Where in the world am I today?: North Vancouver, BC, Canada
Prologue: Normally I write a little prologue about how I know the person being interviewed, but this time around Lee provided the following –
I met Dave in 1993…I was working at the Edmonton Fringe, trying to earn enough to marry my wife later that year in December. That was my hat line…bragging about how I couldn’t afford to blow it with a PMOY and how bad I was at asking for money. Dave came in, repositioned my show for more audience comfort, and worked on a few hat lines with me. He encouraged me to go even further and bolder, as he always does, and then he gave me a rare and treasured insider’s collectible–a hand made by Dave black and white checker bag! He did the exact same ‘formatting thing’ when I ran into him at Universal Citywalk several months later that year…He took a five second glance at my arrangement, and then changed my staging area ever so slightly; he bought me four extra feet of crowd space and the ability to LOSE a piece of gear, my despised and unnecessary ladder. That guy rocks!
STATS
Name: Lee Zimmerman.
Birthday: December 30, 1963. (People who were also born on December 30th include: Bo Diddley, Sandy Koufax, Tracy Ullman, Tiger Woods, Rudyard Kipling and TWO of The Monkees, Michael and Davy!)
Place of Birth: Wilmington, Delaware, USA.
Started Performing/Working in the Industry: July 3rd, 1983, at Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, while at was still at Art School in Philly. First hat? Eight dollars and twenty-three cents (US); just enough for the 2 sheets of Matte Board I needed, and one game of “Joust“!
Discipline: Puppetry/Etch-A-Sketch/Stand-Up Comedy.
Websites: http://www.myspace.com/leezimmermanthepuppetguy and coming soon: www.etchasketchguy.com
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVZ386vCQYg
Venues Worked: Philadelphia’s Head House Square, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, Pier 39 in San Francisco, Venice Beach, Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade, Universal CityWalk at Universal Studios
Then–
The Impro in Santa Monica, LA and at the Riviera in Las Vegas, The Viper Room in Hollywood, Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Mansion, Frank Zappa’s studio/home and many more celebrity homes and functions.
Many TV shows, including “The Drew Carey Show“, music videos for Lisa Loeb and Flea, and three films including the cult classic “Eddy Presley“, co-starring Quentin Tarantino.
Hot 10 Questions:
- What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream and why? • Things with things in it. Ben and Jerry offers a wide variety of fare this area, perhaps Chubby Hubby is the best, with chocolate covered pretzels and a special jizbo goo sauce of darkness wrapped around many things with other things.
- Name one movie that would make it to your Top 10 all-time great films. • ONLY ONE?! Are you mad? True Romance, Hope and Glory, Shawshank Redemption, Perfume, Being There, Groundhog Day, Amadeus, L.A.Confidential, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, The Man Who Would Be King and True Romance again.
- What was your favorite toy from childhood? • Is there any better toy than the original lap-top, Etch A Sketch?!
- Who were your biggest inspirations when you got started? • Jimi Hendrix and my brother Drew.
- From the world of animation what one character do you most identify with or see yourself in? • Krusty The Clown. Please just leave it at that…
- Name something that scares you. • My nightmare is the same every single time I have one…with just a few minor script and staging changes. I have it often…I’m expected to perform somewhere right now and I am not prepared…the whole dream is of me moving from place to place, carrying my gack, trying to sort out a stage, trying to untangle the puppets, finding an MD player that works with these faceless useless stage crew wankers doing nothing to assist…the occasional ex girlfriend appears in a cameo for the mocking… sometimes it’s all of my gear floating underwater. REALLY. Somehow though, I almost always pull it off!
- Apart from the entertainment industry, name one other job you’ve had. • I managed an art supply store in Philadelphia right after I finished art school.
- What’s something you haven’t done yet that you’d like to try? • Just once, I’d love to perform on stage as a lead guitar player…WELL.
- What’s your least favourite thing about being a performer? • GEAR.
- If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? • “You are hilarious!” ~ A treasured memory and in the very top ten moments I ever ever ever experienced, like ever. In 2003 I won the “Performer’s Choice Award” at the Halifax International Buskers Festival! My peers actually really really loved my show, man! I am very proud of that!
The Nugget:
Pick one nugget of wisdom you’ve picked up from your career in Show Business to share with the World.
“To be on time is to be late. Always always always arrive EARLY.”
–Lee Zimmerman
