The long version... The "All New" Dating Game Story...

I already knew that I didn’t care for the voice teacher named Rocco before meeting him on my first day of class at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts back in 1981. The girls in the changing room from the just dismissed Voice 1 class were way too giddy changing into their dance attire. My Dance 1 class just finished and so both groups were a flutter transitioning to the next class switch. With their high-pitched praise. “He’s so cute.” I love his smile. Oh, I think I’m in love” giggle, giggle. Good grief! This was the “Watch out for the men in Hollywood” thing. Well, I was having none of it on my first day of study as an actress and I certainly hoped that the content of his class would be worth my time.  Not even the least bit curious about what the fuss was all about, I entered Rocco's classroom for the first time. There he was. Sitting in a semi circle of empty chairs waiting for the second class of his day to pick their seats. He looked up from his notes with that big knowing smile and said “Hi” and my knees melted. 

He was not only “all that”, he was so much more. Gosh, I had such a hard time resisting his kind and generous spirit while studying with him as the days, weeks and months went by and believe me I really tried. His knowledge and encouragement made him my favorite teacher too, (other than the “C” he gave my German dialect) I was a pretty good student but my braces kept my articulation skills impossible to demonstrate. 

The time came to say goodbye to the faculty as school ended three years later. I graduated and moved on to a sputtering acting career for the next 2 years in L.A. without ever even running into Rocco. My dear friend Mary kept in contact with him and would say hi to me from him from time to time as many teachers did back then. I’d return the hello through her back to him and that was that. Until one day I had a dilemma.

I had just won a trip to Madrid Spain and had no one to go with me. 

It was kind of an unlikely problem for someone working three waitressing jobs, living paycheck to paycheck and driving a car that needed a lot of work, with no money to fix it. At the time, I was dating two nice guys and unsure about why. I tried to imagine either one of these guys with me in Madrid but then I quickly realized that I if I didn’t want to travel with them, why spend another second wasting their time and mine? So, sitting on the floor of my one bedroom apartment, I broke up each one over the phone -neither of them were too upset. I still was no closer to going on this trip with anyone. I even called an old ex boyfriend Norm who was a great guy but was now in a serious relationship. Being a gentlemen and caring person, he did not want to harm what had been built with his gal just for 7 days of crazy ex-girlfriend antics in a foreign country. Made good sense to me. So, I was completely out of ideas.

I called that mutual friend Mary to whine, but she had an idea. She knew Rocco might be available. Huh? I haven’t seen Rocco in years and we don't really know each other. She laughed and said, “Rocco has always had a little crush on you. Why do you think he asks about you still?” – He’s single. Here’s his number. Call him. I still didn’t think it was a very good idea -out of the blue. She closed the deal artfully by saying Denise, isn’t The Dating Game about going on a first date in a far away place with someone you don't know? It doesn’t have to be romantic - and he’s already traveled abroad. Compelling argument wasn’t it?

So, I called him. (He remembered me right away, thank goodness) then I asked if I could talk with him about something in person at Mary’s suggestion. He said he was intrigued. We set up a time for me to drop by the very next day -I made sure I looked my best -put on my highest heels - his address only 5 blocks from me. He answered his door and our eyes met. Mine looked down to meet his and his looked up to meet mine. He was still tan and handsome but shorter than I remembered…. I was no longer a skinny brunette with braces. Now I was  a curvier blonde with a smile to match his. We sat down in his living room and caught up a bit.

I explained to him why I was there starting with the funny story of how I won a trip to Spain because I was on the new season of “The ALL NEW Dating Game” needed to create some traction by hiring actors for the first five episodes. I went on to tell him how as a comedic actress now doing improve on the weekends, the producers came out and left their card. I wasn’t sure at first, but I knew the show and figured that I just had to ask questions and I automatically would win a trip -so why not?

