Transcript of Ed Bishop/Gabrielle Drake Guest Panel!

Much to my surprise, the following was just sent to me by Theo de Klerk, based on Simon Wickes'
video recording. Lorraine, do you have any corrections/additions to this based on your recording?

--
Marc Martin, [hidden email]

==================================================================================================

Ed Bishop / Gabriel Drake
Guest Panel at Fanderson's "Century 21" Convention


Is this the first time you see each other since UFO?
G: Yes -- I have seen Ed on stage, but I haven't seen him in real life
E: I was alive on stage! But true, I haven't seen Peter Gordeno since the series. It's extraordinary who life goes on.
G: You haven't seen people for thirty years and then you meet as if no timehad passed. "Do you know about Antonio", "Have you seen Mike?"
E: And the two directors, Alan, Ken, we were just talking about a shot. Extraordinary.

It's 30 years since UFO was shown on TV and production 18 months earlier still. Would you have believed that the series, your characters, the costumeswould still be remembered and watched by enthusiasts around the world intothe 21st century?
G: No, not at all.
E: Not for a moment.
G: But then you never do in our business. The one thing you think is going to be big sure-fire hit is bound to flop. And then something you think is just an interesting job becomes successful. I remember watching Cape Kennedyaround the Moon landings and I thought "That looks just like our set". They got that right anyway!
E: If we knew the formula about what is a success, they'd be sending us cheques in Antigua rather than in Old Moolsey. UFO was a professional job thatwe did to our best. And although it hasn't reached stellar heights of StarTrek, I always regard UFO as something of a connoisseur's choice. The factthat it is appreciated in the way it is, is astounding.

Do you know how you became cast into the series? Was the part influenced byyour part in Doppelganger?
E: I have worked on Captain Scarlet as Cpt. Blue and Doppelganger. There isa story there. They had cast an actor for my role in Doppelganger but he looked too much alike Patrick Wymar. The rushes showed no difference betweenthe two actors. So they had to cast a new actor and I got the job. When they were casting for UFO they could show Lew Grade some of the Doppelganger clips and that's how I got in. Were the girls picked like that?
G: I don't remember how we were originally picked. But I do remember one ofthe first days we were filming, there was an Italian guy, Franca di Rosa, who was playing Moonbase commander. Quite unexpectedly my agent rang me up on Saturday and told me to go and talk to Sylvia and Gerry Anderson. I was driven up there and they totally surprised me by asking me to play the Moonbase commander as it had not worked out with Franca. Originally my character was called Paula Harris. All through my youth my name was shortened to "Gay". My agent at the time said to Sylvia "Gay will come along at 12 o'clock" and they said "Gay? Who's Gay?" And my agent said "I meant Gabriella" and they said "we like that -- you'll be Gay Ellis, that will be your nick name".

Were you only contracted for some episodes because you dropped out after episode 3?
E: I did drop out for a while. At the time I signed on I knew I had to go to Vienna for six months, but at the time it wasn't that important as Paula Harris was not big a role. That changed when I was upgraded to play Moonbase Commander. Some things had changed when I returned. I think my wig changed -- I came back with shorter hair.
E: I'm learning here. I did not know all this.
G: We did not meet a lot on the set, did we?
E: No, we mostly met on the screen -- in our video conferences. Before video conferences existed! That was an innovation. And putting Gabrielle in theposition of command in the late sixties, that was innovative. Wanda Ventham came along later in the series. I think probably Sylvia was the influencein that direction.
G: She also designed our costumes.
E: She had a fantastic eye for details.
G: But not for comfortable wear. It was one of the most uncomfortable costumes I ever wore.
E: I think millions of people will agree with me that you wore it with grace. When I said Sylvia has an eye for detail and colour, I never forget I went along to Mayfair with her for a costume fit, she took a tie off a rack and I was wearing a hideous bowtie and she untied it, pulled it off, threw it away and said "And never let me see you wearing that bowtie ever again.!"
G: The costumes were quite scratchy, quite tight. You would sit on the stage and look in a mirror and suddenly see yourself move. Of course it was someone else, but we all looked so alike in costume. I understand that the Japanese at one point picked up on the purple hair and thought it was fashion.
E: The male outfit was comfortable to wear. Myths get exploded at Fanderson. I would come into the dressing room and tell me how to dress. Actors I know are lazy. The suit I'm wearing now I wore in a film, I asked if I could buy it. I figured it must be good because they put me in it! Someone has their name on the credits: "costume designed by...". I think it is easier for guys. But I think I get side-tracked.

