Don’t Be Ridiculous!
Perfect Strangers’ Bronson Pinchot Acts Up with Perfectly Strange Gonzo

As told to Jim Lewis
Photos by Aaron Rapoport

Bronson: "To play the part of Sherlock Holmes, you have to ask questions like a great detective . . .  ‘I say, my good man, do you know the way to Scotland Yard?’"
Gonzo: "Aye, I saw Scotland Yard while I was a-comin’ through the rye."
Bronson: "Rye?  Actually, I’d rather have whole wheat or pumpernickel."
Gonzo: "You’ll be the toast of the town!"

To be or not to be.  That is the question . . . Two bees or not two bees.  That is the question . . . Tubas or not tubas?  Is that the question?  Hello, acting fans.  It is I – The Great Gonzo – practicing the famous two bees in a tuba scene from Willie Shakespeare’s tribute to Miss Piggy – Hamlet.  I love great acting.  And since I am about to audition for the biggest part of my career, I’m very lucky to be meeting that wonderful actor – Bronson Pinchot!

You all know Bronson as Balki, that odd and lovable shepherd from Mypos, on the hit TV show Perfect Strangers.  But is this the only acting Bronson has done?

Don’t be ridiculous!

Bronson is a classically trained actor, which means he had to go to all of his classes when he studied acting at Yale University.  He’s starred on stage and screen, and wowed audiences everywhere with his performance in hit movies like Beverly Hills Cops, Risky Business and The Flamingo Kid.  Now join us as Bronson Pinchot helps me learn all about the wide, wonderful and sometimes weird world of acting.

BRONSON: Hiya, Gonzo!

GONZO: Howdy, Bronson!  I’m up for the biggest part of my career.  Can you help me?

BRONSON: Well, what do you want to learn?

GONZO: How to be a character.

BRONSON: Oh, Gonzo, you already are quite a character . . .  Just kidding.  You mean, how an actor creates the character he or she performs on stage or on television.

GONZO: Yeah.  Like your character, Balki, on Perfect Strangers.  I love him.  He’s funny, innocent, excited and sometimes a little weird.

BRONSON: There you go.  You’ve started doing the actor’s job.

GONZO: I have?

BRONSON: Sure.  Before actors can play a part, they have to think about what their character is like.

GONZO: You mean, funny, innocent, excited, and stuff like that?

BRONSON: Exactly.  In fact, that’s the way the creators of Perfect Strangers described the Balki character to me.  And that was before we ever did the first show, or even had a name for the character.

GONZO: Gosh!  So then you created the character?

BRONSON: Uh, not quite.  I had to think about Balki some more.  I thought and thought.  Then, one day, I was sitting down and I became fascinated by my shoes.  They were just regular shoes, but I started to think about how some people don’t have shoes, and what a great invention shoes are, and how lucky I was to have this pair of shoes.  You know what?  That was the very first time I knew how Balki would look and everything and everyone in the world around him.

GONZO: Wow!  What a story!  Remember, you heard it here first, folks!  Then you were ready to play Balki?

BRONSON: Almost.  I thought about how Balki is so kind.  I remembered all the kind, wonderful people in my life.  You might say that I collected pieces of purity from everyone – like my brothers and sister when we were all kids.  Then, using those memories and my imagination, I was able to create the character.

GONZO: Gee, but your voice doesn’t sound like Balki’s.  How did you come up with his accent?  It’s . . . weird.

BRONSON: Uh, thank you, Gonzo.  The accent is only one part of the character, but it is important.  I adapted Balki’s accent from the accent of someone I had worked with.  It’s how I imagine a shepherd from the island of Mypos would sound.

GONZO: Do you ever have trouble turning into Balki when you’ve been away from the show for a while?

BRONSON: Not really.  Thanks to Mark Linn-Baker, who plays Cousin Larry.  I’m able to get right into character once we get on the set.  Mark gives me a look that seems to ask "Do you understand?"  And I immediately start to think like Balki, who really only understands love.

Bronson: "To play the part of a swashbuckling pirate, you must feel like a pirate and you must talk like a pirate! . . .  ‘Aarrggh! Shiver me timbers!’"
Gonzo: "Why?  Are they cold?"
Bronson: "Yeah.  Maybe I ought to buckle my swash."

GONZO: Before we try on these costumes and practice our acting, could you tell me how Balki got his name?

BRONSON: Sure.  You see, when I was younger, my sister Jennifer was always making up silly nonsense words . . .

GONZO: A very important talent!

BRONSON: You bet.  Well, when our family was about to get a dog, she said "Let’s call it Balki . . . That’s short for balcony."  I always remembered that, and so we decided to use it as the name for my character.

GONZO: Golly, Bronson, there sure is a lot of you in Balki.  Are you two exactly alike?

BRONSON: Not exactly.  After all, he’s a shepherd from a Mediterranean island and I’m an actor who grew up in California.  But, with any actor, there’s always a little piece of you in any part that you play.

GONZO: Great!  That means I may pass this audition and get the biggest part of my entire career!

BRONSON: I hope so, Gonzo.  Tell me, what’s the part?

GONZO: It’s a great challenge: the title role of The Great Gonzo in The Great Gonzo Story, a new musical-comedy-drama-adventure-thriller written by me – the Great Gonzo!  Do you think I’ll get the part?

BRONSON: Don’t be ridiculous!

GONZO: But, gosh, I am ridiculous!

BRONSON: Then I know you’ll get the part, Gonzo!

GONZO: Thanks, Bronson!  What an actor!  What a pal!

Bronson: "To play the part of The Great Gonzo, all you have to do is be yourself."
Gonzo: "That’s weird."
Bronson: "See, you’re perfect for the part.  Strange, but perfect."
Gonzo: "Yeah, I’m kind of a perfect stranger, too!"