On the set of "Doc West", 2008
I was born in Denver, Co, and raised on a farm outside of LaSalle, a small town 50 miles north of Denver. At age 27, I left the farm, moving to Denver for a year, on to Phoenix, AZ for less than a year, finally making my way to Albuquerque, NM in 1986. I have done many different things since arriving in the 'Land of Enchantment', including practicing and teaching massage therapy, working as a residential teacher, teaching everyday life skills to adults with developmental disabilities, and as a woodworker - building rustic furniture out of recycled wood. Along the way, I guess I also got the 'acting bug' - taking my first acting class in 1992. In addition to acting, I am also a writer, director and Independent film producer. I currently live in Albuquerque's south valley with my 5 dogs - all rescues - and jokingly refer to my property as the 'south valley dog sanctuary'.
"It Don't Mean Nothing" was my first endeavor as a screen writer, director and producer, winning the 'Audience Choice Award' in 2014 at the Intendence Film Festival in Denver CO. (Note: I didn't start writing - or making films - until age 55, and I always tell people, "It's never too late to start a new venture. So, follow your dreams!")
I wrote, directed and produced my second film, "Uncle Max" in 2015. During it's two year festival run, it garnered 11 wins and an additional 3 nominations, including the award for "Best New Mexico Film" at the Gallup Film Festival in 2017.
Even with two films under my belt, I decided I needed to learn more about filmmaking (especially film/sound editing), so I enrolled in film/editing classes at the Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) in Albuquerque, where I shot my third film, "The Backroom", for our 'finals' in our editing and sound design classes. During it's festival run, it had 10 wins, with an additional 7 nominations, including an "Award of Excellence" for "Best Comedy" at the Southern Shorts Film Awards in Roswell, GA.
My fourth film was a silly but fun micro-short - and 'faux' commercial - for a product called "Not Tonight Dear" (a sort of opposite to viagra). It had a short festival run, with no wins, but it was nominated - twice - for "Best Micro-Short Comedy" at the Austin Revolution Film Festival in Austin, TX - as well as the Bare Bones International Film Festival in Muskogee, OK.
My fifth film - and my first drama - was "A Bitter Reckoning", which deals with the heavy subject of assisted suicide. During it's two year festival run, it garnered 27 wins, with an additional 30 nominations, including a "Best Actor" award from the Laughlin International Film Festival in Laughlin, NV; "Best Actor" -AND- "Best Supporting Actor" awards from the Show Low Film Festival in Show Low, AZ; "Best Drama" from the Mindfield Film Festival in Albuquerque, NM; and a whopping 9 "Awards of Excellence" from the Southern Shorts Awards, in Roswell, GA for - "Acting", "Cinematography", "Directing", "Editing", "Music", "Production Design", "Screenwriting", "Sound Design", and "Best Drama". It also had it's last screening at the famed 'Chinese Theater' in Hollywood, California on Feb. 21, 2020, during the Golden State Film Festival (and right before the pandemic hit).
In 2019, I invested in 'Legion M', a fan based, fan owned film production and entertainment company. I saw it as a great opportunity (and chance) to become just a small part of some much bigger projects. Be sure to check them out on the Legion M page!
Updated: 02/04/2024