chief zabu
chief zabu appearing after all these years is like finding out unicorns are real .
huge to find chief zabu on the settled dust, best of 2017 list !
zach norman, left, and allen garfield in the movie
chief zabu .
( nadco )
the dusted - off comedy ‘chief zabu’ falls flat, even with a politically ambitious n. y. developer
looking for movie tickets? enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing chief zabu near you .
a reference to a long - running ad in the show business newspaper
variety
about the unreleased film chief zabu .
chief zabu
may have been buried for the past three decades, but this tiresomely talky would - be satire is no treasure .
chief zabu was shot in 1986 on a low budget over the course of 15 days. the film is about some new york businessman who tries to take over the finances of a fictitious polynesian country while its leader, chief zabu, is in new york seeking admission to the un .
“we left that to the experts ,
cohen responds .
it takes the mind of someone from south florida to actually decide what the chief zabu is. ”
a shabu shabu set - up at zabu zabu restaurant in berkeley, calif. on thursday, february 28, 2008. (sherry lavars / contra costa times )
if all continues to improve we are hoping chief spotted eye can undergo surgery on tuesday .
as it turns out, the resulting
chief zabu
may have been buried for the past three decades, but this tiresomely talky would - be satire is no treasure .
in 1986 two first - time directors shot - but never completed - chief zabu, an audacious low - budget socio - political comedy featuring a cast of legendary character actors .
no more! no more! we don' t want to hear your excuses for why you can' t come out to the chief zabu screenings at nerdist showroom at meltdown and m. i.' s westside comedy theater. there are two screenings! both with a live stand - up show from the creators in addition to the film and all for an affordable ten bucks! there are literally no reasons not to go! see the event pages here for details: chief zabu at nerdist showroom chief zabu at westside comedy theatre
after a series of snafus that paralleled the film’s madcap plot, and despite featured coverage of its production in life magazine, chief zabu was never completed, distributed, nor publicly shown .
, which is followed by
the zabu stomp party
in the john mager courtyard .
after a series of snafus that paralleled the film' s madcap plot, and despite featured coverage of its production in life magazine, chief zabu was never completed, distributed, nor publicly shown .
that' s because norman' s recently wrapped
chief zabu
creates another comedy team - - norman and allen garfield. but
chief zabu
is very low profile: it' s directed by unknowns howard zuker and neil cohen, from a script cohen wrote with yet another unknown, nancy zuker. it has no distributor yet. and it came in for under $ 200, 000 .
how the actors happened to come together to shoot
chief zabu
at bard college has a lot to do with screen actors guild, and with neil cohen, allen garfield and producer norman leigh .
' chief zabu,' a strangely prescient 1986 low - budget comedy about the financial and political aspirations of an awkward new york real - estate developer, will screen nov. 7 at the fort lauderdale international film festival .
zabu zabu, a name that captures well this sleek, slightly esoteric japanese restaurant, is a play on shabu shabu “” the hot - broth fondue that turns carpaccio - thin meats from red to ready in seconds .
it took until 2016 for a newly - edited cut of
chief zabu
to be publicly presented. if you ever have a chance to see it, don' t pass it up. here is a rare comic artifact worth savoring .
while zabu zabu is only a block down from the theaters, it can feel like a world away. surrounded by industry and tucked in the back of a medical office, it’s the last place you’d expect to find a contemporary restaurant offering an ancient cuisine (hot pot is said to have developed in genghis khan’s day as a way for soldiers to feed themselves easily). whether you’re planning to see a play or just out to play, zabu zabu is a find .
two new york real - estate hustlers (allen garfield, zack norman) make a deal with the chief of a polynesian island .
you' ve heard it on mst3k a thousand times ,
zack norman is sammy in chief zabu !
now you can share this riff with the world! this design commemorates the unrelenting variety ad that appeared in hundreds of issues between 1985 and 1988 .
the super - charged atmosphere of the clinton - trump race obligates fliff to recognize election day in a forthright way, which it will on nov. 7 with films by michael moore and dinesh d' souza, as well as the
lost
comedy
chief zabu .
