BURT KWOUK, is a Chinese British actor who grew up in occupied Shanghai and is known worldwide for playing Kato in Pink Panther movies. He was also in three James Bond movies, three Fu Manchu movies, acted on three different versions of THE AVENGERS, was in Hammer films and is still going strong. Paul Duane from Ireland interviewed Kwouk in the actor’s London pub.

VINCENT SCHIAVELLI is a Sicilian American actor whose face is well known after over 30 years of roles. He’s in most of Milos Forman’s movies including ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST and AMAEDEUS and was in GHOST, LORD OF ILLUSIONS, and TOMORROW NEVER DIES to name a few. Anthony Petkovich (author of The X Factory) has interviewed Bruce Glover, Robert Clarke, Antonio Fargas, Andrew Robinson, Gregory Dark, and Robert Quarry for PV.

ROY LONEY was the original lead singer of The Flamin’ Groovies from San Francisco. Loney’s voice is one of the greatest in the history of rock and roll and his excellent band was fun, funny and rockin’ when so many others were ponderous, over serious or just plain bad. Interviewer John Battles, who lives in Chicago, played in a band backing Brian McMahon and writes for Rocktober.

Read the Interview with Roy Loney now!

Top 10 inspirations for the Dell computer guy character:
1- Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond) on LEAVE IT TO BEAVER
2- Eaglebauer (Clint Howard) in ROCK ’N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL
3- Spicoli (Sean Penn) in FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
4- Bill (Alex Winter) in BILL AND TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE
5- Wayne (Mike Meyers) in WAYNE’S WORLD
6- Matthew Lillard in anything
7- P. T. Barnum
8- Ronald McDonald
9- Hitler
10- Satan (“Dude, You’re going to Hell!”)

Jane Scott (mentioned in this space last issue – Underground Cult) retired this Spring after 50 years at The Cleveland Plain Dealer. She wrote the weekly What’s Happening column from 1964 when The Beatles came to town until she was 82! She had attended Lakewood High School (as did my mother and my brothers and I). My friends and I used to make fun of her teen appeal writing style but always read what she had to say.

John Agar and Lawrence Tierney both starred in major studio movies before making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Both served time. One day in July 1952, Agar and Tierney were both sentenced in the same California courtroom! While Agar straightened his life out and kept playing leads for years, although in lower budgeted movies, Tierney remained a drinker and brawler. It’s amazing that he lived as long as he did. I grew up watching Agar sci fi movies on TV but didn’t realize how great Tierney had been in film noir and gangster roles until years later. Agar’s “comeback” role was playing the mayor of New York at the World Trade Center in KING KONG. Tierney was cast in RESERVOIR DOGS after Tarantino read Mike Murphy’s interview with him in PV#8. Agar was one of the nicest guys in Hollywood. Tierney could be dangerous and unpredictable but people I know had a great time hanging out with him. While being interviewed he took the letters from the word Psychotronic and made a long list of other words. I still have his list.

Here’s my response to a recent PV web site message:

Psychotronic, you hypocrites! Issue #35, review of African poster book Extreme Canvas: “It’s hard not to wonder how watching so many brainless war and commando movies affected the viewers.” Why not also blame 50s comic books and rap videos for their troubles?! Tho, maybe anti- American movies like JFK and WINTER KILLS influenced the African 911 terrorists. Rabid Barbra Streisand and Warren Beatty hate President Bush so much, they’ve gone into hiding since 911. Maybe the 911 terrorists thought they had friends in Hollywood!!!!! – Ed Narorozny

First of all I wrote that book review before 9-11 and America was not attacked by people from Ghana. This is a big issue so lets leave comic books and videos out for now. I wonder about how movies in general have affected and continue to affect people everywhere. Despite the relentless self promoting hype from Hollywood about how wonderful and entertaining and enriching the movie business is – film can and does manipulate both children and adults on many levels, and can alter our perception of ourselves, the past, the present – and the future. The world is a vastly different place than it would have been without film. Since motion pictures were invented, most were intended as harmless entertainment but others had serious political and social agendas and were used as psychological weapons. American movies of the past helped change fashions, habits and attitudes. They also rewrote history and spread fascist, racist, sexist, pro (and anti) religious, socialist, and yes, even communist ideas. Hollywood is and always has been a bottom line business. Profit comes before politics, religion, morals or quality (obviously).
The state controlled Soviet film industry used film to rewrite their history and control the minds of the population of Russia and conquered territories. The Nazis did the same thing even more effectively in fewer years. Nazi and Soviet propaganda films are studied today (and influence our TV commercials and political campaigns). Both Nazi and Communist filmmakers studied and borrowed ideas from Hollywood. The American government never officially controlled all film production, but during WWI, WWII, and the Korean War era Hollywood studios effectively helped to make Americans more patriotic and to hate and want to destroy the enemy. In most cases the studios had to be pressured to do this, but they listened when the government called.

By the 60s, the old American studio monopoly system had been broken up by the very government that used to count on it during wars, then the old censorship system was gone. Presidents (or J. Edgar Hoover) could no longer pressure studios to do their patriotic duty and by the late 60s many major American movies were firmly anti-war and anti-government (and pro drug). You could argue that Hollywood aided the enemy during Viet Nam – even if you think we shouldn’t have even been there. We now have a new wave of pro American cause movies (after recent public pressure from the government) being made by the same corporations that thrive on merchandising and on product placements and profit more from movies that are increasingly moronic, hateful and anti everything.

It doesn’t matter what your political or religious beliefs are to realize that movies (and in a much larger sense – media) affect our lives and even world events, especially now with satellite dishes and PCs. Yes, that poster book made me think about how American movies fucked with the minds of people in Ghana, but it’s not all one sided. In the past we were affected by movies and attitudes from England, Germany, France, Italy and even South Africa. Americans and their children are now being affected daily by media from or backed by Israel, Japan, and even Australia! When it comes to awareness of commercial and political agendas in media I feel like I’m maybe on a 6th grade level. Most Americans are happy to stay in nursery school. The masters degree people who control our lives (and many of our politicians) will do anything to keep things this way.

By the way if you’ve got money to burn and need still more and better looking apocalyptic holocaust end of the world entertainment- the first four high definition D-VHS releases ($35 – $45 each) are TERMINATOR 2 (see L.A. nuked again!), THE PEACEMAKER (stolen nukes!), X-MEN (concentration camp survivor villain) and U-571 (Nazi submarine). The D-VHS VCR lists for around $2000. Pick one up ASAP at Wal-Mart along with a new flat big as your wall TV. The Wal-Mart heirs need more money to pay lawyers and P.R. people to keep them out of jail and out of the headlines after all those DWI charges. We’ll meet again….

I was feeling sick. I was losing my mind. I heard about these treatments from a good friend of mine. He was always happy. Smile on his face. He said he had a great time at the place. Gimme gimme shock treatment. Gimme gimme shock treatment. Peace and love is here to stay and now I can wake up and face the day. Happy happy happy all the time. Shock treatment, I’m doing fine. (The Ramones – ’77)

Still . . . please; Stay Sick! – Michael J. Weldon