It's kinda fun going to Chiller on a Friday. If you go on a Saturday, the lines are just unbearable -- or at least a good amount of the throng is. And if you go on a Sunday, well, you risk the fact that your celebrity is tired of talking about the same thing over and over and over. So Mark and I have settled into the Friday groove, although the secret's definitely out that pre-show tickets are the way to do it.
And the early bird catches Veronica Cartwright! The movie and television veteran was ready to go at 6 p.m. sharp, with a table full of 8x10s and a binder containing more shots, in case a fan wanted something else.
Mark was agog at seeing Gus Grissom's wife from "The Right Stuff," and of course, she also was indelible in "Alien." But I talked with her about "The Witches of Eastwick," in which her character suffers humiliations galore at the hands of Jack Nicholson's little devil. Veronica said she had a great time working on that, which just goes to show that the more torturous the action may be on screen, the more fun the actor might be having off of it.
We also spent some time talking about her pivotal four-episode stint on "The X-Files." In half of them, she worked with my favorite TV director -- the late great Kim Manners. (He's happily become a discussion point between me and actors he had worked with, because they all love and miss him.)
She told me he would sit in the back of the room and project a call of "Action" that almost scared her. Even better, when show star Gillian Anderson got tired, she would often get giggly and Kim could be heard going "no, no, no, no!" in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the giggles.
During her first two-part appearance on the show, Veronica's character Cassandra Spender was abducted out of a wheelchair on a bridge full of people. She did the entire stunt, revealing that they actually shot it backwards, with her starting up at the highest point and being lowered down. And Gillian called to her "bend your knees" to reflect the fact that she was supposed to be unable to move them on her own.
No one else was at their tables yet, so we went to stand on Robby Benson's line and waited for the silver marker on Veronica's autograph in my X-Files yearbook to dry. And waited and waited and waited. But the time was well spent, I performed lines from "Ice Castles" for a woman standing behind us. The funniest one was blind Lexie reaching out and crying "Nick! Nick!" And when people started crossing in front of us to get to other parts of the room, I used that one a lot.
Can't really say much about Robby Benson, because he didn't say a lot, but he chuckled at the "Nick, Nick" recreation. One of my earliest crushes, he still looks great, but I kind of got the "move along vibe" before I could mention how much I loved "One on One" or that I just recently saw "Harry & Son" and "Die Laughing."
Had a hard time finding John James' table, because he had no banner and there was kind of bottleneck on that side of the room, but we eventually did. And he was as charming as Jeff Colby could have ever thought of being on "Dynasty."
We discussed how different the two Fallons on the show were, he said Emma Samms was just as sweet as can be, while Pamela Sue Martin was a spitfire. I recalled that a couple years ago, I met Pamela Sue at a table about 10 feet away from where he was sitting. He said she had tried to come back for this year's event, but it didn't work out.
We also had some laughs when taking the photo, particularly since I had told him that he was the actor most women were jealous of me getting to meet that day. Plus my line: "Twenty dollars to touch John James? I'll take that deal!" Followed by Mark's line: "Make that $25" and then John's line: "Make that $30."
Next we stood on line for Brooke Smith, who wasn't there yet due to a late flight. And that gave us some quality time with her Chiller next-door neighbor, Brenda Strong.
I saw the gorgeous statuesque actress and her handler struggling to take a selfie, so I sent my photographer -- Mark -- over to do it for them. She was very grateful, I told her how great I thought she was on "Sports Night" and she deemed me a smart lady for knowing her from that great and unfortunately short-lived series.
Then later, we noted a couple of spelling mistakes in Brenda's banner. She grabbed a magic marker and quickly remedied the situation as best she could, to lots of cheers and applause from those in the immediate vicinity.
It was Brooke Smith's first convention and she didn't even get to eat her Chinese food with a line queued up and ready to see her. Knowing that everyone throughout the weekend would be talking "Silence of the Lambs," I went with my other favorite part of hers -- the starring role in "Series 7: The Contenders." No one else on the line even knew what I was talking about when I asked whether they'd seen it.
But she seemed reallllly excited when I presented my "Series 7" DVD cover. She told me that Will Ferrell is a big fan of the movie, that it's becoming more difficult to find for sale and she thinks he's been hording all the copies of it for himself. She said she had just introduced Marilyn Manson to the movie.
I kept saying over and over how brilliant she is in it. Brooke played a pregnant woman forced to participate in a reality game show in which she has to win several times to gain her freedom. It's very very funny, but there are some scary truths about the world that also reveal themselves during the course of the film.
And then ... THE most embarrassing thing when I accidentally copped a feel while we were taking the picture. I was just trying to move arm as she put hers around me, but then it was the reverse Julie Warner instead! (You might remember that a previous event, while trying to get past me in a crowded room, the actress brushed against my chest.) I guess that makes us even Steven, Chiller!
Going to New York Comic Con is always a bit of a crapshoot. You never know what's going to happen and even the best game plan can fall apart due to circumstances beyond your control. You just have to go with it, and hopefully, everything turns out well in the end.
It starts months earlier when tickets go on sale before the guests are announced. They sell out that day, and you hope that there will be something there for you. I guesstimated there would be some kind of presence for "The X-Files," since the revival starts airing on Fox in late January. And not only was that the case, but the U.S. premiere of the first ep was set to be screened for those lucky enough to get into the panel. More on that later.
My sister and I planned to go three days, the first would be the vendor room day, squeezing through aisles and getting bounced around by people with backpacks sometimes bigger than they are. Our major find that day was the "Batman" Michael Keaton shirt that Lor saw and didn't get at the last one. And we happened upon that in a rather unusual way. We were having trouble finding the vendor and had almost given up hope, when I ran into a guy wearing that exact shirt. He even knew where the vendor was who had it. Score!
