In
keeping with Nickelodeon’s 40th Anniversary I present to you this interview
with Nickelodeon’s male mine, Vinny Verrelli. A
very special thank you to Andy Anderson who conducted this interview with Mr.
Verrelli and was gracious enough to allow me to post it to my blog. Thank you
so much Andy, this was a fantastic interview.
Vinny Verrelli:
Let me start off by saying that had I any idea that there
would have been any interest in my meager contribution to Nickelodeon or that
the channel would have grown to what it is today, I would have paid more attention.
In 1979 it was a gig.
AA:
How did you get into contact with Nickelodeon? Had the channel even started at
the time?
Vinny Verrelli:
I was contacted by Rita Nachtmann whose boyfriend at the
time was with Warner Cable. He wanted her to do some channel IDs as a mime for
a project he was working on. She thought it would be better to use a male mime
and suggested using me and she would direct, and we would come up with the bits.
As far as I know the channel hadn’t launched yet. It wasn’t in NYC for several
years after they stopped using my IDs.
Rita was
one of the original performing members of the Claude Kipnis Mime Theatre and
ran the Kipnis Mime School in NYC. At the time we shot the channel IDs I was a
performing member of the Kipnis company.
AA:
When did your career as an actor and mime start, and who were your major
influences on your work as a mime? What sparked your interest in the craft?
In 1971 I was doing post graduate work in theatre at the
University of Florida. A group of us drove down to Tampa to see Marcel Marceau’
concert. I was blown away! When taking theatre classes eventually you’ll get a
section on mime, but I was not prepared for how powerful Marceau’s performance
was and the effect it would have on me. In 1972 I put together a group that
performed bawdy mime routines in a bar on the campus. My first paid gig as an
actor.
Later that year I started Bacchus Productions and we produced
shows (not mime) that we toured in Florida and Georgia. Including a prison tour
of a production of Waiting for Godot. After many incarnations Bacchus
Productions is still in business today.
Obviously, Marceau was a major influence in my decision to
pursue mime. But the style of comedy that Red Skelton was doing during “The
Silent Spot” each week on his show as well as the pantomimes that Sid Caesar
and Imogene Coca performed on Your Show of Shows would influence my performance
style.
AA:
Were you the only one to audition for the mime role? Were there any other mimes
in consideration, and if so, why were you specifically chosen?
Vinny Verrelli:
There was no audition. It was a matter of knowing the right
person and that person believing that I was the right choice.
AA:
Who at Nickelodeon/Warner Cable was responsible for producing these IDs? Who
decided on the “mime” these IDs? Who decided on the “mime” concept, as well as
using an actual Nickelodeon and related song?
Vinny Verrelli:
I’m sure I met the producer but don’t remember his name. I
think the reason they decided on a mime is there wasn’t much of a budget and
mimes work cheap. Also, (you) can eliminate the need for a boom operator. Add
to this that the producer’s girlfriend was a mime
AA:
Since footage of these segments have been so rare, what acts would the mime do?
How long would they last?
Vinny Verrelli:
A lot of the bits centered around the Mutoscope that was
used to represent a Nickelodeon. I remember doing multiple spots of me walking
by and noticing the machine, going over to it and looking into the viewfinder.
Someone off camera had a card that he waved over a light to create a flicker. I
would look down, then look at the camera and beckon to the camera to have a
look. Multiple versions of this same scenario were shot to get different
lengths for post.
At one time I had all the edited IDs plus dome raw footage
on one ¾ inch tape. I used a couple of them on my commercial reel and the
original tape is not around anymore. Had I any idea that there would have been
any interest in my meager contribution to Nickelodeon or that the channel would
grow to what it is today, I would have paid more attention. In 1979 it was a
gig.
AA:
Who selected your wardrobe? What purpose did it serve for the audience or
Nick’s branding identity (orange vest, green-striped shirt, bowler hat)?
(Ironically, orange would later become a major part of Nick’s identity!)
Vinny Verrelli:
At that time, I don’t think they were thinking of brand
identity. They weren’t even sure the channel would be picked up or take off.
