Speaker 1
Good weekend to you, everybody. Welcome to your next chapter, a production of Avery Heights at the Heights of Avery Heights, a one of a kind senior living community centrally located near the most entertaining and historical spots in Connecticut. Now, this show is dedicated to empowering older adults with helpful resources, ideas, inspiration, and tips to encourage them on life’s journey.

Our production is also for the younger generation so they can better understand how to develop greater communication and enjoyment for those elders in their community. Now, it’s never too late to grow and enjoy new realms of the mind and heart. Your next chapter delves deep into topics that will improve the way we think about aging, senior living, and the retirement years.

It’s time to celebrate our seniors. Give them wholehearted encouragement to bravely step up to new experiences with optimism, inner peace, and the courage to never give up on growing. So together, we will explore topics such as how to enjoy the retirement years in your life through exploring the world around you.

We’ll also discuss travel opportunities, financial well-being, senior living communities, and emotional health. Along with Siobhan Mattingly, I’m Gary Byron. Hey, Siobhan, how are you this morning?

Speaker 2
Wow, that was a lot.

Speaker 1
Please take it, I’m out of breath.

Speaker 2
That is a lot of information. How’s your week been? It’s good.

It was really good. The holidays are amazing. Yeah, we just had our tree lighting at the Avery Heights.

Had 75 people there. It was really nice. Whoa.

People from the cottages or the houses, as you like to.

Speaker 1
Let’s call it what it is. These are houses with flower beds, gardens, driveways. This is a little cottage. A little cottage is like a little hut that you see. lake somewhere.

Speaker 2
These are homes. It was amazing. We had families there, kids running around. We had carolers, all sorts of food. You know Tim. He had huge shrimp. He had crab rangoons, empanadas.

It was crazy. And then we had a full happy hour, full bar as well.

Speaker 1
That does sound like a lot.

Speaker 2
It was an occasion. And then we lit the tree. It was a huge tree in the lobby.

Speaker 1
Why shouldn’t you? All communities

Speaker 2
have a nice tree.

Speaker 1
Are people are they in the festive spirit of the season right now? Yeah. Or does it take a little easing into that?

Speaker 2
I think that did it. I think that kind of launched everyone. Yeah.

And then we also were collecting for toys for tots as well. So we have a huge bin of toys overflowing in the lobby, which is nice. So I think that puts people on the move.

And, of course, we have our Hanukkah celebration going on as well, starting on Sunday. Tomorrow. Yes, tomorrow.

Yes, yes. So it’s going to be good.

Speaker 1
Yeah, that’s great.

Speaker 2
It’ll start. It’ll be the first candle lighting. And then we have several kind of guest, I guess, rabbis coming in to help us celebrate that. So we’re excited.

Speaker 1
Do you find that people are at Avery Heights during the holiday or are they with family or friends off the ground?

Speaker 2
Yeah, it’s a combination. It’s actually really funny. I think when folks first get there, they’re kind of like, you know, they keep going in and out with their family.

But a lot of times now they’re like, no, I can’t. I got plans. They want the family to come to them. So the day after Thanksgiving, like a month ago, it was incredible.

I mean, I was there on Friday and people were playing the piano. They were singing. There was family everywhere because we have hospitality suites as well.

And so it was really cool. We had a bunch of little babies there and kids running up and down the hall.

Speaker 1
So your residents can invite their family in rather than them.

Speaker 2
Which is such a nicer visit rather than staying at a hotel and then having to come to, you know, come to the heights. It’s actually nicer because they can just wake up, go downstairs, have breakfast, have meals, go to various activities. And it’s a nicer visit. And I always recommend it for families rather than staying outside of off the campus.

Speaker 1
Hey, I noticed that you brought a guest in.

Speaker 2
I did. I did. This is Jeffrey.

He’s actually a videographer. He has a wonderful company called Cameo Video, which he started later on in life. And we’re pretty excited about that because we are actually starting a new section to our show.

I figure we’re coming up on a new year, so a new section. It’s going to be called Living Your Next Chapter, Life on Purpose. And so we’re going to be bringing in each month someone who’s wonderful, like Jeffrey, that has started kind of a next chapter and something new in their later years.

And then those guests are actually going to be coming to the Heights to talk to our residents to inspire them as well. And we’re super excited.

Speaker 1
Well, welcome, Jeffrey. Thank you. Glad to see you.

