#8: Rusty DeWees: Conversation with Stowe's iconic Actor "The Logger"

Join us for a down-to-earth conversation with Rusty DeWees, Stowe's most beloved actor and storyteller. Best known for his iconic portrayal of "The Logger" in his one-man show, Rusty has become a Vermont legend, capturing the heart and humor of the Green Mountain State.

Rusty shares stories from his acting career, appearing in commercials, TV, Movies and "The Logger". Whether you’re a long-time fan or just discovering his work, this conversation offers a rare glimpse into the life and legacy of a true Stowe icon. Tune in for laughs, insights, and how to make it in show business with Rusty DeWees as your guide!

Transcript

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Welcome listeners to the Octagon Podcast. I'm Mike Carey here with my co host Ted Thorndyke. Today we've got Rusty DeWeese, who is an American actor, producer, and writer. He has worked in television and films and is best known for his one man hit comedy show, The Logger. Welcome, Rusty. Thanks gentlemen for having me. So let's kick things off. Tell us, how did you first get into acting in theater? I went to Stowe High School. My sister's five years older than me. She did the school plays. And, I was a little kid, we would be able to watch the older kids in the school plays. And I liked it. I liked her. She was great at it. And then I was never studying it as a kid in high school. I didn't read Shakespeare or anything, but we're, all three of us are the generation of still going to movies. So I went to movies all the time and I did the local plays, the county players and I got to be 29 years old. And after all those years of having fun doing theater, I looked at those film screens and I said, I'm. I'm curious about how you get onto that screen. And, it was curiosity. It wasn't trying to make a million dollars or be famous. It was curiosity. And I moved to New York. So you moved to New York. How did you really cut your teeth in the industry down there? I would imagine it's very cutthroat. It's a long, that's a long story. So I moved to New York again. I was just curious. I wasn't like, man, I'm going to be an actor. And I called Brian Smith is ahead of your time here. He's a local guy and he worked at an auction house called William Doyle galleries. I said, Hey Brian, I'm living in New York. He said, I have a boss. Boss is William Doyle. He was a 47 year old guy from Newton, Mass. And he has a big time auction house on 87th between first and Lex. And I'd been pumping gas on the Shelburne road. That was my job before moving to New York. He said, my boss needs a guy Friday, a right hand man. You'd be driving him, you'd be driving his three daughters to Spence and all the fancy schools and take care of his wife. And, he sits right up front with you, but you'll go over all over your, Long Island, East Hampton and all, and up and down Park Avenue and you'll be looking for antiques, so to speak. And I got that job and I was William Doyle's assistant. Okay. For six years. I would come home in the summer here and do summer stock because in the summer as manhattan's slow and then I'd go back and I had this unbelievable lightning struck in a bottle that I got this job being the assistant to William Doyle of William Doyle galleries for six years. I was a hayseeds dough boy and I learned about what money is, what that type of life is, what New York is, and I learned a lot about the art business and business in general. So that brings you up to that's i'm like 34 years old. I didn't do any industry acting at that point So still hadn't you're in new york city. You're working and so Tell us how that kind of morphed into acting that job was so fascinating but then I would come home in the summers that literally I would landscape during the day and I would do plays when the Rusty nail was a playhouse. Yeah, still play house And I was working with this guy Mark who was getting sober and he was a good guy During the day and he said I'm gonna do literally how do you got to get an agent? So I wasn't invested in New York. I was working for Bill Doyle. It was an unbelievable job. I was also making a lot of money, and I hadn't gone to New York. they say, you don't want to necessarily attach to a goal without allowing yourself a goal. To take those off roads if they're if they show themselves and I did so I'm being educated about life from builder and Long story either the guy that was landscaping with had to do a landscaping job after The day job and the landscaping job. He did he said you want to help me Russ? I said now he said he's a soap opera actor. I said, yeah, I met the soap opera actor was Benjamin Hendrickson Up in Sterling Valley. Oh wow. I'm about 33. I know nothing about how to do the acting business. Nothing. But I got a great gig in New York. And Ben, and Mark told Benjamin I was in New York trying to be an actor and Benjamin had gone to Juilliard. He's about 15 years older than me. He was had a. Contract job on a soap as the world turns and he'd been on Broadway and he says Rusty He's cool when you get back to New York in the fall Give me a call and i'll hook you up with my commercial agent. You got a good look I didn't even know what that meant But I guess it was good Yeah, so I said what does that mean? He says you can do anybody can do commercially you look like a cop You look like a bad guy. You look like a country bumpkin. You just are saleable. So I'll hook you. And he, I called him. That's again, that's the key. Yeah. Yeah. Got back to New York. Called him. And he hooked me up with one of the best commercial agents, just for commercials in New York. J. Michael Bloom, Sue King. Boom. She liked me. I met with her. She liked me. And in two weeks I was flying to LA to do a commercial for Kellogg's Corn Flakes where I was the only guy in it. I booked that quickly. That's literally I got my agent by landscaping in the summer. Again, I wasn't drilled into this acting thing. I'm gonna go up summer and do some. And I met her and I did 30 national commercials over the course of about 5 years. That's how I got into doing some, acting for money. Still working for Bill. ironically, your big break, so to speak, actually came in Stowe. In Stowe, Vermont. Literally. One of the big breaks