BRISTOL BOROUGH – At 24-years-old, Charlie Saxton is definitely the youngest of the five Bristol celebrities chosen to be honored at this year’s Bristol Fall Classic Gala. However, his Bristol heritage goes back four generations. Charlie was born, November 7, 1989, Election Day. Former Mayor Joe Saxton, his great-uncle, reported that Charlie’s birth announcement contained an old political slogan from the Tyler era; “Tippy Canoe and Charlie Too”. Evidently Bristol Borough used the slogan to get Charlie’s great-great-great grandfather, Charlie Saxton, elected as the Borough’s first Chief of Police. The current Charlie Saxton seems about to make some history of his own.
Charlie’s parents, Mark and Drucie Saxton were involved in theatre before they were married and Charlie and his older sister, Mianna, grew up in an atmosphere of theatre jargon and production schedules. Mark and Drucie are musicians and actors. In addition, Mark is a stage-manager, and Drucie McDaniel-Saxton is a director and currently teaches acting at the University of the Arts on Broad Street in Philadelphia.
In 1995, the Saxtons decided to take Mianna, then seven years old, to audition for possible TV commercials. Their manager, Edie Robb, conducted the auditions and they felt sure that Mianna’s pretty face, blonde hair and blue eyes might just win her a spot or two in commercials for her future college fund. They decided that rather than have a baby-sitter, they’d take Charlie along for the ride. He usually behaved well and he might even enjoy the adventure. Mianna’s appearance and charm paid off; she was in. Mrs. Robb then came for Charlie to audition. The Saxtons explained the baby-sitting situation and the fact that they hadn’t intended for Charlie to audition. Mrs. Robb persuaded them to give him a chance. After his audition, she announced, “He’s got something”.
Charlie was signed up to do a commercial for a Mid-Western television audience. He was five-years old, and couldn’t read, but he had a great facility to remember the lines of his dialogue with an elderly actor who portrayed his grandfather. At the studio, Charlie followed the stage direction and delivered his speech without a flaw-the actor playing the grandfather forgot his lines.
Charlie’s next commercial was for the Pennsylvania Lottery. It was titled, ‘The Family From Hell’, and it entailed a motley looking family knocking on a door to gain entrance for a Christmas visit. The camera shot was set up to appear as though the person behind the door is viewing them from the small peep-hole. Just as the camera rolled, Charlie sneezed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. “Cut!” The director laughed and said. “Charlie, could you do that again?” “Sure!” he said, and feigned a sneeze for a repeat performance.
That same year, 1995, the Bristol Riverside Theatre was scheduled to produce a play, “A Hundred and Ten in the Shade”. It was performed on the screen under the title, “The Rainmaker” and starred Burt Lancaster. The play takes place in farm country in the Mid-West and Susan Atkinson, Founder-Director of the BRT, decided that some children on stage would add to the authenticity of a small town. Margie Price, a former baby-sitter of the Saxton children, was the stage-manager for the production and she mentioned Mianna and Charlie. Susan was agreeable to try them out and they were included in the cast.
In 1997, Mianna and Charlie became ‘troupers’. The Walnut Street Theatre was auditioning for a production of “To Kill A Mockingbird”. Mianna got the role of Scout, and Charlie got the role of Dill. The show opened at the George Street Theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey in November of 1997, where it played for four weeks. The Walnut Street Theatre held it for eight weeks. It moved to the Coconut Grove Theatre in Miami, where it closed in May of 1998. Mianna got her AEA (stage actors) union card. Charlie continued to do commercials and got his SAG (screen actors) union card.
The two professional actors returned to home and school in Bristol and resumed their normal ‘every-day’ lives. Mark said that both Mianna and Charlie are grateful for having grown up in Bristol, where they developed life-long friendships in a small town they call home.
In the fall of 2003, auditions were being held for a Broadway Revival of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” Ned Beatty and Ashley Judd were scheduled to play the lead characters, Jo Twiss, Bristol resident and wife of Keith Baker, Artistic Director of the BRT, had the under study role to Judd. The cast would include child actors, two boys and three girls who would appear in the birthday party scene for Big Daddy. Charlie auditioned and got one of the roles. Then a juggling act of time and travel developed into an art-form. It was a six day a week job, from Bristol to Broadway. Mark and Drucie invented incredible schedules to get Charlie back and forth every day. With a little help from the friends they made in New York, the cooperation from his teachers in Bristol, and a dogged determination they got through the Broadway run, November 2003 to February 2004.
