Joey Pantoliano's Fights Stigma Against Mental Illness, Bill Engvall Vindicated
By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
May 27, 2008
It was only last October that Joey Pantoliano announced on the National Alliance on Mental Illness blog that he has been suffering from clinical depression for the last decade -- but has he ever accomplished a lot since then! Pantoliano charged up Capitol Hill last week and spoke to members of Congress in his ongoing mission to strike down the stigma surrounding mental illness. On Wednesday night, (5/28) the Emmy-winning actor of "The Sopranos" and "The Matrix" fame continues his efforts as emcee of the 2008 Voice Awards at Paramount Studios, honoring productions and individuals for depicting mental illness accurately and respectfully.
Engvall Feeling Vindicated Thanks To Show's Success
Pantoliano decided to speak out after being asked to sign a waiver stating that he'd personally be liable for any production costs incurred as a result of delays caused on a movie in the event he had a breakdown. That request came after a routine film insurance company exam, during which he told the doctor he took "an anti-depressive, a minimal amount, to stay healthy." On the other hand, his taking of statins to ward off heart disease didn't bother the firm.
"They said they would cover the heart, but not the brain," he recalls. Subsequently, he established No Kidding, Me Too! -- a nonprofit organization seeking "the same constitutional rights for the all-American brain as are given to the all-American kidney, the all-American heart and the all-American lung."
Now, says Pantoliano, who just finished filming the big-screen adaptation of Shem Bitterman's acclaimed play, "The Job," "The fact I opened my trap has had a positive result. I'm happy to say that the last three jobs I've been on, they haven't asked me to sign a waiver like that."
No Kidding, Me Too! is honoring Sally Field for her contributions toward educating the public about mental health through film and television following the Voice Awards, which are sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
HE WHO LAUGHS LAST: Comedian Bill Engvall, whose "The Bill Engvall Show" took a little bit of a beating from critics, says he felt vindicated once the family show became one of cable's highest-rated sitcoms. "The overall response to the show was great. It was thrilling to me because some members of the media took some pretty vicious shots at the show because of its genre -- saying we're not edgy or I've seen that joke a million times. When it came out and it was the second-rated comedy on cable, it was a nice little umph," he notes. "People can bash it all they want, and I've gotten that my entire career, but it's a funny show."
In fact, the show is coming back for its second season on June 12. Notes Engvall, "One of the problems is, we only did eight episodes the first season and it was eight months before they could see it again, so we had a lot of people asking if we got canceled. For this season, they've ordered 10 episodes and then also five bonus scripts, so we hope they turn those bonus scripts into shows." Despite possible future criticism, Engvall says he's having a blast living out his dream and he's certainly not going to let any negative opinions change that. "Every day I drive on this lot and I look at that stage door, it's still just as amazing to me. This was a dream I had from the time I knew what television was. I've never understood why people wait their whole lives to get on a show and then they get on one and act like a jack---." I
INDUSTRY BITS: Shooting starts later this week on "American Intervention," talked up as a funny spoof of "American Idol" -- and isn't it about time? -- from Peter Torres and Tricia Ward.
Lifetime TV, which has been cultivating an activist edge, is doing a movie called "Prayers for Bobby" about a gay teenage boy who jumps from an overpass into the path of truck. Stan Brooks is producing.
Don't be surprised to see James Caan pop up in "Mercy" -- the indie romantic film son Scott wrote and is producing himself, and in which Scott stars with Dylan McDermott, Erika Christensen and Troy Garity.
Steve Schirripa says playing Bobby Baccalieri on "The Sopranos" was one of the best jobs he ever had, but with the show off the air for good, he tells us he wants to take his career in a new direction: "I like comedy stuff so I think that's the way I'm going."
With reports by Stephanie DuBois and Emily Feimster.
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