Quick link to iTunes episode #12
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“Fantasy Island” Lava-lava girls. Can you pick Suzanne out?
Opening this episode with an off-the-wall giggling fit, Bob and Suzanne quickly recover their “professional bearing” and Suzanne recalls how she broke into the Screen Actors Guild with her first speaking role on Fantasy Island (while alienating all the other “Lava-Lava Girls” on the set).
Why would they typecast this actress?
With an early introduction into The School of Hard Knocks and the world of studio and network auditions, Suzanne’s artistic expectations bump into the harsh reality of repeated casting calls for a certain “type” and we learn what constant rejection felt like and just how tough show biz can be. She also shares the fun of “the acting life” in Hollywood that included a night with Robert DeNiro…
The “real” Suzanne!
Suzanne’s pluck and determination are apparent through her stories of studying “the method” at Lee Strasberg’s The Actors Studio—where she was again typecast—and her attempts at improvisation at The Groundlings. Be sure to hear Suzanne’s impromptu “Cha Cha DiGregorio” reading when she tried out for Grease and learned that being a “disco queen” wouldn’t be enough to keep up with John Travolta on the dance floor.
Suzanne with Lorenzo Lamas on “Falcon Crest”
You’ll hear how Suzanne was tapped for a soap opera career in New York on Ryan’s Hope…and why she turned down “the contract to die for” and made a crossroads decision about her life and career.
Suzanne talks about various roles from Helter Skelter to Falcon Crest and describes her crazy experience in Where The Buffalo Roam…and as Bob recalls his brief interlude with Bill Murray with one of them wearing only underwear…
The episode closes with Suzanne paying a heartfelt tribute to her fellow thespians…and then she delivers some invaluable and sincere “how to” advice to those with dreams of stardom.
