July 29, 2019 | Jaxx Artz
Charles “Charlie” Solomon Jr. loves the weather in Los Angeles.
“It’s always 68,” he told me during a phone interview–him in Hollywood and me sweating on an 80 degree day, or what is considered Texas’ milder weather.
A man with many hats, the Park Cities native told me how California was originally great for his acting and production career and that the seemingly-endless list of things to do would ensure he was always entertained. However, Tinsel Town isn’t where he calls home. After 24 years of living in Los Angeles, Solomon returned to his roots in 2011, a move inspired by the birth of his son, Harrison, and wanting him to grow up in the same thoughtful community he did.
While it’s not every day you have a working actor and producer nestled in the Park Cities, Solomon continues his career with a slew of acting titles: most recently, the role of a detective in “Attack of the Unknown,” a science-fiction movie starring Tara Reid, Robert LaSardo, and Richard Grieco.
However, bouncing between Hollywood and the Lone Star State isn’t Solomon’s ideal. Instead, he is working hard to bring entertainment work to the Big D, pursuing several different paths to do so. For one, Solomon wants to turn his story idea, tentatively titled The Nine Lives of Herbert Noble, into a TV series filmed in Dallas. He is also talking to directors about filming his family movie “Get Gomez!” in Texas.
“I love Texas. The area is great, the people are great–Texas has a lot of talented people that we can make great use of,” he said.
Solomon said his passion for theater developed early in life as he would write and perform short plays for his family. He joined the Dallas Theatre Center before moving to Waxahachie for high school. Between class and working at a cotton gin, he enrolled in a theater program.
After graduating from SMU with a bachelor’s in English literature, Solomon moved to Los Angeles to learn from acting teacher Vincent Chase, after whom the lead character in Entourage is named. Wanting more instruction, he then went to New York to study theatre under Herbert Berghof, Uta Hagen, and Sanford Meisner.
“I did a few off-Broadway plays, working next to actors like James Gandolfini, but it’s a hard career,” he said. Taking a step back from performing, Solomon started racing cars and liked the adrenaline rush. He thought maybe this could be his new passion until a bad crash in 2001 nearly took his life.
Solomon said he didn’t know what his next step would be until a friend convinced him to move back to Hollywood. He added more behind-the-scenes work to his skill set, producing and directing several videos and movies, such as “Who Shot Mamba?” (2009) and “Killer View” (2009).
Nowadays, Solomon travels to California less often, mainly to catch up with friends. With projects set in Texas, he hopes there will be no need to go there for work. “I want Dallas to be the next city for film, and I’m starting with my own projects.”
This article originally appeared in the August 2019 print edition of Park Cities People. A shorter version of it can be found on the website for People Newspapers here: Goodbye Hollywood, Hello Dallas
JAXX ARTZ 