JUNE 2011

You may recognize Pat Cardi from his starring role in the drive-in cult classic Horror High (1974) where he played Vernon Potts, the poor bullied teenager who concocts a strange potion in the school lab, a potion which changes him into a lean, hirsute killing machine. All the better to take bloody revenge upon his tormentors!

The actor landed other gigs on the big screen, including parts in William Castle's Let's Kill Uncle, Before Uncle Kills Us (1966) and Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973).

Cardi also had a successful career in televisionland, with roles on The Invaders (1968), The Fugitive (1966), and recurring stints on Gunsmoke (1965) and It's About Time (1967).

By the 1980s, he had moved behind the camera, providing high-level production services to various broadcast, corporate, and transactional media clients.

In addition to producing well-known direct response ads, he's managed film production for live, multi-camera entertainment events, while finding time to co-create and co-found Moviefone.

Cardi was gracious enough to sit down with us and recall his memories of his acting life and filming Horror High all those years ago, as well as supplying rare photos for an exclusive gallery.

The Terror Trap: As a kid throughout the sixties, you worked in numerous TV shows including Hazel, The Fugitive and The Invaders.

Did you enjoy that early phase of your career and did you always know you wanted to go into acting?

Pat Cardi: Yes. I always thought I'd be an actor as far back as I can remember - as early as four or five-years old watching TV at home on Long Island. Somehow I knew it would manifest itself.

TT: How did you get your start in the business?

PC: Through a series of well worked coincidences when I was nine, I got a small part in a World War II action picture.

TT: 1963's The Quick and the Dead?

PC: Right. My parents were not in the industry and they were surprised and shocked to find out what I'd been up to. The director of that small film, Robert Totten, was able to parlay his first movie into a television directing career, and repaid all of his cast with parts in episodes that he shot.

We all got SAG cards and agents, and were on our way. Victor French and Majel Barret (Gene Rodenberry’s wife) were among the cast who became successful from that start. Pat Domigan, my agent, was able to put me in front of every casting agent in Hollywood and I became a successful child actor working in several top prime time shows of that era.

TT: Nice. Which show was the most fun for you?

PC: I can't think of any shows that I didn’t enjoy working on. I felt this was my calling and I was happy for all the attention I was getting. In addition to playing all the typical boyhood games with my friends in Pasadena, I was able to dress up in costumes and act with adults in broadcast television...which was like playing childhood games on a grand scale!

The pilot to It's About Time was especially fun, because the director was a young Richard Donner. He was very tuned in to me and kept me laughing.

Later, Lloyd Schwartz watched over me and kept me patient as I was getting disappointed by my diminishing role in the series. I had been developing my chops as an actor, and the "Gilligan-esque" antics of the It's About Time scripts didn't feel like acting to me. I was one of eight actors in an ensamble cast of a half-hour sitcom. I didn't like it.

TT: Do you have any personal favorite roles from this period?

PC: One of my favorites was The Fugitive, working with Kurt Russell, who was my age and an actor I highly respected at the time. I've always been happy for him that his career hit such high notes. Again, an episode directed by Richard Donner.

And I was thrilled to be in The Invaders.

TT: A terrific series.

PC: It was. I loved science fiction and was so humbled to work with the great Roy Thinnes.

TT: Any others?

PC: I did a couple of episodes of The FBI and had worked previously with its star, Efrem Zimbalist, on 77 Sunset Strip at Warners. He was a wonderful fellow to work with and treated me with respect and good humor.

Aside from the strains my acting career put on everyone in the family at home, I was having a ball. I had a tendency to get in a bit of trouble as a child.

TT: In what ways?

PC: Oh, I loved the studios and spent a great deal of time sneaking out the stage back door and exploring the lot wherever I was. So I would get on all the backlots. Western streets. Brownstone streets. And Lagoons. I'd traipse throughout the exteriors and interiors of all the sets.

I'd hit every soundstage I could, and visited the sets and with the casts of all my favorite shows: Batman, The Munsters, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Combat, The Wild Wild West, Get Smart, Star Trek, My Three Sons, Hogans Heroes, and many more.

TT: Wow!

PC: I hung out with the cast of Robin and the 7 Hoods for a week, during which my Dad and I struck up friendships with Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford, Dean Martin and the great Frank Sinatra.

I got to roam the 1800s sets of The Great Race and King Arthur's castle from Camelot. I was the "Boy Fly" on the wall of an incredible Hollywood journey that any other kid could only dream about.

