Liesl Ehardt is an actor living in LA who spends notable time in NYC and wears a smile daily. Her acting adventures have taken her from the Stage to TV, Film and into Blogging, where she looks forward to sharing her thoughts, while remaining positive, and hopefully offering a refreshing outlook.
She holds a BFA in Acting degree and is a member of both SAG and AFTRA. Hopefully you will follow her on her adventure as she continues to take “baby steps” towards becoming a successful actor with possible hosting/personality spots along the way. Ultimately, she hopes to open and be an active part of her own Children’s Charity Foundation.
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November 18, 2008
I was lucky enough to be asked to star alongside actor Conor Timmis in a Boris Karloff biopic-style, screen test documentary titled, “Kreating Karloff.” The DVD is officially released today, November 18th, hence my posting a day early, and is currently available at popular on-line stores like Amazon.com, Target.com, and Oldies.com, as well as other retail movie locations. The project also has a very “personal” connection, which is explained below.
This film is directed by Vatche Arabian and recreates, in black and white, famous scenes from two of Boris Karloff’s biggest films “Frankenstein” (1931) and “The Mummy” (1932). It matches the costumes, make-up, sets, blocking, lighting, and style of the time.
In true documentary style, it follows the cast and crew behind the scenes through the entire process, including highly skilled and talented make-up artist Norman Bryn (Saturday Night Live). As well as the re-created scenes themselves accurately filmed by director of photography, Scott Sniffen, it includes interviews with the project participants, and captures the many raw moments that happen in between “action” and “cut.”
The film made its way around the film festival circuit and took home the award for Best Experimental Film at the Honolulu International Film Festival last year, among others, all of which was very exciting. The project also gained the support of Sara Karloff, Boris Karloff’s daughter, who added a truly touching endorsement on the cover of the DVD:
“I know how flattered and amazed my father, Boris Karloff, would be, that after so many years someone of Conor Timmis’ talent would put the time, energy and devotion into such a project as Kreating Karloff.
Conor gathered around him people of like mind and talent for this project and, as my father would have said: “The proof is in the pudding.” From start to finish, the script, the makeup and the acting are a real tribute to both my father and to Conor’s determination to see the film through to its first rate conclusion.
Again, in my father’s words, “Full Marks” to all involved in Kreating Karloff. The fans are in for a real treat.” – Sara Karloff
Above all else, I was honored to get to play the classic role of Helen Grosvenor in the recreation scenes of “The Mummy.” A role originated by Zita Johann in 1932. This gave me an opportunity to play in the acting style of the time and to showcase something different. But there was a more important, personal reason, as well. I am, in fact, Ms. Johann’s cousin. My Aunt Jane has been able to work out the exact relationship on our family tree and, with this and much personal research at the New York Performing Arts Library, we have been able to learn a great deal about my famous cousin.
Ms. Johann, who was once married to actor/producer John Houseman, is best known for her starring role as Helen Grosvenor / Princess Anck-es-en-Amon opposite Boris Karloff in “The Mummy.” Although she acted in a few other films, including “Tiger Shark” with Edward G. Robinson, she openly preferred the theatre to Hollywood films. She gained the most fulfillment acting on Broadway, which she did from the late 20’s into the early 40’s. Her role in “Machinal” placed her on stage alongside Clark Gable, an unknown at the time, and later paired her with Orson Welles, co-founder of Mercury Theatre.
I continue trying to find out more about her, and am often pleasantly surprised by the number of things she and I share in common. These Include my love for children and a strong desire within to work with children with special needs and to open my own children’s charity foundation. This is something I have found Zita was able to do during her lifetime, after acting. I have been contacted, through my website, by so many who knew Zita personally; even a few of those children, grown up today, whom she taught.
The thing I hear most often from Zita’s fans and those who knew her, is how much I look like her and that we share the same eyes. They openly tell me how she was someone who truly touched them, through her work or in life, and who had a spirit that they have never forgotten. This is something one of her dearest friends, Rick Atkins, whom I mentioned in my blog about Carla Laemle’s 99th birthday, also expressed. It is through him that I have been able to get to know Zita Johann as well as I have, since our family, unfortunately, had lost track of her until after she passed away in 1993 in Nyack, NY, not too far from where we were living at the time.
