The One & Only Mamie Van Doren

All photos:  Alan Mercer    Lighting:  Eric Venturo

I have called Mamie Van Doren my friend for almost six years now. I must confess I never thought I would be able to say this. As a young man growing up she was nothing more than a myth to me. A Hollywood Goddess I could only see in gorgeous photos or once in a while on the late show. When her book came out in 1987 I read it from cover to cover and still wondered what this lady was all about. Why did I think I should know her? Why did I think we COULD be friends? I settled for an autographed photo she sent me in the mail!

Fast forward to Los Angeles, March 2005, when I am about to have my first photo session with a Hollywood Icon! My nerves were up! Mamie, with her hair in curlers, and her husband Thomas Dixon arrive at the studio on time! We get all the wardrobe inside and a very few minutes later Mamie emerges from the dressing room looking every bit the glamorous beauty she is. We shot a lot of looks that day and afterwards we got to know each other a bit. When I started showing Mamie the photos from our session she was amazed. Our friendship was born and all seemed right in the world.

We have done countless photo sessions since this time and I have well over a hundred finished photos in my library. We have talked on the phone until we both know everything about the other one. When I was starting this blog she was my logical first entry. I'm so proud to have her back again. She is remarkable in so many ways. How I wish all of you could know the person I know. She lives in Newport Beach with Thomas and her son Perry, along with her dogs and cockatoos. I will never know anyone else remotely like her and "I know" I will never have another relationship with "someone I take photos of" like this. For those of you who may not be familiar with her past here is the rundown.

Mamie Van Doren was born Joan Lucille Olander in Rowena, South Dakota. She is three-quarters Swedish, the remainder is mixed English and German. Her mother named her after Joan Crawford. In May 1942, they moved to Los Angeles.

In early 1946, Mamie began working as an usher at the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. She also sang with Ted Fio Rito's band and entered beauty contests. Van Doren was married for a brief time at seventeen. She and first husband, Jack Newman, eloped to Santa Barbara. The marriage dissolved quickly, upon her discovery of his abusive nature. In the summer of 1949, at age 18, she won the titles "Miss Eight Ball" and "Miss Palm Springs".

Mamie was discovered by famed producer Howard Hughes on the night she was crowned Miss Palm Springs. The pair dated for several years. Hughes launched her career by placing her in several RKO films. In 1951, she posed for famous pin-up girl artist Alberto Vargas, the painter of the glamorous "Vargas Girls." His painting of Van Doren was on the July cover of Esquire.

On January 20, 1953, Van Doren signed a contract with Universal Studios. The studio had big plans for her, hoping she would bring the same kind of success that 20th Century Fox had with Marilyn Monroe, the reigning sex symbol of the era. Van Doren, whose signing day coincided with the inauguration of President Eisenhower, was given the first name Mamie for Ike's wife, Mamie Eisenhower.

Van Doren starred in several bad girl movies that later became cult films. She also appeared in some of the first movies to feature Rock & Roll music and became identified with this rebellious style, and made some rock records. In the film 'Untamed Youth' in 1957, she was the first woman to sing rock and roll in a Hollywood musical (Eddie Cochran did the music for the film).

Many of Van Doren's film roles showcased her ample curves, and her on screen wardrobe usually consisted of tight sweaters, low-cut blouses, form-fitting dresses, and daring (for the era) swimsuits. While she and other blonde bombshell contemporaries as Sheree North, Jayne Mansfield, and Diana Dors did not attain the same level of superstar status as Marilyn Monroe, Van Doren did become a very famous star and notable Hollywood sex symbol. Marilyn, Mamie and Jayne Mansfield were known as the "Three M's.

In 1964, Van Doren was a guest at the Whisky a Go Go on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood when The Beatles were at the club visiting with Jayne Mansfield, and an inebriated George Harrison accidentally threw his drink on her when trying to throw it on some bothersome journalists.

During the Vietnam War, she did tours for U.S. troops in Vietnam for three months in 1968, and again in 1970. In addition to USO shows, she visited hospitals, including the wards of amputees and burn victims that many other celebrities avoided.

Van Doren's autobiography, Playing the Field (1987), brought much new attention to the veteran sex symbol and proved to be her biggest media splash in over 25 years. Since the book's publication she has often been interviewed and profiled and has occasionally returned to acting. In 2006, Mamie posed for photographs for Vanity Fair with Pamela Anderson, as part of its annual Hollywood issue.

Mamie and Thomas, maintain her web site. There, she sells autographed photos. Her contemporary topless and nude photos, and outspoken political views, have helped create a larger fan base than at any time in her career. MamieVan Doren has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7057 Hollywood Boulevard.

AM: Mamie, you are the first conversation on my blog which I started almost two years ago. I'm so excited to have you back again. You are my Angel.

MVD: You're so sweet. You're my Angel. You make me look so pretty. We started shooting six years ago. Ever since then I hardly ever shoot with anyone else, it's only Alan Mercer.

AM: Our shoots have opened you up for more opportunities don't you think?

MVD: Oh yes, of course. I'm just so happy that we met. Karma must have brought us together. Your career has really taken off.

AM: It has! We all had to know each other in a past life!

MVD: I think so. I'm really into that.

AM: When we first started shooting the social networks hadn't started yet. Now I know a lot of the people that follow my blog are there because of you.

MVD: You're really kind.

AM: You really enjoy the social networks as well don't you?

MVD: I'm on them everyday. I'm constantly posting and commenting. You are the one who put me on Facebook! I said, "No I'm not going on Facebook or Twitter." I like to say more than one or two lines so Twitter isn't as much fun for me, but I am a Facebook fan. I've gotten so many friends and fans from it. I'm realizing that people do still know who I am. They are so kind. I have some wonderful Facebook friends.

