Other Sources for Acting Inspiration

Actors draw inspiration from many sources, including the fine acting to be found in silent films and old radio shows.  I’m a huge, huge fan of the radio drama, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, which aired from 1949 to 1962.  It's the story of an insurance investigator, but one that rivals any private detective from Sam Spade to Lew Archer.

I was in Nevada and Arizona a couple of weeks ago and stopped by the Lake Mojave Resort near Bullhead City, Arizona, because it was the location for several YTJD episodes, including “The Mojave Red Matter” and “The Red Mystery.”

Sixty years ago when it took 10 hours and $153.00 to fly non-stop from New York to Las Vegas, getting to the Lake Mojave Resort sounds like a trek to an exotic place.  Here’s an excerpt from “The Red Mystery” that mentions the resort:

“…the awesome beauty of the clear night sky over the desert with its billions of stars twinkling in the black sky above is something I’ll never tire of.  The stars seem close enough to reach out and touch them. As the plane hit the glide path down to the landing strip at the south end of Las Vegas the myriad many-colored lights of the city winked and sparkled like the lights on a gigantic Christmas tree.  Yeah, from the air Las Vegas, the fabulous city of chance, is just plain beautiful.

I’d like to have stuck around Las Vegas and tried my hand at some of the casinos and clubs along the gamblers’ alley they call The Strip, but I had other things to do. So, Item #2 is $50 bucks deposit on a rental car and within minutes after the plane landed I was heading south and east across the desert down toward Davis Dam, down to the Lake Mojave Resort. The desert, mile after mile of nothing but sand and sagebrush and Joshua Trees, of tumbleweed and cactus, of high plateaus and broad mesas. Here and there the skeleton of some animal that has perished in the remorseless, terrible summer sun.

And then suddenly, in the middle of it, the life giving waters of Lake Mojave.

At the south end of the lake, just above Davis Dam, is the resort, with its clean, comfortable motel, good restaurant, tackle shop, and dock, everything to warm the heart of a fisherman. Yeah, and in the bright light of the moon I could see the lake itself, calm as a millpond. That meant that, unlike the cold and snow I’d left back east, here it was warm and perfect weather for fishing. It took a bit of self-control to keep from driving right on down to the dock. Instead I drove in a circle around to the office where, in spite of the hour, someone came out to greet me…"

The reason he couldn't stop to fish was that he was tracking down murderers and racketeers. It was a wonderful show and Bob Bailey by far the best of the eight actors who played Johnny Dollar over its nearly 13 year run on radio. There’s more about Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar online on several sites devoted to old time radio. You can also listen to episodes of this and other shows - like Gunsmoke, The Six Shooter, Bold Venture, and others - at no charge at: www.oldradioprograms.us It's wonderful acting.

I enjoyed walking about the resort and took a few photos.  Next time I’m in the area, I think I’ll try my hand at fishing for some of those “lunker bass.”

Lake Mojave near Davis Dam in Arizona