SALT LAKE CITY — Creed Bratton is best known for playing a fictional version of himself on the NBC sitcom “The Office,” but the ever-mysterious and eccentric Dunder Mifflin employee is as much a storyteller filled with bizarre anecdotes in real life as he is on the beloved show.
He’s also a musician at heart, but the 75-year-old musician/actor recognizes that his 9-season run on “The Office” is what allows him to fulfill his music dream night after night — a dream he’ll live out Thursday night when he performs at the Complex in Salt Lake City.
“I wouldn’t be here now performing for you guys, doing these concerts, if it weren’t for ‘The Office,'” Bratton told the Deseret News from the road. “‘The Office’ made it possible for me to do this, so I’m so grateful for that show in so many ways to continue my career.”
Bratton, a California native, said he hasn’t performed in Utah since the late '60s, during his days as a member of the folk-rock group The Grass Roots. Bratton, who grew up in a musical family and began playing guitar professionally at 17, was with the band for two years during its heyday, experiencing the success of the top-10 hit “Let’s Live for Today” in 1967.
And while most people who attend Bratton’s shows come out of love for his quirky “Office” character, the musician said a few older people do know him from his days with The Grass Roots and he gives those fans some of the hits because “it wouldn’t be fair otherwise.”
It was also when he joined The Grass Roots in 1967 that he changed his name to Creed Bratton. The name change is a curious story the musician tells in a nonchalant, offbeat manner similar to his “Office” character. Although his birth name was Williams Charles Schneider, Bratton became known as Chuck Ertmoed when his mother remarried a man named Sam Ertmoed (Bratton was 2 years old when his birth father died in World War II).
“Kids are cruel,” Bratton said. “They’d put their finger down their throat like they’re throwing up when they said my last name, so I didn’t have a lot of self-esteem because of that name.”
Fast-forward several years to when Bratton is a young musician in Europe. After a night of drinking, he and some people came up with a list of more suitable names for the hopeful actor.
“Next morning … I wake up and sitting there next to the bed is a crumpled up tablecloth,” Bratton said. “I’d brought the tablecloth from the restaurant and all these names are there. Most of the names crossed out, (but) one circled with little stars all around it saying ‘Creed Bratton.’ I went, ‘What a great name!’ So I cut around it with my knife that I carried and I put it flat on the bottom of my rucksack.”
Bratton didn’t give the name much more thought until about a year-and-a-half later in 1966, when he was visiting his then-girlfriend in Los Angeles and the name fluttered out from his rucksack. This time the name stuck, and he signed on to The Grass Roots as Creed Bratton, eventually legally changing his name.
Bratton continued to perform music and did some acting, but it wasn't until he wrote the role of Creed Bratton for the 2005 NBC show "The Office" that fame finally found him. Soon, a name written on a tablecloth became associated with one of "The Office's" most eccentric characters — a hard title to earn considering the competition.
“(Fans) loved the character," Bratton said. "… I didn’t think much about it at the time because I was so busy trying to do the job right, but now I’m really starting to appreciate that he was a very funny character. And so weird.”
There’s one scene from “The Office” in particular that got Bratton laughing at his own character — a moment from a fourth season episode titled “Survivor Man” that he watched on a plane years later. In the episode, Dunder Mifflin manager Michael Scott runs off to see if he has what it takes to survive in the wilderness, putting Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) in the manager position for the day and leaving him with the task of planning a birthday party for multiple coworkers — Bratton included — who have strange requests.
“I made myself laugh — I made me laugh,” Bratton said. "That’s pretty weird.”
Bratton will include several tales from his “Office” days with his Salt Lake audience Thursday, including a performance of his original song “All the Faces” that was featured on “The Office” finale. Bratton included the song on his seventh and latest album, “While the Young Punks Dance.”
There’s much Bratton shares in common with his outlandish “Office” character: his real name, his love of scuba diving and alfalfa sprouts and his time as a hippie rock ‘n’ roller in the '60s.
But when it comes to his character’s embellishments, things get a little foggy.
One thing Bratton can’t — or won’t — say for certain is whether or not he is the Scranton Strangler.
“Do I have bodies buried somewhere? Probably, probably. Did I sell laminated IDs to college students? Of course, of course I did. Do I remember everybody? No, of course I don’t.”
But Bratton will likely remember those who come out Thursday night and support him in a music career “Office” fandom has rekindled.
“I still think about the show because it was 9 seasons and we loved each other,” Bratton said. “It was a great experience for an actor, for me. I was just about 60 by the time that happened, and it was a life changer.”
If you go …
What: "An Evening of Music and Comedy With Creed Bratton"
When: Thursday, June 14, 8 p.m.
Where: The Complex, 536 W. 100 South
How much: $19.50
Web: thecomplexslc.com