This Is NOT Your Grandfather's Old Folks Home
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PROPOSAL This is NOT your grandfather’s old folks home. GOLDEN LIFE PRODUCTIONS phone: 818.953.9388 [email protected] SYNOPSIS Title: "The Golden Life" Logline: "The Real World" meets "The Golden Girls" Imagine a retirement community where actors, writers, painters, sculptors, and singers all live under one roof. This doesn’t sound like your typical old folks home because it’s not – in fact, that phrase is not welcome at the Burbank Senior Artists Colony. On the docudrama "The Golden Life," viewers move in with the residents of this unique apartment complex, former secretaries, salesmen, housewives, and teachers who have discovered there inner artists. They’ll follow these colorful characters as they prepare for an upcoming production, edit their latest short film, create pieces for the local Art Walk, and train for the annual Senior Olympics. And while the retirees unleash their creative talents, they connect with the at risk students from the school next door. The self-proclaimed “recycled teens” work each semester with the troubled kids on an art project and build a bridge across the generation gap in unexpected ways. Take a journey with these retired professionals and homemakers as they negotiate the pitfalls of aging while staying active and vital. It will change the way the world sees old people forever. GOLDEN LIFE PRODUCTIONS phone: 818.953.9388 [email protected] page 2 CAST The Burbank Senior Artists Colony is home to over 150 tenants, and behind each door, resides a senior citizen with a fascinating story. “The Golden Life” cast is a dynamic and fascinating group of seniors who are experiencing vibrant and exciting lives while they discover their artistic sides. This cast is just a small cross section of the talent in the building and, as the series evolves, the ensemble can be expanded and/or replaced as plots lines develop. SALLY CONNORS Age: 76 Former Occupation: Housewife and Science Teacher Current Colony Activities: Acting, Painting, Singing, and Student Mentoring A former housewife and junior high science teacher from “gloomy” Chicago, Sally relocated to Los Angeles after the death of her husband of 47-years to be close to her daughter in sunny Southern California. She never considered herself artistic but had always had a secret desire to sing. When she moved into the Colony in 2007, she was a wallflower, who was nervous about making friends and exploring an artistic side she didn’t think she had. Over time, Sally has become one of the Colony’s most popular residents. She’s also built up enough confidence to conquer her deepest artistic fears – acting, painting, and even singing in the chorus. MILDRED "MILLIE" ROSIN Age: 87 Former Occupation: Secretary Current Colony Activities: Writing Poetry, Singing, Maintaining the Resident List, and Student Mentoring Millie lived with her husband in San Jose, California for 30 years before moving to the Colony to be closer to her two children. She worked as a secretary until she was 84-years-old, sometimes for no pay, because she loved her job so much. She now acts as the Colony secretary by keeping a current resident list, updating it each time someone moves in or out. She says she was not creative before retirement, but she now writes poetry, sings in the chorus, and acts in plays. MARJORIE CZARNECKI Age: 72 Former Occupation: Secretary/Medical Office Manager Current Colony Activities: Acting and Painting Marjorie says she has had many lives. As a young woman she joined the convent but opted out of the nunnery and went into the secular world. She worked her way up to the position of John Lehman's secretary at Lehman Brothers financial services firm before marrying her husband and becoming a mother of three. Marjorie is a gentle soul but a fighter at heart. She has battled lung cancer twice, first in 1987 and most recently in 2007, but is in complete remission. As a young girl, Marjorie froze onstage while reciting a monologue and never tried it again until she started her new life at the Colony, where she overcame her lifelong fear by acting in three plays and two movies. RICHARD DENNI Age: 91 Former Occupation: Internal Combustion and Life Insurance Salesman Current Colony Activities: Singing and Acting Professionally After selling internal combustion engines and spending 30 years at the New York Life Insurance Company, Richard started acting professionally at the age of 74 – even though he was “no Tyrone Power or Gary Cooper,” as he likes to say. Not surprisingly, the charismatic senior has been working ever since, in films like “The Sweetest Thing” starring Cameron Diaz and Thomas Jane, on TV shows like “E.R.,” and in over 40 commercials. Richard moved into the Colony to be close to his wife of 60 years, who is an