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Remembering Bakersfield Actor / Mentor Jim Padgett
Topics: Jim Padgett, Bakersfield, actor, hectic Films, N.L. Belardes, Lords
Posted by thenovelist Thu Jan 31, 2008 18:25:17 PST
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Jim Padgett, 45, died on Tuesday, January 29.

He was a local actor, acting instructor and mentor to many young talented people, from kids in commercials to the filmmakers at Hectic Films.

I worked with Padgett only a handful of times since late 2005 in the areas of acting, promo films, short films and more. I had been writing a screenplay for a short war film and had him in mind to play a sort of a Tom Sizemore Saving Private Ryan soldier. He was perfect for the part: built like a train engine and tough as nails. He could easily play the kind of soldier who couldn't be rattled by gunfire, whether bullets whizzed past his head or slugged him in the arm.

He was going to be in no less than three feature films this year.

He made for the perfect anti-character in the short film by Hectic Films based on my book, "Lords." The character was opposite from the real Ted Fritts, who the character was loosely based on, and who I hear was actually rather effeminate in his persona. As Simon Sundale, Padgett portrayed the ruthless newspaper publisher of the fictitious "Tule Reader." He was more like a maddened knuckle-grinding Orsen Welles. Though you might imagine if a younger, tougher Tom Sizemore played his part in "Citizen Kane."

The short film itself is like the book, very noir in nature: mysterious, shadowy, with a boisterous layer of dialogue over the top that Padgett portrays effectively, almost monstrously. Padgett was going to film a trailer for a full-length feature based on "Lords" next week. That production has come to a temporary halt. The brakes have come on and we're reminded that life is fragile and never long enough.

In an upcoming zombie movie, also by Hectic Films, Padgett had already done some filming for a character supposedly half-infected with a virus. Once again, he was monstrous. I edited the script. I’m sure he was going to be one of the most compelling actors in the film.

I talked to Rickey Bird of Hectic Films just a few hours after Padgett’s body had been found. He’d lost a friend, a mentor, a co-worker. He was shaken up. Padgett had been taking care of Bird’s dog, Jack. They were like family. When Padgett faced hard times, Bird was there to help pull him through.

I took Bird out to lunch the next day. He devoured a plate of Chinese food like he hadn’t eaten in two days, like he’d been up all night thinking about his friend.

It wasn’t a quiet lunch though. We talked about good times, tough times, about filmmaking and even laughed a little. I said Jim was a son of a bitch for leaving us. Padgett would understand my humor. We had a lot of creative work to do together. And we were all looking forward to it. You never expect the tough guys to go so young.

Jason Sanders of Hectic Films said about Padgett: “He was a big teddy bear of a guy who could scare the crap out of you, acting of course, and the next, speak very softly about how he thought you did something funny. He taught many people the art of acting, passing on a little piece of his God-given talent to each student who was put in front of him. He truly was a great teacher and mentor!”

Padgett taught a lot of local acting classes. My first ever "reading" was in one of his classes at a local talent agency he'd invited me to. It was a great time. There were a lot of kids there and I took my son. He even taught a “How To Walk Like A Zombie” class. He was fierce in his approach and he wanted everyone to be as aggressive as they could be while keeping to individual styles. Who would have thought that walking like a zombie could be so complicated?

Last I heard from Padgett was a few weeks ago. He saw me talking about what’s on the web on ABC23. He called me right after one of my segments to tell me I was doing a good job. It was a short conversation and it meant a lot. I'll never forget such a happy moment. And Jim? Well, like all good people, even though his career in film was really just beginning, his memory will live on and I'll think about him often.

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Comment From: matt

That's so sad. I never got to meet the guy, but his image in the BIFF poster was everywhere. Thanks Nick, Jim Padgett - RIP... Comment From: twinkie

Oh NO! That makes me so sad. I really enjoyed watching him in the Lords short.