A bit about me.

Biography.

BILL KAFFENBERGER grew up near Washington DC in Arlington County but is now a resident of Los Angeles, CA. He has lived as well, at various times, in Fairfax, VA, Stafford, VA, Fredericksburg, VA, King William, VA and the Richmond, VA area. He is a graduate of Wakefield High School in Arlington, VA and Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. He has studied acting with Actors Approach (San Diego, CA) and the Ruskin School of Acting (Santa Monica, CA). He worked at various times for VCU and the Federal Government before finally escaping the ranch in 2009 to return full time to his creative roots.

MUSIC:

Bill fell in love with the jingle jangle folk rock sounds of The Byrds and Roger McGuinn along with other great artists like The Beatles, The Turtles, The Loving Spoonful and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and folk artists like Peter Paul and Mary, Gordon Lightfoot, Tom Rush and so many more. Bill started his musical career performing his own original songs to any of his high school friends who would listen. Since that time, he has performed up and down the East Coast of the USA and as well as outside of that area. His most unusual musical experience was performing at the Crossed Timbers Country Opry (a Texas version of the Grand Old Opry) in Stephensville, Texas. The farthest away from home that he has performed is the Slovak Republic in Eastern Europe. Currently a proponent of power pop and that jingle jangle Rickenbacker Electric 12 String sound on his CDs and Digital Download releases, Bill mixes both electric and acoustic sounds in his live appearances, performing a mix of original tunes as well as covers of his favorite Sixties sounds. Bill's recordings have also appeared on several compilation CDs, the most recent of which was performing his version of "5D (Fifth Dimension)" on a Byrds Tribute digital download project. Currently, you can find Bill performing solo as well as in various groups. Bill has performed with local Richmond, VA groups The Hullabaloos and The Totally Unrehearsed Band and recently launched a trio with his musical friends called The Psychedelic Preachers Club Trio. Bill had released a growing number of album length projects and individual singles on streaming services of the past several years. His latest singles are “Beginning at the End” and “Magical Days.”.

ACTING:

Bill caught the acting bug in high school, appearing in all the school plays with the drama club as well as performing in a high school five-man comedy team called The Nobodys IN Particular. After giving up a career in the 9-to-5 working world, he returned to his acting roots, working as both a “background artist” and also performing the occasional “speaking role,” both on television, in new media and on the big cinema screen. His most visible role was as Rep. John A. Casson in Steven Spielberg’s LINCOLN (2012). Bill also recently returned to the live theater stage in the major role of Fred Baxter in A RED PLAID SHIRT, a community theater production in the Richmond, VA area. Bill was a student via Zoom at the John Ruskin School of Acting in Santa Monica, CA and with the Lee Strasberg Institute in Los Angeles. He has also worked via Zoom with acting coach Francis Gercke of Actors Approach in San Diego, CA.

WRITING:

Orginally an English Education major at university, with a minor in Theater/Drama and History, Bill has always been deep into creative writing of various sorts. Growing up, he also became a fan of the classic Hollywood Cinema of the Golden Age, with a specific interest in the films and actors of the 1930s Horror Genre exemplified by the releases of Universal Studios DRACULA (1931) with Béla Lugosi and FRANKENSTEIN (1932), with Boris Karloff. These two interests, writing and classic cinema, came together in 2012 with the national release of NO TRAVELER RETURNS: THE LOST YEARS OF BELA LUGOSI (BearManor Media), co-authored by Bill and the well-known film historian Gary D. Rhodes. This was followed in 2015 by BELA LUGOSI IN PERSON (BearManor Media), again co-authored by Rhodes and Kaffenberger. The continued research of Rhodes and Kaffenberger recently yielded a massive two-volume book project BECOMING DRACULA: THE EARLY YEARS OF BELA LUGOSI, detailing Lugosi’s life from his birth in 1882, his development as a film and stage actor in Hungary and Germany, his rise to fame on Broadway in New York City and, finally, signing the film contract to portray the iconic vampire Dracula in 1930 in Hollywood. Published by BearManor Media, the first volume was released in February 2021 with the second volume released in early 2022. Bill has also written five volumes of genealogy/family history and, along with his co-author Gary D. Rhodes, has had many articles on classic cinema published in various national magazines. Bill is currently working on a history of World War II focusing on the war letters of his Dad who served in the Navy on the USS Waterman in the South Pacific Theatre.

VIDEO DOCUMENTARIES:

Upon obtaining an iPhone with its incredibly good video camera features, Bill began developing and filming video documentaries which he makes available for free viewing on his Vimeo channel. He and his old friend Ray Glew have filmed two documentaries about riding across the country on Amtrak: RIDING THE RAILS WITH BILL AND RAY (THE SOUTHWEST CHIEF) and RIDING THE RAILS WITH BILL AND RAY (THE TEXAS EAGLE). Bill’s other most notable documentary, THE HAPPYS: THREE WEEKS IN LA LA LAND details a three-week visit to Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California and his adventures there.