On the second day, I had two main objectives -- seeing John Larroquette at "The Librarians" panel and meeting Frank Spotnitz, the No. 2 man on "The X-Files" who was there with his new show, "The Man in the High Castle." Only problem was at one end of the Javits Center, "The Librarians" panel was going on, and at the other end, the line was forming for the free "High Castle" signing. It was a tough call, but I left the panel to go stand on the line. That turned out to be a bad decision.
I got text messages from Sis about the panel while I sat on the cold floor on the line. I was told that the people from the show would only be signing items provided for them, so getting an autograph on my "X-Files" yearbook seemed to be out of the question. And then when the signing started, Frank wasn't even there! He had missed his plane and the signing as a result. I got autographs from the rest of the cast and told them I was looking forward to seeing more of the show, which still was true. But I would have had plenty of time for that as it turned out, because the line wasn't as long as expected and Lor caught up to me before it was over.
The next plan was to go to "The Librarians" signing, and hopefully John Larroquette would be there. I was a little dubious, the old crapshoot coming into effect. Outside we had our picture taken by the show's 3-D art work, and I was told that yes, he was scheduled to be among the cast signing. So more sitting on the cement floor in hopes that I would get to meet an actor I have followed faithfully since his four-time Emmy-winning work on "Night Court."
Got to that line four minutes after it opened, and by the time Sis caught up, it was already capped off. But she sat with me anyway, at least she would get to see John. There was some concern over whether I could get my "Night Court" script signed, because of the restrictions on "The Man in the High Castle." But I would get to meet him at least, right?
But it turned out better than expected. Because even Lor got to meet him and get her script signed too. When I went up to him, I exuberantly said, "Hi John, I'm Paige!" And he said "Hi Paige" in that deep voice that resonated down to my toes. I told him that my sister and I still watch "Night Court" episodes and we quote lines to each other all the time. Got a bit of a mock eye roll there, but even that made me laugh. When Lor got her script signed, he even recalled that particular ep.
So I went from feeling low to being at the top of the world. Back outside, I did some public service. Earlier, I had been the first person to ask a con newbie dressed as Captain Jack Harkness from "Doctor Who"/ "Torchwood" for a picture. And now the person he had come with couldn't find him. I scoured the crowd for about 20 minutes as she walked up and down looking for him. He was taken aback when I grabbed him and said she'd be right back and to wait there, but it all worked out. Con Rule No. 1: Always have a meeting place!
I went to use a trailer port-a-potty, and the fates rewarded us for altruism. Because was I shocked when I came out to a stream of golf carts carrying the cast of "The Librarians"! They were going to do a photo shoot at the 3-D picture. With Lor taking pictures, I yelled through the crowd, "John! John!" Not only did John Larroquette stop and turn, he gave us a prolonged wave. Not prolonged enough for the camera to catch up, we just have his initial reaction, but another indelible moment for sure.
Frank Spotnitz was due to arrive in time for "The Man in the High Castle" panel, so I went to that and enjoyed hearing more about the Amazon series based on the Philip K. Dick book. D.J. Qualls told great stories, particularly about how he was cast in the show -- he was exhausted from working on another show and ignored requests to meet with the powers-that-be, until director David Semel told him to "get his ass down there." He was ultimately glad he did, calling the show the best project he's ever been involved in.
When it ended, I lingered long enough to see Frank talking with some people. I got out my book and went over to him to thank him for working so hard for so long on my all-time favorite series. He thanked me effusively and I presented the "yearbook." And this is how Comic Con works out when you least expect it. Then again, we didn't expect the torrential downpour that hit us as we walked back to Penn Station, but the book was miraculously unharmed.
The focus for our final day was all about "The X-Files." I even dressed as Dana Scully, my variation was "Scrubs Scully," since everyone seems to do the suit thing when they cosplay Scully. We went in early to get on the wristband line, once you have that band, you're in. We still wound up getting on the line for the panel/screening early, just so we'd have a better seat once we were in there. And 90 minutes later, we're situated a couple of seats away from the guys videoing the event.
They went to great lengths to prevent people videoing the show, night goggles were apparently being used by security to prevent it. But we saw the show that won't be on air until late January. It was a thrill to see those characters again, we cheered at everything -- including the opening credits which now feature everyone's favorite, Mitch Pileggi.
It really was a setup episode to pave the way for the seven-show revival, introducing some new characters. I was a bit concerned initially when comedian Joel McHale was announced as part of the cast, but he did an excellent job in a new role. The best scenes were the ones in which our mainstays related to each other. A lot has changed, yet it all remains the same.
And that could be said of the panel too. The guests were show creator/executive producer Chris Carter, who wrote and directed the first episode of the revival, David Duchovny (Fox Mulder) and Pileggi. It was moderated by XF podcaster Kumail Nanjiani, who basically geeked out through the whole thing the way any one of us who got to sit there and ask questions of them would. David and Mitch played off each other the way we've seen them do on gag reels over the years.
The audience got a chance to get in a handful of questions. And they weren't shy either. When Chris Carter said Mulder and Scully's relationship has been subjected to bumps in the road of life, one fan retorted, "You don't think they could survive a bump in the road after 20 years?" To which Chris responded. "Sounds like a network note."
We learned that the revival will be stand-alone episodes book-ended by conspiracy ones. And the happiest news for me (although I already knew it) was that my favorite XF scribe, Darin Morgan, penned one of them. Everyone who is into the show probably knows already who will and won't be back for the revival, but fans raised the roof at mentions of The Lone Gunmen and the show's baddest baddie.
After the panel/screening, I went to the meetup for fans of "The X-Files," and although there weren't as many there as I expected, we quickly bonded and ran through all the things we loved about the show. It was great to talk XF with people who can go into the most minute details -- and one of them was, in fact, the woman who had chided Carter during the panel about Mulder and Scully being able to overcome anything at this point. We discussed our favorite eps, and for the first time in recorded history, I found a fan who actually liked Mimi Rogers' Diana Fowley character.
And that's what Comic Con is really all about -- long lines and herding and pushing and shoving and cold floors aside. It can bring together people just as passionate about something as you are in a far more substantial way than you ever expected. And that's why going to a crapshoot never really feels like much of a crapshoot at all.
