I have meet him in person and he is one of the nicest celebrities you'll ever meet (he even signed a photo for me). He is the founder of the L.A. Film Group (that's Lower Alabama) and has also directed several plays at Auburn University in Montgomery, Alabama in the early 1990s. He took us to heroic heights in his portrayal of Captain Marvel in the saturday morning CBS series "Shazam!" and we loved every minute of it! Little did I know that the actor playing one of my heroes on TV was from my home state! You can also see him in such Disney films as "Gus" and "Tron" plus the sci-fi thriller "Futurezone" and "Mutant Species". PHASE II had a chance to ask him some questions, so we did.
INTERVIEW WITH JACKSON BOSTWICK
by Barry King
Q. Let's first go way back to 1971 and the film "The Late Liz" in which you play "Randall Trowbridge". That film also starred Steve Forrest, James Gregory, Jack Albertson and another television hero William Katt. What are your memories of your first film?
A. That was my first feature film. I played the part of Anne Baxter's first husband in the film. The main scene I remember is in an operating room, and Ms. Baxter is on the operating table with myself, James Gregory, and Steve Forrest standing around her. Anne had to perform a full-blown, sobbing breakdown for seven different takes, which for a young actor like me, was a remarkable spectacle to watch. She never missed a beat. One minute we are affably bantering with each other, and then ACTION! and she becomes a total wreck. I knew I had some learning to do after that little acting lesson.
Q. You are most well known for playing "Captain Marvel" in Filmation's saturday morning live -action show "Shazam!" Can you tell us how it came about you were cast as Marvel?
A. It was late '73 and I was fresh out of the University of Southern California with my MFA in acting, when I changed commercial agents and signed with Jack Wormser. A week or so later, they send me out for a Captain Marvel serial. Being a commercial agent I think they're sending me out for a "cereal", like Captain Krunch, or something (not serial). I go dressed for a "cattle call" (most commercial interviews are a zoo) dressed in jeans, cowboy boots, and a white T-shirt. When I arrived at the designated casting office (Filmation Studios) the waiting room was empty. Bob Chenault (the producer) appeared and asked me to come back to his office. Bidda bing, bidda boom. It turns out, they had been searching for four months for a Captain Marvel, and had narrowed it down to four people -- and then I stumble in...
Q. As we all watched television and Shazam! would end (as would all Filmation productions) we would see 2 names spinning in a circle. They were the names of executive producers Lou Schimer and Norm Prescott. What can you tell us about your relationship with them? Were they heavily involved in the show?
A. We had what could be called a six-degrees-from-Kevin-Bacon type ,"working" relationship. (1) I’m an actor, (2) my agent sends me out to Filmation for the part of Captain Marvel, (3) Bob Chenault casts me in the role, (4) Bob is a Producer at Filmation who sends my work sheet into the studio (5) the payroll master cuts my paycheck (6) the divinities of Filmation (Sirs Louie and Norman) sign the check. I hammer the check before it can bounce. That was about the extent of our involvement. Bob Chenault was the backbone of "Shazam!" He was the driving force that made that show work. In my opinion, when he abruptly left before the start of the second season (and I soon followed), the heart and spine of "Shazam!" were ripped out, and it was at that point, that the show began to, pathetically, exist on life support. Enough said!
Q. When I was a kid something puzzled me and I've waited almost 30 years to know the answer. Later on in the run of Shazam!, John Davey stepped in as Capt. Marvel. Can you tell us why?
A. I go into lengthy detail in my forthcoming book, "Myth, Magic, and a Mortal," about this unfortunate little debacle. In a nutshell, they (the "divinities" of Filmation) concocted a Red Herring that I was holding up production by not making my call to the set one morning (the only time that I had ever been late) so I could squeeze the show for more money. Hah! I was at the doctor’s office having my eye, and the busted blood vessel beneath it, examined that morning (the nurse called the studio to relay this) from an injury I had incurred on the set the previous day while performing one of my mini tramp take-offs. Moreover, there was no way I could have filmed as Captain Marvel that day with a "mouse" under my eye. Duh! There was, also, no way I could have made it to the remote location of the set by their deadline (they told me if I wasn’t on the set by noon I was fired). So, at one o'clock I was dismissed, and John was out on the set by three that afternoon ready to play a part that it took Bob Chenault four months to fill. Hmmm! And besides, why didn’t they use one of those final four Bob had selected? Hmmmmmm! Anyway, the wind up is, the whole affair was arbitrated at the Screen Actors Guild, and after all of Filmation’s false accusations and innuendoes, I won the precedent setting case with them having to pay me for all the shows they had had me set to do, plus residuals.
Q. One of the best things about the show was your tag line at the end telling kids about the lesson we learned in the episode for the week. This added to the charm and greatness of the show. Did you know you were doing a show that was going to be talked about and have the impact it's had over the years?
