photos: Alan Mercer with help from: Richard LeviFrom The New York Times:
"Skip E. Lowe is a true TV legend. With nearly 30 years on the air interviewing celebrities on his cable TV show, he is easily one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood."
From Variety:
"Skip E. Lowe has interviewed hundreds of established celebrities. He's also been responsible for creating more than a few celebrities as well. He has a sincere love of old Hollywood, but he also has a great eye for new talent."
From The Los Angeles Times:
“Skip E. Lowe is a retired stand-up comic who spends 30 to 40 hours a week working on his interview show with established stars such as Stella Stevens, Virginia O'Brien and Milton Berle.
From The New York Review of Books:
“This book is a great journey of someone's life. Skip E. Lowe is a true show business character--as much a part of the town as the Hollywood Sign. His life is filled with pathos and happiness. From cover to cover the book is a pure joy. You'll find yourself wondering who could possibly play Mr. Lowe in the movie that undoubtedly will come from this fabulous life memoir.”
What else can I say about Skip E. Lowe that hasn't been said already? He is such an original himself. Richard Levi and I met up with him at a coffee shop on Santa Monica Blvd. in West Hollywood. I took this photo of him right there on the street where I have seen him living his life ever since I moved here nine years ago. He invited me to be a guest on his cable access show and I was thrilled to do it. Go to Ebay where he sells his classic shows and check out all the people he has interviewed. You might even want to purchase one!
AM: Hi Skip. You have the reputation of interviewing more people than anyone else. Is this true?
SL: I have done over 8200 shows from Joseph Cotton to Orson Welles. The very first guest was Aldo Rey and he got me a lot of stars. I have interviewed all these legends. Not just actors, but singers with very specific styles.
AM: You have a couple of 'firsts' to your credit don't you?
SL: I was the very first interviewer on Public Access. I was the first to tell the camera man to get up close. People didn't always like it but I wanted close-ups with a plain black background. I just wanted the viewer to see our expressions without interference.
AM: What would you call your interview style?
SL: I do in-depth interviews. The man I learned the most from is Charlie Rose. He is my favorite person on television. I didn't learn a thing from Larry King. I knew him back in Florida. He got lucky. He was at the right place at the right time when CNN started in Atlanta.
AM: When did you start interviewing?
SL: I started when I returned from Vietnam in 1972. I met Marshall Edson who was the owner of a club in Beverly Hills. Joan Rivers was doing her showcase at the time. I was there a couple of years and Marshall asked me to take over the showcase so I started booking singers, comedians, and other kinds of acts. I remember Michael Feinstein came in one night and played piano. He was great. Michael worked for me for a while. Then he moved over to a club on LaCienega to work a talent night. That is how he got started and then Liza Minelli got a hold of him. She just kept helping him and he made it.
AM: You know so many people.
SL: I came to Hollywood as a child actor at nine years old. My mother brought me here from Rockford, Illinois, right outside Chicago. My first movie was 'Song Of The Open Road' with Jane Powell. I play one of the orange pickers.
AM: Were you ever star struck?
SL: No, never, never once. I've met so many stars. That's why they liked me because I wasn't start struck.
RL: Who do you like from today's stars?
SL: Sean Penn is my favorite. He is a good friend of mine. He loves me and I love him. You know why? Because he is a natural. He is a wonderful human being. He knows who he is. I also love Michael Parks. He is fantastic.
AM: You know (40's film star) Lizabeth Scott, don't you?
SL: I love her. She lives up in the Hollywood Hills. I talk to her all the time. She won't do any interviews or anything now. She gets asked all the time. She still has that voice. I love her.
AM: Who else did you like?
SL: I love Ida Lupino. She was a fantastic actress.
RL: I remember watching her and thinking what a strong lady.
SL: She was a strong lady. You like strong women like I do.
RL: Who do you think is a strong lady today?
SL: We do have Faye Dunaway. She lives around the corner with her son. She is a real strong lady.
RL: When did you start doing your cable access show?
SL: I started that in 1981. I met Peter Bogdonavich and he had Orson Welles living with him at the time. That's how I got Orson. I am selling these shows on ebay now. They are half hour shows on DVD.
AM: Who would you like to interview now?
SL: I'd like to interview Sean Penn and Johnny Depp. When I first started the show and would interview people they would get work. People would see them and they would get offers. It happened with Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis. I was the very first person to put celebrities on Public Access. After that other people started doing it, which is fine.
AM: Tell me about Martin Short and his character Jiminy Glick being based on you?
SL: I met Martin when he was a busboy at Chasons. He used to watch all my shows. He is a very talented guy. He then did the 'Saturday Night Live' in Canada. He got an agent and manager and they told him to watch Skip E. Lowe. Paul Schaeffer, who is a friend of mine, used to send Martin my shows. That was it. He started putting this character, Jiminy Glick, together with my style. Everybody has a little individuality. Quintin Crisp once said to me, "Always have your own style." If you have style you can do anything. It's the same with you as a photographer. You have a certain style. I love your photographs. They have your signature on them.
AM: Who was your most difficult interview?
SL: I never stopped tape but I feel it when they are not into it. There is only one person really who wasn't talking. I asked her all about Warner Bros. and James Cagney. She was the beautiful Virginia Mayo. She was the most difficult interview I have ever done. She would answer in three words and say, "Let's not get into that!"
AM: Tell us about your experience with Judy Garland.
SL: I was walking down the street one night in Beverly Hills. This is when she was on a lot of drugs. She used to walk with her husband at the time, Sid Luft. One day I ran up to her and she screamed at me to, "get out of here." She is my all-time favorite performer. She is one of the greats.
AM: Who are you loving now?
SL: Well of course I love my long time friend Mamie Van Doren. I am also loving Sally Kellerman. I just got into her. She is a lovely lady and I find her fascinating, and talented. Her CD is so good. The camera loves both of these women.
AM: You know Mamie is getting ready to go into the studio to record in a few days.
SL: That will be a great album. I can't wait.
AM: When is your birthday Skip?
SL: June 6. I turned 80 years old this year. I am a Gemini. You don't know which one you are talking to!
AM: You knew a lot of the stars from the fifties. Did you know Marilyn Monroe?
SL: I met Marilyn many times in New York. When I was about fifteen I moved to New York and stayed with my Aunt Sadie. I started working in the Catskills after that. I developed myself as a comic there. Then I went to Chicago and worked for the Mafia as a number boy. I met all the Mob bosses. I even met Al Capone in the coffee shop in the Burkshire Hotel. He told me I was a good Italian boy and he would take care of me.
AM: Were you making bank at this time?
SL: Yes I was making a lot of money but I gambled it all away. I played the horses. Everyone all around me was playing the horses. I was making money but I owed a debt too. Instead of me paying it back I checked into a mental hospital in Chicago under my real name, Sammy LaBella, and they couldn't find me. I disappeared. I got away. It's a great story and would make a wonderful movie.
To learn more about Skip E. Lowe visit his web site http://www.skipelowe.com/
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