Time for another Monster-Mania convention, and it's always a pleasure, because they really do them right, with limited irritation and a crop of fun celebrities.
We did have some Chiller flashbacks when one zealous security guy kept trying to get autograph lines to be more compact. Not a man of good humor either, as we found out when I showed him that whoever had put down the masking tape for Brad Dourif's line had spelled his name wrong. "I didn't do it!" he said defensively. I wasn't accusing him of doing it. And just a little joke, guy.
First up: Mitch Pileggi!! I've always been a big Skinner fan on The X-Files, but never had the chance to meet him. So two decades later, maybe I was a little worked up and nervous about it. "Pogoing," I believe, is the term Mark used.
He certainly saw me coming, since I was all decked out with the Fight the Future cap from the first film and T-shirt from my favorite episode, "Jose Chung's From Outer Space." I told Mitch that he's my favorite follower on Twitter, where I'm known as "X-Pai."
I asked him how the revival has been going, he said very well and Fox has been so happy with it that they've added a seventh episode. But he did add that Skinner hasn't been their focus. I, of course, responded with "he should be!"
My question for him was going to be a two-parter -- what was your favorite X-Files episode overall and what was your favorite Skinner-centered episode, but he said "Home" before I got half the question out. ("Home" is the wild and wacky episode about an in-bred family.) When I finished my inquiry, he said he didn't really like any of his own spotlight episodes. That gave me an opening to go into my "SR 819" tale -- it's truly the only XF ep I remember details of watching during first run. (He hilariously crossed his eyes when I mentioned the makeup job he had to go through.) And that's because during the commercials, my friend Jenna and I were calling each other "It's Krycek! It's Krycek!" she exclaimed. "I know, I know!" I yelled back. It was event television in those days before social media and when you could still surprise viewers because spoilers didn't get out.
My other big plan was to get a photo with him, one of the pictures signed and for him to sign what I'm now calling the yearbook -- The Complete X-Files: Behind the Series, the Myths and the Movies book. But the standard convention deal is for a photo and an autograph, it would be $45 more for a second autograph, his handler told me. I then settled on the photo and the autograph, and that's when he told me to give him the book, which he signed without charging me. "Don't tell anyone," he quipped. Which of course, I just did. Bad X-Pai.
Then time for the photo and I bounded behind the table to get close up and personal. I might have been a little overzealous initially ... Mark should have probably told me not to try and climb the guy, but luckily we did another take and that one was a keeper.
Then we got on the Child's Play line, which turned out to be mostly a line for Brad Dourif and less of a line for Alex Vincent, who grew up during the run of the movies. I gotta say I was a little creeped out by the children who were picture-perfectly made up as Chucky and the bride of Chucky. A little bit too real and/or surreal.
Anyway, Brad is pretty much the polar opposite of anything I've ever seen him in. He was so engaging and laughed a lot and played great with kids. When the man before me told Brad that he first saw Child's Play when he was very, very young, Brad said he pretty much didn't let his kids watch anything he did.
I told him that I'm always glad to see him in anything and he really raises the level of everything that he's in. He seemed genuinely appreciative.
And then I brought out the XF yearbook and asked whether he remembered anything from the shoot all those years ago. He said he definitely did, and how great Gillian Anderson was, even so early in her tenure on the show. That first-season episode "Beyond the Sea" is considered her first big showcase on the program, and she just nailed it, particularly in her scenes with Brad.
After that, we got on line for Danielle Harris. She starred in Halloween IV when she was just 10 and did a wonderful job as Jamie Lee Curtis' on-screen daughter Jamie. So after that and Halloween V, I've been a fan. And I told her whenever I see anything I go, "It's Danielle!" She's been in lots of other movies and TV, my other favorites are Urban Legend, Roseanne and The Last Boy Scout.
I asked whether the Halloweens gave her nightmares when she was filming -- another very uninspired question -- and she said, "no way," pointing to co-star George Wilbur (Michael Myers in IV) at the next table and adding that he and everyone else made it so much fun for her. Then we joked that she had a lot more nightmares working with Willis three years later.
I wasn't sure about meeting Malcolm McDowell, and boy was I needlessly concerned, because he was so engaging and downright boisterous. He had the greatest collection of potential autograph materials -- a line of tables chock full of photos, DVDs, Blu-Rays, even A Clockwork Orange scripts.
And it was another round of "anything you're in instantaneously gets better," but it was a true, if unoriginal comment.
When I presented my newly acquired A Clockwork Orange Blu-Ray book said he usually signed the first blank orange page, and I pointed out one I liked better if it was signed in silver pen and then realized aloud, "I'm directing Malcolm McDowell!"
Don't worry, then he got his own chance. Because when I sat down behind his table for the photo, Mark was rocking the patented "Tatum O'Neal photo technique" of holding the camera higher and shooting down upon us. Malcolm objected, in good humor, of course. Then he asked whether Mark was recording the "tirade." He wasn't, so the gracious actor did it all over again. "Tatum, butt out!" became the clarion call of the day.
No further takes required, because, well, look at it, he's Malcolm McDowell and he was on it! Only later did I discover there had previously been bad blood in the press between Malcolm and Tatum's dad Ryan over director Stanley Kubrick. Didn't mean to set off more discord.
Funny thing, though, after I put the photo done his way up on Facebook against the photo done Tatum's way, Tatum's way won! I think it's just a more flattering photo. I will always treasure both of them and the organic way in which all of that occurred. I didn't get to ask him anything about any movie, because we were so busy chuckling over the photo thing. Mark got a serious belly laugh out of it, it took like 15 seconds for him to come out of it.
I did get the chance to warn Malcolm off Chiller (and that's what's going on at the beginning of the video above). Unless he wants to meet up with Tatum there and do battle! In the meantime, how do I get myself on imdb for being in a short film with Malcolm McDowell?