in Sterling Valley. Benjamin Hendrickson became a good friend of mine and he ended up having difficulties in his life and was able to, he took his own life. But a troubled fellow, but yeah. Sweet guy. What would you say was your favorite commercial or the most memorable? You said you did 30. Yeah, that's a cool question. Cause it's I don't have kids. But who's your favorite kid? There's a lot. So I had a goal. Although I said, I'm not a goal guy, but I had a wish to do. I love Christmas to do Christmas commercial. And I ended up doing, a Christmas commercial for Wendy's. I did four Wendy's commercials and I, and I won it at that time. It was Chevy, like a rock, go rock. And I did four Chevy, like a rock commercials. Cause again, I'm saleable. I'm a Chevy guy, a favorite commercial, but Kellogg's was probably the favorite when you're a screen actors, guild union guy. They fly you first class. And I had my union card through a lucky thing. And, so I got that gig playing a Maine lobsterman for Keller's Corn Flakes, shooting it in L. A. so I fly first class. This is my first big commercial. that's cool. When you're like, I don't know, 34, that's 1980. 94, when people watched TV. So if you're going to do a commercial, a Keller Stormflakes commercial in 94, people are going to see you, your friends are going to see you. And, so I flew there and then there's the guy holding my name, Rusty DeWeese with the limo. He limos me to this place called Shutters on Santa Monica. Yeah, brand new then and I always had loved Robert De Niro back then he did really like serious stuff and I got out of that car at Shudders and I'm not kidding you and I step out and standing in front of me was Robert De Niro and Uman Thurman. So I'm like a 34 year old stoke kid who did local plays and through. Seeing a guy landscaping in Stowe, hooked up with an agent, booked right away, a Corflake excursion, where I'm the only guy in it, and I step out, and I see Robert De Niro. And I called, that was back when you called on the phone, I called my parents, I said you won't believe what's going on out here, man, it was so cool. that, you could say that was my favorite. because I was, that's probably the only commercial I've ever done where, a national commercial, where I was just the lead guy. Yeah. And also made a lot of money on that. Cause again, that was when you'd be on the Dan Rather news and those are big money things. So yeah, it's good. And and then I think you transitioned from that to shoot, TV shows and movies, or did you just keep doing commercials and look for something more artistically what led you to get into. Shows and movies good questions around about the same time. You guys know Jay Craven. He's a Vermont filmmaker From Barnett. Yep, and he's done a lot of stuff. So he was starting to do then the independent movies Okay, he knew me from the plays I had done when I was in my mid twenties in Burlington David Bud Bill's Jew divine made a big splash if something if a play you did in Burlington hit back then and It was noticeable again. If something hits now, like literally, a former president is shot in the ear, it's only a big deal for about three hours. Back then it was a big deal, so I became known. He put me in a movie it's called Where the Rivers Flow North, which was written by a guy from Irisburg, Howard Frank Mosier, Vermont y thing. And I was in that movie with Rip Torn and Treat Williams. Those fellas are both gone. And because Jay knew me, he put me in there. And that was just when independent movies were starting. And the New York Times drove all the way up to this little Vermont town where we were shootin I was called the champ and I was played the big strong guy where when you would go to a local fair You would fight the champ. You could put up money and if you beat the champ, you got the money I was a champ and rip torrens character is going to fight me Times came up did an article on jay craven in this independent this new thing in vermont that was in the New York Times and a picture of me and Rip Torn were in the New York Times. Again, this is 1990, let's say three. Yeah. Big deal. Yeah. Yeah. Big deal then. So I cut that out with scissors, mimeographed a hundred of them, wrote the little letter and typed them. It was all hard to do this stuff for me. you'd have to go to a place and I didn't know how to write things. Wrote a cover letter, sent out to a hundred agents, 10 of them got back to me and then a few of them started to send me out for what is called legit Work, which is not commercials. It's broadway stuff or tv. So I started to get sent out for legit stuff Because I was in the New York Times with Rip Torn because Jay Craven knew me because of plays I did when I was in my mid twenties. And I started to book things. Law and Orders, movies, big and small, soap operas. Bill Cosby had a show after the Bill Cosby show, his show, did a lot of TV. from that, sending that, Picture out and getting sent out. I didn't sign with a legit agent, but I was freelancing with several and I started booking big movie, black dog with Patrick Swayze. that's, so that's how I went from just having the commercial agent and also getting sent out legit. Yeah. so for some of these legit acts, what were some of your roles? you mentioned Cosby show, things like that. what were some of your characters and maybe even notable characters as you look back on all those? Yeah, I mean I did two law and orders. Yeah, and law and order is cool because it's great I think it's great still on the original one First of all, you get into a law and order and you get to work with Jerry Orbach I don't know how much you guys know about Jerry Orbach's an old Broadway guy and Big deal for a guy like me, Jerry Orbach, and Sam Waterston. And I played, the first one I got to kidnap this girl, Amanda Pete, who became really famous. And I worked with Amanda. And I get shot in the back in that show. And I'm seen a lot. And, it's a good roll, and again, it's Law and Order in 1993 or something or four or five. And, it's now getting on TVs, no goddamn big deal. But anyway, it was cool. And I liked it that it was a big deal. It was a big deal to me. I used to do plays in Hyde Park. And now I don't know anything. But I'm on these TV shows. That was cool. The second time