Good to be here. I appreciate it. That’s very nice of you.

When did this new chapter of your life begin as a videographer? And really, what was your motivation for it?

Speaker 3
Well, a girlfriend introduced me to a wedding photographer in Torrington. And I started doing wedding photography. And I worked for him for eight and a half years.

And I kept watching the videographers that were videoing while I was doing photography. And I realized that they were missing a lot of really cool stuff with their angles on the bride weren’t good and all that kind of thing. And from my background as a musician and an actor, I kind of thought that this would be a good way to go.

And then I also learned about the whole photography business going digital. And so that launched me into getting my first cameras. And I’ve been doing this as a part-time up until three years ago, 25 years now.

Speaker 1
Wow. Would you say that in this era, videography is more popular than still photography?

Speaker 3
It’s most important because most still photographers with their cameras now do video as well.

Speaker 1
Oh, with the same camera?

Speaker 3
Same camera.

Speaker 1
So, all right. Wow, I didn’t know that. So they’ve got a camera. and their camera also turns into video.

Speaker 3
Yeah. They can make a little switch and take a few pictures.

Speaker 1
I’ll be looking at that.

Speaker 3
Grab some video.

Speaker 1
How long has that been?

Speaker 3
That’s been at least 10 years now.

Speaker 1
Well, where have I been? I don’t know. You haven’t been in weddings, apparently.

Good Lord. Living under a rock. So how did you determine to set up your own videography business?

And really, how did your past as an actor influence your artistic work, not only as a photographer, but also as an editor?

Speaker 3
Well, I think I was doing a play in California at Downey Civic Light Opera, and they videoed it. And that was the first time that I actually got to see myself perform. And I was able to judge whether or not what I thought I was doing was what I thought I was doing.

And that really clicked with me. But that was early on. That was back in the 80s. And so that always kept in my head that that was something that I would want to do.

And so what happened was after I worked as a wedding photographer and got my first video cameras, I realized that I had a niche because not only was I an actor and I understood I’m a movie buff and I have a BA in speech emphasis theater. So I learned a lot about a lot of different things. And I really realized that all of the years that I took dance benefited because I could video choreography.

And all you have to do is if they’re doing a waltz, you have to count to three. And if they’re doing something else, you have to count to eight. And every eight beats, something changes.

And I became this incredible in-demand videographer for doing dance recitals.

Speaker 2
What a resume, right? Oh, my goodness. I’m trying to picture him with 80s hair.

Are you not doing that? I still have it. I’m thinking like Wham or one of those people.

I’m like, what kind of hair did he have?

Speaker 1
I’m lucky I still have mine. I was going to say, yeah, I feel the same way. So I guess it’s common, right, where a lot of actors make the switch to the other side of the camera.

I mean, it’s happening more often now than I think ever. I mean, I think what they realize is as they – they’re not the marquee name anymore. It’s like anything else.

It’s cyclical. A new generation of younger actors come on and they’re the – Clint Eastwood. Mel Gibson.

Mel Gibson. Right. Mel Gibson.

Do you prefer one more than the other?

Speaker 3
That was a –

Speaker 2
I know, right? You stumped him.

Speaker 3
Well, I haven’t performed on stage in about 13 years. Wow. But I was working full time with a security company and managing a warehouse. And on the weekends, I was doing video for different companies like Hartford Stage and Warner Theater and Hart School of Dance.

Speaker 1
So do you know Frank Tavera and Paul Marty and some of these people from Hartford Stage and the Bushnell? No.

Speaker 3
No, but I do video at the Bushnell too.

Speaker 1
Very nice. What was your primary focus though as a video producer? And really how did your work influence actors and even dancers that saw their performances in the, let’s say, like in the theatrical archives?

Speaker 3
Well, I think the most important thing is as an actor, sometimes you’re able to picture what you’re looking like while you’re performing. So you get this idea that you can see yourself on stage. And I learned that in college, that I could actually see in my mind what I looked like.

And it wasn’t until I started seeing myself in video and realizing how important that was to dancers. Because I can shoot at 60 frames per second. And so dancers can, if there’s like 30 people on stage, they can all see every single movement.

And they can tell whether they’re in time with each other. And so it’s really important to nutmeg ballet because they really want to have a lot of their students go on to be professional dancers. And it’s really important for them to see how precise they need to be.

