Interview: Paul Linke Illuminates Why IT'S not ONLY A SHOW!

A long-time collaborator with Charles Nelson Reilly, Paul Linke has co-written It’s Only a Show!, performing as the popular comedian in his one-man tribute to Charles Nelson Reilly. This solo show directed by Edward Edwards opens January 13, 2024 at the Ruskin Group Theatre, 5pm curtain, in tandem with John Colella’s An Extraordinary Ordinary Man at 8pm. Paul managed to find some time before starting tech to answer a few of my queries.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Paul!

You have a long history with Charles Nelson Reilly. What cosmic forces initially brought you two together?

Charles and I first met in 1989, when he called KCAL Channel 9 looking for me. I was on a morning show with Stephanie Edwards promoting my first solo show Time Flies When You’re Alive which he had watched on HBO! I was in the lobby after the interview when the phone at the guard kiosk rang and the officer asked the room, “Is there a Paul Linke here?” I picked up the receiver and said, “I’m Paul. Who is this?” “THIS IS Charles Nelson Reilly AND I WANT TO MEET THE MAN THAT DOES ONE-MAN THEATRE BETTER THAN ME! CAN WE LUNCH?” We met the following week up at Adriano’s at the top of Beverly Glen and immediately bonded over The Miracles of Time Flies, and The Belle Of Amhearst! The rest as they say is history.

Was being directed by Charles in Father Time in 1999 your first professional collaboration?

Our first professional collaboration was in 1990, when he directed me in Elizabeth Forsyth Hailey’s play Joanna’s Husband And David’s Wife. A two-hander about her marriage to her husband, the great Oliver Hailey, at Theatre Three in Dallas. 

Whose idea was it to collaborate on creating Save It for the Stage: The Life of Reilly in 2000? Yours or Charles?

When he agreed to direct my third solo Father Time, we rehearsed on his boat the La Bohemia in the Marina. The idea was that I would tell him my stories, while he cooked for us, and that we would make my play together. However, I found it hard to get a word in edgewise because he kept telling me his stories, which were incredible. Finally in a moment of frustration I said, “You’re the one who should be doing the one-man show, because your stories are way better than mine!” Without missing a beat, he responded, “I’ll only do it if I you direct it!” Emily Dickinson once wrote, “You never know how tall you are, until you’re asked to rise! I immediately agreed, mostly out of desperation to rehearse my show which had an opening date rapidly approaching! Two days later the phone rang “Paul, it’s Charles. We’re going to Boca Raton to the Caldwell Theatre to do our show!” I said, “What show?” He said, “The one you’re gonna direct me in. We are going to South Beach, baby!” And the wild ride that was Save It For The Stage began.

What would you three-line pitch for It’s Only a Show! be?

It’s Only A Show is a hybrid of our play Save It For The Stage. It is a tribute to Mr. Reilly, that is really about those rare individuals one encounters in life and who, the very meeting of whom, changes our life trajectory forever. We all carry these special people with us, and they combine to help make us who we are. It’s really about honoring them.

This is not your first show at the Ruskin Group Theatre. What is it about Ruskin that keeps you coming back to direct and act?

For me the Ruskin is a sacred space that has a certain intimate magic. John Ruskin the Artistic director was such a huge fan of Time Flies When You’re Alive, that he welcomed me into the sandbox almost 20 years ago, and with the huge support from Mikey Myers, the producing artistic director, I have had the privilege of having a place to work and a team to support my visions. Nicole Millar who is the backbone of the Ruskin, will once again be on the board for It’s Only A Show, and I am so very excited about this show. I think Charles would be proud of the work, and grateful that some of his stories will live on.

Being the son of Andy Griffith’s personal manager Richard O. Linke, was it predestined for you to be in show business?

Even though I grew up around Andy Griffith because my father was his manager, partner and close friend for almost 50 years, I never once seriously considered a life in show business. The fact is that at USC I had run out of ideas, when a tall redhead, Monday Dooley, suggested an acting class. The first night of class which was Monday night 7pm, I almost didn’t go. I was at the commune in bed with my girlfriend at 6:50 when I suddenly exploded out of the sack and said to her, “I don’t know what’s happening but I gotta get to that class!” Just goes to show you how it pays to listen to your gut!

What did you want to be as a youth? An actor? Director? Writer? Producer? Personal manager?

As a kid, it was a pro baseball player, then a rock star. I saw The Doors 35 times and I thought I wanted to be Jim Morrison! But I can’t sing, at all!  

If you had to choose only one career path, which would you take - Acting? Writing? Directing? Producing?

If I had to do it all over, I wouldn’t change a thing. I have been so blessed. My original goal in life was to 

A. Be on a hit TV show for five years, which I did. 

B. wanted to have a career at it, which I’m still doing.

C. Move to Big Sur 

As Charles would say, “Two out of three ain’t bad!”

Do you have a new script percolating in your creative brain?

I’m hoping to do two more solo shows before I turn 80. I want to go back to Time Flies, and reframe it to include not only life after the loss of a spouse and finding love again, but also including the stage of life that’s full of grandchildren and the memories that come from reflecting back from the viewpoint of my late 70’s. To me time has only further cemented the truth of the title.

What’s in the near future for Paul Linke?

This week is tech for It’s Only A Show, then launch. I really love this show and hope that it takes me where I’m supposed to go. Besides that, it’s park time with my grandson Dylan, and adoration of our newest granddaughter Jade. 

Thank you again, Paul! I look forward to meeting your Charles.

Gil, I look forward to you seeing the show, and thank you again for your interest in the project.

For tickets to the live performances of It’s Only A Show through February 2, 2024; click on the button below:

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