A. Thank you, that's very kind of you to say. Apparently, TV Land, who at present is showing reruns, doesn't feel that these tags add anything to the show, however. They've seen fit not to include them. I guess that's 60 seconds of ad time they don't want to sacrifice. Big mistake! They (the network) tried that when "Shazam!" first aired in the fall of '74. I told Bob (Chenault), you're missing the boat not having the hero come back and talk to the audience at the end of the show. He said they didn't want to give up those 60 seconds of ad time. I said, "Big mistake!" So after the show had aired for four months, Bob comes to me and says, they've decided to do the tags. We shot all fifteen in one day out at Franklin Canyon Reservoir in Bel-air. Anyway, all you can do when you first start a project is to go out and do the best that you can. I know the impact that "The Lone Ranger" had on me, and I tried very hard to give that same inspiration to my generation. I also know, I couldn’t wait for the end of the show to hear, "Who was that masked man, anyway?" Why everybody knows who he is ... he's the Lone Ranger. “Hi-yo Silver, Away!"
Q. In Disney's "Tron" from 1982, you play the "Main Guard" (who had a terrific costume!). You've had a lot of experience acting with special effects in the past. Is it safe to assume that Tron was a little different at the time?
A. Tron was way ahead of it's time. Disney used what was called a Sodium Screen effect for a backdrop, and the special effects were laid in later. So when we were doing our scenes, all we could see and react to was this big yellow screen that was set up behind us. Some studios call the process a Blue screen, and use a blue screen instead of yellow (that's what we used for some of the flying sequences on "SHAZAM!"). Anyway, in comparison, CGI of today has now taken us beyond the galaxy in what can be achieved in digital effects.
Q. Now we go forward a little to a 1984 film called "What Waits Below". This was directed by Hammer horror film alumni Don Sharp. Any memories from the set of that film portraying "Hunter Prime"?
A. Robert Powell (the star of the film) and I had a big fight scene together, but the production manager and 1st AD are afraid to let us do our own stunts. I convince them otherwise, and the rumble is on. (We were using knives in the fight - Bobby’s was real; mine was heavy acrylic.) Robert forgets to duck one of my back slashes and I slam him in the temple with the butt of the handle. He drops like a sack of turnips, and I immediately fall on him, whispering in his ear 'Stay down. Don’t say anything..." We hold for a moment, then, CUT! I immediately stand jerking "Bad Bob" up with me and briskly ushering him off the set. I sit him down, but he's still a bit wobbly. The 1st AD comes over and suspiciously inquires,"Is everything all right?" "Yeah!" I quickly reply (I wasn’t about to give him any satisfaction), "let us know when you're ready for the next set up." Just then a bat hits the ground next to us, then another, and the PM comes running into the cave yelling, "Everybody outside, now! We’re evacuating the cave." I should’ve guessed, when Bob and I both had rather bad headaches that evening, but the fight had been my main concern. It turns out, running the generators in the entrance of the cave had not allowed the fumes to escape and had given the entire company a case (some more severe than others) of carbon monoxide poisoning. Anyway, several hours later, after the ambulance took some of the crew to the hospital, and the cave was allowed to be blown out with fans, Robert and I continue the fight. And with a little bit of a subtle makeup job covering the cut and blue-green knot above his temple, the errant blow has escaped detection, and Bob and I finish the job without further ado.
Q. 1995 brought us the drama "A Matter of Honor". You portray the rugby coach at a small college "John Bull", a man who always taught his players that honor is more important than victory. How differently do you prepare for a heavy dramatic role as opposed to the heroic action type?
A. A little more dramatic... Heroes (and to a greater extent, superheroes) demand a certain amount of reserve in their emotions. This doesn’t mean they don't have their moments -- most of the good ones do - its just that they don’t have the luxury of being able to display most of the human foibles, if they are going to be perceived by us mortals as being a step above us, or even further, a "super" step. The Terminator in the first "Terminator" movie was great- I mean, really scary, because he showed no human weaknesses. Duh! Obviously ... he was a cyborg (and an evil superhero). However, in the subsequent sequels he begins to become more human in nature, and as a result, sacrifices some of that superpower aura he held over us at one time. On the other hand, a hero is a mortal (human) who does the best he can with his God given abilities (e.g., Audey Murphy). Superheroes are given unearthly (beyond human) strengths and must be portrayed as having such (Superman- visitor from another world; Captain Marvel -- the power of Shazam). Whereas, the Everyman can scratch where he feels like it, cuss, take a dump, etc., and we think nothing the less of him for it, it becomes a matter of boundaries and parameters when one approaches the part of a hero, or superhero.
Q. "Bombshell" is based on the popular Lightning Bolt Comics character in which you are cast as "Capt. Thomas". As of 2004 it is still in production. Can you give us any updates on this project?
A. Still in preproduction.
We want to thank you for this interview and all your Satuday morning heroic feats and we wish you continued success!
Thank you, and likewise with all your endeavors.
