The star of classic 1960s TV shows "The Wild, Wild West" and "Hawaiian Eye" has taken on a new role - transforming Auburn's State Theatre into a performing arts center.
Robert Conrad is coming to Auburn in August to share his wit and wisdom in conversation with Sacramento news anchor Jennifer Smith.
Visiting Auburn to inspect downtown's Depression-era State Theatre, Conrad talked about his candidacy for president of the Screen Actors Guild, his plans to direct a new movie this coming September, and the central role he'll play Aug. 27 in an event organized by the Auburn Placer Performing Arts Center Committee.
Dubbed "An Evening With Robert Conrad in conversation with TV anchorwoman Jennifer Smith," it will focus on the actor-director-commercial pitchman's nearly 50 years in the entertainment business.
Conrad, a longtime resident of the Bear Valley ski resort community, said the program will be an offshoot of his appearance for the Screen Actors Guild in a series highlighting actors who have endured in the business.
Smith, a Sacramento News10 anchor, has been recruited to provide the questions for a program at the Placer High School Auditorium. That will be preceded by a reception at the State Theatre on Lincoln Way.
Inspecting the Auburn theater building, Conrad said it's similar to the ones he would go to - and sometimes sneak into through a side door - as a child growing up in Chicago.
"This has wonderful acoustics," Conrad said as he walked through the theatre's two viewing rooms. He noted the films would not have been shown in widescreen format during his childhood and the cost to get in would have been a dime.
"This is historical and intimate," Conrad said. "This would be a great place to take your family or girlfriend to on a Friday or Saturday night."
Conrad's connection to a theater restoration effort in Auburn comes from his association with attorney Dave Mackenroth, a member of the Arts Center Committee and owner of the Big O Tire store across Lincoln Way from the theater. Mackenroth has provided legal assistance to Conrad in the past. Conrad, 70 and semi-retired from show business, accepted his invitation to assist.
An Evening With Bob Conrad
When: 8 p.m. Aug. 27
Where: Placer High School Auditorium
Tickets: $25 each
Call: Auburn Symphony office, 823-6683.
"I consider anything from here to Merced the same community," said Conrad, who once considered re-locating from Los Angeles to Auburn before settling on the Bear Valley.
Conrad said that he would like to impart some of his experience on young people interested in getting into the entertainment business. He'll also be open to answering questions stemming from his starring roles in TV shows and the celebrity status that comes with it.
Conrad was a theater student at Northwestern University who moved into off-Broadway roles before finding work in Hollywood. His breakthrough came in "Hawaiian Eye" but he's probably best known for his role as a secret agent working for the Grant administration in the Gilded Age. "The Wild, Wild West," was a mixture of James Bond-gadgetry, Wild West punch-ups and even some science fiction during its run on network TV from 1965 to 1970.
In the late 1970s, Conrad would find success on the air again with the World War II war drama "Black Sheep Squadron (titled "Baa Baa Black Sheep" its first year)." Conrad also starred in the TV miniseries "Centennial" in 1978, playing a trapper from age 35 to 65.
Later, he would win kudos for playing G. Gordon Liddy in "Will" and as the TV face on commercials for Duracell batteries. "C'mon, I dare you to knock it off," he would say, creating an oft-repeated catch phrase.
For Mackenroth, Conrad's performance could be the start of similar events bringing more entertainers and celebrities to the city in support of the $6 million restoration project.
"He represents a whole range of contacts," Mackenroth said, noting that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is one possibility. Conrad and the governor appeared in the movie "Jingle All the Way."
The road to resurrecting the State Theatre as a performing arts center will take years of effort and vision, Mackenroth said.
Conrad's performance this August may be the push the drive needs to provide recognition and ultimately funding for the project, he said.
"I know Bob Conrad's committed to doing the best he can," Mackenroth said.
The Journal's Gus Thomson can be reached at gust@goldcountrymedia.com. |
