Mitch Laurance - Part 3 (From Balboa to “Bula Vinaka Beachside”: Mitch Laurance on Golf, Great Actors, and the Freedom to Perform)
In Part 3 of our multi-part life-story conversation with American film and television actor—and longtime sports broadcaster—Mitch Laurance, we detour through the worlds that shaped him long before pool took center stage.
Mitch takes us back to Los Angeles in the 1980s, when a persistent friend talked him into an early-morning tee time at Balboa. What happened next surprised him: not instant love for golf, but total fascination. Here was a ball sitting still on the ground… and he couldn’t hit it. That maddening mystery became an obsession—fueling lessons, practice, and a deep dive into the competitive side of the game as he chased improvement, rounds, and a lower handicap.
From there, Mitch opens the door to the L.A. golf scene: the public gems like Griffith Park, Balboa, Encino, and Rancho Park, and the private clubs he came to know through celebrity events and friendships—Riviera, Bel-Air, Wilshire, Lakeside, and more. Along the way, he shares the actors and friends who became regular playing partners, including Craig T. Nelson, Andy Garcia, Chris Lemmon, and others.
Then we shift from fairways to film sets as Mitch reflects on the craft of acting—what it feels like to be “in the moment,” truly free, and creating something that didn’t exist before. He also speaks candidly about impostor syndrome, awe-filled encounters with icons like Lauren Bacall and Gregory Peck, and the performance he’s most proud of—an L.A. Law episode that taught him what it meant to be “free to be good enough.”
And yes… Mitch answers the question: did he ever feel famous? The answer involves an AT&T commercial, a phone booth, and one unforgettable line—“Bula Vinaka Beachside.”
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About
"Legends of the Cue" is a pool history podcast featuring interviews with Pool Hall of Fame members, winners of major championships and other people of influence in and around pocket billiards. We also plan to highlight memorable pool brands, events and venues. Focusing on the positive aspects of the sport, we aim to create and provide an engaging and timeless repository of content that listeners can enjoy now and forever. Co-hosted by WPA and BCA Hall of Fame member Allison Fisher, Mosconi Cup player and captain Mark Wilson, our podcast focuses on telling the life stories of pool's greatest, in their voices. Join Allison, Mark and Mike Gonzalez for “Legends of the Cue.”
Actor, Sports Broadcaster
Mitch Laurance is one of cue sports’ most recognizable and trusted voices, an entertainer, storyteller, and broadcaster whose career has traveled an uncommon path from legendary television comedy to the pressure-packed arena of championship billiards. He’s the kind of presence audiences immediately feel: warm, quick-witted, and steady when the moment gets big. And whether he’s calling a final rack under bright lights or swapping stories about the personalities who shaped the game, Mitch has built a reputation on one essential skill, making people care.
Long before pool fans knew him from the booth, Mitch was developing the instincts of a live performer in the most demanding classroom imaginable: "Saturday Night Live". In the show’s formative years, he worked inside that famously fast, chaotic, and relentlessly creative environment, learning firsthand how timing, preparation, and teamwork turn a rough idea into something electric. Those early experiences weren’t just a résumé line, they became a professional foundation. Mitch has often reflected on what it means to operate under pressure with a clock running, an audience waiting, and no margin for hesitation. It’s a mindset that later translated seamlessly into live sports television, where a single shot can flip the story, and a broadcaster has to be ready to capture it in real time.
That blend of performance and discipline carried Mitch into a full on-camera career. After moving to Los Angeles, he worked his way into television roles, earning early credits that opened the door to a long run of…Read More