By Kenneth Hesselbacher
It was June 26, 1960 when Martin Scorsese and I graduated from Cardinal Hayes High School. Hayes, rising from the Grand Concourse and 151st in the Bronx is a cathedral dedicated to higher learning and strong discipline. Some say it is in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, a nearby cathedral dedicated to baseball excellence. From my perspective, I prefer to think that Yankee Stadium is in the shadow of Cardinal Hayes.
The ceremony took place in Saint Patrick’s, Fifth Avenue and 50th Street in Manhattan, a cathedral dedicated to heavenly excellence. At the conclusion, I stood on the stairs and gazed across the street at the bigger than life statue of Atlas holding the weight of the world on his shoulders. I thought that I would prefer to have the world on a string sitting on a rainbow rather than having it on my shoulders!
Suddenly, Marty came up to me saying, “ Kenny Kenny now that high school is finally over, I’m going to make movies and I have a perfect role for you!” “Marty Marty” I replied, “ Are you talking to me?” Yes, of course he was, and I had to sadly explain that I had other plans. It was time to get on with our lives. I could tell that Marty was disappointed and, as he walked away, the last words I heard him say were, “Now I’m going to have pitch the deal to Bobby DeNiro.”
Up to the point in this story where Marty spoke to me is as truthful and factual as memory can recall from the distance of sixty years. Marty never approached me on the steps of Saint Patrick’s. There were 695 graduates including Marty and I in the Class of 1960. I did not know Marty and I doubt that Marty knew me. The reason I tell this story is because I enjoy weaving fiction within a factual event/background. I think the term for this is historical fiction. Others may have another term for it.
As fate would have it I did eventually became an actor. It would not happen until 1990 and it would be on the stage rather than the screen. There is no experience quite like the theatre when the audience is live and at the end of each show the applause rains down on the actors! My twenty five year career took place at the renowned Elmwood Theater in Nyack, New York.
In 1990 I gave a riveting performance as Westcott in “ The Man Who Came to Dinner” and in 2015, in my final performance, I gave another riveting performance as D. R. Musgrove in “A Time to Kill”. The fact that they were my only performances are, I feel, a testament to the fact that I was very selective in suitable roles and, I experienced a severe and prolonged case of stage freight!
And now as June 26, 2020 approaches, I plan to be on the steps of Saint Patricks Cathedral. I know that the statue of Atlas, with the weight of the world still on his shoulders will still be there. And maybe, just maybe, Marty will be there offering me a role that I cannot refuse. If this does happen, I will, of course accept the offer.
If Marty is not there well, I will still have the world on a string, sitting on a rainbow!
