The following article, originally published in the Winona Fanzine UK, was written by a fan who describes how he landed a part as a crowd extra in the opera scene for The Age of Innocence.

  

In early 1992, I heard that The Age of Innocence, then entering production, would be filming on location in New York and Philadelphia (my home). I was alert to the possibility of trying out as an extra, and the local newspaper entertainment section finally mentioned that there would be an open casting call at a downtown hotel. As I was “between jobs” at the time, I was available to give it a shot.

Extra casting doesn’t really involve an audition. They’re really just seeking people with the appropriate look. In this case, they were somewhat frustrated, in that the 1870s opera audience they sought to fill would ideally be made up of middle-aged to older people…i.e, the sort least likely to take two or three working days off to “go be in a show”. I think I owe my good fortune at being selected to the fact that I was more “conventional” looking than many of the hip young “actor” types who showed up. I was one of about 100 people who were lined up as extras in advance and fitted for costumes. Ultimately they “shanghaied” about 200-300 more people during the two days of shooting and dressed them in rented tuxes or plain dresses to fill out the background. Even then, they resorted to cardboard cut-outs placed in the Academy of Music seats to make the place look full.

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Glenn Shadix, 58, best known for playing interior designer Otho in the movie Beetlejuice (1988), died Tuesday morning in Birmingham, Ala., according to a statement posted by the actor’s family on his official website. Shadix, who was in a wheelchair due to mobility problems, reportedly died after falling and hitting his head in his kitchen, the actor’s sister told The Birmingham News. Director Tim Burton cast Shadix in Beetlejuice after seeing him portray Gertrude Stein in a Los Angeles play. Shadix would work with Burton again on The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Planet of the Apes (2001). Shadix also did voice work for the animated show Teen Titans, and guest starred in such shows as Carnivàle and Seinfeld (as Jerry’s landlord). A memorial service is scheduled for Sept. 11 in Birmingham.