Now
I know I’m in the minority but I am completely sick of the Olympics.
Am I the only one out there? Perhaps it’s just been the fact that
living in Canada our media has been oversaturated with Olympic
coverage since before Christmas. I have found the Olympics to be
overwhelming. So, in order to try to ignore the Olympics I have spent
the last few weeks trying to pay attention to other things. I’ve
adopted a strange fascination with
Russia’s Tro-lo-lo-lo guy that recently went viral on YouTube, and
I have been celebrating the thirty days of Matt Damon over at facebook.
I refuse to believe that the only thing going on in the world is the
Olympics. Thankfully the Olympics wraps up tomorrow and then, well,
my shows come back on. Is that selfish?
But seriously,
for the last month Candace and I have been busy building the brand new
PCA! The good news is that we’ll be launching the new site in a
matter of weeks with new features, new interviews and a new and
dynamic look. I am so excited for you folks to see the new site. It
really is the beginning of a new dawn.
But in the
meantime, we have two new features to tell you about. In November
2009 I had the pleasure to interview Alison Arngrim who went into pop
culture history for playing Nellie Olsen on Little House on the
Prairie. One of pop culture’s most loathed TV villains, Nellie
Olsen has gained a cult following in the last decade. In reality,
Alison is a very vibrant and funny woman, who talked to me about how
she survived growing up with the whole world hating her. Working
today as a comedian in the Los Angeles area, Alison recently
co-starred in the film festival favourite Make the Yuletide Gay,
and has a brand new book, Confession of a Prairie Bitch,
hitting bookstores this summer. Alison talks to me about her career,
both past and present, as well as the Nellie Oleson phenomena in
BAD SEED:
A CONVERSATION WITH ALISON ARNGRIM
Also, PCA pays
tribute to actor Pernell Roberts who passed away last month at age
81. Best known for playing the role of Adam Cartwright on the classic
Western series Bonanza, Roberts shocked the world when he
turned his back on the series in the height of its popularity.
Roberts was also fondly remembered in the 1980’s for playing the lead
role in the medical drama Trapper John MD. I look at the life
of Pernell Roberts at
PERNELL ROBERTS - 1928 - 2010
This
week, as all eyes were focused on Vancouver, British Columbia, another
sort of drama besides the Olympics was going on. The body of Andrew
Koenig, son of Star Trek actor Walter Koenig and former co-star
of the 80’s sit-com Growing Pains, was discovered in Stanley
Park by a search party made up of family and friends. Suffering from
depression, Andrew had been missing since February 16th and
had been reported by friends to be in a very dark place. However, as
I was preparing this column, I was shocked to hear the news that Marie
Osmond’s teenaged son Michael also committed suicide last night. In a
suicide note, Michael also revealed that he was suffering from
depression.
The death of Andrew Koenig, and now Michael Blosil, has affected me
quite profoundly. I don’t make it a habit of getting personal here at
PCA, but depression is a reality that my family has dealt with for
decades. It is a real illness caused by a chemical deficiency in the
brain which alters your ability to reason or think clearly or make
decisions. It isn’t just a case of getting “the blahs,” being upset
or being unmotivated. It is a serious condition in which people
suffering from the illness are not able to see beyond their own
confusion, and are put in a constant state of sadness, desperation,
anxiety and pain.
So
how do I know so much about this? Well, I have had my own battle with
clinical depression. When I was 29 years old I was diagnosed with a
lack of serotonin in my brain, which had been altering my ability to
reason for the majority of my life. I know what it is like to wake up
each morning and have nothing to look forward to, and to not be able
to find any happiness in life. I know the type of craziness in which
you can’t stop your mind from racing, sending you into a deep anxietal
rage. Was I suicidal? I can’t honestly say that I was, because I
knew that if I had taken my own life I would have hurt my family and
friends. Their love, and the love that I had for them, is probably
what kept me alive. However, I can honestly say that I wanted to die.
I thought about death a lot, and looked at it as the only escape from
a world where I felt that I did not fit in, nor find what I needed to
be happy. The majority of my teenage years and my twenties were spent
in a constant state of torment and anxiety. By others my actions were
just seen as desperate acts for attention, or immature melodrama.
People just passed it off as “Sam being Sam.” However, there was
something not right in me. I knew it, but I didn’t know what to do
about it or how to change it. It wasn’t just a case of getting things
together. In time I became a very angry, paranoid and helpless person
who felt that he had nothing to live for.
Eventually, in 2004, I was on the brink of suffering a nervous
breakdown. My days were spent lying on the couch channel surfing
through anxiety attacks and tears. My mother recognized the pain I
was in and encouraged me to go to the family doctor for help. I did
this and was quickly diagnosed with depression. What I didn’t realize
was that depression was a hereditary medical condition. I had heard
in whispers and innuendos that there was a history of depression in my
family, which had lead to institutionalization, agoraphobia and
suicide. Of course, nobody ever talked about this. It just wasn’t
the kind of thing that you talked about. By accepting my own illness,
I began anti-depressant treatment.
There
is a negative stigma about taking anti-depressants. They are often
believed to be reserved for the insane or for people who are beyond
help. They are believed to put you into a zombie-like state, or rob
you of your independent thought. It is true that often it takes years
to get the proper combination of chemicals to help balance the
chemical deficiency, but the truth is that anti-depressants DO work!
Within weeks of taking anti-depressants I had felt like I had awoken
from what had been a very long, bad dream. For the first time in my
life I could focus my energy, I could make sound decisions and, most
of all, I realized that nothing was wrong! I’m not saying things were
perfect, but in the grand scheme of things everything was okay. There
was a reason to live, and I had so much more to achieve.
In fact, my ability to focus my energy in a positive manner was what
lead to the body of work that you read at PCA. Not long after I began
taking the proper medication I became motivated enough to research and
write the history of pop culture and, within five years, I have seen
some of my biggest dreams come true. I look back to days when I asked
myself “Where did I go wrong?”, and realize how foolish that thought
was. I hadn’t even started living life yet! Anti-depressants
changed my life, and have turned me into the healthy and happy person
I am today.
Unfortunately depression is something that my family still deals with
today. However, the things that have helped my family get through it
are admitting that there is something wrong, accepting and supporting
those suffering with the illness, and not shying away from the reality
of depression. People who are suffering from depression are not
crazy, and they are not beyond help. There is help out there, and
their life can be changed and saved. No matter how bleak life gets,
there is always going to be a tomorrow.
