Glimpses by Matt Williams

Author:Matt Williams [Williams, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Forefront Books
Published: 2024-02-13T00:00:00+00:00

27 ONE MORE YEAR

As soon as he saw the Big Boots, Pooh knew that an Adventure was going to happen.

—WINNIE-THE-POOH

Angelina and I got married in May 1987 and got pregnant that July. I had codeveloped A Different World with John Markus and Carmen Finestra and was working part-time on The Cosby Show while writing the Roseanne pilot. Angelina and I bought a little house outside New York City and set up the baby’s room. We furnished it with a cradle, crib, and changing table, anticipating the baby’s arrival that coming April. Life was good.

Then, right before Christmas, I got a call from Tom Werner and Marcy Carsey, the executive producers.

“Matt, we have good news. The Roseanne pilot is a go.”

“Really? That’s great!”

“ABC is excited and wants to get started right away.”

“OK. When?”

“We’ll need you in Los Angeles in February to start production.”

February? This February? I thought I had six or seven months. Oh, crap. I had to break the news to Angelina. In my writer’s imagination, this is the scene I envisioned: Angelina hangs a colorful mobile of bouncing birds on the crib’s railing. I kiss her on the cheek and say, “Hey, honey. Great news. The pilot is a go. We’re moving to Los Angeles in February.” She throws her arms around me and says, “Oh, my darling! How wonderful! I am so proud of you.”

A writer’s brain doesn’t always make sense. The reality was when I told Angelina, she cried.

We had just bought the house. We were expecting a child. Angelina found a wonderful ob-gyn to deliver our baby. And although she was pregnant, Angelina continued working as an actress. She did a guest spot on The Cosby Show and was still auditioning for other parts.

“Do you realize I will be seven months pregnant when we move?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any idea how that makes me feel?”

“No, I don’t.”

“We have to find a place to live, a hospital, and a doctor to deliver the baby.”

“I know.”

I phoned Mike Forche and told him about our dilemma. Mike being Mike, he said, “Hey, man, don’t stress. I got you covered.” Mike flew from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, rented us a furnished home in Westwood, completed all the paperwork, and found a hospital and an excellent doctor, Dr. John Williams (no relation), to deliver our child. There’s a reason Mike was my best man.

Angelina and I packed up and flew out to California. My wife was leaving her new home, career, and all her friends behind so I could create a television program for ABC. But this was an opportunity of a lifetime, everything I had been working for. When the plane’s wheels touched the tarmac, Angelina said, “I want to go back to New York.” I promised her we would be in Los Angeles for only one year. One year.

I plopped my pregnant wife in the rented house and went to work fifteen hours a day, seven days a week. After several setbacks, the Roseanne pilot was made, and ABC picked up the show.

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