Mike and Conan: Two Irish Boys Together

Cousin Mike is going to be on Conan O’Brien tonight. Make sure to watch!

Although this is great for Mike, I don’t think anything could compare to throwing out the first pitch at Fenway Park.

I mean, seriously, to a lifelong Red Sox fan, once THAT has happened, what more can one ask of life? (Except that you tuck in your shirt the next time you throw out the first pitch?)

I had a conversation with Mike today about my script, making plans for it for the next coule of months and also about the screening of his movie (that he wrote) which is happening in New York tonight (I couldn’t go, although I saw the rough cut a couple months ago – it’s absolutely wonderful – I’ve seen it in its many incarnations as a stage play, and it’s wonderful to see it come to life onscreen). He never mentioned Conan O’Brien. As always, cousin Mike is focused on THE WORK, on generating more work, on talking about the work, on making plans for the future.

A future that we clearly could not see right here.

That would be, from left to right, my cousin Liam, me in all my glory, busting out of my onesie, and cousin Mike. Our personalities have not changed since that day.

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20 Responses to Mike and Conan: Two Irish Boys Together

  1. Dan says:

    //I mean, seriously, to a lifelong Red Sox fan, once THAT has happened, what more can one ask of life? //

    Truly. Dude can retire now.

  2. sheila says:

    Totally. That’s IT.

  3. Charles J. Sperling says:

    Loudon Wainwright III?

    What can I say but:

    “Keep your hemp and your mushrooms
    Your smack and nembutal
    Me I’m into fruit and grains –
    Give me alcohol!
    Call me thirsty, call me oral
    Call me what you like
    But when I’m sober, call me Loudon
    Do not call me Mike!”

    Of course not, Captain Calvin Spalding, because it’s a “Certainty” that there’s only room for one Mike in this movie! (Just like there was only room for one “Bill” in Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys, which was why he introduced banjo virtuoso Bill Keith as “Brad.”)

    In the spirit of THE WORK, here’s Lou Reed and Cale’s “Work,” one of their “Songs for Drella”:

    Andy was a Catholic
    The ethic ran through his bones
    He lived alone with his mother
    collecting gossip and toys

    Every Sunday when hewent to Church
    He’d kneel in his pew and say
    “It’s work, all that matters is work.”

    He was a lot of things
    What I remember most he’d say
    “I’ve got to bering home the bascon
    Someone’s got to bring home the roast.”

    He’d get to the Factory early
    If you’d ask him he’d tell you straight out
    It’s work

    No matter what I did it never seemed enough
    He said I was lazy, I said I was young
    He said, “How many songs did you write?”
    I’d written zero, I’d liked and said, “Ten.”

    “You won’t be young forever
    You should have written fifteen”
    It’s work

    “You ought to make things big
    People like it that way
    And the songs with the dirty words
    Make sure you record them that way”

    Andy liked to stir up trouble
    He was funny that way
    He said, “It’s just work”

    Andy sat down to talk one day
    He said decide what you want
    Do you want to expand your parameters
    Or play museums like some dilettante?

    I fired him on the spot
    He got red and called me a rat
    It was the worst word that he could think of
    And I’ve never seen him like that
    It’s work, I thought he said, it’s just work

    Andy said a lot of things
    I stored them all away in my head
    Sometrimes when I can’t decide what I should do
    I think what would Andy have said

    He’d probably say you think too much
    That’s ’cause there’s work that you don’t want to do
    It’s work, the most important thing is work
    It’s work, the most important thing is work…

    Three cheers and a Sox (tigers are for Detroit)!

  4. litdreamer says:

    That’s pretty cool that you have a cousin in “the business,” as they say. A good interview on Conan, too.

    My mom’s family is from the Boston area, so I just have to ask: what was it like for your family when the Red Sox won in 2004? My brother-in-law (part Irish) went up to Boston to watch the final game at the bar across from Fenway.

  5. sheila says:

    Litdreamer -There’s actually a ton of family members in “the business”. My aunt Regina, uncle Tom, cousin Tim, my brother Brendan, my sister Siobhan, my cousin Kerry, my cousin Emma, cousin Ian, cousin Bridget – I’m probably missing many more. Actors, musicians, singers, directors … We grew up in “the business”. I was an actor for a bunch of years, I’ve acted in Chicago/Philadelphia/New York and still consider myself in the business, with the script I’ve just written and the reading workshops I’ve had of said script. Production to follow!

    That’s why when people make blanket statements about the stupidity of actors or Hollywood I write them off as ignorant. It’s a business like any other. Filled with good people, hard workers, artists, and technicians. And sure, some assholes. I bet there are more assholes on Wall Street than there are on movie and TV sets. I grew up surrounded by these people. It was never a pie-in-the-sky weird thing to want to do to want to be an actor – because I saw my aunt Regina doing it, and it was just a regular job. That’s how it seemed to me. I don’t even know what these idiots are talking about when they paint all actors with the same brush. They certainly don’t know MY family.

