As a struggling actor in LA between 2000 - 2004 I was working three jobs and living out of my truck for a time. We’ll save the ‘why’ for another post, but it involves guns.
I knew I wasn’t cut out to be anyone’s employee. On the other hand, I had bills to pay and I loved performing so much I just couldn’t help but keep trying. So between auditions and hundreds of rejections one of the jobs I had was working for a science themed birthday party company.
You’ve probably seen or heard of kids birthday parties where the parents hire entertainers. Different party companies offer different choices. Elsa from Frozen, Batman, magicians, balloon artists, bubble people - you get the idea. The company I worked for let parents hire a ‘scientist’ for their kids party. There were a few of us, and we were all struggling actors with a love for science and teaching. It wasn’t great pay but it was a chance to make tips, interact with miniature humans and perform, and an audience is an audience. I think kids are the purest audience you can have. If you’re shit they literally just get up and leave.
The geographical area we covered was all of L.A. From as far north as Castaic to as far south as Huntington Beach. If you’ve been to LA you know that’s a massive area. If not, trust me. Or google it. It’s a lot of driving.
L.A. is full of celebrities and they often used this science party company for their kids, and the owners would carefully pick who got the celebrity birthday parties. We did parties for Master P, Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Lopez, Jake Steinfeld, and many more. Most of the ‘scientists’ hated celebrity parties because of the way the celebrities and their staff treated us.
When Broadway and film actress Sheryl Lee Ralph requested a party for her son Etienne, it was my turn. I wasn’t too worried about being treated poorly because I typically got the parties in the worst neighborhoods and the gang neighborhoods, and they always tipped bigger and treated me better than the rich people in Bel-Air and Beverly Hills.
I had nothing to lose and I had low expectations.
I have to admit I was nervous, because I soon found out Sheryl Lee Ralph is actually more beautiful in person than she is in pictures. And she’s really pretty in pictures.
When I showed up at her door in my ‘scientist’ outfit with a cooler of dry ice and a rubbermaid bucket full of science experiments, she greeted me with a warm hug and introduced me to the birthday boy - her son Etienne. I don’t remember what he looked like because I couldn’t stop staring at Sheryl. She was stunning.
We often did 3 birthday parties on a Saturday and then 3 on Sunday. 11a, 3p and 5p. On Friday night you had to pick up your party assignments at the office, go to the warehouse to prep all of your lessons, grab your equipment and load your vehicle. Then for each party you had to spend 30 minutes setting up your table, dry ice, etc.
This one for Etienne was my 3p party and it was a Saturday. My 11a was at a $15 million dollar ten bedroom 7 bathroom mansion in Bel-Air for a Persian couple who had a maid follow their 4 year old son where ever he went holding his shoes. They refused to let me use the indoor bathroom and they generally treated me like shit. So when I showed up at Sheryl’s house I was a bitter, pissed off and deflated.
The experience with Sheryl Lee Ralph was the complete opposite. She escorted me to their garden, offered to help me set up and then left me to it. The party was wonderful, and the kids were really fun. We did dry ice, we made slime and I even got to explain electricity using a Tesla Coil. As I finished cleaning up she asked me how I was doing. And she actually cared. She sat and listened. I told her about a fledgling one man show I was writing in acting class called Fathers Day, and she encouraged me to never give up. I’ll never forget her smile as she held my head in her hands and said ‘look at me. I mean it. don’t give up baby you hear?’ She tipped extremely well and ensured the kids said thank-you and shook my hand. My next party was back to rich people with no social skills but that experience with Sheryl stayed with me. It made my day, my week and my month.
Today Sheryl Lee Ralph was nominated for an Emmy Award. They say you can tell a lot about who a person really is by the way they treat those who can’t do anything for them.
Sheryl Lee Ralph is the real deal. May God continue to smile upon her.
And I never gave up.
Sheryl Lee Ralph and Me
Awesome story! Ms Ralph knew that you were and has always been a genuine soul! Continued success my brother! Blue Love 💙🙏🏾