Some concerts everything works out perfectly and it's heaven on Earth. This was not one of those days. But having said that, at the end of the day, I was at a Foo Fighters concert. And at least I knew it.
I have the strangest luck (or lack of it) when it comes to the Foos. Many know of the quest to get the Record Store Day release "Songs from the Laundry Room" -- finally in my possession thanks to the Foos Popup Store that sprung up in New York City (far away from any signs of life) before the show. But of course, my luck is nothing compared to Dave Grohl's. The man broke his leg two songs into a show in Sweden. A couple of weeks ago, a severe electric storm forced the Foos to stop playing in Quebec.
So I should have suspected something when I set out for Citi Field. It was a beautiful day, a real rarity among these parts since it's been a rainy summer. Poster tube in hand, I set out early for the bus-train- train trek to Queens. Getting off the train, I walked halfway around the outside of the stadium to get to Liam, who was in a bar with the tickets. He had asked someone who came in with a show poster where he got it and was told "the rotunda."
Since security said I couldn't go in and come back out again, I walked back around the stadium to get to the rotunda. Where I was told that I couldn't go in for a poster and come back out again. So ... back around the stadium again to go in at the general admission entrance and get on the merch line.
It's finally my turn on line, and the woman asks me what I want. And I open my mouth to say the poster and a guy who wasn't in line calls to her on the other side of the table. She goes to him and sells him ... the last poster. Then she comes back to me and asks what I wanted and I say "what you just sold him." She tells me to go to the stand on the other side of general admission, which I do, and they don't have any.
So now I'm pissed, cause 1.) I went early to get the poster, 2.) went inside instead of hanging at the bar to get said poster, 3.) I'll be carrying around an empty poster tube for the whole day for nothing and 4.) it's a good two hours before the Foos will start.
I considered giving my tube to someone who actually got a poster, I'm not sure why I didn't at that point. But I'm wandering around aimlessly, with a pissed and dejected look on my face. And that's when Angel P., a Mets' customer service rep, asked me what was wrong. So I tell him the sob story. And he tells me to go up the stairs to the concourse and check out the stand up there.
So I did that, and there's a reallllly long line, a couple dozen people. I see the poster. I even see the previous day's one, which frankly is even nicer. But I'm not holding out any lost hope. I just wait and watch. And then it's my turn, and wow, they're still there. So I order two of the day's poster (one for Liam, still getting his drink on) and the previous day's one. And that one is the last one they have! Luck's on my side this time. Which ticked off the guy next to me, who was going to ask for it. Sorry, I say, but it already happened to me today. Plus that dude kinda looked like the one who had just beat me out, so I was twice as happy about it.
Now I've got the posters and a nice pina colada. I stop to tell Angel P. the story and he's good at his job, because he really seems interested/ happy about my success. Royal Blood opens the show, but I'm busy eating my Nathan's and drinking my Hurricane to notice anything but that they're very loud. I do have a nice conversation with a couple -- the guy was wearing an Austin City Limits Music Festival shirt -- and we talk about Beck and Pearl Jam. He tells me that people in that city say they live in Austin, not Texas. Great line.
I go over to the left side of the stage (which is set up in the outfield with the infield covered and blocked off), and it's much less crowded because the entrance is on the other side. But when Liam and friends come in, they stay on the crowded side, and I go over there 'cause who wants to watch a cool show by themselves?
The Foos open the show with "Everlong," which I thought would be the kind of song that makes everyone stop in their tracks and just watch. It's an easy favorite to have, very emotional, and now it reminds me of the last David Letterman show as well as a tale I heard online of a serviceman who hadn't seen his baby since she was born. When he got to the airport and finally saw her, "Everlong" was playing over the PA system. Just perfect.
Anyway, the trek of people never stopped. It didn't matter what they played! "Monkey Wrench," "Learn to Fly," "Big Me," "My Hero," "All My Life" ... whatever it was, they kept walking. Maybe they were there to go to the Shake Shack or buy one of the filet mignon sandwiches. I just couldn't figure it out. Every now I would yell something sarcastic at them, I don't remember any of the better lines.
But Dave and the Foos were having a good time, whether it was their own material ("Congregation" from the Emmy-nominated "Sonic Highways" sounds spectacular in the open air) or covers (Kiss' "Detroit Rock City," Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak" and Alice Cooper's "School's Out). I'm truly glad they forsook the Rush cover of "Tom Sawyer," blech!!!
And somewhere along the way, it was easy to forget the crowds continually streaming in front of us by dancing -- the covers of Queen's "Under Pressure" and Tom Petty's "Breakdown" were great jams. Oh, I remember one joke! When "Under Pressure" started, Liam and I joked that those filing past recognized that -- "Yeah, it's Vanilla Ice! Rad, it's "Ice Ice Baby"!!
I also felt better when I started using my elbows while dancing. So I wasn't just getting bumped around, I was doing some knocking myself.
As you can see in the videos, Dave was rocking the "throne" he created while he was high on Oxycontin post-leg surgery. It really is some spectacle, with lasers (that's how you spell "lasers," Dave!) and special lighting and, best of all, enables Dave to keep on rocking.
Dave and Taylor Hawkins (ever the showman behind the kit) and company went out of their minds when they were joined on stage by a couple of their own heroes -- guitarist Dr. Know and bassist Darryl Jenifer -- from the punk band Bad Brains. They rocked out on "How Low Can a Punk Get" and "The Regulator."
They broke Citi Field curfew, of course, and wrapped up with "This Is a Call" (it was the first Foos record I ever got, a 12-inch single) and "Best of You."
Then I left Liam and friends in the dust, because I had to rush to get the train back to the train to get home. I shouldn't have bothered. Because I wound up sitting on the platform waiting for 20 minutes (after a lot of pushing and shoving through the gate for the privilege). And when that train got to Penn Station, another hour wait for the last train of the night to New Brunswick.
