The Character Actor's Do's Don'ts And Anecdotes is the charming and fascinating autobiography of one of America's premier character actors, Phil Bruns. From Shakespeare at the Old Vic in England to commercials, major films and television, Phil Bruns has done it all with great success and now in his retirement he's written this wonderful book full of exciting tales of his life and his experiences recounting his life as a young farm boy in Minnesota, as a Fulbright Scholar in England, then as a successful Broadway Theater actor, star of many television commercials, films and TV sit-coms. He's appeared on film with Peter O'Toole (a lifetime friend), Robert Redford and with Jackie Gleason on television and many others too numerous to mention. Sit down on a comfortable chair and be prepared to enjoy the life story of man who's lived a most interesting life full of funny anecdotes and the sometimes bizarre and hilarious goings on in the world of theater film and television.
About the Author: Phil Bruns was born on a farm near Pipestone, Minnesota on May 2, 1931. He is the youngest of three children born to German-Irish parents Henry Phillip Bruns and Margie Trigg Bruns. He had a wonderful childhood growing up with two older sisters, Mildred and Dorothy. The great depression and farm life was only the first layer of a rich life to come. First high school football, then Augustana College in South Dakota - with letters in football, baseball, golf, track plus appearing in every major theatrical production at Augustana. This qualified him for a scholarship to Yale Drama graduate school and, even, hard to believe, a Fulbright scholarship for twelve months in England at the University of Bristol and The Old Vic School, where he met lifetime friend Peter O'Toole. Phil's life as rich as it seemed already, was only the beginning of a career in New York Theater and commercials (cited in Time Magazine as one of the three busiest, outstanding young men in the commercial world in 1968). He went on to do over forty feature films in Los Angeles, New York and many other places in the world. Sometimes starring and many times supporting the star. He spent three years with Jackie Gleason on his television show, and played the father character on the Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman Show for all its seasons. He's appeared on hundreds of commercials and was a guest on hundreds of sit-coms. His many films give him a wealth of stories to tell and he is truly a story teller. He is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Phil married star dancer Jill Owens of the Jackie Gleason Show in New York in 1969 and they spent what free time they had on his farm in Bucks County California. A partial listing of his very active theater life appears on the last few pages of "The Character Actor's Do's Don'ts and Anecdotes". It's hard to think of another person capable of writing about the do's don'ts and especially the anecdotes of the exceptional life of a true character actor of theater, film and TV than Phil Bruns. Later in life Phil has re-married Ms. Laurie Franks, an award winning Broadway star. They live happily, where else? Hollywood, California!!