I'd like to thank Mr. Whaley for taking the time to do this.
Here is an excerpt from Mr. Whaley's email expressing his disappointment in not being able to come.
I was sooooooooo disappointed that I couldn't attend. I was so looking forward to attending. I hope it was a very successful affair. I on the other hand am going through physical therapy on my knee 3 times a week. Originally, we thought there was some damage, but apparently it's just a very bad sprain. I thought the show was great, I had a blast doing it, and believe me, I've been on a show or two that I had a hard time doing.
Below are questions that have already been submitted and Mr. Whaley's replies to them
From Sherl:
Oh, boy! Gonna take advantage of THIS opportunity, lemme tellya!
Amy, please ask Mr. Whaley the following: In Fatal Edition, the fall you took after being shot by Savalas (your double crossing ex-partner) on what appeared to be a concrete slab, was about as realistic a piece of stunt work as I've ever seen.
No way anyone was doubling you either.
It was a move from a dead run that had your right leg buckling as if by the impact of the bullet, and you coming down hard on that slab in a seemingly uncontrolled sprawl.
I thought to myself, either this guy is as talented a stuntman as he is an actor, or he slipped and took that fall for real.
My question is, which is it?
Dear Sherl:
Interesting situation for me behind those two episodes. I live in Los Angeles, and whenever I did the show I was flown in to Chicago work. The day I arrived in Chicago to begin shooting Fatal Edition 1 & 2 I was immediately taken to the location where they were finishing up the previous episode. The wardrobe people wanted to go through a fitting. I was given a
trailer to store my luggage and as I was coming down the steps of the trailer a member of the crew was pushing an equipment cart right in front of
me. To avoid a major collision I jumped off the side of the steps and when I landed I turned my left ankle and pulled the calf muscle. Needless to say, I was in excruciating pain and was immediately rushed to emergency. I hadn't
been in Chicago for more than an hour when the accident happened. If I remember correctly, it took about 4 weeks to shoot the two part deal, and
the entire time I could not walk or stand on my feet for more than five minutes. There was always a bucket of ice near my chair and in my trailer.
Any scenes that had me running or doing any stunts of any kind, I was pumped
with anti-inflammatories to numb the pain. I was also going through physical therapy on the days I didn't work (which was only two) or short days, and the physical therapy actually continued for another two months when I got
home. In all it took about 4 months for me to completely recover. However,
I did all of the running and jumping and fighting on my own in those episodes, except for scene you asked about. When that scene was shot I was
still going through physical therapy and was not available. But the stunt double who filled in for me, made me look "good". Whew, didn't mean to be
longed winded.
~*~*~*
Michael Whaley Q&A Part 2