Nobody’s life is hopeless, and nobody is alone. One thing I have
learnt in my life is the moment you think you are alone, all you need
to do is calm down and turn around. You’ll find people who care about
you that you might not have realized were there before. They might
not be the ones that you desired, but they are your true friends and
their love will get you through. In his press conference this week
Walter Koenig said this himself when he stated,
“If you’re one of those people and you
feel you can’t handle it anymore, you know, if you can learn anything
from this, it’s that there’s people out there who really care.”
Koenig
also stated ““Before you make that final, final decision, check it out
again. Talk to somebody. And for families who have somebody who they
fear are susceptible to this kind of behaviour, don’t ignore it, don’t
rationalize it.” I can not emphasize enough how true these words
are. Families too often rather sweep depression under a carpet like a
dirty secret instead of admitting something isn’t right in the
family. This only leads to generations not understanding that an
illness that is genetic even exists. I know in my own family this is
completely true. If more people had spoken openly about the history
of depression in my family, perhaps I would have gotten help much
sooner than I did, and I would have had more years of happiness than I
have already. I still have family suffering from the dark reality of
depression because they are not educated about the illness, or will
not seek help because of the stigma attached to it.
If this is something that exists in your
family, don’t take it lightly, and don’t shun those suffering. They
need your support and your help. Please encourage them to get the
help that they need in order to live healthy and happy lives.
PCA’s thoughts and energies go out to the
Koenig and Osmond families, and all families that are dealing with
depression. No matter what the media wants you to believe, or what
your inner demons may tell you, life IS worth living. If you are
questioning the important part that you play in this life, and in the
lives of others, please go see a family doctor and get the help you
need. If you are unable to find happiness, I can tell you the honest
truth that there is still a chance of happier days for you. You are
not crazy and life is not hopeless. Before giving up, make sure to
talk with someone and get the help that you need. Give life a chance.
Any
of you folks out there play Farmville? Well, you may not realize it
but Farmville is probably PCA’s greatest enemy? Wanna know why?
Because I’m freakin’ addicted to it. Seriously? The time that I
spend each day plowing imaginary crops and milking imaginary cows and
collecting from imaginary chickens for imaginary coin seriously
threatens my time. In fact, all day I’ve been meaning to write this
week’s column, but I keep going back to my imaginary farm to see if my
imaginary tomatoes are ready to harvest. It’s totally insane. I
don’t know how I got so addicted to this stupid game, but I’m glad I’m
not alone. Apparently there are over 1.1 million people across the
world playing this stupid little game. Well, don’t worry folks. The
animals have been fed and the crops have been planted and I can get
back to PCA business….at least until the imaginary corn is ready to be
reaped.
Anyways, despite my Farmville addiction I have been fairly busy
pushing out new material for PCA and we have three new features here
at PCA. The first one has actually been up for a while but hasn’t
been officially announced until now. On December 17th,
2009 Academy Award winning actress Jennifer Jones passed away quietly
at age 90 with the world barely noticing. One of the most popular
leading ladies during the golden age of film, Jones’ life was a
story was a Hollywood
drama all its own - full of love, luck, lust, betrayal, heartbreak,
tragedy, madness and redemption. I hope you’ll take a moment to read
PCA’s tribute to one of the forgotten first ladies of the silver
screen in
Next up
is one of the most personal articles that I’ve written in a while,
about one of my favorite subjects, although it baffles nearly
everybody I know. For some unknown reason, even to myself, I am a
HUGE fan of Michelle Trachtenberg. Despised by Buffy the Vampire
Slayer fans for her role of “jump the shark kid” Dawn Summer, and
adored by Gossip Girl fans for her role of psychopath Georgina
Sparks, watch and collect everything that Michelle Trachtenberg does
despite the fact that it normally goes against my personal television
and film tastes. In my article I take a look at Michelle’s career
from Harriet the Spy to Mercy, and confess my strange
devotion to her. BTW – PCA readers may have read my previous and
outdated article about Michelle. This article is all new, all updated
and, honestly, a far better read. Whether you love her or hate her I
hope you’ll dig on my tribute to Michelle Trachtenberg in
And while
we’re talking about “jump the shark kids,” I am proud to present my
interview with the most famous “jump the shark kids” of them all –
Robbie Rist, who made his unique mark on pop culture history when he
played The Brady Bunch's "harbinger of doom," Cousin Oliver. I
grabbed lunch with Robbie last November when I was in Hollywood and we
talked about his long show business career, why not all former child
stars are screwed up, and, of course, the Cousin Oliver phenomena.
Robbie Rist is one of the coolest guys I’ve ever interviewed. Check
it out in
So, we
are already 25 days into 2009 already. Is it too late for a “Best of
2009” column? I have been getting e-mails from readers asking if I’d
be tackling the subject. Honestly, it is difficult for me to do “best
of/worst of” columns because my listening/viewing habits always are
firmly set in the past. For me, 2009 was spent watching the spaghetti
westerns of Sergio Corbucci, listening to Johnny Cash, Amy Winehouse, Coven and Buffy
Sainte-Marie and discovering Dark Shadows and Desperate
Housewives for the first time. However, for the hell of it, I
figured I’d let you folks the “Best of 2009” that managed to cross my
radar. I mean, if it made me perk up and take notice while my head
was implanted firmly in the culture of decades past, you know it has
to be special.
Now
I don’t think that I really saw any truly extraordinary films this
year, but what was possibly the best film that I saw was Jim
Sheridan’s Brothers staring Toby McGuire, Natalie Portman and
Jake Gyllenhaal. A remake of the 2004 Danish film, Brødre,
Brothers is a powerful little film that looks at the subject of
post traumatic stress disorder after a captured marine (McGuire)
returns home from Afghanistan where he was physically and mentally tortured and
believed to be dead, and is no longer to relate to his family who, and
suspects that his wife (Portman) and his brother (Gyllenhaal) had been
having an affair when his brother was looking out for Portman and her
two daughters. Toby McGuire gives the greatest performance of his
career as he steps out of the box and shows you a side of him that
you’ve never seen before, and possibly didn’t want to see. His
powerful and often disturbing performance is sure to earn him an Oscar
nomination. I also expect that Natalie Portman and Gyllenhaal will
also get nominations for best actress and supporting actor, and the
film itself will be up for best picture. If I’m wrong, well,
Brothers got totally ripped off. Brothers was truly the
only film that I saw this year that deserves these top honors.
I
also really was enamored by Spike Jonez’s Where The Wild Things Are.
Despite the fact that the original children’s book by Maurice Sendaks
was only eleven sentences long, Spike Jonez and Dave Eggers
successfully fleshed the story out for a feature length film.
