Currently, we find ourselves in the midst of large-scale upheavals – groping for “new normals” in a global pandemic; passionate demands across the U.S. and the world for social reform and racial justice; a vitriolic presidential election; retaliatory and inadvertent attacks from Mother Nature; and more. I hope the rebirth of Supporting TV Cast will contribute some small-scale positives to life now and to come. Lauding the under-lauded is a pleasure.
Back in 2011, I took a 6-week, online course in HTML coding with an eye toward creating a website dedicated to biographies of my favorite category of actors – the ones who rarely, and for the vast majority never, get interviewed on the red carpet. These are the actors whose faces are familiar enough that we know, without giving it a single conscious thought, we can count on them for good, solid, performances; we can always take them for granted. Their work is an inconspicuous but reliable part of the collective American experience. I set about interviewing a few of them and/or their families, friends, and colleagues to create their personal and professional chronicles.
Two years later, an independent publisher/editor in Binghamton, NY – shout out to Chris Bodnarczuk! – launched a brave arts & culture newspaper called Triple Cities Carousel. I had a talk with Bodnarczuk and, instead of the random freelance writing I had been doing before and during the birth of Supporting TV Cast, I became a regular staff writer and columnist, with consistent deadlines. My pet project went on hold until the August 2019 issue of Carousel hit the streets. It was presumably the last issue (though I would not be surprised if that dedicated little publication also experiences a rebirth sooner or later) and I was able to return to random freelancing, with more time to build the STVC treasury.
I found a talented, skilled, and responsive design team – Max Bernard of Max Bernard Web Design and graphic artist Lauren Clifford. Max constructed a new site that has innovation and provides ease. Lauren created a logo that expresses STVC’s spirit, with that tiny star down at the edge of the box that contains the word “TV.” Our intent is soon to add occasional interactive, themed, pop quizzes, designed to give instant feedback so visitors can have some fun testing their TV/film knowledge.
If the STVC rebirth makes you feel good and you like what you find here, drop me an email at FW@SupportingTVCast.com. You might say, as John Larch’s character and a lot of other familiar faces kept reassuring evil young Anthony about his deeds in the “It’s a Good Life” segment of the original Twilight Zone, “It’s a real good thing you done that.” Only, unlike Larch et al, I hope you mean it.
~ FW