Brian: Youve done a number of films. Is
there one in particular that you enjoyed working
on more than any of the others? (This does not
necessarily even have to be the film that you
consider to be the best just the one you
had the most fun doing.)
Catherine: My most fun acting experience was an early film
that I did under the name Cathy McClenny.
It was 'Creature from Black Lake'. Jack
Elam was the star and I learned so much about
film technique from him. Also, he was so
funny and kind and the director, Joy Houck, was
very kind about helping me bring my broad stage
acting techniques down to film style. I'd
done a lot of stage acting and broad
comedies and musicals and that tends to make you
way to big for camera, which is very
subtle. I hadn't had any film training at
this point so I was "eating the
scenery" with my broad acting style.
It was also memorable because it was the first
time I could take my mom to a movie premiere.
Brian: Do you have
any specific memories about working with Jack
Elam in 'Creature from Black Lake'? Also, that
appears to be your first film role. It was an
important one with a lot of physical comedy. Were
you incredibly nervous? And, if so, did you use
that energy to help with the role?
Catherine: I
did love working with Jack. He was a
doll...and soooo funny. I wasn't nervous
because I'd been acting for years onstage
and have worked with folks like Sid Caesar,
Mickey Rooney, Pat Paulson and many wonderful and
talented comedians and actors. Once I start
working a comic bit, I'm not afraid...you just
have to hold me down. I love to get a
laugh. So my main problem was they had to
tie me down from doing too broad a comic shtick!
Brian: Did you get
a chance to watch Frank Inn work with the dogs on
'For the Love of Benji'? I think that would be
fascinating to watch. Also, did you get to spend
anytime with Benji? I was a huge fan as a kid.
(And, honestly, I still I am, I guess.) I, also,
believe that you are a dog lover. Do you have any
animals presently?
Catherine: Frank was wonderful...as was Joe Camp, the
director and creator of the Benji series. I
had worked with Joe as a director on an
industrial film/live production and was so happy
to see his dream turn into a success. The
original Benji was so sweet and smart...and all
the other Benji's too. Once the series
became successful and Benji began to age, they
had to find backup Benji's. Also, when they
work with animals, they usually have several
different dogs to do different things. So
one dog may be trained to whine and pick up a
letter and put it in a mailbox and another can
jump off a cliff into a creek and fetch a
child. The trick is to find talented dogs
that all look alike! But a wonderful
trainer like Frank communicates deeply with an
animal and can develop a whole vocabulary of
words and signals like teaching a child how to
speak.
But I am a huge animal
fan. My "child" right now is an
11-year-old apricot standard poodle named
Holly. She is my life. Her brother,
Buddy, died a few years ago and I still feel his
loss like a dear family member. Holly is a
cancer survivor and has been cancer-free for a
year. She is in all of my acting classes
and is sometimes used in the scenes. She,
also, helps me teach an acting technique called
"animal technique," which any actor who
has done basic Stanislavsky technique will
know. The actor must observe an animal very
deeply and take on its movements and thought
processes. This is the basis for a
technique that many great actors use called
"imaging." In 'Edward
Scissorhands', Johnny Depp used his little puppy
and kitten at home to base his character upon.
Brian: Did you and
your co-star in 'Pink Motel' do a lot of
rehearsing to get your timing down? The beats and
responses between the two of you are perfect and
it seems that you must have put a lot of work
into making some of the less than perfect bits
flow.
Catherine: We did have an unusually generous rehearsal time
in 'Pink Motel'. Usually, you don't get
much rehearsal time on sets...just time to block
and tweak a few things. They usually hire
you because the audition you gave was what they
wanted. Comedy can be very tricky because
it needs extra chemistry and a sixth-sense timing
with the other actors and, often, the
actors meet for the first time that moment
we start filming the scene. The
director of Pink Motel was on a very tight
budget and once we hit a location (Pink
Motel was shot at an actual motel, not at a
studio) with equipment and crews, the costs
of filming skyrocket. Therefore, he hired a
rehearsal space where we rehearsed the entire
movie like a play for a few days without the crew
and equipment or location. Then, we needed
very little rehearsal time when we hit the actual
location.
Brian: In 'Flicks'
you worked, exclusively, with Richard Belzer. Was
he a well-known comedian then? Do you have any
interesting stories about working with him?
Catherine: Richard was already quite well known as a
comedian but I don't think he had crossed over
into dramatic acting really at that point.
I didn't get to know him very well. It was
a very fast shoot on that movie...they just
basically stuck us in front of the camera and
blocked once and said "action."
Richard seemed a little shy. Also, if I
remember correctly there was a flash of
nudity and everyone tends to get a
little stiff and standoffish in those
situations. Also, I didn't even see that
movie for a while because they changed the title
and I didn't realize that was the movie I had
made...happens all the time...lol.
Brian: We can go
onto IMDB and learn about your film credits, but
we cant do the same for your stage work.
