and wished I had tried harder in the screen test. But really, can you imagine anyone but Carrie playing Princess Leia?
First Nudie Musical: I did however, get the romantic lead in my friend Bruce Kimmel’s musical film extravaganza, The First Nudie Musical . Bruce was my friend from LACC days and told me an idea he had for “sending up” X-rated movies by writing a low-budget musical about a film studio that is on the verge of collapse. The only way they can bail themselves out is by making X-rated films in the hopes of making enough money to then be legit again. Bruce’s initial idea, I thought, was so clever. He wanted to shoot it on 8 mm and blow it up so it would have that grainy “adult film” look. Bruce was masterful at writing the musical numbers as well as the dialogue.
I felt like it was going to be a blast, and I gave no thought to what people might think. It was risqué, but all in good fun. The only thing I had a real problem with was the nudity. There was too much of it. And I told Bruce how I felt. But being the consummate artist that he was, he said he wanted all the nudity to stay in. Many of our friends from college were in it, including Lynne. She had a scene with Ron Howard. They are sitting outside the audition room with a group of people waiting their turn to go in. Ron turns to Lynne and asks, “Is this SAG?”
I asked him how he made the decision to do it. Ron said he was interested in low-budget filmmaking and he wanted to be a part of it. (The film came out right after the first season of Laverne & Shirley . I was given the moniker of “Little Miss Filth Mouth” in People magazine under a delightful picture of me as Shirley.)
Not much had changed, I was pretty much broke and I was now living in an apartment in Hollywood that was basically empty except for a couch, a bed, two lamps, a Bible, and a box of kittens that needed homes! Aside from The Tonight Show and some other talk shows, nothing was on the horizon. The thought of going back to waiting tables crossed my mind. The problem was I had become too recognizable from American Graffiti. To wait tables in L.A. could prove to be humiliating. I thought about moving out of state where I might not be known, at least I would be far away from my peers.
And then one day out of the blue, I got a call from Francis Coppola’s office asking if I’d be interested in writing for a bicentennial spoof he was producing called My Country ’Tis of Thee . The premise of the movie was the history of America from its discovery through modern times done in sketches and music. It would be released in 1976 to coordinate with our American bicentennial. The pay was less than desirable, but might be enough to keep me in town for a little while longer. They were hiring two-person writing teams and wanted to pair me up with Penny Marshall. I didn’t know Penny very well. We were both represented by Compass Management, but had never met until a very memorable double date!
I had been invited to the Coconut Grove to see Liza Minnelli perform with Little Richard as the opening act. My date and I were doubling with Rob Reiner and Penny. The first time we actually met was in our seats at the Coconut Grove, seconds before the curtain went up, because my date and I arrived late. And during the performance Penny and I never exchanged words because we weren’t sitting next to each other. When the show was over, we were all invited backstage to meet Liza. I was thrilled! As we walked backstage, Penny and I fell behind our dates as they walked ahead of us. To get to Liza’s dressing room, we had to go through Little Richard’s dressing room. As Penny and I started to cross through his room, he abruptly stopped us by putting his leg across the doorway.
We stopped. He said, “You two! I want to bless you two.” Penny and I immediately bowed our heads and Little Richard proceeded to bless us, asking the Lord for his protection, along with happiness and success. When
First Nudie Musical: I did however, get the romantic lead in my friend Bruce Kimmel’s musical film extravaganza, The First Nudie Musical . Bruce was my friend from LACC days and told me an idea he had for “sending up” X-rated movies by writing a low-budget musical about a film studio that is on the verge of collapse. The only way they can bail themselves out is by making X-rated films in the hopes of making enough money to then be legit again. Bruce’s initial idea, I thought, was so clever. He wanted to shoot it on 8 mm and blow it up so it would have that grainy “adult film” look. Bruce was masterful at writing the musical numbers as well as the dialogue.
I felt like it was going to be a blast, and I gave no thought to what people might think. It was risqué, but all in good fun. The only thing I had a real problem with was the nudity. There was too much of it. And I told Bruce how I felt. But being the consummate artist that he was, he said he wanted all the nudity to stay in. Many of our friends from college were in it, including Lynne. She had a scene with Ron Howard. They are sitting outside the audition room with a group of people waiting their turn to go in. Ron turns to Lynne and asks, “Is this SAG?”
I asked him how he made the decision to do it. Ron said he was interested in low-budget filmmaking and he wanted to be a part of it. (The film came out right after the first season of Laverne & Shirley . I was given the moniker of “Little Miss Filth Mouth” in People magazine under a delightful picture of me as Shirley.)
Not much had changed, I was pretty much broke and I was now living in an apartment in Hollywood that was basically empty except for a couch, a bed, two lamps, a Bible, and a box of kittens that needed homes! Aside from The Tonight Show and some other talk shows, nothing was on the horizon. The thought of going back to waiting tables crossed my mind. The problem was I had become too recognizable from American Graffiti. To wait tables in L.A. could prove to be humiliating. I thought about moving out of state where I might not be known, at least I would be far away from my peers.
And then one day out of the blue, I got a call from Francis Coppola’s office asking if I’d be interested in writing for a bicentennial spoof he was producing called My Country ’Tis of Thee . The premise of the movie was the history of America from its discovery through modern times done in sketches and music. It would be released in 1976 to coordinate with our American bicentennial. The pay was less than desirable, but might be enough to keep me in town for a little while longer. They were hiring two-person writing teams and wanted to pair me up with Penny Marshall. I didn’t know Penny very well. We were both represented by Compass Management, but had never met until a very memorable double date!
I had been invited to the Coconut Grove to see Liza Minnelli perform with Little Richard as the opening act. My date and I were doubling with Rob Reiner and Penny. The first time we actually met was in our seats at the Coconut Grove, seconds before the curtain went up, because my date and I arrived late. And during the performance Penny and I never exchanged words because we weren’t sitting next to each other. When the show was over, we were all invited backstage to meet Liza. I was thrilled! As we walked backstage, Penny and I fell behind our dates as they walked ahead of us. To get to Liza’s dressing room, we had to go through Little Richard’s dressing room. As Penny and I started to cross through his room, he abruptly stopped us by putting his leg across the doorway.
We stopped. He said, “You two! I want to bless you two.” Penny and I immediately bowed our heads and Little Richard proceeded to bless us, asking the Lord for his protection, along with happiness and success. When
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