Friday, Jul. 17, 2009

The epitome of an entertainer | A closer look at Calvin Gilmore's new act

Calvin Gilmore, the Missouri-born guitarist, country and gospel singer, founder of the hugely successful Carolina Opry and Gilmore Entertainment, has another feather to add to his multi-million dollar cap.

He’s an actor.

A few months ago, he finished filming scenes for Get Low, a movie about a small town recluse who plans his own funeral while he’s still alive. It stars Hollywood big shots Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Lucas Black and Sissy Spacek.

Gilmore plays a barber in the town who is cutting Robert Duvalls’s hair when Bill Murray and Lucas Black are talking about Duvall’s funeral.

“After the scene ends, Robert Duvall, Bill Murray and Lucas Black walk out of the set, I’m thinking, that’s Boo Radley!,” said Gilmore, referring to Duvall’s character in the 1962 film, To Kill A Mockingbird. “To think that I’m in a scene with Boo Radley is pretty wild, and I’ve always loved Bill Murray’s stuff and Sling Blade is one of my favorites.”

Last year, he did taping for Bolden, a $100 million film set in New Orleans telling the life story of Buddy Bolden, the “king of jazz.”

Gilmore plays a character betting on who would be the last man standing in the battle royale, a large fight between 15 to 20 men who are put in a ring and wear sacks over their heads.

“It was pretty grueling because we had to stand up and yell all day ... We had to shoot that over and over,” Gilmore said. “It was kind of hard work.”

In another scene, he is a restaurant patron having dinner when a fight breaks out between some of the main characters.

“They were exciting,” Gilmore said of his acting debuts. “It’s something I’d like to do a little more of.”

He’s also working on a reality show about life on both sides of the theater curtain.

It includes his daughter and son, who both work on staff at The Carolina Opry, and other members of The Carolina Opry cast and their families.

“There’s a lot of interesting things that happen in people’s lives, and the show must go on,” he said.

And nothing Gilmore touches is done in a small way.

The hours of film for this potential show was shot by the people at Screen Gems, a major television company that films the hit CW series, One Tree Hill.

“We’ve put a lot of filmage in the can for it,” Gilmore said. “Now, it’s a matter of pitching it to the right people.”

There’s also a Broadway musical in the works called Blue Ridge Thunder, which Gilmore and his staff will soon start workshopping to make sure that the book is something that would draw crowds on a Broadway stage.

The story includes some romance and death, but in particular, follows the birth and metamorphosis of clogging and the setting travels from a little pub in Ireland, across the Atlantic Ocean, over to the Blue Ridge Mountains and eventually to the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

And fans of Gilmore’s first two albums, “There is a Fountain” and “Better Late” will be happy to know that he is working on finding a producer for his next album.

“It’s more like Johnny Cash’s last album, more unusual, edgy,” he said. “That’s kind of what I’d like to do.”

And while this isn’t a record-setting year for attendance at the Carolina Opry, Gilmore said they’re changing things around.

“During this economic thing, I decided that it had to be better (than past years),” he said of the show that’s been a hit to Myrtle Beach residents and tourists since 1986. “We can make them feel better and we don’t take that lightly.”

Everything’s new _ from the show-stopper songs to the finale, Gilmore said.

“I think it’s the best show we’ve ever done,” he said.

The Carolina Opry started another show without dancers and musicians this summer. It’s a laser light show that incorporates full color lasers, fog and the music of Pink Floyd, the Beatles and U2.

“It sits here all day,” he said of the lighting equipment. “Why not do something at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.?”

Everybody who sees the show loves it, Gilmore said. “It’s like a movie.”

And while the Myrtle Beach area fell short of the expectations that it would be another Branson, a southern Missouri town with more than 50 theaters that feature about 100 shows and productions, Gilmore’s business is booming and he couldn’t be happier.

“You can’t do what we do in this market _ it’s different from Branson,” he said. “People come here for totally different reasons and the people who come here really like the product we provide.”

He chalks up much of his business savvy to growing up on a farm with his family in the Ozarks of Missouri and learning from his father and brother.

Plus, some of its natural. “I have a lot of little gifts,” he said.

And while Gilmore oozes confidence, he does admit to getting some butterflies before singing the national anthem at a professional basketball game and the first few times he performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.

As far as getting nervous when people come into his house at the Carolina Opry, it’s reserved for friends from high school and relatives, Gilmore said.

“You always want to prove to the people you love the most,” he said.

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