AM: You know people ask me about you all the time. Everywhere I go for my whole life now you are with me, no matter where you really are.

MVD: That is so sweet. My life is more private. I don't go to Hollywood too often. I live down here in Newport Beach. I only go to certain parties that I like. Hollywood will always be Hollywood but it doesn't have the flamboyance that it used to have. It just isn't like it used to be with dressing up in gowns and furs, which is OK. I'm not into some of the movies now. I just don't like a lot of them.

AM: Mamie, everyone wants to know when is your CD coming out?

MVD: I wish I had an answer, but as of now I don't have one. I should know something by next month.

AM: I know you were one of the first celebrities involved with the AIDS movement back in the early 80's when fear kept most people away. Can you tell me a little more about that?

MVD: I was approached by my publicist, Alan Eichler, and playwright, Tom Eyen, to make an appearance at a benefit performance of Eyen's "Women Behind Bars." I went along with Patti Page and a few others and we raised a few thousand dollars. This was early, early on in the AIDS epidemic when the disease was poorly understood, and way before the drug cocktails in use today.

AM: What made you want to get involved?

MVD: My friends were dying left and right, and I felt like I had no choice but to help, because few celebrities would have their names attached to HIV/AIDS. I continued making appearances at clubs to raise money throughout the eighties. Much of this is lost in the sands of time, since hardly anyone is left alive that was there at the time.

AM: You have four miniture pinschers, your greyhound rescue Suave, and three cockatoos. Have you always been an animal lover? What do your animals give you?

MVD: My animals give me a sense of peace, even when they're loud and boisterous. And they give me a lot of love. I started being an animal lover growing up on my grandparent's South Dakota farm. I had no siblings, so the animals--kittens, horses, chickens, dogs--were all my friends. I will not eat chicken to this day because of my closeness to those animals when I was a child.

AM: Many people would like you to write another book. Do you have another book inside you?

MVD: I have more than one in me. The question is, can the world stand another book by Mamie? "Playing the Field" caused a God-awful stir in its day because I wrote candidly about my love affairs and--most especially frightening for the men who read and reviewed it--PENIS SIZE.

AM: Would they tell you that?

MVD: Men who interviewed me during the book tour were so put off and uncomfortable discussing the subject that it was laughable. For years, everyone knew what my bust size was. All the magazines trumpeted about my 38-24-35 and every other glamour girl's measurements, but when I started talking about how Burt Reynolds or Steve Cochran were HUNG, well, bar the doors, Nelly, there's a she-devil in town.
But a book. Yes, I would like to write at least one more, and I'd like to do a picture book of my contemporary photos--yours especially. But time is the great leveler. Writing a book is a time-intensive project. I write a regular column for Hustler magazine, and that commitment of time is occasionally a strain. I've got it on the back burner.

AM: Mamie, one of the things that your fans know and love about you is your honesty and your strong opinions. You never pussyfoot around any political topic, even subjects most people wouldn't talk so openly about. Have you always been this way or have you gotten stronger over the years?

MVD: I've always been painfully honest and it has gotten me into plenty of trouble over the years. My political views have gotten stronger over the years--mostly because of the half-witted politicians that we insist on electing in recent decades. I am talking specifically about King George The Stupid and his papa and Reagan and--don't get me started. I really can't abide some of the corrupt and crooked assholes that hold office these days. That said, I do like Obama. I think he's doing the best job he can, considering the Democrats have no backbone and all the Republicans want him to fail.

AM: How have your views of spirituality changed?

MVD: I was brought up a Lutheran, which, in later years, I have found to be terribly rigid. I like to call myself a Buddhist, though I fudge a little bit because I believe in God. But the Buddhist sense of connection to the larger universe and its foundation of loving kindness and compassion is very satisfying to me spiritually. I mediate almost daily and try to remain in the present.

AM: Everywhere I go people ask me about you. They always want to know how you spend your time. What do you do in an average day? What do you want to say to this?

MVD: I try to get nine hours of sleep. As people on Facebook know, I go to bed late, so I wake up mid-morning. I go to Pilates class a couple times a week and I spend a lot of time with my dogs. I live in walking distance to the beach and I like to go there.

AM: Do you go to the beach often?

MVD: Now that summer is over and the tourists are gone, I have my little village back to myself and I can bicycle and feel safe. I like to spend time with my son. We are very close, and he and Thomas are my best friends.

AM: What is the latest change you have made about yourself?

MVD: I'm a newly converted vegetarian and I'm still getting used to having to eat so many meals a day. I still eat a little fish once in a while and I drink a lot of water.

AM: What do you think about the 3D movies now?

MVD: Oh I think it's fabulous. I'm really into that. Of course 3D came out with 'House Of Wax' in the early 50's. I was the first one in the theater for that. It never really caught on but if they can get it where we don't have to put those glasses on, can you imagine? You sit there and you are part of the whole scene. It's mind boggling.

 AM: I want to bring up the topic of short films. They are really doing good these days. I think a lot has to do with attention spans now. Would you be interested in filming a short?

MVD: Oh I would love to. I know Joan Collins did one called 'Fetish' with film maker Charles Casillo.

AM: I just talked to Charles yesterday. He is going to be on this blog soon.

MVD: Oh really! He's written me a couple of times. He wants to meet with me and see if I would be interested in working with him.

AM: The good thing is it only takes a few days.

MVD: If it's well written I'd be up for it. He'd be my leading man I guess. He's so handsome I'd love to work opposite him. That would be really sexy. I'd like to do an updated 'Sunset Boulevard' with Rock n' Roll. I've always sort of been that way anyway.

AM: Do you think the public would be surprised about how you really are?