Speaker 2
It’s almost like sports. You know, like you videotape yourself so you can see what you’re doing wrong and look at the replay tapes. And they do. They do.

Speaker 1
On Wednesdays, it’s film day. If you played on a Sunday, let’s say you played Sunday afternoon or Sunday night, you have Monday and Tuesday off. Wednesday, it’s all film.

Makes sense, yeah. Yeah. Well, that’s how you learn, right?

Yeah, exactly. Are you your worst critic? Like, do you say, oh, see, I missed my marker.

I could have done that better. I know I’m my own worst enemy when it comes to radio. Yeah, of course.

Speaker 3
That’s a given. Yeah, you’ve got to be critical.

Speaker 1
Tell us a little bit about your past here in Connecticut. You were a star football athlete, right? Your college experience.

And this guy did it all. Our resumes are nothing. Really?

You did acting. You’re a football athlete. Wow.

Time spent in California performing as not only an actor but a musician as well.

Speaker 3
Yeah, after I graduated from college. Well, what do you want to know? All of it.

All of it. Simsbury High School went undefeated in 1966, and I was one of the five seniors that was on the team, never left the field, offensive guard, defensive end. And all five of us got scholarships to college out in the Midwest, and we got to pick whichever college we wanted to go to.

So I was not a great student, so I picked a junior college. And that was the best thing I could have done because the junior college was easier than Simsbury High School. Cool figure.

And so while I was there, I started pursuing acting seriously. And although I was a major in, I majored in art and music. And then when I transferred to Kansas State Teachers College, which is now Emporia State University, I switched my major to theater.

But they didn’t have a theater degree, so I had to get a BA in speech emphasis theater. So I learned about debate. I had to build sets.

I took lighting classes, you name it. And the music department wanted to turn me into an opera singer, but I didn’t want to deal with foreign languages. So I just –

Speaker 2
Do you have that kind of voice?

Speaker 3
Oh, yeah.

Speaker 2
Operatic?

Speaker 3
Yeah. Well, I have a stage voice.

Speaker 2
Oh, okay.

Speaker 3
So I can give you an example.

Speaker 1
Were you ever in anything that maybe we have seen?

Speaker 3
I was in a movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme, and I don’t even remember the name of the movie, but I spent my whole day in a cell, and it was 110 degrees with a great big huge spotlight. And some of the dust caught on fire, and so they had to close the place down. And it was really – it was very interesting because John Malkovich who – yes, he was playing the bad guy and that started his whole career of doing bad guys and he was the nicest person.

Totally all the way back. Yes. He was the nicest person and just so great with everybody and I just was very impressed with him.

Speaker 1
I had a little role in the movie.

Speaker 3
And?

Speaker 1
It was – yes. It was, what the heck’s his name? Who was the guy that was married to Billy Bob Thornton?

Speaker 2
Oh, Angelina Jolie.

Speaker 1
Yes, he was married to, in fact, they were still, they were married. She was down there, but not in the movie.

Speaker 2
You met Angelina Jolie?

Speaker 1
No.

Speaker 2
Okay.

Speaker 1
No. Billy Bob Thornton, Patricia Arquette.

Speaker 2
Oh, yeah.

Speaker 1
And a guy named Steven Weber, who I didn’t know who he is. Do you know who he is? No. He was on a TV show called Wings. Oh, yeah. About an airport, like in Nantucket or something.

Speaker 2
Yes, yes, yes, yes. he was probably one of the brothers

Speaker 1
yes yes I think he was

Speaker 2
I used to love that show

Speaker 1
I didn’t even know much about it until after I had already like researched it and then I’m like oh I’ve got to watch this show it was we did this in the French Quarter down in New Orleans oh wow oh wow wow it was pretty cool yeah well I don’t have the credentials you have I mean I’m not you know I’m not the cinematographer the dancer the musician well you want to hear

Speaker 3
an interesting story I in college I got in a movie called Bad Company Jeff Bridges. And people, I was just an extra. And they filmed this great scene where it was the longest running continuous scene ever done at that time. And I sang in bars to make extra money while I was in college. And so while I was on the set, people heard that I was Jeff. And so people kept coming up to me thinking I was Jeff Bridges. And so I didn’t want to disappoint them. So I signed Jeff Bridges.

Speaker 2
Oh, my goodness. You don’t.