That train was one slow moving drunk train, I gotta tell you. Not only that, but only four cars were open. Love that, big long train, with the Foo crowd and more heading home and not everyone gets a seat. I had one, next to a smelly guy who I think stole his ticket. Anyway, finally get to my stop and ... all the cabs are gone, because the train was late and the drivers thought it already came through. Luckily, I flagged one down on the street and finally got to put my poster tube down after 12 hours.
I was under pressure ... and I was about to break ... down ... but all my life ... I'll remember being part of that ... congregation.
It's two completely different sides of the musical spectrum. On the one hand, the 70th birthday celebrations for Eric Clapton at Madison Square Garden. And on the other, the reigning Tony Award-winning musical "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder."
Clapton kicked off the weekend at Madison Square Garden. He rolls through the setlist with some familiar bluesy favorites, such as "Key to the Highway" and "Hoochie Coochie Man." The first of the evening's guests, John Mayer, joins for "Pretending," and although his performance is entirely perfunctory, the rest of E.C.'s assemble still makes it a winner.
For a while the highlight is "Driftin'," dedicated to Ben E. King (who had passed away the previous day and who Eric once said wrote the most beautiful love song ever written in "Stand by Me.") This is delivered during the sit-down acoustic portion of the evening and every note sounds like it is driftin' up to the fallen King.
For this show, we had front-row seats ... of the third section from the stage. But for me, it was great, because no one was standing in my way preventing me from seeing the performers and I also got to move around to the music. It took about three or four songs for me to loosen the knots in my neck, but I really started to get into a solid hippie, trippy vibe around "Can't Find My Way Home." It was great to have uber-bassist Nathan East back with E.C. again in general, but particularly on this song.
And speaking of people who were back, the highlight of the first night was, without a doubt, Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II joining Clapton and crew for "Let It Rain." One of the greatest musical regrets I harbor is missing the tour in which Derek and Doyle backed up E.C., prodding him to heights he hadn't reached for a while on material he had long since packed away. So for the few minutes we got of "Let It Rain," I was in high heaven.
Less successfully, Jimmie Vaughan had come out a few songs before to play "Before You Accuse Me," and while it was great to see him, the collaboration just didn't soar the same way. Jimmie's solo was a little stilted, and E.C., being the reflective mirror he tends to be, almost echoed the same thing back.
At a very early point in the evening, Mark and I started recognizing songs before they fully kicked in. With "Can't Find My Way Home," the crowd sort of doesn't get it until the full band kicks into gear, while both of us can recognize it in a couple of bass notes. "I Shot the Sheriff" meanders around for a while until the riff that signals the start brings most of the arena into the fold. I think two or three minutes prior to that point, I yelled, "SPOILER ALERT! It's
'I Shot the Sheriff'!"
That song, by the way, is one I never listen to home, but hang on every note during a live show. As opposed to say "Wonderful Tonight," which has become my group's signal to call a friend not at the show. Mainly it's a "Network Time Killer," as they used to say on David Letterman's "Late Night" show. I took the joke one step further and called my friend, Susan, who was actually at the same show and sitting closer at the stage. The things we do to make ourselves laugh.
One of the biggest surprises was "Tears in Heaven." It's Eric's biggest "hit" of all time, but he stopped playing it for a long while. I was pretty peeved to see people heading to the bathroom during it. When it first debuted in concert in the early '90s, well, it was like everyone in the arena held their breath, knowing that the song was for his son, Conor, who had died tragically at 4 1/2 years old. They cheered in support after every verse, every chorus. Now, it was just another song. That took some of the air out of my tires.
I'm not sure playing everyone's favorite "Layla" acoustically (as on the multi-platinum "Unplugged" album) was the best way to mark the milestone birthday, for we all kinda wanted to rock out, but it was nicely done. The same could be said for keyboardist Paul Carrack's version of "You Are So Beautiful." And though we pleaded for a change in the slow blues number, it still was "Little Queen of Spades," which offers Clapton and crew the chance to solo so beautifully, but has lost its zing from being in the rotation for a few years now.
The whole show had a very laidback vibe, which irked some of my friends, but which I rather enjoyed as just a way to chill out and rid myself of earthly concerns. And so it was pretty easy for me to jam my way through "Crossroads" and "Cocaine" to the encore of "High Time We Went," with all the guest stars coming back for one more solo in celebration of Clapton.
While I would hardly consider this a true retrospective a career that has gone so many places, the man throws a nice party.
Thanks to the Rangers' continuing playoff run (insert every expletive you can think of here, both for me as a Devils fan and just one of the people whose schedule was upended), the second show was changed to Sunday night. So after working Saturday, I was ready for more. But before the concert, we decided to talk a good friend into seeing a Broadway show we thought he would enjoy ... and that we were dying (so to speak) to see again, namely "A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder."
Mark and I were blown away by it last year. I bought tickets the night it won the Tony (but before it actually did), so we got pretty good seats and had a great time. Now with co-lead Bryce Pinkham and some of the other original cast members gone and one of the members of the ensemble, Jeff Kready, now in the protagonist's role, it would be the same but different. Of course, Jefferson Mays, the Tony-nominated star who somehow manages to pull off eight distinct roles in the production, remained the primary reason to go at all.
So after some leg twisting, we got Steve to go, and we set out for the Sunday matinee ahead of the second Clapton show. I thought it might take a while for him to get into it since he's one of many in the world who aren't interested in seeing a Broadway musical, but he was cackling with laughter almost from the outset. Because this ain't your grandma's Broadway musical. It's full of snarkiness and malevolence, but retains a great sense of humor about itself.
Since that was a matinee show and they had to do it all over again at 8 p.m., I thought the actors probably wouldn't be hanging out with the fans at the stage door. But since everyone else probably thought the same thing, the crowd was actually rather small and we did stay for a bit to see who we could see. One of the first ones out was Jeff Kready (who Mark actually liked better than Pinkham in the co-lead role).
