I’ve been watching the documentary “Bring Back…Fame“, in which Justin Lee Collins attempts to bring together all (well, as many as possible) of the original cast members together for a reuinion.
He stalks them wherever he can. He interrupts Irene Cara at lunch. She talks to him but refuses to take part.
He flashes students of Debbie Allen’s dance school, but doesn’t find her there.
He corners Lee Curreri on a treadmill at Gold’s Gym. He manages to browbeat Lee into taking part by threatening to kill himself if Lee won’t show up.
Lee still looks good. The beautiful curly hair is gone but he actually rocks a bald head pretty well. Still makes my 80s heart flutter a little. (I remember being excited to see him appear on a 1987 episode of Danger Bay — after all, that was a Canadian show and that meant that he’d actually set foot in Canada. So close…and yet so far.)
Anyway, Justin then shows up at Valerie Landsburg’s house unannounced and interrogates her son until he sends them to the movie theatre after her. She seems so down-to-earth for all that she’s been through on a personal level.
He then trespasses into Erica Gimpel’s rehearsal studio. (She’s looking very good herself, and still has a great voice.)
And hunts down Carol Mayo Jenkins (primarily to talk to her about the life and death of Gene Anthony Ray) at the LAX airport with a mini bullhorn. (It’s a wonder he didn’t get arrested.) She still sounds exactly the same, the distinctive Miss Sherwood voice.
He tracks Carlo Imperato, who is extremely gracious to this absolute loon running at him and hugging him, down at a baseball game.
And finally uses Valerie to snag Debbie Allen at a coffee shop.
It was kind of neat to see them all together again, though it does destroy your memories of them a bit. And it reminds you that you, like they, are not the person you were in the early 80s. We’re all getting so old.
If any stranger ran towards me, they would get a fist in the face…..