vote for “chief zabu! ” the audacious socio - political comedy makes its way to the east coast on election eve, monday, november 7, 2016, at the 31st annual fort lauderdale international film festival. join co - directors howard zuker and neil cohen for two east coast premiere screenings at
chief zabu, which received its r rating in 1988, is being promoted with the tagline “a new york real estate developer dreams of respect and political influence. ” the seemingly prescient trumpian parallels are no coincidence; one of norman’s inspirations was new york hospital signage announcing the philanthropy of the candidate’s father .
chief zabu is the ultimate low - budget cult indie underground movie, made 30 years ago in 15 days with 28 locations and over 40 speaking roles (taking place purportedly in 4 cities and 2 continents); shot on 35mm with a cast of legendary character actors, the film was never completed until 2016. as chief zabu has been the fount of much speculation as to whether it ever actually existed, we are now delighted to put the rumors to rest and to present to the public our comedy about a new york real estate developer who dreams of political influence: chief zabu. rather than seek conventional distribution or even a vod or streaming deal, chief zabu is touring the country screening (with us, the co - directors, doing a live intro and q & a) exclusively at comedy clubs, dive bars, festivals, underground film clubs - and in the occasional art house theater. we' ve recently played dates in hollywood and santa monica (ca), are now booking nyc, washington dc, and chicago, and are having the most wonderful creative experience showing our film, meeting our audiences, and testing out a new experiment of film exhibition in off - beat locations .
waitress jessica hanzo sets the table for shabu shabu at zabu zabu restaurant in berkeley, calif. on thursday, february 28, 2008. with shabu shabu raw meats & vegetable or just vegetable are placed on the table then added to a soup by customers to create their own custom dishes. (sherry lavars / contra costa times )
i brought mom, who is always looking for places to dine before or after a play at nearby berkeley rep. while her final judgement on zabu zabu was “weird, ” she ate her share. spinach leaves the size of lily pads, bouquets of enoki mushrooms, hardy ribs of cabbage, they all went into the burbling broth .
a comic time capsule with a timeless punch
- hollywood reporter. 30 years in the making: a ny real estate developer dreams of political power. zabu 2018 tour
compellingly relevant to the present and eerily resonant with the inanity of current presidential politics, [ chief zabu ] the tale of a sleazy real estate developer over - his - head in an international scam is funny and satirical but never over the top .
- says kcrw film critic and professor and dean emeritus at ucla school of theater, film and television ,
the deal targets tiburaku, a newly independent island nation whose president, chief henri zabu (manu tupou), has traveled to the big apple with a delegation in a bid to secure un membership. the tiburaku tourist bureau’s investor - friendly animated promotional film (created by mary cybulski and barbara lehman) opens the movie and introduces the fictional country in parody - perfect fashion .
i' m wondering - - quite seriously - - if' zabu' won' t end up being every bit as funny as the higher - priced pictures ,
he said .
norman is eager to add his two cents. “i was excited, because i drink much more than neil, ” norman adds, as if this were a rehearsed stand - up skit. “and for me, it became political as i began tasting different drinks around our town. i decided, with the chief zabu, if you have two zabus, then you wanna run for office. that’s where the politics comes in. ”
the movie was never distributed and both men moved on to successful careers in acting and screenwriting. cohen says, “then, life took over and last year, around this time, we’re having dinner and discussing mr. trump and the madness of presidential politics and we said to ourselves,' you know, our main character in chief zabu is a new york real estate developer who dreams of having respect and political influence .
fitting .
a real estate moghul from new york wants to make a big deal which will see him realize a dream of having his name written on the side of buildings! we’ve been talking a lot about films which predicted donald trump and his ressistable rise. but this one you probably don’t know about. made in 1986, but not completed until this year, chief zabu tells the story of ben sydney (the great allen garfield), the real estate businessman trying to make the deal of a lifetime, taking control of the polynesian nation tiburaku with the help of the eponymous chief and his sidekick part time comedian zack norman – who co - wrote and directed the film along with neil cohen .