I did Law Order, I was an arsonist. And again, I get to do a scene with Benjamin Bratt, who remembered me from the time before when I was on. Sam Waterston, you're a young guy and you're looking at Jerry Orbach. And he's playing a scene with you just as serious as a heart attack. And that's thrilling. Yeah, and then there's Carrie Lowell was in the little interrogation room looking through she was Richard Gere's wife at the time So there's that. I played a truck driver in Black Dog and I you know what I did I I got that I booked that's a long cool story about how I booked it But we'll pass that for time, but I booked this movie big one With, where I was driving a truck, going to drive a truck, and, I had, I used to drive for Percy when I got out of high school. I drove Dumped, I knew how to drive a truck, but it was many years. Now I'm 30 something years old. So I called up Rat Reed. Oh yeah. Did you know Rat? I knew him well. Of course. Great, good man. Oh yeah, he was a local guy, like a Jip Percy type of a thing. And Sundown Corporation. And I said, Rat, I got this frickin part in a movie and I told him I know how to drive truck. And I haven't You don't brush up on my skills. I, so I rented A truck and a guy from him and I came up on a weekend and we went up around the country club up in Pasadena where the country club is and I boned up on the truck thing and then when they tried me out on the set, so I had a part, pretty good part. So they, we did, we were doing my lines and everything. And then if I was going to drive the truck, I would get a lot more months on the set because it was a big truck stunt show. And if I could drive the truck. That was going to get me on that set for longer. So the head stunt guy comes to me, And he goes, Hey, we're going to try out the truck, Rusty. And I was all boned up. My Joe Patrick Swayze's Peterbilt. And he came back and he said, yeah, to the stunt coordinator, he can drive a truck. The stunt coordinator was Gary Himes and he had stunt coordinated the movie speed. Yeah, which was a big deal then. And he loved the authenticity of the actor. Who could actually drive the truck. So they'd put the cameras all over the truck and you're really driving it. Instead of just putting the actor, who doesn't know how to drive a truck, in the truck cab and shooting lights into it and then literally shaking it. So he loved that. I got two more months on that set. Just because I could drive the truck. and Meatloaf, I was Meatloaf's right hand man in that movie. So I got to know Meatloaf. That was literally when I was writing The Logger. So I would tell Meatloaf, what are you doing, I'm writing this thing, I'll tell you what you got to do, you got to go up there and get to nightclub and get to know the guy and say, you want a certain amount of money and a certain amount at the door, how you smoke a cigar and I learned that I got to meet Merle Haggard on that set. That was a fun, that was like a three month, picture. So for me and big truck stunts and just a God darn a lot of fun, but Rat Reed was involved in that. So you mentioned some of these, movie stars that you hung out with. Any good gossip stories here that you can share? in the nineties, those are good days. Those are some nice party times in New York and LA. I gotta believe. I only have rumors, so I'm not going to say rumors, but I'll, what I will say about that is, I worked with a lot of movie stars. And, and I'm not saying that because I worked with a lot of movie stars, worked with a lot of movie stars. And I will say to the person, I'll go down, all those guys I've already mentioned, work with a lot of movie star ladies. I worked with Cosby, Bill Cosby was the greatest guy on the set. They're all great. Yeah. They were all really great. And Brad Pitt, I worked with Brad Pitt. They're all great. to the person. And why? What is my opinion? Why is because first of all, their name is on the picture and they're serious and you don't get to be a big movie star unless you're pretty goddarn good at it. But I think there's an ingredient there where I think the big time folks know I'm a week player or a month player going to be on the picture for a month and they know that I'm nervous and but they want me to be comfortable. I'm comfortable. So they're very welcoming. Hey, how you doing? it's not Oh, you're playing the, okay. Yeah. So anyway, I need to know they're really to the person. They're really nice. And I think they're just trying to make you comfortable because they want you to be able to be comfortable, to give them the best comeback on their part. I am rip torn. It was very difficult to the crew. He's known as being that, and he was just awful to the crew people, but he was, he's Rip Torn was born in Texas. His name's Rip Torn, right? He was all alpha and he loved me cause we were fighting in that chain scene. And yeah, rusty. And, And, he, and I whipped the chain and he, it busts his lip and actually got in the New York times. The blood was real, and he loved it. He was hurt in front of this whole, this is a scene around extras and yeah. So he loved it. Oh yeah. Come on in there. In the, in my trailer, and I actually got the, he said, my kids are down there in New York doing plays. Let me hook you up with them. I can do some play. they love theater, Tennessee Williams. the best experiences. In the world with the so called famous people. Yeah, great. Yeah, that's awesome So obviously you mentioned talking to meatloaf about the logger that was very much in its infancy, right? What was the next step for the logger? How did it, take the next step in its growth? I wrote the second act of the logger on the set of black dog and then When I was down there, I had a poster made Harwood brian harwood and nox nimic and harwood and I came up and I put ads in the still reporter and I put the posters up myself and rented a town hall and people came. Had you moved back? No. I'm still in New York. Did you just think the longer there was something there that people in Vermont would gravitate to? Or is it just more your artistic Great question. I had done this, I'd mentioned, I'd done this play called Jew Divine, which was written by David Budbill. He's gone too, but, and it's about Vermont. It's like our town, but for Vermonters. And I