Horsey Family History & Genealogy

"But the play is not about old age, sickness or religion. The underpinning is the relationship between father and son. It's a very funny play and very touching, too. Everybody will relate to something in the play." = Martin Horsey, author and co-star of "L'Chaim - To Life"

THEATER GROUP, PLAY BOTH WILL DEBUT

Actors to make first appearance together

It was a suggestion by a theater patron that gave Martin Horsey the idea to write a play featuring him and Don Pearlman. The result, "L'Chaim - To Life" will open Friday, presented by the Vagabond Players at the Backlot Theater in Thousand Oaks. Not only is this the first time the play will be presented and the first time the men will act together, but it's also the first play for the newly formed Vagabond Players.

Horsey, of Ventura, and Pearlman, of Simi Valley, have been involved in many of the same productions, but never as actors. "I've directed him and he's directed me" Horsey said. While directing Horsey in Neil Simon's "I Ought to be in Pictures" las year at the Marquis Dinner Theatre in Camarillo, Pearlman remembers someone saying, "I've seen both of you working in shows and directing shows, but I've never seen you in a show together," he said.

That was the spark Horsey needed. "I said, 'I'm going to write a play for us.' I sat down and it just flowed," he said. He had written several plays before, but none was like this. "This is my first play that's real," he said. "It's real people and real situations. It's humorous, but it's character-driven not joke-driven - the humor comes out of the relationship."

The play has only three characters: Pearlman, 71, plays the father; Horsey 55, plays his son; and Sara Barrett of Tarzana plays a young woman who becomes sort of a catalyst in their relationship. "The premise is that Don is an aging guy going into surgery, he's getting confused and the son tries to talk him into going into a rest home," Horsey said. Pearlman's character is Jewish, but his wife wad Christian. Their son has followed his mother's influence, so the father and son don't really get along, he said.

"But the play is not about old age, sickness, or religion," Horsey said. "The underpinning is the relationship between the father and son. It's a very funny play and very touching, too," he said. "Everybody will related to something in the play." When he finished writing the script, Horsey gave it to a mutual friend to read first, and she told him to give it to Pearlman. "I called him right away and said it's just wonderful, I can hardly wait and when can we start," Pearman said. "It has everything - a lot of humor, pathos, a lot of heart. I think there is something that almost everybody can identify with."

Horsey is confident Pearlman will do justice to the role. "He is brilliant in handling comedy, and he is very adept at doing moving, serious scenes," he said. Pearlman earned a degree in theater arts at San Jose Stat University but put acting aside and went into business to support his family. When he retired about 10 years ago, he decided to get back into theater. "I sort of floated into directing because at the age I retired there were not that many roles," he said. Although he loves directing, there is nothing greater than being on stage, he said. "With the right role I would prefer that," he said. "There is nothing like making people laugh and cry - it's a great high."
Horsey was born in England and started his acting career at 14 as the original Artful Dodger in the West End London production of "Oliver." He has acted in television and films in Britain and the United States, and currently appears in a Quiznos commercial.

The play will be presented at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday through October 14. The Backlot Theatre is in the back of the lot in the Gold Coast Plaza, 1403 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Tickets are $12 ($10 for students and seniors). For reservations, call 497-8606.
- Thousand Oaks Star (Thousand Oaks, California) Thursday, September 20, 2001 on page 21 by Nicole D'Amore, staff writer.

The grave of Martin Horsey in Ventura, California.

A photo of Martin Horsey later in life.

A photo of Martin Horsey, Vince Inneo, Katherine Randolph, and Brian Reed Garvin in Centurion A.D. (2017)

Susan Horsey was the daughter of James and Martha P. Halbert, a descendant of King Powhatan and his daughter Pocahontas. The Halberts were of Martin Co, Indiana. Susan married David L. Sheeks on 2 Oct 1856 and they had 10 children: Mary; George Canotte; Halbert James; Laura; Homer; David L. Jr. who died in infancy; Rose; Albert Wayne; [Isaac]Lawrence; and Wade Hampton Sheeks.