Andy Waldman is an otherwise normal 33-year-old New Jersey man who has an unusual vacation obsession. He likes to plunk down a couple of thousand dollars flying to Los Angeles and attend TV show tapings.
It may be the most expensive free ticket on earth for guys like Waldman. But standing in line under a scorching sun to attend a Tuesday afternoon taping of the NBC sitcom "Blossom," he has no regrets. This is simply his holiday of choice."I have this thing for seeing how TV shows are put together," said Waldman matter-of-factly.
Waldman is armed with tickets not only for "Blossom" but also the ABC sitcom "Step by Step" and the forthcoming comedy "The Good Life." The night before, he checked out "The Tonight Show." Tomorrow, he may go see "Arsenio Hall." The TV world is his oyster.
If you're visiting the Los Angeles area, shows like "Roseanne" and "Roc" are a mere phone call away - and that the ducats are free of charge.
"Roseanne" and "Roc" are both handled by Audiences Unlimited, an independent company that presently supplies the audience for 44 television series - most of them network sitcoms.
No other outside company supplies the audience for shows on anything approaching the scale of Audiences Unlimited. Paramount comes closest, with 11 programs.
It is because of guys like Waldman that Donna Martin was inspired to start a Audiences Unlimited 12 years ago. Operating off of the massive Universal Studios lot, Martin handled tickets for six shows. She had a single full-time employee (herself).
Now she's got 15 full-timers and nearly 200 part-timers.
What Martin - who formerly worked in NBC's Guest Relations department - does through Audiences Unlimited is provide a one-stop shopping source for production companies who don't want to bother with the live audience hassle.
The company prints the tickets, distributes them in a variety of ways (via telephone, mail and at a handful of outdoor dispersal points) and then staffs the taping or filming with pages who bop around to make sure everyone is inside, seated and reasonably happy by show time.
A need for something like Audiences Unlimited started to arise in the 1980s when the networks opted to greatly downscale their guest relations departments and wash their hands of the seat-filling hassle.
"I saw a void, and I filled it," Martin said. "I think our greatest contribution is in our getting the word out about how to attend shows. You wouldn't believe how little people know about how to get tickets for their favorite shows."
The most obvious enemy of this TV audience business is the empty seat. And it's a hazard that crops up from time to time, said Martin, despite the number of large groups who trek to tapings.
"There is no such thing as a guarantee of a full audience," Martin said. "You may get it 90 percent of the time, but fate can intervene. A group cancels; the weather's bad. You just never know. But our record is pretty darn good."
Tickets are distributed in excess of studio capacity to better the chances of a full house. And those who wind up getting turned away are always given tickets for something else as compensation.
But the free aspect of tickets can be both a blessing and a curse, said Tim Perez, executive director of guest relations for Paramount.
"What most people don't realize is that dealing with a free ticket is a lot different than one for a movie or a concert that you pay for," Perez said.
"People who put money on the table show up. You don't have that assurance with a ticket that's a comp, so you have to overbook."
Overbooked or not, however, TV programs are surely the last free ride for fans of entertainment. In a recessionary economy where the cost of seeing a movie is as high as $8, it's the only remaining bargain there is. Or close to it.
The lure of a free event tends to attract all types.
For instance, waiting right behind New Jersey tourist Waldman in line to see "Blossom" at the Sunset-Gower Studios in Hollywood was Rand Besnyl, 34, a West Covina recording engineer who has a thing for "Blossom" star Mayim Bialik.
Besnyl was somewhat unique in the crowd of mostly adolescent females. He's 34, and he claimed never to have watched any other TV program in his life aside from "Blossom."
"I hate television, but I love Mayim," Besnyl declared.
Then there was Laurel Himes, a Buena Park resident who works at the executive offices of El Pollo Loco in Irvine.
Himes took the day off of work to tote her 13-year-old daughter, Kristin Desselle, and her equally teen-age friend Carley Rehard to see "Blossom" so the girls could get a glimpse of their teeny bop idol, Joey Lawrence.
"He's dreamy," Kristin said.
"It's too hot," Himes complained.
Everyone who was approached in line said they had little trouble getting their tickets to this particular "Blossom" taping. In the case of Besnyl, in fact, he came up with his tickets that same day. None had to wait longer than a few days.
Ironically enough, from among the folks who were interviewed, only the guy from back East - Waldman - had ever attended a TV show taping before. He had been out two years before to see another batch of shows. Now he was back.
But the trio from Buena Park and the man from West Covina were TV-taping neophytes despite their easy proximity to the studio sites.
"I had just never had the desire to see anything before," Besnyl said.
Added Himes: "It's a long drive. But if there was something me or my daughter really wanted to see, I'd come again."
After it was over, Besnyl was impressed with the professionalism of the "Blossom" production.
"It was a great taping... mainly because Mayim was in it," Besnyl said.
A less biased assessment was supplied by Waldman.
"`Blossom' wasn't the greatest taping I've ever been to, I'll tell you that," noted Waldman. "There wasn't enough interaction between the cast and audience between takes. Too many teen-age girls there, too."
But Waldman wasn't complaining too much, you understand.
