Editor’s note: we highly recommend listening to this story.
In Sandwich, New Hampshire there’s a place that offers a little slice of Broadway, Hollywood and maybe a bit of Vegas too. At Club Sandwich you can find actor, singer and host John Davidson.
If you watched television in the 1970s and 80s, you couldn’t miss Davidson. The 80-year-old entertainer has called New Hampshire home for the past several years, and now has his own venue. The intimate space holds about 45 people with couches and loveseats arranged in front of a small stage. Every weekend in the summer, Davidson performs solo shows for those lucky enough to score tickets. He’s often sold out.
“This is my dream to have a small place, and have it be sold out. I love the words sold out,” Davidson said. “I really am 80, and I feel so lucky to be able to do this. I get ready for this show in Sandwich, New Hampshire as I would playing the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas or a Broadway show.”
But he’s also doing things these days he probably didn’t need to in Vegas or on Broadway like customer relations. Just ask audience member Larry Tantillo, who attended a recent show on a Friday night.
“I called last night to ask if I could bring alcohol, and he called me back,” Tantillo said. “I answered the phone and, he goes, ‘It’s John Davidson.’ I said, ‘ The John Davidson?’ He goes ‘Yeah! You got a question?’”
The show is packed with Davidson playing guitar and singing throughout the hour and twenty minutes. He takes a couple of breaks while videos are projected behind the stage, some displaying iconic New Hampshire landmarks, and some featuring Davidson on his boat on the Sea of Cortez, where he spends his winters. The mood is light, and purposely corny.
“I used to do a joke that at my age, doing this show is better than sex. Of course, at my age, most things are,” Davidson said. “[It’s a] stupid joke, but it is a sensual experience. At the end of it, I’m just wasted, as if I played a couple of sets of tennis.”
After all he has done over decades in entertainment from sitcoms, to reality and game shows, to talk show host, why work weekends in Sandwich, New Hampshire?
“There are well-traveled people here in Sandwich,” Davidson said. “There are people writing books, painting, many over 50, doing their dreams. I have more friends in Sandwich than I’ve ever had anywhere.”