Speaker 3
And so later on during the run, they were there for several months in Kansas shooting this movie. Jeff came in with two girlfriends, people that knew me from theater. And they saw me up on the stage performing and singing.

And they let go of Jeff Bridges’ arms and they come running up. Jeff, how are you doing? We haven’t seen you.

Speaker 1
That is funny.

Speaker 3
His face just dropped down, and it was so funny, and I’ve followed him. I’ve been really impressed with him. He’s one of my favorite people, too. He’s amazing. Yes.

Speaker 2
He was an Iron Man.

Speaker 3
Yeah.

Speaker 2
Yeah.

Speaker 1
And his dad, Lloyd Bridges. Yes. Yeah.

Speaker 2
Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Speaker 1
Right. Whole family, actually. Yeah.

Bo Bridges. Bo Bridges. His brother.

Yeah.

Speaker 2
Yeah.

Speaker 1
I just, when you said the longest continuous scene, I just think of Orson Welles with Citizen Kane. If you remember the opening scene. Yeah. Through the window.

Speaker 2
Oh, wow.

Speaker 1
I don’t know if you remember what I’m, you know. Or, oh, another Orson Welles movie, Touch of Evil. There’s one continuous, it’s actually in the beginning of the movie, or The Birdcage with Robin Williams. I’m a little bit of a football fan myself. That’s great.

Speaker 2
I like that.

Speaker 1
What do you think your favorite moments, though, on stage as a performer, and really what highlights as a videographer stand out in your mind from behind the scenes?

Speaker 3
my favorite moment on stage yeah okay favorite like okay that that definitely had to be um i i performed um in oliver uh it was um done in 1968 i think uh right before the movie came out and i got to play the part of fagan and this was with simsbury summer theater for youth and this was in our third year and um 60 must have been 69 so um so i got to audition for fagin out at downey civic light opera in in in la and um and it was being directed by um two women that were disney at disney people uh who had never directed a play before and they were all all they knew it was TV. And so they cast me and they kept saying, okay, we’re not sure how to do this number called pick a pocket or two. And they said, could you like stage this for us? And I said, sure, I’d be happy to. And so that happens to be one of my best moments because I got to work with all the kids. I got to tell them what to do and how to pick my pockets and all this kind of stuff.

And that was one of my special, most special moments.

Speaker 1
Wow. Folks, you are listening to your next chapter, a production of The Heights at Avery Heights. You can find them online at averyheights.org, right?

Yes. Yep. Just out of curiosity, how did you get so involved with set design?

Like building sets and directing shows and even sound engineering.

Speaker 3
Well, that happened when I moved back here. I mean, I was a professional musician all during the 70s. And just I got to be – my band got to be the warm-up act for a gentleman by the name of Lou Rawls. Oh, you’ll never find. And that was his.

Speaker 1
Lady love. Oh, yeah. Remember those songs?

I know I can’t sing. I can barely speak, but I know the songs. I mean, Lou Rose, remember he used to do all his work for sickle cell disease?

The guy was huge. I do. Yeah.

I remember. You’re surprised I know this stuff.

Speaker 2
It was the singing that threw me. I was going to join in. Another love like mine.

That’s right. Someone who cares. My bearish owner.

The way that I do. Well, I’ll start singing.

Speaker 3
So I love telling this story because the managers, my act was Jeff and Penny. And we started off as a duo. She was the first female conga player in L.A. And I bought her her first conga drums and she took to it and loved it. And it just clicked for us.

Speaker 2
What kind of music did you do?

Speaker 3
Pop, whatever was popular.

Speaker 2
Okay.

Speaker 3
You know, whatever pop. We did everything, you know. But I grew up in Philadelphia, so I had a different, you know, I had that background.

And so John and Philip Miles managed us for about two years, and they’re the ones that got us the gig being the opening act for Lou Rawls. And, of course, I had an all-white band doing rhythm and blues and Quincy Jones and all that kind of stuff, and it was an all-black audience. And we did not get a sound check because the Kansas City Symphony was not up to par for the conductor for Lou Rawls.

And so they rehearsed all the way through to our opening. We walked out on stage. We could not hear our instruments.

We could not hear our vocals. And we were being booed by the audience. Oh, wow.

