Last Friday, a college friend of mine died at 57. I met him my first day at USC. We were in a drama class together, and he told me that he was going to be a stage and music star. I really disliked my drama major, and transferred to the film school within days of arriving at SC. I stayed however in the drama class, and watched my friend over the semester get better and better. I was never truly a fan of the stage…so it was hard for me to evaluate my friend’s talent. His parents owned a pizza place near campus, and I ate there often. His family knew how to make a good pizza. After graduation, we went our separate ways, and we were off on our adventures to be successful in the entertainment business. One day – about 10 years after graduation – and after my name appeared in a Variety article on one of my projects, my SC friend reached out to me and scheduled a lunch. I was thrilled to see him again. Unfortunately, things had not gone his way. No Broadway roles, and very little music work. We had an awkward lunch. I gave him encouragement, and offered to do what I could. About every two years afterwards, we had the same lunch, and then about 12 years ago, I never heard from him again. When I read his obituary, it said that he had gotten a music composition job at a network – pushing the paperwork, but not performing — and that appeared often with his own band. I went to his website, and looked up at where he had been performing, and they were very small restaurant venues. The obit said that he had never been married, but had a special, long-time girlfriend. I felt extraordinary sad. Here was I guy that I knew in my/his teens, who had shared his dreams with me, and none of them panned out. I wondered what else I could have done to help him. I did make many calls on his behalf, but he never had the talent to take the opportunities a step further. I wondered why he hadn’t contacted me recently, but it did not take too long to realize that he was embarrassed about what he was doing. By the tone of his obit, it seemed like he was able to carve out a good life and enjoy those precious performance moments with his band. His network peers said very nice things about him. In the end, he was successful, but I am not sure that he ever realized it. He just did not fulfill his college dreams. I can still hear my friend’s voice, and I hope that I will be able to hear it for a very long time. Goodbye my friend.