Starring newcomer Max Records as Max, a hyper active little boy who
sails to an island and becomes king of the monsters, Where the Wild
Things Are is really a film about raw emotion pumped up to the
highest extreme By closing the filters on these emotions, in an
attempt to replicate the filterless emotions often displayed by
children, Where the Wild Things Are is an emotional
rollercoaster ride for the audience, and manages to reach into the
viewer’s soul and tug on their own personal pain as they reflect on
their own battles with loneliness, alienation, sadness, jealousy, anger, joy and love.. But, of course the real
stars of the films are the monsters of the island. Voiced by a
talented and eclectic cast including James Gandolfini, Catherine
O’Hara, Paul Dano, Forrest Whittiker, Lauren Ambrose and Chris Cooper,
Jonez made no attempt to make the monsters look realistic via CGI and,
instead, opted for Hensonesque suits for the creatures. The result is
a unique and beautiful feel to the film. Adding to the surrealness is
the bizarre dialogue for the monsters, which is primarily mundane
banter, which gives the film a strange and wonderful rhythm. Where
The Wild Things Are went truly underappreciated this year and
hopefully will gain more attention when
it is finally released on DVD.
Finally, I can’t talk about movies without mentioning Zac Snyder’s
ambitious screen adaptation of Alan Moore’s classic comic book series
The Watchmen. One of the most important comic books ever
written, The Watchmen was believed to be impossible to make
into a motion picture, but Zac Snyder managed to pull off the feat
when he created a faithful adaptation (for the exception of one major
exception) of the comic. The characters were spot on from their
mannerisms to their costumes to their dialogue. Snyder even took
special care to reproduce the dialogue, the background characters and
even the sets. It was the little details that made The Watchmen
such a triumph. The Watchmen was easily the most beautifully
shot comic book film of all time, raising the bar for the way that
comic book movies should be made. Simply put, The Watchmen is
pure art, and is the Citizen Kane of comic books films. Does
that mean it’s my favorite? Not necessarily. Does that mean it’s the
best? Probably not. However, it is the most stunning, most
beautifully filmed, best edited and perfectly adapted comic book film
ever made. The Watchmen is a true achievement for the comic
book genre.
A
few last quick thoughts on the movies of 2009 – GI Joe was far
better then the negative hype it received. It was fun, nostalgic and
had a twist or two that I didn’t even see coming. What more did the
fan boys expect? It was GI Joe and it delivered what it
promised. You don’t go to GI Joe expecting Battleship
Potempkin. Looking forward to the sequel. Most over hyped films
of the year – District 9 and Avatar. District 9
was a dreary bore and Avatar is only worth seeing for the 3D
spectacle, which is mind blowing, but is over long and lacks any sort
of complex plot. Finally, most surprising performance of 2009 goes to
teen heart throb Zac Efron who convincingly plays a forty year old man
trapped in a teenager’s body in the teen comedy 17 Again. His
performance made me think that Efron is far more then just another
teen idol but has the talent and charisma that may lead him to
becoming one of Hollywood’s top leading men….if he can just break away
from the House of Mouse first.
So
what about television? Well no doubt the best new show of 2009 is
Glee. If you haven’t heard of this show then you are living in a
cave. Glee is a phenomena all its own, capturing the hearts
and minds of a wide demographic of fans across North America.
Featuring the on-going dramas of a high school Glee club of misfits
looked over by Spanish teacher Mr. Shu, played by Matthew Morrison,
Glee has brought together a dynamic ensemble cast of young actors
including Lea Michele as awkward club star Rachel, Cory Monteith as
lead boy Finn, Diana Agron as pregnant cheerleader Quinn, Chris Colfer
as gay student Kurt, Mark Salling as the mohawked "bad boy with a
heart" Puck and Kevin McHale as wheel chair bound Artie. The beauty
of Glee is the fact that the show comes off being cheesy and
quirky for most of the hour, but when you think that it can’t get
anymore delightfully over the top, suddenly a very realistic dramatic
moment hits you square in the gut making you wheeze for breath – such
as when Kurt’s father, played by My Name is Earle’s Mike
O’Malley, deals with his son's sexuality, and when Mr. Shu discovers
the truth behind the lies that his scheming wife tells. And you can't
talk about Glee without bringing up the music. Comprised of
mainly choral versions of 70s and 80s power pop songs ranging from
Don’t Stop Believing to Don’t Stand So Close to Me, the
first soundtrack went to the top of the charts last fall, and the
second soundtrack album premiered at #3 in the US. Personally the
musical highlights for me was Artie's rendition of Dancing With
Myself and Rachel's show stopping rendition of Streisand's
Don’t Rain on My Parade in the mid-season finale. Glee
also contains one of the most attractive casts on TV today. I'd be a
liar if I didn’t say I have a crush on pretty much every female
character on the show (except for Sue. I totally am repulsed by
Sue). Unfortunately, due to the Olympics and the train wreck we call
American Idol, Glee is on hiatus for the next four months. But
you know what I want more of when Glee returns? More of dense
cheerleader Brittany, played by the delightful (not to mention
delicious) Heather Morris. Thus far only a bit part, Morris is sexy
and funny, and has quickly become one of my favorite characters on the
series. Hopefully they’ll flesh Brittany out in future episodes when
Glee makes its much anticipated return.
I
was also pleasantly surprised by ABC's reworking of the 80s sci-fi
series V. Despite successful reworkings of Battlestar
Galactica and Doctor Who becoming huge cult hits, breathing
new life in long suffering franchises, as a fan of the original V
series I had little faith they could do the same for V.
especially when I found out they were throwing out the original story
and characters (no Diana, Willie or even a star child? No way!) .
However, with a talented cast of cult series favorites, including
Lost’s Elizabeth Mitchell, Smallville’s Laura Vandervoot
and The 4400's Joel Gretsh, V has found a whole new
audience that don’t even remember the original series. Yet the true
star of the show is drop dead gorgeous Visitor leader Anna, played by
Morena Baccarin, who showed up on the pop culture radar out of
nowhere. Her cold and calculating performances send shivers up the
spine in ways that original Visitor leader Jane Badler could never
accomplish, mainly do to the fact that Baccarin is a far better
actress. I just can’t wait to see Baccarin chomp down on a rodent!
However, the pacing to V has been a little questionable. The
new series hasn’t even revealed why the Visitors are up to, yet
original fans have known for years. Hell, anybody who have seen the
classic Twilight Zone episode To Serve Man knows what is
going on. If you don’t know, a simple Google search will provide the
answers. Premiering the first four episodes last fall as almost a
"teaser" to TV audiences, but V returns to ABC on March 30th,
2010.
Now
as to what music I was listening to in 2009, I gotta admit that I am
completely biased. The only two albums in 2009 that I listened to
repeatedly, over and over, to a near obsession were both by artists
who have been interviewed for PCA. My favorite album of 2009 was,
hands down, Modernism by Toronto’s Kelly and the Kellygirls.
