Shore Leave 27 Convention

The fan sponsored convention, Shore Leave at Marriott’s Hunt Valley Inn in Baltimore, Maryland, was a nice way to spend a weekend (July 8-10, 2005) immersed in science fiction movies, celebrity speakers, and related dealer items. Although Mark Goddard (Lost in Space) had departed early on the Sunday I attended, and Mary McDonnell (Independence Day) was tied up with last minute shoots on her Battlestar Galactica show, there were enough other celebrities to make it a fun show including last minute Galactica costar Tricia Helfer. There were actors and actresses from shows like TV’s Babylon 5 and Stargate SG1. I focused on Joanna Cassidy, the versatile actress from such films as Under Fire, Blade Runner, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? She looked stunning and seemed quite proper and soft spoken. She spoke fondly of former costar Gene Hackman and his generosity as an actor. She expressed interest in writing screenplays and was deciding what life direction to take having just sold her house on the West Coast. Her current schedule is busy with movie roles including a comedy and her recurring role on cable TV’s Six Feet Under.

I also had a chance to speak with veteran character actors William Windom and Malachi Throne. What a treasure trove of history and anecdotes these actors had! They both guest starred in classic Star Trek episodes. It was interesting to hear these two old salts reminisce about their careers. Windom still has that boyish mischievous streak about him and was downright funny. His short lived classic based on James Thurber stories called My World and Welcome To It is fondly remembered, and he talked about the producer Danny Arnold who had autocratic authority without producing by committee. Arnold would later produce the classic Barney Miller. His reaction to the overwhelming popularity of his one shot guest role in Star Trek’s The Doomsday Machine baffles him as he considers acting no more than a craft and nothing special. He told me he wanted to return to acting as soon as he had his knees repaired.

Mr. Throne definitely has a theatrical acting pedigree and, like Windom, he has acted on stage, screen and television over half a century. He had a key supporting role in TV’s It Takes a Thief in the late 1960’s, and left after two seasons. I told him how I felt that show went downhill after he left, and he agreed wholeheartedly. I asked him to compare producers Gene Roddenberry and Irwin Allen (who ruled TV sci-fi in the 1960’s with Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Lost in Space). He said that Roddenberry was always thinking ahead and anticipated trends like cop shows before they were popular. While he was grateful for the work from Allen, it could be maddening. He related a story about being cast for a TV role and Allen wanted a larger beard than what he wore in reality. So Throne shaved off his beard and wore a larger fake one. The next day Allen hated the large beard and asked what happened to the smaller one he liked! Both Throne and Windom need to write books!

It was a pretty enthusiastic crowd and the dealer tables were buzzing all day with everything from dvds and books to posters and action figures for sale. Everyone seemed to be having fun and ready for the next convention.