  6. sheila says:

    Oh, and to your second question. Here is the post I wrote on the morning of October 28, 2004. Pretty much sums it up. Outrageous. I’ll never forget it, and also very glad my dad was alive to see it. Sad that my uncle Jimmy didn’t live to see it.

    That must have been nuts for your brother-in-law. My dad was at Game 4 of the series in Fenway – you can actually see him and my uncle Terry in the footage (they were right behind the plate). I think that was the game that went to 11 innings. It was nuts. Let me check.

  7. sheila says:

    Yes, Game 4 in the series with the Yankees – it went to 12 innings. That was a hugely important game too (well, they all were) – but they needed to win it. And they did. Dad and Uncle Terry were there, right behind the plate! Dad got home at like 2, 3 in the morning – it was the longest baseball game ever played – hahaha – and was like, “I am way too old for this shit.”

  8. Rude1 says:

    “I bet there are more assholes on Wall Street than there are on movie and TV sets.”

    Only a sucker would take that bet! Wall Street probably has the Asshole demographic cornered… ;-)

  9. sheila says:

    Yes, you’re probably right! I suppose “asshole” does help you get ahead in that shark Wall St. environment – but it is the total opposite in acting/movies/theatre, where you must collaborate and work together. The arrogant nitwits are the exception, not the rule!

  10. sheila says:

    And unlike politics and office jobs, mediocrity actually doesn’t rise in the entertainment world. Perhaps it does in the realm of producing and the back-office (especially now – this was not so much true back in the studio days) – but in terms of talent and technicians like lighting designers/sound guys/gaffers – even catering services and drivers? Mediocrity is shunned almost immediately – the pack can sniff it. Those people don’t last long.

  11. Rude1 says:

    That’s true, in most cases untalented actors may get a break or two based on their looks, but soon fade away. Although some do keep poping back up no matter what… I still don’t know why anyone puts Paris Hilton in anything. Just sayin…

  12. sheila says:

    Well, but they may be hard-working and fun to be around, which counts for a lot. In terms of the jobs Paris has gotten, nobody has a bad thing to say about her behavior on set. People liked her, she was totally game, no tantrums, and she was serious about what she wanted to do. And also she’s a guaranteed ticket-seller (maybe not so much now but back in her heyday she was). Like any job, it’s going to be a mix of personality and talent.

  13. Rude1 says:

    Yeah, I guess that counts for something. Now that I think about it, it’s more the publics fault; if she brings in money (public buying tickets) from a business standpoint, why not hire her even if she can’t convince me it’s her pretending to be someone she’s not.

    For me, the mark of a good actor is making me forget who the actor is and to believe they are the character.

    I’ll shut up now, I’m in way over my head! ;-)

  14. sheila says:

    I am in no way, shape or form saying that Paris Hilton is a good actor. Just that she wanted to do those projects, she sought them out, was willing to do whatever the director asked, showed up ontime, blah blah blah. She’s famous for nothing really, but there’s room for all kinds in a business like this one.

    I mean, we can see how truly talented people are punished when their behavior goes off the rails – due to drug addiction, or mental illness, or whatever. Lindsay Lohan comes to mind, a lovely talented girl, and I hope she gets her shit together. People who don’t understand the business sneer at her stupid movies lately – but what they don’t get is that she has become un-insurable. No insurance company will cover her to be in a big movie, so she has to take what she can get. Same with Mickey Rourke. His sideline boxing career made him totally un-insurable and that, along wiht his anger issues, made his movie choices in the early to mid 90s abysmal. Hey, everyone’s gotta live.

    I remember someone snickering at Teri Garr doing a carpet commercial or something, and I wanted to punch them in the face. She has multiple sclerosis, for God’s sake, and is very ill, and can’t do movies anymore, but even Teri Garr has to pay for her health insurance – so jobs like that help her do it.

    Good for her, I say. Every time I saw Teri Garr on one of those dumb local commercials, I thought, “Good for you, girl. You keep that health insurance.”

  15. Rude1 says:

    Dang, I didn’t know she has MS, I always loved her work. She could crack me up in an instant.

  16. Rude1 says:

    I mean Young Frankenstien? I don’t know if she or Cloris Leachman made me laugh harder.

  17. sheila says:

    Me too. I love her to death, and still miss her. So so funny and touching. I mean, Young Frankenstein? RIDICULOUS. But yes, she’s very ill so you can see her doing local commercials sometimes to pay the bills. If you ever see one, think to yourself, “Good for you, girl, making a living.”

    :)

  18. sheila says:

    Okay, we both just said “I mean, Young Frankenstein” at the same exact moment.

  19. Rude1 says:

    LOL that’s funny. But hell yeah, if I needed carpet and was near who she’s advertising for, I’d totally go there. I’ll keep her in my prayers too.

  20. sheila says:

    Funny funny lady. Miss her. :(

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