Combining a mixture of jazz, ska, swing and pop, The Kellygirls, lead
by Toronto art scene fixture R. Kelly Clipperton, is probably the best
band that I saw in concert last year. With a four piece all female
brass section joining a standard guitar/bass/drum ensemble, the
flamboyant and high energy Clipperton is a dynamic performer whose
combination of camp and vamp makes him one of music’s best kept
secrets. From the Latin flavored Tarantino, to the gay anthem
C’mon Boys, heart puling dance tunes such as Two Hundred
Degrees Fahrenheit, Erotic City, City on Fire and
Big Heart/Big Tears and the beautifully depressing Better Times,
Modernism is possibly one of the best albums I have ever
owned. Do yourself a favor and take a chance on this CD. It’s
available for sale at an incredibly low price at
amazon.ca, and in the US you can take a chance by downloading
individual tracks for a low price of
.99 cents at amazon.com. Also, don’t forget to check out my
interview with R. Kelly Clipperton
here and for more information on
Kelly and the Kellygirls go to their web-site at
www.kellyclipperton.com.
The
other album that I became enamored with was The Listening,
Light's follow up album from her successful 2008 EP. Of course, most
everybody I know know that I have a bit of a crush on Lights. This
girl is what pop culture dreams are made of! She plays keytar, has a
pet tarantula named Lance, reads comic books and is addicted to World
of Warcraft. That, and she's “out of this world” gorgeous. 2009 was
a huge year for Lights, where she toured the US, Europe and Canada
extensively, was featured in an issue of Rolling Stone and won
Canada’s Juno Award for Best New Artist. The Listening built
on the success of her 2008 break out hit Drive My Soul, which
is featured on the album, and contains all of the favorites from the
EP including February Air, The Last Thing On Your Mind
and, my personal favorite, Ice. However Lights proved that she
had other songs up her sleeve including Saviour, the first
single from the new album, and Pretend, Lights' beautiful
lament to lost childhood and growing up. You can check out my 2008
interview with Lights that I did only weeks after Drive My Soul
topped the charts
here
and don't forget to check her web-site out at
www.iamlights.com. Watching Lights’ continued success was a huge
highlight for me in 2009 and I want her and her people to know how
proud I am of everything that they accomplished last year and that I’m
on the edge of my seat waiting to see what Lights has planned in 2010.
Honorable
mention goes to Scottish phenomena Susan Boyle who sent a rude
awakening to the world last year when she stunned meanie Simon Cowell
during her appearance on Britain’s Got Talent singing
I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserbales. Despite looking
like Shrek, Boyle sang like an angel and quickly became a YouTube
phenomena. I mean, this woman has a voice
that makes Celene Dion green with envy. However, although I probably
would have never purchased it for myself due to the fact that I wrote
Susan Boyle off as a "one trick pony," I
received her debut CD, I Dreamed a Dream, for Christmas and was
blown away by the beauty of it. Her rendition of the Rolling Stones’
ballad Wild Horses is a strange selection for an opener but
lets the listener know that there is more to Susan Boyle then we could
ever imagine, surprising me as much as the first time I heard her.
Susan Boyle is a true inspiration for performers and artists
everywhere, who proved that dreams do come true, and you don’t need to
look like Britney Spears to become a successful singer. Fame does
come to normal people of all shapes and sizes.
Well friend,
this got far longer then I had planned so I’m going to wrap this one
up for now. I hope if you haven’t checked out anything on my "Best of
2009" list I hope you will, and if you do let me know what you think
by writing me at
popcultureaddict@gmail.com. Anyhow, I think my imaginary
goats need to be tended too. Stay tuned because there is more to
come!
I just came in
from downtown and there is something in the air. People scurrying
around before all the businesses shut down so that the entire world
can celebrate the coming of a new year…and a new decade! Tonight will
be a night of celebration across the whole world. So, while I have a
few minutes of quite I want to wish you all a Happy New Year.
You know, 2009 was one of the greatest years of my life. It was a
year of new experiences, new opportunities, new friends and contacts
and some of the most mind blowing pop culture adventures of my life.
2009 was the year that I realized that my wildest dreams HAVE come
true. A big part of that is due to maintaining this web-site. It
brings me in contact with so many fantastic and interesting people,
and is a source of happiness for me. However, it takes a lot of
wonderful people to keep the pop culture journey alive and I there
were a lot of people that helped make this year so special and successful. I want to spend a word
of heart felt thanks to all of the folks that made 2009 a banner year for PCA,
including Maud Adams, Aaron Alford, Alison Arngrim,
Holly Beetham and Ashley Rocheport from
Applause! Communications. Harlan Boll, Joe Caruana from
CultCollectableDVDs, R. Kelly Clipperton, Roger Corman, Amani
Crowder, Bob Crowder, Matthew Dawydchak, Dan DiDio, Paul Dini, Carl
Giammerese, David Faustino, Erin Feeney of
21pimlico.com, Kelly Ann Ford from 20th Century Fox,
Anneliese Grosfeld from
Simon and Schuster Canada, David Lieb Hart, Janet Hetherington, Cynthia Hill, The Iron
Sheik, Reed Kailing, Aron Kincaid, Bob Kotsopoulos from
The Show of Shows, , George Lazenby, Misty Lee, Lights, Tyler Mane, Breanna
McLeod, Jon Mortas, Nuala Paluck, Robbie Rist, David Roya,
Christopher Rue, Buffy Sainte-Marie, William Schallert, Matthew
Schoenfeld, Barbara Steele, Carol Summers, Ronn Sutton, Jeff Taylor, Gillian Veitch,
Tom Veitch, Dawn Lee Wakefield, Rick Wozniak and Lana Wood. Your
time and kindness made 2009 one of the best years of my life and for
that I thank you with all my heart.
Of course I owe a
giant thanks to my partner at PCA, Candace Shaw. Although I spent
much of the year independently writing and maintaining PCA, Candace
Shaw will always be the brains behind this operation as well as the
backer that keeps PCA on the internet. In many ways Candace Shaw is
PCA’s boss. 2009 was a very different year for Candace and me. The
two of us seemed to go on our separate ways a bit as we worked
independently on our own projects. Candace has been busy not
only working as part of the team at
Roots Music Canada but has
been creating her own personal corner of the web at
http://candaceshaw.ca/. If
you haven't had a chance to check out Candace's writing I encourage
you too, especially her excellent piece on talking to your kids about
Twilight fandom (http://candaceshaw.ca/new-moon/#more-991). However, Candace’s care and
enthusiasm during our bi-monthly lunches was still one of the biggest
factors in keeping PCA on track. Making her proud and keeping her
vision of PCA alive is a constant motivator for me. But despite
her many other projects, Candace
is still going to have a huge impact on PCA in 2010 when she reveals a new
look for PCA. She’s been working a few months on the new site, and
let me tell you that it looks great. Stay tuned for more on the new
PCA this winter. Thanks to Candace’s work PCA will be hitting new
heights in 2010. Thank you Candace for being a constant source of
support and inspiration to me. Over the years that we have been
working together on PCA you have become one of the most important
people in my life and I can never thank you enough for the amazing
gift that you have given to me. All my love goes out to you in 2010,
and beyond.
