About the Stir Crazy Book
I did these drawings while working as a standby painter on the movie, Stir Crazy. Stir Crazy was directed by Sidney Poitier and starred Richard Prior and Gene Wilder. As the film neared completion, I collected the individual drawings and compiled them into a book.
We were filming on location at the Harold Lloyd estate on the day of wrap. I placed copies of the book in the foyer on a circular table under the circular staircase. I invited the cast and crew to take one. It appeared that everybody grabbed a copy. A surprise awaited them: only a few people were aware that I had been incorporating Bible verses in the drawings as I did them.
Several weeks later, the production company had a wrap party at a restaurant overlooking Universal Studios. It was there that I got autographs from the cast and crew (seen on these drawings). I also got many complements. However, the most meaningful thing I heard came from one of the actors. He told me that he had been afraid to share his faith in Christ, but was encouraged to do so after seeing the book. To God be the glory!
When the Lights Go Out
Layoff is inevitable following a film completion. Typically, one moves on to another project on the studio lot if a show is available. I was picked up by another movie (Swarm). Yet I was laid off from it only a few days later even though there was much work to do. I didn’t return to that movie lot for many, many years regardless of how busy it was. I’d always wondered if the book had anything to do with my extended absence. It was somewhat revealing that I had been refused work until the time that a Christian friend took the reigns of the paint department on that lot.
Sometimes it’s not obvious that we pay a price for telling others about Jesus. However, we must ask ourselves if there is a cost too great to pay for opening the door of eternal life to others. Consider the price Jesus paid.
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