March 17, 2004
Tate brings 'Pink Lady' back to school
'Grease' actress speaks at lecture
By De'Borah Bankston
SMU Daily Campus
March 17, 2004
Having a career that has spanned over 30 years, actress Stockard Channing believes that we often picture ourselves on the stairway to heaven and find ourselves on the road to hell instead.
“Life isn’t always what you planned,” Channing said. “We may plan one path and end up on another. What’s important to remember is that during the times when your down … keep your eyes open for other opportunities.
Don’t lock in on a particular mindset or vision of what your life is supposed to be or you won’t survive in any career.”
Channing shared her experiences during a spirited discussion with her old friend, dramatist John Guare as part of the Tate Distinguished Lecture Series in McFarlin Auditorium on Tuesday night. Channing, who currently plays First Lady Abigail Bartlett in the hit television series “West Wing,” is also known for her role as Betty Rizzo in the movie Grease alongside John Travolta.
“Grease was a great money-maker,” Channing said, “But it wasn’t too great for the careers of the people who acted in it. Everyone thought of it as a kid movie. They might think of it in a different way today. Today, box-office take is an indicator in an actor’s career. After Grease, things were pretty crappy for a while.”
Channing said that there were times when she lost track of where her life was heading. During those times, she kept her eyes open to other options and kept in touch with old friends.
“There were so many times when I would be offered a great job, then the rug would be pulled out from under me,” Channing said. “I have crashed and burned so many times over the years. It’s been hard sometimes to keep up-beat and level-headed about the whole thing. I just had to keep an open mind and something else would come along.
When things became the most confusing for her, she returned to her roots in the theater. From there, she was invited back for other movie and television parts.
It was during one of those times that she received the call to play Abigail on “West Wing.”
“I really like being in ‘West Wing,’” Channing said. “I believe that it allows people to see things about how things work in government that they never knew before. … Mostly though, I think people like the characters. I am welcomed as Abby wherever I go.”
Channing said the funniest thing that had happened was when five elderly women met her backstage at a play.
They commented on her performances in “West Wing” and said that they were happy because Rizzo had turned out all right.
Channing began her acting career in the theater with a group of young students at Harvard who were performing in their own stage troupe. Among the students that she worked with were Tommy Lee Jones and John Lithglow.
“We were just a bunch of smart-assed kids, highly educated and hungry,” Channing said. “That time in the ‘60s was so unique. … You just felt that you could make life whatever you wanted it to be.”
Channing said that as an understudy, she feared that she would never get her “big break.” But after the lead actress gave her a chance to perform one night, she began her career on stage.
Guare, who worked with Channing when she performed in “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” in 1971, first saw her when she began work as an understudy.
“She had made such an impression on me during her reading at the audition and the one night that she played the lead in [a] play, that I just had to have her,” Guare said.
Channing’s performances have garnered her two Tony Awards, an Obie and several Golden Globes.
“The important thing to remember in the future is to keep an open mind,” Channing said. “Life may not be what you planned. It may, however, turn out to be more interesting.”
