown, Julia Murney and Reg Rogers. Continued...
