Trapped in a Tahoe cabin with no idea when heavy snows would finally relent, McAvoy Layne looked for something to kill the time. All he could find was a bound volume of Mark Twain”s collected works.
The next thing he knew, Layne was halfway around the world wearing a stark white suit.
No, he had not escaped from an old-fashioned asylum. Like Hal Holbrook, Layne had instead been tapped by the literary gods to take the great American literary figure on tour, presenting the thoughts, the quips, the biting criticism and the life of Mark Twain to crowds around the world for the past 27 years.
“You don”t decide to do this work, you get called,” said Layne, who is scheduled to perform at Soper Reese Theatre in Lakeport on Nov. 12. “I feel so fortunate to have fallen into that deep hole.”
The work of Twain is indeed deep. Seminal tales like “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” “Life on the Mississippi” and “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur”s Court” come to mind, as do some of his wily one-liners.
It was Twain, after all, who said “I didn”t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.” Or there”s “Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.” And his thoughts on politics were cutting, such as “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself,” which if polls are correct rings as true today as it did in the late 1800s.
“He”s remembered as a humorist,” Layne pointed out. “But he was a real critic and an anti-imperialist. I”ve only presented that aspect a couple of times.”
Not only has Layne pored over the books and articles penned by Twain — amounting to some 18,000 pages — but he has also read through letters and other primary sources.
Reading through letters and other personal writings, Layne will often come across a pointed statement or observation that further confirms Twains reputation for genius.
“This guy was amazing,” Layne said. “Sometimes a piece I”ve used hundreds of times seems so fresh.”
Unlike Holbrook, who famously brought Twain back to life in his long-running series of one man shows, and Val Kilmer, who also took up the cigar and white suit, Layne did not start as an actor. Instead, he taught secondary school before finding his gravely voice.
He considers himself an educator in a costume. He visits dozens of schools each year to present Twain. He also partcipates in a program where students put Twain on trail before a real judge. The process — accusing Twain of using derogatory language, for example, before a federal court — provides students with insight into Twain and a greater understanding of the legal system.
“That”s the kind of thing that makes it fun,” Layne said.
Of course, in front of a judge, he might refrain from drawing on Twain”s “I was gratified to be able to answer promptly, and I did. I said I didn”t know.”
After 18,000 pages, almost three decades on the road, a personal file of 3,000 folders containing Twain stories and a habit of reading Twain every other book, Layne still learns something new with each encounter.
“One thing I don”t think people realize is how much he loved his wife,” Layne pointed out.
The great literary figure could be moody. He often claimed an appreciation of his vices. Yet he continued to spin tales and slice off memorable lines, even for those in the newspaper world.
“I am not the editor of a newspaper and shall always try to do right and be good so that God will not make me one,” he once said.
For Layne, the power that nudged him toward the stage during a snowstorm decades ago also introduced him to a life filled with adventure, as well as unvarnished truth.
Delivering his favorite line, the one he always passes on to school children, Layne said “Always do right. This will gratify some and astonish the rest.”
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
