Through eBay, I just acquired two issues of a Joan Bennett fanzine, with the very odd title Under Bennett's Bonnet. These go back to 1970, when my teenage interest in DS was at its peak. I had absolutely no idea that Joan had a fan club during the run of the series. Over the years, I have heard about fanzines and clubs for most of the actors but this was new to me. Nor were the names on the publication (Gail Katz, Sue Agranoff, Rachel Silverman) at all familiar.
The zines are very much a product of their time. Hand drawn graphics. Typewritten, with lots of misspellings and overstrikes. But there's still a certain charm to it. They have access to Joan who was unsurprisingly gracious. There are some scattered interviews with Joan. Nothing particularly shocking, unless you happen to be shocked by the revelation that Joan didn't like turnips. There are two chapters of an 1897 piece of fan fiction where Judith is menaced by the return of a flesh and blood Gregory Trask. He found a secret passageway out of the room. Of course, that doesn't explain how he survived the gunshot. No idea if the story continued beyond two chapters.
Not to say that there aren't some interesting bits. I was unaware that there had been a bomb scare at the studio on May 1, 1970.
There is also an interview with DS hair stylist Edith Tilles. Edith came to DS after having been the hairdresser on Jackie Gleason and Gentle Ben. I presume that she did the hair for Dennis Weaver and the other actors but you never know. The most interesting part for me is that if you sent Edith a SASE, she would send you a clipping from your favorite actor's hair. I would love to find out if anyone actually did this! And, did Edith have to fight off KLS for any Frid clippings?
