Born to a WWII Combat Veteran, a Czechoslovak named "Kocis," meaning
carriage builder, and a beautiful Polish actress and painter, named
Koldzcyski, meaning "wheelwright," Carl John Kocis II roared into life
in Detroit, Michigan in 1952 when the Big Three (Ford, Chrysler and
American Motors) ruled the world.
Carl grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he started playing the
guitar, and studied acting at Ann Arbor Huron High School. He migrated
to Seattle, Washington after a short stint at Eastern Michigan and the
University of Iowa, where he married and earned his Baccalaureate
degree in Social Psychology and Personality from the University of
Washington, and a Juris Doctor (JD) from Seattle University. He studied
Jazz Theory and Improvisation with Gary Peacock at The Cornish
Conservatory, and played original roots rock in the same clubs as
Nirvana, and Soundgarden in Pioneer Square, where he had a law office
for almost a decade.
He started acting in Forsythe Junior High in Mrs. Hunt's Speech and
Drama Class, and played Horace Vandergelder in Hello Dolly for the
Senior Play as an advanced drama student at Huron High. Carl's love of
acting and writing took him to Equity Waiver Theater in Seattle and Los
Angeles, and stand up clubs, including The Comedy Store, Giggles, and
The Comedy Underground. In Los Angeles, he appeared in the Cave
Dwellers at the Rose Theater, An Enemy of the People at the Culver City
Theater and several original plays at the Secret Rose Theater and the
Bitter Truth. Also, as a writer and director-actor in two short films,
Mukilteo Takeout and The Interview. In TV Carl has appeared in Port
Charles, the Bold and the Beautiful, MysteryER, Snowden on Ice,
Medicine Ball, The Mentalist and on Armenian TV in the crime drama, The
Immigrants. He has appeared recently in the independent feature films
The Greatest Song, and Simple Being, and big budget Hollywood films
like Indian Jones, Today You Die, Flintstones Viva Rock Vegas and
Forgetting Sara Marshall.
Carl paid his dues working background on over 25 TV shows and 25
feature films, which included working with George Clooney on a cover
shot for Esquire, with Eddy Murphy in Bowfinger, and Harrison Ford,
Karen Black and Ray Wynstone in Indian Jones, Crystal Skull, where he
was directed by Steven Spielberg on top of the great pyramid. He did
featured work with the Second Unit of State of Play, worked with
Russell Crow and Amy Adams in several scenes, and was the photo double
for Mark Addy as Fred Flintstone in Viva Rock Vegas.
Carl is an alumnus of the Meisner Two Year Acting Program under the
tutelage of John Ruskin, one of Sandy's handpicked teachers, at the
Ruskin School for Acting, where he also took Master Classes with Bruce
Davidson and Dylan McDermott, as well as an actor-director in The Café
Plays. In 2012 Carl was cast as Charlie in Sideways the Play, written
by Rex Pickett, which is the longest running play at the Ruskin
Theater. Carl has played in dozens of bands, including Karl Marx and
the Hostages, The Mustangs, The Ramblers, Jetzenz and Popabilly. He
started playing trumpet at age 12, and graduated to the alto saxophone
and the guitar. He studied Jazz Guitar with Don Mock and Howard Roberts
and played in an alternative Jazz Ensemble called Pacifica.
Carl is in development with his original sci-fi feature film, Bikini
Beach Monster, and two other feature films he wrote, Rings Around the
Moon, and Directed Verdict. He is also recording new original roots
rock material with his Band of Brothers and working on the Classic Rock
Comedy Tour, playing venues in Palm Springs and Los Angeles, with a
mixture of standup comedy and original rock and roll music.
His father, Carl Stanley Kocis was a World War II combat veteran,
serving in the 15th Air Force, 718 Bomb Squadron, 449th Heavy Bomb
Group. He was a ball turret gunner in a B-24 Liberator. Carl Stanley
was stationed in Southern Italy, where he fought at the Battle of
Bulge, the oil fields at Ploiesti and bombed Nazi jets in
Czechoslovakia. He was interned at Fort Custer, in Augusta Michigan,
with a military funeral, after dying in a freak car accident in New
Philadelphia, Ohio.
Carl is the father of Carl John Kocis III, who is a director and
producer of reality TV, and Katie Kocis, who is a model, actress and
owner operator of Luxfit Models. Carl recently became a Grandfather
with the birth of Harper Canon Kocis. Harper's mother, Darla Canon, is
a medical malpractice attorney in Santa Monica. Darla and Carl met at
Occidental College where they both attended with sport scholarships.
Carl won an award in Journalism in 2004 for his contribution to an
article for Teckbug Magazine from the Northwest Society of Journalist.
He also studied Broadcast Journalism at the University of Washington,
and worked as a field engineer for KUOW, recording classical music.
Carl's grandfather and name sake, Karel John Kocis, immigrated to
America in 1920 and worked as a glass blower in Toledo, Ohio. He
graduated from Wayne State University and became a CPA. His polish
grandfather, Sebastian Kolodziejczyk was a demolition expert and coal
miner in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and migrated to Dearborn, Michigan
where he became a crane operator for the Ford Motor Company.
Carl's father, Carl Stanley, was a traveling salesman and sold windows
and building supplies to construction companies. Carl has often
remarked on the similarities between Willie Loman in Death of a
Salesman and his Dad. It is one his long held goals to play Willie
Loman on Broadway before he's too old for the part. Carl's mother, Mary
Kris Kocis, is retired and worked as a Real Estate Agent for 20 years,
resides in Palm Springs and plays the slots. She loves Ann Rice and has
recently started writing a murder mystery series of short stories. She
also came to Hollywood to become an actress, and worked in a Doughnut
Shop at Hollywood and Vine in the 1940s.
In June of 2014 Carl was diagnosed with prostate cancer and had a
radical prostatectomy performed by the most awesome Jazz Bass player
surgeon, Dr. Alexander Gershman. Before surgery Carl, Katie, and Carly
saw Dr. Gershman perform with his 12 piece Jazz Band at Herb Alpert's
Vibrato Grill at Beverly Glen and Mulholland. World class Jazz
performed by your Virtuoso Hollywood surgeon. Carl is expected to make
a complete recovery and is currently cancer free thanks to Dr.
Gershman.
