I Picked Up A Call From An Unknown Number. I Was Stunned To Hear A Celebrity On The Other End Of The Phone.

“You gotta’ get retired of that 818, Man.”

This is the archetypal portion of proposal I person from a Hollywood literate cause implicit drinks astatine Barney’s Beanery. He’s talking astir my country code. I’d been successful Los Angeles for 4 days, and already, I was being told that I didn’t belong. My country codification — 818, the Valley — was uncool.

“Gotta determination to 310.”  

I retrieve this 20 years aboriginal arsenic an chartless fig from country codification 310 repeatedly pops up connected my cellphone. I prime up a mates times. No 1 answers. 

I inactive person my number, but I americium nary longer surviving successful 310. When my mom, who lives successful Florida, got sick, my woman and I moved our 2 tiny children retired of LA to travel assistance her. Then, my woman required encephalon country and my member passed away, and we stayed there. I’m present successful an bureau astatine a assemblage successful Orlando, Florida. I’m a prof and seat of the movie department, empowering divers voices successful cinema — if we tin inactive accidental the connection “diverse.”

But I consciousness similar an imposter again. Too Hollywood for academia. 

I beryllium successful my office, watching auditions for America’s Got Talent. Average radical with quiescent lives look successful beforehand of “judges.” Occasionally, 1 of these shy unknowns sings a opus truthful fragile oregon unexpectedly almighty that everyone cries and golden confetti falls. I’m a sucker for these videos. Everyone wants to consciousness recognized. Valued. Showered with aureate glitter.

My telephone rings, and the mysterious 310 fig pops up again. I drawback it quickly.

“Hello?” 

“WHO’S THIS!?” the dependable of a grumpy aged antheral answers. It’s the benignant of dependable that tells you that you can’t skateboard here. The benignant of dependable that yelled astatine maine erstwhile I climbed the partition of Estée Lauder’s Palm Beach property to snorkel from her backyard. 

“You don’t telephone idiosyncratic and yell, ‘Who’s this?’” I accidental with an adjacent magnitude of outrage.

“YOU called ME! I pressed ‘call the fig back.’”

At slightest this aged feline had immoderate knowing of however to run a cellphone.

“That’s impossible,” I respond. “I’m sitting here, moving successful my office, and I haven’t called anyone.”

I don’t admit that I conscionable wept watching a janitor connected AGT sing Journey astir arsenic good arsenic Steve Perry.

“And you’ve been calling maine for weeks!” I add.

“You’ve been calling me!! I person you connected my caller ID! Who are you?” helium demands.

We’re astatine a spot of a cellphone standoff.

“I’m Eric Fleming,” I say, arsenic arrogant arsenic if I conscionable brought the AGT assemblage to their feet.

“No, you’re not!” helium says. “Eric Fleming was a person of mine, and helium died 40 years ago! I was connected his show.”

There was so a celebrated histrion named Eric Fleming who starred successful the TV Western Rawhide. He drowned successful the Amazon, filming a B-movie.

“Well, this is simply a antithetic Eric Fleming.”

I archer him that I’m not named aft the actor, but helium died a twelvemonth to the time earlier I was born.  

“Who are YOU?” I request successful turn.

“Martin Landau!” helium says.

“As successful Martin Landau, the actor!?”  

“Yes!” helium says with the self-righteousness of a justice successful plain clothes.

The cranky aged antheral connected the telephone does dependable similar Martin Landau, who won an Oscar playing Bela Lugosi other Johnny Depp’s Ed Wood. 

“If you truly are Martin Landau… I astir formed you successful an indie movie I directed called The Almost Guys.” I couldn’t retrieve wherefore helium wasn’t cast. “Ended up casting Robert Culp.”

“Bob Culp was a person of mine!” helium inactive sounds angry. But he’s curious. As americium I. I’ve work a batch of Carl Jung. 

“I cognize Culp was a person of yours,” I say, “I spoke astatine his memorial astatine the Egyptian Theater and I saw you there.”

“Huh.” He sounds intrigued.

I had the grant of speaking astatine Robert Culp’s memorial to a afloat theatre that included Hugh Hefner, positive entourage. I spoke astir however the past of our manufacture is forgotten successful the relentless march of exertion and contented creation. How we’ve mislaid transportation to the past and tin larn truthful overmuch from older storytellers. 

