Citizen Kern-Ron Bastone

Written by Bakersfield Magazine

Personal Stats:

Name: Ron Bastone

Age: 69

Birthplace: The Bronx, New York City, NY

Title: Writer; Director; Actor; Marital and Family Counselor

How he got started: After seeing Annie Get Your Gun as a youngster, Bastone caught the theater bug. At 16, he began taking acting classes and by 18, he had done summer stock theater with Groucho Marx and started his own theater group. He opened a theater on the second floor of a Brooklyn library the following year, before going to broadcasting school, becoming a program director and DJ in Vermont, and doing a little community theater. He soon found his way to Hollywood.

His favorite part of the industry: Bastone was hired to be a writer for the New Mickey Mouse Club Show and for Kids, Incorporated. During that time, he got to write for and help young actors and actresses (including a young Stacy Ferguson...you know her as Fergie) develop their talents on the Disney lot, which he says was great fun. And as a fellow actor (he had a small role in the cult classic Scream Bloody Murder) and a degreed marital and family counselor, he loves analyzing the psychoses behind a character.

Career highlights: In 1971, a friend recommended Bastone for a radio gig for KIIS FM in Los Angeles, where he would write and perform mini-dramas with the likes of Johnny Mathis, Bette Midler, and Vincent Price. In ‘77, he opened the Hollywood Actors Theater and directed and produced 45 shows before moving to Northern California and opening a second theater.

His heroes: Writer, director, and best friend Marc Ray became a surrogate father, brother, and mentor for Bastone early in his life. Ray was a long-time TV writer, having penned scripts for The Ann Margaret Show among others. Additionally, Bastone has looked up to DeNiro, Hoffman, and Pacino as fellow actors.

What he’d still like to accomplish: The Hollywood Actors Theater, the stage where he directed The Boom Boom Room with Julie Newmar (TV’s original Catwoman), burned down in ‘91. But Bastone, who worked with various local theaters after moving here in the ‘80s, said he’d love to open another theater of his own and is currently looking to develop theater groups for both teens and seniors in our area.

Article appeared in our 26-5 Issue - December 2009