did that play and we toured it. It was a huge hit and, I saw that people liked to hear, this real local Vermont y stuff. Again. You're talking many years ago, back when there were many, when you get a contractor, when one gets a contractor in Stowe now, hires a contractor, there's a darn good chance that contractor is going to be not from Vermont. This is going to be 10 years in Vermont, 20 years in Vermont, 25. Back in the day, 90s, if you were hiring a contractor, a lot of them were all from Vermont. So everybody knows that whole Vermont, God damn it. And I liked that. I worked for a walker. Yeah. And for Percy. Yeah. and then I had an ear for that. And for the working person, I was attracted to that person regarding literature. Yeah. and performance more than I'm attracted to a surgeon, I'm attracted to the surgeon, but I don't know that. So I would come home almost every weekend from New York, when I was living there, literally driving every weekend, almost with Rick and I, some of them and I would be going through these things in my head and I would just be like, yeah. Jenny Templeton, the 16 year old junior in high school. And I was writing these stories. I'm like, that's pretty good. I think that's okay. And then I got a couple of stories up, a couple of two classic ones. And I was like, I think I'm going to do that. I'm going to rent a little cafe and have my buddies over and put up a little poster. See if anybody wants to come. It was not like, you're going to do this for 30 years and make freaking, So the creative thing, it was coming. I never said I'm going to write this thing. I'm going to be a writer and then I'm going to produce it and people are going to watch it on the DVDs and calendars and people, kids are going to be dressing up like me at Christmas and, Halloween. But, I just, from Bill Doyle, it was William Doyle Gallery. This is the guy I worked for and is auctioneer. It was William Doyle Galleries. When we would go to a client and a client would open the door, a 70 year old woman wanting to sell two pieces in her apartment because she'd be like, you're William Doyle? so I applied that to my business. I'm the only one in that business. You come to a play when you were a kid, probably you did. And I, and you see me there standing there. I swept the floor. I took the, you call for tickets, you call my cell phone now. And so the Vermont part was, that really made a difference. Does still. But things are so much more, There's so many fingers now and everything that lead out that it's not concentrated. Vermont was more concentrated then so that personalization of it is still the same thing. If you're doing a coffee shop in town, you wouldn't be treating you. But that business was me. So the creative part was just my love for this type of working class. I used to watch Johnny Carson when I was 8, 9, 10 years old, My parents let me stay up. That was in me. And, then the business side of it, the Bill Doyle. I have these things I wrote, Oh, I can do that. Bill did that. And, people like me on stage. So those three things. And then I did it the first couple of times that people came. What year was this? Ninety six probably, the first big shows. Okay. And then so I was like, I'm going to do this again. Except I'm going to rent Morrisville's theater. Then I'm going to go to Montpelier the next weekend because I didn't, done plays when I was a kid. Yeah. And then I'm going to go to Woodstock. And if the papers come see me and they like it, the other people will read it. And then Neil, these people in Morrisville tell their neighbors in Montpelier, again, there wasn't anything to do. You got a guy that's been in movies doing Vermont or stuff in your gal darn local high school thing. And he knows Patrick Swayze and he's funny. You're going to go see him. You're not going to watch a Galadriel or whatever the hell on TV. You're going to say, so it went wham, and then it went wham, and then it went wham. And after my first big tour, I ended up at the Flynn Theater. I rented the Flynn Theater because We had toured Judi Divine, and if it picks up. And I ran into the Flint Theater, rented it. I was like, hell, the hell was I 35? And then I was gonna do Burlington and Cause, cause I'd done first night already. I had a couple of stories. I had 45 minutes and I did first night and people fricking loved it. I'm like, Oh my God, Burlington people like it. So I rented a Flynn theater and they said, we only have it for Monday and Tuesday. I said, I'll rent it for Monday and Tuesday. You want to get crazy? They looked at me. I said, no, I had an idea. I know the press. I knew Paula Routley. You're like, I'll fill it. Huh? I'll fill it. I did it two nights and it holds 1, 400 and Monday night and Tuesday night, a thousand people in it each night. Wow. And, I had an onstage party and then I kept doing it. And then it was about a year later, I was in New York still living and I'd go back and I'd say, I'd rent these little videos, of Robin Williams doing his show. And I'd say, He's I can do that. Good night. And then my friends in theater would say, no, you don't want to do a video of the logger. you're good because you're expressive and you're big and you're bad and you're spitting and sweating and everything. And I'm like, Oh yeah, I guess you're right. Then I'd watch Richard Pryor and I said, he's funny an inch and a half tall. So I rented a goddamn film crew and I rented Virgin's opera house, filled it two nights. Now these theater places weren't producing me. I wouldn't say, Hey, you're a theater place. Would you produce me? Can I come and you'll pay me, 1, 500? No, I bill Doyle debt. I was like, I'm writing, because these theater places are, they know how to do certain things. They have a subscription list and they get plate spinners and goddamn fricking clarinet players and all this stuff, which is great. I love all that shit. But when this old boy comes in there. Who's getting, 500 people and 300 more out front who are working class people. The theater owners and managers didn't know how to get them. So I had to rent it. And by the way, when you get 500 and 500, that's a thousand people in two nights, charging 15 bucks back then. And you're just paying to rent the theater for X and I ain't even paying a freaking I