Sub-Lebrity by Leon Acord

 

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Five Things You Might Not Know About Leon Acord

Since I’m pretty much an “unknown” actor despite 25 years in the business, (the theme of my memoir SUB-LEBRITY), there are probably 555 things you’d never guess about me! But if you’ve read my book, there may be less than five things. So, let’s see…

1. I lived in San Francisco during the 1989 earthquake. I was walking to an ATM when it hit. All the parked cars began bouncing and their alarms began honking, and a dust cloud – poof! – instantly appeared over Civic Center. My apartment was on the 9th floor, and while not a thing was out of place inside, every single window was shattered. For the next several days, with no power, San Francisco felt like Gotham City. Surreal. Since that ATM was out of service when I got there, I was broke for the duration. It’s the closest to a “war zone” I ever want to get. I still refer to the week afterwards as my “Scarlett O’Hara phase.”

2. I drafted the first two seasons of my web series, the gay sitcom Old Dogs and New Tricks, over a five-week period, while holed up in my old room at my parents’ house, on an extended break from Hollywood. When it came time to draft our third season, I feared I’d have to go back to Indiana to find my muse – but fortunately, the characters were firmly established in my brain by then. (Watch ODNT on Amazon Prime.)

3. I was mad for comic books when I was a kid, back when every sentence in them ended with exclamation points. That has stuck with me, and I still tend to overuse exclamation points when I write (as you may have noticed!). Then I read – I forget who – but someone wrote that using exclamation points when you write is akin to laughing at your own joke. I’ve tried to dial back my use of “!” ever since.

4. I’m such a horrible cook, my husband Laurence asked me one Christmas, “Please don’t make any cookies, okay?” Which is fine. I hate almost anything kitchen related! Yet, for some reason, I can throw together a killer vegetable-and-chicken stir fry. My mom got me a wok for Christmas when I first moved away from home, and its probably the only skill from my 20s that I’ve maintained.

5. When I was a teenager in rural Indiana, I once out-ran a police car that was pursuing me for what, I don’t know. I had no reason to flee, I didn’t even smoke cigarettes back then. But when I saw those flashing red lights coming up behind me, and the expanse of country road in front of me, I thought, What the hell! Don’t tell my parents, okay? Wait, there is there statute of limitations for evading a law-enforcement officer, right?

A droll, oddly inspirational memoir from the actor Breitbart once called "a gay leftist activist," SUB-LEBRITY by Leon Acord (Old Dogs & New Tricks) is an honest, sometimes bitchy but always sincere story about growing up (very) gay in rural Indiana, achieving acting success outside the closet, and generating headlines with his very-public smackdown with Trump-loving Susan Olsen (Cindy, The Brady Bunch)

Read an Excerpt

I’d never listened to “Two Chicks Talkin’ Politics” before. But some friends had, and they urged me to reconsider. Sheena was a big-hearted liberal, but she was also soft-spoken and new age-y. Susan [Olsen] was a loud, rabid Trump fanatic. I was walking into a trap, they warned.

I checked out Cindy’s – I mean, Susan’s – Facebook page. Whoa.

While I felt confident I could hold my own, I shared my concerns with Sheena. She promised she would moderate and not allow the discussion to de-evolve into a shouting match. While it had at times been difficult to continue the show with Susan, she said, she had lots of practice dealing with her good friend. Nonetheless, Sheena told me she expected me to “play nice.”

Before the show, I crammed on the facts like a pre-law student studying for the bar exam.

I arrived at the LA Talk Radio studios prepared and calm. Sheena greeted me in the lobby. She warned me Susan invited a friend – a fellow Trump fanatic – to appear on the show opposite me for “balance.” Uh oh. Instead of interviewing me about my thoughts on politics, they clearly wanted me to debate politics.

I suddenly felt like Rosie O’Donnell on her last day at The View.

Sheena walked me into the booth and introduced me to Susan’s friend. We waited for Susan, who was dangerously close to being late.

Susan eventually rushed into the booth in a flurry, a fountain of apologies. Migraines had caused her to oversleep, she said – never mind that it was just shy of 5 p.m. She didn’t hear her alarm because she’d been sleeping in a metal helmet that Larry King’s wife had given her. Mrs. King guaranteed sleeping in the helmet would rid her of headaches, Susan explained – but it just wasn’t working!

As the “On Air” light switched on, I thought to myself, Cindy Brady is nuts.

About the Author: 

Leon Acord is an award-winning actor and writer who has appeared in over 35 films you've never seen and 30 plays you've never heard of. Possible exceptions include the digital TV series Old Dogs and New Tricks on Amazon Prime Video (which he created, wrote and co-produced), and the stage hit Carved in Stone (in which he played Quentin Crisp in both SF and LA productions). His memoir, SUB-LEBRITY: The Queer Life of a Show-Biz Footnote, is now available in paperback and e-book on Amazon. He wrote his one-man show Last Sunday in June (1996) and co-authored the 2014 play Setting the Record Gay. He was a "Take Five" columnist for Back Stage West throughout 2009 and a former contributor to Huffington Post. He has also written for San Francisco Examiner and the journal Human Prospect. He currently lives in West LA with husband Laurence Whiting and their cat Toby. Learn more at www.LeonAcord.com

http://www.facebook.com/LeonAcordActor
http://www.instagram.com/leonacord
http://www.twitter.com/Sub_lebrityLeon
Blog: http://www.LeonAcord.com/blog
Amazon: http://www.bit.ly/SUBpaperback
Old Dogs and New Tricks website: http://www.odnt.tv

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