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Laverty’s Oakland-Hollywood Link by Camilla Stein
Character actor Larry Laverty on his beloved Lake Merritt, Oakland, not far from where he grew up and still lives. photo: courtesy L. Laverty
To find a gem in the dirt one needs to dig deep, with the stamina of a gold miner and the patience of a priest. Hollywood is no different.
Larry Laverty entered his search early and though it led through many mixtures of stones and specks of gold, he did not digress or tarry. For years, he was one of the hardest working bit players in Hollywood, known for his scintillating secondary characters in Gus Van Sant's "Elephant"(2003), in the elegant noir, "The Hamiltons" (2006), by the local enfants terribles, the Butcher Bros, and up to a dozen other parts a year.
This year he will star in the family television drama "Treasure State."
Born in Oakland in 1959, Laverty grew up in during dramatic changes in its demographics, politics and economics. Although Oakland’s nationally-known multiculturalism always had a warm charm of its own, turmoil was unavoidable.
In 1964, the youthful Larry made his first appearance on television in "The Captain Satellite Show" with Bob March at KTVU Studios, at Jack London Square, setting in motion a chain of events that would change his life forever. After messing around during his twenties, he graduated to acting at Oakland's Woodminster Amphitheater starting in 1988 with "My Fair Lady"; and working with the Oakland filmmaker Ron Pereiraon his music video "Dancer" (1990), and shorts, the award-winning "Kid"(1991) and "Smoker" (1996).
An aspiring athlete as a youth, Laverty got a good close up at what competition among rivals is about and the price of success. That skill built his perseverance and determination on the set. Today, he is a passionate and dedicated professional actor with stellar references.
Laverty on location in Montana for his new television show, 'Treasure State'. photo: courtesy L. Laverty
“Larry's a gifted actor and a wonderful person. He brings great insights to his characters, more than most and that makes things easier and fun as a director," notes James Snapko, a writer/director of well received shorts and the owner of Collision Pictures. "His experience in the film industry, in particular indie films, is invaluable. He’s done it all and he shares that with the people around him. He makes everyone involved better.”
Laverty attributes this in large measure to the intensity and diversity of growing up in 1960s Oakland.
“From an early age, six or seven, my Dad would take me with him to anti-war protests, mainly in neighboring Berkeley," Laverty told me. "I vividly remember looking up at the line of National Guard soldiers that had been called out to maintain some semblance of order. The smell of pot, cigarettes and booze was in the air."
"We lived in the flight path for the approach to the Alameda Naval Air Station, from which the Vietnam War was fought. All day, every day, airplanes of all sizes would rattle our windows. That social angst, that energy, I've experienced off and on all my life in Oakland. Oh and then there's the Hell's Angels..."
The Oakland chapter of the Angels rose to prominence under its president, Sonny Barger, and the publicity from Hunter S. Thompson's first and name-making book, "Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs" (1966).
"The movie theater I went to as a kid was about a mile from their clubhouse. The roar of Harleys rolling up to park out front just added to the ambiance: the Vietnam-war protests and the black folks rising up too, the Black Panthers and all." Although Laverty sympathized with the Panthers, it was sometime tough growing up white in Oakland.
"Throughout my childhood, I experienced racism, or what might be called reverse racism. Black kids were always picking on my white intellectual friends, just going up and punching them for no reason. I was left alone, for the most part, as I was into sports and respected for that."
"But it caught up with me too in the Oakland All-City track meet. From the moment my school's team got off our bus, there was a tension in the air. With few exceptions, the crowd at the track, was all black, as were the athletes. When I went to the line prior to my race, it started. 'Kick whitey's ass!' or 'Snatch that white boy!' on and on, and throughout my race."
"But I had a small victory. I won and just missed a national record in the process. It was challenging in many ways, growing up [white] in Oakland. Everybody's a minority. There are equal proportions of white, black, and Hispanic and Asian. [Hence] when I hear minorities talking about being a minority in America, it holds little ground with me."
Laverty on the occasion of his first television appearance with Bob Marche in 'The Captain Satellite Show', KTVU Studios, Jack London Square, 1964. photo: courtesy L. Laverty
"And then there's the crime. Yes, I guess Oakland has an international reputation. I was first held up when I was in the 3rd grade, in a school hallway, for my bus money. This continued on and on, including an event three years ago at gunpoint."
"It's no wonder why so many white folks moved out of Oakland during the '60s and '70s. Out of all the kids I started kindergarten with I graduated high school with six of them. All the rest had moved out to the suburbs—away from the challenges."
"I remember my Dad saying, 'We're not leaving. We're not moving out to Fairy Land [a children's theme park in Oakland that inspired Disney].' He and my Mom are still in Oakland to this day. You fall in love [with a place], and those feelings don't dissipate easily."
"Geographically Oakland is a beautiful, beautiful place with a park up in the hills that overlooks the city and a gorgeous lake on the fringe of downtown. My family's here—my parent's have both gone blind—the beauty of the surrounding area, and all the wonderful people who are living constructive lives. That's why I'm still here and doing all I can to better the place.”
“And here's to my Irish forefathers," Laverty said, raising an imaginary glass and breaking into a little brogue, "For supplyin' me with the madness to stick with a career in the arts. And to my Native American blood that keeps both feet on the ground.” Perhaps it is his Indian roots that give him the metaphysical power to express himself in film in articulate and distinct way.
“I'm about two percent Narragansett [Rhode Island] from when my family first came to America. I didn't know about this until I was older but maybe it explains in some remote way why I've felt such a strong affinity for Native Americans. The first books I read in my life around age of 11 were books like 'Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee,' [those] are the only books I've ever read that really meant anything to me."