Robert Culp wasn’t conscionable the feline I watched connected The Greatest American Hero successful the 1980s. He starred successful I Spy, the archetypal prime-time tv amusement with a Black co-lead. Culp was a assistance rod vaulter, a rodeo instrumentality rider, and a quick-draw champion. He directed a documentary connected Operation Breadbasket — a programme that Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Jackson expanded that empowered the Black assemblage to workout its purchasing powerfulness for governmental and societal change.

Culp edited the movie successful a country adjacent to Dennis Hopper, who was moving connected Easy Rider. We should truly perceive and larn from these aged guys.

Robert Culp’s household hugged maine aft I spoke. I returned to my spot down Josh Brolin and Diane Lane. It was different unusual acquisition successful a 20-year series of unusual experiences successful Hollywood. 

When I archetypal arrived successful LA, I wrote self-addressed, stamped postcards to agents each implicit town: “Will you work my script, ‘Synchronicity’? Check one: 1.) Yes, nonstop it close away. Can’t hold to work it! 2.) Maybe later. 3.) Fuck off. Go away.”

Two agents checked fig 3. It’s a pugnacious town.

A person worked for the Farrelly brothers, and they were benignant capable to connection short-ends (spare strips of movie near successful cans) and a camera bundle if we returned it to the rental house. I wrote a abbreviated mockumentary called Fallen Arches that featured Ronald McDonald arsenic a drunk who had been dropped by McDonald’s and was auditioning successful Hollywood. We made 10 copies. I went backmost to moving arsenic a grip and speechmaking screenplays for $65 per script.

I didn’t deliberation astir Fallen Arches again until I got a random telephone from country codification 310. It was Charlie Murphy, Eddie’s brother. Eddie had seen my movie and wanted to meet. George Clooney gave copies to friends. I ended up connected the screen of Variety, and my telephone didn’t halt ringing from 310 numbers. Every endowment bureau successful Hollywood called. One of those calls was from an cause who had returned my postcard a fewer years earlier with fig 3, “Fuck disconnected and spell away” checked astatine the bottom. I politely returned the favor, telling him to “Fuck disconnected and spell away.”

I was swept on successful a swirling Hollywood existent of development. I pitched, sold scripts, created TV shows, made an indie diagnostic and a TV aviator wherever I played an Anthony Bourdain-type quality with a question amusement who participated successful unusual American pastimes. In the pilot, I competed successful an all-nude triathlon successful North Carolina portion being followed by 2 camera crews. The caput of the web was fired, and the amusement was shelved. 

But I moved to 310. 

During those years successful Los Angeles, I felt arsenic though I had snuck into a state nine and yet idiosyncratic would observe that I wasn’t a member. I ne'er felt similar I belonged — anywhere.

I erstwhile climbed the partition of Paramount Studios with the assistance of a histrion subdivision astatine the country of Melrose and Van Ness due to the fact that I forgot my licence and couldn’t get done the information gate. In summation to skills arsenic a drama writer, I person above-average upper-body strength.

It was a batch similar climbing Estée Lauder’s partition successful Palm Beach. A information defender discovered me. Instead of running, I accepted a abbreviated lecture and a play cart thrust to the Paramount offices, wherever I pitched executives a remake of Urban Cowboy. I wore cowboy boots and pretended to cognize a batch astir horses. My pants were scuffed and soiled from the ascent implicit the workplace wall. I bombed the meeting.

Martin Landau and I are inactive trying to fig retired however we connected connected this telephone call. No assistants, agents, managers, oregon publicists connected us. Just our phones calling each other.

“I curse to God, I did not telephone you,” I say. “Listen, if you’re truly Martin Landau… I indispensable archer you, I was a large Woody Allen instrumentality increasing up, and my favourite film…”

“Crimes and Misdemeanors?” helium asks. He slides the “s” astir successful his mouth, and I representation him — slate bluish eyes nether heavy achromatic eyebrows. 

“It’s Woody Allen’s masterpiece. And you are fantastic successful it.”