waitress lily sien sets the table for shabu shabu at zabu zabu restaurant in berkeley, calif. on thursday, february 28, 2008. with shabu shabu raw meats & vegetable or just vegetable are placed on the table then added to a soup by customers. with shabu shabu raw meats & vegetable or just vegetable are placed on the table then added to a soup by customers to create their own custom dishes. (sherry lavars / contra costa times )
this audacious sociopolitical comedy is easily an instant classic! it is chock full of legendary actors staring the duo of the century - zack norman and allen garfield - who are each uniquely hilarious. the story follows a needful new york real estate developer (garfield) who dreams of gaining political influence and status quo. in hopes of achieving this, his coworker and right hand man, sammy (norman) become involved with an international hustler to finance a newly independent polynesian country while their leader, chief zabu is in new york seeking admission to the un. in the wake of our current whirlwind of political madness, this film alleviates all anxieties of the election with a huge dosage of satire. it' s as if they combined today' s relevancy with the nostalgic, smart humor of the 80' s - very reminiscent of classics such as trading places and caddyshack. if you' re looking for a witty comedy, chief zabu delivers .
hail to
chief zabu
: actor - director zack norman and writer - producer neil cohen lost the negative for their low - budget comedy about a nebbishy trumpian real - estate developer shortly after showing it for the first time back in 1986. the rise in popularity of donald trump prompted them to look for it again, and both will attend nov. 7 screenings at 6 p. m. at cinema paradiso hollywood and 7: 45 p. m. at savor cinema in fort lauderdale. the savor cinema screening will be followed by the free zabu stomp party in the theater courtyard, featuring the music of gold dust lounge. admission to the film and party are free with an
i voted
sticker .
zack norman and neil cohen, directors of chief zabu, are getting ready to toast to their success. not only is their movie making its east coast premiere at the fort lauderdale international film festival on monday, november 7 at 6 p. m. at cinema paradiso - hollywood (2008 hollywood blvd, hollywood; 954 - 342 - 9137) mai - kai, south florida' s go - to restaurant for tropical happy hour, is creating a cocktail to honor, it as well .
the scene depicted in the 1988 hirschfeld caricature poster features norman and garfield' s characters discussing their shady deals during a car ride; it can be viewed through the film' s official vimeo channel (under the account name zabu company) .
in 1986 two first - time directors shot - but never completed - chief zabu, an audacious low - budget socio - political comedy featuring a cast of legendary character actors. in 2016, inspired by the madness of current presidential politics, the directors finally finished their film about ben sydney, a new york real estate developer who dreams of getting political power. ben' s scheme is to take over a polynesian island nation, but the testing of french nuclear weapons ensures that things do not go as planned .
namibia became the fictional polynesian island of tiburaku, norman said ,
because nothing to do with africa, and particularly south africa, is funny. and kapu, who i' m sorry to say died under possibly suspicious circumstances in namibia not long after his visit to new york, became zabu .
neil cohen said that, as played by manu tupou of
a man called horse
and
hurricane ,
zabu
is emerging as a character with a great and touching dignity .
in 1986 two first - time directors shot - but never completed - chief zabu, an audacious low - budget socio - political comedy featuring a cast of legendary character actors. in 2016, inspired by the madness of current presidential politics, the directors finally finished their film about ben sydney, a delusional new york real estate developer who dreams of getting political power. ben' s scheme is to take over a polynesian island nation, but the testing of french nuclear weapons ensures that things do not go as planned. “given
howard zuker is the name - - his real one - - that zack norman uses when he' s doing the new york and florida real - estate deals that have subsidized his acting career. norman also used it when he and his
sitting ducks
director, henry jaglom ,
presented
( i. e. , arranged financing for )
hearts and minds ,
the oscar - winning 1974 vietnam - themed documentary. and he' s using it now for his film - directing debut with
chief zabu .
it surprised me that on our early sunday night visit there seemed to be few patrons who were heading to the theater. twenty years ago, when i was cooking and dishing up gumbo at this same location “” then gertie’s chesapeake bay “” the kitchen would get slammed before every show. more recently, this restaurant was le theatre, an homage to berkeley’s downtown arts district. but zabu zabu seems to have found more favor among foodies; after being open a year, it’s still getting daily reviews on yelp. com .
