It’s been quite a week for Jimmy. Got some real sad news about a dear, dear friend (and one of my biggest fans), Brett Benton.

Marcia and I live busy, busy lives. So we have long been supported in bringing up James Jr by our live-in nanny Brett Benton. (Yes he’s a man but come on guys, it’s 2011! Ain’t you ever seen Who’s The Boss?!).

Brett was a high school friend of Marcia’s. But it was only after Marcia married me that they bumped into one another again, and really hit it off. About a year later – OK maybe not a year, probably a few months less, call it nine months – James Jr was born and we asked Brett to be our live-in nanny.

He’s always been there for Marcia, particularly when I’ve been on the road. Supporting her in raising James Jr, helping her round the house, and making sure she’s got everything she needs, day and night. And James Jr just loves him. They’ve got loads in common – including a rare genetic skin condition. What are the chances! And you know what, he and I really bonded too over the years. He always seems to know, instinctively, when things might not be going so well with me and Marcia, and is there for me, counselling me, advising me to go on the road again to give her some time and space to herself. Brett’s a star. A friend. A rock. A shining light for us Baldwins.

Well, not any more. He’s dead. He died last night, crushed to death under a death-dealing ten-ton truck of death, no plates, nothing. Funny thing is, he’d just left a message asking me to call him. Said he had something he had to tell me, something I deserved to know. God knows what it was – Marcia certainly has no idea. She hadn’t seen him for days (she’s been busy on a Heavy Goods Vehicle training course for her new movie, Truckin’).

I guess this is what they mean by the mystery of death. Anyway, Brett, if you’re reading this blog (via www.heaven.com, I’m sure!), please know that we’re all thinking of ya.

Peace out.

OK, so I know I missed my cue (a bit of actor jargon there – can’t help myself!), but I only just spotted this story. A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Matt Damon and nada for Ben Affleck? Hey Hollywood, you need to check yourself. Don’t get me wrong, I love Matt’s work. In fact, Titan AE is one of my favourite films (Hell, anything Don Bluth touches turns to gold!).  And can I just say now this has nothing to do with him rejecting my script for Project Greenlight, although Ape Cop would have made an awesome family blockbuster.  This is about an old bugbear of mine, which is this old business called show getting in between friendships. Believe me, I’ve been there. As a Young Artist Award winner, it damn near ripped apart my relationship with Joey Lawrence when he was nominated year after year with no success. Finally he won for his wonderful TV movie Scared Straight, but by that time, it was almost too late to rebuild those bridges. We sure did though, and how! But that’s a story for another time.

When you let Matt Damon put his surprisingly petite hands in the cement outside Grauman’s, you are at the same time kicking Ben in the balls.  When you lay that star in the walk of fame, it’s like you’re saying Paycheck isn’t worth two hours of your time. Just want to let you know I’m rootin’ for you Benny, and you get a Jimmy B gold star any day of the week!

Well guys, we start previews next week and, let me tell ya, it’s a weird feeling. We’ve had such an intimate rehearsal period, shutting out the real world, entering into our make-believe one, becoming like family with the cast and crew, baring our souls to each other – and more! Sharon and I have an explicit yet tasteful sex scene (or, as I always call them, love scene, check the pic above for some masters at work! Sizzle!) at the end of Act One. That’s a whole different post, but let’s just say little Jimmy sometimes don’t like taking direction from big Jimmy… Sorry ’bout that Sharon – and please remember, it’s a compliment!

Anyway, we’re almost there. Dress (that’s actor speak for ‘dress rehearsal’) is on Tuesday and then first preview is on Wednesday. Woking Playhouse, watch out for Jimmy! Or maybe that should be Jimmy, watch out for Woking Playhouse! Because after weeks of rehearsals, of self-analysis, introspection, time spent getting into each other’s characters – and into each other (the cast is DYNAMITE) – we’re suddenly on display to strangers. It’s like that first time you get naked with a partner. I remember with Marcia it was a fraught experience. I was SO into her, she was a little bit out of it (it was the press night of Relationshits and we’d all had some ‘assistance’ to enjoy ourselves – ‘nudge, wink, say no more’, as those crazy Pythons like to say!) – and having her check out my body felt like the final test I had to pass before being allowed into the hallowed chambers of some sexy sorority house. Thankfully, I got in – at least that’s the way I remember it – Marcia claims she can’t remember a thing! So much for romance!

