Louis A. Coppola
Here’s the scoop, pilgrim. Broadcast gossip from the other side of the window. C.B.S is a fictional insider’s look at broadcasting through the eyes of a maverick radio technician who has worked with the top media honchos from the ‘50’s to the ‘90’s. An ersatz story from an airhead who developed into an astute observer of people’s characteristics and the demise of the Fourth Estate, Louis A. Coppola seasons his journal with humor and street philosophy: "News is nothin’ but the glorification of insignificance." In this fictional autobiographical journey readers are transported from Hawaii to Hollywood to Disneyland, then on to the Big Apple and Big City broadcast journalism- a symphony of off-key characters full of diminuendos and crescendos. There’s Uncle Woolly Crankcase, Sue Clueless, Wally Aces, news editor "Roundy"Turkel, Chink and Cholly, technicians Jalanzo, the Commander, and the stentorian announcer Devious Septum.
Louis A. Coppola
is a produced playwright. He has written for
BENSON, prime time ABC/Television; performed on
THE LUCILLE BALL SHOW; and directed for
THE LIEUTENANT, MGM/Television. He has been published by Samuel French, produced in Equity Showcase, and is a member of the Dramatists and Writers Guilds of America. In 1986 he and his wife Ann, co-founded
The After 3 Theatre Co, Inc, a not-for-profit children’s theatre: website,
www.after3theatre.org. Currently, Louis performs for seniors with anecdotal experiences Behind the Scenes. He holes up in Englewood, New Jersey.
Wild Man of the Overnight
(headshot)
Ha, ha, ha. I gotta say up front, ha, ha, I got this chuckleheaded habit of talking to strangers. Ha. Why? I don’t know. Because most people’re tighter than a tick’s ass. Ha, ha, ha. Maybe it’s an old radio-bemba habit. Everybody chuckles in radio. Hi, Sue. Ha, ha. Hey, Drew. Ha, ha. You can say that again. I can, but I won’t. Ha, ha. It’s 20 after the hour. What hour? Eisenhower. Ha, ha. In that case, it’s 16 hundred and zeros at 3 o’clock. Ha, ha! Ho, ho! There was an accident at a nursing home. What happened? I forget. Ha, ha, ha. What’s the time now? Don’t know. Took a shower and my waterproof watch drowned. Ha, ha. Hee, hee. (serious) Or maybe I’m just reachin’ out. I mean the point of going out is contact, but how many people say hello? Hello’s a big commitment. It can lead to goodbye, and goodbye’s one up on hello. Wave to a passing train and the engineer waves back. Wave to sailors putting out to sea and they wave back. But wave to somebody in the street and you’re weird. Sometimes strangers’ll talk to me.
Insert Actuality. Runs: 25 seconds
"Some jobs are like doin’ time. I retired after 25 years on the job. The other day I saw someone I used to work with and a strange feeling came over me, a feeling of what it must be like when an ex-con meets a former prison mate. A moment of revulsion; recalling a detestable time and a desire to flee the scene."