But the biggest
thanks goes out to you readers who have linked, wrote and continue to
visit PCA over 2009. This year we welcomed over 160,000 visitors to
our site. Your support and involvement is not only what keeps PCA
alive, but it also continues the pop culture journey. As we all grow
older, and as a younger generation who seems to not give a damn about
the rich history of the past take over, recording the history of pop
culture becomes more and more important. Together we need to make
sure that the history of pop culture is recorded and maintained, and
its through your letters, memories and information that we are able to
do that. Thank you for all of your support, your e-mails and your
input over the year dear friends and readers. Knowing that you are
out there reading is what keeps us going. That is why in 2010 I
promise you to continue to present to you intelligent, insightful and
well researched material. PCA is about celebrating the world of pop
culture, not crushing it by tainting our icons or by littering the pop
culture journey with filler “non headlines.” I personally promise you
another year of fun and informative articles and interviews, and to
help keep the dignity of the pop culture industry alive.
Which brings me to point out a strange phenomenon that Candace and I
tracked over the last year. Want to know what the most popular search
that brought new readers to PCA in 2009? Believe it or not, according
to our analytic program, 1,941 readers came to PCA when searching for
pictures of former Blossom star Jenna Von Oy’s butt. You can
never be sure of the logic of the public. I never thought that PCA
would be known for being a source for butt shots of Jenna Von Oy…but
whatever. So I guess you can say that in 2010 we promise not to be
only a source for insightful and dignified pop culture articles, but
also your one stop source for all your Jenna Von Oy butt needs. We
just want to thank a quick thank you to Jenna Von Oy for her unique
contribution to PCA. We wouldn’t be as far ahead as we are without
you.
Which reminds me
– earlier today I received a message from one of my Toronto based
contemporaries, Carol Zara, who runs
digitallyblonde.com. I have never actually formally met Carol,
but the two of us have travelled in some of the same circles in the
Toronto media circuit and have barely missed each other a few times (I
once spotted her when I was interviewing the Iron Sheik at the Toronto
FanExpo, and also saw her in a press room when I was late for an
interview and unable to stop and say hello). Anyhow, Carol and I have
exchanged a few messages throughout the year and I have been quite
charmed by her sense of humour and sex appeal. Carol and I have two
very different approaches to promoting pop culture but Carol’s site is
always a source of fun. With a primary focus on 1980’s nostalgia and
cartoons, Carol's sexy antics appeal to a certain market of geek fetish,
lighting the fires in the hearts (and probably beyond) of fan boys
world wide. Anyhow, Carol wrote to let me know that she has been
voted #3 in G4 TV’s Women of Geek Culture as part of their
Women of the Web program. This is a great source of exposure for
Carol and I want to send her my congratulations and wish her much
success in 2010. Hopefully sometime in the next year our paths might
finally cross… and hey, if your ever available for dinner Carol, lemme
know. Check out G4 TV’s video profile of Carol Zara below!
And speaking of
women of pop culture, I want to send one final shout out to possibly
one of my favourite women that I have met during my pop culture
adventures. I know that the holiday season has been full of landmark
days. In the last few weeks we’ve celebrated Christmas, Hanukah,
Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Life Day and New Years but are you ready for
one more holiday before life gets back to normal? Well don’t forget
that January 2nd is Fake Jan
Day, celebrating the unique pop culture oddity that is Geri
Reischl, the fabled “Fake Jan” of The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.
Why? Well because its Jan 2…..get it? So what do we do on Fake Jan
day? First of all, you need to get yourself a cheese ball to eat
throughout the day no matter what you do. Perhaps you could go out
and purchase a copy of Ted Nichelson, Susan “Cindy Brady” Olsen,
and Lisa Sutton's brand new book
Love to Love You Bradys: The Bizarre Story of The Brady Bunch Variety
Hour. You could also take some time out to read my 2006 interview
with Geri Reischl,
The Real Life of Fake Jan. And of course, you can just hang out
and watch YouTube videos of Geri doing what she does best, singing and
dancing, in the various BBVH clips available, such as this one:
But seriously,
Geri Reischl is one of the most delightful and beautiful women that I
have met in my pop culture journey and has remained a friend of mine since we spoke in 2006. I want to wish Geri all the best
on Fake Jan Day. Thanks for your unique contribution to pop culture
history Geri, and all the best to you in 2010. I love you so much.
Well friends, I
have to get ready now for my own New Year celebrations, but I want to
send one more thanks for everything all of you have done for me and
for PCA over 2009. This was the year that all my wildest pop culture
dreams come true. I look forward to another year of success and
adventures. We have tons of stuff on its way, so stay tuned because
there is so much more to come.
So
it’s Christmas, and while its cutting edge to bash this holiday I just
can’t do it. I LOVE Christmas! I’m a big kid at heart I guess but
this is, and always has, been my favourite time of the year. I love
the shopping, the specials, the movies, the lights, the decorations,
the giving, the get togethers…all that stuff. What I do hate about
Christmas is the Scrooges and Grinches who carry on about how much
they hate all of that. Those people can bite me. Anyways, over at my
home the tree is up, the presents are bought and wrapped, the mail has
all gone out, I’ve been listening to nothing but Christmas music for
two weeks now and I’ve watched It’s a Wonderful Life,
Holiday Inn, Scrooge and Die Hard already this
season. When I finish this up I’m planning on watching Love
Actually. Christmas totally rules. If you don’t like Christmas
then what you need to do is go out and do something fun and
Christmassy with somebody important to you (or many many people
important to you) and be merry dammit. If you don’t have anybody
important to do something Christmassy with then you really ought to
get out more, or get some therapy or something. Seriously.
But, because of
the holiday, I have suddenly found myself totally preoccupied with the
Christmas festivities and, as a result, I’ll be shutting down things
here at PCA for the next two and a half weeks until the New Year. I
really had hoped to get more things done before the end of the year
but, realistically, it is just not possible. So this will probably be
the last new thing here at PCA in 2009. But, because this is the
last, let’s make it a good column because, man, I got lots to tell
you.
