John Altieri (May 5)

as many of you already know by now, John Altieri, the gifted actor who originated Bob Crewe with the first National Tour of Jersey Boys, passed away yesterday.

i, as is many of the people that grew close to John over the past two years are devastated and trying to make sense of what and why has happened. he was so young and had such an amazing and healthy spirit that one would beg the question of why should he have suffered the way he did and why, after spending a month in a hospital, could they not find the way to help him.

in any case, his spirit, laughter and friendship will live on forever in those of us he had touched. i feel, more than most, that i was one of the lucky ones that got to know him so well. i played "Mika" to his "Crewe" for over 400 shows and we were very much inseparable in every scene we were in together. some of my most fondest memories was the shit we would pull on stage together (both of us constant troublemakers) and how much we would make each other laugh...even when we definitely were not supposed to.

one of my favorites:

at the end of "Dawn", Crewe and Mika end up on the stage left stairs facing upstage applauding the Four Seasons on their big ending. The lights are up so hot on the audience at that point and we are facing away from them that John would usually applaud and the momentum of them would smack me in the face and head. I would then applaud slightly broader and the momentum of my elbow would try to catch him in the groin. then when we turned downstage as the Mary and Lorraine characters greeted us, i would pull on his pant leg just enough to have his pants sneak down and he at the same time would pull my shirt from inside my jacket to have it untuck...and so on and so forth.

that was John. always in high spirits and always ready for a laugh.

he was also completely devoted to his pets, Goose (his cat) and Spyder (his Shepard-mix dog). he loved his animals so much that much of his housing was due to their comfort (like we did with Toby, John drove to every city so his pets did not have to fly). thinking about it now, i remember him once telling me that one of his biggest decision in taking the Vegas company was so Spyder could live out her short remaining years (she is, i believe, about 13) in a comfortable environment where they are not always driving to a new destination.

but my favorite thing about John was watching him work. he put so much thought and energy into his lines and knew exactly where each laugh should be. his "metaphor" line was always a show-stopper and i just wish that all of you could have seen him on stage...because he shined so much up there.

he shined upon all of us.

i thank God that i have known John. that for over a year, i got to see him and spend time with him every day. that he was able to come to my LA house and enjoy a fun BBQ. that he and i got to carpool almost every day while we were in Orange County. that he and i had to struggle like hell to get that fucking yellow couch on stage and afterward would both laugh about it. and for a year, it was my pleasure and honor to be his "personal assistant" on stage and i had never had larger shoes to fill when i was asked to understudy him...i only hope that the few times i went on in his part, that i did justice to what i learned from him.

as the days go on, we are hoping to get some more information on what we can do to help his family. one of his friends is hoping to get a scholarship for young actors in his name and as soon as i know what the details are, i will post them. my hope is that for all of us that John touched or made laugh, that we all might give a little to his memory.

i don't know what to say from here. i have nice things to blog about but that is for another time. the lump in my throat and the tears and my eyes are enough for now.

i love you, John. we thank God your suffering is over and you are finally at rest. none of us will ever forget you...

...and i will always have a glass of milk waiting for you.