Profile: Actor Tom DiMenna is Telly Savalas in 'Who Loves You, Baby?'

				By Paden Fallis, Performing Arts Contributing Editor Artists are hardwired to be obsessive and eccentric. Like a dog with a bone, we are oftentimes driven to distraction with a single-minded focus; be it a specific character, place, or time period. When we find something that captures our imagination, we jump feet first into the fire. Actor Tom DiMenna is a prime example of this with his dogged devotion to playing the role of 70’s TV icon Telly Savalas in Who Loves You, Baby? The show has been playing at the Huron Club at the Soho Playhouse since making its New York premiere at the New York International Fringe last year. Tom takes a few minutes to let us in on his fascination with Telly and what has led him to portray this man for the past five years.
	IT WAS LIKE IT WAS FOR ME AND NO ONE ELSE.			stated: What’s your first memory of Telly? TOM DIMENNA: The first time I saw Telly was in the YouTube video, “If.” It was the funniest thing I had ever seen. Ever. Bar none. I had seen Shatner’s Rocket Man and I had been raised in a world of over-the-top cabaret performers, since my mom was a cabaret singer…and those were all very funny. But nothing like this, nothing this over the top. It was like the most sublime comedy ever captured on video. It was like it was for me and no one else. I took pride that it had so few hits on YouTube and was mine to flaunt. I showed it to every human being I came into contact with. It was one of those things you could re-watch over and over again. You couldn’t numb yourself to it. It was the big bang of my 5-year odyssey with Telly Savalas. stated: When did the idea to perform Telly crystallize for you? TOM DIMENNA: One night my friend Hunter Nelson and I were bullshitting together after an improv show. I showed him the clip of “If” on YouYube. I was sort of obsessed with it. Hunter saw Telly as some kind of alter ego for me, since I would do a lot of pseudo-macho characters on our improv team, SMIRK. I thought he was right, and I hate when other people are right about what I should be doing, but he was clearly right.   My mother is a cabaret singer and I thought we could do a cabaret show with Telly Savalas and it would feel authentic, seeing as I was raised in that world. Hunter and I started watching Kojak and outlining a nightclub act. I dared Hunter to write the script. He did and dared me to actually memorize it, which I did. I even shaved my head, which I think really won him over.
				(Telly Savalas’ original “If”)
				(DiMenna’s “If”-inspired “It’s Telly Time!”, directed by Zeke and Simon Hawkins)
	I AM HOPING TELLY WILL RUB OFF ON ME AND BRING SOME MUCH-NEEDED PYSCHOLOGOCIAL DEVELOPMENT.			stated: What’s the mystery with Telly? What, as an artist, are you trying to unearth? TOM DIMENNA: Well, this is strictly my take, and it’s a two-take deal, because 50% of Telly belongs to Hunter, my writer, so he’ll have his own goals. But for me, I’m trying to actually become more masculine as a person. Desperately in fact, which is why I have been able to do the show this long. I’m hoping Telly will rub off on me and bring some much-needed psychological development. It’s truly an outlet to express a more assertive personality. And the fact that I get to do it comically has always been the key for me. I feel safe in comedy; it’s a natural mode of expression for me. The hope is that I’m cathartically working some stuff out in the process and enjoying it.
	TELLY IS LIKE THE BATMAN COWL. AT SOME POINT I WILL BE TOO OLD TO WEAR IT.			stated: In what ways does this show impact your life offstage? TOM DIMENNA: I’m more aware of my posture, I’m more aware of my voice with strangers. Plus I’m bald now, which has become completely normal, which is weird. I mean, I had hair! Lots of glorious brown hair! And now I’m one of those baldies you see on the subway. Your identity changes, at least superficially, and so you have to adjust to a new kind of persona. I have to say, people seem to like baldies; you’re more of an instant character in the eyes of a stranger, I think. Perhaps it’s all thanks to Telly and his iconic bald head. Him and Yul Brynner. stated: What would it be like to see someone else play Telly? TOM DIMENNA: Hard. Interesting and probably very revealing. But if he does anything better than me—gets a slightly bigger laugh on a joke I’ve done a thousand times—it’ll be a killer. But I guess the point is, Telly is like the Batman cowl, or Zorro’s eye mask…at some point I will be too old to wear it, or I just won’t need to do it anymore, and it will be time to crown the next insecure and troubled young man and promptly shave his head.
	I FEEL SIMILAR TO PEE WEE HERMAN IN TERMS OF AN ALL-OUT COMMITMENT TO ONE CHARACTER.			stated: James O’Neill (Eugene O’Neill’s father) played the role of Dumas in The Count of Monte Cristo over 600 times. This role famously typecast him in a way that he could never shake. Any fears that Telly might ever limit you in any way?  TOM DIMENNA: Yes. I feel similar to Pee Wee Herman, in terms of an all-out commitment to one character. I understand he felt pretty isolated in the improv/comedy world and felt the need to focus on this one character. I get it. I just think I have to listen to my instincts and as soon as the spirit dies for me, I’ll have to stop. Plus I’m keeping myself busy with some other side projects that I want to do. It’s tricky, I mean Pee Wee created a lasting influence on the culture with his incredible commitment to one character. But he may have missed out on other characters/roles as a result. I don’t know what the future has in store for me, but I’m prepared to take Telly as far as I think he needs to go for his message to be heard.
				Who Loves You, Baby? plays Thursday and Friday nights at 8pm at the Soho Playhouse in New York City. Get tickets at www.sohoplayhouse.com Find Tom at www.tomdimenna.com Find Tom as Telly at www.tellysavalaslive.com