Straight-Talk

Dean writes Agent Straight-Talk, a consumer blog on dental insurance and discount dental plans. Dean shoots from the hip highlighting best practices and trends within the dental insurance industry.

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In our last blog post we wrote about how Indiana native Byron (our subject’s middle name), left California at age 9 to live with relatives back home in Indiana after the tragic death of his mother. 

Byron’s father, a dental technician employed by a California VA facility, was deep in debt due to his wife’s medical expenses incurred during her illness. His family also knew he needed time to adjust to raising a young boy on his own. His sister, Ortense, and her husband Marcus had always wanted a son of their own, and they gladly provided Byron all the love, affection and attention he wanted.

On his 13th birthday his aunt and uncle provided him a small motorbike called a Whizzer.  Even though he remained small for his age, Byron soon outgrew the small motorbike and traded it for a small motorcycle.

The citizens of the small north central Indiana town grew accustomed to the sight of Byron racing through town on what sounded like a rocket. Years later shop owners would reminisce to visiting journalists how you could hear Byron and his bike coming from miles away.

When Byron was 14 his life was again upended, although in a different way. His aunt and uncle had a son of their own, Marcus Jr., and suddenly Byron was no longer the only youngster needing attention.  So what does an Indiana boy due to earn attention in a state renowned for basketball and motor sports?

Byron's uncle Marcus set up a basket in the family barn and Byron spent countless hours shooting and working on his dribbling skills. Like every new venture he undertook he attacked it with gusto, adding barbell lifting and a running regimen as part of his self-training routine.

Byron’s hard work paid off, netting him roster spots as a freshman on the high school basketball and track teams. His sophomore year he added baseball to his athletic repertoire, playing different infield positions.

On the basketball court, Bryon quickly became known for his quickness and aggressive play, once scoring 40 points during his junior year over a three-game span – years before high school basketball adopted a shot clock and 3-point shot. His uncle also recalled years later that he also broke at least a dozen pairs of eyeglasses over the years.

What a Drama King!

As a pre-teen, Byron often amused family and friends by imitating radio personalities like Jack Benny and Bob Hope. He also enjoyed entertaining classmates by mimicking different teachers and friends by playing the role of a racing announcer calling a big race.

In high school Byron found two outlets for entertaining others: Drama Club and the debate team. During his high school years he played a variety of acting roles before winning a statewide competition portraying a character from a Charles Dickens book. 

His senior year of high school Byron failed to place in a national acting competition because he stubbornly refused to cut two minutes from his presentation. Undeterred, he returned from the competition announcing that he wanted to become an actor.

His family thought it might be another phase Byron was going through because previously he expressed interest in practicing law, studying medicine, painting and even entering the ministry. When his family realized this time he was serious about his ambition, they supported their nephew by agreeing he would probably get better training and opportunity in California – not to mention he could finally reunite with his father who had returned from World War II.

Two weeks later after being voted his high school’s best all-around athlete and honored by the art department as outstanding student, Byron boarded an Indiana train bound for California and movie glory.

Don’t Call Us, We’ll Call You

Reunited with his father and stepmother, Byron enrolled in the pre-law program at Santa Monica College while scouring Hollywood for acting jobs between studies. He spent one year at Santa Monica before transferring to UCLA’s drama department, a decision that angered his father and reopened the estrangement between the two.

A chance encounter in 1950 led to Bryon’s first paying job in television when he worked as an extra in a couple of Pepsi-Cola commercials.