I’m getting kinda the same nervous feeling now, waiting to see what the people of London think of my performance (and no, I’m not just talking about the love scene!). So go easy on us, guys. Not because the show isn’t great (it’s AWESOME), but because we’re out there, naked, exposed, letting you penetrate our characters with your eyes and your minds. So come on in – you’re very welcome – but please be gentle.

You guys know how important my family is to me. And so I’m sure you’ll understand how much it hurts to be away from my brilliant son Jimmy Junior on today, his birthday! Happy birthday, kiddo! Now Jimmy’s had his fair share of troubles in his eight years on this planet. We had a dyslexia scare in ‘09, and that was on top of the ADHD diagnosis that we finally got in ’06 from the fifth doctor we consulted (the US healthcare system is totally biased against concerned parents, which is crazy – after all, who knows a kid better than his mom and pop? Right – nobody!).

But what I really admire about Jimmy is that through it all, he’s never wanted to cause any trouble, and has even had a bit of a go at me and Marcia for taking him to so many doctors! That kid has spunk! Love ya Jimmy J. Have a great birthday.

Hey folks – a quick ‘shout out’ here to the great technical crew working on Buried Pleasure. You guys rock!

A show is only as good as its cast – ain’t that the truth! Luckily, in Buried Pleasure I’m part of a fantastic line-up. Sharon Maughan (papped on my phone above!) is a joy to work with (I can’t wait for some of our more intimate scenes – sparks are gonna be flyin’!). And the last couple of days I’ve also been hanging out with the young Brit stars playing her son and daughter.

A brilliant young actor called Jack Ryder is playing Benny. He’s been on some of the UK’s biggest TV shows, and is a hot hot hot teen icon – definitely the face of 2011! I call him Mister Heartthrob, which he loves. And Yonye Higgins is playing Sharon’s adopted daughter Kara. She was part of massive girl band Cleopatra (the UK equivalent of Destiny’s Child) and is now launching an acting career. I’ve already talked with her about my respect for Martin Luther King, and the time I worked with Martin Lawrence, and I know we’re really going to bond. Just wait till she sees me dancing to Lionel Richie – then she’ll really get what Jimmy B’s all about!

The first cast read-through of a new show is always a defining creative moment, whether it’s for TV, film or the stage. I can’t help recalling the table read for the pilot of Joey (the Joey Lawrence spin-off from Blossom in which I had a starring role as Tony Lombardi). That day, we were all so pumped to be there that we cracked up after almost every line (it didn’t hurt that the script by my good friend Bob Cadossi was GREAT! Brits might remember that my character had just been on vacation to England so I refer to an eraser as a rubber – you can just imagine Joey’s reaction to that – hilarious!).

It wasn’t like that today at the first readthrough of Buried Pleasure, though. Not because we weren’t pumped (how could we not be when surrounded by such a talented team of creators and artists?). Not because the script, by super-writer Mal Benedict, isn’t great – it is. But because it’s not an out-and-out comedy. Yes it has its funny moments (Mal’s observations about women being great at nurturing but no good at setting video recorders are priceless!). But it’s at heart a serious show about serious issues – and that’s the way I like it! More insights soon – back into the rehearsal room now. See ya!

What to wear:

I know what you’re thinking, tux all the way right? Sure, if you’re up for Best Supporting Square! Believe me, showbiz is all about having fun, and what says you’re more all about having fun than a tuxedo t-shirt. I can’t take the credit for this one, it was originally Arye Gross who tipped me off to this red-carpet must-have at the premiere of Soul Man, waaay back in ’86.

