David Staller Profile

By Simon Jones

Here's a little guessing game.

Who is this man?

He is an accomplished athlete, who cites gymnastics, sailing, cricket, swimming, and polo among his many enthusiasms. He worked at an advertising agency, doing layouts and design, he wrote and published short stories, had two plays performed in Los Angeles and danced with a ballet company. He also studied 18th and 19th century literature at Harvard, literature, law and theatre at NYU, journalism at Northwestern, and ancient history and archeology at USC, where he also took the cello master class under Rostropovich.

He studied drama at RADA in London, with Uta Hagen and Stella Adler in New York, and Lee Strasberg in Los Angeles.He made his Broadway debut in "Hello Dolly" with Pearl Bailey, was in the original Hal Prince production of EVITA and played Earnst Ludwig in Mr. Prince's Broadway revival of CABARET with Joel Grey. More recently, he stopped the show at Carnegie Hall in an all-star tribute to Cole Porter, causing Clive Barnes to describe him as "the surprise hit of the evening". As a result of the success of his "Noel and Cole" cabaret in the fabled Oak Room at the Algonquin, he made his solo debut in a two-hour expanded version back at Carnegie Hall, which was a sell-out.

He frequently impersonates Henry Higgins in full-blown productions of "My Fair Lady", and of one of these performances, a critic was moved to write of his "breathing new life into a role that has become fossilized in the image of Rex Harrison." He is also a staff script-writer for Turner Entertainment, and paints for relaxation. His first solo album, "Easy to Remember", the songs of Rodgers and Hart, was issued on the ELBA -Cabaret label, and here's the clincher: he's a long-standing member of TACT.

He has appeared with us in Hay Fever, Too Clever by Half, Androcles and the Lion, Fashion, Heartbreak House, The Matchmaker, Trelawny of the 'Wells', The Beauty Part, Light up the Sky, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Bald Soprano and The Apollo of Bellac, as well as numerous Salon performances.

Well, of course you've guessed by now that the description fits David Staller, If you haven't, then you missed the title of this article and ignored the accompanying photograph.

Beyond the obvious question - what ever does he do in his spare time? - one can't help but be struck by the number and variety of his accomplishments, even in the context of the multi-talented company of TACT performers. Curiously for one who has himself written quite a few profiles for our newsletters in the past, he is really quite eager to downplay his kaleidoscopic assembly of achievements. He says that his life is like that of so many actors - a series of ups and downs - but he finds that very unpredictability enriching. "One day you can be in white tie and tails escorting a friend to the Oscars and the next day joining the line for unemployment." He really thrives on the serendipity of the artist's life. "It drives my poor mother mad," he says. But he sees his frequent changes of direction and interest as contributing to enlarging his abilities as an actor, and enabling him to bring new and unusual elements to his portrayals. When opportunity knocks, he doesn't want to be caught napping. "I don't like to sleep, because I don't want to lose the time when I could be doing more interesting things."

His start in life seemed conventional enough: he was born in tiny Glencoe, Illinois, (a North Shore suburb of Chicago). But his parents went their separate ways early in his childhood and he shuttled between his mother in the Midwest, and his father, who had returned to England. Mr. Staller senior, who made his living in real estate had an intriguing circle of friends. David recalls, "I was very young, going to school in England, and my father and I were waiting in the lobby of the Ritz Hotel, when a friend of his appeared, said, "Here," and presented me with a little Steiff teddy bear. I wasn't into toys at all - teddy bears were for little girls, not quite as chic then as now. I asked him what its name was," and Noel Coward, for it was he, looked at him for a moment and answered, "Bear, of course."

At around the same time he met Hermione Gingold. It was not a promising first meeting. When she first encountered him "she had no interest in me whatever because I was a little boy and she hated children, even her own - probably because she was something of a child herself." (Years later, when he was about 18, she met him again, and said, "Well, who's this?" He told her, and she said, "You come with me." From then on until her death they were the closest of friends, in spite of the sixty-year difference in their ages.)

Regardless of how formative an influence these peculiar early encounters may have been, David was clearly inclined from an early age towards the Theatre. He made his debut on the dining room table, and gave a memorable Egbert the Ghost in 5th Grade. He went to New Trier East High School in Winnetka and it's probably of no significance whatever that Charlton Heston, Rock Hudson, Bruce Dern and Ann-Margret had all been educated there. It was from there, at the age of 16, David set off on his first really big adventure. He took the train into Chicago to audition for "Pal Joey" at the Goodman Theatre. When he presented himself, he was asked if he'd brought his tap shoes. Since he'd never actually tapped he said he'd left them on the train, that he was 18, and was an Equity member. "Lies, all lies," he readily admits now, "I'm surprised a thunderbolt didn't come right down and strike me." But he sang and he read and he danced some steps, and was hired as an understudy. He actually graduated High School between the matinee and evening shows.

 In spite of attending so many universities and taking such a variety of courses, he didn't major in drama, "because I knew I was going to do theatre", and "there were all these other things I wanted to learn." He has no degrees, never applied to graduate in any of his various subjects. "I told myself there was no need; I think it was because I was afraid that if I did get a degree, then I'd be able to teach and do something besides act. I didn't want to have anything to fall back on."

Both his mother and my grandmother shared a passion for the theatre but couldn't imagine anyone actually wanting to subject themselves to a life in it. But David wasn't easily disuaded.

When he was on Spring Break from USC, and from his cello, he went to see one of his friends from "Pal Joey" who was appearing with Pearl Bailey in a touring production of "Hello Dolly". He says, "The production wasn't "Hello Dolly" or Thornton Wilder, it was really the Pearl Bailey lounge act. So when I went backstage, my friend said, 'Do you want to be in this?' I really wasn't particularly interested, but she went on to tell me that Pearl wasn't getting along with the understudy for Cornelius, and there could be an opening. My curiosity was aroused so I went to meet her, if only for the adventure, in her dressing-room. The room was the size of a football field and there she was at the other end. She stood up, and said, 'You have the face of peace.' I completely misunderstood her and wondered a piece of what? Then she said, 'What is your name?' I told her, and she replied, 'David, I shall call you Dahvood.' She hired him and after touring in a couple of cities, he made his Broadway debut in the chorus line at the Minskoff Theatre. "It paid off some school debts, too," he explained.

But chorus work wasn't enough for him either, and as his career has progressed, he has skillfully moved from one field of entertainment to another. Though he prefers the collaborative efforts of the theatre he is passionate about cabaret, and his audience is passionate about him. Stephen Holden of the New York Times wrote that he is "a superb singer whose vocalizing carries an undercurrent of feverish emotionality." The Post put it more succinctly: "A one-man tour de force!" He finds the work exhilarating. "It's just you and the audience and the material. It's like working without a net; and breaking down the 'fourth wall' has done wonders for me as an actor."

Once again, you catch him returning to a repeated theme. All his different endeavors are grist to the same mill. His prime objective is to enhance his skills as an actor, and at TACT we're glad to reap the benefits of his dedication. "It's our job as actors to illuminate the human condition," he says. "It's an important and noble profession."

Oh, yes. In answer to the question posed earlier - what does he do in his spare time? He's taking a crash course in French.