Was there a sense of comradery on the set?
G: We did not see a lot of the people on "Earth" -- we were slightly isolated on Moonbase because we filmed on a different set. I recently watched an episode and it all came back to me. I saw this panel in my face displaying these vital facts like "east 456, west 8765" and I remember how difficult it was to remember the figures. And you had to get them right because they would come out on the screen.
E: The Moonbase set was rather enclosed and hot work in -- especially during the summer. And it was mainly technical stuff you were dealing with. Us guys in the office, we could losen it up a bit, talking about other things.
G: You went to locations
E: Yes, although they tended to shy away from location. Even if it played in 1980, they were so afraid to pick up things in the background that shouldnot be there. But to get back to the original question if you have a 100 people of the cast and crew , you get all sorts of tension, kinds of fermentation and we had them. But as Gay indicated, there wasn't all that much time. We had to get 5 minutes of shooting per day into the can -- a tight shooting schedule. There wasn't time for anything counterproductive, like squabbles, tension and arguments between people. Basically I think the chemistryworked.

What do you remember of some other actors on UFO?
E: I remember that whenever you did a scene with Vladek Sheybal -- forget it. Whatever you did -- everybody would watch Vladek. He was known as VladekEyeball.
G: I was taught by him in drama school. And there I was back on the set with him.
E: He had a wonderful sense of humour. Everything was in the right perspective with him. He was very intelligent.  
Cy Grant by contrast, is a very vulgarious, boisterous guy -- he did boxing in Australia and gravitated towards acting. He died of cancer. On the set, during the last couple of episodes, I watched him with poignancy because he had such a lot of weightloss and energy loss. He kept on because they needed the continuity of the character. Apparently he had a big party just before he died. "That's it, that's the end" he said afterwards. Memorable guys.

The directors like Alan Perry and David Lane had worked on puppet shows before. Did you ever have a feeling you knew more about it than they did?
G: It would not be easy for anybody to direct our group. I had not done a lot of filming myself. So it wasn't difficult to know more about it then I did.
E: Gerry directed "Identified" and he did very well as director. You don't expect executive directors to do it that well. The other guys were wonderful personalities. They did not command like gangbusters, and yet they didn'tshow their fear. Because actors are like dogs -- they smell the fear in their co-actors and directors. Those boys came on and we knew they did not have a lot of experience, but they came with integrity. It was a great leap for them and for Gerry to give them some extraordinary, million pounds an episode as a budget and say "go and do it". And you have to work with people with egos. Not easy. By and large I think they were successful. Some of theearlier scripts were rather slow, overwritten, but...
G: Gerry was down on the set a lot and there was a very benevolent presence. We always felt that we could go up to see him and he was always available.


(Questions from the floor)
For us oldtimers, I think you were the coolest man and sexiest woman on TV.
G: I never thought about it that way, but thank you.
E: I would not think Ed was "cool" -- he had a short fuse with people's inefficiency, blowing his stack
G: I think it was the blond hair
E: That was "cool" -- but underneath there was a volcano.
G: He was pretty icy, wasn't he?
E: Ah, that's "cool". In a documentary they showed recently, they said there were millions of adolescents who watched the show to see this young lady(points at Gabrielle)
G: I should not have come today, should I? Served the image better if I hadn't...

In Space:1999 they revamped what was to be UFO-2. What did they tell you about this transition from UFO-1 to what became Space:1999?
E: It wasn't that blurred. It was much more cut and dry. The ratings in UFOin America dipped suddenly, and as a result CBS lost their nerve and said "we're not going to renew UFO" where they had said previously that they would buy a second series. Gerry had already gone into pre-production. Rather than to flush everything down the drain, they revamped it into Space:1999. So there was a clear line. I was in L.A. at the time when Gerry and Sylvia wrote me about this new block of UFO and I was very optimistic. But a monthlater I got a letter saying the whole project was belly up. The problem isthat the money is made in America, so their word is law -- if they say "no", that's it.

Was ever an explanation given for the purple wigs on Moonbase?
G: Never. When we came to Earth I remember we got the exact same wig but inbrown. But, no -- no explanation.

