Jimmy Lydon's lesson to us all

I turned on the TV just before 6 AM and saw the closing credits of 77 Sunset Strip. I saw the name James Lydon as associate producer. I looked it up. It was former child actor Jimmy Lydon.

According to Wikipedia, Jimmy Lydon became an actor in the early 30's when his alcoholic father decided to quit working, forcing everyone in the family get jobs. So Jimmy became an actor. Appeared on stage and later in movies.

It reminded me of Kyoko Kagawa saying in a documentary that people were forced become movie stars because there weren't many jobs available in post war Japan.

Acting is the only profession open to children today. There was a child actor, a girl who appeared in Mrs Doubtfire, who said that another child actor told her that he was only in it for the money.

Going into a field with little hope for success because you need a job is probably healthier than people who desperately want to be famous.

A few years ago, I worked with some people who were going to make a five minute movie for YouTube. It should have taken a weekend but it dragged on for weeks. The "director" explained that he WANTED everyone to get annoyed and quit because then he'd know whoever was left really wanted to do it. What a brilliant strategy! The only guy with a camcorder quit. I had a little pocket camera I carried around.

"I have this," I said.

"It's not high definition."

"Yes, it is."

"It is? Okay! We'll use that!"

Everyone working on that thing seemed to be penniless. They took me aside and asked me if I could give one of them a ride home, otherwise they'd all have to pool their change to give him bus fare.

The guy thought that YouTube money would be his salvation, but he wasn't in any hurry for it to start rolling in.

I don't know if it was more or less realistic than an old friend I had who decided to become a writer, I think because he had no other options. It was the only way out of a life of low wage jobs. He was a very good writer but nothing came of it.

I always saw this as clutching at straws and maybe it was, maybe it was even for Jimmy Lydon and Kyoko Kagawa.

You may as well try it. The economy isn't going to get any better. You won't miss out on the economic boom.