Paul Dooley - Movie Dad: Finding Myself and My Family, on Screen and Off

Paul Dooley is a veteran actor who, in his six-decade career, has appeared in movies, in television, and on the stage. He was a co-creator and head writer of The Electric Company, the award-winning TV show for the Childrens Television Workshop. He is married to Winnie Holzman, who, with famed songwriter Stephen Schwartz, created the hit Broadway musical Wicked. More at www.pauldooleyactor.com

When Savannah was quite young, my wife and I were able to drive her to and from school. When Winnie went into production for My So-Called Life and I got busy doing movies, we found a young woman, Shauna Marlin, who would pick up our daughter from school at three oclock, bring her home, give her a bite to eat, and be there until we got home.

Shauna was so capable and so reliable, we later expanded her duties to include household tasks, bookkeeping, monitoring our medications, and later handling ticket requests for Wicked, as well as countless other responsibilities. She became invaluable to us. In addition, Shauna is a kindhearted person, a kind of an Earth Mother. Shes been with us for more than twenty-five years now, and she has become a member of our family. We dont know what wed do without her.

A friend of Winnies recommended a housekeeper. Veda turned out to be a treasure. She takes care of our home as if it were her own and even tends to our flowers. We love her and are grateful that she has been in our lives for more than ten years.

I like to take care of things around the house, but there are projects I cant always do myself. I got to know this handyman, Frank Velazquez, but hes not just a handyman, hes a jack-of-all-trades and master of, well, everything. Over the last fifteen years he has been my eyes and my hands. If I can imagine or design anything, he can execute it. Hes done more than a hundred jobs, large and small, for me, inside and outside the house.

Three blocks from our home there was a Pilates studio. Winnie went to check it out and decided to start taking classes. She suggested I join her. I was never an exercise guy, never went to the gym, but I went just once to see what it was like.

I wasnt interested in the classes (it seemed like a lot of work), but I was impressed by the instructor. I found him, Bruce Burchmore, to be a kindred spirit. He was very funny. Like me, he loved wordplay and comedy. I was hooked. I started classes.

Bruce would take me through one exercise perfectly imitating Sean Connery, another sounding like Homer Simpson, or Mr. Magoo, or one of the Beatles. Every session was like a ping-pong game of jokes and celebrity voices. I never learned to love all that stretching, but I stretched it out for more than ten years.

Beginning in 1980, Jeffrey Rosenhouse, my CPA, also became my business manager and, wisely, found opportunities to make investments on my behalf. He also set up a pension plan for the future, and, for forty years he has advised me and Winnie on all of our finances and has done so extremely well. Our entire family appreciates Jeffs guidance.

We found a primary care doctor, Ronald Sue, and have been taken care of by him for twenty-five years. People sometimes describe a doctor as having a bedside manner. Well, Ron has never made a house call or been anywhere near my bedside but he has been the most concerned, most caring, almost fatherly doctor we could have ever hoped for.

One day, a miracle came to our front door. Her name was Fiona Lakeland. It was 2015.

She had been recommended to us by our friend Bruce, who knew we were looking for a new assistant. Fiona is an actress and a writer. She is attractive, charming, and, well, sort of a genius. She would schedule meetings, then reschedule them when necessary, order things online, return them when necessary. Take messages, arrange appointments, cancel them when necessary. Print stuff, recycle paper well, you get the idea. All this was done with unfailing cheerfulness and remarkable efficiency. Fiona is whip-smart and never needs a to-do list; she keeps it all in her head.

Eventually, she produced my one-man show, and as I began my book, she became my alter ego, my voice. Since I dont use a computer, our process is as follows: I write every day, then dictate my pages to Fiona by phone, and once a week she prints out a new version of my work and sends it to me. She also acts as an editor. She knows the manuscript like the back of her lovely hand.

She has been invaluable to me. Without her, this book may have been just a pamphlet.

And finally, but certainly not least, I would like to acknowledge my publishing team at Applause Books. John Cerullo (former senior executive editor) and Carol Flannery (former senior acquisitions editor) were instrumental in getting things started; Im very grateful for their confidence in what the book would become. Additionally, Chris Chappel (senior acquisitions editor), Barbara Claire (editorial assistant), Laurel Meyers (editorial assistant), Megan Murray (production editor), and the entire team at Applause Books have all been wonderful to work with.

The Out of Towners (1970)Hotel Clerk, with Jack Lemmon

Death Wish (1974)Cop at Hospital

Slap Shot (1977)Hockey Announcer, with Paul Newman

A Wedding (1978)with Carol Burnett and Mia Farrow; directed byRobert Altman

A Perfect Couple (1979)with Marta Heflin; directed by Robert Altman

Breaking Away (1979)Dad, with Dennis Christopher; directed by Peter Yates; screenplay by Steve Tesich

Health (1980)Dr. Gil Gainey, with Carol Burnett, James Garner, Glenda Jackson, and Lauren Bacall; directed by Robert Altman

Popeye (1980)Wimpy, with Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall; directed by Robert Altman; screenplay by Jules Feiffer

Kiss Me Goodbye (1982)with Jeff Bridges

Strange Brew (1983)Claude Elsinore, with Max von Sydow

Sixteen Candles (1984)Jim Baker, with Molly Ringwald; directed by John Hughes

OC and Stiggs (1985)Randall Schwab, with Cynthia Nixon and Jon Cryer; directed by Robert Altman

Shakes the Clown (1991)with Bobcat Goldthwait

My Boyfriends Back (1993)Big Chuck, with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Cloris Leachman; directed by Bob Balaban

Waiting for Guffman (1996)UFO Abductee, with CatherineOHara, Eugene Levy, Parker Posey, and Christopher Guest; directed by Christopher Guest

Angels in the Endzone (1997)Coach Buck

Clockwatchers (1997)Bud Chapman, with Toni Collette

Happy Texas (1999)The Judge, with William H. Macy

Runaway Bride (1999)with Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, and JoanCusack

Insomnia (2002)with Al Pacino, Robin Williams, and Hilary Swank

A Mighty Wind (2003)directed by Christopher Guest

Come Away Home (2005)Grandpa Donald Brooks, with LeaThompson and Thomas Gibson

Cars (2006), Cars 2 (2011), Cars 3 (2017)voice of Sarge

For Your Consideration (2006)directed by Christopher Guest

Hairspray (2007)with John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Christopher Walken

Horsemen (2009)Father Whiteleather, with Dennis Quaid

Other People (2016)with Molly Shannon and Jesse Plemons

The Great Buster (2018)Self (documentary), with Mel Brooks,Dick Van Dyke, Frank Capra, and Peter Bogdanovich; directed by Bogdanovich

Saving Paradise (2021)Gramps

The Tonight Show