TT: Indeed.

In 1966, you had a lead in William Castle’s thriller Let’s Kill Uncle, Before Uncle Kills Us. How did you get that part?

PC: I had starred in a film for Universal called And Now Miguel (1966) based on a novel by Joseph Krumgold. We had just broken the contract with Universal because they had promised a lot of work in a seven-year agreement, and after Miguel, nothing happened for a year.

Then all of a sudden, I got a call from a young casting director named John Badham (this was years before he became the famous director) and he cast me as Barnaby alongside his little sister Mary Badham. Mary had been Scout Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird a few years before, and had been nominated for an Academy Award.

TT: That's right. What was she like?

PC: Well, the prospect of working with an Oscar-nominated performer was intimidating. But Mary was a down home country Alabama girl. I fell in love with her and we dated during high school. I was sent to finish my education at a private boys school in Australia. During that time, she met and married another fellow, and it broke my heart. But these days, we're great friends and we get together whenever she's in town.

TT: Tell us about working with William Castle.

PC: He both produced and directed that one. He was wearing a lot of hats because he was also keeping an eye on other projects he had with Universal/MCA, and was already developing things beyond what we were working on.

But in short, he was beyond generous with Mary and I. He gave us a wide berth to create the characters of Chrissie and Barnaby. Bill seemed to respect that his actors all knew what they were doing, and really only made suggestions when he felt the character might react differently than we interpreted.

He also listened to us if we said, "But a twelve-year old would say it like this!" He would grin and say, "Right! What was I thinking? Do it your way."

I know we shot a couple of endings to that picture, and I believe someone at MCA chose the wrong one. There were a lot of politics going on with that film and I think that hurt it.

TT: The movie starred Nigel Green, who had made a number of British horror flicks such as The Masque of the Red Death, The Skull and The Face of Fu Manchu.

Did you learn anything from watching and working with Green?

PC: Yes, I had seen all of Nigel's work. I was a fan of all horror and fantasy story films.

Nigel was a perfect gentleman, and made subtle performance suggestions to me from time to time. I did listen to him because I believed he was an amazing, successful actor and I always felt I was still learning. His comments were always positive and worth listening to. He truly did act as sort of an uncle to me. But an uncle with something else going on behind those mysterious green eyes!

He also introduced me to the notion of doing live theatre, which he was performing in England at the time.

TT: Any interesting anecdotes from that shoot?

PC: They had a hard time getting me to work with the live tarantulas. The tarantula wrangler and Bill Castle showed me that the fangs were rendered usless and that they were as harmless as a kitten.

Still, it freaked me out so much that I asked them not to have them on the stage when I was there. They got some funky-looking plastic ones and kept them around me in hopes it would wear my fear down.

To this day, I hate spiders of any kind. They would tell me that we were going to do the scene with the plastic spider to keep me calm - then at the last minute they switched to the real ones and freaked me out.

TT: That WOULD be scary.

PC: I remember Bill had a long, private talk with me. He would never ask me to do something that would hurt me. But he wanted SO MUCH for me to be in the same shot with the tarantula, and I was going to pour one out onto Nigel's chest. Now wouldn't that be fun! So I agreed to it.

Nigel was not to happy about it, and just before the shot, Bill told him that Sean Connery let a tarantula walk on him in one of the Bond films. So Nigel said, "If it's good enough for Connery, it's good enough for me!" I didn't have the heart to tell him until after we did the scene that he was braver than Connery. James Bond wouldn't let the spider touch him! There was a pane of glass over Sean's body so the tarantula never got near him.

TT: Even Connery had his limits!

Was this film a good experience for you at fifteen?

PC: Acting at age fifteen was a good experience. Let's Kill Uncle was a GREAT experience.

By this time, however, I was dealing with a lot of teasing and challenges from the other boys at school. When I wasn’t acting, I was "acting out" and trying to prove myself as a tough guy amongst my peers. I didn't want to be identified as an actor in my private life, but I looked forward to every chance to not be in school.

TT: What would say was the main difference between shooting a theatrical film versus television?

PC: Generally, theatrical films took more time, and required more rehearsal. Features take time to set the shots and the details. Every experience in a feature film is unique for everyone involved: actors, crew, management. Actors are given a lot of space to improvise and find their character.