don't wear a stitch of makeup still Don't you know to me? So yeah, it was goddamn unbelievable. So then I was like I can do a video. I Did two nights three cameras taped of it taped my show and virgin's course just fill in the house Those both those nights paid for it. Yeah, then I got sponsors Cabot You want to sponsor me? I went down to see Ken Squire and Ken said, you want to do that and the rest of I'll make a call. Roberta McDonald. Hey, Roberta, I got this guy. He's pretty funny. Yeah. He's making a video. Yeah. Yeah. You should sponsor him. Okay. Boom. 10 grand. Done. You know what I mean? Of course, I hooked Roberta up for the next four or five, six years when her kids were at Williamstown High School in Ruston, would you come down and emcee the talent show? Goddamn I'll be there. so the first video comes out, I get a thousand of them. And in August, and I say, I'm going to sell these a thousand if I have to walk around, and do it myself to door to door. So a friend of mine had worked for Vermont Public Television, and and I had been known Vermont Public Television from years before, because Vermont Public Television came and taped. Judevine, the play I was in my twenties. So my friend called up this guy working there and he said, I got this friend that's got this video coming out. And yeah, we heard about him. He cusses in it and everything. I might be a good thing. Long story short, they edited some of it out with me there, some of the cussing and they used me as a pledge, when they pledge, my video as a pledge thing. And it was fricking in the winter, it was in December And the same thing with Ken Squire, the guy that He used to own DVD and just passed away. When he was, he got CBS to do the first flag to flag Daytona 500. He got them to, put that on CBS. Lo and behold, it's in February, Daytona 500 is, and the last lap, there's a big accident. You kill Yarborough and I think Alice and Bobby Allison get out and they fight. And Richard Petty was fourth and he goes by and he wins. There is a storm that day. In the Northeast and everybody was watching the first flag to flag race on a Sunday afternoon. Everybody was watching it. So when I did that, they did that first, pledge with me for there was a storm. Everybody was home. Again, three channels, Mike. yeah. Number three, number five, and thirty three. And everybody's home watching that goddamn thing. And then, all of a sudden, there's this guy on a black stage going, Jesus H. Christ, Jenny, I'm ruined. This is as hot as it can get. And they set a record of pledges Yeah. And then I was able to go around to all the bookstores, which there was a hundred and fifty independent bookstores in Vermont then. And I drove to every one of them. This ain't bullshit. Cause that's, I'm like, I'm going to do this all by myself. And I did, and I'd walk in and there'd be a bookstore and I'd go, Hey, I got this little video I did and to buy, have some and the owners and their husband would be like, Oh yeah, we heard you. Yeah, we're busy, but we'll take some how much you want. And I made a stupid, cause I didn't know anything. I was like, Oh, I want a 75, 25, I'll take 75%. And they were so not interested. They were like, yeah, sure. So I locked all these people in at 75, supposed to be 60, 40. And then there was born borders. There was Barnes and Noble. Then I was going to sell a thousand of them by Christmas, I'd sold 12, 000 of those videos. And 75 percent of it was going to me. Plus I was doing shows. Everybody's flocking to the shows and I was getting 20 for all the videos. and it's just you and it's just me literally. Yeah. I had a fiddle player. His wife would take the tickets and all early on and everything. So that's a logger thing. And then that's that's 28 years ago. And you're still doing the logger today. Not as much as you did. Not as much just because I don't do as much. Yeah. this this Saturday the 16th I'm at River Arts at six o'clock. Oh, okay. Yeah, doing the logger with Patrick Ross, my fiddle player. And has the act changed a lot? Oh, yeah. All the skits different? Any varieties? I'll do one story that was on that first video, because it's a classic. Yeah. But yeah, all the rest of it's changed. I do a lot of crowd work now, and basically I'll just talk to people and I did three videos, DVDs, and it's all different material over the years, and a lot of different material from then. And one thing I was reading about is that you do a lot of, motivational talks. You speak at schools. What is some of your messaging, when you give those talks? I started out when I started out doing the logger Ted, people thought I was the logger. I was just some guy that was that guy that could also do stand on scene. And then after it all picked up, wicked, I was like. I've got to get it out in the press that I've worked in New York. I've worked, what's that? Worked for Percy. I've worked for Percy, I've worked in New York. I'm substance free. Yeah. at that time, I've had a couple scotches since, but I don't, basically don't drink. I'm substance free as well. Good. Or bad or whatever. yeah. so I, that, I let that out. That started getting out. So then, I'd book the high school theater. And then I'd say, Hey, by the way, cause you're dealing with the person that works in the office. And a lot of people knew me by then because I've been in movies and stuff. And I wonder, do you have a drama class? Yes, we do. I wonder if the drama teacher would like me to come in and talk about acting. this is his or her email. So I email, I've been done this, I've done this, I've done this. And then it was like, Do you have a, whatever the person in school wants that nice messaging. And then I was like, I can also talk about this or that. And they went for it and I would do schools all year, early on, kids were asking me to do the graduation speeches. I would do three, four a year. No shit. Always free. And when the high school kids would either email me I'd say, I'll do it. But first of all, I got to know that it's not like some kid that likes me. I got to know that I was voted on. I said, listen, I'm not going to show up June 6th and do your graduation speech. If I'm going to commit to it, I'm going to come to one of your ball games this winter and meet you all. So I'd take the whole