Most Interesting People ... Screenwriter and Actor Quinn Redeker

So, as I have said before, this area has some of the most interesting and talented people in the world.

Case in point: one of the regulars at is Quinn Redeker. It doesn't take a genius to guess that this is a theatrical guy. He is always writing something, reading something, or engaging someone in an intellectual conversation.

One time he stood up in the middle of a room at the coffee house and said, "Quick, anyone ... Name the actors who played the 12 jurors on the Henry Fonda film version of Twelve Angry Men?"

This engaged a group of locals in a wonderful, fun and stimulating conversation.

I knew that Quinn was an actor and writer, just like others in the room, so eventually I started asking him exactly what he was working on and what he has done in the past.

It turns out that he has worked with the greats in film from John Wayne, to Robert Redford and Meryl Streep—and he has nominations for Oscars, Emmys and Writers Guild awards. His past is like a ride through Hollywood, but he is focused on the present and the future.

He is not a pushy guy so we talked about his current projects and his portrayal of former President Ronald Reagan. Quinn has just finished filming a role as Reagan in the feature film Everybody Loves Whales scheduled to be released next January. He also stars as Reagan in a webcast series called ronniecast.com.

Quinn has studied Reagan from many angles. There is a strong physical resemblance between the two men. Redeker has focused on learning Reagan from the inside out. He has studied speeches, motivations and the relationships that made Reagan such an interesting character.

It is possible to run into Mr. Redeker, in town, and if requested, speak to Mr. Reagan.

Quinn is also the co-writer of one of the most loved films ever produced—the 1978 Academy Award-winning masterpiece The Deer  Hunter. It started with a story from Quinn called The Man Who Came To Play. (Click on the attached video to hear Redeker tell the story of how The Deer Hunter came to be.)

"Originally, this was a story about a man who plays Russian roulette for a living," says Quinn. It ended up with five Oscars and great performances from Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken, Robert De Niro, John Cazale and John Savage.

Redeker, who was a soap opera star for two decades in shows like Days Of Our Lives and The Young and The Restless, has been very busy. He has more than 125 credits for a variety of television roles in shows, from the likes of Bonanza, Fantasy Island and CSI Miami. He has appeared in such films as The Candidate and Ordinary People.

Quinn is originally from Woodstock, Ill., grew up in Seattle and moved to Los Angeles in 1957. He was an All American Honorable Mention, All City football player back in Seattle.

He has four children, two boys and two girls. His father was a banker and mom ran a boarding house for divorced women. Quinn loves show business, writing, creating, acting and the San Fernando Valley.

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