What We Could All Learn From David Arquette
By Marci Shatzman
He came onstage wearing a red clown nose and stood for a full hour reprising his famous family and his own wildly diverse history.
Turns out famous-for-“Scream” actor, pro wrestler, director, TV producer, painter, even clothing entrepreneur David Arquette has pursued everything his talents suggested.
And he encouraged his FAU audience to do the same thing.
“You never know what leads you to what ends,” Arquette, 59, said in his talk at the University Theatre on Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus. “Follow what you love. That’s what I’ve always done.”
What was Arquette doing at FAU?
Turns out Boca Raton philanthropist Francesca Daniels was the local connection. “He’s my adopted son. We met in L.A. years ago when Coco was a little girl,” Daniels said about his daughter with ex-wife actress Courteney Cox.
“We stayed in touch,” Arquette agreed about his close relationship with Daniels, standing in an aisle before his talk so fans could snap selfies with him.
In fact, Arquette showed up early to do a master class. “He generously spent the afternoon with our communications, theater and dance students,” Michael Horswell, dean of FAU’s College of Arts and Letters, said to introduce him.
Arquette reminisced with no script. “I was born on a commute in Virginia, and what that meant was find your inner gifts and go out and make the world a better place,” he told the audience.
A Jumbotron above his head showed family photos of his vaudeville descendants, his beautiful actress mom, his grandfather Cliff Arquette known for his Charley Weaver persona, and four siblings, among them well-known actors Rosanna and Patricia Arquette.
His brother was trans and died from AIDS. “None of it matters. It’s who you are. You just learn to accept it and not force your will on other people,” he said.
Photos, film posters and commentary were lookbacks through Arquette’s eclectic career, and shoutouts to the people who meant the most to him, including his wrestling pals and horror film great Wes Craven. He even included his first drama teacher. “He gave me the confidence to take it more seriously,” he said.
Candid about his difficult divorce from Cox, he praised his wife, actress, producer and journalist Christina McLarty and their two children. He talked about the value of recruiting other celebs to help raise money for charities. He remembered a car chase that injured him. “I was drinking at the time, not now,” he said. He even showed a photo from his hospital bed after two stints.
“I also love puppets,” he joked to change the mood. And detailed his latest venture, re-inventing and progressing the original Bozo the Clown, i.e. his red clown nose.
Arquette finally sat down for a Q&A with Dr. Marquese McFerguson, assistant professor of Intercultural Communication in FAU’s School of Communication and Multimedia Studies.
Final thoughts? “Realizing you’re the greatest in the world in your world, and I’m the greatest in mine. I feel like I’m constantly failing but learning,” he said with a laugh.
