Eddie, where do I start. I am such a fan of your
work. How did a kid from Cumberland, MD. make it
to the big time in Hollywood?
WELL, I CAME TO
HOLLYWOOD-LITERALLY- THE DAY AFTER MY HIGH SCHOOL
GRADUATION, AT 18. I WORKED AT THE COMEDY STORE
AS A STAND-UP COMIC FOR THREE PERFORMANCES. I
HATED THAT, AND I DID NOT HAVE THE STOMACH FOR
DOING STAND-UP. I GOT ON THE OLD "GONG
SHOW", AND I GOT GONGED ON THAT, BUT I DID
GET $132.00 FOR THE APPEARANCE, WHICH WAS A HUGE
AMOUNT AT THE TIME. THEN, AFTER TWO YEARS IN
L.A., I WENT TO A BIG CATTLE CALL FOR THE FILM
"GREASE", WHICH I SOMEHOW GOT. THIS
STARTED THE BALL ROLLING.
Your first
movie was playing Froggy in the sci-fi horror
flick 'Laserblast' in 1978. That movie has such an interesting cast
that included Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith,
Roddy McDowall, and Keenan Wynn. What are your
predominant memories of making that movie?
THAT WAS
ACTUALLY MY SECOND FILM, ALTHOUGH IT WAS RELEASED
BEFORE "GREASE", "GREASE" WAS
MY FIRST. I THINK I WORKED 3 DAYS IN
"LASERBLAST". I HAD A HUGE CRUSH ON A
SCRIPT GIRL ON THAT ONE CALLED BETTY GOLDBERG,
SHE WAS SO CUTE. SADLY, THE STAR OF
"LASERBLAST" DIED OF A.I.D.S. SEVERAL
YEARS AGO. HIS NAME WAS KIM MILFORD. I NEVER MET
KEENAN WYNN OR RODDY, UNFORTUNATELY.
"LASERBLAST" IS THE ONLY FILM WHERE MY
CHARACTER DIED. "FROGGY" GETS BLOWN UP
IN A CAR EXPLOSION. TOO BAD1
You're also
sort of the Godfather of all Geeks playing Eugene
in 'Grease' and 'Grease
2', Wesley in 'Midnight
Madness', as well as Sheldon in
'Zapped'. Were those movies as
bright and frothy and fun to make as they are to
watch?
"GREASE"
WAS LIKE A TWO MONTH LONG PARTY. ALL THE CAST AND
CREW WERE SO GREAT. JOHN TRAVOLTA WAS SUCH A
GREAT GUY AND RANDALL KLEISER, OUR DIRECTOR, WAS
WONDERFUL. "GREASE TWO" WAS FUN, TO A
MUCH LESSER DEGREE. "GREASE" WAS MAGIC,
LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE. WE ALL FELT THIS.
"GREASE 2" JUST DIDN'T HAVE IT.
ALTHOUGH, BELEIVE IT OR NOT, I MEET ALOT OF
PEOPLE WHO LIKE THAT MOVIE, TOO. I THOUGHT
"MIDNIGHT MADNESS" WAS A GOOD FILM,
PRETTY FUNNY. IT IS THE ONLY FILM I EVER DID WITH
TWO CO-DIRECTORS. DAVID WECHTER AND MICHAEL
NANKIN. IT WAS MICHAEL J. FOX'S FIRST FILM AND
PEE WEE HERMAN'S TOO. BOTH EXTREMELY NICE GUYS,
BY THE WAY.
So how much of
a geek act is your nerd?
I AM
PRETTY MUCH MYSELF ON CAMERA, ALTHOUGH I AM NOT
AS DUMB AS I ACT. I DEFINATELY ACT STUPIDER ON
CAMERA. IN "I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND", I
PRETTY MUCH PLAY MYSELF, BECAUSE I AM THE WORLD'S
BIGGEST BEATLE FAN. I TAKE MY VOICE UP AN OCTAVE
TOO, USUALLY, MAKING IT A BIT HIGHER THAN IT IS
IN REAL LIFE.
You are a big
Beatle Fan...was that a result of your appearance
in Robert Zemeckis' 'I Want to Hold Your Hand'? A
reason that helped get you the role as
Richard/Ringo? Or a weird coincidence?
