From Five Sisters Productions, a film company helmed by five real-life sisters: Maria, Ursula, Gabrielle, Charity, and Jennifer Burton, comes Old Guy, a witty bite-sized comedy that confronts and challenges ageism with its indelible humor.
Through the eyes of jovial and easy-going Harry (Roger Burton), a former show biz star in the 1950s, and Bridget (Gabrielle B. Burton), a savvy screenwriter and Harry’s wife, we get a glimpse of what it’s like to be on the Hollywood scene in the later years of one’s life. Spoiler alert: there’s a lot of adult diapers, drooling, and dementia involved!
Right out of the gate Harry’s fast-talking tough-love agent, Winnie (Peri Gilpin) is quick to secure him his big break . . . as the “old guy” in a college comedy series “Dorm Dayz”. A senile, unresponsive and drooling, mascot in a rowdy college frat house who’s every move is followed by canned laughter.
The late Roger Burton is an absolute delight as Harry. He brings an infectious exuberance and charm to the character to such a degree that in just four short minutes we fall in love with the guy!
Throughout the six short episodes, we follow Harry and Winnie through each cringe-worthy “old guy” gig. Eternally optimistic and perpetually smiling Harry takes each of the roles in stride: a corpse in a casket, the face of a new brand of adult diapers, and a creepy, lecherous, hospital patient volleying lewd comments at his pretty young attending nurse.
Even though Harry finds the humor in his typecast roles, saying, “if you can’t laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at?” it’s his wife Bridget who encourages him to go with his gut instincts to demand more: more complex and varied roles, and to be taken seriously.
This short form comedy miniseries packs a lot of emotion and insight into six entertaining and bingeable episodes. Old Guy writer-directors Gabrielle, Jennifer, Ursula, and Maria Burton tactfully tackle the hilarity and tragedy of playing into those “old guy” roles, while also showing us the nuances of Harry and the kindness, optimism, and creativity that he radiates. With clever writing, powerful performances from Roger Burton, Gabrielle B. Burton, and Peri Gilpin, Old Guy is an irresistibly good time and a brilliant hidden gem worth watching and rewatching.
We took a moment to talk to the Burton sisters of Five Sisters Productions about the show’s potential Emmy nominations, what it was like to work so closely with their parents, and Frasier star Peri Gilpin on the show, and why combating ageism in Hollywood is so important.
Did you know from the beginning that you wanted to cast Peri Gilpin as Winnie? Have you worked with her in other films or shows in the past?
Five Sisters Productions: Two of us sisters (actor/director Ursula Burton and director Maria Burton) have been friends with Peri for years — they all were in a book club together. When we wrote Old Guy, she popped into our heads – she’d be perfect for the part! We called her, and she loved the script and also the idea of engaging audiences in important cultural conversations through entertainment.
As much as Winnie seems to support and encourage Harry she still only secures for him the most stereotypical roles. Why do you think she does that?
FSP: Just as Harry starts the series like many audience members, unaware of the damaging impact of ageist stereotypes, Winnie also starts out like many of us—just doing her job, and not spending time worrying about any larger social implications. She’s the cog in the larger wheel, and she sees how some of the comedy can actually be funny, but she doesn’t recognize until the end of the series that there’s a problem.
[Winnie is] doing her work, and doing it well, but not questioning the bigger picture. She gets Harry audition after audition, but she doesn’t recognize that the overall representation of older people in media is extremely limited.
Can you elaborate on that?
FSP: People over 60 make up less than 10% of roles on television, although they make up nearly 20% of the population. The roles that are there are often underdeveloped [and] basically foils for more developed younger characters . . .[or] overtly ageist. This under-representation and stereotyping isn’t good for any of us. We all risk missing out on the richness elders contribute to our culture and our economy. And older viewers internalize stereotyped messages and end up limiting the possibilities they see for their own lives.
So is Winnie’s behavior coming from a place of genuine caring?
FSP: Winnie does care about Harry, yes, and she cares about booking jobs for him, which gives her a commission . . . [but] . . . she doesn’t take the time to think about how things might be different — and what she can do about it. She could demand other roles, or advocate for casting Harry in roles that casting directors might not have thought about.
Essentially, it’s up to each of us to think about what we can do to solve this problem of ageism, first by recognizing it (which Winnie does at the end), and then by stepping up to do something about it.
What went into creating Winnie’s character? Without naming names, did you base her off of any real agents or people in Hollywood you’ve encountered or worked with?
FSP: Ha ha ha! Yes. Winnie is an amalgam of people we’ve met. And the details, like the little sign [in Winnie’s office] that says they don’t validate, or her asking for new headshots all the time – these are fairly common experiences for actors. Though truth be told, we never had to pay for parking at our agents!
We really had fun with Winnie’s character – she works hard and sees herself as someone who tells it like it is. She serves as a foil to Harry, as they both start recognizing the ageist tv roles. Plus, she can deliver one-liners like nobody’s business!
Peri Gilpin could potentially be announced as an Emmy contender for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her role as Winnie! When did you find out?
FSP: [Old Guy] is actually up For Your Consideration in 3 Emmy nomination categories: Outstanding Short Form Series, Peri Gilpin [for] Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Series, and our dad Roger Burton [for] Outstanding Actor in a Short Form Series.
This is a heartfelt moment for us, as our parents both died since we filmed Old Guy, and they would have gotten such a kick out of this! And what a way to honor their memories. They both lived life fully until they died and were inspiring examples of the richness of getting older.