tupou, who died in 2004, imbues zabu with a flair for lofty oratory and a soulful gaze, wary and wounded. the movie could have benefited from more interactions between him and the scheming new yorkers, but the screenplay, credited to the two directors and nancy zuker, is concerned mainly with the aspirations and machinations of the story’s ridiculous white guys (and gals), beginning with the half - dozen middle - aged business leaders who gather in a plaza hotel suite for dankworth’s pitch. having already sold zabu a bill of goods, he plants sugar - plum visions of road, soft drink and fishing rights in the entrepreneurs’ profit - seeking heads .
leigh, who has worked as a high - budget cinematographer (
the brink' s job
) and a low - budget director (
schizoid
), took one look at the $ 200, 000 zack norman had raised for
zabu
and mentally translated it into a different movie from the one that norman and neil cohen envisioned .
in the pastel fashions and big hair of the female characters, the movie offers further evidence, not that we needed it, that the politically divisive ’80s was also, hands down, the most horrendous modern decade in american women’s fashion. those female characters include a vacuously self - involved hollywood actress (marianna hill). the title of her claim - to - fame feature, the deluded chimp, could apply to most of the americans in chief zabu. as a colleague of fraudster dankworth, the mighty shirley stoler (the honeymoon killers) harbors her own hopeful delusions. least deluded but most enraged is sammy’s co - worker linda (betty karlen), who feels discriminated against and sidelined by ben, and hates him even more than the real estate racket .
dr. steve olson, vice president of federal relations for the aza, concurs: “to our knowledge, there are no captive tigers in the u. s. that are purebred subspecies with known pedigrees traceable to their wild - caught founders other than those managed within the aza tiger ssp. ” see letter to tim van norman, chief, branch of permits, division of management authority (“dma”), fws, from steve olson, aza (aug. 30, 2011) .
at halu shabu shabu in dublin’s ulferts center, the only meat on offer is beef, where 15 pieces of angus rib - eye runs $ 21. 99. my favorite dipper at zabu zabu was the new zealand lamb, full of flavor and just as tender as the pork or beef. our platter of prime rib - eye was actually slightly dry, as if it had lost moisture sitting in the refrigerator (the slices do seem to be thinner here than those at halu). mom struggled a bit keeping her meat completely immersed and on her chopsticks, but it’s a skill that comes quickly once you realize the reward. substantial veggies, such as cabbage, carrots and shiitake mushrooms, can be tossed in the broth and scooped out after a couple of minutes with a mesh skimmer given to each diner. as you might imagine, it’s a great way to dine with a group of friends “” as disarming as sitting around a campfire roasting wieners and marshmallows .
mankiller examines the legacy of the formidable wilma mankiller, who defied all odds to become one of the most influential leaders in the united states. mankiller overcame rampant sexism and personal challenges to emerge as the cherokee nation’s first female principal chief in 1985. mankiller’s humble leadership style and her strength as a uniter remind audiences of the true meaning of servant leadership. the film reunites the team of gale anne hurd (the terminator, aliens, armageddon, the walking dead) and valerie red - horse mohl for their third documentary .
i went to a press conference, at the sherry netherland hotel in new york, for the leader of the independence movement, chief clement kapu, a press conference that for some reason was attended by elizabeth taylor .
taylor had earlier focused her interest and beneficence on botswana .
well, namibia was not admitted to the u. n. , but i was convinced that what i saw that day was a springboard for a zany satirical comedy which could also be - - with the right characters - - a comedy with a lot of heart .
. much has been said about how the dystopian drama taps into current anxieties around women' s rights .
we knew it would touch a nerve, but we didn' t expect the volume of reception ,
says beatrice springborn, head of original programming at the streamer, who' ll speak on a
content is king
panel june 10 at the produced by conference in l. a. while she' s mum on how the arrival of amc vet joel stillerman as hulu' s chief content officer could impact her day - to - day, springborn did spill on how
graphic features the bobcats that have benefited from the program and the text; florida bobcat rehabilitation program on the top and giving hope to those that deserve a second chance on the bottom. silhouettes created using actual photos of bobcats being released and paw print embellishments made from an impression of one of the rehab bobcats’ paws. tee features the names of 34 bobcats including; ace, alachua, anasazie, bailey, bellona, captiva, chance, chief, copter, cypress, dancer, dante, faith, flash, gator, hope, ivan, journey, kennedy, khaleesi, midnight, mr. claws, mrs. claws, nova, phoenix, poseidon, rain, skip, spirit feather, storm, tommie, thor, will, and wyeth .
per person and free to those who wear an
i voted
sticker .
seeking admission to the un. as the businessmen imagine a life of tropical ease and wealth, the testing of french nuclear weapons in the south pacific ensures that things do not go as planned .
