Biography
Charlie started his career in 1972 on a local children's program in Salt Lake City called "Hotel Balderdash." Within 8 years he left Utah for the Los Angeles area where he studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Drama Institute, Lonny Chapman's Group Repertory Theatre and with the Off the Wall: Improv group. Under the professional name of Chay LeSueur he would divide his time between California, Arizona, and Utah acting in a variety of commercials and television programs, including an occasional return to Hotel Balderdash. In 1984, Charlie moved down to his native Arizona with his wife, Dawn, and six children, adding one more after the move. Once settled in he continued to act, produce, direct and write for production houses in the valley, appearing in well over 200 commercials, radio shows and local television programs such as, "Chrome Highway," "Hoover's Place," "At Home in Arizona" and "Dining Out in Arizona." In 1991, he happened to be, "at the right place at the right time," for the career path he settled into with ease, that of a Western Film Historian and emcee/moderator for celebrity Q & A panels throughout the USA. Charlie began this journey as the resident emcee at the National Festival of the West in Scottsdale for 23 years. During this time his reputation became well known and he earned the title of, "The Human Encyclopedia," by Buck Taylor of Gunsmoke fame; soon he began to be invited for emcee duties at other western festivals throughout the country. By 2009, he was recognized for his achievements with the Spirit of the Old West Alive Award, as was Bruce Dern. In January of 2014, Charlie was named Arizona's Official Western Film Historian and had his "boot prints" placed in cement and installed on the Apacheland Wall of Fame alongside prints of western stars who had once filmed there like, Peter Brown, Robert Fuller, Richard Boone and Ronald Reagan. The wall is located at the Superstition Mountain Museum in Apache Junction, Arizona where the remaining buildings from the movie location reside.Another honor was recently being awarded a "Fellowship of Western Arts" at the prestigious Smithsonian affiliate, Scottsdale's Museum of the West, where he has monthly presentations on the western film genre. Charlie also has several published books including the "Riding the Hollywood Trail" series on western film and television history, as well as the stars. He also continues acting in features and occasionally on stage. Recently he's been concentrating on various stage presentations under the banner "The Silver Screen Cowboys & Cowgirls" combining stories told to him personally by the stars, songs, and interesting power point presentations.
