Q: Most people are
familiar, of course, with your wonderful character of Max
Klinger on M*A*S*H*. Had you begun work on M*A*S*H*
before ARNOLD, or after you were signed to portray
Klinger?
A: I was just going into
our second season of M*A*S*H when I started filming
Arnold. We had been on Sunday evenings opposite Wonderful
World of Disney on NBC and the series was about 56th in
the ratings. I was jubilant that the series was picked up
for another year and was moved to Saturday night in the
greatest line-up in television history...All In the
Family, Mary Tyler Moore, MASH, The Bob Newhart Show and
finally The Carol Burnett Show. This line-up may not be
in the accurate order but the shows were all on that
night on CBS. William Jurgensen, MASH's cinematographer
was also hired to do the cinematography for Arnold. Check
the credits.
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Q: Did the subject of
ARNOLD ever pop up in conversations on the set of the
4077th, or had any other cast members seen the film?
A: As for anyone on the
MASH set asking me about Arnold.....nope. I don't think
they knew I had done a feature film in between seasons.
Actually I had not been contracted to MASH yet...I was
merely a day player who would be called when needed.
Q: How were you handed the
role of Dybbi, and what made Andrew Fenady feel you were
right for the part?
A: Andrew Fenady is an old
friend of mine from Toledo, Ohio. I had worked for him
before in numerous television series which he produced
and a pilot for NBC which did not sell. He was always
looking for something for me in any of his films. He is a
great and loyal friend. He had used me in a serious role
in an episode of The Rebel starring the late Nick Adams
and he believed I would be good and convincing in the
role of Dybbi.
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Q: Did you prep yourself
in any special way for the role? It's a wonderful
pantomime performance!
A: I did not use any extra
preparation for the role...I called upon my skills as an
actor and used whatever I had acquired to portray Dybbi.
Q: I don't think I've ever
seen you with such a heavy makeup job and costume, not
counting, of course, any of Klinger's occasionally
intricate frocks! Was it a long makeup session?
A: I am not certain how
long the make-up process took. It has been many years and
my memory is not the sharpest. I have not seen the film
in years and I can not fully recollect exactly what I
looked like in the make-up.
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Q: Did anyone in your
family get to see you in that rather sinister-looking
makeup and costume?
A: My wife, Joy, saw me in
it when we went to the very first screening of the film.
She has always been a great supporter of me and my career
and thought I looked menacing and did a creditable job as
an actor.
Q: How long did you
actually work on ARNOLD for your scenes? Was it any easy
shoot, or were there any difficult scenes you did?
A: Again, I do not
remember how long I worked on the film. I can't say that
any of the scenes were extremely difficult. I had a
terrific time with all the cast members and our Director,
Georg Fenady...who also happens to be my son's Godfather.
Much fun.
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Q: During the wedding
scene at the beginning, as the two little girls are
horsing around when the ceremony is beginning, Dybbi
stops the shenanigans by suddenly thrusting his hook
right between the two little girls. Had I been them at
that young an age, I would have been scared! How did
those two little actresses react?
A: Because I have not seen
the film in years I do not remember the scene with the
little girls. I probably did frighten them. I would like
to think I was a good enough actor to have frightened
them.
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Q: Did you strictly follow
the script and Georg Fenady's direction, or were you
allowed any improv or input into your character?
A: We stayed to the
script, as I recall. Of course I did not say anything so
I stuck to whatever the script indicated and added my
little miming nuances.
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Q: Several of your costars
in ARNOLD were already Hollywood legends by then: Roddy
McDowall, Elsa Lanchester, Farley Granger, Patric
Knowles, and Bernard Fox was known as Dr. Bombay from
Bewitched. What was it like being in close company with
some of them?
A: I had worked with Roddy
on the film The Greatest Story Ever Told...so it was fun
being reunited with him. A wonderful actor, photographer
and person. He is missed. As for all the others? What a
treat. I had been a fan of each and every one of the
wonderful performers. Patric Knowles in Robin Hood,
Charge of the Light Brigade and all the films he did at
Universal Studios. Farley Granger and all of the
Hitchcock films.
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Q: Genre fans who read
this will probably want to know, like myself, if Roddy
ever talked about the Apes films on the set, or if Elsa
ever mentioned her now-classic role in The Bride of
Frankenstein?
A: Elsa never mentioned
the Bride of Frankenstein to me and I never ventured to
ask her about it. I figured she was probably tired of
talking about it after so many years.
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Q: When did you last watch
yourself in ARNOLD? :-)
A: I have not seen Arnold
in maybe ten or fifteen years.
Q: If you were offered a
role like Dybbi in a film like ARNOLD today, would you do
it?
A: If a role such as Dybbi
were offered to me today...yes I would take it. An actor
is an actor is an actor.
Thank
you for spending the time to answer these questions,
Jamie. I've encountered the subject of ARNOLD on a few
classic horror and movie message boards on the internet,
and there's definitely people out there who know and love
the film!
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