MVD: Of course! (laughing) Really I have a lot of privacy going on in my life! I moved down here from Hollywood just to get away from it all. If people don't want to be photographed walking down the streets they shouldn't live in Hollywood. They like it otherwise they wouldn't be there. I moved down here in the 60's. It was a lot different then than now. You can't even buy property now, it's so expensive.

AM: Thank you for taking the time to talk with me for the blog.

MVD: Are you kidding!?! It's my pleasure. I love you. Alan, I really enjoyed working with you on this group of photographs. I especially love your new look of black and white, which is so arty and classy. I can't wait to work on the next one with you.

To learn more about Mamie visit her web site http://www.mamievandoren.com/

Mamie Van Doren Gallery

Here is a small sampling of photos taken over the past six years working with Mamie Van Doren. 

Visit Mamie Van Doren at her web site http://www.mamievandoren.com/

Ruth Buzzi Is A Farmer's Wife



All Photos:  Alan Mercer    Hair:  David Blackstock

Ruth Buzzi is a comedienne and actress of theatre, film, and television. She is especially known for her performances on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973.

Ruth Buzzi was born the daughter of Rena Pauline and Angelo Peter Buzzi, a nationally recognized stone sculptor. She was raised in Wequetequock, Connecticut, in a rock house overlooking the ocean at Wequeteqouck Cove, where her father owned Buzzi Memorials, a business still operated by her older brother, Harold. Her father carved the marble eagles at Penn Station in New York, the granite Leif Erikson memorial in Providence, Rhode Island, the animals seen in relief on the Natural History Museum in New York, and made thousands of tombstones from the family business near Stonington, in the tiny hamlet of Wequetequock.

Ruth attended Stonington High School, about a mile from her home. She was the head cheerleader and began gaining experience there, performing before crowds. At 17, she flew to California and enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse for the Performing Arts from which she graduated with honors; her classmates included Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman. She studied voice, dance, and acting and also took courses in cosmetology just in case the acting career failed to attain success. Before even graduation from college, she was a working actress, however, obtaining her Union card and working part time in musical and comedy revues. She moved to New York after graduation and on her very first audition was hired for a lead role in an off-Broadway musical; that was the first of 19 such revues in her career.

Before leaving New York for a career in Los Angeles as a TV star, Ruth appeared in a Bob Fosse classic Broadway hit, 'Sweet Charity,' with Gwen Verdon. Between New York musical variety shows, Ruth made numerous national television commercials, some of which won awards including the coveted CLEO.

Ruth Buzzi's first national appearance on television came on the 'Garry Moore Show' just after Carol Burnett was replaced by Dorothy Loudon on the series. Ruth Buzzi saw her first taste of national fame as "Shakuntala" the silent, bumbling magician's assistant to her comedy partner Dom DeLuise as "Dominic the Great". They were an instant hit with the public.

Ruth was a member of the regular repertory company on the CBS variety show 'The Entertainers' (1964–1965). In the late 1960s, she was featured as a semi-regular on the sitcom 'That Girl' as Marlo Thomas's friend and in a comedy-variety series starring Steve Allen. Her character parts in the Allen sketches led her to be cast for NBC's new show 'Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In.' Ruth Buzzi was the only featured player to appear in every episode of 'Laugh-In.'

Her most famous character is the dowdy spinster Gladys Ormphby, clad in drab brown with her bun hairdo covered by a visible hairnet knotted in the middle of her forehead. In most sketches, she used her lethal purse, with which she would flail away vigorously at anyone who incurred her wrath. On 'Laugh-In,' Gladys most often appeared as the unwilling object of the advances of Arte Johnson's "dirty old man" character Tyrone F. Horneigh.

Ruth, as Gladys, later became a regular part of Dean Martin's "Celebrity Roasts", usually punishing Martin for his remarks about her unappealing looks and poor romantic prospects. In one such exchange, Gladys accusingly questioned Martin about who had been chasing her around a hotel room in the wee hours; Martin's response, "The exterminator!" earned him a beating as he broke up laughing along with the audience. Gladys then declared to the audience that, when Martin and other men looked at her, only one thing came to their minds. Martin, still laughing, could barely get out the answer, "Rabies!" which earned him an even fiercer beating from Gladys.

She is still seen frequently on 'Sesame Street' in comedy sketch clips from her seven years on that show, and is often heard as the voice of outlandish failed torch singer, "Susie Kabloozy".

Ruth Buzzi was a semi-regular guest star on many television series including 'Donny & Marie,' 'The Flip Wilson Show,' 'The Dean Martin Music and Comedy Hour,' the 'Dean Martin Roasts,' 'The Carol Burnett Show,' 'Tony Orlando and Dawn,' and variety series hosted by Leslie Uggams and Glen Campbell.

Ruth had a successful nightclub act all across the United States including in Las Vegas at the Sahara Hotel and at the MGM Grand. She only performed the act for one year because she did not like the smell of cigarette smoke and disliked traveling all the time; her shows were all sold out and she was offered an extended stay in Las Vegas but opted out.

Ruth Buzzi has had featured roles in more than 20 motion pictures including 'Chu Chu and the Philly Flash,' 'The North Avenue Irregulars,' 'The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again,' 'The Villain,' and a number of westerns for the European market known as the Lucky Luke series in which she plays the mother of the Dalton Gang and other roles.

Buzzi is an inductee into the Television and Radio Hall of Fame and the Rhode Island Hall of Fame. She has been nominated by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Emmy Awards five times in several categories from comedy and variety to drama; she was recognized not only for making people laugh, but for her versatility as an actress; she is remembered for a guest starring dramatic role on 'Medical Center' with Greg Evigan in which she played the wife of a fatally ill man played by Don Rickles.

