Saturday, continued--
I'm embarrassed to admit that I was parked in my seat for the better part of Saturday. I've attended nearly all of the previous 8 Fests and can't recall such an exciting schedule of events.
I'm a sucker for a good music video, and Jim Pierson started the day's activities (a little late, naturally) by showing 4 of them by a fan that I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong) Guy Haines identified as Daniel Asnis. The songs were "Evil Woman" (to Angelique clips), "Gypsy Woman" (featuring Magda, Jenny and Julianka), "Dancing in the Moonlight," and "Clap for the Wolfman." The complete DS-themed episode of
King of Queens came next (parts of which were shown again during the banquet), followed by a marvelous tribute to Anthony George, Don Briscoe and Dana Elcar that was created by Guy Haines. Included in this tribute were clips of AG from
The Untouchables and
Checkmate (the latter also featuring Dennis Patrick), and a brief scene from
One Life to Live. We saw Briscoe's
I Dream of Jeannie scene. Next came Dana Elcar in "Fool Killer," "Adam at 6 a.m. (with Grayson sobbing), in red wig and glasses as Robert McNamara in "Missiles of October" (with a narration by Thayer David and featuring Dennis Patrick [again]), "Report to the Commissioner" in a scene that included Michael McGuire, in a fantastic scene opposite Roy Scheider in "2010, The Year We Make Contact." And we saw Briscoe as Tom Jennings opposite HAA, Chris with Amy, and Tim Shaw with Amanda; the opening DS theme with voiceover that introduced AG, Burke in a quiet moment near the ocean with Vicki, and Jeremiah with Barnabas in the "thrust and parry" scene; and Sheriff Patterson questioning Willie. The music in the final montage was from "East of Eden" (the Jane Seymour version) and very lovely. Guy did an amazing job, and I especially liked that he meticulously selected scenes that included other DS alumni when possible.
Next came the tribute to Dennis Patrick (created by Pierson) that was shown at the memorial. I've already described it in detail elsewhere on the Forums. I still can't identify the scene with the saloon girl in his character's room, however.
Following the auction (notice how I skipped right over that? heh), Robert Cobert spoke about the origins of our favorite themes. The original came into his head while he was shaving. Did you know that it was actually recorded by a 5 piece band (a piano played by Dick Hyman that made theremin-like sounds, a harp, bass, vibes and flute) that did NOT include a theremin? It was Robert Costello that brought him to meet Curtis. "Quentin's Theme" was made over to sound old fashioned. (Apparently, each time Cobert wrote something that pleased him, Curtis' teeth would gleam.
) He didn't recognize "Ode to Angelique" by its title, but once it was played (I was impressed with how quickly that was cued) he began to hum along perfectly. We learned that Cobert's mother played the piano in silent films, he loathes scary movies with the exception of DS, and he was pre med for a few years before realizing that music was his love.
I ran off to meet with MB at this point, missing the "DS Movies" panel, but made it back in time to catch all of Darren's restoration presentation. We saw several recovered scenes and the two rare trailers. Darren, it was riveting as always.
We were told that all 4 of Joan Bennett's daughter and all of her grandchildren approve of Brian Kellow's biography. Present in the audience were a granddaughter and one of Constance's daughters. Joan's daughter, Diana Anderson, saved all the letters her mother wrote while she was in boarding school, and she read a couple of them aloud from the book. Regarding a cross that Diana had lost, Joan wrote, "I had hoped you would have it to pass on to your own children (if you don't leave them in the park)." Her mother worked hard, she said, to insure that her daughters received the best education and had good values. She also loved doing DS and enjoyed the company and friendship of everyone she worked with on the show. We next saw a video retrospective of JB's life and career, at times set to music, made to celebrate her 70th birthday.
June Lockhart and Diana Anderson attended school together when the latter lived in the family's Mapleton Drive home. June said she curtsied when she met Joan Bennett; the house had the most beautiful living room she'd ever seen, and she admired Joan as a role model. She had style and an extraordinary talent, she added. June also talked about her own life--her debut in "A Christmas Carol," a bit about visiting Germany and her Broadway debut, and a mention of
Lost in Space. A scene she saw on DS that featured Joan reminded her of the times you find yourself giggling in Church, and she found it endearing. "The others actors were not helping a bit," she said. She then read from Kellow's book from the era 1945 - 1947, adding her own brief comment now and then.
At the end of the tribute, an early 60s ad for Ivory Soap that was unearthed by Jim Pierson was shown as a surprise for Diana, who struck out on her own in the 50s by doing a number of commercials.
"Vengeance at Collinwood" featured David Selby as Quentin Collins, KLS as Maggie, Lara Parker as Cassandra Collins, who is living in the cottage, Nancy Barrett as Carolyn Stoddard Stuart, who seems to relish sniping at Cassandra, John Karlen as Willie, Marie Wallace as Jessica, Willie's wife and business partner, and Jerry Lacy as Tony Peterson, a man whose mind is strongly influenced by the Reverend Trask and whose return parallels Cassandra's. Lacy's switching back and forth between characters was priceless.
I'm sure the pilot will be discussed here at great length. I've already heard Stuart's take on it and await his review eagerly.
The Collinsport Players reworked a skit performed at last year's Fest, but with our ProfStokes eventually taking over the role of Carolyn and doing a dead-on Diana Walker impression. Peter Mac brought down the house by singing "Popular" to John Schaefer's Julia, a number that was cut from the skit last year due to technical difficulties.
See what I mean? Non stop excitement. I feel for the dealers, whose sales surely dipped that day due to all the action in the main room. Ah, and thank you to all who stopped by our gathering that followed the Costume Party.