I certainly did not want to be seen “as me” on a national television show -the only way to justify being on a game show as a trained actress was to use it as an acting exercise. I could create great footage of a character. I filled out all of the paperwork as one of my improve characters, Dee Dee the Ditz Dental Hygienist….  For Hobbies I wrote collects rocks. So several weeks go by and it is time to tape. When I get there I was told that I was one of three bachelorettes answering the questions -competing to be picked with two other ladies…  Ugh… not cool. I didn’t agree to this, but I was stuck. I only had one dress that I liked and I couldn’t find the belt for it and the shoes didn’t match on the day of taping, so I decided right then to just lose the game so that I didn’t have to stand up and walk across the stage looking like this. No one will have to know. I’ll just lose the game, EZ. I’ll stay seated and the curtain will close and I’ll be on my way…. home to my cat and one room apartment. Bliss.

Unlikely again as I am TRYING TO LOSE on the dating game, I'm starting to win. "Okay Bachelorette number 3… How will you turn me on -on our fist date?" My answer is, “I’ll tie you to the hood of my car during rush hour.” The crowd starts laughing and my Improv skills kinda kick in automatically… but still I just want to go home.  "Bachelorette number 3, what kinds of things can we do together?"  My reply was, "Well, you and I can sort my dirty laundry"… More laughs.  I cringe in angst when the guy announces his pick after the commercial is Bachelorette number 3. The music swells and the audience applauds and the camera begins to zoom in on my face as the announcer says “Let’s tell you a little bit about your date.” Her name is Dee Dee; she’s a dental hygienist and loves to collect rocks. My eyes get big as I hear this remembering how I filled out my paperwork 6 weeks ago as a joke and as I walk across the stage to meet the actor from around the blind corner, he goes in for the hug that I politely hold off on and the crowd eats that up too and the guy is regretting this immediately. The big prize reveal is Madrid Spain. I’m smiling and pleasant but my feet hurt and I need to get home. I congratulate the actor. People in the studio halls congratulate me and I leave, at last.

The next day the producers call to tell me that the actor who chose me is wanting to buy my portion of the trip for $3,000 so that he can take his girlfriend who is 5 months pregnant to Madrid as a nice trip before the baby comes.

I didn’t even hesitate. “No.”

WIth that $3,000.00 I could have fixed my, car paid off bills, but I knew that I may never have another chance to go to Madrid again and I’m not missing it. So, the producers informed me that the actor had forfeited his part of the trip to me and now I had to take anyone except a relative…so...

 “So, Rocco…Do you want to go to Madrid with me for a week? All expenses paid? “

There was a long pause. His tanned face was replaced with a paler shade. He didn’t look well.

Oh no. I thought. I assumed too much, I have offended him, talked too much… Oh crap.

He finally says,  “I would love to go with you to Madrid. Let me get my calendar in my office and we can pick a time that is good.”

I was relieved... but still unclear about the look on his face. When he came back in the room he looked at me and said, I have to tell you something.  This is all a bit bizarre.  I was supposed to dialogue coach a film in Madrid this month - my passport hasn’t even arrived yet and I was informed this morning that the film has fallen through. My girlfriend just broke up with me and a few days ago I just turned 30. It has been a rough week and now... he smiled… here you are.

How is early September?

I was so glad he wanted to go with me and by the time I returned home to my apartment, there was a blinking light on my answering machine. It was Rocco. He said that if I was taking him to Madrid, the very least he could do was to buy me dinner…

We started dating that next night and just as it all started to get serious about a month later, the plane doors closed and off we were for Madrid with our chaperone being one of Chuck Barris’s top comedy writers. The three of us drank, laughed, shopped and saw all we could see in Madrid. It was a trip of a lifetime. A kind of honeymoon cause we ditched that chaperone often.

On the plane ride back to L.A. it hit me that this might just be a romantic fling to him. I remembered all of the girls. So many giggling girls with crushes on him and I never could deal with that kind of thing. As we started to make the final decent. I started to cry looking out the window. He noticed and asked what was up and I said, “It was fun, and now it’s over.”

He said, “Ah ha! No it is not.  It is only the beginning”.

And he was right.  We married about 4 years later in 1990 in Kirkland Washington and good ol' Mary was my Maid of Honor.

27 years ago today in fact.

and yes, through it all, and especially now, he remains my favorite teacher.