FIRST MID ATLANTIC NOSTALGIA CONVENTION SERVES UP IRWIN ALLEN ALUMNI

Saturday September 16, 2006
The first Mid Atlantic Nostalgia Convention took place this past weekend in Aberdeen, MD. As usual, this event featured the usual dealer tables filled with books, comics, posters and stills from movies and tv shows past. As a bonus, there were several recognizable celebrities including Lana Wood (Natalie's sister and memorable as Plenty in Diamonds Are Forever), Marta Kristen (Judy in Lost in Space), and David Hedison (Capt. Lee Crane from tv's Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea). It was the latter who drew my attention having spent a childhood filled with imaginative adventure and science fiction, and what better than the submarine Seaview (get the screenname connection?) and its weekly adventures before Star Trek became the intellectual landmark in scifi tv. My family would have dinners out on many a Sunday and we would rush back home (before VCRs) in time to turn on the tv and see the opening tag for Voyage at 7pm EST. For its time, the show was impressive technically with its heavy special effects and in its early years, complex storylines (often courtesy of William Read Woodfield and Allan Balter who would then propell tv's Mission Impossible to glory). Although the later seasons would devolve into the monster of the week (as most Irwin Allen shows did), the show was an action filled good time. It is not a coincidence that Steven Spielberg remade the show as Seaquest DSV in the early 1990's.


During an hour long question and answer session, Hedison was quite animated, humorous, and very candid about his love for his craft of acting and his appreciation of his profession and the mentors he had known including the Playhouse where he studied with Sydney Pollack, Joanne Woodward, and Steve McQueen. Hedison related a story that during classes, McQueen told him that the two would be stars one day, and sure enough, a few years later, Haedison recalled seeing a movie marquee featuring Steve McQueen in The Blob and David Hedison as The Fly. And yes, Hedison says he gets asked all the time if he was under the fly mask (he was). And yes, he did most of his own stunts in Voyage which was crazy to attempt. And he only did Voyage at the advice of friend, Roger Moore and because of the casting of Richard Baseheart as Admiral Nelson. Later, Hedison would have the distinction of being the only actor to play CIA operative Felix Leiter twice in the long running James Bond series (Live and Let Die and License To Kill). What a thrill it was to finally meet Captain Crane in person and share great memories. Yes, for a moment I became a groupie.