'Scorpion King star Branscombe salutes Phil.
In 1977 Branscombe Richmond along with another fledgling actor by the name of Steve Guttenberg made a low budget movie called The Chicken Chronicles. Little did they know they'd be cast alongside Phil Silvers! I recently caught up with Branscombe who found world-wide fame in the 1990's with the long running TV series Renegade and a major role in 2002's The Scorpion King. Branscombe, ever the gentleman kindly agreed to share his memories of acting alongside Phil Silvers.
Tell me a little about your background and how your career started?
BR: My father was a musician, actor, stuntman in Hollywood. Also he immigrated to the United States. His uncle who raised him used to show silent moves and my Dad was curious on how they were made. Arrived in the US before the depression, got to Hollywood during and after the depression and made a go of it. I was a child actor who never really got anywhere. Had an opportunity to play pro basketball out of high school. Nine months later got dropped, started checking ID's as a bouncer, at the age of 19. Dad looked at me and said, 'Now what are you going to do with your life?' So between junior college and working as an extra in the movie business, I graduated to stuntman and that was my start. Oh yeah, my Dad loved the accordion, so I was playing music at the age of eight.
How then did you manage to land the role of Mark in The Chicken Chronicles?
BR: Well, they saw a lot of actors and I thought this actor named Evan Kim was going to get the role, but since Steve Guttenberg and I seemed to have some nice chemistry, I got it. I sure did learn a lot. I learned acting from on the set. Steve learned it from performing arts in New York City. Without him knowing, I learned a lot of stuff from him. Remember it was my first starring role. I was nervous, scared and elated! My Dad was so proud. I also worked at a local movie theatre and when the movie played there, they put my name on the marquee and there was my Dad on the street with his camera. Even though he was sick with cancer. So on our dinner table we had 24 marquee photographs to look at.
What was your impression of Phil Silvers at the time?
BR: Well, Phil was and still is an icon. So, when we heard that he was playing the role of Max Ober, we were all very excited! Me personally, I grew up watching him on TV. Boy the stories he would tell on the set! How lucky we were to spend time with him and learn the craft.
Was Phil cast from the outset, and how did he settle into the role?
BR: As you know Phil had had a stroke and was well on the road to recovery. His daughter came to try for one of the girl leads and mentioned to the producer, director and casting director, 'My Dad would be great for this part.' And she told everyone her Dad was Phil Silvers. Originally, the word around was the part was going to played by Ned Beatty. As far as settling in, Phil never settles in, he takes control right away and we followed. I learned a lot about ad libbing from him. For the first time, ad libbing was accepted but scary because you never knew where Phil was going to go with it!
Was it easy working with Phil? Were you and Steve in awe, or was it just another job?
BR: Phil was great. The only sign of him having suffered a stroke was maybe a little speech pattern difficulty. But otherwise he was 1000% ... he made us feel very comfortable. Steve and I were his 'kids', cause he called us 'Hey Kid' all the time. He was great, a consummate professional. There were maybe days when he was tired, but that was it. Remember this was a low budget movie. So you had to work hard, work fast and help out wherever you could.
Phil had high expectations for the movie, believing it was going to be as big as Rocky. Did you share that view?
BR: Wow, Rocky? That would have been nice. I knew we had sometime special but I was a young actor then ... and remember we filmed in 1976.
Were you happy with the movie, and were you proud to be working alongside Phil and Steve?
BR: I was very proud. My Dad cringed when he saw me drinking, cursing, smoking doobies in the movie. But he understood. Steve and I had a great premiere on Hollywood Boulevard. It was like the old days of Hollywood. Cinerama Dome, press, lights, big premiere. Geno Baffa was going to blow up, but during the summer he grew four inches and no longer looked like a sweet kid. He looked like a teenage man. He lives in Florida today selling time shares. Steve was planning on going to dental school after the premiere, so back to New York he went and left dental school when he got offered the movie Boys From Brazil with Laurence Olivier and Gregory Peck.
Do you watch the Bilko show, and do you regard it as one of the all-time classics?
BR: Love the Bilko show. More actors should study that show and learn about comedy timing. I mean how live can you get ... doesn't get any better than this show. Lots of great comedy actors came from the Bilko show. Yes, its a comedy classic, most definitely.
How would you rate Phil as a comedian, actor and performer?
BR: Number one comedian. Number one actor. Number one performer. Sadly they don't make 'em like that anymore. I mean just look at A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ... unbelievable! Phil was also a very kind man and giving of himself and his time. So remember 'What, what, what' belongs to him!
Our heartfelt thanks to Branscombe for taking time out of his busy schedule and sharing his memories with us. The Chicken Chronicles received a limited video release in the mid 1980's and sadly hasn't been available for many years. A crying shame as Phil is on top form in a very enjoyable movie. Surely the time is right for a DVD release?
Check out Branscombe at: www.branscomberichmond.com
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