Back in high school, nobody could have predicted that Peter Bergman would find great success as an actor. “I was more of an athlete, and when I showed up in the theater department, everybody was like, ‘What is he doing here?’ ” Bergman recalls. “I didn’t even know how to answer that. I was actually meandering toward being an English teacher. I fought acting every step of the way — and then I found out I really liked it.”
As the accidental performer got more involved in the arts, he had what would become a life-defining moment. “When I was in 11th grade, there was a thespian competition thing and I saw this young guy do a version of a play called Celebration,” Bergman notes. “It turned out to be one of the best high school performances I had ever seen. I was really wowed. Where I thought I was pretty good, this guy was fantastic.”
When it came time for college, however, Bergman decided to put aside theater for a more pragmatic career. “I told myself, ‘I’m not studying acting. That’s just stupid!’ ” he chuckles. “So, I was going to be an English major, but I just wasn’t driven. Then, I saw a sign for auditions for Celebration, of all plays, and there was some part of me that wanted to prove that I was as good as that guy I saw years before, if not better. I auditioned for a role and I got it. The play was a real success and my completely moribund desire as an actor suddenly came alive again.”
And the momentum kept building. “My friend, Tim, who was also in college, said, ‘I’m going to New York and audition for The American Academy of Dramatic Arts,’ and I thought, ‘Okay. I’ll do the same thing,’ ” Bergman shares. “I never thought about it before, never occurred to me, but off we went to New York and I got in. That’s when my life as an actor really started.”
While pounding the pavement for stage work, Bergman decided he needed a steadier job to keep him financially afloat and that’s when, in 1979, he landed the part of young Dr. Cliff Warner on ALL MY CHILDREN. “It was just a temporary thing, as far I was concerned,” Bergman smiles. “I was going to make a little money, buy a new piano, then go back to being a starving actor and waiter.”
The first paycheck bought the piano, but Bergman didn’t exit daytime as planned because his Pine Valley character was a hit, especially when Cliff was paired up with sheltered heiress Nina. “Those were some pretty important years of my life and an incredible ride,” he sums up. “I worked with some amazing people who really wanted to be as good as we possibly could be. We were willing to make sacrifices to create wonderful scenes. It was a lesson for me that I learned from others. And the network just valued the hell out of you. They really wanted to keep you there.”
Still, Bergman took a break from Pine Valley in 1987. “I came out to L.A. for pilot season,” he explains. “My wife and I had a new baby and we got a place in Sherman Oaks. I went to all these auditions and although I got called back on things, I didn’t get them. All I was getting were theater gigs and I didn’t come to California to do theater. I tried out for these pilot scripts that I couldn’t believe were hitting the air. One of them was called THE CHARMINGS and it was actually about Prince Charming and his family. I got called back several times for that but didn’t get it. I kept thinking, ‘Are they really going to make this?’ and sure enough, it went on air for one season. Then, ALL MY CHILDREN called me and asked, ‘Do you want to come back?’ I was so happy to leave Southern California and this bizarre business that I just couldn’t figure out.”
However, Cliff’s idol status began to wane and an interracial romance with fellow doc Angie tanked with viewers. “Both Debbi Morgan [ex-Angie] and I had mixed feelings about that from the beginning,” Bergman admits. “We not only thought that America was not ready for it, we also agreed that both of these characters had always been with one person. Angie had always been with Jesse, and Cliff had always been with Nina, and that happens no matter what the racial thing is. The audience was just like, ‘I’m sorry, but I just can’t see Cliff with anybody else.’ We both commented that the interracial thing didn’t help, but the characters were probably doomed anyway.”
Bergman was off AMC in 1989, but another opportunity came along before he could even sign up for unemployment. Melody Thomas Scott [Nikki, Y&R] suggested that Bergman was perfect for the role of Jack Abbott (recently vacated by Terry Lester), so he was headed back to L.A. for what turned out to be a much more rewarding experiencing.
All these years later, Bergman is still sizzling on the front burner as head of the Abbott family. “I am so grateful; it has truly amazed me,” he says. “Much has happened to Jack Abbott in the time that I’ve played him. There are plenty of interesting characters in daytime television that have not done half of the things that I have done. So, we’re turning the page now with the biggest betrayal in Jack’s life and that’s with Phyllis and Billy.”
As for what’s ahead, Bergman teases, “Jack is foundering a bit and I just got news that someone is walking back into his life who he thought was long gone, and I’m very excited about it. It takes Jack into a whole new direction. I sit in my dressing room and they drop a script with me and I open it up and I say, ‘Oh, my God. This could be incredible!’ And so, it just goes on. It has been a treasure trove of jewels that I’ve gotten to play and I feel like the luckiest guy in the world.”
What’s Up, Doc?
While at the height of his AMC popularity, Bergman shot a television commercial in 1986 for a cough medicine that, because of the opening line (“I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV”), would go down in pop culture infamy. “It was just one day of work. Isn’t that amazing?” Bergman reflects. “It wasn’t a week or month of work, it was one day of work, but that was a long day. By the time we got done shooting, I hated it. Then it had so much fallout. It was incredible. It ran for years.” Still, Bergman knew that a nationwide TV ad didn’t automatically mean a fortune. “Back then, you’d get residual checks for each time it aired,” he explains. “So, when you got a check, down below it would say the air dates and normally, it would say it was used on, for instance, 6/1, 6/3, 6/7…. For this commercial, there was a big, fat check in my mailbox and the dates it aired said: 6/1, 6/1, 6/1, 6/1, 6/1, 6/1, 6/1,
6/1, 6/1; 6/2, 6/2, 6/2, 6/2, 6/2 and so on; they were showing it all day long for months.” Bergman got even further proof of the acclaim when his commercial was lampooned. “It became a national joke, like, ‘I’m not a politician but I play one on TV,’ ” he chuckles. “I remember lying in bed with a very pregnant Mariellen and Jay Leno, who was just a stand-up comic then, opened his bit about my commercial. I remember trying to cover up my unborn child’s ears.”
Did You Know?
• Bergman originally read for the AMC role of Dr. Jeff Martin.
• He has appeared on two prime-time
sitcoms as Jack Abbott; THE KING OF QUEENS (2001) and THE NANNY (1997).
• He is close pals with veteran game show host Peter Marshall (HOLLYWOOD SQUARES). “He has won so many Emmys that he literally uses some for doorstops.”
Just The Facts:
Birthday: June 11
Born In: Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Family Guy: Married to Mariellen since March 9, 1985, they have two kids, Connor, 30, and Clare, 27. “They’re both living in San Francisco now. Connor stepped away from law entirely and is working in the not-for-profit world, consulting with different organizations on their fund-raising abilities. Clare is doing exceedingly well at a startup in the tech world.”
Don’t Gramp My Style: “I look forward to the grandparent thing but I like getting this much of the kids, and I’d have to share them with grandchildren. We’ll get there one day, but I’m in no rush.”
Ebb Tide: The Bergmans sold their home of 27 years with plans to live permanently in their beach house. “We were going to make our whole life there and then just stay in L.A. in a condo when I work, but I work so much that we can’t get our lives to the beach. We don’t live separate lives, so we’re in the condo together.”
JPI