And finally, by the second song, we started to hear everything. And on the third song, it was my solo, and I had to take off my guitar and sing this song, Everything Must Change. And all of a sudden, these black ladies in the audience shelled it out, sing it, white boy, sing it, white boy.

And Lou Ross is sitting up in a balcony seat off to my left and with a big smile on his face because we turned the whole thing around. And at the end, after we walked backstage, Lou Ross was coming down the stairs and he waved me over and he said, Jeff, I only have one thing to tell you. And he said, watch how I hold my mic.

And I’m going, watch? So Penny and I go out to the back of the theater and we watched him. and realized that what he had given me was his essence of what made him so popular on stage.

He held the mic right under his chin, never took it away from his face. You never took your eyes off his face the whole time he was performing unless he wanted you to. And I thought that was such a nice compliment if that was something he shared with me about my performance.

Anyway.

Speaker 2
I want to get to be a celebrity where I can just say simple stuff like that and it means something. Right. You know, like, chew all your food.

You know, and someone years later is telling that story on the radio. Siobhan said, chew my food. And I was like, oh, my gosh.

Speaker 1
And now that’s your line. You’re going to become known for that.

Speaker 2
Chew your food.

Speaker 1
Chew your food. And floss.

Speaker 2
And floss.

Speaker 1
Spokesperson for the American Dental Association over here. How would you best characterize the rewards of your work in theater? Might as well include photography in that as well and serving on the various boards that you have throughout your senior years.

Speaker 3
Well, I got asked to be on the board of Theater Guild of Simsbury because of my technical background. And most people aren’t even aware of my acting background because that was all done either in California or up at the Warner Theater in Torrington where I’ve gotten to do Fagan. I’ve gotten to do Fagan and Bill Sykes on stage.

So I think that’s pretty unusual to be able to do both of those. And so I think the thing that I love the most is when people see my video and they compliment me on my video and they say how important it is to further their careers. That’s become more important to me than anything.

My set design for Simsbury Summer Theater, I did set design, sound, then lighting. And I taught the kids how to run the sound boards. And I taught them how to focus the lights and, you know, that kind of thing.

Speaker 2
That’s awesome.

Speaker 1
Yeah. Then let me take that one step further. Is there any advice that, you know, maybe to our listeners about how to stay inspired and how to avoid becoming a couch potato, so to speak? I mean, you found so much purpose in your life that, you know, but do you think that you could maybe give others a little roadmap, if you will, on how they can find their bliss in life?

Speaker 3
Well, I think the interesting thing, when I retired from lab security, a very good friend of mine also retired from the Canton High School. And he was the drummer for a group called Tire Biter.

Speaker 1
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Speaker 3
Which have been around for –

Speaker 1
I know some members of the Tire Biter.

Speaker 3
Yes. So Tom Moran was called Styx. He was the drummer.

He’s also a very good guitar player. We both retired at the same time and we said, gee, do you want to sing together? And I said, yeah, that sounds really good.

So we sang together right up until COVID and then took a break. And then this year we started up again. And so we get together once a week and we perform every now and then.

We do the open mics in Simsbury and in Collinsville.

Speaker 2
So cool, right? Yeah, it is. And so that’s been really good.

Speaker 3
And having somebody that’s interested in something you do is very important. And I think I’m always looking at other opportunities and things that I wanted to do. And one of those things was I wanted to see if I could write a play.

And so I wrote a play about my dad and his years of doing Meals on Wheels. And when I got back from California, he said, I got to bring you with me to see what I do and meet the people that I deliver meals on wheels to. And so I went around with him.

And there must have been about eight ladies that absolutely, absolutely loved.

Speaker 1
Jeff, you have lived and continue to live a fascinating life. Yeah, definitely. And it’s been a pleasure of getting to know you.

Mine too. Folks, you have been listening to the latest edition of your next chapter, Senior Living, with Siobhan Mattingly, the Heights Senior Living Specialist. Avery Heights is a beautiful senior living community nestled within 43 acres of nature, right in the heart of the junction between West Hartford, Newington, and Hartford.

Those who live there have access to a full continuum of care, including independent and assisted living, to memory care, a whole lot more as well. Please visit AveryHeights.org or call 860-953-1201. That’s 860-953-1201.

to learn more about their special brand of community unlike any other in Connecticut. For Siobhan Mattingly, I’m Gary Byron. Thank you so much for listening.

Until next weekend, have a good one, everybody. That’s all.