I moved to the end of the line, a dangerous spot if an actor decides to cut and run after a couple of autographs, but a great spot for taking pictures together if he is so inclined. And Jeff was so gracious with everyone, it's really heartening to see someone move up from an ensemble role in the show to the lynchpin that holds everything together.
I told him we had seen the show twice, I don't know why I was surprised by his surprised reaction to that, but he was very grateful to have heard that. My big question for him was about whether it got confusing when getting directions, between Jeff and Jefferson. And he said, "Not really, cause he's always Jefferson." And I quipped, "Or Mr. Mays," and he repeated "Or Mr. Mays" with a laugh.
We waited some more, got to see some of the other cast members, including the hilarious Carole Shelley, who puts the show in off-kilter mode right from the get-go as Miss Shingle. She didn't stop, but she did wave to all of us. I wondered if Jefferson Mays would even come out the door, after all, it's a rigorous day for him without fan dwellers.
But he did, and I almost lost my shit. I don't curse a lot in my blog, but I was about five seconds away from breaking into tears when he started down the line. I was in my choice position again at the end. That really turned out in my favor, when Mark took the picture to end all pictures -- me and Jefferson, with a couple of his characters photo-bombing on the wall behind us.
I know my babblings included telling him that "Kind Hearts and Coronets" was my favorite movie, and I had been apprehensive about the show the first time I saw it, but that I loved it so much and that he was so brilliant. (Another one taken aback at hearing we'd seen it more than once.) Jefferson told me that he originally saw the movie when he was 8 years old, and it made him want to be an actor.
My question for him was about those rapid-fire costume and character changes he undergoes, sometimes having to be back on stage within a minute. He said at present there were four people who helped him with costume, "one for each limb." He's funny without a script too.
I was so overwhelmed with how nice they were that I actually had to sit down to catch my breath. Then we headed for Guy Fieri's American Kitchen and Bar, which was unsummarily ripped in its New York Times review, thus sealing Mark's interest in going to see what the fuss was about. The maitre d' asked if we had reservations and I mumbled, "we have serious reservations." The food was remarkably unspectacular, but my Pina Colada Royale and our waitress, Olivia, were amazing.
And then we were back at the Garden for the second Clapton show. Now mind you, by this time, I have had about four hours sleep five nights in a row, my work schedule is out of kilter and I'm reaching the point of total exhaustion. Which explains why I kept falling asleep during songs, having vivid nightmares and waking up within the same song. In the '60s, you needed drugs to have that kind of reaction at a show.
I was able to take notice of the fact that overall, the show was better and everything sounded spectacular. But I would say I enjoyed the first one more, because I got to stand and dance and I was really feeling it. The second one, we were in the front row in an upper section, and if I got up to dance there for any prolonged amount of time, there's a chance I would have toppled over the railing in my state.
This time, knowing that "Let It Rain" was going to bring down the house, they moved it to the end and did away with "Cocaine." And the rest was pretty much the same, only better and yet not quite the same for me. We did the terribly un-rock-and-roll-like thing of heading home immediately afterward, which was necessary but a bummer, because part of the magic of all of it will always be hanging out with friends after the show. So I didn't get to say a final farewell to Smoosan and Steve and Willie and Bruce and Renee and the gang. Instead, I'll just say see ya further on up the road.
Heading into the April Chiller on very little sleep, my plan was to save my celebrity meetings for the second day. So when Sis met up with some of her pop culture icons, I went along as the general photographer. That ended up giving us two chances to meet the title character from "The Greatest American Hero" and Steven Keaton from "Family Ties."
The first celeb we saw the first day was John Schneider, probably best known to the free world for "The Dukes of Hazzard," although Lorrie was more of a fan from his time on "Smallville" as Clark Kent's dad, Jonathan. He looks amazingly wonderful and really knows how to work his crowd. Lorrie had a variant cover from one of the "Smallville" magazines with him on it to sign, and he hadn't seen it before. That's one of the things she loves to do most at conventions is show off rare acquisitions, so score!
We got in a little conversation with table neighbor, Terry Kiser, more renowned for the dead title character in "Weekend at Bernie's," but better known to us as obnoxious reporter Al Craven in "Night Court." (Wearing my "Night Court" crew jacket to the show was a nice talking piece.) Surprised to find someone interested in him from the latter show, he didn't have photos for that. But we did chat with him a bit without paying any money for it, a Chiller rarity to be sure.
That wasn't the case with William Katt, whom we know not only from the unlikely superhero TV show, but also from cult film favorites "Carrie," "House" and "Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend." Sis had a chat with him about how he carefully toed a precarious line to make his character sympathetic in the "Carrie" prom scenes, and that showed off a great retro find -- "The Superhero Illustrated Guidebook" which had him on the cover as "The Greatest American Hero" with the late, great Robert Culp. He hadn't seen it before either, score again! And he was super-sweet, I was already looking forward to my turn the next day.
Then we went to find Wesley Eure of "Land of the Lost" fame. Since we also remember him from pictures in soap magazines as Mike Horton on "Days of Our Lives," Lorrie got a great-looking picture signed from that era. Another kind and attentive celeb, it was funny that Sis was taller than him in their photo together.
And last but definitely not least was Michael Gross of "Family Ties," although Lor knows him even better from the film series "Tremors." Again we played the "Night Court" card, I told him that even as a kid I realized that the show was trading on his goody-goody image as perfect dad Steven Keaton in order to make the plot about him sexually harassing Markie Post's character work. I was smiling almost more than they were as I took their picture together, and then Michael took the camera, 'cause he loves taking selfies!
Then we went off hunting down treasures in the vendor room, where we found some rare DVDs and old magazines and other things we probably didn't need but were really excited to find. One of my particular faves was a press kit for the Cameron Crowe film "Singles." I had just seen the new Blu-Ray, so it seemed particularly appropriate.
