Familiar Faces

>From today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

The day came to a close with Tori Spelling promoting "So Notorious," her upcoming VH1 scripted single-camera comedy about her life after "Beverly Hills, 90210." She brought her dog, Mimi LaRue, a 7-year-old pug, who she said has no acting training, but has hit her mark on "So Notorious," where she, too, plays an ever-so-slightly fictionalized version of herself. The series also features three actors who graduated from Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University: James Carpinello ('97), Zachary Quinto ('99) and Brennan Hesser ('03).

*********************************

Normally, the thought of a Tori Spelling-centric television show would have me clicking past VHI faster than I click past Kirk Cameron on the Evangelical Christian Network, but I had personal contact with two of the three CMU gentlemen, so I will probably tune in at least once. There is something kind of eerie and cool about seeing someone you "know" on TV. I put know in quotes because some of the people I see most often are not people who would remember me, but whom I had limited contact with. The best example being the CMU grad who is now on "The West Wing" (and who has been on at least two of the CSI shows). We had a number of friends in common and I know that we spoke several times, but he was the kind of actor who only really made a point of "knowing" people in the drama department. I don't think this makes him an awful person, but he did have a reputation for being self-involved despite his charming demeanor. He's a good actor and he brings some diversity to the TV shows he's on, so I have no complaints.

But the two actors in Tori's show at least knew me by name once. For one, I was the assistant stage manager for a musical he was in and the other was a fellow employee of the Office of Admissions. We gave a tour together at least once, maybe a handful of times.

This train of thought reminds me that I need to finish watching "Angels in America" and rent "Phantom of the Opera" for a further Patrick Wilson fix. He was a senior when I was a freshman, so I sadly never met him. But I can tell from the programs in my possession that I saw him star in "Cabaret". :-)