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On the Jazz - Vol 02 Issue 25
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The totally unofficial A-Team electronic mail newsletter
***** Now in it's second year of publication !! *****
Reflector submission address: onthejazz
Administrivia: Nicole Pellegrini
PLEASE use the following address for subscribe/unsubscribe
and back issue requests (do NOT send them to onthejazz!!):
*** pellegri ***
Also use that address if you wish to change your subscription status
to receive the newsletters only (or go from newsletter to news + reflector).
The A-Team Homepage: http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~pellegri/ateam.html
*The A-Team On the Web: http://www.xs4all.nl/~jmm/a-team/
*The A-Team Hawaii Page: http://www.poi.net/~dcover
*Homes of the On the Jazz Newsletter Archives
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DATE: September 10, 1996
ISSUE: 25
VOLUME: 2
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Greetings again everyone,
A lot of people are no doubt returning to school right now, so if you've
been gone for a while, welcome back! Make sure to stop by the newsletter
archives for all the information about the A-Team movie, Mr. T's health,
and other items that you missed over the summer (it's been a busy one!)
NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
------
THIRD SEMI-ANNUAL A-TEAM PHILLY FEST UPDATE
So far I've heard from three people interested in attending, which is
enough for me to actually go ahead and plan and go for it. I'm proposing
September 28th as the date for the event - if that's good with those
interested in attending, please let me know and RSVP. Otherwise let me
know what data would be better for you and maybe we can reschedule (Sept.
21 isn't good for me.)
As always, we'll have plenty of food & drink (of various kinds), watch
plenty of videos, and you can check out my collection of A-Team goodies and
play some games. Friends, S.O.'s, and anyone you'd like to subject to a
mass viewing of A-Team are welcome to attend! My new TV and general
apartment refurbishings will make for more comfortable vegetating during
the prodeedings. Directions to getting to my Center City apartment will be
provided on request.
MR. T UPDATE
>From one of our "honorary" members, Chris Bunting, the following news
clipping appeared in the Star on August 20:
"MR T WINNIG CANCER BATTLE: Cancer-striken American TV actor Mr. T. is
getting better, according to his publicist, Joyce Brooks. The A-Team star
was diagnosed with lymphoma in November but brooks says: 'He's in
remission-please let his fans know that. He's a very religious man and his
illness is between him and God. He's just taking it easy and chilling.
This is a debilitating illness for someone who's as powerful as he is. But
he is feeling much better.'"
Also, Chris had a letter published in a recent issue (# 81) of the magazine
"TV Zone" - a letter he sent in over a year ago. They printed a nice
picture of George and Dirk from the episode "Judgement Day" with their
response:
Q: In the last series of The A-Team, the team worked as government Hunt
Stockwell, who promised them a presidential pardon once they had completed
an arranged number of missions for him. What was the episode title of the
last episode made and did the A-Team get a pardon? Are there any more
videos of the series planned, as there are only two available? (Christopher
Bunting, Derbyshire)
A: In the fifth and final series, the team were framed and convicted for
the 1972 murder of Col Morrison and found themselves (and new team member
"Dishpan" Frankie) working for retired General Stockwell. It was while
this fifth series was being filmed that the show was suddenly and
unexpectedly cancelled, producing a messy end in which they never got their
pardons. The penultimate episode, The Grey Team, has what looks like a
tagged on ending where the team discusses what they will do when they
receive their pardons. They conclude that they will probably continue to
help people in need, like they always have done. This episode was first
shown in the USA on December 30th 1986. Three months later, on March 8th
1987, the final episode appeared, Without Reservations. At the time of
cancellation, this episode wasn't finished and so was completed with a
chunk of material from the episode Holiday in the Hills. (Summary of the
plot given here) The two videos you mentioned are still available, but no
others seem to be forthcoming.
CONVENTION NEWS
Chris also reports about the upcoming "Cult TV 96" convention in Great
Yarmouth that its looking "increasingly likely" that Dirk has pulled out of
the con. Any firther info and I'll pass it along.
There's also this information on a con this coming weekend in the Netherlands:
> Subject: Star Trek Convention in The Netherlands
> From: Geert Bonte <gebo>
> Date: 1996/08/25
> Newsgroups: rec.arts.startrek.fandom
>
> ATTENTION EUROPEAN FANS...
>
> COME TO THE TRANQUILLITY BASE II CONVENTION IN ROTTERDAM !!