( with the cast, crew, and student interns all living together in the dorms) .
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urltoken
annandale - on - hudson, n. y. —
comedy teams !
zack norman - - who was danny devito' s mustachioed, crocodile - crazed sidekick in
romancing the stone
- - was musing on the resurgence in screen comedy buddies. he was especially aware of high - profile pairings like devito and joe piscopo in the recent $ 10 million - or - so
wise guys
and warren beatty and dustin hoffman in the upcoming $ 30 million - or - so
ishtar .
still, norman is betting there' s no relationship between cost and mirth .
the answer to that question will come, as they say, in the fullness of time. some questions that can be answered right now are :
and how can a film full of high - priced character actors - - ed lauter (
raw deal
), allan arbus (the
mash
series' shrink), shirley stoler (
seven beauties
) and ferdinand mayne (
pirates
) in addition to garfield (
the cotton club
) and norman - - be made for less than $ 200, 000? or, if you must know the truth, $ 187, 996 .
a few years back ,
norman recounted the genesis of the new film ,
one of the hustlers i know came to me and said,' mergers and acquisitions aren' t where it' s at anymore; where it' s at is countries.' he suggested i look into the commercial possibilities in namibia, an area in south west africa that was trying to achieve independence of south africa, and had just applied for membership in the u. n .
so convinced that he and neil cohen, an ex - agent and off - broadway playwright (
rat' s nest
), dropped the domestic drama they were scripting together and invited nancy zuker, norman' s wife, to develop the new idea with them .
the other principals are decidedly less dignified but, the film makers hope, are touching in their scrambling desperation. they include: norman' s manic, percentage - spouting realtor and his woebegone boss - friend (garfield); arbus' where - it' s - at - is - countries promoter; stoler' s culture - vulture hotel credit manager; lauter' s ne' er - do - well millionaire' s son, his libidinous wife (model lucienne buchanan) and their quite literally closet - gay butler (mayne); and a do - gooding actress, now more fonda than taylor (marianna hill of
medium cool
) .
zack and i ,
cohen admitted ,
saw a guy with a camera strapped to his back and a sound man following the actors around .
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it took 30 years for this film to come to fruition. even still, these guys don’t miss an opportunity to laugh .
just to be clear who' s who, i’m the guy with the squeaky voice and zack is the one who sounds like he should be broadcasting the kentucky derby, ” cohen says at the start of the interview via three - way call. both men burst into laughs .
“as crazy as it all sounds, we literally wrote the movie thirty years ago because, as i used to drive into new york city there was a big sign on a hospital that said, the trump pavilion. i used to look at it every day, and to me it was almost funny, a man trying to show himself off to this huge group of people driving into new york. ”
that’s when they took another look at the film and realized the relevance it had today, thirty years after it was made. it only took a few tweaks to get the movie ready for audiences .
“it’s the human condition, really, that neil and i got so turned on about ,
says cohen .
it wasn’t just one person. our lead represents so many people and what they need, their insecurities. it’s all that stuff. and it just so happens that it really coincides, from our point of view, with life as it is today. ”
when asked if they plan to make another film together they both enthusiastically say, yes. “we’re planning one that will come out in 2046! ” cohen announces. i can almost hear the words filter through a wry smile as he speaks .
“that’s true! that’s right! ,
says norma .
because this works, you shoot them and then you wait 30 years. ”norman and cohen are lost in laughter once again .
the idea for a drink to go with the movie came about in los angeles, when cohen found himself talking to a local bartender about the movie plot and realized there should be a drink to go with the film .