Before we knew it we were back again and it was my turn to hang with the celebs. The Living Room area was populated with more fans than personalities, so we went to the adjoining room to see whether I could meet the duo of Don Most and Anson Williams (best known Ralph Malph and Potsie Weber). They were there, and they had no line. So after I scored tickets for my photo op (a separate line strangely enough), I was in the middle of a "Happy Days" sandwich. I promised I wouldn't say "sit on it" and we got enough of a chuckle for a nice photo.
When I was departing, Anson did something no other celeb has done in the history of my pop culture conventions -- he kissed the side of my head.
Said "hi" to Michael Gross, who was in that room visiting old friends such as Carol Potter ("Beverly Hills 90210"), but by the time we took another look around the Living Room (more on this in a minute) and then went to his area, he was back in place and ready for more selfies.
I told him I had gone home the previous night and watched some "Family Ties" on Netflix and he was proud of that. On his table, there was a special price for people who wanted a photo of themselves with Michael posted on his Facebook feed, but I stuck with the regular shot and did it the old-fashioned way on my own Facebook page.
But of course there was a downer, cause there's always at least one at any pop culture convention, and usually more than one at Chiller. The plan -- as it was -- was to wait on the short line for Vanessa Marcil (best known to me as Brenda Barrett on "General Hospital"). She had a photo op set for 11 a.m., and her handler said Vanessa was on her way down. Apparently she got lost somewhere between the elevator and the Living Room, because half an hour later, she hadn't showed.
At some point, we realized she wouldn't be down at her table before the op, so that's when we went off to see Michael and when we came back, "Kitty Katt" was being his engaging self. When it was my turn, we started talking about what it was like the first time he had to play a guy who didn't know how to work his superhero suit. I said it must have been truly bizarre to be acting like he's flying out of control when there was no precedent for any of it. He said indeed it did was, and added that show creator Stephen Cannell didn't even let him see the suit until they filmed the scene in which he first examined it so that his reaction would be true.
According to the pictures Sis took while this was going on, it was an animated discussion, there was only one in which either my hands or his hands weren't gesturing wildly.
Anyway, it definitely turned my frown upside down. When I got my hug for the picture, I said I would just stay that way all day and he said I could. Yes, he was a real "Kitty Katt."
Eventually I did get my time with Vanessa. She apologized to everyone for being late. As far as I could tell, only two people stuck it out on her line the whole time -- and one of them was a lady who had cut in front of me on the pretense of looking at the Vanessa photos available for autographs on her table.
We saw Billy Zabka of "The Karate Kid" at the next table being affectionate with his fans. Next to him, Gavin MacLeod of "The Love Boat" was also very amiable, although he insisted on wearing Captain Stubing's cap throughout the event. I was sad to see Rip Torn, a favorite actor of mine, looking kind of out of it. And not wanting a repeat of the Lee Majors photo, I chose not to go to his line.
Now I'm starting to lose my own train of thought. Anyway, I told Vanessa about the work I do on YouTube and Facebook on behalf of Sharon Wyatt and John Reilly. She really couldn't recall them being on early in her tenure, but when I mentioned they were often in Robin Scorpio's storyline she brightened up with a "Kimberly McCullough" and again apologized, this time for having a bad memory when it comes to things like that.
So she was perfectly charming and cordial, but I kinda felt like I was acting as much as she was just to get through it. I'll have to ask Lor if I was Emmy-worthy.
Then it was time for shopping again, and over a week later, I still haven't sorted all my stuff out, so I'll take my leave now.
One of the more fun and wilder events I've been to is Daytime Stars and Strikes at Bowlmor Lanes in Times Square. A host of former daytime actors come out and bowl with fans while others who don't want to bowl watch and eat all the food up. It's all to raise money for autism awareness, and so no matter what happens or who shows up or who doesn't or who hangs around or who doesn't, it's a blast.
I was on lane 20 with two other "stragglers" who hadn't signed up with someone else. There was Jackie, a "One Life to Live" fan who knew "Guiding Light" actors who had been on her show -- like event co-host Jerry ver Dorn and Kim Zimmer -- and Rosalyn, who at least won the autographed "Days of Our Lives" script in the silent auction. So we all had different soap likes, but we got along very well very quickly.
We excitedly welcomed our celeb -- Sonia Satra, who played Lucy Cooper on "Guiding Light" in the '90s. She was so lovely and spirited, we were hugging from the get-go. Our next-door lane neighbor was Bob Woods (Bo Buchanan on "OLTL") and he spent a lot of time chatting and joking with us. In the lane next to him, a microcosm of the mid-'80s in my life -- Michael O'Leary and Grant Aleksander (Rick Bauer and Phillip Spaulding from "GL.") I was doing a little jig in my uncomfortable and unfashionable bowling shoes. It wasn't long before I was in a Musketeer sandwich getting my picture taken. I told them they seemed ageless; Grant quipped that they needed to buy me some new glasses.
What #teamsonja lacked in actual bowling skill, we made up for in enthusiasm. Whoever wasn't otherwise occupied cheered on the others. We invented the "high four" for when someone knocked down four pins -- using four fingers, of course. That led to the high "nine" and the troublesome high "seven" ('cause there are a couple different ways for someone to produce seven fingers.)
Whenever it was my turn to go, it seemed like it was Bob Woods' turn to as well. The lanes seem so much slimmer at Bowlmor, it kinda seemed like we were all bowling together. Anyway, there was always a photographer or a fellow actor or someone requiring his attention, which then required mine because they were often standing in my lane at the time. But the most distracting? At one point, he leaned back and stuck out his belly like an armchair quarterback on a lazy Sunday. Then I really couldn't concentrate from giggling too much.
I was doing all right, bowling-wise, I found the pocket but I kept not getting that last pin to fall down. My usual colorful phraseology was replaced with exclamations of "bugger," but Sonia and my team were very supportive and Bob told me that I was playing quite well. Then we made some sort of bet for his Daytime Emmy that I still can't recall, other than the fact that I won the bet and the man owes me an Emmy. (In all fairness, he later couldn't remember what the actual bet was either.)