>
> September 14 and 15, at "De Doelen", Rotterdam, The Netherlands
>
> Guest Lineup:
> - James Doohan (Scotty)
> - George Takei (Sulu)
> - Robert O'Riley (Gowron)
> - DWIGHT SCHULTZ (Barclay)
> - Robin Curtis (Saavik)
> - Robert Picardo (Holographic Doctor)
> - Carel Struycken (Mr. Homn)
>
> Tickets:
> - for 1 day: Hfl. 100
> - for the weekend: Hfl. 180
>
> For more information or tickets contact:
>
> Tranquillity Base
> p/a de Plaastraat 4
> NL - 4365 AZ Meliskerke
> The Netherlands
>
> Telephone: +31 118 562009
If anyone attends or is planning on attending, please let us know!
A-FILES UPDATE
One final reminder, there's 3 weeks left to get in material for "The
A-Files", so get those last minute submissions in quickly! The faster I
get it, the sooner we'll be in print.
NEW FANZINE PROPOSAL
While "The A-Files" and "Plans Scams and Vans 3" are coming along, I'm
announcing a call for submissions to Yet Another A-Team 'Zine, this one
*especially* for the ladies in the audience, to be called,
"Where's Mary Sue When You Need Her?"
That's right, a Mary Sue A-Team zine. "Mary Sue" is generally used to
describe fan-fic where the (female generally) author has written herself in
as a main character in the proceedings, so I want you ladies to come up
with your best fantasies - erm, I mean *stories*, involving yourself
(either directly or under the guise of another character) and the Team.
Stories can be comedic, serious, romantic - even adult if you want to write
it (submissions under pseudonyms will be accepted >;-) Anything goes this
time around. We'll also be accepting stories involving other shows our
favorites have starred in, so, for example, Battlestar Galactica stories
involving Starbuck, ST:TNG stories using Barclay, etc etc. Several people
have already expressed interest in contributing to such a 'zine to me, and
if you think you might be interested as well let me know and I can fgive
you some more specific guidelines (no set deadline or expected publication
date yet.)
As always, anyone with artistic talents are sorely desired to illustrate,
and suckers are needed to proofread (I need more proofreaders to help with
AF and PSV3 as well.)
A-TEAM SIGHTINGS
-----
Nothing, except for a repeat of "Hart to Hart: To Death Do Us Hart" this
past Saturday on the Family Channel, a TV-movie which featured Dwight
Schultz. If you missed it, Dwight had a fairly large role in the movie,
which was extremely cheesy but enjoyable and worth watching if you are a
Schultz fan. Yes, I have it on tape (thanx Irene), and can copy for anyone
who missed it.
ARTICLES, TRANSCRIPTS, ETC
------
Two tasty tidbits this issue, starting with an old (pre-A-Team) article on
Dirk Benedict entitled:
"The Way They Were"
(Caption: each month, "Rona Barrett's GOSSIP" delves into the stars'
private scaprbooks for a look at their yesterdays, todays, and maybe even
their tomorrows. This month the spotlight's on "Battlestar Galactica"'s
Lieutenant Starbuc, DIRK BENEDICT!)
by Rochelle Williams (unsure exact publication date)
Lt. Starbuck of ABC's popular series "Battlestar Galactica" may be a
figment of some screenwriter's imagination, but if he were a living being,
he would be glad that handsome actor Dirk Benedict is cast as the playboy
fighter pilot. In more ways than one, Dirk has a camaraderie with the TV
hero that transcends the script.
"Starbuck" pioneers the universe; Dirk's frontier is the few acres of
Montana land he owns and it is a bit more "down to earth" than the roving
range of his spaced-out counterpart. Both the characters have a way with
woman and paradoxically their independant nature somewhat inhibits them
from maintaining any long term relationship.
Independance and a strong drive are the two traits in which they have
the most in common. These characteristics have brought Dirk this far in
his career, along with a determination of steel that a two-ton Mack truck
couldn't budge. There is more to Dirk Benedict than meets the eye, for
underneath that exterior of good looks and boyish charm is a sensible and
intelligent 33-year old man who knows what he wants from life and grasps
for it. His career mirros his beliefs about life and though he is not an
over-night success, he had gained a fair amount of recognition in a
relatively short period of time.
Quite by accident, it was Dirk Niewoehner's trust in himself which led
him to an acting career. A local theater in Walla Walla, Wash., where he
attended college, was holding auditions for the musical "Show Boat."
