Visiting Mildred 2011
Tuesday, May 24th, 2011
The city of Escalante, Utah may have a population under 1000, but it just so happens that one of my favorite people lives there. Former Our Gang member Mildred Kornman has been residing there with her son Steve for about five years now. Obviously the region is tiny, but it has a very quaint charm. Upon entering the area, Bob and I gave Mildred a call and asked her where she’d like us to meet her. Bob had made arrangements before our trip and she was excited that we were coming for a visit on Sunday, March 27, as we made our way northwest traveling through Utah. Read the rest of this entry »
I know that some of my celebrity encounters are obscure and some are beyond obscure. But oftentimes I am oddly drawn to folks that have only had five minutes of fame. I just feel lucky when I get the chance to meet someone whom I’d never expect to meet…or even look for. It’s likely that you would never recognize Susan Backlinie’s name, nor her face, unless of course it was seen in the context of having a few shark teeth imbedded into it. But you probably will never forget that moment – especially if you saw it in the theater in 1975 – when her character Chrissie Watkins became the first victim of the shark in the blockbuster thriller Jaws. 
It was in the early part of the 2000’s decade that I asked my friend Bob to pick me up a signed photo Dee Wallace when she made an appearance at one of the Hollywood Collector Shows. My knowledge of her at the time was that she had played the Mom (Mary, with last name intentionally never disclosed) in E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial, which was one of the most touching and popular films during my adolescent childhood. By the time she starred in E.T. in 1982, she had already had a rather lucrative career, having starred in The Stepford Wives, The Hills Have Eyes, 10, and The Howling.