Jackie kept disappearing during our game, when it wasn't her turn, she would run around to other lanes and get selfies with the other actors. She would come back with pictures of her with Kim Zimmer and Jerry ver Dorn and Grant Aleksander (whose scoring line garnered a lot of jokes since it read "Gant.") I wanted pictures too, but I was enjoying the laughter and hugs so I didn't really leave the lane. Besides everyone loves Sonia, so we had lots of visitors!
Just as she was leaving, I caught a glimpse of Elvera Roussel, who played Hope on "GL" kinda before my era. The last time I attended the event, I bought a picture of hers and she graciously autographed it. She was under the weather, but told me of a very interesting documentary she's a part of for people raised in Cambodia. She said to look for it in the next year. I certainly will.
Event co-host Liz Keifer, who I've seen in almost every soap over the years, came to visit and I was telling her about how I have clips of her on my Sean and Tiffany YouTube channel. She exclaimed, "the crazy nun!" Talk about your thankless roles, Camellia in 1986-'87 has got to be one of those. Liz said she just didn't know what she was supposed to do with the character, because the show didn't really know either. They didn't give her a lot to work with, so when "GL" called for her to take over Blake Spaulding, she decided she was going to do the character her way and made no bones about it. That obviously worked out in favor, she really did make Blake her own.
Was hoping to see some of Michael O'Leary being the character we all suspect he is, and when I was taking a picture of him with Liz, he turned it on full blast. He kept moving them in closer and closer until I couldn't see anything in the viewfinder. Then there was this mad grabbing of fans and actors and we all wound up in a funny group picture. At which time, I quipped something about how since I dug into Liz's acting closet, I had to do it for Michael -- bringing up the 1981 action cheesefest "Lovely but Deadly," which seemed to be on cable all the time when Michael started hitting it big on "GL." That made him laugh pretty heartily.
Jerry came over at one point, and since I had used my big story on him last time -- regaling him with the tale and picture from when I first met him back in 1986 -- I was much more anxious to see his reunion with a woman named Susan. As we were stragglers, we befriended her when she sat behind our lane for the event. She was in "The Music Man" in school with Jerry back in the late '60s and played his daughter in the show. It was so sweet to see them meet again.
Mostly it was just hanging with Sonia and Bob. Bob told us when Sonia was "One Life to Live," he always wanted to have more scenes with her. And when her character Barbara Graham went to the dark side, he wanted his Bo Buchanan to set her free. I took complete credit when Sonia threw a strike in her final frame, 'cause I called it. And when Bob was bowling in the 10th, I was heckling him so he wouldn't finish with a higher score than my 77. He didn't. Michael came back to razz Sonia for beating her score, but she said mine topped his and I added that since she's my teammate technically she beat him too. (I know faulty logic, but you had to be there.)
Then it got really funny and really silly as none of us could bowl with Bob making us laugh. At one point, Bob and Sonia were asked to pose for a photo with the bowling balls and that led to an unending series of "Bob has orange balls" taunts, for his bowling ball did match his shirt. #orangeballs. Won't soon forget that.
After our game finished, then I went to find Beth Chamberlin, who I always thought did such a masterful job of replacing an Emmy-winning actress who was a huge fan favorite. She too made Beth her own. And lordy, she looks like she hadn't aged since the show went off the air! Sure, she's a fitness trainer, but look at least a year older, won't ya?
Actually, I had a really nice conversation with her about the difference between soaps now and then. And how soap magazines with spoilers and now social media with people typing up caustic phrases without really paying attention to what's going on on screen have changed things so much. Soaps used to be an event, if you didn't see it when it aired, you just never did. Nowadays, if you miss it, you can catch the whole thing later online or even on someone's YouTube channel.
Also talked with Bob Woods about being the proverbial bridesmaid to Tony Geary (except the one time when he won the Emmy that he owes me). He told us about how at that first one, Tony's plan was to get good and snockered at the event. But Bob said he told Tony he would win, and that he should "be there" for that moment. When Bob won the following year, the show wasn't broadcast on national television, so he wouldn't have gotten to see it if an acquaintance at a local Philly station hadn't filmed it. And the person who presented him with the statue? The previous year's outstanding lead actress, co-star Robin Strasser.
Didn't win anything at the auctions or the raffle, but I didn't leave empty-handed either. Besides the cool gift bag, I wanted something that was part of one of the live auctions, a t-shirt for "Quiet on the Set," the play that one of my all-time favorites Terrell Anthony (Rusty, "GL") created featuring a number of different daytimers. Robert Newman had contributed a T-shirt for the event, which he signed. I wanted that! And though my bid wasn't the highest, I did convince the lovely lady who did win to sell it to me afterward.
People I saw in passing: Ron Raines (Alan Spaulding on "GL" as well as a Broadway legend). If I didn't run after him, I wouldn't have gotten my rockin' picture, because he seemed to take off before the bowling started. Lisa Brown and Martha Byrne (mother and daughter on "As the World Turns") were on the lanes to the other side of us, but other than showing Lisa where she was bowling and saying "hi," I didn't get to spend time with them.
Last time, I got a lot of entertainment out of hanging with Sean Ringgold, a big teddy bear of a fellow who played Shaun on "OLTL." We passed each other outside the restrooms. Not exactly quality time, but his smile is worth its weight in gold.
Oh, and I saw what I thought was the back of Jay Hammer's head when I was signing in. It probably was, since I later saw a photo of him with the other actors on the Daytime Stars and Stripes Facebook page. I soooooo wanted to show him the "Where's our baby?" that he wrote for me after my sister spotted him in her video store and sent him across the street to my newspaper back in 1990.
And the capper. As I left, Kim Zimmer hopped in the elevator. I said she was lucky no one else was in there or I would have made her stop for a picture. (Since I had taken a couple with her in the mid-'80s, I didn't feel the need to press the issue.) I said I enjoyed her work for many years on "GL" and she thanked me. The doors opened and she went her way and off I went to work. End of a fun-filled day at #webowl4autism.