What are your most memorable roles and/or moments
on stage? Do you have a favorite role and
do you have a role that you long to play onstage?
Catherine: Actually, most of my work has been on
stage. I had done about fifty productions
before I even went to Julliard at age 17.
My last production was originating the part of
Ginger in 'Gilligan's Island, the Musical'.
It was so silly and fun and was done by the
creators of the original TV show. It was a
killer physically, as musicals are want to
be. I toured with it for about a
year.
I toured with Mickey
Rooney for a number of years in a goofy play
called 'Three Goats and a Blanket'. Mickey
is sweet but totally hyper and bounces of the
walls 24 hours a day. He got
more fall-out-of-your-seat laughs out
of an audience than anyone I've ever seen.
I learned a ton doing
Bobbi in 'Last of the Red Hot Lovers' with
Sid Caesar. He was a bit quirky but a
brilliant comedian. We got along quite
well, but I know he really intimidated one
actress from fear of how to work with him so
much that she had to quit...and that was an
important job to have gotten. You just
didn't really ever know what he would do
onstage. He refused to rehearse so the only
thing he did was let you have a line rehearsal to
make sure you could say the lines really fast and
that was it! Very bizarre. So once
you hit stage (and my scene was a really fast
banter with lots of sight gags) you had to
totally invent as you went. I loved it
because I love improvisation. Also, the
first night, he got paranoid that the audience
didn't like him and walked off the stage leaving
me "tap-dancing" forever before they
talked him into coming back. But after
that, we seemed to understand each other and I
seemed to calm him so we had great fun.
He's a master of timing and a great person to
hook into and play the moment.
I've done everything from
Shakespeare and Greek tragedy to children's
theatre, living theatre, street theatre,
performance art, musical comedy, improvisation,
theatre of cruelty, dinner theatre and
experimental theatre. I've worked
throughout America and some in Canada.
My favorite show was the
musical 'Stop the World, I Want to Get
Off'. I did it so many times that I started
playing one of the children and ended playing the
mom! That was a magical time for me.
I first did it with my sister, Morgan Fairchild,
at Theatre Three in Dallas Texas. That was
the most wonderful time in my acting. The
people at that theatre at that moment in time are
still the most utopian mixture of talent and love
and creativity all together at once that I have
ever experienced. Norma Young and Jac Alder
created the theatre and it was a beacon for
experimental thought and social issues...very
innovative for the time. Larry O'Dwyer was
the Little Chap central character of 'Stop the
World' and he is still the most brilliant
actor/comedian I have ever seen. I sucked
up his timing and his heart. I watched
every performance that I was in from the wings to
see him. I learned his warm-up techniques
and his fearless love of working an
audience. Morgan and I did two versions of
the show as the daughters in Dallas over a few
years and I ended up playing the female
lead, Evie and the other women in his life,
several years later in Arkansas opposite
Larry. I remember sitting in rehearsal many
times as a young performer and thinking
"I didn't know you could think like
that." That is what I hope to inspire
in my students. Also, Larry taught Morgan
and myself the best definition of acting:
"Acting is sharing your heart with your
fellow man."
Brian: You are an
actress and a director/teacher. Is there one that
you prefer? Or do they, both, satisfy different
needs for you?
Catherine: I never thought I would love anything as much as
acting because it is my very soul. But I
love coaching as much. Why? Because I
act because I love to connect and communicate
deeply with others...and that is the basis of a
good teacher, too. I would still love to
act if I can ever find time in my tight coaching
schedule. But until then, I am thrilled
whenever I see that light go off in another as
they think: "I didn't know you could think
like that!"
Brian: What do you
feel is your greatest artistic achievement thus
far in your life?
Catherine: I
don't think much in separate moments. As I
get older and look deeper and get simpler, I
realize how much my heart and craft and the
universe around me are all one and always
changing. The same place that I go inside
to find a creative enlightenment is the same
place I go to find spiritual growth. Both
need for you to be still and to listen instead of
to speak. So I see life as a
wonderful gift of lessons. The most
ordinary moment is also the most
extraordinary. That's, I guess, what art is
all about...weather is acting, writing, music,
dance or painting. So my soul grew from
experiencing the time with my parents at their
passings. That opened my heart to seeing
even more beauty and richness. That allowed
me to create with more heart and depth. My
school teaches me more about acting every time I
look into another's eyes. So my greatest
artistic achievement is appreciation of the
beauty of all the experiences of life and that I
have an outlet to share them.
Brian: Finally, do
you have an ultimate goal that you would like to
accomplish as an artist in your lifetime?
Catherine: I want to make a difference. I have learned
to let go of how that looks. Guess you're an
example. Who knew I would touch the heart of
another with some of my silliest performing
moments? That's a tough lesson to
accept...I always thought it would look like
getting an academy award...lol. But I would
still love to work on a film project that my
sister and I would write, direct and act in
together...that's a dream I have. |