"The price was right, definitely," he concluded.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Getting tickets to N.Y. talk shows
If you're planning a trip to New York and hope to catch one of NBC's late- night shows, here are some things to consider first:
Late Show with David Letterman: Send a postcard with your name and address to Tickets, Late Show With David Letterman, The Ed Sullivan Theater, 1697 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10019.
- Here's what "Late Show" publicist Rosemary Keenan has to add:
"People should send in only one postcard. If they send in 29, the computer will reject 28 of them. We give out tickets once every three months. If you don't hear from us in three months, write in again. For out-of-towners, if you have a specific week and day when you'll be in town, write that on the postcard and we'll try to honor it." - One other tip: prayer doesn't hurt.
Late Night with Conan O'Brien: To get tickets to attend a "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" taping, call the NBC Guest Relations hot line at (212) 664-3055 or write "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" Tickets, NBC, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10112. Minimum age to attend is 16.
- NBC vows to get back to those requesting tickets within two weeks. Stand- by tickets are handed out on-site at NBC in the morning for that night's show.
Saturday Night Live: A lottery for tickets is held each August for the coming season. To enter the lottery for the 1994-95 season, write to "Saturday Night Live" Tickets NBC, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10112. Minimum age to attend is 18.
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Tapings in L.A.
Here's an alphabetical list of TV shows filmed in the Los Angeles area before a live studio audience. The agency (AU - Audiences Unlimited, P - Paramount) or network that supplies the tickets and the minimum age for admittance is listed in parenthesis. See below (where to get them) for specific ticket information.
Amer. Funniest Videos (AU, 16); Amer. Funniest People (AU, 16); The Arsenio Hall Show (P, 18); Blossom (AU, 12); Bob (P, 18); Bowman (AU, 16); Boy Meets World (AU, 14); Cafe Americain (P, 18); Chevy Chase (AU, 16); Coach (AU, 14); Daddy Dearest (AU, 16); Dave's World (AU, 21); Empty Nest (AU, 12); Evening Shade (AU, 16); Family Album (AU, 16); Family Feud (CBS, 14); Family Matters (AU, 12); Frasier (P, 18); Fresh Prince (NBC, 14); Full House (AU, 15); George (AU, 16); Getting By (AU, 12); Good Advice (AU, 20); The Good Life (AU, 16); Grace Under Fire (AU, 18); Hangin' With Mr. Cooper (AU, 14); Herman's Head (AU, 14); Home Improvement (AU, 16); How'd They Do That? (CBS, 14); In Living Color (P, 18); It Had to Be You (AU, 16); Joe's Life (CBS, 14); John Larroquette (AU, 16); John & Leeza (P, 16); Living Single (AU, 16); Love & War (AU, 16); Love Connection (AU, 16); Mad About You (AU, 20); Married ... With Children (AU, 16); Martin (P, 16); The Mommies (P, 16); Murphy Brown (AU, 18); My Kind of Town, (AU, 16); The Nanny (AU, 16); Nurses (AU, 14); Phenom (AU, 16); The Price Is Right (CBS, 18); Roc (AU, 18); Roseanne (AU, 16); Roundhouse (AU, 6); Saved by the Bell - The New Class (AU, 12); Saved by the Bell - The College Years (AU, 13); The Second Half (AU, 16); Seinfeld (See Etc.); 704 Hauser St. (AU, 16); The Sinbad Show (AU, 16); Sister, Sister (P, 14); Step by Step (AU, 12); Thea (P, 14); The Tonight Show (NBC, 16); Townsend Television (AU, 16); Vicki! (NBC, 14); Wheel of Fortune (CBS, 8); Where I Live (AU, 16); Wings (P, 18)
Where to get tickets
Here's information on agencies and networks that supply tickets for the majority of TV shows taped before a studio audience at Southland locations.
Audiences Unlimited: Ticket Line: (818) 506-0067 (Recorded message of show information). One-month advance show taping-filming schedule: Available by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Audiences Unlimited, 100 Universal City Plaza, Building 153, Universal City, Calif. 91608. Group Booking Hot line: (818) 753-3470. To ensure admittance: It's recommended that ticket holders arrive at a taping-filming at least an hour, and preferably 90 minutes, prior to show time. Audience Unlimited box-office locations: A limited number of tickets are distributed at each of these locations starting on Wednesdays for shows scheduled for the following week.
Fox Television Center: 5746 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood. Fox is one block west of the Hollywood Freeway (101) at the Sunset Boulevard exit. The ticket window is on Van Ness, south of Sunset, and is open 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The Panorama Mall: Van Nuys and Roscoe boulevards, Panorama City. Tickets are distributed at the information-security desk in center court. The Panorama ticket booth is open noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
The Glendale Galleria: Central and Broadway, Glendale. Limited numbers of tickets for most shows are distributed at the information desk on the second floor near the clock tower. Open daily.
Paramount: For ticket information, contact the Paramount Guest Relations Ticket Line at (213) 956-5575 or write or stop off at the Paramount box office, 860 N. Gower St., Los Angeles, Calif. 90038. Office hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.
NBC: For information, contact NBC's Guest Relations office at (818) 840-3538 or write or stop by at 3000 W. Alameda St., Burbank, Calif. 91523. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
CBS: For ticket information, contact the CBS Ticket Office at (213) 852-2458 or write or stop off at the CBS Ticket Office, 7800 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, Calif. 90036. Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.