In television, the shows are already managed down to the last detail, like a well-oiled set of gears. Everything is pre-planned and happens at a precise pace. There are no surprises. As an actor, TV goes much faster, and there is less improvisation. You pretty much stick to the script.

TT: What attracted you to the role of Vernon Potts in Horror High?

PC: Well, at that point I had been on well over a hundred interviews. I'd gotten many, many callbacks. A few on-set readings. And a few parts where the funding just dropped out before we got to film. What attracted me to the role of Vernon Potts was getting paid. (Laughs.) It didn't hurt that it was a starring role and I got to play a monster.

TT: Did you audition for Vernon?

PC: Yes, I did. They told me in that first audition that they wanted me for the part. It seemed like it was too good to be true. Larry Stouffer (the director) and James Graham (the producer) appeared very professional to me, and independent films were coming in vogue at the time so I was happy to be on board.

TT: Had you been a horror fan before you accepted the part?

PC: Yes, I had been a fan of all the horror films. You know, the Hammer films, William Castle’s movies, Roger Corman's. I could only hope this would be as good.

TT: Did any particular werewolf performance -- or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde film, for that matter -- influence the way you approached this movie?

PC: Oddly enough, the one performance that inspired me was Michael Landon in I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957). I loved him in that, and thought this was the same kind of campy thing. After all, the title could have been I Was a Teenage Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I also hoped the film would be able to propel my career the way Landon's Werewolf had done for him.

TT: The film had a two-week shooting schedule, which is fast for even a low-budget movie like this. Was that difficult?

PC: Actually, the more difficult part was that I was just coming into the "Former Child Actor Syndrome" phase of my life. I had discovered pot and beer, and had liberally self-medicated at every available occasion.

I was anesthetizing myself against the degradation of not being a part of the starlight anymore, and seeing my career plummeting to new depths. I had been revisiting my old producers, directors, co-stars, casting people.

Because I had grown up and was no longer the cute child prodigy, they just had no idea who or what I was. Most of the time I was on that set, I was stoned. Very unprofessional. I was very sad and confused and had recently fired all the management and agents including my father. And it all just all drifted away.

TT: Not good.

In what year was this filmed exactly?

PC: I think it was 1972 or 1973. I don't remember much about those two years.

TT: Tell us about working with director Larry Stouffer.

PC: Larry was a good director. I had worked with a lot of Hollywood directors, and he was a natural. He took command of the set well, and helped the actors through the script. He was very attached to all of us, and very specific with his directions.

He should have come to Hollywood and stayed. I think a few more of those little films might have helped him make it to the top. He was aware of what I was going through at the time, but didn't mention it at all until we were finished with the shoot.

TT: What did he say to to you?

PC: He said he would never under any circumstances work with a former child actor again. I had that effect on folks at that time. I was a real pain in the ass.

TT: Yikes.

The shooting was done in Irving, Texas. Is that right?

PC: Yes, the entire film was shot in Irving.

TT: What kind of budget did Horror High have?

PC: I think the budget was under $100,000. Or maybe even under $75,000. It was shot in 16mm on an Éclair. A Bolex was used for the special effects shots, and an old wind-up Kodak Cine Special II was used for the slow motion.

TT: Cool.

Do you recall what school was used as the setting?

PC: Hmmm...I don't remember the name of the school. It had been a public high school at one time, but was being used as a school for unwed mothers when we were there. I recall we weren’t allowed to talk to them - or even look at them - for fear of losing the location.

TT: How weird!

Did you actually wear eyeglasses or were they a prop?

PC: Vernon’s glasses were a prop. I didn't think I was really nerdy enough to play him but I guess I was. The glasses and the old-fashioned bike helped that image.

TT: We’ll throw out a couple of cast members. Tell us what comes to mind about them:

Austin Stoker. He’d later appear in Battle for the Planet of the Apes (made after Horror High but released before it in '73), Abby (1974), and also in John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13 (1976).

PC: Austin seemed very levelheaded. I think he was disappointed in how low the budget was, and that the production was not adhering to SAG rules. Not because they were defiant, but because they didn't know any better.

He was very professional to work with, and I think overall underrated in Hollywood. He should have become a big star. On Battle for the Planet of the Apes, we had a scene together, but we talked very little on that set.

TT: Rosie Holotik. She had a part in 1973’s Don’t Look in the Basement aka The Forgotten.

PC: I could have fallen in love with Rosie the moment I met her. She was beautiful, so down to earth, and so damned friendly.