Ruth Buzzi received the coveted Golden Globe Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for her work on 'Laugh-In.'

Ruth now lives primarily in Southlake, Texas and enjoys spending time with her husband Kent Perkins (a retired businessman) at their 220-acre ranch just west of Fort Worth, Texas where they raise Black Angus cattle and quarter horses; she has a horse named Gladys, a cat named Ratso Rizzo, and her hobby is painting.

Buzzi does not offer paintings for sale to the public, but has donated paintings to charity where they have sold for thousands of dollars. She supports children's charities including Make a Wish Foundation, the Special Olympics, St. Jude Hospital, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

It was my friend David Blackstock who introduced me to Ruth. We went to her home along with Richard Levi, who is in Texas now, and Tony Colbert. All four of us had a great time playing around with Ruth. There is much laughter during this conversation that I wish you all could hear. Ruth is exactly the same in real life as she is on television.

AM: Ruth, how long have you been living in Ft. Worth?

RB: I would say about four years now.

AM: So it's home now?

RB: Well it's home but then again South Lake is also home. We got a place there seven years ago. We own a shopping center in Ft. Worth. We got that right after we got the house. Because we have the shopping center we needed an office close by so that's what this is. It just happens to be a wonderful house! It's a log cabin. You feel like you're in the mountains.

AM: Yes you do! By the way I saw your longhorn cattle.

RB: Did you? There's only one and that's the little girl. My husband lets that beautiful longhorn roam around and she has beat up the cactus plant. At this point it would be yellow and blooming, but she has just ripped it up. My husband said it would grow back quickly and it has. So now I might cut some and cook it! No, no, no. (laughing) We can cook it, fry it, grill it and eat it. You do that down here you just grill away!

AM: Did you ever think you'd be living in Texas with ducks and swans and cattle?

RB: (laughing) No! My maid calls them swabs! I love her dearly but when she said that I nearly died! I like that name. I like them being called swabs!

AM: I never thought of you as this kind of person.

RB: I know, I never did either.

AM: You're from the East Coast.

RB: I am from the East and we don't have animals in the East.

AM: I think of you more like a theater person and a TV star.

RB: I was raised in Wequetequock, Connecticut. It's not Theater, trust me. It's Indians and Indians don't have swabs! In fact that's where the first Indian Casino is. Everybody goes there. I was there the first week it opened.

AM: Now did you ever do an act in a casino?

RB: I think you're getting very personal now! (we are all laughing) Do an "act" in a casino! What kind of an act? I'm now interviewing you! What kind of an act are you talking about?!?

AM: Well I meant a stage show but you can answer anyway you'd like!

RB: I've done a club act in a lot of different places. With the 'Laugh-In' people we did a small show. Really we went to places where people wanted to see us and ask a lot of questions and we just had a lot of fun. I've been in a lot of casinos because I do a lot of autograph signings.

AM: Do you enjoy meeting fans at autograph signings?

RB: Yes, yes it's fun! I wouldn't want to do it all the time but the few times I do it, like twice a year, they make you feel great. This is the first time that Kent and I aren't going to the Indy 500. Even though it's work, the one thing I miss is the parade. It's like an hour and a half long and the people scream. It seems like everybody comes to the parade. They make you feel really fabulous. I will miss that this year.

AM: You seem to have pointed your life in a different direction than show business.

RB: Besides this place here in Ft. Worth, and I just found this out about three years ago, I didn't know that my husband had a dream, ever since he was a little boy, to own a ranch in Texas! I NEVER knew it! Had I known this I would have thought more about the swabs, the pigs, the wild boars, the snakes, and all these things I am absolutely petrified of. He thought I would be a great cowgirl. He has found out in the last three months that I stink at it! He laughs and he's wonderful about it, thank goodness! I have disappointed him I know. I am not a cowgirl so he calls me a 'guinea on the range' because I'm Italian. Did you know that?

AM: I did.

RB: A lot of people don't know that. My real last name is spelled Buzzi but pronounced BOOTZY. The second I go to Europe it's Miss Bootsy, that's it. I like that and would love to be called that. Thank goodness when my father came here from the old country and people called him Buzzi, he didn't try to correct them and I'm glad because you'd be doing it all day long. About once a year someone will call me by the real pronunciation of my last name and I get all excited.

AM: What did your father do?

RB: He was an incredible stone sculptor. He was one of the top five stone sculptors on the Eastern seaboard in 1954. He did the eagles on the George Washington bridge. He said he never got paid for them. It was just like being a performer. Every once and a while you get a job where they are just not going to pay you. Kent and I did a children's series. We did eighteen shows in fourteen days. It was a whole cast and there was music to learn. We never got paid. 'Betsy Lee' was the name of the series.

AM: This reminds me that after 'Laugh-In' you are most known for 'Sesame Street.'

RB: Well that was the next series that I was on.

AM: How long did you do that for?

RB: Off and on for six years. It was a period that covered six years.

AM: That really makes you immortal.

RB: I think so! I believe you. It was a tough show to do. All the Muppets are incredibly talented wonderful people. I love them all. I really do, but being a human on the show you have to memorize everything. The Muppets don't have to learn anything, they can read because they are behind things. The only thing that used to get me crazy, and they will find this out now, because I never said a word, and I was just fine. What they would do when they called you for a sketch was just hang out and be funny! They had great personalities and they would talk to each other up to the last second. As a performer who just learned all that stuff you want to put your head together for like thirty seconds and you couldn't do that. They really were funny and I didn't want to miss what they were saying.

AM: But you couldn't concentrate on your part could you?