Laverty now resides half-time in Hollywood, commuting to the film sets and studios, managing his network and fan base and working with his casting agency to generate new appearances in cinema and television. His roles now number over hundred and growing almost monthly. The chaos of Hollywood is demanding and living half-time in Oakland presents logistical challenges but Laverty will never cut his ties with his home city which has brought him so much rich culture and experience.
With the girls of a production of 'My Fair Lady' at Oakland's Woodminster Amphitheater, early in his acting career, 1988. photo: courtesy L. Laverty
“Had it not been for my overhearing two actors talking about a film audition while we were rehearsing a play at the Woodminster Amphitheater, who knows where I'd be today," Laverty mused. "But I went to that audition and did that first film, James Dodson's 'Deadlock' [1989], which shot in part in Alameda, and then I went on over the next couple of years to take part in a number of other low-budget film projects and student films in the Bay Area."
"At that same time, I hooked up in San Francisco with the first talent agency to represent me. Soon after that, I realized that most of Northern California film, TV commercial and industrial production took place in San Francisco. In my search for work, I looked hard, real hard, around my hometown—but came up empty. Only once or twice did I work in Oakland."
Those hometown breaks were big though. "I had grown up in Oakland with Ron Pereira, a California College of Arts & Crafts graduate who made a name for himself in advertising. During the late 1980s, mentored by Tony Scott ("Top Gun" 1992), he took a stab at filmmaking, first with two music videos, each shot in Oakland. He then went on to critical acclaim with the short film 'Kid' (1991), shot in Oakland on 35mm stock."
"I helped out with each production, not acting but behind the scenes in various production duties. Here I was in my hometown, making a movie! We had the support of Monaco Labs, Saul Zaentz, George Lucas, the best of the best of the Northern California crew people, and a sizable budget for a short film."
"Ron and I would smile these big 'ol smiles each time we'd get a moment to take a look at the lineup of trucks full of equipment that we'd amassed for the production."
"Once the shoot was done, I soon realized that if I wanted to make film acting a career, I'd have to do get established in LA. In order to land my first agent there, I produced a series of short films, employing another childhood friend in Oakland who'd become a camera operator, Bart Reis."
"I wrote, directed, and hired the best Bay Area actors to star with me. Then I culled the best of these shorts into clips that then composed a five-minute demo reel. The fella who became my first agent in LA agreed to look at it and then called me in."
Laverty with Oakland filmmaker Ron Pereira behind steadicam operator Mike Elwell on Alice Street, downtown Oakland during a production of the music video 'Dancer' 1990. photo: courtesy L. Laverty
"From that day forward, I drove and I flew, back n' forth, back n' forth. I became a commuter on Southwest Airlines. I'd stay in LA for days at a time on friend's couches, floors, and eventually found a run-down residential motel that I’d call home. From there, I'd go out almost every day to perform in showcases for industry notables and auditioned and worked at an increasing rate."
"After about four years at this, I was established. I was auditioning weekly for the top shows on TV and working a number of them. So that's how it went. Back n' forth, back n' forth."
"After taking several years away from LA to work indie films in other parts of the country, I returned to LA last year and am basically restarting my career with a new manager. The back n' forth has started all over again."
"People often ask me, why don't you just move down there? Well, I far prefer Northern California and my roots and my parents—who have both gone blind—are in Oakland. Thanks to cell phones, the computer, and Southwest Airlines, I've bridged the Oakland-Hollywood gap in my own way.”
Most recent years and the recession brought back the sentiment of uncertainty and insecurity to Oakland, and the city’s film industry, having previously played a serious part in the local economy came at the receiving end of many backlashes. Balancing on the edge of stagnation and depression, Oakland’s filmmakers do not despair and keep seeking new ideas, all while looking forward to opening new doors and creating a brighter future for their hometown. Nevertheless, Laverty looks at the city’s perspectives with a keen eye of a versatile professional.
“Two years ago I worked on a film called 'The Hush' with Oakland’s resident and filmmaker Vincent Cortez. His Mitchell Street Pictures, comprised of other talented artists, dedicated family, and friends is an inspiration to me that films can be made here in Oakland by Oakland residents. Everywhere we went on the streets of Oakland, inside and out, there was a crew of 20-something technicians and supporters, all rallied solely by Vincent. It was very moving, inspiring."
"I've found it a bit of an irony that one of the world's most respected filmmakers and actors, Clint Eastwood, is from Oakland. I attended the premiere of Clint's "True Crime" which shot largely in Oakland and thought to myself what a wonderful moment that premiere was. It was just a taste of something that LA experiences all the time. Many years have passed since then and still no events of any similar significance."
"Oakland, as a simple matter of fact, is not generally a part of the itinerary for European tourists or families from Topeka. We don't have cable cars, a Fisherman's Wharf, a Coit Tower, or a Golden Gate Bridge. If we did, it'd be a different story. It's a pretty tall order to lure LA film people over to Oakland when they have more than enough of what they need in San Francisco."
"So how does Oakland score? Well, I remember working in San Jose during the late 80s and early 90s. That city had a very talented and aggressive film commissioner who worked the system, backed by the full support of the city fathers. Features, movies of the week, you name it, all came to San Jose during that period."
"Oakland city officials would have to make a complete turnaround in a number of areas and follow San Jose's model. How else does Oakland get going? Well, we have several film schools in the area, including Emeryville, and it strikes me that there's some potential there.”
Oakland has a rich and controversial history making it the perfect urban setting for a big budget all-American picture, about and for Americans, according to Laverty. The chance to create here a masterpiece with an indigenous domestic flavor and a potential international appeal should not be wasted.
Camilla Stein is a film writer and reviewer who writes the blog, Camilla Stein Review, and splits her time between Holland and California.