Chiller Theatre is great at bringing in faces who really impacted me in my formative years. The most recent April show seemed to place a premium on that. There was a Hardy Boy and Nancy Drew, one of Charlie's Angels, a Bosom Buddy and Angie. And that was just for starters.Our first stop this year was Parker Stevenson. I met him seven years ago at one of the first ones I went to. In fact, it was so early in the tenure that it was before Sis started forsaking some of her shopping time to foster her own collection. As such, she's been waiting for another chance to get a picture with him for quite a while.
I mentioned the initial meeting to him, then asked how he's been in the seven years since. His answer was thoughtful and heartening. "Really good," Stevenson said. "There aren't many times in your life when everything is good. Something always happens."
The first time I met him, I brought my Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries Season 2 box set to be signed. I had Season 1 with me this time. I also took the other one, because Pamela Sue Martin had put her Pamela Sue Hancock on the inaugural season and I wanted to get her PSH on the second one. Problem was, I was so giddy that I gave him Season 2 ... again. He looked down at it, then up at me, then showed it to me with an "I already signed this" look. Quick rummage through my backpack required.
Lor got what I call the "O face" from him when she unveiled the photo she had brought to be autographed, from his 1993 TV movie, Official Denial. She also mentioned another favorite of both of ours, This House Possessed. "You really like the sci-fi stuff, don't you?" Parker asked. He hit the nail on the head.Pamela Sue wasn't there yet, so we set out to look for more actors who were there for the early-bird session. With all different celebrities stretched out down hallways throughout the Hilton Parsippany, we meandered down corridors and went into a room with Piper Laurie. The three-time Oscar nominee looked lovely seated at her table, but it was tough for the soft-spoken actress to hear what I was saying with the hustling and bustling in the room.
Speaking of hustling, I mentioned one of my favorites of hers, The Hustler. She said she had gotten to see a beautiful remastered print not too long ago on the big screen where it belonged. I brought my Carrie Blu-ray to get signed and asked whether she had any inkling when they were making it that it would become a cult classic.
"I hadn't worked in 15 years," Laurie said. "I had no idea it would be so big. It was just a small (budget) movie that we did for a few weeks." I asked whether she kept her distance from Sissy Spacek to keep the tension between them and she told me a sweet story about the last day of shooting. "It wasn't that long of a shoot and we were focused on the work," she explained. "I went into her dressing room and she was playing her guitar. She played with my dog."Faux pas, number two, I accidentally stepped on her leg when I went behind the table to have my picture taken with her. Can't take me anywhere. But it was a good thing I was around to help Sis when she met George Wyner (Spaceballs). The affable Colonel Sanderz mock-fired his handler twice while we were there. And the second time might have been warranted since the helper couldn't take a decent picture of Lor and George. I actually was able to help out on this occasion.
The person I was most looking forward to seeing was Peter Scolari, whose career I have followed since Bosom Buddies. I always rooted for Scolari's Henry, even over Tom Hanks' Kip. I'm glad they're still buddies. It was his first pop-culture convention and I made him giggle when I admitted I was a total "Henry-phile" who wanted his character to find true love. "Yes, he was a good guy," Peter said.We talked about the high-school reunion episode from the second season. Henry had regrets about having forsaken a deaf girl to go to the prom with someone else. He meets up with Sheila again at the reunion and makes amends. It was a poignant episode for a show that started off in slapstick comedy territory. Scolari gave special praise to Nanci Kendall, the deaf actress whose work made it so great.
I have Peter's name in Tivo, and shows and movies of his are always popping up. I asked whether there are things on his filmography that he'd forgotten about ever making. "Definitely," he said. "There are things that are unavailable at all." God bless Tivo.
Scolari called me "sweet" for saying that I was most excited to see him. Personally, I think he was sweet himself for putting up with my fawning and rubbing my back while we were taking our picture.