“You know, that was each me,” helium says. “Woody near maine alone. I was wholly successful the dark. He ne'er spoke to me. I thought helium mightiness occurrence me. You know, if helium doesn’t similar what you’re doing, helium doesn’t archer you. He conscionable has a shaper occurrence you.”

As a lifelong movie fan, I’m eating this up with a spoon. “He did it to Michael Keaton connected Purple Rose of Cairo.”

“Michael Keaton’s a person of mine!” I americium anxious to driblet names. I archer Martin Landau that Keaton and I are moving connected a task called “Piragua” astir a Puerto Rican movie pupil of excavation who finished his elder twelvemonth of precocious schoolhouse surviving successful a motel portion Hurricane Maria devastated his island. I’m pursuing my bosom now, alternatively of Hollywood deals.  

And past Martin Landau conscionable opens up. 

He talks astir increasing up successful Brooklyn. He went to James Madison High School. The aforesaid schoolhouse that Arthur Miller and Bernie Sanders attended. I told him I thought helium would’ve made a fantastic president. Sanders, that is. I can’t ideate Arthur Miller arsenic president — though I tin ideate Marilyn Monroe arsenic archetypal lady.

Landau entered the Actor’s Studio successful the 1950s. Steve McQueen was successful his class. So was James Dean. I notation my favourite Hitchcock film, and Landau talks astir moving with "Hitch" connected North by Northwest.

“Where successful LA bash you live? You person a 310 country code,” Martin Landau says.

“I moved — to Orlando,” I say. “Strange, but I’m flying to LA tomorrow. A shaper person is helping maine money scholarships for movie students.”

I explicate that a batch of my students are not wealthy, but they’re amazing. I archer him astir 1 pupil who pitched a abbreviated movie astir her parent successful Ghana, who suffers from schizophrenia. The lone clip the voices are quiescent is erstwhile she sings. We raised wealth for her to movie successful Ghana. A Venezuelan pupil pitched a communicative astir posting pictures of her cousin, who was mislaid to trafficking. 

This each resonates with Landau. Despite a storied vocation successful signifier and cinema, helium is astir excited astir his existent students. He teaches astatine the Actor’s Studio West successful Los Angeles.

“You should spot these kids act,” helium says with immense pride. “They are wonderful.”

His students person made him consciousness hopeful for the aboriginal of arts — storytelling. The value of narrative.

“I would emotion for you to spot them perform. They’re doing a speechmaking successful September,” helium says. 

I inquire if I tin instrumentality him to meal erstwhile I get successful LA the adjacent day. 

“I would truly bask that. You know, Eric Fleming, I don’t cognize however this happened... But I deliberation it was meant to be. For immoderate reason, we were expected to speech to each other, today.”

“I deliberation so, too. I’ll telephone you.”

“You person my number,” helium jokes.

Martin Landau passed distant that night.  

My telephone rang 1 much clip from his fig a fewer weeks later. I grabbed it quickly, hoping it mightiness person been a household member. I could archer them astir our conversation. Our antithetic connection.

“Hello?”

No 1 responded.

A fewer years person passed. I traveled to LA — to 310 — respective much times. I worked connected the publication for Piragua and formed the movie with Michael Keaton. We were scheduled to spell into accumulation successful June 2020. A planetary pandemic unopen the accumulation down.

I inactive don’t recognize however Martin Landau and I ended up talking to each other. A quiescent telephone without applause and aureate confetti. Synchronicity.

Perhaps helium needed to speech with idiosyncratic with the aforesaid sanction arsenic an aged person earlier helium passed. And possibly I needed to recognize that careless of the country codification I was in, I was yet wherever I belonged.   

Eric Fleming has spent astir 30 years writing, directing and processing movie and tv projects, collaborating with large studios including Paramount, United Artists, Warner Bros., NBC, MTV and Fox. As an educator, helium redesigned Valencia College’s movie accumulation program and Florida’s statewide model to halfway communicative arsenic the instauration of method craft. He has secured implicit $2 cardinal successful grant-funded movie equipment, established endowed scholarships, championed divers voices, and helped pb the plan of a $15M accumulation facility. Fleming is presently successful post-production connected a TV pilot, “American Kindness.”

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected HuffPost successful May 2026.