The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXXIII

MAX’S STORY
BY STEPHANIE WARBURG AND CHARLOTTE HARRIS
Max Warburg was born and brought up in Boston, Massachusetts. Not long
ago, Max lived in an apartment near the center of the city with his parents and
his brother, Fred. Max was two and a half years older than Fred. Max had
wavy light brown hair and bright brown eyes, and Fred had straight black hair
and hazel eyes, but when they smiled, they looked a lot alike even though Max
was much bigger.
The boys liked sports. They liked to swim in the summer, ski in the winter, and
sail whenever they got a chance. Mostly, their father, who is an architect, had to
work, but as often as he could he took the boys sailing, teaching them to tie
lines, trim sails, and steer a course.
“Here,” he would say, “Max, you take the wheel. Fred, you hold this line tight
and Max will sail us out of the harbor.”
And Max would. He’d stand at the helm the way he thought his father stood.
Eyes on the sail to be sure it didn’t spill its wind, both hands on the big wheel,
and feet spread apart, wind blowing his hair and puffing out his jacket, Max
would play the part of the captain, dreaming of the day he would have his own
boat. He knew exactly what he wanted: a sixteen-foot, drop-centerboard boat
called a 420, just the right size for a twelve-year-old, which he figured he would
be before he would ever get his 420. Then he could take Fred on some great
sails, even on the days his dad was too busy. Better yet, then he could race and
maybe win.
He knew what he’d call his boat, too. Take It To The Max, he’d call it, not just
because it had his name in it, but because it sounded like the sky was the limit
and that’s how Max felt.
Max had other dreams. Ever since he was little, Max had been good at
imitating people. His mom would talk to someone on the phone, and when she
hung up, Max could imitate her ‘talking to a stranger’ voice or ‘talking to her
best friend’ voice perfectly. He could hear an accent once and reproduce it
exactly. He could mimic actors and other kids, making his friends laugh and
fascinating everyone with this ability.
“You ought to be an actor when you grow up,” people would tell him. So he
started looking at the actors on TV with his mind on learning acting skills and
camera angles.
“Mom,” Max said one day, “do you think I could ever be on TV?”
“Well, I don’t see why not if you work at it,” she told him. Max’s mom was an
artist, and it pleased her to see her son interested in growing up to be in one
of the arts. Max joined a children’s theater group and went for acting lessons.
He started to gain the confidence an actor needs, and signed up with an
agency that looks for children to act and model. One day a call came.
“Max, do you think you’re ready to act in a television commercial?” the
agency representative asked. “Sure I am. Will my friends be able to see me?”
he replied.
“Not this time. This commercial is going to run in New Jersey, but maybe next
time. Will you do it anyway? Right away?”
“Oh, yes! This is my first chance!” Max ran to get his mom, and, alive with
anticipation, Max, Fred, and their mom drove to the studio. They spent a
day taping and re-taping. Max watched the professionals, followed directions
intently, and caught on quickly to what was expected of him. When the long
day was done, Max tried to guess when the next time would be that he would
get a chance in front of the cameras. He couldn’t have guessed then that six
short months later he would be a frequent talk show guest, but not for a
reason anyone would want.
THE COURAGE OF CHILDREN: BOSTON AND BEYOND
XVI
VOLUME XXXIII
XVII