On a weekday afternoon, actor Gavin MacLeod, opera singer Linda Jackson and playwright Josh Greenfeld stride into the Village Pantry for a meal. No, this is not the opening of a joke, and this is no ordinary lunch. It’s the trio’s first real opportunity to get to know each other before August 2, when MacLeod and Jackson appear in a reading of Greenfeld’s latest play, ‘Whooosh!,’ at the Pierson Playhouse. The one-night-only performance will benefit Theatre Palisades and the Palisadians for Peace Dorothy and Ted Knight Foundation. A drama with comedic touches, ‘Whooosh!’, according to its playwright, is about ‘Milton, an aging white man who lives in an assisted living facility, when in walks Keisha, an African-American woman claiming to be his daughter. Instead of being delighted, he suspects she is out to scam him.’ A true writer, Greenfeld automatically orders coffee. And like every writer worth his salt, Greenfeld is a troublemaker who must flout the norm. And so, at 2 p.m., he eats pancakes for lunch, while MacLeod and Jackson get sensible cold-cut sandwiches, and this reporter, at the risk of discrediting his own salt worth, orders the popular Mayor’s Burger (named for owner Richard Riordan). Greenfeld, 81, wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay for the 1974 film ‘Harry and Tonto’ directed by Paul Mazursky and starring Art Carney, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the role of Harry Coombes. A Palisadian of 36 years, Greenfeld moved to town ‘to get my autistic son, Noah, into a program at UCLA.’ Greenfeld’s wife, Fumiko Kometani, is also a writer, as is their son, Karl Greenfeld, author of the new memoir, ‘Boy Alone.’ ‘Living in Pacific Palisades,’ Greenfeld says, ‘I have such talented neighbors as Gavin and Linda and George Lissandrello to read my play, and good friends like Arnie Wishnick and Andy Frew to produce it.’ ‘Whooosh!’ will mark his fourth Pierson reading. The food arrives as Jackson shares an experience crossing paths with a famous producer while chasing the pop-music muse early in her career. Jackson has done well for herself: an award-winning vocalist, composer and arranger, she has recorded background vocals for David Foster, Rod Stewart, and John Williams. She is the co-founder of L. A. Metropolitan Opera, which debuted with ‘La Boh’me’ in May. A preview of the new season is set for July 25 at the Palisades Methodist Church. MacLeod, 79, has played in his share of award-winning television (‘Mary Tyler Moore,’ which co-starred late pal Knight) and hit movies. He has played alongside Cary Grant, Clint Eastwood and Peter Sellers, and in TV and film for director Blake Edwards: ‘Peter Gunn,’ ‘Operation Petticoat,’ ‘The Party.’ But spend time with MacLeod, and one realizes the actor’s great passion is the Great White Way. MacLeod has done much stage work. And he has spent much time aboard ships, as the ‘Love Boat’ captain and Princess Cruises’ spokesman, so forgive him if he showboats a bit. MacLeod and Greenfeld stroll down Memory Lane, bringing up actors and directors they mutually knew or worked with. MacLeod rattles off name after name so fast that he doesn’t finish a sentence before beginning another. MacLeod illustrates how a door of opportunity can open even as one slams shut. He recalls the time as a young actor when he was fired from one film. He sat in his agent’s office devastated, crying. The next day, his agent called. A young director named Blake Edwards wanted to see him . . . ‘My Aunt Ida always said that life is like parts of a quilt,’ Greenfeld says. ‘You don’t know how the whole quilt will turn out.’ With all of the humor, wisdom and adventure of this afternoon, there’s no doubt how ‘Whooosh!’ will turn out. ‘In a high-brow sense,’ Greenfeld says, ”Whooosh!’ could be described as a meditation on the three scourges of American life: greed, race and that late arrival, old age. ‘But who wants to be high brow?’ ‘Whooosh!’ plays Sunday, August 2, at Pierson Playhouse, 7 p.m. For ticket reservations, call Theatre Palisades at (310) 459-7963. Admission: $20.
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