Boasting that he could get the lead (without so much as ever entering a
theatre or taking voice lessons) *and* "bolstering his ego" at the
neighborhood bar, Dirk's buddies wagered he unequivocably could *not* land
the starring role in the college production.
But he did.
Getting that role was of more importance than simply winning the bet.
Up until that time, Dirk was fighting an internal battle. He was doubtful
as to what to do with him life. "Show Boat" revealed to him an unconscious
desire to be an actor and he suddenly became the victor over uncertainty!
That's quite a list of impressive accomplishments coming from someone
who once spent his life in a very "Hemingway-like childhood" in a sparesely
populated town of 900 called Sulphur SPrings. It was a typical Montana
town whose claim to fame is the great outdoors. "The first time I went to
a big city I felt clausterphobic!" Dirk remembers now.
The townspeople of White Sulphur Springs worked on the land as either
farmers, ranchers, or loggers. Dirk himself was a hired hand on a ranch
when he was 12 and by being with the older men in the bunk house, he
learned at an early age what the inside of a bar looked like. By the time
he was 14, he knew *very* well.
Possibly the fact that Sulphur Springs had the convenience of
electricity, running water and indoor bath features but not the luxuries of
television, movie houses and theater guided Dirk to drinking as a form of
entertainment.
But what the town lacked in the arts it more than aptly recompensated
by instilling in its now famous resident a sense of creativity and
independence.
"Where I grew up," Benedict recalls, "you had to do things for
yourself. You had to entertain and *think* for yourself. Nowadays
everyone is desperate to be led, because nobody wants to say that they are
responsible for themselves."
It was that kind of logic that inspired Dirk to take control of his
life and embark on "the start of a new cycle" - college - once he graduated
from high school with his class of 20. At Whitman College in Washington,
Dirk received just as much of an education outside the halls of ivy as
within.
"All I knew was how to survive in the woods and skin a deer," says
Dirk in comparing his Mid-West upbringing with his citysophisticated class
peers who were exposed to theater, literature, and the like.
In some respects, Dirk was more mature than many of the collegians who
did not know how to control their newfound independence that Dirk had
mastered during his adolescent years.
"They went a little out of control, wheras I could handle all that
because drinking and staying away from home were already old news. In
fact, drinking was then on its way out," he once told an interviewer.
Dirk's father and his own self-sufficient nature helped in directing
his life during those years away at college. "He gave me a sense of
self-uniqueness and destiny," he says of the now deceased father.
Dirk's college days ended in the late '60s when he received his
Bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts, but his eagerness to perfect his acting
did anything but wane away. He satisifed that desire by enrolling in the
Academy of Dramatic Arts, a newly established institution founded and
directed by John Fernald, who once headed the London Royal Academy of
Dramatic Arts.
Dirk aquired a basic knowledge and technical background of acting
fundamentals, and quickly learned the art of polishing his craft.
"We had classes in moving, speech, and even audition techniques. It
was like learning how to build a house - the floor plans - and they sort of
assumed each individual actor would discover for himself how to interior
decorate," he now explains.
Two years at the London Royal Academy and the practical training he
obtained while doing summer stock during the interim equipped Dirk with the
assurance to give lady luck a try and branch out to greater heights. So,
in 1970 he set his sights for the "Big Apple," as stage-struck and
head-strong as any yong actor sure of getting a part in a Broadway show.
<to be continued...>
-----
Next, thanks to Liz for getting this recent article on Stephen Cannell to
me, which appeared in the Sept. 9, 1996 issue of "People" magazine...
IT TAKES ONE TO MAKE ONE
His new novel proves Stephen Cannell is as tough as his TV creations
He has never packed a piece or busted a bad guy, but Stephen Cannell-
the man who created Rockford, Baretta and more than 30 other hard-boiled,
softhearted TV heroes- is still one tough cookie.
"Stephen's been able to overcome a lot of things that would send many
people spinning out of control," says Brandon Tartikoff, former chairman of
New World Entertainment, a subsidiary of the corporation that last year
purchased Cannell's production company for $30 million. Cannell is dyslexic,
but that didn't stop him from releasing his second novel- *Final Victim*,
about the search for a serial killer- in July and then collecting a cool $1
million for the movie rights.