I thought she was flirting with me, but she was just being a typical Tyler, Texas girl. (Laughs.) She had a tough role. I think she was twenty-seven playing a seventeen-year old. So she was trying to look and act much younger than she was. I think it worked. She was talented in other areas and ran off to understudy on Broadway after the film.

During the filming, she was married to James Graham, the producer of Horror High.

TT: We didn't know that. Did you two keep in touch afterwards?

PC: No, I haven't seen her since we finished filming.

TT: Joye Hash, who memorably played Miss Grindstaff in this film?

PC: Joye was a kick. She was a longtime stage actress in Dallas and she did local television too. She had a wonderful over-the-top personality. And when she became Miss Grindstaff, she was perfect! She was wonderful on the set.

TT: John Niland, Super Bowl champ.

PC: Well, John had just recently gotten his second Super Bowl ring with the Dallas Cowboys. In Dallas, he was a true star at the time. He was followed by fans and the press and groupies. I was worried he might not be able to pull it off because he was not an actor.

We worked on the lines every night together and I think it made both of us better. But we did it at his mansion, with hot and cold running babes everywhere. I don't think I ever actually fell asleep there. I passed out.

TT: Off set, did you interact much with the cast, or did you stick to yourself in order to feel isolated and get into the outcast character of Vernon?

PC: John Niland and I rehearsed off set, and Rosie and I rehearsed off set. But if I stared into Rosie’s eyes long enough, I would forget every line I ever learned.

With John, it was a struggle to stay sober long enough to get through all of the next day's scenes.

As far as my acting technique goes, I wasn't that deep. I just played the character off the top of my head every day. After reading the script a couple of times, and making some line changes and then rehearsing with the actors, I knew Vernon Potts pretty well. I never did rely on a "method".

I wasn’t a classically trained actor. I did not know from technique, and never felt I needed a coach. These days, every actor goes out with a list of instructors and directors they have worked with, and every casting director expects it. Without it, you aren’t considered a serious actor. Well, most of us old-timers did it straight from the heart, and for back then, that was good enough.

TT: Agreed.

There are several well-done murder sequences. What was your favorite? The death-by-cleats?

PC: (Laughs) The death-by-cleats was certainly one. But I did like the janitor-in-a-drum who takes an acid bath. And the papercutter through Miss Grindstaff's neck. What eleventh grader hasn't thought about doing that?

TT: True.

Do you recall if anything was cut out from those murder scenes?

PC: At the time, we did much more graphic versions of those murders. When Crown bowed down to the wishes of Jack Valenti (and his scene-cutting film terrorists at the MPAA) those shots were excised from the negative.

TT: We hate to hear of this kind of censorship.

PC: I have a print of the original 16mm director's cut from the A/B roll in my possession. This includes mistakes in the cutting that resulted in the slate showing up twice, and some non-synced shots at those points. That was the print that was originally shown to Jack Valenti and the MPAA rating board. It was rated X for violence.

We didn't recut the film, and had a hard time getting distributors to look at it because it was rated X and everyone I talked to said it was not their cup of tea, based on the description and the rating. Even AIP wouldn't look at it. I know I protested the rating, citing several other films at the time that passed with PG and R that had excessive violence. But there was no response.

I believe the version that Crown cut together was re-rated by the MPAA and may well have gotten a PG.

The extra gore didn’t even turn up on the Code Red DVD release. That surprised me because they advertised their version as being “uncut.” It was far from that. Plus, they did a 16x9 sort of letterbox to it, which is not what this film was.

TT: There's a very early slasher vibe to Horror High...

PC: This was before The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and before Carrie. The original Horror High was a very, very brutal film. It was way ahead of its time - way ahead of the slasher and dead teenager subgenre of films. Larry had his hands on the bleeding pulse of something really new and different. But Hollywood wasn't ready for it.

TT: Did the onscreen violence against the janitor’s cat and Mr. Mumps, your guinea pig, bother you at all?

PC: There was a couple of different guinea pigs - one for Mr. Mumps' version, and one for the post facto change version. Neither was used during the scene when the animal was being killed.

The cat came from the local shelter. It was sedated. When I dropped it, the cat fell all of about six inches out of my hand into a pile of blankets. The cat came to later in the day and licked off the fake blood.

TT: What happened to that cat after the shoot? We hope it wasn't returned to the shelter.