When to show up:

Fashionably late? Try fashionably rude! I like to get there nice and early, chat to the ET tech guys as they’re setting up, sign a few autographs, and plan a route from my seat to the podium. Even when you’re not nominated, an old compadre from a show you did a few years ago might win, and let me tell you nothing is funnier than an impromptu stage invasion. You should have seen the look on Staci Keenan’s face at the Young Artist Awards back in ’88 when I moonwalked with her on stage. You can’t write a moment like that.

How to lose, gracefully:

So, you’ve been nominated. Whether it’s an Oscar, Teen Choice or a BET Comedy Award they’re all worthy of you turning out the greatest acting trick of all: not looking devastated when that ol’ golden envelope is open and one of your talented peers gets the nod. My tip: don’t smile, a fake smile is impossible to pull off, but laugh. It looks genuine, and is child’s play to conjure up. I often think about an Ellen DeGeneres routine, or something funny I might have seen on Two and a Half Men, or back in the day, when I’d usually be at these things with my old partna-n’kryme Joey Lawrence, he’d pop his little fella out of his tux pants, and that would never fail to get me chuckling away. Sorry to work blue there, but believe me, it was hilarious!

How to win, disgracefully!

Of course, you might just win. I know I have, and so do the good folks down at the Young Artist Awards. It’s an amazing, electric, sensual feeling standing in front of your peers, soaking up the respect of hundreds of your fellow craftspeople, all of them rooting for you. A lot of the time, people will thank their family, God, their agent, their pilates guy. Not me. Why? Because that patter is played out! You give me a gong, you better believe I’m going to give you something you’ve never seen before. I’m going to shock you and rock you. And that’s why, when I tied the award with Mal Jamal-Warner in ’84, it was time to forget the thank yous, and rock the crowd with a few verses of “Ebony & Ivory”. I just wish I’d discussed it with Mal first, he sure look confused!

Well, stick to the Jimmy B award plan and who knows, it’ll be your condo’s mantle heaving with some of the finest trinkets La-La Land has to offer.

Back then – before the heady days of directing her own (brilliant!) movies – she was still acting. And that February night she was acting the part of my feisty step-sister in a great new Off-Broadway show called Relationshits (sorry for the cursing, guys – but hey that was the title!). Every night, as she railed at me and even physically battered me because of my character’s past abuse of her, I found her hotter and hotter (just check out some of her late 90s publicity stills to see what I mean – talk about a ripped bod!). And – equally importantly – a spiritual connection arose that we continue to share to this very day.

She was called Marcia Reilly back then – and still is! I always say she stole my heart, but not my name. She went on to win a Golden Globe a couple of years back for a brilliant movie she wrote and directed called Disappointing Husband. We’ve never worked together since we met on the off-Broadway stage – just haven’t found that special project, I guess. But she has worked with other big names – DiCaprio, Pitt, Affleck. She loves to work with strong male leads – she’s very intense and really does a lot of in-depth prep with them, 24/7. She’s exhausted when she gets home, so I end up looking after James Junior, bless his heart.

I look forward to sharing more memories and insights from our marriage on this blog as the days go by. Love ya, hon – this one’s for you (and James Junior!).

We went to Max’s private members’ club (Caffe Uno – great atmos – must get myself a membership!). Sharon is a beautiful woman, inside and out. We really hit it off – she loved my gags about English women being frigid! – and I can’t wait to get down to rehearsals. Max is quite the character too, kind of like London’s Harvey Weinstein – big in every way!

I also explained to the guys a bit about the terrorist threat – something close to my heart as a native New Yorker (I LOVE that town – anyone who takes it on, takes ME on!). In my performance art piece ‘Ground Hero’ I was the first artist to try to come to terms with 9/11 – through movement, voice and physical reconstruction of the exact body positions of some of the victims. OK, that particular work was controversial, with mixed reviews. The 9/11 widows organisation did call it ‘sick and offensive’. But East Coast Performance Art Now called it ‘unusual’. Mozart split opinions in his time too. And he never had anything to say about global terror. If I can bring some of my hard-won wisdom about this stuff to you guys in London, well consider it another gift from me to say ‘thanks for having me!’ to this great town.