“i mentioned it to some of the people in south florida, because i had heard of the mai - kai. you talk to anyone who’s into drinking and cocktails, they all know the mai kai. i thought maybe they should create a drink. we should have an east coast and a west coast drink. the east coast, as we all know, moves much faster than the west coast. ” there is a pregnant pause quickly consumed by laughter from both. “so, the next thing you know, the mai - kai has created this drink. ”
the cocktail is made with lime juice, soda, passionfruit, honey, orange juice and three different rums. i ask if they had any say in what went into the drink .
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mai kai is located 3599 north federal highway in fort lauderdale. call 954 - 563 - 3272, or visit urltoken .
the 31st annual fort lauderdale international film premiers over 100 top american indie and world cinema features, documentaries and shorts over the 16 - day event. tickets are available to purchase in advance at urltoken .
alona abbady martinez lives in plantation, florida. she writes about food and family on her blog, culinary compulsion, and is currently working on her book, my culinary compulsion, a global food memoir with recipes. you can follow her on instagram and twitter .
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tackles the lack of gender ...
taking the 2016 presidential race as a sign, zack norman and neil cohen elected to finally put the finishing touches on their never - completed 1986 comedy about a new york real estate developer with lofty political ambitions .
having aspirations of being the sort of guy who gets to see his name on hospitals and
have opinions on issues ,
manhattan realtor ben sydney (allen garfield) seizes what appears to be a golden opportunity when he meets george dankworth (allan arbus) .
a well - dressed scam artist, dankworth sells sydney on tiburaku, a south pacific island nation
about the size of new jersey ,
that' s ripe for resort development .
but the site proves to be more toxic than exotic after sydney' s buddy, an aspiring stand - up comic named sammy brooks (norman), discovers that the french government has been testing nuclear weapons in the immediate vicinity .
notable mainly for gathering together familiar character actors of the era, many of whom, including arbus, ed lauter and shirley stoler, have since died, the low - budget effort plays like bargain basement barry levinson .
clocking in at a scant but more than sufficient 74 minutes, the film, co - directed and written by norman (under his birth name, howard zuker) and cohen, cries out for sharper writing and a stronger technical hand .
current events aside, it would have been wiser to let sleeping dogs lie .
movie news, screening invitations and reviews from the world of independent film and beyond .
’s vintage i was fearful of experiencing a zombie movie back from the dead, but, instead, it is compellingly relevant to the present and is eerily resonant with the inanity of current presidential politics. the tale of a sleazy real estate developer over - his - head in an international scam is funny and satirical but never over the top. the carefully restrained tone results in humor and satire that sneaks up on you and provokes a mixture of delight and reflection .
- robert rosen, professor and dean emeritus ucla school of theater, film and television
decades after it was shot, and just in time for the presidential election, a comedy about a real estate entrepreneur with vague political aspirations is being released. using his birth name, howard zuker, as a directorial nom de cinema, actor - producer zack norman partnered with neil ...
actress lois chiles, a friend of this blog, asked me to share with the public her memories of her friend & colleague roger moore, who passed away today in switzerland at age 89. she played nasa scientist & cia agent dr. holly goodhead, opposite roger moore' s james bond, in
moonraker
( 1979) :
roger was a joy to work with and to know. he was kind and elegant and had a great sense of humor. he loved his family and life in general. i am sad to know that he is gone .
in the 1970s, actress belinda montgomery made a name for herself playing vulnerable, imperiled heroines in a variety of television guest roles and movies of the week that made her a primetime fixture throughout the decade. attractive and intelligent, she distinguished these roles by providing an air of wisdom and maturity that belied the naiveté of these characters. as she got older, montgomery' s screen image continued to mature, as she began to essay a series of confident, assertive authority figures - - often in the medical profession - - who learned to resolve conflicts on her own. similarly, montgomery herself prospered and matured in the industry so that she was able to make the most of the opportunities presented to her, without having to experience the pitfalls that so many of her peers, who also started at a young age, dealt with. after more than 30 years in the business, montgomery took time off to focus on caring for her elderly parents, as well as resume her studies and develop a new reputation for herself as an accomplished painter and artist. her artwork can be seen on her website ,
. while she has not completely turned her back on acting - - she still maintains an agent and appeared on the big screen in 2010 in
tron: legacy
- - montgomery now enjoys focusing her time on mastering her other talents and abilities. she graciously consented to an interview with hill place blog to discuss her acting days, as well as share insights about her current work as a painter. in our conversations, montgomery comes across as warm and likable as expected from her screen image, but with a tough, assertive edge that underscores how she does not suffer fools gladly. i would like to extend my sincere gratitude to belinda montgomery for opening up her heart and memories for this interview. a special thank you is also in order to her husband jeff stillman, who demonstrated the utmost patience while i kept his wife busy on the phone with my numerous questions about her acting career .
