 Fame & Fortune: Actor-author Ron McLarty
A word from Stephen King launched his second career
| Bushy-browed
character actor Ron McLarty has played hundreds of roles on stage and on screen,
the most memorable being Judge Wright on "Law and Order," Dr. Talley
on "Sex and the City" and Frank Belson on "Spenser for Hire."
But his most surprising role -- that of best-selling novelist --
didn't require any acting at all. In a 2003 Entertainment
Weekly column, Stephen King singled out McLarty's little-known, audio-only novel
about an unlikely cross-country bike trip as "the best book you can't read."
That set off a seven-figure bidding war for the rights to publish his out-of-left-field
debut, "The Memory of Running." Suddenly, McLarty,
who had recorded hundreds of audio books for the likes of Danielle Steel, Elmore
Leonard and Scott Turow, had the hyphen he'd dreamed about his whole life: actor-author.
The East Providence, R.I., native made his own luck as an actor by accepting
all offers: stage, screen, commercials, voice-over, audio books, what have you.
But as a writer, he couldn't catch a break. A lifelong insomniac, McLarty spent
his down time over the years writing 44 plays, 10 of which he has adapted to novels,
all of them unpublished. That all changed when he signed a
$2 million, two-book deal for "The Memory of Running" and "Art
in America." Warner Brothers also paid $1 million for the film rights to
"Running," for which McLarty also wrote the screenplay.
On the cusp of 60, McLarty has just released "Traveler," set once again
in the East Providence neighborhood of his youth. Bankrate
pulled the fast-pedaling McLarty to the curb for a chat about fate, fortune and
following your heart. Bankrate:
You've become one of our favorite character actors. Did you have dreams of being
a leading man starting out? Ron McLarty:
I had some really great parts in television, but I like the quirkiness of character
roles. I'm not sure I ever thought of being a star, I'm not sure I ever looked
for it. Truthfully, I was more interested in writing, and I think this helped
me as far as making enough money to put my kids through school and having a home. | 
