During the time period when Cliffie had several radio shows and was performing at Saturday night dances in El Monte, he also wanted to pursue acting. Here are excerpts from his book, ‘You Gotta Be Bad Before You Can Be Good’: “Early in my career, I talked with my cousin, Victor Jory (one of the all-time great actors who was a star on radio, stage and screen). He recommended that I join a theater group such as the Pasadena Playhouse where they always presented a combination of small and large theatrical productions. When I joined, I did my share of being an all round stagehand! After serving my backstage apprenticeship, I started getting roles in quite a few shows and I acted my heart out. I learned two important things as an actor: First, to always ‘dress the part,’ because this helps you to feel and act the part. Secondly, how to memorize and think. As an actor you have to memorize your lines while simultaneously thinking about when to move and stop on the stage. You can’t adlib because there are other actors waiting to recite their lines as a reaction to your lines. One of the reasons I stopped acting was because I was getting more involved in all areas of the music industry, which paid for food on the table.”