FOR THAT
FILM I HAD THE MOST AUDITIONS - 9! NINE AUDITIONS
UNTIL I GOT THE ROLE. BOB ZEMECKIS IS, BY FAR,
THE FINEST DIRECTOR I HAVE EVER WORKED WITH. AS I
SAID, I WAS PLAYING MYSELF, TO A LARGE DEGREE, IN
THAT FILM.
What was your
experience like working with Steven Spielberg in '1941'
back in 1979?
WELL,
STEVEN WAS ALWAYS AROUND THE SET OF "I WANNA
HOLD YOUR HAND", SO I MET HIM ON THAT. HE
WAS A GREAT GUY. MY BEST MEMORY ON
"1941" WAS HAVING LUNCH IN THE STUDIO
COMMISARY WITH STEVEN, JOHN BELUSHI AND DAN
AYKROYD. I WAS A 22-YEAR-OLD KID, SCARED OUT OF
MY WITS, BUT I WAS ENTHRALLED AND ENJOYED IT.
STEVEN WAS A MARVELOUS DIRECTOR, BUT COMEDY IS
NOT HIS THING. WHEREAS, BOB ZEMECKIS IS AN
EXCELLENT COMEDY DIRECTOR. I GOT SICK ON THE
FERRIS WHEEL ONE DAY IN "1941" AND I
GOT TO THROW UP IN STEVEN SPIELBERG'S TOILET. IT
WAS A HONOR!
Let's talk 'Critters
2: The Main Course' (1988). Is it
tough to work with sort of an inanimate
"doll/effect" like that? What are some
of the strange concessions the actors in those
sorts of movies need to make?
I DID
DRAG IN "CRITTERS 2", I REMEMBER THAT.
IT WAS ONE OF 2 MOVIES I DO DRAG IN. MY SCENE DID
NOT INVOLVE THE "CRITTERS". I REGRET
MISSING OUT ON "CRITTERS 3" THOUGH, I
WAS ONLY IN NUMBER 2. "CRITTERS 3" WAS
THE SCREEN DEBUT OF LEONARDO DICAPRIO.
Did the 'Critters'
folks have sort of a 'Gremlins'
wannabe attitude about the project?
POSSIBLY,
I AM NOT SURE ABOUT THIS.
Tell me about
your work in making one of my favorites -- the
grossly underrated horror series
'Monsters' back in 1988.
I WORKED
WITH RICHARD MOLL, A VERY WONDERFUL GUY. I HAD TO
HAVE A FRIGGING FACE MASK PLASTERED ON ME FOR A
PLASTER CAST I REMEMBER, I HATED THAT. I HAD ON
FOR "POLAR EXPRESS" TOO. THEY ARE SO
MISERABLE.
I also love
that you have probably made about as many horror
parodies as anyone I know with 'A
Polish Vampire in Burbank' (1985),
'Beverly Hills Vamp'
(1988), 'The Silence of the Hams' (1994).
What was your personal favorite of the three and
what was the best part of filming it?
LOOK, ANY
FILM FOR FRED OLIN RAY IS FUN. I LOVE FRED. HE IS
A SUPERB COMEDY DIRECTOR, ALTHOUGH HE DOESN'T DO
MUCH OF THAT GENRE ANYMORE. SO, I LOVED
"BEVERLY HILLS VAMP" AND "MOB
BOSS", BECAUSE FRED WAS THERE I HE IS A
GREAT DIRECTOR. "POLISH VAMPIRE", IS
THE ONLY NON-UNION FILM I EVER DID, AND I GOT IN
PLENTY OF TROUBLE WITH S.A.G. FOR DOING IT! I
REGRET THAT. IT WAS DONE AS A FAVOR.
You know and
have worked with so many great folks. Do you ever
get star struck and if so can you give me a good
example?
I AM THE
MOST STAR STRUCK GUY IN THE WORLD. I WORSHIP TOM
HANKS AND JOHN TRAVOLTA, BUT I FOUND THEM TO BE
THE TWO NICEST ACTORS (AND PEOPLE) I HAVE EVER
MET. I WAS IN MAJOR AWE OF JOHN BELUSHI, TOO. I
LOVED THAT GUY. I WAS IN TOTAL AWE OF TOM HANKS
DURING THE FIRST SIX-HOUR READ-THROUGH ON
"POLAR EXPRESS". I SAT AND STARED AT
HIM FOR SIX FRIGGING HOURS. THEN HE DID AN
IMPRESSION OF ME, WHICH LOOSENED THINGS UP A BIT.
