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“Please report to CBS Studio 43 Tuesday morning at 10:15 for a taping of
SEARCH FOR TOMORROW. It is a restaurant scene, so please wear
sport coat and tie.”
It was my first big break.
Well, okay, so maybe it was my
little break. But it- was a
break—I had to admit that. It
was something. This small town
child from Dallas, Pennsylvan-
ia, was going to be on nation-
wide cross-country afternoon
television. It would be seen by
millions of American ‘house-
wives as they partook of the ad-
ventures of one JoAnn Tate on
(organ music in) the ‘Search
For Tomorrow.”
Of all the daytime soap
operas, ‘‘Search For Tomo-
rrow”’ is perhaps the hand-
wringingest. I remember JoAnn
Tate when I was in elementary
school and the soap opera was
only 15 minutes long. Poor
JoAnn was wringing her hands
even then. Do you realize what
that poor woman has been
“rough during these past God-
nows-how--many years of
‘laundry detergents. It’s a
wonder her hands aren’t raw
from wringing. And now I, little
Bruce Paul Hopkins, who used
to weep and wring right along
with JoAnn, was going to be on
the program. Boy, was I exci-
ted!
“Boy, am I excited.” I said to
the people at Publishers’
Weekly magazine, where I work
to avoid starving as I pursue
fame and fortune in the theatre
world.
“Well, now what are you
going to do on the show? What
kind of role do you have?”
inquired my boss.
8, going to sit in a restau-
rant.” I announced smiling.
“And?” :
“That’s all.” 1 explained.
“There’s this restaurant scene
and I’m going to be a person in
the restaurant.” I was going to
be what is referred to in the
television world as ‘‘atmos-
phere. ”’ In order for a restau-
rant to look like a restaurant
there had to be people sitting
around eating. I was a person. I
could eat. Granted, it was not
going to take an extensive
amount of acting on my part,
but it was a start. Everybody
is to start somewhere.
WWalking into the lobby of the
CBS Studio was like entering a
hospital. It seemed so antiseptic
d quiet. A uniformed officer
sat at a desk next to a sign that
demanded ‘‘Please Show Your
CBS Identification Pass.” I
didn’t have a CBS identification
pass. I did have my Bloomsburg
State College 1.D. Card, but I
rather doubted they'd accept
that. So I played it straight. I
asked the uniformed man where
I'd find Studio 43, and he in-
structed me to take the elevator
to the second floor. On the
second floor there was a uni-
formed man standing next to a
sign that read Please Show
ur CBS Identification Pass.”
Boy, for all they knew I could be
a spy from NBC. I followed his
directions to the end of the hall.
‘Studio 43: No Admittance.”
ppd the sign on the door. I
iecided I was a star and didn’t
have to pay attention to these
silly signs, and I brazenly
pushed open the door and en-
tered. I found myself in a
narrow hallway that led direct-
ly to another door bearing a sign
warning: ‘‘Studio 43, No Admit-
tance.” This was getting a bit
ridiculous. I am only capable of
being brazen a certain number
of times a morning, and this
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was about it. I chewed my lower
lip trying to decide what to do.
- Suppose I brazenly opened the
door and found myself in the
middle of JoAnn Tate’s living
room during the taping of a
terribly emotional scene. Let’s
face it, how fast can you write a
person into a script? Having
inhaled bravely and gathered
together all of my courage, I
reached forward to pull open
the door. It flew open and I was
almost run over by Anthony
George. I gasped.
Now for those of you who
aren’t up on your soap operas,
Anthony George just happens to
be the soap opera idol of
millions of American women.
You cannot imagine the number
of women who in their daily fan-
tasies have been unfaithful to
their husbands with Anthony
George. And there he was about
to step on my left shoe. Anthony
George assured me I could go
right on in.
Iwent right on in. There I was
on the set. It was quiet on the set
(heh, heh). It was a large room,
about the size of a big square
gymnasium. In the center of the
floor were several movable
cameras, a boom microphone,
and other equipment. Surround-
ing these were the various sets:
a kitchen, a foyer, a living
room, the restaurant setting,
and a doctor’s office. Overhead,
hanging from an amazing
framework of pipes, were lights
and microphones. It was fascin-
ating.
Having joined the other ex-
tras, I sat in the restaurant
scene to watch the rehearsal
until our scene. Suddenly, she
appeared: JoAnn Tate. Oh
wow! Little did I know when I
was a skinny little kid in grade
school that one day years later I
would be a skinny little adult
appearing on a television show
with the very JoAnn Tate I
watched during those days of
peanut butter and jelly sand-
wiches. She had always been so
brave, so staunch, so pure.