Is there any episode you found the most satisfying?
G: For me, I think the "Computer Affair" was the one I had the most to do, even if that was still not much. As an actor you always want to have a go at giving a depth to the character. And in UFO the machines were normally more of a star than the actors. In a funny way I think I am more pleased nowwith the series in retrospect than at the time. It was a rather innovativeseries and a bit ahead of its time.

Marc Martin wrote:

> Much to my surprise, the following was just sent to me by Theo de Klerk, based on Simon Wickes'
> video recording. Lorraine, do you have any corrections/additions to this based on your recording?
>
> --
> Marc Martin, [hidden email]
>
> ==================================================================================================
snipping

> Were you only contracted for some episodes because you dropped out after episode 3?
> E: I did drop out for a while. At the time I signed on I knew I had to go to Vienna for six months, but at the time it wasn't that important as Paula Harris was not big a role. That changed when I was upgraded to play Moonbase Commander. Some things had changed when I returned. I think my wig changed -- I came back with shorter hair.


^^^^^^^
Methinks this should have been labeled G:


> E: The male outfit was comfortable to wear. Myths get exploded at Fanderson. I would come into the dressing room and tell me how to dress. Actors I know are lazy. The suit I'm wearing now I wore in a film, I asked if I could buy it. I figured it must be good because they put me in it! Someone has their name on the credits: "costume designed by...". I think it is easier for guys. But I think I get side-tracked.


LOL! <giggle giggle>


> What do you remember of some other actors on UFO?
> E: I remember that whenever you did a scene with Vladek Sheybal -- forget it. Whatever you did -- everybody would watch Vladek. He was known as Vladek Eyeball.


LOL! Hear that, Suzanne?!


> G: I was taught by him in drama school. And there I was back on the set with him.
> E: He had a wonderful sense of humour. Everything was in the right perspective with him. He was very intelligent.


:-)


> Cy Grant by contrast, is a very vulgarious, boisterous guy -- he did boxing in Australia and gravitated towards acting. He died of cancer. On the set, during the last couple of episodes, I watched him with poignancy because he had such a lot of weightloss and energy loss. He kept on because they needed the continuity of the character. Apparently he had a big party just before he died. "That's it, that's the end" he said afterwards. Memorable guys.


:-(


> (Questions from the floor)
> For us oldtimers, I think you were the coolest man and sexiest woman on TV.
> G: I never thought about it that way, but thank you.
> E: I would not think Ed was "cool" -- he had a short fuse with people's inefficiency, blowing his stack
> G: I think it was the blond hair
> E: That was "cool" -- but underneath there was a volcano.
> G: He was pretty icy, wasn't he?
> E: Ah, that's "cool". In a documentary they showed recently, they said there were millions of adolescents who watched the show to see this young lady (points at Gabrielle)
> G: I should not have come today, should I? Served the image better if I hadn't...


LOL! Great conversation!



Thanks, Marc! Thanks, Theo! Thanks, Simon!!
Great stuff! 8-)

-- Y

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----- Original Message -----
From: "Marc Martin" <[hidden email]>
To: <[hidden email]>
Sent: Monday, November 27, 2000 4:39 PM
Subject: [SHADO] Transcript of Ed Bishop/Gabrielle Drake Guest Panel!


> Much to my surprise, the following was just sent to me by Theo de Klerk,
based on Simon Wickes'
> video recording. Lorraine, do you have any corrections/additions to this
based on your recording?
>
> What do you remember of some other actors on UFO?
> E: I remember that whenever you did a scene with Vladek Sheybal -- forget
it. Whatever you did -- everybody would watch Vladek. He was known as Vladek
Eyeball.
> G: I was taught by him in drama school. And there I was back on the set
with him.
> E: He had a wonderful sense of humour. Everything was in the right
perspective with him. He was very intelligent.
> Cy Grant by contrast, is a very vulgarious, boisterous guy -- he did
boxing in Australia and gravitated towards acting. He died of cancer. On the
set, during the last couple of episodes, I watched him with poignancy
because he had such a lot of weightloss and energy loss. He kept on because
they needed the continuity of the character. Apparently he had a big party
just before he died. "That's it, that's the end" he said afterwards.
Memorable guys.
>

I assume Ed was referring to Grant Taylor instead of Cy Grant. Ed did work
with Cy Grant though in Captain Scarlet; I think Cy did the voice of
Lieutenant Green.



Ron