\n<\/p>\n
\n\tIt was 1988. I was 21. I\u2019d moved to New York two years earlier, and I loved coming back to New Orleans to visit my dad at his uptown home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cJune! Meathead\u2019s on the phone,\u201d he called from the other room. He loved kidding around with me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHey, Meathead,\u201d I said into the phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHarry? It\u2019s Rob Reiner<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tI don\u2019t remember everything he said \u2014 visions of Mike Stivic from All in the Family<\/em> were buzzing through my head. I do remember him telling me about the new film he was working on, Harry, This Is Sally<\/em> (as it was still being called then).\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tI couldn\u2019t run fast enough to the other room to tell my dad that I\u2019d just been invited to Los Angeles by Mr. Reiner to play some solo piano underscoring for the film. I had no idea what that meant, but I couldn\u2019t get to L.A. fast enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe studio was massive \u2014 a classic L.A. soundstage that seemed bigger than a city block. At one end, a huge screen hung from the ceiling. Aside from that, the only other thing was a Steinway Concert Grand anchoring the middle of the room.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cLook at the screen,\u201d Mr. Reiner told me as I sat at the piano. \u201cWhen the scene starts, you\u2019ll see a green strip move across the screen. That\u2019s when you start.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cStart what?\u201d I asked. \u201cWhat am I playing?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAnything you want.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHow will I know when to stop?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhen the red strip reaches the end of the screen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tHe disappeared into the control room, leaving me alone on piano island.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cOK,\u201d he said over the talkback mic. \u201cHere we go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tI put my headphones on. When the scene began, there was something austere about Billy Crystal<\/a> and Meg Ryan<\/a>\u2019s performance. They were terrific, but there was space around them. As the green strip appeared and tracked across their faces, I understood: There was no music. Holy crap. This was my job.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tI placed my hands on the keys and waited for the strip to disappear. It was probably two seconds, but I had an eternity to decide precisely what I was going to play. I don\u2019t remember what Billy and Meg were discussing, but suddenly I found myself playing notes that needed to shadow their conversation. The red strip appeared at what felt like the perfect moment. It glided across and slipped away as Billy and Meg finished up, just as I played my last notes and chords. How did Mr. Reiner know that would work? How did he know I <\/em>would work?\u00a0<\/p>\n