class to freaking pizza and everything, because I couldn't show up at June 11th and be like, class, I got to know them and everything. So it's just connecting. That's what this business was. That was on purpose. Yeah. I didn't want to show up and do a speech to people I didn't know, but also I knew it was Messaging was what everybody's messaging is. I would tell them some of this story, and a lot of the times the high schools wanted to have me in because I could speak to a certain student, the student that wasn't necessarily motivated, and wasn't necessarily, into the, the homework and that stuff, because I was that guy, right? and there was a little bit of the I'm healthy. I had muscles and everything now. I'm healthy. And you know what, I never done, I never did this. You can do it. But this is what could happen if you do, but if you don't, it worked for me. And so that was the message. The messaging was what anybody would say. But, I think what worked for me is, of course I do some of the show, right? Oh yeah. What worked before I do the so called, Motivational talk what worked for me was when I'm walking in front of those kids. First of all, they'd all watch the video a hundred times Second of all, I'm not an authority. I Walk on there. I wasn't the local cop. I wasn't the local nurse I was the good guy that has the money business or the woman that's running the real estate. I Was a freaking performer and I was one of them and their father has my hat Yep So that was fricking, they loved it, and would just say, He's a cool guy. I didn't know he was like that. So yeah, I did a lot of that stuff. Still do. That's awesome. I'm curious. Do you ever break into your character of the logger? Like out in public? You ever somewhere, just break into it? someone you're annoyed with? No, but that's a, actually brings up a really good point. Like when I started out, people thought I was that person. So this thing was huge. It was relatively speaking. So even now I I'd be at the Cumberland farms and I made this decision specifically at one in the morning coming back from Rutland after show and, Hey, what are you doing? and I was never the logger. I was always me. I made the decision to be me. Hey, what's going on? Good. How you doing? Where the hell are you? I was just down in Rutland doing a show, and, coming home late. Where you been? he's over, if I can, fabricating. My buddy's got a Dodge pickup anyway. Sometimes they'd go. Hey, you don't talk like you do on the thing. I said, no, that's a show a little bit, but anyway, they didn't care because I was being authentic. And that was a smart fucking somebody who I respect. The mentor said, don't ever let people know that you're not from Vermont. And I was driving home from that meeting and I was like, nope, I'm doing the other thing on my first video at the end I literally say i'm not from vermont. I'm not a native. I wasn't born here But so so I made that decision really early on and then people it was the right decision for me people plus I hate to always say this but that's why you had me on from a business standpoint. It was a really smart move Because then you had the logger that you could do And then you had the galled iron lawyer convention but they were more as interested in the fact that I'd done movies and I was this guy who is doing this whole business himself, figuring it out. So the fact that I had two, two real ways to sell myself. So you touched on it briefly. You, you said that you did not grow up in Vermont. we're just going to talk about, your stow life growing up. Where did you grow up and when did you come to stow? So that's semantics. I actually did grow up in Vermont since when I was seven, I wasn't born. So Philadelphia, I was born and my folks, I never got done thanking them. Okay. Bill and Marilyn, they moved to Stowe. Holly is my sister, five years old. And when I was seven, Stowe Hollow, Gilchrist Road. And I never got done thanking them. So from seven, I don't remember anything about Philly. It wasn't dramatic, but I don't know when you start remembering stuff. But, I don't remember anything about Philly. So I'm basically You know, my whole show is about, Flatlanders and all. And, but again, I never hid that, but, I grew up still Vermont since second grade, I was here. And did they move here for work or did they just love, just want to be in the same way, everybody, that's why I never, that's why I've never had an attitude about people who've moved in here, whether it was yesterday or 1997. I've never had an attitude. Whereas some people have, and I'm sitting there going. My parents did the same thing. It's just years later, I watched these gals, and guys running their kids around, now, whatever. and they got the yoga pants on and the guy's got the rivian or whatever they fucking and some people are like, gage Christ. And I go, that's my mother, right? Yeah. That's my mother in that Rivian or Tahoe with her Lululemons on, That woman's doing the same thing that my mom was. She's hustling around. Or the guy, my dad, would pick me up in his Ford pickup, not a rivian. that's when we grew up, I grew up here and, loved it. It's the same now. I think it's the same. there's different things about Stowe. But if you're moving here, yeah, they just moved here. Cause they liked it. It's the answer to your question. Yeah. Yeah. Get the family out of Philly. And yeah. So what was Stowe like back in the day? you have cool memories of driving trucks for Percy, what was the scene like? I could, I could give you specifics to the goddamn sun comes up again this morning, but I just already showed my hand, which is, It's the same, but it's different because it's different everywhere. I don't think it's, I wouldn't say it, Stowe, is different because Stowe is different. It's god damn different in Hardwick. It's different in some, Missoula, god damn Montana, right? But what was it like? simply The amount of times, and I know you've both done this, you especially, tons of them, the amount of times you come through town, a village, late at night, whether it's 10. 