Horizontal striped shirts (a French Sailor Shirt) was a standard look for mimes
going back to Marceau’s character Bip. The shirt and shoes were mine and I was
asked to get some grey jazz pants. The black ones would not have worked for
obvious reasons. The light grey popped out in front of the black surroundings.
I was provided with the grey derby which I was allowed to keep and used for
over 20 years.
AA: Was the mime intended to be a
specific character or branding mascot? If so, was he related to the channel’s
early programming? (Nickelodeon already had a mime character on its show
Pinwheel). I have read that in some early focus groups, some of the children
watching Nickelodeon identified with the mime and believed that he was actually
named “Nick Olodeon”!
Vinny Verrelli:
The mime didn’t represent any specific character I believe
that the mime simply represented innocence and playfulness. I wasn’t aware of
the “Pinwheel” mime.
AA:
Was there ever any concern that the mime would scare young children, as they
often have a fear of mimes and clowns?
Vinny Verrelli:
No concern was mentioned. But as I look at the clips today,
even I think I look a bit creepy. You’ll notice the mime wasn’t wearing white
face/clown white the traditional stark white look for mimes and clowns. This
was the look we used in the Claude Kipnis Mime Theatre. Accent the eyes and
mouth as that is where expression is made. Both Rita, the director, and I were
products of Claude’s company.
AA:
Was there a specific aesthetic or intentional look to these segments (such as
the black backdrop)? In the book “Nickelodeon Nation” by Heather Hendershot,
Nickelodeon executive Geraldine Laybourne describes them as “artsy” and
“loosely-goosey”.
Vinny Verrelli:
When you want something to stand out you put it in front of
a black backdrop. It’s simple and very cheap and is very forgiving if you don’t
have a great lighting director. No shadows. “Loosely-goosey” is very
descriptive of our process. We start here
AA:
Were the segments written, or were you allowed to improvise them? How did the
song “Music, Music, Music", by Theresa Brewer (as composed by Pinwheel’s
George James) affect your act?
Vinny Verrelli:
There was some basic scripting but most of them were done
with the camera rolling and Rita giving some directions. On other takes I was
told to do what I felt like. I was very familiar with the music and Teresa
Brewer was one of my first boyhood crushes. Often takes were done without any
playback. When the music was there it helped me to be more animated.
AA:
How were the IDs with just the hands filmed, and what were the purpose of those
as opposed to using the actual mime?
Vinny Verrelli:
All the hand only spots were done by Rita as her hands were better
looking. She had long, slender fingers. Most of the hand shots were taped after
I was released for the first day.
To tell you the truth I don’t think they really knew how
they were going to use everything. They just shot a lot of tape so they would
have a lot to play with. It was explained to me that sometimes there was very
little time between “shows” and short id’s like the eye crossing one would be
used for that. Sometimes there would be more time between “shows” and they
would use a longer one or cut it to fit. There were a lot of different versions
of the mime dancing with the broom.
AA:
How long were your IDs used on Nick? Do you know why they were eventually
replaced with the “Silver Ball” branding campaign?
Vinny Verrelli:
By the time I ever saw anything on Nickelodeon the IDs I
shot were gone. I’m sure once they realized that the channel was going to work,
they started spending more money.
AA:
Do you have any interesting stories from the Nickelodeon taping?
Vinny Verrelli:
I wish I could say there were. To be honest it was a gig. I
loved working with Rita as she encouraged me to have fun in front of the
camera. If you could get your hands on outtakes, you might have something.
AA: Were you ever recognized as the
“face” of Nickelodeon? How well-known was the channel at the time?
Vinny Verrelli:
I had a friend I went to high school with who lived in the
Panhandle of Florida who saw the show and asked me If I was the mime. At the
time we were shooting the IDs I don’t think the channel had actually launched.
They had some buyers who committed, and they produced the IDs to go with the
programing that they had.
AA:
In your opinion, has the channel changed for the better or worse since those
earliest days?
Vinny Verrelli:
That is so totally subjective, and I’ve read comments where
people have very strong opinions one way or the other. It’s hard for me to
imagine that this network grew from a tiny cable channel with a couple of hours
a programing a day to what it is now. Is the programing better? Production
values have certainly gotten better and I’m not the best person to ask. People
with strong opinions are those who grew up seeing the shows and now have
children watching the network. I was 30 years old when I shot the IDs and had
no children. I wasn’t watching a lot of children’s programing.