Why are these nominations important to you?
FSP: Getting an Emmy nomination would of course give the show a much broader reach, and that would be powerful. Not to mention, Peri and Roger give such terrific performances!
How was it to work so closely with your parents? Did they have any input in the characters and the script?
Ursula Burton: They were the ones who came up with the idea for Old Guy and our mother [Gabrielle B. Burton] wrote the script with us – so yes!
It was wonderful to work with our parents. We had cast them in two of our features previously, and also a few short films we made. . . they followed us into the ‘business’ when our mom went to AFI [the American Film Institute] for screenwriting as the oldest student they’d ever admitted at that point and [they] moved out to LA. That’s when our dad got into acting professionally after he retired as a university professor. [As an actor] our dad got a lot of work and had a ball doing it.
What were your parents Roger and Gabrielle B. Burton like? Were they anything like their characters Harry and Bridget?
FSP: Our parents really were excellent examples that fight the ageist stereotypes — people who were active, engaged with the world, [and] adventurous. They climbed to the basecamp of Mt. Kilimanjaro on a yoga/volunteer trip with the [nonprofit organization] GO Campaign at ages 69 and 80! They were constantly learning new things, cooking new recipes, meeting people, nurturing friendships, and celebrating the little, as well as the big things.
What kind of roles would Winnie find for Old Guy if there had been a second season?
FSP: We felt that 6 episodes [were] the right arc for this story because it leaves you wondering what happens next for the characters and the topic itself. We wanted to leave it in the viewers’ hands — food for thought. What we’d love to do next is continue the series exploring other stereotyped and underrepresented characters: Asian-American, Attractive Female, and so forth, because the short form lends itself to really good laughs and a fun time for viewers (much needed in this stressful time!), while also being a creative and upbeat way to open up complex discussions.
What do you hope viewers get out of watching Old Guy?
Charity Burton: We hope that viewers will start conversations about ageism, and call it out when they see it. We also hope that the series gives people some good laughs, which everyone needs right now especially.
Why do you think it’s important that shows like Old Guy call out ageism in media?
Jennifer Burton: There’s growing research about the economic, physical, and psychological costs of ageism, as well as the role of media in promoting ageism by researchers like Ashton Applewhite, Margaret Gullette, Stacy Smith . . . and many others.
Given how invisible or accepted ageism has long been in American culture, we felt it was important to address the issue directly at points in the series.
As Harry begins to have doubts about playing stereotyped roles on television, he starts to talk with Winnie about his worries that he might be contributing to the problem. . . Old Guy challenges limited ideas about aging on a subconscious level simply by presenting rich, developed, complex older characters.
Tell us a little more about that.
FSP: Harry is active, ambitious, caretaking, competent, complex. Viewers can see that the scenes from his real life, like the one where Harry is laughing and upbeat about changing his granddaughter’s diaper, are a stark contrast to the narrow, stereotyped acting roles available to him in his work.
What are some roles you’d like to see aging actors take on in film today?
Maria Burton: There are so many interesting stories to be told by actors who have lived long lives and can draw on such a rich life experience! There are some great shows now, like Grace and Frankie and The Kominsky Method, that are focusing on full and varied storylines with fantastic actors. . . the success of these shows is just the latest evidence showing that audiences are looking for diversity in entertainment, so hopefully, producers and executives will start financially investing in more of these stories and storytellers.
What would you say is special about Old Guy? What sets it apart from other shows or films that combat aging and ageism?
Charity Burton: It’s short! It’s easily bingeable in under 25 minutes . . . [and] packed with content and jokes.
It’s heartbreaking that both of your parents have passed away. If they hadn’t though, what would you have hoped to see for them in the second season of Old Guy?
Maria Burton: Our father joked one day [in his own acting career] that he’d been upgraded! The character in the script he’d been sent was named, “REALLY OLD GUY.” So maybe that would’ve been season 2!
Do you feel like ageism in popular culture and media has improved since the time Old Guy was filmed?
Ursula Burton: What’s interesting is that ageism has been revealed and recognized during the past few months like never before! It’s not that ageism wasn’t there . . . but recent discussions about policies and responses have made it much more visible and recognizable for people who didn’t see it before.
This new awareness is an important step toward change, and we’re grateful that Old Guy has been able to contribute to new conversations about the pervasiveness of ageism in media.
Do you have any advice for how we can combat ageism in our everyday lives?
Jennifer Burton: A key way to counter ageism is to foster intergenerational collaborations and friendships. . . we put this into practice behind the scenes in the creation of Old Guy. Our cast and crew ranged from 0 to 85! This engagement has had continuing effects. Sister #2 (Jennifer Burton) is a Professor of the Practice in Film at Tufts University, and we worked with a group of Tufts University students on pre-production and filming.
How did that go?
Jennifer Burton: Some of [those] students have gone into filmmaking themselves, and they’ve written to us about how making Old Guy opened their eyes to seeing more possibilities for roles for older people on and off screen.
That gives us hope that things will continue to improve. Culture is always changing, and hopefully, it moves in a direction that is more inclusive, empathetic, and compassionate for all people.
We’re offering Old Guy as part of the growing conversation about creating more space for all of us to grow old fully––without the constraints of ageism.
Stream all six episodes of Old Guy on YouTube, or the official Old Guy website.
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