The latest issue of Shock Cinema arrived last Wednesday, just a little too late to make it into my weekly roundup. A new SC always drops around Christmas time and it is always a welcome addition to my Yuletide revelry. This particular number boasts career interviews with such old friends as Michael York, Terry Carter, Linda Purl, and Kristine DeBell, and a chat with yet another long-time Hollywood character player about whom I know nothing: Steve Eastin. It’s always fun to learn about new people.
It is particularly nice to hear from York, as he has been ill for the past several years with amyloidosis, a rare (so rare that my SpellCheck doesn’t recognize it) blood plasma disorder that can lead in short order to organ failure and death. In his conversation with Anthony Petkovich, York spends some time on his belated diagnosis, treatment, and second career as a healthcare advocate, while also generously turning back the clock to discuss some of the great films he’s been in, from the trend-setting SMASHING TIME (1967) to Joseph Losey’s slow boil character study ACCIDENT (1967) to his Shakespearean collaborations with Italian filmmaker Franco Zefferelli: THE TAMING OF THE SHREW (1967) and ROMEO AND JULIET (1968), and the films that put him on the map as a leading man: CABARET (1972), THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1973), THE FOUR MUSKETEERS (1974), and LOGAN’S RUN (1976). York also speaks at length about his university years, his work in such less-well-remembered films as ALFRED THE GREAT (1969), LOST HORIZON (1973), CONDUCT UNBECOMING (1975), and THE LAST REMAKE OF BEAU GESTE (1977), his ill-advised decision to perform his own stunts in the Musketeer films (“I was young and stupid.”), and his choice to turn down an opportunity to play James Bond following the series abdication of Sean Connery. The great thing about the interview is that you can hear York’s plummy voice as you read it: perfect for the holidays.
As a fan of Linda Purl since at least as far back as all those great made-for-TV movies she did in the mid-70s (YOUNG PIONEERS, HAVING BABIES, YOUNG PIONEERS CHRISTMAS and LITTLE LADIES OF THE NIGHT – I swear, there was a hooker TV movie every week in those days), it has been great to see her turn up in choice bits on such contemporary TV shows as THE OFFICE, TRUE BLOOD (as a werewolf!), and HOMELAND, where they squibbed her up but good for a gory Season 1 demise. And as such it was great to sit down with a chat between the veteran actress and (him again!) Anthony Petkovich. Yes, she talks about VISITING HOURS (“I have absolutely no stomach for hot, spicy food… nor for horror films.”) and CRAZY MAMA but also about her childhood in Japan, international travels with her family that influenced her choice of acting as a career, her tenure on HAPPY DAYS, and her sideline as a vocalist. Good stuff! As for Terry Carter, I grew up watching him as Dennis Weaver’s sidekick on MCCLOUD and as Colonel Tigh on BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, while catching up with his feature film roles over the years in NEROSUBIANCO (AKA ATTRACTION, 1969), FOXY BROWN (1974), and the Kentucky-lensed EXORCIST ripoff ABBY (1974). I always knew Carter had been a newscaster but Steve Ryfle’s conversation with the Brooklyn-born actor (who turns 87 this month!) gave me the straight story, which includes his New York childhood, his decision to change his name from the Italianate John DeCoste, his youthful experimentation with jazz, his acting training with Howard DaSilva, and early work on THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW, PLAYHOUSE 90, NAKED CITY, and COMBAT! as well as his place in history as America’s first black news anchor. People in the American entertainment industry just don’t lead lives like this anymore, which is what makes Steve’s talk with Terry Carter essential reading. Also fun is Benny Harris’ conversation with Kristine DeBell, whom most of us remember from MEATBALLS (1979) or the Jackie Chan vehicle THE BIG BRAWL (1980), or maybe even the weirdly obscure T.A.G.: THE ASSASSINATION GAME (1982). She’s been in more movies and on more TV shows than you would think, among them ALICE IN WONDERLAND: AN X-RATED MUSICAL FANTASY (1976), the Stephen Spielberg-produced I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND (1978), Paul Mazursky’s WILLIE & PHIL (1980), and ROOSTERS! SPURS OF DEATH (1983), I say I say ROOSTERS! SPURS OF DEATH (1983). And if you grew up with Playboy in the house, you’re fairly used to seeing her nude, the condition in which Helmut Newton famously photographed her. A spritely, candid chat well worth your time.
I’m still tucking into this issue, and so I have to look forward to Brian Kirst’s talk with actor Steve Eastin and a wealth — as usual — of reviews of such far flung films as Vernon Sewell’s TERROR SHIP (1954), the military prison movie PARADES (AKA THE LINE, BREAK LOOSE, and FORT NIX BLUES, 1972), Art Napoleon’s MAN ON THE PROWL (1957), and the Canadian tax shelter crime drama STONE COLD DEAD (1979), directed by George Mendeluck as a warm-up for THE KIDNAPPING OF THE PRESIDENT (1980) and MEATBALLS III: SUMMER JOB (1986). And so much more. Reviews of DVDs and books, too, and cherry-on-the-sundae-style a characteristically acerbic (with cause!) editorial by editor/art director Steven Puchalski, who celebrates with wife Anna his 15th wedding anniversary this year. Mazel Tov and Merry Christmas!