Carl Kocis

Born to a WWII Combat Veteran, a Czechoslovak named "Kocis," meaning carriage builder, and a beautiful Polish actress and painter, named Koldzcyski, meaning "wheelwright," Carl John Kocis II roared into life in Detroit, Michigan in 1952 when the Big Three (Ford, Chrysler and American Motors) ruled the world. Carl grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he started playing the guitar, and studied acting at Ann Arbor Huron High School. He migrated to Seattle, Washington after a short stint at Eastern Michigan and the University of Iowa, where he married and earned his Baccalaureate degree in Social Psychology and Personality from the University of Washington, and a Juris Doctor (JD) from Seattle University. He studied Jazz Theory and Improvisation with Gary Peacock at The Cornish Conservatory, and played original roots rock in the same clubs as Nirvana, and Soundgarden in Pioneer Square, where he had a law office for almost a decade. He started acting in Forsythe Junior High in Mrs. Hunt's Speech and Drama Class, and played Horace Vandergelder in Hello Dolly for the Senior Play as an advanced drama student at Huron High. Carl's love of acting and writing took him to Equity Waiver Theater in Seattle and Los Angeles, and stand up clubs, including The Comedy Store, Giggles, and The Comedy Underground. In Los Angeles, he appeared in the Cave Dwellers at the Rose Theater, An Enemy of the People at the Culver City Theater and several original plays at the Secret Rose Theater and the Bitter Truth. Also, as a writer and director-actor in two short films, Mukilteo Takeout and The Interview. In TV Carl has appeared in Port Charles, the Bold and the Beautiful, MysteryER, Snowden on Ice, Medicine Ball, The Mentalist and on Armenian TV in the crime drama, The Immigrants. He has appeared recently in the independent feature films The Greatest Song, and Simple Being, and big budget Hollywood films like Indian Jones, Today You Die, Flintstones Viva Rock Vegas and Forgetting Sara Marshall. Carl paid his dues working background on over 25 TV shows and 25 feature films, which included working with George Clooney on a cover shot for Esquire, with Eddy Murphy in Bowfinger, and Harrison Ford, Karen Black and Ray Wynstone in Indian Jones, Crystal Skull, where he was directed by Steven Spielberg on top of the great pyramid. He did featured work with the Second Unit of State of Play, worked with Russell Crow and Amy Adams in several scenes, and was the photo double for Mark Addy as Fred Flintstone in Viva Rock Vegas. Carl is an alumnus of the Meisner Two Year Acting Program under the tutelage of John Ruskin, one of Sandy's handpicked teachers, at the Ruskin School for Acting, where he also took Master Classes with Bruce Davidson and Dylan McDermott, as well as an actor-director in The Café Plays. In 2012 Carl was cast as Charlie in Sideways the Play, written by Rex Pickett, which is the longest running play at the Ruskin Theater. Carl has played in dozens of bands, including Karl Marx and the Hostages, The Mustangs, The Ramblers, Jetzenz and Popabilly. He started playing trumpet at age 12, and graduated to the alto saxophone and the guitar. He studied Jazz Guitar with Don Mock and Howard Roberts and played in an alternative Jazz Ensemble called Pacifica. Carl is in development with his original sci-fi feature film, Bikini Beach Monster, and two other feature films he wrote, Rings Around the Moon, and Directed Verdict. He is also recording new original roots rock material with his Band of Brothers and working on the Classic Rock Comedy Tour, playing venues in Palm Springs and Los Angeles, with a mixture of standup comedy and original rock and roll music. His father, Carl Stanley Kocis was a World War II combat veteran, serving in the 15th Air Force, 718 Bomb Squadron, 449th Heavy Bomb Group. He was a ball turret gunner in a B-24 Liberator. Carl Stanley was stationed in Southern Italy, where he fought at the Battle of Bulge, the oil fields at Ploiesti and bombed Nazi jets in Czechoslovakia. He was interned at Fort Custer, in Augusta Michigan, with a military funeral, after dying in a freak car accident in New Philadelphia, Ohio. Carl is the father of Carl John Kocis III, who is a director and producer of reality TV, and Katie Kocis, who is a model, actress and owner operator of Luxfit Models. Carl recently became a Grandfather with the birth of Harper Canon Kocis. Harper's mother, Darla Canon, is a medical malpractice attorney in Santa Monica. Darla and Carl met at Occidental College where they both attended with sport scholarships. Carl won an award in Journalism in 2004 for his contribution to an article for Teckbug Magazine from the Northwest Society of Journalist. He also studied Broadcast Journalism at the University of Washington, and worked as a field engineer for KUOW, recording classical music. Carl's grandfather and name sake, Karel John Kocis, immigrated to America in 1920 and worked as a glass blower in Toledo, Ohio. He graduated from Wayne State University and became a CPA. His polish grandfather, Sebastian Kolodziejczyk was a demolition expert and coal miner in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and migrated to Dearborn, Michigan where he became a crane operator for the Ford Motor Company. Carl's father, Carl Stanley, was a traveling salesman and sold windows and building supplies to construction companies. Carl has often remarked on the similarities between Willie Loman in Death of a Salesman and his Dad. It is one his long held goals to play Willie Loman on Broadway before he's too old for the part. Carl's mother, Mary Kris Kocis, is retired and worked as a Real Estate Agent for 20 years, resides in Palm Springs and plays the slots. She loves Ann Rice and has recently started writing a murder mystery series of short stories. She also came to Hollywood to become an actress, and worked in a Doughnut Shop at Hollywood and Vine in the 1940s. In June of 2014 Carl was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had a radical prostatectomy performed by the most awesome Jazz Bass player surgeon, Dr. Alexander Gershman. Before surgery Carl, Katie, and Carly saw Dr. Gershman perform with his 12 piece Jazz Band at Herb Alpert's Vibrato Grill at Beverly Glen and Mulholland. World class Jazz performed by your Virtuoso Hollywood surgeon. Carl is expected to make a complete recovery and is currently cancer free thanks to Dr. Gershman.