30 or midnight, the amount of times you come through town now, where there ain't a car on either side of the road, is Tiny compared to the amount of times that you drive through town and there wouldn't be a car on the road in 1968 or 78 or even 88 because let's face it. If there's a family, a husband, a wife or whatever, who the hell, who moved here 10 years ago, them fuckers are going, this is tiny. So different now. Ten years ago. Am I wrong? Yeah, it's true, right? So that's the way to put it in a nutshell. Yeah, there are fewer people. Yeah, that's all and now the fact that there are Society there's so many other things to offer when you were in Stowe before You were a hot lunch lady. You were the guy that worked for the town you were maybe Christ Almighty. Maybe you worked at IBM But there is only a certain amount of things you are doing. Now, you're working at home for, Prudential or your whatever. There are so many things. there are so many groups. But, if there was a booster club meeting, Every person that had a kid was at the booster club meeting and you knew all those people. Now there's a booster club meeting. there's that group of ladies and gentlemen who are involved in the booster club. And then there's the group over here that does the hockey. They all know each other, but they're all in their own separate thing. So the connection is, is not the through line doesn't go as far. It only goes so far. I know them. Yeah. Do you know them? They moved up. Oh, they go. Is there a kid, John? Oh yeah. I've heard of them. No. Back many, 68 to 78 to 80. Everybody knew everybody. Yeah. let's face it. you go up and down mountain road, you get the motels, right? You got, town and country. You got Golden Eagle. You got, they were all owned by families that had kids in school. Yes. Now, are there any left? I don't want to misspeak. Okay. Hillman's got Town and Country Marin, back then it was a, so that's the big difference. Hey man. I go to Commodities, I see all the gang, I see you at the ride, and I see you around. But it was just a small little town then, but it's not, I think they've just done a great job. Everyone who's moved here, it's still, I get that still hometown feeling. It's up to you, it's up to each of us individually if we want to have that cohesive. Tight knit feel in your own life in the town that you're in it's still up to you. It still exists Yeah, do you think that just to tie this to maybe there's kids in town or young people that want to get into Acting it has the acting business change It sounds like you made it due to all these connections you've made and really tapping into that and just throwing caution in The wind and going for it. Is that still available to kids today coming from Stowe that wanted following your footsteps? Yeah Oh, I can't tell you for sure, but I'm going to guess. I'm a guy that thinks life's been the same forever. This whole political thing, whether it was this year or four years ago. Shit that's happening. There's segments of it that are different, but everything's happened in history Before so i'm saying if you're going to go into the acting business it's not going to be that you can do shakespeare better than I can like It ain't going to be that right. That ain't gonna be why you're getting that's what I would tell a kid Yeah, it's going to be because you know me Because I can tell you to go to Doyle gallery And get a job on the weekend because I know this woman who runs it. I brought her to her father's funeral on her 16th birthday. She runs it now. There's your job. You get paid. Then you can go to this audition. I don't know how you're going to get. So I think that's the same, but I, and I don't know about this cause I don't care. the way you make money and the way you present yourself, literally present yourself is different. you do an audition, you just tape it at home. Hi, Rusted Wheeze, 6'4 190 pounds, then you read the thing. I don't know where I've been. So that's different. You used to go into auditions. So those fundamentals, some of the specifics are different. But the overall specific, acting, to be an actor, it's a business. It's not about your acting. Yeah, great point. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's a, it's a business man. So the people that made it back when I was a kid made it means, got work and, maybe even could, could make enough money to live on just that. People that did that then knew nothing more about theater or acting or the spec or standing on stage than the ones who didn't. The ones who didn't were like, they're gonna call me. Yeah. Yeah. And here's the Interesting thing I think about the acting business or the show business is I think if you're going to be a lawyer, there are certain steps that you take that a lot of lawyers take, probably want to go to school and learn shit But with acting, my thing was I drove a truck. My thing was a landscape. That's how I made it. Yeah. and you worked for William Doyle and I worked for William the business side did it all together. That's how I made it. You saw it. You figure out how you're going to make it, but the fundamentals of making it are connecting. maybe you can juggle 17 fricking balls on a fire. somehow you're going to get that out there, but you got to call somebody so that's the cool thing about acting or the thing that isn't so cool. Cause it depends on who you are. so the way I made it was my personality. I ain't gonna rush nothing. Sooner or later, I'm gonna shovel stones at a soap opera guy's house. But if somebody else does a track, then they can go to, Yale and do the drama thing and know all the kids from Yale that they're doing stuff with. And then they're going to go here in the summer and I'll go there and I'll do the, hand out the programs. That's their way. So I think it's a fun thing, the acting thing. I would say anybody who wants to do acting or, Movies are writing. This is great time because there's a lot more things doing. you're younger than me probably, but when we were growing up, how many new movies were there a year, a hundred, and, three main channels, ABC, CBS, and NBC, and each one had three shows a night times five is 15. So 15 times three, that's how many shows they were. Yeah. Now there's tons of opportunity for creative people. That's the, but there's a larger pool from which you have to shine through. Anyway, the arts is tricky. Yeah. So you touched on just what you love about Stowe and the community. and I think you have a really