First,
things have been uber busy behind the scenes here at PCA. Candace is
busy with something huge that is going to change the face of PCA
forever in the new year. I am not going to say much about it now, but
lets just say it’s the biggest thing that has happened to the site
since we first launched four years ago. Also, Candace and I are
pleased to announce that we have a new team of editors! Look. Its no
secret that some of the articles at PCA in the past has have been a
bit wonky because when I edit my own work I miss every grammar,
spelling and structure mistake. I can come out with the words and
ideas but be damned if I can always make them come out right. This
column is proof of that every month. Anyhow, a number of my oldest
friends, Cynthia Hill, Breanna Macleod and Aaron Alford, stepped up
to plate to take the time out of their lives to volunteer to edit our
articles and make me look literate. I am so thankful to have these
people on our team because they make us look better. I really do
appreciate the work they are doing for us. Thanks guys.
So what have they
edited? Well I am happy to have three new interviews currently
appearing at PCA. First up is one of our first comic book interviews
in a very long time. Last August I was pleased to catch up with DC
Comic’s Senior Editor and head honcho Dan DiDio. Dan is no stranger
to the net with a weekly presence on a lot of comic book web-sites.
However, just what do we know about Dan DiDio? I wanted to do
something a bit different with Dan then the other sites, so I spoke to
Dan about where he came from, what he loves about comics and what he
wants to see in DC’s future. Oh, and do you think I could convince
Dan to bring Swing with Scooter back on the DC line-up? Check
it out for yourself at
A CONVERSATION WITH DC COMIC’S EXECUTIVE
EDITOR DAN DIDIO
Next is my
interview with former Bond girl Lana Wood. I simply adore Lana Wood,
and you can tell by the interview I did. Lana and I talk about her
life growing up in Hollywood, her encounters with John Wayne and James
Dean, making Diamonds Are Forever with Sean Connery and, of
course, her relationship with her big sister, Hollywood icon Natalie
Wood. Check out a very personal and candid conversation with one of
the loveliest women I’ve ever interviewed in
Finally, I
present my interview with pop culture oddity George Lazenby who will
forever be remembered as playing James Bond in only one film, On
Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Unfortunately, due to recorder
problems, my interview with George was cut short but I include what I
could salvage. I hope you’ll sit in on a very brief conversation with
George in
Now
as you all know, there are a lot more features I’ve promised on the
way including interviews with David Faustino, Maud Adams, Tyler Mane,
Robbie Rist and Alison Arngrim. They will appear throughout January
and February of 2010. However, I have done one more interview in 2009
which I’m proud to announce. A few weeks back I had the great
pleasure to talk to legendary Hollywood character actor William
Schallert. Best known for playing TV father Martin Lane on The
Patty Duke Show, everybody has seen something with William
Schallert in it. With a resume that stacks up 38 pages high (trust
me, I counted), Mr. Schallert was Dobie Gillis’ teacher Mr. Pomfritt
on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, Carson Drew in the 1970’s
Nancy Drew Mysteries series, Nilz Barris in the classic Star
Trek episode The Trouble with Tribbles, the racist mayor in the
groundbreaking film In the Heat of the Night with Rod Steiger
and Sidney Poitier, the senile Admiral on Get Smart and made
appearances in literally hundreds of classic television series
throughout the last 60+ years. Now, at age 77, Mr. Schallert’s most
recent screen credits include episodes of True Blood,
Desperate Housewives and How I Met Your Mother. Talking to
Mr. Schallert is like listening to the history of pop culture and
during our visit I got over two hours of tape. Of course I can’t
include it all, but I can’t wait to share Mr. Schallert’s memories of
his life in Hollywood. Look for it in 2010.
So, have you got
all your Christmas shopping done yet? If your looking for a few last
minute gifts let me give you a few suggestions to add to the pop
culture lover on your list.
Not
long ago I received a copy of horror actor Robert “Freddy Krueger”
Englund’s brand new autobiography Hollywood Monster. We all
know Robert Englund from the classic Nightmare on Elm Street
series, as well as his popular role as Willie the kind hearted
“Visitor” in 80’s cult sci-fi series V. However, Englund’s
story goes far deeper then that. Robert Englund takes readers from
his days of drama school to his career as a stage actor, his struggles
as a young actor in Hollywood and through the surreal world of the
Nightmare films…and all the sequels. But just how good is Robert
Englund’s book? Well, as a lot of readers that have visited PCA’s
popular
House of 100 Horror Reviews know, one of the most
controversial omissions was the Nightmare on Elm Street
movies. I am not a fan of the series, and I don’t consider any of the
films worthy to be on my list of 100 horror films. Yet, despite my
own dislike of the films, Robert Englund’s book captivated me. I
simply couldn’t put it down and as I turned each page I became a true
admirer of Englund and a fan despite my own biases. I found his
history as a classically trained actor fascinating, and was surprised
at just how much he worked prior to his classic role as Freddy
Krueger, as well as gained an appreciation for what it took for him to
create one of pop culture’s most legendary horror icons. Furthermore,
I was shocked and delighted by Englund’s appendix at the end of the
book where he lists his all time favourite films, as well as a
separate section of his favourite horror films. Imagine my surprise
when I found that Robert Englund’s movie taste matches my own, and the
majority of his favourite movies are also mine. Robert Englund is a
man of great taste, and I love the fact that through his
recommendation a whole sub-culture of Nightmare on Elm Street
fans could be discovering a whole new world of classic cinema at the
prompting of Robert Englund. However, what I found the most
interesting about Hollywood Monster was the positivity in
Englund’s stories. The chronicle of Englund’s life is funny and
interesting, without ever being bogged down with sob stories or mud
slinging. It’s as if he shares with the reader his happiest stories
and positive experiences while creating one of the most disturbing
villains in film history, Robert Englund is a true gentleman.
Hollywood Monster is a fairly quick read, but a perfect gift for
the horror fan on your Christmas list. You can order your own copy of
Hollywood Monster
here.
And
for something COMPLETELY different, I also received a copy of crooner
Andy William’s new autobiography Moon River and Me.