PC: The script girl rescued the cat and took it home. Regarding the depiction of harm to the animals, it worked within the context of the story. It was necessary. In a fantasy like this, things of that nature could happen. Because it was a fairy tale, I had no problem. I wouldn’t knowingly be a part of a project that hurt animals or humans.

TT: That's good to hear.

How did you film the transformation sequences?

PC: We didn't. There was no money for transformation, and this is a sacred part of the process that I think was missing from Horror High. I guess they just couldn't afford it.

I offered to stay in Dallas another week so that we could play with it, but they were plenty done with me by then. So, no transformation effects - just several shots back and forth between me and the victim.

Foam rubber was added to my shirt and pants, and crepe hair glued to my face and hands for each successive shot. Folks still liked it.

TT: It's not bad, all things considered.

Do you have any interesting anecdotes regarding the making of Horror High you’d like to share?

PC: (Laughs). Yeah, a few. When Mr. Griggs hits me over the head with the breakaway chemistry tubes, it didn’t break away. It made a large lump on my head. That was exacerbated by the scene in which John Niland wacks me with the breakaway cricket paddle. That also didn’t break away.

TT: Ouch! Were you hurt?

PC: I wasn’t a very durable monster. The second one knocked me out cold.

Also, my girlfriend at the time flew out from Hollywood to Dallas to visit me on the set and she got to play Miss Grindstaff’s corpse as it gets rolled out of the classroom.

I have another anecdote that happened later on.

TT: Do tell.

PC: One evening, my friends and I went to a Bob's Big Boy for burgers after the film played late at night on local TV. While we were waiting for our seats, I came face to face with some red-eyed stoner teenagers who had apparently just watched the film because the two girls with the boys screamed very loud and pointed to me. One screamed, "It's Vernon, the Monster!!"

The guys looked horrified and shouted, "OH SHIT!" and they ran out. Well, it got me a table by the window. The pothead foursome stood outside the window staring at me and wincing in fright. I think that is one of the funniest things that ever happened to me.

TT: We can imagine.

Do you recall your reaction when you first saw the completed film?

PC: I was horrified. I thought Larry took all of my bad takes and made a film out of it. He did what he felt was best, and perhaps the “best takes” were not really that good.

They also cut a song out of the movie that I wrote and produced for a scene where Vernon and Rosie were on a date. I haven’t played the song in some time, but it wasn’t really appropriate.

One thing I was very happy about was that originally they had this idea of using a classic Bernard Herrmann type of score. I played them the Edgar Winter “Frankenstein” track and begged them to do that instead. They did exactly that, and the score is one of the things that gets favorable remarks time and time again.

TT: Just curious. Which title did you prefer: Horror High or Twisted Brain?

PC: Well, Horror High was the working title and was the original title when the film was released in the Midwest. The distributor saw fit to change it several times. I don’t know if they didn’t like the name, or they were just making it harder for us to track playdates and airdates. I don’t think Horror High Ltd. ever saw a dime from them.

Although Twisted Brain is cool -- and that was primarily used for television -- I am partial to Horror High. I have threatened to film a remake or a sequel called Horror High, Tale of the Twisted Brain. In fact, Larry has written a remake.

TT: Awesome.

Horror High predates Brian De Palma’s Carrie (1976) with its themes of teen bullying and peer pressure. In that regard, do you think the film is still relevant today? If so, what do you think the message of the movie is?

PC: Interesting question. Jeffrey Kilgore in Ohio wrote and produced a musical play out of the film’s story and characters. It was performed there a couple of years ago, sometime after the Columbine tragedy. I think he toyed with the idea of the Vernon character turning a gun on himself at the end of his killing spree, once he's cornered.

I don’t think the film promotes violence. It was a fantasy and a moral story that used violence as a release for a hapless character who winds up dead through his own insensitivity and stupidity. Vernon isn't a hero. He is just a sad little nerd who didn’t know how to cope.

Anyone who tries to go out and copy this guy's actions is fucked up and bound to do something stupid anyway. I was bullied relentlessly in school - all the way through high school. I never thought about killing anyone. Beat them senseless maybe, but not KILL them.

TT: We hear ya.

PC: Coincidentally, Brian De Palma was shooting Phantom of the Paradise in Dallas just as we were finishing up post-production on Horror High. I know he got to see a cut of the film while he was there. I sometimes wonder if Horror High planted the seed in his head for him to do Carrie once King's novel came out...or perhaps contributed somehow to that?

