For 35 years, Emmy award-winning actor Dale Reynolds has delighted people with his portrayal of America's 3rd president, Thomas Jefferson and on Feb. 27, he's returning to the role before an unusual audience in L.A.: atheists.
From Atheists United's meeting notice:
Those who attended the 2005 Atheist Alliance convention at LAX will remember the marvelous and faithful Thomas Jefferson Man from Monticello performance by actor-journalist-producer Dale Reynolds. He will repeat this popular portrayal at the February 27 general meeting of Atheists United.
Dale Reynolds has become something of a dynamo with his myriad interests. For the past 35 years, he has performed as the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, in a vibrant one-man, totally ad-libbed, Q&A show; appearing in Europe, the Caribbean, and throughout California and Nebraska. A working actor for many years, performing on and off-Broadway, and on television shows, films, and in commercials, he has segued into coaching actors and working as a journalist. Somehow or another this led him into television production, which rewarded him with a 2004 Los Angeles Regional Emmy Award for co-producing The Cris Franco Show on KCET. He is also currently an Associate Producer/Casting Director for a SAG feature film, Whole Lotta Love, due to shoot in L.A. this summer, during which time he will officially Foster Care his grandson.
Center For Inquiry West
4773 Hollywood Bl. (2 blocks west of Vermont)
Los Angeles, CA 90027
The meeting is open to the public and free to all AU members and first-time guests. Repeat guests are asked to pay $5. Child care is provided free and lunch, following the meeting, is also free.
Talking about the Q&A format of the program (on his Man From Monticello website), Reynolds says "What seems to work (taken from my three decades of experience playing Jefferson) is that, if not condescended to, people are quite willing to ask pertinent questions and learn from the answers. I came to that conclusion as I've never had an audience NOT ask questions. People are fascinated when history is brought o life. Humans are curious creatures and having the opportunity to ask a "real-live-president" some pertinent questions of how he might deal with problems of today, knowing what he wrote and said about similar issues in the past, is both exciting and quite fun."
"To me, Thomas Jefferson represented the highest ideal of intellectual thought," says Reynolds. "He was a powerful leader who laid the foundation of Democracy as we know it today for America; an adventurous, bold, revolutionary thinker. I love this man. . . . in spite of the fact that, for us, his human frailties can outweigh his myriad accomplishments."
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Comments
I like John Adams better, ;-)
I suspect that you misconstrue Jefferson's attitude toward God--a common-enough mistake, but no less mistaken for all that. He was not an atheist, nor even close.
When did I say he was?
No, we know he wasn't an atheist, but he was smart enough to know that we needed a "wall of separation between Church and State"
Jefferson wasn't a Christian, either. Not even close.
Good ol' TJ as I like to call him. I'd be interested in seeing Dale. I looked him up on YouTube, but I only found a very brief two-minute video.
I can't help but wonder what TJ would think about much of what's happening in our political system, especially around the tea baggers who have usurped intelligent debate and tried to demolish the wall between church and state. I can't imagine he would be comfortable with that.
I'd like to know if he's Team Edward or Team Jacob!
WWTJD
What would Thomas Jefferson Do?
excellent thanks so much, I never heard of this guy before
Thanks for the plug on my show. Jefferson was a (nominal) Christian, but more importantly he believed that as religion is personal, we shouldn't ask or care what anyone's beliefs are. America has become the greatest country on earth for religion and that includes those who would prefer to not be religious: agnostics and atheists. The idea of separation of church and state is to protect both entities and when folk get too annoyed at their neighbor's beliefs, it will hold them in good stead to remember Jefferson's words: "Whether my neighbor believes in twenty gods or no god, it neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."
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