Jeff Vernon
Actor and Artist in South Pasadena, California
Jeff Vernon
Actor and Artist in South Pasadena, California
I was born in Los Angeles in the 50's. My dad, Glen, was an actor at RKO Studios, my mom, Ruth, was a homemaker. As a kid, I would usually sit in my room and draw. In 1964, when the 007 craze hit, I had a brief period of being an obnoxious brat, running around with an attache case, thinking I was Bond. I used to wrestle with my grandmother, 'Nana', at this time... - but that's another story...possibly a play in the future . Did you hear that my brother Michael, the writer?
By high school, I was deeply involved in my drawing and painting, and making things. After I saw the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland in 1967, I came home and duplicated the entire ride out of paper, with full color and everything. I drew each little piece of every person and structure, colored it, cut it out, and glued it all together - even down to a little boat you could move through the channel. So much for sports.
During the disco days, you could find me dancing at The Red Onion. Years of design followed, including art for ATARI and an Aegis Award in 2001.
In 2004, I started acting again. I say again because from the time I was 20-something, I spent thousands on acting classes (some wisely, some foolishly). I always learned something however, and since I loved my dad's work and love acting, I continued. Also, in 2010, I founded The Angeleno Film Festival, a local film festival for young filmmakers where their short films or features are viewed by other directors, actors and more, then awarded and screened in the fall of each year - very rewarding!
In 2014 I decided to take acting classes again. Since 1981, I have taken many. I applied and was accepted into Playhouse West Studio 4, the school started by James Franco. I attended classes until early 2016, having taken two Master Classes with Mr. Franco.
i recently appeared in a new film and a commercial! So I plan on continuing to act and illustrating books. Stay tuned.