That nasty acting "bug" took a bite out of me when I was 8 - I saw how much fun my dad was having performing in local community theater and decided I wanted in on the action.

My first official acting job occurred at age 14 when the actor who was to play the young prince in The "King and I" became ill and I stepped into the role. I even had to sing -- now there's something you don't see every day...

I went on to appear in several Community theater productions, including "South Pacific" and "Fiorello," then was directed by my dad as "Chance Wayne" in Tennessee Williams' "Sweet Bird of Youth."

Somewhere along the way, I started to experiment with this "filmmaking" thing, doing cheezeball super-8 flicks with a neighborhood pal of mine.

I then met future big shot director Sam Raimi in a high school drama class in 1975. See, Sam did a lame-o pantomime in class, and I followed it with an equally lame-o one - we consoled each other and became fast friends. Soon, along with Sam and a bunch of other high school knuckleheads, we began making heaps of super-8 movies - about 50 or so.

During the summer of '76, I volunteered to work as an apprentice up in northern Michigan at Traverse City's Cherry County Playhouse - a summer stock company. I worked 18-hour days putting up sets, being assistant stage manager, doing errands, etc. I didn't make a stinkin' nickel, but it was a very positive, eye-opening experience. Working with TV actors, it was my first real taste of "Hollywood."

That fall, I BRIEFLY attended Western Michigan University and took theater courses, but dropped out after six months because I just got too darn antsy. I managed to get work as a PA (production assistant) for a production company that made commercials in Detroit.

For the next year, I was a "gopher" for them, sweeping out studios, running around picking up camera equipment, etc. - it gave me a good chance to learn the technical side of the business rather than just the "artsy-fartsy" actor stuff.

In the early part of 1979, with buddy Sam Raimi and new associate Rob Tapert, I set out to become a professional filmmaker. We realized that the fastest way to break into the real world of "show biz" was to take fate into our own hands and raise the darn money ourselves. We put together a short super-8 horror film, "Within The Woods," which served as a good vehicle for raising money from potential investors. This resulted in a whopping $350,000 (almost as much as "Titanic") to make "Evil Dead." I starred in this epic and Co-Executive produced it as well.

A mere four years later, the completed film first got noticed in England where it became the best-selling video of 1983, beating out "The Shining." After its appearance at Cannes, France, author Stephen King dubbed it "the most ferociously original horror film of the year" -- not a bad endorsement, and New Line Cinema stepped forward to release Evil Dead in the U.S.

Our next film, "Crime Wave" (a fiasco), was a cross-genre picture. I co-produced and co-starred as the super egotistical sleaze, "Renaldo." It was written by Sam Raimi with his newfound partners Ethan and Joel Coen.

Dino DeLaurentiis then got into the act and agreed to take on the sequel to "Evil Dead." Blessed with a budget ten times the original, "Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn" was released in 1987 and I again starred and co-produced this "less gory, more funny" sequel.

A move to Los Angeles followed, and I clawed my way into a series of independent genre films - you know, classics like "Maniac Cop," "Moontrap" and "Sundown." In 1990, I made a film called "Mindwarp," a "post-apocalyptic Jeremiah Johnson," which, for me, turned out to be a good thing. The film was just okay, but I met my future wife (costume designer Ida Gearon) on that set. Just to clarify things, I had been married before and have two swell kids from that marriage.

I then donned the producer hat again, and co-executive produced the biker yarn "Easy Wheels" and produced "Lunatics: A Love Story," for RCA/Columbia with Detroit pal, Josh Becker.

In 1992, I rejoined my buds Sam and Rob and co-produced the third (and yes, most likely final) installment of the Evil Dead trilogy, "Army of Darkness" for Universal Studios. I once again reprised the role of lame brain, "Ash." Immediately following that, those whacky Coen Brothers invited me to join them for a featured role in their "big business comedy" "The Hudsucker Proxy" for Warner Bros.

It was time for a trip to TV land, so my first real venture was via the pseudo-touted Fox series, "The Adventures of Brisco County Jr." A year later, it was old news, but a good time was had by all.

I then began that "Guest Star" thing on shows like "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman." The director itch began and I scratched it with several episodes of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys." I have since recurred as the "King of Thieves" character, "Autolycus," in both "Herc" and that rowdy spin off: "Xena: Warrior Princess."

The winds of TV kept blowing and and I appeared on Sam Raimi's cryptic "American Gothic," did the dramatic thing on "Homicide: Life on the Street" and blew into the world of TV movies with Fox's TORNADO!

From there, don't ask me how, I stumbled into the popular sitcom, "Ellen," on ABC and recurred as "Ed Billik" the bookstore manager for the better part of a season. Around this time, I stunned the world by singing again (if you can call it that) in an episode of "Weird Science" in which I play, of all things, a "genie." Move over Wayne Newton.

The TV movie thing began to blossom and next thing ya know I'm talking to a car in Disney's TV movie update of "The Love Bug," robbing banks with Lori Laughlin in NBC's "In the Line of Duty: Blaze of Glory," and panning for gold with Alyssa Milano in ABC's, "Gold Rush!"

But those film roots run deep so during this time, I snuck into the blockbuster "Congo," "John Carpenter's Escape From L.A.," and Universal's feature version of "McHale's Navy." It was time to get back to basics, so I then joined the cast of fellow Detroiter Josh Becker's independent crime drama, "Running Time."

Recently, I had a whack at the multi-media industry, providing voices on cutting-edge CD-ROM adventure games for 7th Level, Konami and Activision.

Then, I jumped across the "big ditch" and Co-Starred in my first international film, the French production of "La Patinoire."

Back to the tube. In a deal with Universal, the King o' Thieves stole about 11 more episodes between the two shows, "Herc" and "Xena" plus a few more directing assignments.

I also managed to sqeeze in an episode of "The X-Files" and two independent features; the sequel to "From Dusk 'Til Dawn" called "Texas Blood Money" in which I have a "teaser" role that gets the film going and "Icebreaker" in which I play the big baddie.

As always - stay tuned for details, but better yet - watch the darn shows and go to the movies!

And now, for no reason apparent to myself, I have decided to write a book tentatively entitled Confessions of a "B" Movie Actor...

So there you have it - my stinkin' life in a nutshell...hello...hello? Are you still awake?