Just released this fall, Moon River and Me is Andy’s story for
the first time in his own words. Now we all know Andy Williams. He’s
been a mainstay in the music world for over sixty years, first gaining
fame as part of Steve Allen’s stable of entertainers before graduating
to his own long running TV program. Andy Williams is one of the
fabled “nice guys” of the entertainment industry. Never controversial
and always able to please, Andy Williams seems to be forever slipping
under the radar of iconisim while his contemporaries like Dean Martin,
Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett take center stage. Moon River and
Me is Andy William’s turn to finally take the spotlight. Starting
from his humble beginnings in rural Iowa, Andy gives readers an honest
and reflective journey through his life with a father who could give
Joe Jackson a run for his money, his musical act with his brothers,
his days in the nightclub circuit with singer/actress/author Kay
Thompson, his struggles in his early years as a solo performer, his
rocket ride to stardom and, of course, his life with colourful figures
such as the Osmond Brothers and his controversial former wife Claudine
Longet. At the best of times Andy’s book is honest and personal as he
takes a hard look at his own life and the people who influenced him,
for better or for worse. However, at times Andy seems to be a bit
biased in order to keep his reputation as a “nice guy” in tact –
especially when recounting Claudine Longet’s trial for the shooting of
skier Spider Sabach. Obviously biased on behalf of Longet, its fair
to say that Andy’s interpretation of the trial, and the one
that I wrote for PCA in 2008 differ greatly. Yet, in the end
Moon River and Me is a fantastic document by an often overlooked
musical icon. Furthermore, accompanying the book is a new Greatest
Hits collection by Andy. Now I could simply say that the CD would
make a great gift for your parents or grandparents, but why should you
think about adding Andy’s Greatest Hits to your personal music
collection? Well, simply put, Andy Williams’ music often goes
underappreciated and overlooked when it comes to being cool. With his
nice guy image and his brand of easy listening music Andy often gets
dismissed as being square, but just take a moment and listen to his
cover of Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You, his breakout hit
Can’t Get Used to Losing Youand, especially, cocktail lounge
favourite Music to Watch Girls Go By and you know that Andy is
just as cool as any of the Rat Packers. He’s just a little less
drunk. Moon River and Me is available
here, and you can order the CD
here.
Finally,
what would Christmas be without a holiday movies? You know, they make
dozens of holiday films every year but last night I watched something
just a bit different. Earlier this year independent filmmaker Rob
Williams released Make the Yuletide Gay, possibly the first
family friendly gay Christmas movie ever. Just released on DVD in
time for the holidays, Make the Yuletide Gay was a crowd
pleasing award winning film this summer at a number of film
festivals. The film centers around college student Olaf Gunnunderson,
played by Keith Jordan, who goes home to Wisconsin over the Christmas
break to visit his jolly homemaker mother and stoner father who he
hasn’t revealed his true sexuality too. However, before he can come
out of the closet to his parents he is surprised when his boyfriend
Nathan, played by Degrassi: The Next Generations’ Adamo
Ruggerio, shows up on his doorstep after his
parents, who have never accepted his sexuality, abandon him on the holidays. Now Olaf and Nathan must hide their relationship while Olaf struggles with
telling his parents that he is gay. Now I’m going to be honest.
Make the Yuletide Gay is a charming film, but it is uneven at
times. Sometimes the humor just doesn’t work. Various innuendos are
poorly delivered and, with some better pacing, might have been far
more clever. Furthermore, some of the comedy was just lost on me,
especially concerning the stoner father and various “tit” jokes made
by Hallee Hirsh in the role of Olaf’s ex-girlfriend/neighbour Abby
Mancuso who, despite a spunky screen presence, was given some of the
worst dialogue of the film. Yet, Make the Yuletide Gay is
saved by some great dramatic moments. Jordan and Ruggerio both
break away from the awkward innuendo jokes and give some heart felt
performances as Ruggerio struggles with his parent’s lack of attention
and acceptance, and Jordan fears what will happen when he tells his
parents the truth. I also enjoyed Jordan’s relationship with his
giggly mother, played by Katy Keaton, who seem to not understand her
son. Furthermore, Make the Yuletide Gay has fantastic cameos by Little House on the Prairie’s Alison
Arngrim, as Nathan’s
mother’s rival, Heather Mancuso and Star Trek the Next Generation’s
Gates McFadden and Twin Peaks’ Ian Buchanan as Nathan’s cold
hearted parents. The only thing regrettable is that Alison Arngrim,
Gates McFadden and Ian Buchanan didn’t have far more screen time in
this film. The sub-plot between Nathan and his parents is easily the
most compelling story line in the film, and Alison Arngrim steals each
and every scene that she is in with pure comic timing and while
playing
the type of character that she does best – a total bitch. Make the
Yuletide Gay is a light watch and a truly heartfelt and sweet
movie and, with only mild sexual innuendo as its only stipulation, is
fairly family friendly. Make the Yuletide Gay is certainly a
different type of Christmas movie and, while it may not be for
everybody, it is sure to be a crowd pleaser over the holidays. You
can order your own copy of Make the Yuletide Gay
here.
Anyhow folks,
that’s it for tonight, and for 2009. From myself, and everybody else
that puts PCA together, I hope you and your family has a happy and
safe holiday and we’ll see you in 2010.
So
I’ve returned from my pilgrimage to the Bethlehem of Pop Culture, Los
Angeles USA! What can I say about it? Well, there is truly too much
to fit into this space. I spent ten amazing days in the sun, the
surf, the streets of Hollywood and with some of the most beautiful and
wonderful people I’ve ever met. LA was a real eye opening experience
this time, and I left the city with some possible new directions as
well as a whole lot of inspiration. LA really is where pop culture
dreams come true!
However, my trip
to LA would not been nearly as memorable without the wonderful people
who made it so special. A heartfelt thanks goes out to Christine
Cowden, Paul Dini and Misty Lee, Kelly Ann Ford from 20th
Century Fox, Aron Kincaid,
Deirdre V. Lyons and
Stephen Butchco, Bruce McCollough and the staff at Westside
Rentals Hollywood Hotel, Robbie Rist,
Alisha Seaton, Carol Summers, Howard Schoenfeld and Veronica O.
Torres from
The Towers Company. Each one of you, for one reason or another,
made my trip to Los Angeles wonderful enough to ensure that I will
come back.
But I need to
reserve a special thanks to Erin Feeney and Matthew Schoenfeld who
kindly allowed me to spend half of my trip camped out in their living
room. I have featured Erin Feeney a number of times over the last
year here at PCA for her brilliant pop culture articles at
http://www.21pimlico.com. Erin and I met, as many friendships do,
in a most peculiar way. When I was in Los Angeles in July 2009 I met
Erin in
line at an autograph signing featurimg British comedians Simon Pegg
and Jessica Hynes who were releasing their cult British comedy,
Spaced, on DVD. For an hour and a half Erin and I bonded over our
love for Doctor Who and our common struggle as writers trying
to make it in the entertainment industry. We exchanged e-mails, I
bought Erin lunch, she drove me to my
hotel in Hollywood and that could have been it. However, for over a
year Erin and I have kept in touch and she often is not only my eyes
and ears in Los Angeles, but also an inspiration and strength to me.