Alzheimer’s patient in a nearby nursing home. He visits her frequently and recently serenaded her with “If Ever I Should Leave You” from “Camelot” at their anniversary party. [email protected] page 3 GLORYA SCHKLAIR GENE SCHKLAIR Age: 78 Age: 80 Former Occupation: Owner of The Former Occupation: Dentist Practical Organizer Incorporated Current Colony Activities: Sculpting, Current Colony Activities: Acting, Acting, Photography, and Student Participating in Current Events and Art Mentoring Appreciation Classes, and Student Mentoring High school sweethearts who have been married for over 50 years, Glorya and Gene have not had an easy life. At the age of 54, Gene contracted a rare illness from the dental implants he had been embedding in patients. He was told he had only a year to live. Glorya vowed to make it the best of his life and they traveled the world. They returned to the states 12 months and 26 countries later and found Gene a holistic healer. He has managed to live another 26 happy and healthy years. Gene is now a professional sculptor and Glorya is active in the theater and school programs. DOLLY BRITTON Age: 73 Former Occupation: Teacher Current Colony Activities: Acting, Singing, Painting, and Student Mentoring A recent transplant from South Africa, the liberal human rights activist and former teacher was forced to leave the country after hijackers invaded her house. Her children found her a home at the Colony and there she says, “I found hidden talents I never knew I had.” Those newly discovered gifts include acting, painting, singing, and mentoring the at risk teens from the community school next door. TEDDI SHATTUCK Age: 73 Former Occupation: Housewife Current Colony Activities: Painting, Writing, Acting, Directing, and Student Mentoring As a young woman Teddi attended the Rhode Island School of Design to study fashion, but left college to marry her husband and move to Atlanta. She spent 32 years in Georgia driving car pools, raising her three children, and being "Mrs. Chairman of the Board." She put her art aside until after her kids were in college when she began painting again. Several years ago, Teddi moved to Burbank to be closer to her children. After arriving there, she produced a documentary about refurbishing the Frank Lloyd Wright house, continued oil painting, and discovered a talent for writing. Most recently the residents staged a production of her newest play "Senior Mismatch.com." THE STUDENTS OF THE BURBANK COMMUNITY DAY SCHOOL These at risk teenagers have been sent to the Burbank Community Day School to correct behavioral problems and improve their academic standings. Each semester eight troubled teens, are paired with a Colony mentor. Together the senior/teen pairs work on a creative project and bond on a surprisingly deep level. "Our fears are their fears," says Sally. But will this semester's storytelling video project be a little too much for the residents and renegades to handle? SUZANNE KNODE Age: 67 Former Occupation: Housewife Current Colony Activities: Writing, Acting, Painting, and Student Mentoring Suzanne was born in Washington, D.C., and moved to Boston where she met her husband and raised two children. When her kids were grown, she sold her home and all its contents and embarked on a cross-country adventure without a destination, saying it was the most freeing feeling in the world. She ended her four-month journey in California and moved into the Colony in 2005. While taking her first writing class, she penned a screenplay and produced it as a short film called "Bandida." Her story was featured on the TV series "This American Life" with Ira Glass. She is currently working on a new film with fellow residents, Sally and Carolyn, and she has also discovered her talent for painting. [email protected] page 4 JOHN TUELL Age: 70 Former Occupation: Actor, Teamster, and Nick Notle’s Stand-In Current Colony Activities: Acting John is retired actor in films like John Cassavetes’ “Opening Night,” Teamster, stunt-double, and stand-in for Nick Nolte. He is recovering from a car accident, in which he tore the tissue in the back of his heart, making movement nearly impossible. After years of rehabilitation, including time at Nolte’s Malibu compound, John’s sister found him a home at the Colony. As he heals his body, he’s trying to fit in as the new guy in the close-knit clan that rules the apartment building. But after missing two rehearsals, he was replaced in the theatrical production of “Senior Mismatch.com.” Will he be welcomed back into the fold for the filmed version? RUBY HAYES Age: 56 Former Occupation: Professional Singer Current Colony Activities: Rehearsing her One-Woman Show Ruby started singing in a gospel choir in her home state of Arkansas when she was 14 and made her professional singing debut in the early ’70s in Washington, D.C.