There was a whole group of actors from Saturday Night Fever, including Karen Lynn Gorney. The one I was most excited to see was Donna Pescow. And not because of Saturday Night Fever. I loved her show, Angie, which only lasted two years on ABC.Pescow admitted making the show -- with Robert Hays, Doris Roberts and Debralee Scott -- was so special and the cast stayed in touch long after it ended. We talked about a particular episode in which the families played each other on Family Feud. Then the cast of Angie went on the actual game show after that. "I remember that!" she exclaimed.
When we went back to Pamela Sue Martin, she told me about how she moved to Mexico because she couldn't handle Colorado winters any more. I mentioned we had already talked with Stevenson and how much fun that was and she said, "Parker is someone who makes everyone happy," Pamela Sue said. We talked about why the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries still hold up all these years later and Frank and Nancy's chaste romance. "There was an innocence about it. It was a different time," she said.
Even though she's retired from the business, Martin said she was asked to make an appearance in the pilot for the latest adaptation of Nancy Drew on the CW. "It's a little edgier ... they have dead bodies in theirs ... but I said, yeah sure. It's the one thing about the business that I look back fondly at." And I did hand her the right box set, at least.I was with Sis at director Jack Sholder's table when another Oscar nominee (and winner!) got bumped by a Schector, but this one wasn't me. Lor was trying to take her backpack off, and in her defense, Lee Grant was far, far away from her own table in the middle of the room when it happened. I uttered a quick "Sorry, Lee!"
After sharing Martin-Landau-was-a-superior-human-being stories with Sholder, I went to get a selfie with Grant, still holding court away from her table. She misheard me when I said my name as "Peach," and then I quickly added. "I'll be a 'Peach' for you if you want!"
We talked for a bit about one of my favorites, Defending Your Life, which she described as "an incredible experience." Grant looked over at her table banner, with credits such as In the Heat of the Night, Voyage of the Damned, Mulholland Drive and her Academy Award-winning turn on Shampoo on it. "I was so lucky to be in this body of work," Lee said. I probably started shaking my head as soon as she did. "This is not just luck, this is you being talented," I replied.Then it was time for me to go on the long lines -- first for Cheryl Ladd of Charlie's Angels. I had a special task in mind, getting an autograph for a good friend of mine. But the in-person photo would be all mine. After, ummm, let's say 90 minutes, I finally got up to her, only to find I didn't have enough dinero for the transaction. Luckily, my buddy Eric and his mom were not too far behind me and he spotted me the difference until I could hit the ATM.
Cheryl had an amazing setup -- she was seated behind a little table with a lighted mirror and her own photographer handling the picture-taking duties. I asked her how she was holding up, she said she was doing well and thanked me for waiting on the long line. She signed the photo I brought for my buddy, from "one of Normie's Angels." We took one picture and then both she and her camera man talked me into taking off my glasses for a second attempt. I grumbled something about the bags under my eyes, and she assured me the special magnifying light would take care of it. They were right, of course.Since I had replenished the coffers, I jumped on to neighboring Jason Priestley's line. This was the most rushed I felt all night. He had a photo shoot scheduled in 15 minutes, but his handlers just kept taking money and items to be signed and shoveling them at the teen idol-turned-director. Priestley kept taking his time with the people he was talking with. I appreciate that, even though I was a wee bit concerned that the entourage would waltz off with my cash/DVD at any moment. (One of my favorite moments was when the guy who had taken the DVD came back a couple minutes later and asked what I wanted to have signed. The thing I just gave you, perhaps?)
But Jason seemingly was oblivious to it all. And when it was my turn and he looked down at my Cherish DVD cover, a smile crossed his face. "I don't see a lot of this one," he said. Priestley called the experience of being in the black comedy "super fun," adding that he filmed his portion during a week off from another movie and got to use his own dog for a montage in the film. Even though, he was pressed for time and was getting the move-along, I got an extra hand squeeze before I left.And that's the way it went at this Chiller. Everyone was so nice. Not that they usually aren't, it's just that there's often an actor or two who seems like they're practicing their craft when making polite conversation (and taking money). But the conversations this time were much more casual and fun. So I'm definitely looking forward to the 30th anniversary shows coming up for the next two Chillers.