In the midst of all of this activity between stage and school, Charlie followed his passion for music. Largely self-taught, he became proficient on the drums and later, the bass-guitar. Jerry Collins, band instructor of BHS was a hugely productive influence.
Charlie continued his acting apprenticeship in Bristol High School, where he played the lead in the production of “Fiorello”. A play based on the lovable mayor of New York, Fiorello LaGuardia. Coincidently, his great-uncle, Joe Saxton was the mayor of Bristol. He also had roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Footloose, and West Side Story. Charlie was able to maintain an acting career and his grades. His Scholastic achievements include membership in the National Honor Society, Bucks County Student Ambassadors and President of the Senior Class. He and his friend, Will Molden, organized a band, Cool Kids Going to the Beach, which played at local events and was the official BHS band for pep- rallies.
In the fall of his senior year (2007), Charlie was accepted at Indiana State University for the 2008 fall semester. The school had a good reputation for its theatre department and Charlie looked forward to matriculating for a degree in Theatre Arts. However, his manager informed him that there was an acting opportunity available that might peak his interest. “Bandslam”, a film that required an actor/bass-guitarist, was so in his corner, it could have been written for him. Charlie lugged his bass-guitar to New York for the audition and then settled down at home to await the results. Charlie was playing street football one day and broke his foot. The ‘call-back’ came from New York and this time, the bass-guitar and amplifier were demanded for a second audition. Charlie sought the aid of his friend since pre-K, Ian Weinberg, to help him lug the instrument and equipment via train to New York. There was yet another audition to be held in California that Charlie had to appear as a finalist for the role.
The role in “Bandslam” was still not nailed down. Thanksgiving came and went, without a word. Just before Christmas, Charlie received the confirmation. Shooting for The film, “Bandslam” was scheduled to begin in March, in Austin, Texas. He was eighteen and his parents felt he could travel on his own. His teachers at BHS cooperated by sending his lessons and assignments by mail and there were tutors available on set. Charlie maintained his honors grade average. The shooting continued for eight weeks and his part was filmed, so Charlie returned home at the end of April. Things looked good for the fall semester at Indiana University, a role Charlie really had his heart set on.
As a result of his work on the film, Charlie was courted by two prominent international agencies; International Creative Management, and Creative Artists Agency. The family leaned toward CAA because the agent, Nick Styne, seemed to be interested in Charlie as a human being and not just the potential roles that would pay the bill. On the night of Charlie’s Senior Prom, Nick Styne phoned to confirm a forthcoming contract.
Charlie Graduated BHS with honors in 2008. But his plans for Indiana State had to be shelved. In the summer he traveled to Los Angeles with Drucie, his mother, to be introduced to all major casting directors and film companies, as a result of his contract with CAA. One of the auditions was for a lead in the HBO pilot for HUNG, Charlie booked the role. The pilot shot for three and a half weeks. He had to wait until January to find out if the series would be picked up.
HUNG ran for three years. Since then, Charlie has had roles in several films Twelve, The English Teacher, and Movie 43. Television films include; The New Girl, Workaholics, and Adult Swim. With a friend from Bandslam, he co-wrote, co-starred and co-produced an independent film, I Am Ben.
Look for a new webseries, which is about to have a red carpet launch BETAS, produced by Amazon with Charlie as lead and co-starring Ed Begley, Jr.
BRISTOL FALL CLASSIC
The 2013 Bristol Fall Classic will be honoring Dolores Ferraro, along with other Bristol show business celebrities: Dance Master, Fred Knecht; Chris Gattelli, Tony Award winning choreographer; Ryan O’Gara, Theatrical Lighting Designer; Charlie Saxton, TV and Screen actor. The yearly fund-raising event helps support the Bristol after-school and summer camp programs, which served over 300 students in 2012-2013. Report card gains indicate 85% of these students maintained satisfactory grades in reading and math.
The Gala Event will be held Saturday, November 23, 2013, at the Grundy Commons- 7th floor, 925 Canal Street, Bristol, from 7-11 PM. Tickets are $75.00, which includes hors d’oevres, wine and beer, serving stations, and dessert. A spectacular silent auction will be featured offering fun family events and unique holiday gifts. Tickets can be purchased at: Bristol Tax Office, Great IDs by Anne, and Mignoni Jewelry Store.
Information: 215-788-0915.
