Turning 'Bad News' into good news

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers DID YOU KNOW?—Recently elected Moorpark City Councilmember David Pollock shows off a photo of his character Rudi Stein from the 1976 film "The Bad News Bears." He appeared in numerous commercials, TV shows and movies as a child actor. While many Moorpark residents have become familiar with David Pollock's works in the community, few know his past as a child television and film actor.

Long before he gained recognition by holding public office, Pollock was known across the country for his role as Rudi Stein, the nerd with big glasses who couldn't pitch from the 1976 comedy classic "The Bad News Bears," starring Walter Matthau.

The recently elected Moorpark City Council member said his experiences in the movie business were mixed.

"Being a child actor is not easy. It's not as glamorous as it may seem and it comes at a cost, but for me, it was worth it to do the trade off," Pollock said. "I got to do things and go places that I would not have the opportunity to do otherwise."

Courtesy David Pollock HANGING WITH A LEGEND—Young David Pollock, on the "The Bad News Bears" movie set circa 1975, meets the film's star, late comedy great Walter Matthau. When Pollock was just 8 years old, he told his mother he wanted to act. She enrolled him in the Arcadia Children's Theater and shortly afterward he joined the Charles Stern Agency to do commercial work.

The boy with the wavy brown hair scored a role in a toy commercial on his first audition.

"My first interview turned into my first job, it was very encouraging," he said.

From then until he was 17, Pollock appeared in 20 TV commercials, 10 TV features and six movies. His biggest break came in 1975 when he was 14.

The producers of a movie about a team of California Little League misfits coached by an alcoholic ex-minor leaguer were hosting a casting call in the back lot of Paramount Studios and they were looking for a kid with glasses, pimples and no coordination.

"I had no problems with that role," Pollock said, noting he did play Little League baseball, but was never good at it.

When the movie was released in 1976, it topped the summer box office because it took an honest look at the dark underbelly of Little League baseball in Southern California, according to online reviews.

"It struck a nerve," Pollock said. "Kids' sports are all too often all about the adults, not the kids, and this movie put that on display."

The film had two sequels, "The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training" in 1977 and "The Bad News Bears Go to Japan," filmed in 1978, but neither duplicated the success of the original movie.

Pollock's castmates in the films included Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, Jackie Earle Haley, Clifton James, William Devane and Tony Curtis.

Pollock said he didn't pursue acting after "The Bad News Bears" trilogy because he knew he couldn't depend on the whims of the entertainment industry for his livelihood.

"I knew it would be tough making that transition to an adult actor because it's like starting again and I saw bad examples of bad adult actors," he said.

At 18, Pollock became a flight instructor and at 20 he was hired to work for a cargo airline company.

He attended college in his 20s to earn bachelor's and master's degrees and spent 18 years in the aerospace industry before becoming director of program development for the California School Board Association in 2006.

Pollock joined the Moorpark Unified School District Board in 1994, when his children were young, and served until he was elected to the City Council this year.

He said acting equipped him for politics because both lines of work require empathy.

"I learned to put myself in someone else's shoes to understand and appreciate where people are coming from," Pollock said. "That served me well in both my corporate and political life."

In the future, Pollock said, he hopes to reunite some of "The Bad News Bears" cast members to host a special fundraiser for the High Street Arts Center.