Travels with Dom

Dom DeLuise was a halogen light in a 40 watt world.

The first time I met him was backstage at The David Frost Show, and little did I know that a short 7 years later, I'd be standing next to him waiting to go on stage at Sahara's Lake Tahoe Resort watching as he walked on stage to open for Pat and Debby ("You Light Up My Life") Boone.

But there is a lot more to the story.

I worked with Howard Rothberg. Dom was on his way to London for an appearance on The Muppet Show, and Howard had arranged a Trans-Atlantic crossing on Cunard for his entire family. He only had to do one 45 minute lecture for the pasengers and they gave him 3 suites and airfare for everyone. It was a sweet deal.

I showed up at his house on Corsica Drive in Pacific Palisades to escort the DeLuise family to the airport. After meeting his wife Carol and three sons, Peter Michael and David, we all piled into the family station wagon for the trip to LAX. They had to stop in NY first to pick up his mother, and then get to the ship for the crossing to London.

It was quite chaotic, and naturally Dom was besieged with fans. But instead of signing autographs, he had these little pre-signed printed cards, and he gave them out to people. They disappeared into the crowds at LAX and I drove the car back to his house.

To this day, I have no godly idea why we didn't get a limo.

Back to Lake Tahoe....

We arrive two days in advance, and the pressure is on. There is a lot riding on this engagement. Pat and Debby Boone are very popular, and this is a big deal. It marks a calculated strategy to not only increase his ability to make money, but to elevate him to headliner star status.

Dom's a natural comedian, but putting together an opening act is no small feat. He is going to bring back "Dominik The Great" a flawed magician he first made famous on The Gary Moore Show. There were costume changes, special effects and a whole slide show of pictures of his family and growing up in Brooklyn.

We were on stage rehearsing when the VP of Entertainment walked in. I don't remember his name, but I went up to introduce myself and he asked me who was on stage. I thought he was joking. It was hard to miss his name. There were posters at the airport and all town...not to mention this big marquee at the front of the Hotel with his name on it. I decided to go along with the joke.

I said," That's Dom DeLuise". His response floored me. "That's NOT Dom DeLuise", he shot back. "Dom DeLuise is on The Carol Burnett Show."

Oh my god. He thinks Dom is Tim Conway....and that's who he thought he booked. It was one of the few times in my career that I was speechless.

He was very confused, scratching his head for a few moments as Dom was rehearsing 'Dominck The Great' on stage. He was hilarious. The buyer started to laugh and I could see that all it took was a good joke to avoid a disaster.

Dom was a big hit. All went according to plan, and Dom appeared regularly in Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and Atlantic City. But I never told him about what happened.

Here's another great 'inside' true story...

Robin Williams became famous on TV as Mork. What you probably don't know is that Dom DeLuise was the first choice for the part.

Here's what happened. Jerry Paris and Dom were friends and one day during the kid's softball game in Pacific Palisades, Jerry asked Dom to do a small cameo in Happy Days. Dom, who always found it hard to say no to his friends, agreed and Jerry sent over the script and contract.

We told Jerry that Dom wasn't doing any television...especially the #1 rated show on ABC. We had just passed on resigning for the next season of Dean Martin Roasts, and there was no way we were going to piss off Dean Martin, Greg Garrison and NBC.

They would just have to find someone else to put on a red costume and play an alien named Mork.

And the next person they picked wasn't Robin Williams...but I'll save that story for another time.

Rusty Citron, Come on Down!

There are a few people who really made an impact on my career. Johnny Olson was one, but not in the way you might think.

Johnny Olson is best known as the 'voice' of The Price is Right. For years, millions of people heard him tell winners and losers to 'Come on Down'! I don't know who came up with the slogan, but he made it famous.

This story starts on Lincoln's Birthday in 1967. I took the train to NY and went to NBC. I had been down to the studios before many times. I think I took the NBC Tour about 5 times. For me, it was a magical place. They were setting up for a full day of taping of The Match Game. That was the first time I heard and met Johnny Olson.

In order to keep the audience happy, Johnny would come from backstage and would play the game with members of the studio audience. He had a stack of crisp new $5 bills to give away every time someone raised their hand with the correct answer.

A concrete brink couldn't have kept me in my seat. Johnny would ask a question, and I would jump up. By the end of the day, I was a rich kid...with three crisp new $5 bills in my hot little hands.

I walked back to Penn Station to catch the train home. I was crossing Broadway in front of Ripley's Clothes on 44th Street, and there was a kid giving away free tickets for The Merv Griffin Show. I noticed that he didn't seem to be much older than I was. Another free television show. Yes!

After the show, went to the box office, and asked for a job application. They asked if I was 16. I lied and said yes. I took that application and went home. My head was spinning. Could I possibly get a job in NY working as a page on a TV show? It didn't seem possible.

I worked for weeks on the letter and filing out the job application and finally sent it in. It was over a year later when the call came to my house. I was at school, but my sister was home sick and took the message.

And that's how I got my first real job, as a page on The David Frost Show....but that's not the end of the story.

Fast forward 15 years. I have my own entertainment agency in Hollywood. One of my biggest clients was Melvin Simon, the shopping center developer. We were working on some new campaigns and I had an idea. What about 'Come on Down'. It was perfect, and they said yes.

The next day, I met Johnny Olson for lunch in Hollywood at the Cock and Bull on Sunset. He agreed to the campaign, and then we talked for hours. I told him the story about how me got me started and what a fantastic experience that was for a kid of 15.

We had a great time, and Johnny honored me by saying (in his on air voice), Rusty Citron...Come On down!