Regalbuto Whisperer

This is a weird "coincidence."

Let's see where do I begin?

Okay, on Fridays I watch Ghost Whisperer, but this past Friday (yesterday) I missed it. I wasn't even able to tape it. Boo hoo. Anyway, the episode title was "Save Our Souls."

Okay now rewind to 1988. (This is how I remember it.) My mom and I were on vaca in L.A. and we got tickets to see a taping of Murphy Brown. Not just any taping, this was the pilot. So there were a lot of "important" people in the audience, chatting before it started. We were seated next to Faye Dunaway (at least for a little while...she said something about better seats and then was gone). My mom and her were talking about the guy on the show who plays Frank. They commented that the actor has been in so many things, but they could not think of his name. They found out his name was Joe Regalbuto.

This guy has guest starred on sooooo many classic '80s TV series. Golden Girls, St. Elsewhere, Knotts Landing, Mork & Mindy, Barney Miller, Bosom Buddies, just to name a few. So from then on, my mom and I referred to any actor who has had a ton of small or guest roles but you have no clue what their name is, as "Joe Regalbuto." The legend was born. And ironically, he went on to star on Murphy Brown for the next 10 years and has barely been heard from since. As soon as we learned his name, he stopped being a Joe Regalbuto!

Okay now fast forward to the present. Well, 10 minutes ago. I was looking up the new movie What Just Happened 'cuz I have a pass to an advance screening. So I looked it up on the IMDB. Stanley Tucci is one of the stars. I thought to myself "hmm, he's one of those Joe Regalbutos who's been in so many good things but nothing I could really tell you off the top of my head." And then I thought "I wonder what Joe Regalbuto has been up to. Has he reclaimed his Joe Regalbuto status?" So I checked IMDB. He's only got about a dozen credits since 2000. The most recent credit?

Ghost Whisperer
-Save Our Souls

I swear I did not see previews for this episode or anything. I had NO idea.
Isn't that weird?????????


P.S. Okay maybe it wasn't a total coinky dink.

When I said "I wasn't even able to tape it" that wasn't entirely accurate. I got home around 8:30 and pressed record. So I got the second half on tape, but I hadn't watched it cuz you know, what's the point? I'm not sure, but most likely I turned the TV on to start the recording and then I turned it off or muted it and got on the computer. So I did see a literal glimpse of the episode. I just played the tape. It begins with Jennifer Love Hewitt and our boy Joe exchanging a couple of lines. So I must have seen his face. Even though I had no recollection of it 10 minutes ago, and I don't think I even acknowledged it at the time, my subconscious must have taken note. Once he was in my subconscious I was more likely to refer to the Joe Regalbuto phenomenon in my head and to get curious about his resume. It wasn't really out of the blue that I clicked on his IMDB after all. But I sure was convinced.

Just goes to show, what seems like a strange coincidence could just be an example of the quiet ways your subconscious influences everything you think, say, and do!

Best career for a TV actor

I've figured out the prized role for an actor if you can't be a regular character on a show but you want to at least be a recurring character.... Shrink.

Bringing a psychotherapist in is an easy way for the writers to explain a character's motivations or sum up a story line, and everyone's got problems, especially characters on TV, so you'll always have work. It may be months or years even between episodes, but they will bring you back.

As long as you're a good psychologist and stay neutral you won't be in danger of getting written off. Rarely does anyone on TV or in real life end a relationship with a therapist permanently. People are much more likely to end relations with or kill lovers, even family members. Therps are safe. Look at Lorraine Bracco on The Sopranos. She played Dr. Jennifer Melfi throughout the series run. Not many characters on that show survived til the end!

Here are a few other examples of actors steadily working as shrinks...

Patricia Wettig played Dr. Judy Barnett on Alias for 12 episodes over 3 years. 3 in season 1, 4 in season 2, and 5 in season 3. That'll keep the bills paid, right?

Jane Lynch plays Boston Legal's "sexual surrogate" (a sex therapist with benefits) Joanna Monroe. She has been in 4 episodes over 3 years.

Jane Lynch has also been playing Dr. Linda Freeman the last 4 years on Two and a Half Men. She has counseled Charlie in a total of 8 episodes.

I'm sure there are more. Anyone wanna help me out? Comment with your favorite TV therp.....