She had undoubtedly effected
my psychological makeup. And
now, I was in the very same
room with her. I wanted to run
up and say, “Miss Tate I used to
watch you years and years and
years ago when I was a mere
child, and I think you've ef-
fected my psychological
makeup.” But then I decided
that might be kind of a back-
ward compliment, so I didn’t do
anything. I just watched, wait-
ing for the moment when she
would quiver her lower lip.
We rehearsed the half-hour
program, with commercials,
four times before the final
taping. Timing was noted, and
bits of business were added to
fill in extra seconds here and
there. We were given Ritz
crackers to eat in what was
supposedly an Italian res-
taurant. I think that says some-
thing about the American
image of Italian eating. We
were also given drinks which
supposedly contained drinkable
tea. That was a lie: it was un-
drinkable tea. Oh well, every
actor has to suffer.
In the scene immediately pre-
ceding ours, there was a baby of
some six or eight months who
was on camera for maybe 30
seconds. Could have been a
whole minute. Somebody came
over to our table and remarked
that the baby was getting $200
BUICK Jl BUICK 4
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noing ME Ing HE woinal
for its performance. I found that
a bit depressing. There was this
child, who had probably never
had an acting lesson in its life,
being paid all that money. And
here 1 was with a Bachelor’s
degree in theatre arts being
paid a good deal less. Now, how
fair is that?
The show was taped on a
Tuesday and was to be viewed
the following Friday, Feb. 5.
Word was sent out to the
parents, brothers and sisters,
aunts and uncles, and neigh-
bors. All gathered around their
televisions Friday, ready to
catch a glimpse of Bruce
Hopkins. The entire staff of
Publishers’ Weekly magazine
went to lunch together Friday.
They went to a little bar and
restaurant in New York, and
demanded that the bartender
put on ‘‘Search For
Tomorrow.” That brought a lot
of stares from the men at the
bar. However, the bartender
complied by tuning in CBS, and
the entire staff of Publishers’
Weekly magazine stood there
watching the men walk on the
moon. I had been pre-empted by
Alan Shepard and his golf ball.
That meant I had to wait until
Monday. And Monday, standing
in the television department of
Korvette’s Fifth Avenue
Department Store, a large
portion of the P.W. staff watch
JoAnn Tate’s lower lip quiver.
The clerk at Korvette’s thought
we wanted to
purchase a color TV and was
doing his best to show us the
merits of the particular model
that we were watching. He
assured us we could watch it for
awhile. My scene was midpoint
in the program and it seemed to
be taking forever to get there.
Just as the scene was about to
begin, the clerk returned to
show us how nicely the other
channels were received. He was
pounced upon by four P.W.
staffers.
Then I appeared through the
miracle of video tape. I was in
full view for a good portion of
the restaurant scene: I chewed
and chatted just like any old boy
you might see in a restaurant.
The P.W. Staff agreed that it
was a distinguished perfor-
mance. Maybe not award-winn-
ing, but distinguished all the
same. I had been a hit as atmos-
phere.
The reports came in from all
over. I received a telegram
from a former student of my
teaching days. It said, ‘“‘Con-
gratulations superstar: you
chew divinely.” My sister
received dozens of calls in -
Smethport, Pa., where the
people thought that with my
hair so long I looked just like
her. Relatives in Endicott and
Cazenovia and Huntingdon
Valley were suddenly a bit more
important since my television
debut.
As for me, I haven’t changed
much. I've tried to remain the
mutually
THE DALLAS POST, MARCH 25, 1971
Will success spoil Bruce?
same down-to-earth, calm,
warm-hearted individual that I
have always been. Success has
not spoiled Bruce Hopkins. I
still remember my friends, and
refer to them by name when I
see them. When people stop me
on the street and ask if I am the
person who was in the back-
ground of the restaurant scene
in the Feb. 8 episode of ‘‘Search
For Tomorrow” I always smile
and chat with them a bit. Some-
times I autograph their gum
wrappers and things. I try to be
areal guy. That makes the fans
happy, you know.
Having become a star, I
immediately contracted a
combination of mononucleosis
and viral pneumonia. However,
now that I have pretty much re-
cuperated, I am about to return
to ‘the city to continue my
career. Today —‘‘Search For
Tomorrow’; tomorrow—‘'As
The World Turns.” Who knows
where it could lead? Someday I
migh even do a commercial.
Now, that’s when you know
your’ve made it.
(NOTE, For information
about the Bruce Hopkins Fan
Club, write: Mrs. Fay Hopkins,
Dallas, Pa.)
Larry Ide is
recovering at home
Larry Ide, a senior at Dallas
Senior High School, is recupera-
ting at his home following a
month-long bout with mononu-
cleosis.
