My Discovery Channel Moment Is Nigh

Will it spell fame and fortune? (not bloody likely)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Discovery_Channel_-_Logo_2019.svg

My “career” as a background actor is pretty much in the rearview mirror. I stopped paying $26/month for Casting Networks (where the majority of opportunities lie) and only occasionally log on to the Grant Wilfley site to look for work.

Given that I’m now 76 years-old — and never looked like Brad Pitt — extras like me aren’t in high demand. Add on that I hate those gigs that require getting up at 4 AM and riding a subway to a bus that then takes us to the hinterlands for the work and I’ve almost completely tapped out.

But just a couple of months ago, I rose above extra work to become a featured player on a Discovery Channel series titled “Conspiracies and Coverups” owing to my proximity to and friendship with Jeffrey Epstein during the final month of his life. (You can read about that here.)

Like the star I am not, the network flew me out to Colorado, put me up in a nice hotel, fed me three meals a day (except for the night the Grubhub idiot delivered my dinner to the wrong address), and paid me handsomely to appear in their series.

That appearance will air tomorrow night April 29th at 10 PM.

Will it lead to more work and recognition of my brilliance? I’m not holding my breath.

I’ve appeared on several networks concerning the subject of Epstein’s last days and written for a few major mainstream media as well. And every time I have it led to absolutely nothing afterwards. Zero ancillary benefits to any of those personal appearances or writing credits.

But guess what! The story I wrote about Jeffrey on this platform is how the Discovery Channel found me (I think, though I’m not entirely certain).

That I find ironic as pardon me, I don’t consider this platform to be in the league of the Daily Beast, Independent, or NY Daily News — at least prestigewise.

Anyway, though I don’t enjoy watching myself on tv (it’s cringy), I will be tuning in to see exactly how much my contribution was valued in the end.

The director was most enthusiastic at the time, but you know how that goes. They gaslight you into giving your best performance.

The presentation will be exactly 44 minutes long (hour shows have 16 minutes of commercials). If I get 5 minutes, I figure that will be a lot.

While Jeffrey’s story goes on and on, I always figure each gig will be the last of its kind. If this one is it, I have to say it was the best. A free vacation and considerable paycheck works for me. Hopefully, it won’t be the last.