RB: No you couldn't concentrate. However it was never bad enough that I had to say anything like "SHUT-UP!" but way down deep I wanted to say, "Please be quiet." They were such wonderful people with a lot of talent. I did a lot of funny dances and songs.

AM: You are all over the internet now. Those skits are on Youtube.

RB: Now everything is coming back and I'm so happy about it. I worked hard for those people.

AM: All the 'Laugh-In' skits are out there too and the Dean Martin Comedy Roasts.

RB: I want a lot of the other Variety Shows I was onto be out there to and I guess they are. When I was on 'Laugh-In' I was the only one who did all the other Variety Shows. I would be on them more than once. I did a lot of very funny sketches, crazy funny, some of them much funnier than 'Laugh-In.'

AM: Have you looked at Youtube?

RB: Oh yes, my husband finds them. He screams and I come running down the stairs. Whoo! It's so wonderful that my husband is so proud of me. We've been married now for a long time. Thirty-two years and he gets excited seeing me in things. He wants to put them on Facebook.

AM: Are you on Facebook?

RB: No I'm not but my husband is. I don't do any of those things. I'm the one who packed up three houses. Once we build our house on the ranch there's going to be another pack up.

AM: Ruth I get the feeling that despite the hard work you are loving your life these days.

RB: Oh yes! Being a farmer's wife is a lot of work.

AM: Do you get a chance to relax and have vacations?

RB: We relax when we watch TV. We've been so many places throughout my whole career. I've been everywhere. Been there, done that. I don't care anymore. Thank goodness my husband is at a point where he doesn't care anymore either. I really just want to stay home. I love home. I LOVE home.



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Patrick Kilpatrick: A Good Guy!

All Photos:  Alan Mercer

As rugged as he is genteel, the six-foot two-inch 220-lb Patrick Kilpatrick has been one of the finest screen and television character actors and villains of his generation, playing against a spectrum of Hollywood's leading action heroes, while occasionally delivering the redemptive, even sensitively challenged, hard-edged heroic role.

After nearly dying in a car crash as a teenager, he instead rehabilitated to largely do his own stunts in 100 plus films and TV projects. His action film appearances span a multitude of genres and embrace an international Who's Who of leading men: 'Replacement Killers' against Chow Yun Fat; Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Caan in 'Eraser,' 'Last Man Standing' opposite Bruce Willis, 'Under Siege II' opposite Segal, 'Presidio' opposite Sean Connery and Mark Harmon, two award-winning and highly rated original cable westerns opposite Tom Selleck -- 'Last Stand at Saber River' and 'Crossfire Trail,' one western opposite Sam Elliot and Kate Capshaw -- HBO's Premiere Films adaptation of Louis L' Amour's 'The Quick and the Dead,' and the ever-popular action mainstay 'Death Warrant' opposite Jean Claude Van Damme, as The Sandman. He has even done battle with the largest mammal on earth in 'Free Willy III.'

The versatile Kilpatrick has played leads in everything from 'American Playhouse' to a film debut in Nick Roeg's masterwork 'Insignificance', to Shakespeare's 'Anthony and Cleopatra' at Los Angeles Theater Center in the hands of Academy Award-winning director Tony Richardson.

His resume embraces reoccurring roles on such hit television shows as 'Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman' and 'Tour of Duty,' 'Dark Angel,' Stephen King's popular miniseries 'The Stand,' HBO's 'ARLI$$' and many, many more. It was his work on James Cameron's 'Dark Angel' that led Spielberg to seek him out for 'Minority Report.'

In one year and a half whirlwind period, he did five major studio films, two independents and 27 television guest star spots on 18 different shows. The pace continues to the present with appearances on 'Boomtown,' 'Las Vegas,' 'Blind Justice,' 'CSI-Las Vegas,' '24' as Secret Service Agent Dale Spaulding -- "the man who 'killed' Jack Bauer", and hit shows 'Criminal Minds' and James Wood's 'Shark.'

Kilpatrick, president and CEO of Uncommon Dialogue Films, Inc. (UDF), is the writer/producer/director of the upcoming film 'Vain Attempt.' In addition to 'Vain Attempt' UDF has a dynamic slate of arresting movies including 'Naked Warriors' set in the Pacific in 1943, 'Lady Pirates,' 'The End of the Onslaught' set in WWII Germany and 'Nine Heroes in the Rape of Nanking' set in 1937 China, plus two documentaries and a television series 'Natural Laws' concerning US Fish and Wildlife Special Agents amidst global threat of illegal wildlife traffic and ecological calamity. He travels the world organizing film, ecological business development and acting.

The first thing I noticed about Patrick Kilpatrick, after his physicality, is his intelligence. The man is whip smart and he has a conscience. He is no nonsense and to the point. He cares about what he is doing with his time on this earth.

He is hosting a great benefit called "The Hollywood Celebrity Sporting Clays Invitational' on Oct. 9 at Triple B Clays Shotgun Sporting Park in El Monte, California for the City of Hope Hospital. A group of A-listers will take part in a fun-filled day of World Class eco-friendly sporting clays shooting to benefit 'Be The Match Marrow Registry City of Hope.' The Mobile Bone Marrow Testing Unit will be on-hand for celebrities and all event participants to be entered into the national registry with the ultimate goal of finding a match for an adult or child in need of bone marrow, or stem-cell treatment.

AM: Patrick, I know you as one of the busiest actors in town. Why do you think this is?

PK: I have the curse of a liberal arts education. If I'm not writing I'm acting or I'm raising the money for a movie. I started out as an advertising writer and a journalist.

AM: Who did you write for?

PK: I wrote for most of the major magazines in New York. I was always doing a lot of different kinds of things. I'm always active because I have work coming to me from a lot of different directions. As far as acting goes, it all comes down to auditioning.