According to his mother, Mrs.
Lawrence Ide, Larry will be at
home for several more weeks.
The infectious stage of the dis-
ease has passed, she reports,
and friends may come to visit
Larry at the Ide home, 114 Rice
St., Trucksville.
The Dallas Post ( J. KOZEMCHAK SR.)
Red Cross workers
will receive awards
The Wyoming Valley
Chapter, American Red Cross,
will observe Volunteer Recogni-
tion Week with its 54th annual
awards meeting scheduled
April 1 at 7:30 p.m. Mrs. Aston
Davis, chairman of volunteers,
made the announcement last
week.
At the meeting, which begins
at 7:30 p.m. at the American
Legion Home, 45 N. River St.,
Wilkes-Barre, 106 volunteers
will be presented pins covering
from five to 45 years of service
to the community through Red
Cross. The awards meeting will
be informal, with time for vol-
unteers to renew old acquaint-
ances or make new ones, Mrs.
Davis said.
SHOE STORE
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Shavertown
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Parking
675-5121
Expert handling was necessary to clear “hot” power wires from
the area after the Saturday night accident on Dug Road in
Kingston Township. A UGI pole fell across the road, landing on
the vehicle involved.
Dallas Women to sponsor hunt
Two hundred and fifty win-
ning Easter Eggs will be in-
cluded in the assortment of
Easter eggs to be chosen by
Back Mountain youngsters in
the fith annual Easter egg hunt
Saturday, April 3. The hunt will
be held in the Dallas Senior
High School gymnasium from 1
to 3 p.m.
Conducted under the auspices
of the Dallas Jr. Woman’s Club,
the Easter egg hunt this year is
being planned by Mrs. Thomas
Benton.
Children up to and including 8
years of age are asked to bring
$.25 and an Easter basket to the
gymnasium. No registration for
the hunt is necessary.
FE CKERT’S
Power Equipment
Whee Forse Tractors
Torc Fehn Eclipse
Lawn Boy
Perre. Mowers
Yard Man Mowers
Rte. 309
above grade or below.
WATERPLUG is forced into the pre-
pared cracks and joints starting at
top of wall and working downward.
Hold WATERPLUG in place, where
necessary, for 3 minutes for perfect
sealing. Form cove of WATERPLUG
at junction of floor and wall.
THOROSEAL is a heavy, cement-base coat-
ing that waterproofs, protects and beauti-
fies concrete and masonry inside or out—
It is designed for
the maximum durability and sealing pow-
er—actually becoming part of the surface.
"THOROSEAL assures complete protection
against water or weather damage.
Pick Up
And
Delivery
PAGE THREE
Lehman Boy Scouts
near paper drive end
Lehman Boy Scout Troop 241
will wind up its paper and
magazine drive April 3.
Although the scouts have had
good response, they are anxious
to collect more paper to assure
the success of their drive.
Persons who have newspap-
ers or magazines may drop
them off at any time Monday,
Tuesday or Wednesday at the
Lehman United Methodist
Church basement, or take them
to the scouts, April 3, the last
day of the drive, between the
hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. at
Willard Carey’s barn on the
Lehman-Huntsville Road, near
i Lehman Center.
It is possible that there might
be some arrangements made to
| help with extremely large
" loads. :
Information concerning the
drive is available by contacting
James Hopple, 675-3166, or any
member of the troop.
Lake taxpayers
to meet Tuesday
Harveys Lake Borough Tax-
payers Association will meet
March 30 at Daniel C. Roberts
Fire Hall at 8 p.m. The subject
for discussion will be the
“million dollar school.” Robert
Belles, supervising principal at
Lake-Lehman High School, will
speak on the need and planning
of the school. All taxpayers are
urged to attend.
Mini-Bikes
Yard Man Riders
Gasoline Eng. Pumps
Hahn Eclipse & Toro Tillers
Remington Cha. Saws
All cracks and defective joints filled
with WATERPLUG are immediately
prime coated with THOROSEAL. Then
apply THOROSEAL with coarse fi-
bered brush to entire wall surface.
Plug weep holes with WATERPLUG,
cover with THOROSEAL.
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94 S. Main Street, Wilkes-Barre
48 N. Wyoming St., Hazleton
WATERPLUG A perfectly hydraulic ce-
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Plugs even high-power leaks—instantly, be-
coming harder, more resistant under con-
constant water pressure.
This finished Thoroseal coating now
thoroughly waterproofs the walls,
locks deep into masonry pores seal-
ing out water. The decorative,
brushed-on texture can be further fin-
ished, if desired, with other effective
Thoro System Products,
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STORES
675-1339
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