When I feel like nobody in the small little Canadian city I live in
gets what I’m doing I can call Erin for a hour long phone conversation and hang up feeling rejuvenated and
ready to continue chronically the pop culture journey. Her original
articles continue to inspire me to, if anything else, find interesting
topics before she thinks them all up first. This time, while in LA,
it was watching her preparation for a short film that she is putting
into production that made me realize that I need to set my own clear
goals and paths. Anyhow, despite only meeting me once Erin and her
partner Matthew trusted me enough to come into their home for a number
of days. I mean, I could have been an axe killer for all they knew!
They not only put up with me, but Erin brought me to the historical
Culver Hotel in Culver City, brought me to an amazing Halloween party
at actress Alisha Seaton’s (who is appearing now in The Fourth Kind)
home and, in a once in a lifetime opportunity, via her friend Kelly
Ann Ford, got me into the legendary 20th Century Fox
studios! I believe that I was blessed the day that I met Erin Feeney
and I only hope one day that I can return the kindness that she and
Matthew showed to me when I was in LA. It is people like them which
is why I still have faith in the kindness of others. There are good
people everywhere we go. However I do have one thing to apologize
for. Erin, I ate way too many of your
Jelly Bellies and I still feel a bit guilty about that. I owe you a
box when I return. The white ones are just so darn good!
I
was also pleased to spend a wonderful evening with two of my very
favorite people in the world, Emmy award winning writer, and probably
the world’s best Batman scribe, Paul Dini and his fabulous and
beautiful wife Misty, on what proved to be a very special night. The
day that Paul, Misty and I were planned to meet up it was confirmed in
Variety that Paul’s brand new television series, Towers Prep,
will be making its debut on The Cartoon Network. As part of The
Cartoon Network’s foray into live action series, Tower Prep is
one of two new live action series that will be debuting at a yet to be
announced date. Variety reported the premise of Tower Prep
by saying:
Tower Prep is about a rebellious teen who wakes up one day trapped in a mysterious, inescapable prep school. By teaming up with
his fellow students/inmates, this series looks like a long term caper.
Paul revealed a bit
more about the series then that to me, but for the sake of our
friendship, and the fact that I am not sure what Paul wants revealed
and what is supposed to be kept under my hat, I won’t say much more.
What I can say is that Tower Prep could be one of the next cult
series on TV. Paul Dini has proven year after year that he is a
gifted writer who brings a third dimension to every character he
writes, and whose stories can be both whimsical and dark at the same
time. Tower Prep is sure to have the magical Dini stamp all
over it. By the way, for all those reading Gotham City Sirens,
Paul’s new book featuring Catwoman, Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, Paul
gave me the run down on the next issue and it is a real treat,
especially for old school Joker fans. If you’re not reading it, make
sure to pick up the next issue which gaps continuity of Bob Kane’s
era and the modern Batman beautifully.
And
speaking of upcoming projects, I spent an intense afternoon with my
new friend Carol Summers at the
Directors Guild of America theatre where I saw advanced screenings
of John Hilcoat’s The Road, starring Viggo Mortison, Charlize
Theron and Robert Duvall and Jim Sheridan’s Brothers starring
Toby McGuire, Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal. The Road,
which is being released November 27th, is a murky and grim
post-apocalyptic tale of a man’s attempt to keep his overly sensitive
son safe as they make their way across America while outrunning
cannibals, predators and other dangers that follow them. However, it
was Brothers that really captured my attention. The film
chronicles the uncomfortable family dynamics which take place when a
soldier (McGuire) goes missing in Afghanistan and his brother (Gyllenhaal)
steps up to plate to take care of his grieving sister in-law (Portman)
and develops a bond with his two nieces. All three leads gave
incredible performances but it is Toby McGuire who gives a performance
unlike any he has done before which is why I predict that McGuire will
be up for an Oscar nomination for Brothers next year.
Brothers opens in theatres December 4th and is my pick
to see this winter.
But
I know what you folks want to know about. How about interviews? You
all know I wouldn’t travel all the way to Los Angeles
without doing any interviews! Well, the truth is, even before I left
for Los Angeles I was already doing interviews. A few days before I
left for LA I was pleased to talk to former wrestler and current
horror film icon Tyler Mane, who is possibly most famous for his roles
of Michael Myers in Rob Zombie’s incredible Halloween relaunch,
as well as his portrayal as evil mutant Sabertooth in the first
X-Men movie. Currently developing a new film, Penance Lane,
the first film that will be produced by his own production company,
Mane Entertainment, Tyler and I talked about his wrestling career, his
early acting career and how he made Michael Myers more then just a
knife welding killer.
Then,
upon arriving to Los Angeles, I sat down with a true pop culture
original - former child actor Robbie Rist. Now a fixture in the
Los Angeles
music scene, Robbie Rist will always be infamous for playing the
notorious Cousin Oliver in the final six episodes of The Brady
Bunch, which hurtled him into pop culture lexicon as the most
famous “jump the shark” kid ever. Yet, Robbie also appeared as a
regular character in one of the 1970’s best sit-coms when he played
David Baxter, Ted Knight’s boy genius son, on The Mary Tyler Moore
Show. Still working in show business, now primarily as a voice
actor, Robbie Rist spoke to me over a huge Italian meal about how he
kept sane as a child actor in Hollywood, his musical career and his
own insights on the Cousin Oliver phenomena.
Finally,
upon returning from Los Angeles, I had the great pleasure to do an
interview with Alison Arngrim, who played one of televisions’ most
notorious villains, Nellie Olson, on the family classic Little
House on the Prairie. Currently touring North America and Europe
in a one woman show called Confessions of a Prairie Bitch, and
appearing in the new holiday film Make the Yuletide Gay, Alison
charmed me with not only stories about her days playing one of the
most despicable characters this side of Nurse Ratchet, but with
stories about growing up in Hollywood, her childhood encounters with
Liberace and even the real life history of the actual Nellie Olson.
My visit with Alison was a pure delight and I am excited to be
featuring her at PCA.
My interviews with
Tyler, Robbie and Alison will be here at PCA soon, but as many regular
readers know, this fall has been a busy time for me and the interviews
are beginning to pile up. We have a small very team here at PCA and,
as a result, it takes time to get the interviews transcribed, edited
and formatted. But, I am committed to get our latest interviews up
between now and the end of January. To recap who is coming to PCA in
the weeks to come, along with Tyler Mane, Robbie Rist and Alison
Arngrim I have interview with DC Comics head honcho Dan Didio,
Married with Children’s David Faustino and James Bond alumnists
George Lazenby, Lana Wood and Maud Adams in the can. I also left Los
Angeles with the foundations of five additional interviews being
arranged so there is lots to come in 2010.
Anyhow friends, it is
great to be home and there is work to be done. Stay tuned because
there is more to come.
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