AM: Do you have to audition for all your parts?

PK: I do get offered work pretty regularly. I'm either being offered work by people who know me personally and have worked with me before or I'm auditioning. Really an actors life comes down to auditions.

AM: Are you good at auditioning?

PK: Well I made it my business. When I first started out I realized that you can be a great actor and if you weren't brilliant at auditioning you weren't going to get a chance to exhibit your great acting. I made a science out of how to make that work.

AM: What motivated you?

PK: I had a family with two young boys to raise so I really needed to put money on the table. They had to grab me screaming out of the audition experience. They had to give me the work before I would let go.

AM: You come across so physical. You have a big presence and you seem like a physical guy so when you said you were a writer it seems a little off beat!

PK: Yeah it's always been that way. Very early in my life my parents were devoted to education. My Mother was an educator. My Dad was as well in the beginning of his life so education and language were always very important to them. It was very easy for me to get praise from them by coming up with new words. My earliest heroes were writers because I read a book a day for years. I absorbed all of these literary heroes. That's all I wanted to do when I was in college was to become a writer. So I went to New York and did that.

AM: So that kept you happy for the time being!

PK: After a while I wanted more and I was sort of always doing the same thing. For journalism I would pick something that I wanted to write about, but I would actually go out and do it. So in a real sense of the word I was acting and performing and then just writing about it. That became writing for advertising and publicity writing. Then I wrote plays and that took me into acting. Then we started writing scripts. This was just a natural out growth of all that stuff.

AM: You were in an automobile accident when you were very young. How did that affect you?

PK: Yes when I was seventeen. I had been doing mostly athletics up until that time and then I got in the car of the captain of the football team who was a couple years older. I thought it was really cool that he asked me to go out with him. What I didn't know was he was drunk. At that time the drinking age in Connecticut was twenty-one and in New York state it was eighteen so kids were always getting killed going back and forth between those two places. I wasn't drinking but I actually fell asleep in the car and he had the accident. We went to pick up his girlfriend who I liked a lot. Initially it was pretty traumatic but it really changed my life for the better.

AM: How?

PK: I couldn't play sports for three years. That's when I became a writer. It's all because of that experience. By the time I got my physicality back and made my way to acting I was an actor with the mind of a writer and I think it's a great combination.

AM: Why is that?

PK: Most actors who keep working are producing, writing and directing their own movies. It doesn't matter if it's comedy, drama or whatever. 'Reno 911' is a good example. Those guys did all that writing.

AM: So you really believe in this strongly don't you?

PK: Any actor that doesn't have a real cognizant foundation of writing is really missing the boat. I recommend that to all my acting students.

AM: You also teach.

PK: Yeah about a year ago I started teaching every Monday. We simulcast an hour of it on the internet every week.

AM: What got you started teaching?

PK: This came out of directing. I was auditioning a lot of actors and I didn't see the kind of skill set I had developed doing it for twenty-five years, out in the real work-a-day world. It's pretty easy for people to get academic acting studies but they are not getting schooled in auditions and what it's really like in the world to get the material at ten o'clock at night and have to know it by the next morning at ten. You gotta go in at performance level. That skill encompasses everything. I started teaching because of that and it's been very rewarding.

AM: You play a lot of bad guys in the movies!

PK: Well I was six feet two and a half inches and two hundred plus pounds right from the get go! I had this physical presence so I was always getting roles even on stage. I ended up being stunt coordinator for a lot of stage productions for Tony Richardson. Physical was always involved.

AM: Do you like playing the bad guy?

PK: You know I love acting and it's been a really rich experience. Certainly I like jumping back and forth but I don't get as many opportunities to play good guys.

AM: Is it different kind of acting to play the good guy?

PK: Playing the good guy for me is relatively easy. Playing villains takes a lot more energy. Depending on the role. They usually pay a lot more money to the good guy so I'd love to play more of them!

AM: You've certainly done a lot with the parts you've taken.

PK: There are some pretty rich bad guy parts. The key is to not make them all the same person. Sometimes there can be a temptation to do that if the writing isn't changing from project to project. The key is to create something that is original and keeps yourself stimulated. It's all just people that you are playing.

AM: You've been fortunate and deserving to get all these parts.

PK: I sometimes think it depends on how much hard work and junk you are going to crawl through to get it. The audition process doesn't really respect a person. You've got to be willing to not only go through it but to embrace it as a creative crucible, something that you can really enjoy doing. I like doing a lot of different things.

AM: That brings me to this charity you are involved with. How are you involved?

PK: One of the great things about having some celebrity as an actor is you get asked to do some really cool stuff. Either training for a part or to help out a charity or whatever it is. I get to train with Navy Seals or go out with police, study fencing and so many things. When the charity things come along I think public notoriety isn't worth much unless you're making some kind of mark on the world so I try to have a positive effect on as many charities as possible.

AM: Do you focus on any specific types of charities?

PK: Luckily they've been all over the place from juvenile diabetes to literacy to feed the children, whatever it is. This particular event came about because I'm always playing a bad guy and they are always placing fire arms in my hands. I began studying weapons like pistols, shotguns and rifles. I would train with the LAPD.

AM: Did that open you up to want to learn more about fire arms?

PK: I began to find that I really loved competitive shooting. Shooting clay pigeons became my golf. Really it's kind of a meditation for me. It is virtually like a golf course. There's twenty-five stations. You can even use a cart sometimes to go around them. If you're an actor and you're into outdoor sports people send you stuff like books on the topic.

AM: So have you been into this for a while now?

PK: I've been shooting a long time and I knew a lot of people. I'm really an advocate of the shooting sport. I think it's a great thing for young people to get involved in responsibly as a rite of passage. My two sons who are thirteen and eighteen have been shooting from a very early age. It's natural for me to end up hosting an event.