AA:
What other work have you done besides your role on Nickelodeon? Are you still
performing today?
I am still performing today but very much scaled back. I
have a stage persona, Vinny Verelli, who has taken possession of me and for the
last 20 years have been working as a humorous motivational speaker. I worked on
cruise ships as entertainer and cruise director. I was in the world premiere
production of Tiger Tail and got to work with Tennessee Williams. I also
performed with the Claude Kipnis Mime Theatre at Carnegie Hall. But it was the
prison tour of Waiting For Godot that had the biggest effect on me.
ADDITIONAL CAREER INFORMATION: The same year I recorded the
Nickelodeon spots I started working on cruise ships when I wasn’t touring with
the CKMT. On the ships I didn’t call myself a mime, I was a silent comic. And
like the IDs I didn’t use "White-Face" to do mime. This was a trait
of the Kipnis Mime Theatre. Claude didn’t see the need to put on clown white.
We would make our completion paler and accentuate the eyes and mouth to enhance
our expression.
In late 1982 I met a woman on the ship who was with the
revue company. A year later we were married and living in NYC. We worked up an
act together and when back on ships. In 1987 we started a production company in
Atlanta and for 20 years we produced theme party entertainment for the
corporate and convention business, interactive murder mysteries, costumed
characters and musical dance revues.
In 2007 we moved to the mountains of Northeast Georgia and
I continued to work solo as a humorous motivational speaker. The character of
Vinny Verelli was created in 1995 when a client called and asked for an actor
to pretend to be a motivational speaker for his meeting.
AA:
I understand that you could not recall the name of the producer at Nickelodeon
who was in charge of the IDs. However, I have come across a list of Nick
employees from that era (from a press kit), and the (male) employees include Al
Parinello (sales manager of Nickelodeon), James Cavazzini (Vice President of
Warner Cable), John Lack (another Vice President of Warner Cable) and Nyhl
Henson (General Manager of Nickelodeon). Would any of these names possibly ring
a bell?
Vinny Verrelli:
None ring a bell and plus all of the names above were in
too high a portion. I got the impression that was given to person low on the
ladder.
AA: Nickelodeon officially launched on April 1st, 1979. Could you recall the
time of year that these IDs were shot? (I have heard the network was originally
scheduled for a February launch)
Vinny Verrelli:
My best guess is that it was after our (Claude Kipnis Mime
Theatre) fall tour. Late October 1978.
AA:
The actress who played the mime on Pinwheel (Coco) was Caroline Cox, who has
also stated that she got her career started as a mime in New York City. Do you
recall working with her in any capacity?
Vinny Verrelli:
The name doesn’t ring a bell but that doesn’t mean we didn’t cross
paths. I went to every mime workshop I could and took at least one class with
all of the major mime teachers in the city. Claude Kipnis, Moni Yakim, Paul
Curtis, Richmond Shepard master classes with Jacques Lecoq, Etienne Decroux,
The Polish Mime Theatre and a one-week workshop with Marcel Marceau
AA:
Where were the IDs shot? I believe that Nick's original HQ was at Rockefeller
Plaza.
Vinny Verrelli:
We were in a basement studio off 6th Avenue, which was probably in
RP complex. The Center runs from 48-51th St between 5th and 6th Avenue. I
remember taking the F train to Rockefeller Center Station.
AA: Would the camera look inside the
mutoscope (Nickelodeon) after you walked up to it?
Vinny Verrelli:
The mutoscope wasn’t functional. There were some takes of me using
a finger to beckon the camera to "look." The camera would come in
close and there was a flickering light that was created by a grip waving a card
over a light quickly. This would dissolve into the start of a program. There
were angles of me looking into the machine with the flickering light on my
face.
AA:
For the question about the look/aesthetics of the IDs, you finished your answer
with "we start here". Did you accidentally leave out the last part of
the answer?
I went back and read my answer and am not sure where I was
going with that. But to actually answer the question of I wasn’t aware of any
intentional look. I was agreeing with the "loose-goosey" comment from
Geraldine Laybourne.
AA:
Thank you for generously taking your time to participate in this interview.