belinda montgomery was born in winnipeg, manitoba, canada, the daughter of accomplished actor cecil montgomery, who was active in television, radio and theater in canada. montgomery recalls how her father ,
was an irishman who came to canada in 1948. he had a couple of different jobs and then a friend of his was an actor going to a reading for something and invited my dad along. he said,' we' ve got radio here in manitoba that' s going to broadcast across canada and they want to do a weekly series.' the radio series was called' the jacksons,' and it was about a family on the prairies. for a lark, my dad auditioned and got the role of this irascible old irishman named tim murphy. and because this was a radio show, you know, nobody knew what he looked like. just like “a prairie home companion, ” the show was broadcast, live, from various canadian towns, now and then. and because this was a radio show, you know, nobody knew what he looked like. so before the show began the announcer would introduce the cast and people would applaud when the actor would come out. and then they' d say,' here' s cecil montgomery as tim murphy!' well, they loved tim murphy, and they couldn' t wait to see him, and my dad would come out and he was like this, i don' t know, 32 year old guy. tall, handsome, young guy with a thick head of black hair and was met with an eerie silence. (laugh) and then the cast would start to do the show, and as soon as my dad would talk everybody would go' oh!' recognizing his voice and they' d start to applaud !
because of her father' s success in radio, montgomery eventually followed in his footsteps and became an actress as well .
he would go in three or four times a week to do these live broadcasts and sometimes i would go with him into the cbc studio. it was just this fascinating world. so i' m there this one time and we' re waiting for them to start to record the show, and the director is in a panic because this kid who was supposed to play a little boy hasn' t shown up. they don' t know what happened to him and it' s live. so they look around and the director says,' what about belinda? do you think she could do this?' my dad says,' do you think you want to be in the show?' and i said,' yeah!' (laugh) so they gave me the lines to read and i did them a couple of times and went off into a corner with my dad to rehearse and then they started to record. i had a very husky, gravelly voice as a kid, (lowers her voice)' like this,' so i could easily play little boys. and so that' s how i started as an actress! i started by playing little boys on the radio! (laugh )
because of her natural talent and mature professionalism that belied her youth, montgomery soon made a name for herself as a prolific child actress working in radio and television throughout canada. she recalls how ,
i never performed in school plays because i was already doing them professionally. my sister and i did a couple of television shows that went right across canada that were live on the cbc. one was called' brandynose,' it was a christmas story that was a play on' rudolph.' it was a big fiasco from the moment it started. sets started to move on their own in the background, actors forgot their lines and walked off and came on again, windows moved, just strange things occurred on - air. and my dad and helene winston, who was a wonderful canadian actress, were standing there helpless and trying to hold back laughter. and this was dreadful because it was going live across canada. so they all pulled it together anyway and it looked like a surreal' i - don' t - know - what' but the audience loved it. everybody just kept going: i was supposed to make an entrance coming through a front door. the door wouldn' t open and i' m trying to get it open and my sister' s standing right beside me and we' re supposed to go in and say some line and it' s a cue for other things to happen in the scene. so i thought,' well, there' s a window and it' s open!' so my sister tanis and i climbed through the window, just as the camera panned over and they catch us coming through the window, which was totally bizarre, since i had just been knocking at the door, so now i' m crashing into somebody' s house through the window. and we started to say our lines and i could see the other actors off in the side with tears coming down their faces, because they were laughing so hard, it was so ridiculous. but we somehow got through it. after that i thought,' well, who wouldn' t want to be an actor?' (laugh )
even though she was already laying the groundwork for her acting career, starting at an early age, and continuing throughout her life, montgomery always painted. she readily acknowledges that she would have focused on a career as an artist if she had not pursued acting as her professional vocation. montgomery recalls that