I HAD TO GO OVER AND FORCE MYSELF TO TALK TO HIM.
I KNEW I COULD NOT SPEND THREE MONTHS STARING AT
A GUY LIKE AN IDIOT.
I also want to
hear a good story about making
'Teenage Exoricst' with Fred Olen
Ray and Brinke Stevens.
I JUST
DID A REAL CHEAP LITTLE AUTOGRAPH SHOW WITH FRED
AND BRINKE. FRED LET ME AD LIB AND STUFF AND
BRINKE WAS A GREAT ACTRESS TO WORK WITH IN COMEDY
SCENES. "FOR THAT FILM, BECAUSE I CANNOT
REMEMBER LINES WELL, I HAD LITTLE NOTES AND CUE
CARDS SCATTERED ALL OVER THE DESKS AND FURNITURE
TO REFER TO AS I DID THE SCENES. CLUMSY, BUT IT
WORKED.
I've also got
to hear about making out with Morgan Fairchild in
'Mob Boss' (1990).
MORGAN
WAS A DOLL, A GREAT STRAIGHT WOMAN. MY BEST
MORGAN MEMORY IS GETTING TO MAKE OUT WITH HER.
SHE IS A GREAT KISSER. WE REHEARSED THAT KISS A
FEW TIMES. I LOVED THAT! I HAD A NICE LUNCH IN
HER DRESSING ROOM WITH HER ONE DAY. SHE WAS THE
NICEST LADY AND SHE TOLD ME HER WHOLE LIFE STORY.
Career
question: you have made numerous movies, done a
great deal of voice-over work, and also many
commercials. Which of the three has been the most
financially lucrative for you?
NO
QUESTION THERE - VOICE-OVERS!!! ESPECIALLY IF YOU
COUNT "POLAR EXPRESS" AS A VOICE-OVER
JOB, WHICH IT SORT OF WAS. VOICE-OVERS ARE THE
MOST LUCRATIVE BRANCH OF ALL SHOW BIZ. THE MONEY,
IF YOU GET HOT, FLOWS IN LIKE MAPLE SYRUP. THIS
IS MY MAIN SOURCE OF MONEY, BY FAR. I DID A RICE
KRISPIES COMMERCIAL WHERE I PLAYED
"POP" FOR ABOUT 5 YEARS. THAT MONEY WAS
RIDICULOUS AND OBSCENE!!! I MISS IT!
We're pulling
the car into the Eddie Deezen Drive In. What
three horror flicks are on the triple bill for
tonight and what goodies are they going to be
serving up at the concession stand?
I DO NOT,
SORRY TO SAY, LIKE HORROR FLICKS THAT MUCH. I AM
A MOVIE NUT THOUGH. LET'S GO WITH "YOUNG
FRANKENSTEIN", THE FUNNIEST. I LIKE
"MARK OF THE VAMPIRE" BECAUSE THAT HOT
BABE IS IN IT. HUBBA HUBBA! AND "THE BOWERY
BOYS MEET THE MONSTERS". I LIKE THE BOWERY
BOYS, BELEIVE IT OR NOT. OH YES, MY ALL-TIME
FAVORITE, BY FAR IS "GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE
BIKINI". THE GIRL IN THAT IS A MAJOR
HOTTIE!!! LOVE THAT FILM!!!
What scares
you in real life?
I HAVE
FAIRLY BAD STAGE FRIGHT AND I DO NOT LIKE BIG
GROUPS OF PEOPLE, I'M DEFINITELY A ONE-ON-ONE
TYPE PERSON. BUT OF COURSE, SHOW BUSINESS IS VERY
SOCIAL, SO I HAVE NO CHOICE. I DODGE LOTS OF
PARTIES THOUGH.
What makes you
go psycho in real life?
HMMM. I
GUESS POLITICS CAN. I AM A LIBERTARIAN AND I DO
NOT LIKE ANYONE WHO TRIES TO INFRINGE UPON OR
TAKE AWAY PEOPLE'S FREEDOM. THE CURRENT TERRORIST
SITUATION IS ALMOST TOO BIG TO CONFRONT. I HOPE
THE WORLD SURVIVES AND WE DO NOT KILL EACH OTHER
OFF. THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT PEOPLE IN THE WORLD
AND A MINORITY CAN MAKE THE PLANET A MISERABLE
PLACE. BUT IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT WAY, HASN'T
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