“I think they (naysayers) were surprised when they started popping up on TV,” Holly Wampler said.
After a family meeting, the Wamplers began a journey that had their three children appear in nearly 20 commercials, including those for Johnsonville Sausage, Kmart, Xbox and V8 Juice.
For 16 months, Carrie, Phillip and Christina “Cricket” Wampler, now 13, 11 and 9, respectively, abandoned friends, activities and schools to pursue a dream in show business.
Their mother said they were far from the only ones hoping for that big break.
“I had no idea this many people were doing what we were doing,” Holly Wampler said. “There are thousands of families living in hotels.”
Rick and Tess Luthman of Washington Twp., the parents of Joey Luthman — a 13-year-old best known for guest and recurring roles on “Private Practice,” “Weeds,” “Ghost Whisper” and “iCarly” — said the decision to pack up the family and move to Los Angelas is not an easy one.
While her husband, an investment adviser, commuted between California and Dayton, Tess Luthman gave up her career as an architect to concentrate on her son’s career.
“I wanted to use my knowledge and what I know about the world to help the younger children,” she said of the 2007 move. “We got a lot of positive feedback that this was the right thing to do.”
Their daughter Elise, 10, also acts.
Like the Wamplers, the Luthman’s are for now based back in the Miami Valley.
Holly Wampler said she initially thought her family’s brush with Hollywood would last no more than three weeks before her kids would want to call it quits.
But they were bit by the acting bug, she said.
With the help of a now defunct local talent agency, the family appeared in national talent competitions and quickly landed representation in Los Angeles.
While Chris Wampler, a certified accountant stayed in Tipp City, Holly Wampler rented a hotel room and later a house in Burbank, Calif.
She home-schooled the kids and learned how to navigate the notoriously congested Los Angeles roadways.
“I don’t even like getting on the highway in Dayton,” she said, noting that the kids had up to seven auditions a day for roles for commercials and films such as “Spy Kids 4” and “Grown Ups.”
Now preparing to enroll her children in school, Wampler said she doesn’t regret a thing.
“I know this changed them in a positive way,” she said. “They are outspoken and they are confident, but they are humble.”
With more than 250 auditions under their belts, the children got used to the ups, downs, criticism and rare run-ins with ultra-competitive stage mothers.
“You have to believe in yourself,” Phillip Wampler said.
Although taking a break, the Wampler children said they are not giving up on the dream.
“I use to be addicted to football,” Phillip said. “Now acting is theNo. 1 thing before sports.”
Cricket Wampler found the experience of being on set great, joking that she especially liked the food from craft services.
She got used to California but never forgot home.
“When I was there I would missed it here, and when I am here I miss it there,” Cricket said.
Carrie Wampler said she’s determined to have a career in the industry, be it as an actress, makeup artist, casting agent or stylist.
“There are so many things you can do on set,” she said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2384 or arobinson@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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