Oh Grow Up Article
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Binghamton
press & Sun-Bulletin
September 26, 1999
COVER STORY
Gay role may be
ticket to fame for Seton grad
After knocking
around Hollywood for eight years, snagging a few small roles in
movies and television programs, former Binghamton resident John Ducey
is on the brink of possible sitcom stardom. Ducey, 30, is one of the
five newcomers (to TV) starring in a new ABC series, Oh Grow Up
(9:30pm Wednesday). one of several series based on the adventures of
20--somethings making their way in the big city, Ducey unabashedly
calls the show a cross between Friends and Will and Grace.
As one of three
men who live together, Ducey plays Ford, a straight-arrow lawyer, who
has a significant issue to deal with. As Ducey explained, Ford did
everything he was supposed to do growing up. He got good marks in
school, took his place on the career track and got married. but since
he lives with two other guys (David Alan Basche and Stephen Dunham),
you may wonder what happened to his wife. In a word, divorce. It
turns out Ford has this niggling little problem: The straight-arrow
isn't all that straight. "He's just coming to terms with his
gayness," Ducey said. |
Thus Ducey, who has not
previously played gay roles, joins a growing field of gay characters
in prime-time shows, including the aforementioned Will
and Grace
(coincidentally, Will also is a lawyer), Spin
City and Dawson's
Creek. While
"playing gay" used to be considered a detriment top
careers, Ducey doesn't think so, based on the appearance of
acceptance of gay characters in both movies and television. There are
gay actors such as Rupert Everett and Sir Ian McKellan, who have
achieved star status. Major stars such as Tom Hanks, Robin Williams,
Cuba Gooding Jr. and Nathan Lane have played gay characters at no
apparent detriment to their careers. "I don't think of it as
positive or negative. I just think I'm playing a character people
will like," Ducey said. And it will give him the visibility he's
hungered for since starting an acting career.
The only conceivable problem he
should have, Ducey said, is whether or not his show survives the
lottery that is prime time for new programs. A fact of TV life is
that most new programs fail. Benefiting the show is its time slot --
at 9:30pm Wednesdays, immediately following the popular Drew Carey.
If Oh Grow Up can capture Carey's spill-over audience, it has
a chance to become, if not a ratings leader, a comfortable Wednesday
fixture. As Ducey awaits the first critical response to the show, he
said success isn't up to him or the show's creators and actors. It is
up to the viewing public.
Going into the show, he and the
other actors signed standard five-year contracts, which will provide
a measure of security in an otherwise insecure profession -- if the
show succeeds. "This is the first time in eight years that I've
had to go to work every morning," he said. "It takes
getting used to."
The son of James and Judy Ducey
of Binghamton, Ducey graduated from Seton Catholic High School in
1987 and entered Harvard University for electrical engineering and
pre-med. but the acting bug bit him at Harvard and he decided to take
a flyer at show business. Unlike many young actors, he didn't have to
turn to low-paying jobs to live between endless auditions. He put his
math and science to good use as a substitute teacher and private tutor.
Starting a career means making
contacts and getting known, Ducey said. Over the past few years he's
gotten small roles and speaking parts in show such as Encore,
Sabrina, Frasier,
Late Night [sic], the movie Deep
Impact and a co-starring role in a pilot, The
Hanleys, which wasn't picked up by the networks. Being chosen
for Oh Grow Up puts his career, not to mention his life, on a
whole new level.
--Gene Gray
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