Today, I act because I truly love it and the ability it gives me to go places I would never go in real life. It provides me an outlet to layer qualities, personalities, and emotions I don’t personally exhibit. However, I also act for Zita with the hope that I would have made her proud. She was one of those who paved the way for me, and future actors, like myself, during a time when there was no acting union, and it was far more difficult to follow one’s acting dream than it is today.
Zita Johann truly believed in people, just as I do, and never let this industry change her morals or who she was, something I have stuck to since day one. I personally feel I have been given a chance to carry on where she left off, and hope I can do so with as much honestly, style, and class as possible. Though I will never get to meet her, I did get to be closer to her than I would have ever thought possible, thanks to people like Rick, and opportunities like “Kreating Karloff.”
“Worth the price of admission!” – Dave Colton (USA Today) “Kreating Karloff” Review
“I treat children as equals. I work hard to gain their trust and in a sense, offer to build a bridge between us if they will meet me halfway. I listen to them…and I love them. I will always love them for being so fresh and alive and full of hope.” – Zita Johann
November 12, 2008
This week I am buzzing by with just a quick update, since I am a busy bee, hence the buzzing. I am working with the Broadway musical team of “In The Heights,” which won the Tony Award for Best Musical this year. They are out in LA from my beloved Big Apple casting with the well-seasoned Telsey & Company casting. I am lucky enough to be working with them this week to help make sure the process goes smoothly, while standing by as a reader, pa, or anything in between, and keeping a friendly smile on my face.
It is always a pleasure working with the different Broadway teams and those who work as a part of their casting team. Especially seeing that I am a big Broadway fan and miss so much of that scene being out here in LA. I truly admire what so many of these multi-talented actors, singers, and dancers do and can’t express the boost I get from simply being around them, and the energy many of us actors seem to radiate.
Needless to say, I am having a blast and look forward to each opportunity I am given to be a part of the process. So, till my next blog, I am off to return to work and to indirectly soak up a little bit of Broadway and New York City, in hopes that it will tide me over ’till I am back in NYC, sitting in a theatre, and happily taking in another Broadway show this holiday season!
Buzzzzz…
“”In The Heights” is the rare case of a musical that finds its warmth without winking, its open-heartedness without irony, and its optimism without embarrassment. Its pleasures and its messages may be simple, but they’re always genuine.” – Review by Matthew Murray
November 5, 2008
Last night history was made. Since I blog on Wednesdays, I wanted to touch upon what has been such an exciting, yet heated, election year filled with so many firsts for our nation.
Regardless for whom you placed your vote, it was exciting to witness the fire and enthusiasm in the youth to simply get out there and use the very right we are so lucky to have. Seeing just how many people, young and old, who were passionate about this election, be it for McCain or Obama, and who went out and voted, resulting in a turnout that has not been seen since 1908, was an accomplishment in and of itself.
I personally felt some anxiety mixed with the true excitement over this election, and whether I placed my vote for the Republicans or the Democrats, since I am registered Independent, doesn’t really matter. What was truly incredible and touching, at least for me, was to see just how far we have come over the years, especially in the last century. I couldn’t help but smile from the inside out!
I found myself thinking back to all that I had learned in school, especially in American History classes, growing up, and I realized that I was suddenly living the history that my kids, if I have them, and future generations would be learning in their classrooms.
I personally felt proud to be a part of it, to be around to witness such a big step forward for African Americans, and to see Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech, given on August 28, 1963, come true. I knew we would see this day of equality come about one day, although I did not think it would be so soon. I am beyond overjoyed that it has come sooner, rather than later, and look forward to seeing what other gaps we bridge over in the years ahead.
It saddens me that there ever was, and still is today, a lack of complete equality for all people, for example, those restricted by Proposition 8 here in California. Nevertheless, I think that in electing Barack Obama as President last night the United States of America is showing real movement in a positive direction, not only for African Americans, but for all its citizens, and is making progress turning dreams into history.
“I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”…I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.” – Martin Luther King King - Lincoln Memorial, 1963
October 29, 2008
Since 2006, when the week of October 20th rolls around each year I look forward to a very special birthday lunch to celebrate the talented, genuine, funny, full of youth, and beautiful (inside and out) Carla Laemmle. For the past 3 years, she and good friend Rick, who celebrates his Birthday on October 21st and who is just finishing a book on Carla’s life (see below), have met up with me at a well-known and favorite restaurant of Carla’s in LA, that has been around since 1931. This year marked her 99th Birthday, a very young 99 as you can see in the picture of us from our lunch.
