Child Actor From “Hot For Teacher” Video Shotgunned Beers With Alex Van Halen

Yano Anaya was a child actor in the 80′s who had already had a part in A Christmas Story and was looking for more acting jobs when he got the chance of a lifetime. His favorite band in 1984, along with much of the planet, was Van Halen. So when Van Halen sent out a casting call for boys to play younger versions of the band, Yano jumped at the chance. He had a great shot at it since he already looked like Michael Anthony, and luckily, he got the job. He was booked to play the young version of Mike. In a new interview with Loudersound.com, Yano talks about when he got on set the day of the shoot, he told his mom his only goal was to hang out with the band, so he went straight to their trailer and knocked on the door, and remember as you read this that he was only 13:

“I got there on the first day at nine-thirty in the morning, and I told my mom: “I need to go meet the band, that is my priority.” So I found their trailer and knocked on the door. Alex Van Halen answered, and he looked at me and went: ‘What’s up, kid?’ And I went: “I’m part of the cast, I’m playing Michael Anthony Jr. I just wanted to see if I could hang out with you guys.” And he went: “Come on in.” I was like: “Yeeeeahhhh!...Alex was like: “Hey, man, why don’t you go to the back and grab us a couple of beers?” So I walked back there, and Dave Lee Roth was there. He looked at me and went: “Who the fuck are you? Why is there a kid in our trailer?” And Alex was like: “Don’t worry about it, man, he’s part of the cast, he’s hanging out with us.”

They had an ice chest in the back with nothing but Coke and Schlitz Malt Liquor beer. So I grabbed two of them and went up the front, and Alex challenged me to a shotgun. I’m like: “I’m thirteen years old, it’s ten-twenty in the morning, and I’m a drinking a Schlitz beer with Alex Van Halen.” I drank that one beer, and I was so drunk.”

Yano also talks about Eddie’s kindness when Yano asked the guitar genius to play the intro to “Running With The Devil” for him, and how Eddie gave him a 1 person concert of the whole song:

“I grew the balls to ask him to play the intro to Running With The Devil, which was my favourite song. He took me to the back of the trailer, pulled out a tiny little amp, pulled out his guitar, and literally played the whole thing for me, in person, by myself, just for me.”

You can read all of Dave Everley’s cool interview with Yano at Loudersound.com.

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