"There were people who didn't think I could do this," says Cannell, 55,
who repeated second grade because of his learning disorder, which makes it
hard to read. "I went to a class reunion a few years ago, and an English
teacher who flunked me because I couldn't spell came up to me and said, 'It
really baffles me that you make your living as a writer.' "
Yet if dyslexia has been bothersome baggage for Cannell to carry in his
life, he has also shouldered more crushing burdens. In 1981 his 15-year-old
son, Derek, was buried alive when an enormous sand fort he was building on a
California beach suddenly collapsed on him. "I can't explain how horrible it
was for us," Cannell says of himself and his wife, Marcis, 54. "The darkness
of it, the sense of complete loss, was overwhelming." Cannell's friends
didn't forget him. "The day after it happened, there were 100 people at our
house," he says. "People I'd known in high school, people from the network,
people from my shows. THey'd come to hold onto us."
"Stephen was very brave throughout the whole ordeal," says James Garner,
star of Cannell's *The Rockford FIles* from 1974 to 1980 and a close friend.
"He was stronger than the rest of us." THrough the support he received,
Cannell says, "I learned how to be a better friend-how not to let my little
TV pilot or whatever I'm working on be so important that I forget to be there
for friends and family." After the loss, Cannell vowed to spend more time
with his wife and daughter Tawnia, then 13. (Two more children, Chelsea and
Cody, now 14 and 13, were born after Derek's death.) He hasn't backslid over
the years; he tries to get to his Pasadena home by 6:30 every night. "And
when he get home," says Marcia, "it's family time."
Ironically, concern for his family is what led Cannell to the discovery
of his dyslexia in 1981. HE had noticed that his daughter Tawnia, then in
the sixth grade, was having the same difficulties he had experienced. After
she was tested and diagnosed as dyslexic, Cannell took the same test, and the
results revealed his affliction. He still has trouble with numbers and
directions, but he has learned how to get through busy workdays. "I put
blinders on and focus myself," he says, "and let a little bit of information
in until I've finally absorbed everything."
Perseverance has always been part of Cannell's character. Raised in a
posh section of Pasadena, Calif., the second child of Joseph Cannell, a
successful interior designer, and Carolyn, a homemaker, he struggled through
grade school and high school and made it into the University of Oregon only
on a football scholarship. "I was told from first grade on that I was the
stupidest kin in the class," he says. "I was trying to do well, but the
teachers thought I wasn't."
Still, Cannell gutted it out, avoiding classes that would penalize him
for poor spelling. One such course, creative writing, changed his life when
Cannell discovered he had a talent for crafting stories and dialogue.
"Writing is what got him through college," says Marcia, who met Cannell in
the eighth grade and married him in 1964. "he learned he was really good at
it." After graduationg, he worked as a gofer for a local TV game show and
tried interior designing, but he put most of his energy into writing scripts
with a friend. Cannell's first solo sale- a 1968 script for *Adam-12*,
written in two days- so impressed producers that they made him the show's
head writer.
After his first hit series, *The Rockford Files*, won an Emmy in 1978,
he started his own company and produced dozens of shows- each, like *Hunter*
and *Wiseguy*, featuring his signature mix of gumshoe action and wisecracking
humor. Now at work on his third novel, Cannell is the executive producer of
three TV shows currently on the air- *Renegade*, *Silk Stalking* and *Two*-
and has several more in the works. So prolific is the man who flunked second
grade that a graduate student recently sent him his thesis. The subject?
Cannell's career. "He said everything I've done was rehashed elements of
the same things presented in a different light," chuckles Cannell, not one to
let criticism bring him down. "But the only thing I do over and over is the
David and Goliath story. I always like writing about the underdog."
Alex Tresniowski
Craig Tomashoff in Pasadena
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TRIVIA TIME
Finally in the trivia department, last issue I asked:
>In the episode "Skins," what disguise does Hannibal don in the opening scene
>where he is meeting their potential client?
First correct answer was from Phil Dahl, who knew "Hannibal was dressed as
a robot, an, he meets their client in the basement of a building where a
computer convention is being held."
This issue's question is:
>In 'West Coast Turnaround," what did Face tell Murdock not to look at?
That's all for this issue, until next time, everyone, stay on the jazz!
nicole
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Quote of the week:
"B.A., if you stay like that they're gonna stand you in front
of a bank holding a clock!"
(Murdock in "Beast from the Belly of the Boeing")
---------------------------------------------------------------
Nicole
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"I did what I did because if I didn't do it, it wouldn't have gotten done -
and I might add that not doing it would have been a lot worse that doing
it badly, which I was *not* about to do." (H.M. Murdock)
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