The Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention is now in the books for 2014. What a fun, walk down memory lane as I met George Lazenby whose On Her Majesty Secret Service was a solo Bond effort. Sporting a nice sense of humor, I asked him if costar Telly Savalas did some of his own stunts, and it appears no, while Lazenby did nearly all his own action scenes. He also revealed how he was considered for the original Equalizer TV series only to have Edward Woodward take the role per the powers that be.
I also met Connie Stevens, a Hollywood star from the 60s and 70s, who began with TV's Hawaiian Eye and was a staple of TV and movies. When I told her I remembered watching her singing the Oscar nominated song, The Morning After, at the 1973 Oscars, she had forgotten and then remembered it winning.
Veronica Cartwright has been acting since a child when she had a memorable role in Hitchcock's The Birds and later starred in many films and TV shows (The X Files). Her role in the terrifying classic, Alien, led me to ask if that ensemble cast got along, and she said they did and kept in touch with them especially Tom Skerritt.
Piper Laurie is Hollywood royalty having come up through the studio system through TV roles like the classic, Twin Peaks. She costarred in The Hustler and was nominated for an Oscar which would happen numerous times including her signature role as the mother in Carrie. In that film, she told me the script was kind of clichéd but she brought her performance to the part-boy did she ever!
Although Angela Cartwright (Lost in Space) couldn't make it, there were plenty of celebrities and vendors to satisfy any TV/film/radio nostalgia. OK, I was a groupie today, and in the words of Maxwell Smart, "and loving it!" Thanks Martin Grams for your efforts.