By M. Sharpe and S. Youngblood
Photo credit: MajorCrimesTV.net
Comparing his career as a flight attendant with Pan-American Airways (Pan Am) to his current role as Buzz Watson on TNT’s Major Crimes and The Closer, actor Phillip P. Keene points out that these jobs aren’t as different as they might first appear. “That is really an aspect of it,” he says. Both “have crazy hours, we go to different places all the time- not as exotic as when I was flying, but we’re all there for each other, and we have each other’s back, so if someone’s tired a little bit, or cranky maybe if that happens at the end of a sixteen hour day, you’re telling them ‘it’s fine, don’t worry about it’ and elbow each other, and it’s a great sense of family again, so it’s like I never left in a sense.”
Keene revisited his airline roots last month in Palm Springs, CA, where his collection of Pam Am memorabilia was showcased in “Welcome Aboard: The Pan Am Experience” as part of the city’s popular Modernism Week. The exhibit, featuring an impressive archive of materials from the iconic airline, has been a labor of love for Keene, who flew with the company from 1987 until its closure in 1991. “When we shut down, I had my uniform and my forms and my luggage and I was still in love with the company, and wanted to continue thinking about it.” He started by collecting advertisements, and over time branched out: “When more pieces came up, and I had a little bit more ready cash I bought lighters and ashtrays and dishes and it just kept growing. I got my degree in history in my thirties, and this is my history project.”
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