AM: Have you hosted events before?

PK: I've done a lot of veterans events. We really wanted to do something that had to do with a hospital and children. Cancer survivors this time. My Dad died of bone marrow cancer. City of Hope just came to us. Karen Purvis who is one of our producers had a working relationship with them so we were able to get into that. When you begin meeting these survivors and start chatting with them, it's pretty crazy. It really kind of brings it home. I do this event called 'The Rally for Kids With Cancer' and it's all fun and games with celebrities and then all of a sudden you meet the kids who are suffering from terminal cancer then it strikes home! I'm so happy to do it. Come on, I just hope we do something positive.

AM: Obviously this is part of your calling!

PK: Well I've always been in to physical fitness and organic food.

AM: You eat organic? Have you been doing this a long time?

PK: In a capitalist society, and I mean that affectionately, what you buy is really important. Basically I spend my money on organic food. That doesn't mean every time I go to a restaurant or a friends house I have to have organic.

AM: How long have you been into organic food?

PK: When I was nine years old I made a decision and I don't know why, but I said to myself that rich or poor I'm going to eat well. I didn't know it at the time but I was pretty much raised on an organic farm by my parents. So when I left home I was still into it. We've got one body, we've got one voice. I had childhood asthma and a back problem from the accident so I was always into maintaining myself as long as I could.

AM: You keep educating yourself.

PK: Rejuvenation is a subject of interest for me. There's no question buying organic and using organic food in an elegant gourmet way is superior. It's good for you. It's good for the top soil of the country. I think it works on a lot of levels. It's good for agricultural workers because they don't use all the toxins in the production of it. As a result we spend less tax dollars on medical payments. I do think it's a cool thing. I'm not fanatical but I really do put my money where my mouth is on that issue.

AM: What is your main goal with this event?

PK: What we are really trying to do with the event is a multi-purpose goal. I want to bring shooting sports into the main stream in Hollywood. There's a lot of misinformation about it. People don't realize this but hunters, shooters and fisherman provide about 85% of the conservation dollars on the planet. I want to get it properly aligned with the green movement. The food we will be serving and even some of the gifting items will be a reflection of that eco bent.

AM: That's a good idea!

PK: The outdoor sport and the eco movement belong together. So it's not only to raise the money for the charity, there is a sort of a political impact to it. If anybody is in the place to do it, I guess I am. Not only was I already working with actors but we were cultivating relationships with them because of my film company.

AM: What do you say to people who are intimidated by shooting?

PK: Most people who come out to start sporting clays say it is so much fun, particularly women. It's like an adult video game. The second amendment and responsible gun ownership is really important. It's one of the key aspects of the bill of rights. It needs to be carried into the twenty-first century. If you have any activity you have to cultivate the young people. If you don't the lifeblood of it goes out. We've got the boy scouts acting like pullers at the stations. We have very beautiful models and very accomplished actors and actresses acting as auction people. It's going to be a great event.

To learn more about Patrick Kilpatrick's Charity Event visit http://hollywoodsportclays.com/index.html

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Tricia Cruz: The Sexy Latina Comedian

Stand-up Comedian Tricia Cruz has been a familiar face and voice coast-to-coast working as a TV Host, Entertainment Correspondent and Actress, as well as a Disc Jockey for the IE's number one for hip hop Wild 96.1.

She cut her teeth at "LATV Live", as a host for four years. "LATV" is a ground breaking Los Angeles-based music show which is the first prime time English show in the L.A. market that features Latino music videos.

Tricia Cruz has also worked as the West Coast Correspondent for ABC's Urban Latino. A national informational variety show covering the celebrities, the diversity and the lifestyle that makes the young, American Latino experience unique. Tricia has skillfully interviewed scores of entertainers, going behind the scenes with some of Hollywood's heaviest hitters.

As an actress, Tricia has been on stage in the critically acclaimed "Latinologues" at the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles for two years and now available on DVD. "LATV Live", "Urban Latino" and "Latinologues" all received an Imagen Award. The Imagen Awards are given to encourage and recognize the positive portrayal of Latinos in all media.

As an actress Tricia's film credits include "Free Enterprise" with Eric McCormick and William Schatner. "Blasphemy" starring Carlos Leon. "Blasphemy" has just been released on MTV Pictures and in this Dark Comedy, the talented Los Angeles native plays the romantic starring role as Barbara. Tricia's debut was in "A Letter to Rachel" where she played the title role of Rachel.

Tricia also did voice over work for the film "Flightplan" starring Jodie Foster. Tricia's Television co-starring credits include "ER", "90210" and "Lizzie McGuire".

Tricia also has been the face in over 50 national and international commercials including Chili's, Kmart, Honda, and Quaker.

Born in Covina, California, a suburb East of Los Angeles, Tricia Cruz is the youngest of three siblings from a single parent family. Like many extraordinary women, her mother Maria fled her native Mexico to give the family freedom and opportunity. Of her upbringing, Tricia says, "I am very lucky and proud to have been brought up in America with my rich Mexican culture". Tricia's upbringing in America, dual cultural background, and rich Mexican heritage, enables her to identify with both cultures and positions Tricia as a host and actress of the new millennium .

Tricia received an Associates Art Degree from Santa Monica College and studied Journalism at UCLA.

I met Tricia Cruz eight years ago when she was starring in 'Latinologues' and on 'LATV.' I photographed her at that time and now again. She has a lot of stage presence and talent...and as you can see...real beauty

AM: Well Tricia, can you believe it's been eight years?

TC: Can you believe how times flies? It seems like yesterday.

AM: I remember you were working on LATV at the time.