Some of you, especially those in the entertainment industry, might be familiar with the last name Laemmle. Carla happens to be the niece of Carl Laemmle, the founder of Universal Pictures. Carla was born Rebekah Isabelle Laemmle in Chicago, IL in 1909, but soon took Carla as her professional name. One of the many things for which she is known is speaking the first line in Carl’s classic 1931 horror film “Dracula,” starring Bela Lugosi. She can still recite that line today…“Among the rugged peaks that frown down upon the Borgo Pass are found crumbling castles of a bygone age.”
She spent her youth living in a bungalow by the New York Street set on the Universal Pictures lot, which was common in those days, and is where she collected a number of fascinating stories about what I refer to as the classy years of Hollywood. I simply love hearing about those times and her accounts of the wonderful memories she holds to this day from that very special time, on which she looks back very fondly. These include stories of Marilyn Monroe, Lon Chaney, the filming of the famous tower scene in 1939’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, being a dancer at the age of 16 in 1925’s “The Phantom of The Opera”, and much, much more.
While Carla’s history is very exciting, it is her friendship I value most. I receive the most touching, kind, heart felt, and lovely cards in the mail from her and truly enjoy our old-fashioned correspondence. I am someone who to this day loves to send cards and letters in the mail, even for no apparent reason, and truly enjoys keeping this classic form of writing alive today. It is something my marvelous mother taught me at a young age, along with the importance of hand-written thank-you notes, and I plan to carry on the tradition as best I can, just as Carla and my mother do.
Carla truly is an inspiration to me, and one can’t help but smile after hearing from her whether in person, on the phone, or through her wonderful words in a card. She exudes warmth, positivity, and classic grace, and never misses a beat with her spot-on mind and memory, which are far sharper than mine…and I am 70 years younger! I can only hope to be a tiny fraction as influential as she is when I get to be her age, if I make it that far! I feel honored to simply know her and be a part of her life, and what a life it is!
In fact, Rick just finished working with Carla on her autobiography, “Among the Rugged Peaks–An Intimate Biography of Carla Laemmle.” I got to see the cover, straight from the publishers, while at our lunch last week and I am looking forward to reading the final product and seeing the many historic photographs. That said, I am sure there will be many more stories and adventures to come in her long, yet “forever young and ageless,” life of 99 years and counting!
“Thank you so much for your lovely card and ever so glowing words – I am totally overwhelmed by your ever so lavish compliments. I found it most difficult not reacting to them like my beautiful Persian cat, Mimi, lapping up a bowl of heavy cream! I did so enjoy meeting you and was truly impressed by your charm and both outer and inner beauty. While it is true I am 97 in earth years, I assure you my inner being is forever young and ageless.” - A few of Carla Laemmle’s always eloquent words in a card to me after we first met in 2006.
With Rick and Carla Laemmle at her 99th Birthday lunch on 10-24-08.
October 15, 2008
Last week I posted a shorter blog, at least for me, but this week is going to win on the being brief front. Things have been really busy for me, but pretty much everything in my life continues to move forward in a positive direction.
Overall, it has been a bit surreal being at CBS and on the set of “The Young and the Restless,” seeing that I have watched it since I was 14 and so many of the characters are still on the show. The pace is quick and efficient and I can honestly say the cast, crew, and everyone in between are truly a pleasure to work with. It is rare to find such a friendly, outgoing, and positive group of people on a set, but each does their part to make you feel instantly right at home.
My scenes take place at the “Restless Style” magazine office with the character Phyllis, played by Emmy-Award winning actor Michelle Stafford, since I am her personal assistant. She has the perfect combination of beauty, talent, wit, personality, and genuine kindness, so she makes my job very easy.
I have a number of things in my life that link back to “Y&R” in some form, through a number of actors on the show, over the years, and I plan to bring you some of those fun little stories as soon as I have some time on my hands. Until then, I want to thank everyone for welcoming me on set, and to Genoa City, for making my experience a very beneficial one.
You see, I told you it would be short, and this was briefer than brief!
“I shall be so brief that I have already finished.” - Salvador Dali
