The Terrible Catsafterme

Sherry Alberoni

Brad — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:52:47 +0000

I didn’t really know the name Sherry Alberoni when her name was announced to be a guest at the Hollywood Show in Burbank on February 12, 2011, so I looked her up. After than I ended up purchasing not one, but two signed photos of her. Oddly, neither one of them were from Josie and the Pussycats, which was why she had been invited in the first place – as part of a reuion of voice performers who worked on that show. I was more interested in a couple of things that she had done earlier in her career.

For starters, Sherry joined the cast of the Mickey Mouse Club in 1956. Those conducting the auditioning found her lisp to be very funny, and she was assigned to the (second tier) Blue Team. After her stint on that show, she went on to appear in Dance with Me, Henry, which happened to be Abbott and Costello’s last film. She would make appearances in many sitcoms of the 1960s including Family Affair, My Three Sons, and The Monkees.

Sherry had photos for sale from both of these works, so I made her one of my standard offers: two photos for $30. She gladly accepted the offer and willingly posed for a picture with me.

Even if I hadn’t known her for the ‘key’ work she was there for, I am still grateful for the chance to have a brush with Sherry Alberoni – and add signed photos to my Abbott and Costello collection and Mousketeer collection.

Celebrities of the Winter 2011 Hollywood Show will continue…

For Major Star Wars Buffs Only… Beru

Brad — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:48:36 +0000

Bonnie Piesse is currently a singer, songwriter, and actress, but right now her big claim to fame was that she is now forever sealed in the Star Wars canon. Her role wasn’t huge in the two films in which she appeared – Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - but the character was rather significant. In fact, the character is on of the first ones we meet in the very first Star Wars film, that of Beru Lars, the aunt who along with Uncle Owen raises Luke Skywalker.

Naturally, it is an older woman (specifically Shelagh Fraser), who plays her in the first film. In the two prequels, she is played by Bonnie Piesse. I got the chance to meet her at the Wizard World Comic Con in Chicago when she appeared there on Saturday, August 13, 2011.

I wasn’t clamoring to pay the $25 for an autographed photo, plus an additional $5, for a photo with her, since her character was so minor. I did try to talk her out of the photo op fee, but in the end – since we were dealing with the Star Wars canon - I made the purchase at full price. It was probably my least impressive encounter of the day, but I’m sure one day I’ll be glad that I got everyone from the films that I could.

Celebrities of the 2011 Wizard World Comic Con in Chicago will continue…

Psycho Belly

Brad — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 10:38:07 +0000

You might think that some of the celebrities that I ‘encounter’ are obscure, but this one teeters on being a bit laughable. Unless, of course, you are a fan of the Master of Suspense Alfred Hitchcock. Then you will know that the shower scene from Psycho is perhaps the most memorable sequence ever committed to film. For nearly as long as that scene has been legendary, there have been rumors about who was there and who wasn’t. Was it really Anthony Perkins? Was it really Janet Leigh? Was Hitchcock even present? Now that all three of the principles are dead and buried, there aren’t really many people left who can still answer that question.

But Marli Renfro can. She was the body double for Janet Leigh, who was never nude during the filming. Even her scenes are subject to debate, but for the most part, anytime you’re not clearly seeing Janet Leigh’s face, you’re seeing Marli Renfro, who was a model, actress, and showgirl. She also appeared on the cover of the September 1960 issue of Playboy.

Because of my love for Hitchcock and Psycho, I simply had to purchase an autograph when she made an appearance at the Hollywood Show on October 8, 2011. She was a nice lady and had been the subject of the book The Girl in Alfred Hitchcock’s Shower. I opted not to purchase this but a pseudo-lobby card from the film, showcasing the famous knife going into the famous belly.

Although she suggested writing the title of the book instead, I had her inscribe the photo with “Marion Crane’s belly”.

Celebrity encounters of the Fall 2011 Hollywood Show will continue…

Diane Baker

Brad — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:49:30 +0000

Diane Baker’s career stretches back more than 50 years, beginning with her role as Margot Frank in The Diary of Anne Frank. She was present at the Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show in Chicago on October 1, 2011, as part of a mini-reunion with her film-sister Millie Perkins, who had portrayed Anne. Over the years Diane Baker has appeared in a wide variety of roles and films. Among them have been Mission: Impossible, The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit, The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, The Silence of the Lambs, The Cable Guy, and A Mighty Wind.

But what interested me the most was that she has starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1964 masterpiece Marnie, portraying Lil Mainwaring, the sister-in-law to Sean Connery’s character. It was naturally a photo from this film that I chose to purchase.

Diane Baker was a real class act, and I saw something happent that I had never seen before. The handler for both Millie and Diane had prepared a price list that indicated $20 for an autograph and $10 for a photo op. Sometimes I bypass by asking the celebrity directly for a photo and thus, ‘miss’ the pricing on the sign. But there was no need in this case. As she sat back down, I heard her tell her handler, “I just can’t do this. I can’t charge for pictures with me.”

I can imagine that the pride and greed of some celebrities is too great to resist the opportunity to charge for pictures. But it is a celebrity like Diane Baker, whose integrity and appreciation for the fans surpasses this, and ensures that her legacy will be someone who treated them right. She may have been a contrary character in Marnie, but in real life she was anything but.

Celebrities of the Fall 2011 Chicago Hollywood Celebrities Show will continue…

Meet Me in Room 222…And Bring Plenty of Cash

Brad — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 10:40:01 +0000

I’m not sure what it was about the cast members of the early 1970′s TV show Room 222, but they all had a mutual handler who insisted on charging $40 for the ‘show special’ of getting a signature and photo op with the cast members who were present at the Hollywood Show on April 2, 2011. I had never even seen the show (although I purchased the DVD set in advance of meeting them), so I really didn’t know the cast. Still, I probably would have picked up all of them had the prices been reasonable. Present at the show were Michael Constantine (Mr. Kaufman), Karen Valentine (Miss Johnson), Judy Strangis (Helen Loomis), and David Jolliffe (Bernie). Denise Nicholas, who played Miss Loomis, had been scheduled to attend, but canceled.

So once I saw the prices, I just stuck with the two principles Michael Constantine and Karen Valentine. Bob and I managed to haggle the handler down to $120 for photo of and with the pair which effectively made them $30 apiece. Still too much, but more acceptable.

Michael Constantine was a very friendly guy and it turns out that he has had an exceptionally rich history in film and television, starring in such works as: The Twilight Zone (I Am the Night… Color Me Black episode), My Big Fat Greek Wedding, The Hustler, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Skidoo, Don’t Drink the Water, and The North Avenue Irregulars. This is just a very small sampling, and merely represent performances that I’ve seen. He also complimented my t-shirt…for whatever reason.

Karen Valentine’s career wasn’t quite so lucrative, but she seemed to make the rounds in many of the 1970′s dramas – including Starsky and Hutch, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, and Baretta. She and Michael Constantine would go on to work together again in The North Avenue Irregulars.

I had hoped to watch some of the series during the prior week as Bob and I made our way through Utah, but I never did get to see it. It’s still on my list. But now that I have met two of the lead actors of the show, I can cross them off.

Celebrities of the Spring 2011 Hollywood Show will continue…