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Well, I grew up knowing the legend RODDY McDOWALL as an ape in the whole PLANET OF THE APES movie series and that short lived T.V. show from the mid ’70s. I rarely saw him without makeup. I did see him on a T.V. showing of THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE and I heard his distinct voice in a few cartoons. But asides from that I only knew him as Cornelius and Galen.
Then came his two appearances in FANTASY ISLAND as Satan. Oh boy! VERY creepy! Here I am used to him being the good ape and now he’s the scary Devil! Asides from the end sequences of the two episodes he wore no makeup and wore a suit and look VERY convincing! Now, these clips are not out on DVD as of now. The first one is out on YouTube as a “minisode”…
O.K., I would see him again a bit later in LASERBLAST both in its original form and on MST3K, but his Devil was a good scary moment in my early teens!
Stumble it!
7 responses so far ↓
1 aunt john
// Jul 19, 2009 at 1:04 pm
FANTASY ISLAND and its weekly calvalcade of special guest stars holds a special place in my memories of Saturday nights of yore. McDOWALL was super creepy as Satan, but so was resort host Mr. Roarke. I love the ones where Roarke does battle against MICHELLE PHILLIPS as the michevous mermaid.
2 senski
// Jul 19, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Roddy McDowall – simply one of my favorite character actors of all time. Brilliant in the pilot movie for Rod Serling’s Night Gallery (loved the way his voice dripped with condescension every time he said Ossie Davis’ name; “Portifoyyyy…”), and seeing “The Cemetary” was one of the scariest events of my seventh year on this planet. Equally marvelous in The Legend of Hell House, still an intense little experience after all these years.
In the book Oscar Dearest, there’s an example of a “For Your Consideration” ad taken out for McDowall for his performance in Fright Night. It’s used to illustrate the author’s protest against such ads for actors who either contractually require it, or are undeserving of the nod. I always felt so wounded for McDowall being used as an example; in a far better, far cooler world, Peter Vincent would have been invited to the Dorothy Chandler Pavillion.
3 senski
// Jul 19, 2009 at 4:26 pm
And I have to include this traumatic video, a big international hit in 1982 – but not in the US…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yrxsuMGdDY&feature=related
I had a retro radio show in the 90s – it was fun to play this and get calls from confused ABBA fans who suddenly thought their record collection was incomplete…
4 Kahotep
// Jul 19, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Roddy McDowell possessed class. Like Gene Kelly and Christopher Lee, his presence in a cast can elevate even the direst shlock.
And Fantasy Island… did we ever find out the true nature of Mr Roarke? Was he an angel, a djinn, a sorcerer? And did anyone else see that remake of it with Malcolm McDowell?
5 Amanda By Night
// Jul 21, 2009 at 12:28 pm
This minisode episode you have here is my favorite episode of Fantasty Island. I have it on tape somewhere. McDowell was such an awesome foe for Roarke, but of course could never win against the incredible fantasy maker.
I had a friend who had a small-ish part in Shakma with McDowell, Christopher Atkins and Amanda Wyss. He said McDowell was a treat, always trying to nose into the still photos they took on the set. Also, my boyfriend met him shortly before his death (McDowell’s, not my boyfriend!) and said he was amazingly nice. How cool is that?!?
6 FatherOfTears
// Jul 21, 2009 at 5:34 pm
I did put in the comments section on this clip asking if they will do the “sequel” that was done the next season. No response.
7 Amanda By Night
// Jul 21, 2009 at 5:46 pm
I don’t remember the sequel at all. I’d love to see it again, even if just as a minisode. They should do it!
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