cool outlook on, it has changed and it has, and it really does come down to each individual about how the relationship they want to have with Stowe. What is your hope for Stowe in the next 10 years? I'm putting you on the spot, Rusty. I don't know about this part of it because I don't follow it. Although I might go to the select board meeting tomorrow night because a friend of mine goes. And I said, geez, I might want to go to one. My goddamn hope for Stowe is that, regarding infrastructure, something happens. That's basically like a fundamental like structural thing because god darn it, guys know there's one road up to that thing So I go i'm glad i'm not these people that's in charge of this again Because I don't know what the hell my hope for stowe is I guess my overall grand not grand my overall philosophy about life is back to what you were just leading that question in with is Stowe is going to be whatever the people who are living there are going to be. So I don't have any hope for Stowe. I have hope for humanity that everybody that moves in here is going to have their difficulties. They're going to have their tough times in life, but everyone that moves in here or passes through is, is a forward looking, good feeling person. So then Stowe doesn't have to worry. Are they going to decide to? Put, lit up signs outside of their motels. It's up to these people that are making decisions. But I just think it's the greatest place still. I think it's the greatest place. But I think it's still unbelievable. Now, if you're some family, I tell people all the time, move here. I got fired from, hosting the July 4th parade last year. I did some shit they didn't like, but Really? It's just truly true. I shouldn't be laughing. It's true! But I used to tell there'd be thousands of people July 4th. I'd say thanks for everybody for coming. Y'all look good I hope you're having fun. Hey, listen Move here my parents moved here. Yeah When the big mountain thing was changing some of the old timers, you know when the big mountain the resort Yeah, it was going up there. What did I do? I sat next to Hank Lundy coming back, flying back from somewhere or something. Hey, Hank. Hey, I'm Hank Lundy. Hey, rusty. You're Rusty, right? Grew up Barry. Okay, cool. Hank. Yeah. And I was like, Hey, man, when you get that fucking place going, hire me. I reached straight onto it. Yeah. And they wanted me to be the first guy at doing a show up there, but they got James Taylor instead. but they hired me to host a thing. I didn't go. It's changed by my friends some of them sit around It's changed the personalities change personalities chasing now. I'm not smart and I'm not I'm smart I'm not educated and I'd sit there and I'd hear him talking and then I finally go So yeah, you don't like that big mountain. No, it's a monstrosity. It's all and I'd say, you know because these guys have been here since like late 60s or even late 50s and I'd say What do you think the ow people that used to live here before there was any trails said? When they gonna cut the first trails into there? Good point. It's all loggers. What do you think them fricking farmers down the valley here. Yeah. We're saying ruining this place going. It's all perspective. Yeah. Going put, they're cutting in them trails. I used to hunt up there with my grandfather. Yep. You ain't gonna be able to hunt up there. You're going to be people coming up. So you are. Who you don't like. You know what I mean? I didn't necessarily say it in those words. Yeah, that's a great point. So that leads us to our final question that we ask all of our guests. If Stowe did not exist in this world, where do you think you'd be living? Yeah, that's cool, that's really interesting because now I have to put myself into my parents mind and you didn't, I didn't, my sister and I always talk about it. I was seven Holly and you were 12 and we didn't know our parents were sitting around at night going, man, are we going to get that? We're going to burn that land up there. We didn't know that was happening. I think my parents would have moved somewhere that, echoed the essence of what Stowe has to, had to offer, which was safety. Yeah. tangible community. nature. I think that, I, would've gone somewhere else that would be similar to this. but if Stowe didn't exist, I'm a glass all full guy. I am so grateful that, I say it to people, I say it to my parents. I just told you twice. I don't know if we were on the air yet. I thanked my parents. My dad died 2005. He was 94. He was 20 years older than my mother. He was 50 years, he was 50 years old when I was born. I was able to thank him and I was able to thank my mother many more times. I said, you and dad were geniuses to move up here. And, I thanked him and I say to myself, listen, if you were in Hardwick, if you're in Ludenberg, there's a Jerusalem Vermont. Did you know that? Yeah. if you were in them places are just as good. I was just in Italy and I rented a big boat from the two guys and Giuseppe and Mario was driving us, me and Larry, And them guys were, that's Priano, I live. They love their place like I love this place. Yeah. Yeah. But Stowe, Vermont, I think to myself, I, my parents moved me to a town where the staple in the classic Americana church, whatever your religion is, that's community church, is 170 feet in the air. And they moved me to a town where there's snow. And they moved us to a town where there's the river going through it. there were geniuses. So I'm flabbergasted. And I don't care. There's people that come here now because here is just like Nantucket and these other places. It's a trinket shop, basically in a sense. And I watch them people taking pictures of that steeple. Cause I grew up in that church. My dad was head. But I also see. People that are just walking. I don't know this for a fact, but people are walking the streets of Stowe and they really ain't looking up at that. And if they are, they're not marveling at it. And that's fine. But that's such a pillar to me. And, that it's indescribable that I've grown up and I still live in this town. It freaks me out. honest to God. Awesome. Thanks, Rusty. thanks for having me. Yeah, I hope it works out. You can bleep out the cusses. No, we're gonna keep going. Okay, good. Thanks. Awesome. Thank you.