TT: A fascinating possibility. We'll have to ask him about that if we ever get the chance.

Why do you think people remember Horror High so fondly?

PC: Most of us suffer from nostalgia a bit. We have a part of us that wants to go back in time and experience life the way it once was. People do that by visiting the old house, old friends. Also through music, vintage TV shows and films they watched as young people. If you were the right age, ten to fifteen, when you saw Horror High in the theater (or Twisted Brain on TV), it probably frightened the pants off you.

Somehow we love to go back and experience that again, and laugh at ourselves for being trapped by the filmmakers' magic brush strokes. Larry made a classic 70s horror film. I'm very proud I was a part of it, and I'm tickled there are folks who remember it.

TT: Were you approached to do commentary or participate in the DVD release?

PC: No. I was already prepping a release of my version with commentary by the director and producer and some of the actors and myself. Had I been contacted, we could have arranged for a lot of good extras related to how the film was made, and interviews with people who remember their part in making the film.

TT: That's really too bad. The DVD could have been so much better.

PC: We would have had a great commentary with the director and producer, along with cast members. I'm frustrated that we won't ever have a chance to do that for this film. I may make a version for friends at some point. I did a transfer of the 16mm print I have. I'd love to make a real commemorative DVD, not the exploitative clunker they have out there now.

TT: After Horror High, you had a bit part in 1973's Battle for the Planet of the Apes, the last entry in that classic series.

Tell us it was as much fun as we imagine.

PC: It was. I loved the Planet of the Apes movies. I read the book before the first one even came out. I had visited the set with friends at "The Ranch" way out in Las Virginis Canyon near Agoura, California.

TT: How did you get into that film?

PC: I actually asked for the part. Casting director Ross Brown at Fox knew me from my child acting days and I asked for the meeting. I hadn't worked since Horror High wrapped in April and I was hurting for cash.

He didn't think he had anything for me. So I asked him to put me in a monkey suit for a couple of days and I would earn myself some Christmas money. I was given a call into makeup every day of that shoot.

I was only in a couple of scenes, but I was there at 4:00AM, on "The Ranch" (which I believe is now Malibu Creek State Park) ready for makeup to become a chimpanzee.

TT: Long process, huh?

PC: Oh, yeah! And I was some five to six hours in that makeup for what seemed like months.

Thanks to Ross, I had a wonderful Christmas that year. I believe that was my last acting role.

TT: Why did you stop acting?

PC: A few reasons. I wasn't paying attention. I'm very A.D.D. and I don't think I had the mindset to steer my own career. My father had controlled every aspect of my life until Horror High came about. In frustration with that, I pretty much cut all my ties, got a new agent, and she suffered through my troubled spirit.

At that time, I had turned down steady parts on General Hospital and The Young and the Restless because I thought soaps were beneath me. Then, of all things, Francis Coppola cast me in Apocalypse Now!

TT: What happened with that?

PC: I had just met a girl I was attracted to, and I didn't think she would wait a year for me to come back from the Phillipines. So I never showed up for wardrobe and my agent told me to never call her again. I know - what an idiot!

TT: Considering how troubled that production was, you probably made the right decision.

What are you up to these days?

PC: The girl - the one I dumped Coppola for - we've been married for about thirty-five years. If I had stayed an actor, I don't think I would have that credit today!

TT: That's right.

PC: I've been successful behind the camera. I've produced and directed many infomercials, commercials, and corporate films. I also created and founded Moviefone, which is a popular movie theater locator device that is now owned by AOL.

I am the founding partner of an Internet/satellite TV station that is still in start-up as of this moment. I've filmed and produced a few short films on the subject of juvenile justice and restorative justice in the California prison system. I keep busy, and I am a more humble individual these days. Turning sixty will do that to you. (Laughs).

TT: Those are very impressive accomplishments.

Still, would you like to return to acting at some point?

PC: I rarely think about returning to acting. Maybe once a day! (Laughs.) My dream has always been, since age nine, to direct films. I think I was one of the youngest professional thespians to utter the cliche "...but what I really want to do is direct." My friends and family are sick of hearing it. They're probably passing the hat to raise the money for one of my screenplays so I can do it and be done with it...and shut up about it! (Laughs.)

TT: We'll be first in line for that.

Thank you for talking to us, Pat. It's been really insightful.

PC: Thanks! And congrats on this wonderful site you two have. I love it.