Bob Builds His Dream House and Yamaha Disklavier is Finishing Touch
Did you ever hear the joke about the guy who took 28 years to build his house? Well, Plum TV executives did and it inspired a quirky program on their independent, upscale channel. Shortly after Academy Award-nominated actor, producer and director Bob Balaban's guest appearance on a Plum TV talk show, the reality show "Bob Builds His Dream House" was born.
"The folks at Plum TV heard me joking about how I had spent 28 years looking for a house, and no one ever thought I'd build one," Balaban recalls, with a quick fast-forward: "But, now it's done, and it's a beautiful, 6,000 square foot, traditional, open airy farmhouse. And the first thing you see when you climb the steps from the foyer into our living room is our Yamaha Disklavier® piano, which looks just gorgeous with our dark floor and white walls."
Balaban produced each of four episodes: starting the house, mid-construction, getting finished and the finished house (the latter will air this fall). When it came time to furnish the interior, Balaban and his wife, Lynn, decided they needed a really nice piano. "I don't play piano, but my wife plays beautifully. I sing (his first role was in a stage version of 'You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown') and we have tons of friends who sing and compose. Now, when we have gatherings, the piano's playing. We don't have to pay someone to play and the Disklavier doesn't need to take a ten-minute break," he quips. "We can add to the music package easily. It sings, offers vocal accompaniment and karaoke, and has a microphone so we can record music and play the piano back. With its built-in instrumentation, it really sounds like they've placed an orchestra inside the Disklavier," Balaban adds.
With more than 50 movies to his acting credit from "Midnight Cowboy," "Close Encounters" and "Gosford Park" to "A Mighty Wind," "Lady in the Water" and "Capote" Balaban is a bona fide big screen star with behind-the-camera chops to boot: he recently directed and produced "Bernard and Doris" (starring Susan Sarandan and Ralph Fiennes) and the award-winning Off-Broadway play, "The Exonerated" (starring Richard Dreyfus and Jill Clayburgh), to name just a few.
Plum TV, with markets in Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, the Hamptons, Vail, Aspen, Telluride, Sun Valley and Miami Beach, is a viewing choice for over 14.2 million influential and affluent Americans. "We met Bob in the Hamptons when he was in the early stages of building his home, and he was one of the first people we worked with," says Jage Toba, head of Plum Productions. "He's funny, whimsical and personal, and 'Bob Builds His Dream House' has had a very successful presence on Plum; in some ways, it's our signature show."
For more info, visit www.plumtv.com/programs/bobbuilds.
 Bob Balaban |
Balaban produced each of four episodes: starting the house, mid-construction, getting finished and the finished house (the latter will air this fall). When it came time to furnish the interior, Balaban and his wife, Lynn, decided they needed a really nice piano. "I don't play piano, but my wife plays beautifully. I sing (his first role was in a stage version of 'You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown') and we have tons of friends who sing and compose. Now, when we have gatherings, the piano's playing. We don't have to pay someone to play and the Disklavier doesn't need to take a ten-minute break," he quips. "We can add to the music package easily. It sings, offers vocal accompaniment and karaoke, and has a microphone so we can record music and play the piano back. With its built-in instrumentation, it really sounds like they've placed an orchestra inside the Disklavier," Balaban adds.
 Bob Balaban's new Disklavier in his brand new Bridgehampton home. |
Plum TV, with markets in Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, the Hamptons, Vail, Aspen, Telluride, Sun Valley and Miami Beach, is a viewing choice for over 14.2 million influential and affluent Americans. "We met Bob in the Hamptons when he was in the early stages of building his home, and he was one of the first people we worked with," says Jage Toba, head of Plum Productions. "He's funny, whimsical and personal, and 'Bob Builds His Dream House' has had a very successful presence on Plum; in some ways, it's our signature show."
For more info, visit www.plumtv.com/programs/bobbuilds.