TC: Yes I was on LATV Live for four years producing, hosting and writing.

AM: You were so great on that!

TC: Thank you. Right after LATV I went to work at a radio station wild 96.1 IE's number one FM for hip hop. I did that for three years.

AM: Were you a DJ?

TC: I was a DJ. I got into the DJ world and started doing private parties. I got hired to do a lot of shows in Mexico City and Acapulco because of LATV. There would be ten thousand people at these events. It was amazing. I felt like a rock star!

AM: So did one day you say to yourself, "I think I can do stand up?"

TC: Well doing the radio program showed me that I was funny. It was all improv. In radio no one gives you a script. I started realizing I was pretty funny. The callers telling me how funny I was and how I helped them wake up and keep them going. I thought Wow maybe I should be a stand up comic. This was something I was always really afraid of.

AM: Why?

TC: I didn't think I was smart enough or charismatic enough, but I knew I had half the struggle beat because of LATV and performing in front of a live audience. I knew that part wouldn't find me afraid to get up and do it.

AM: What was your biggest challenge then?

TC: It was the writing that I had to conquer and I finally did.

AM: How did you conquer writing?

TC: I took a writing class with Judy Carter. She is the number one comic writing teacher in town. I did a lot of research and asked my comedian friends and their publicists or agents who was good? They all referred me to Judy Carter. It was the best thing that ever happened to me. Once I learned the formula for how to write a joke, because there is a formula, the sky was the limit.

AM: Why does everyone tell me that stand up comedian is the hardest part of show business?

TC: Yes it is. I think this is because you have to be right up in front of a live audience. As an actor you go up in front of the casting agents, the producer and the director. You might even have twenty people but a comedy audience is ready to snap back at you. You have to be ready with come backs. That takes years and years of training.

All Photos:  Alan Mercer

AM: You seem to be a more upbeat and positive person in general. What do you think about the other comedian stereotype?

TC: That we have problems...you know what? We do! (we are laughing) This is just the persona I let you see. When you come to my show you will be amazed at what I've been through and you will laugh at it. A lot of people have gone through the same stuff I've gone through. Comedy is my platform to get it out. It's kind of like me going to a psychiatrist. It feels good to get it all out. It really does. I think I would be crazy if I didn't take it out in comedy.

AM: So for you comedy is your therapy?

TC: It is therapy for me. It's a release.

AM: So do you think that because you come from the truth you have the ability to help other people?

TC: Exactly. I talk about my boob job and how women should think twice before they get one. I go into that and the divorce and being a single woman in LA. The men are either from Brokeback Mountain or Broke Ass Mountain! It's very difficult. I talk about all those things in my act.

AM: Would you be happy doing stand up for the rest of your life?

TC: Yes. I've found my new calling. I feel it deeply. I love it. I can't wait to get on stage and make people laugh. I wish I would have discovered this years ago. A lot of comedians say the same thing.

AM: You have to be ready or it can be ugly I'm sure.

TC: For me it was the nerves and being scared because it is the hardest part of the business.

AM: And let's talk about the fact that you are a sexy and attractive woman.

TC: And Latina! I got a lot of things and I think that's what's making my name known so fast. I do stand out as one of the only Latina's, one of the only women and one of the only women that looks good and talks about boob jobs. That is my niche' and I'm riding it all the way.

AM: What are your goals for television exposure?

TC: I want to take over the Chelsea Lately show. I want to end up on the round table first and then I'll take over the show. Something like that. I would like to get into my own show. Chelsea inspires me. She is an amazing woman. This business was hard for her too, but she stood out and made a name for herself.

AM: Do you think all good comedy stems from the truth?

TC: Yes all good comedy comes from truth. If it's not real then it hasn't happened to anybody else so nobody will relate and find it funny.

AM: Do you see other comedians try to do that?

TC: Yes and that's what we call a 'hack.' They just steal jokes and copy other performers. If it doesn't come from your truth it isn't funny. You have to ask yourself what happened to me today and go from there. I can just go on a rant and in the rant I will find something funny about it. You lead the audience to think you're going right and then all of a sudden make a left turn! That's where the funny is.

AM: What do you say to young girls who want to be a comedian?

TC: Definitely start doing it now. Get Judy Carter's book and read it. Go on YouTube and see what everybody else is doing. Just get up in front of people. Once I took the class I said I was going to open mikes every night. I'm just going to get up there regardless. Even if I didn't have a joke.

AM: Did you have times when you got up on stage and it was hard!

TC: Yes but I have been lucky to always have good audiences. It was my first booked job at the John Lovitz club. I went in thinking I was it! No one's booed me off yet. I was on fire. I was first comedian up and that's always the worst spot. I went up and it was a ghost town. You could have heard a pin drop. I've never been so shocked in my life! It was a big learning experience for me. At that point I didn't know how to handle nobody laughing. It was my first booked gig ever and I flopped bad.

AM: How did that make you feel?

TC: It made me almost not want to do it ever again. But then again that's what I got because I was tooting my own horn so much. You need to work at this all the time. It's a constant learning experience. So now I'm ready. Every time I get up on stage now I am ready for that to happen. I know how I'll handle it now. That's where one-liners come in.

AM: How do you memorize an act? That seems so hard.

TC: That's the easiest part. It's like you are a rock star and you have a set list. You pick out one word that stands out from each joke and that is your set list. Like anything else it becomes second nature. I do forget some jokes but I have so many that every show is different.

AM: Do some jokes hit one night and miss another?

TC: You know it's always the same ones that hit. You work that out in your open mike nights. There you are doing comedy for other comedians. What better audience than that?

To learn more about Tricia Cruz visit her web site http://www.triciacruz.com/live/

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