as a kid, a van gogh exhibit came through town and my dad took me and that was it. i was just inspired by the colors and the magic of his paintings. i always painted on my own throughout my acting career. when i was 10 years old, i drew a portrait of a face that was 3 feet by 4 feet and it was black and white. it was black down one side, and white down the other side. a newscaster in canada, warren davis, bought it. he was a friend of my father' s and he said he had to have it so he bought it and put it up prominently in his living room over his fireplace. it was my first sale, for $ 50. 00. to me, that was a lot of money. (laugh )
when montgomery was 11 years old, her father moved the family to england, and she lived for a period of time in london. during those years, montgomery focused more on her schoolwork, but acknowledges that ,
somebody saw my sister tanis and i when my dad was doing some show and he said,' oh, we' d love to have them for a commercial!' so tanis and i did a chocolate tv commercial and we had fun doing that. but we didn' t really do any acting over there. we were primarily in school during that time, and trying to understand the language. (laugh) we were in london for two years and dad did work on the bbc. we moved around london quite a bit. as a kid, i was not fond of that because i was very, very shy. going into new schools, being introduced into new classes - - oh my god, i thought i would die! i didn' t like being over there only because i felt like the odd one out. and different teachers would say, when a question would come up,' oh, let' s ask the yank!' i mean, i didn' t know these people. i didn' t know what they were talking about half the time, and so i' d sort of stand up there and try to get through answering their question. a couple of times i' d say under my breath,' i' m not a yank!' it was pretty much rainy and moldy and damp for the two years we lived there and my dad couldn' t stand it. he said,' what the hell? ! what was i thinking coming back overseas? ! we' re leaving!' so my poor mom had to bundle everything up together. there were three kids - - my brother, my sister and myself - - and we took a ship back to montreal, quebec. we had our little english accents by that time. i just absorbed it, you know how kids do. i came back sounding all breathy like hayley mills, and my sister came back, oh god, sounding like a cockney. we don' t know where she got it from. it used to drive my father insane. i think that' s another reason why we came back. my sister would wake my parents up in the middle of the night and say, [ cockney accent ]' daddy! may i have a drink of water!' and he' d say [ canadian - american accent ]' if you ask for it properly in english!' (laugh )
i was thirteen when we returned, which was a really awkward age, you know? you' re so self - conscious and you' re in adolescence and early puberty. i was glad to be going back, but we didn' t go back to manitoba because my dad wanted to move to toronto. so we spent the next several years in toronto. i went to high school there and i did a lot of modeling there. i was shy, so my mother thought' ok, i' m going to send belinda off to modeling school.' so she enrolled me in a modeling school run by a wonderful woman. they had deportment classes where you' d learn to keep your head up and photography, etc. , and my mom thought,' oh, that' ll be nice for her!' the career sort of took off with modeling and my sister tanis joined in and we used to do a ton of modeling for magazines and catalogues. when twiggy came to town, i was in a show with her. i have a front - page newspaper clipping of me, with my hair really short, and there i am with twiggy in the same show. we had a lot of fun. she was such an icon at the time - - this must have been 1966 maybe? - - and she was lovely. she was really sweet and very, very shy. we just kept staring at her, you know, because we all wanted to look like twiggy, although some of us were not destined and i was one of those. (laugh) i wasn' t going to be a stick no matter what i did .
being back in canada ultimately provided montgomery with further career opportunities as an actress. she landed the lead role in the cbc television special
hey, cinderella !
( 1968), an adaptation of the classic fairy tale .
cinderella
was notable for being directed by jim henson and featuring early appearances of his legendary muppets, especially kermit the frog. as she recalls ,
i' d go to the cbc to visit my dad, because he was doing a couple of series there, and somebody said,' you know, belinda would be really good for this show' barney boomer.' what do you think?' and i don' t know if i even auditioned for it, but the show was a kids’ show in the afternoon and it was a lot of fun. so i did that for, i don' t know, a year or a year and a half and then i was working with jim henson in his tv special' hey, cinderella!' he came in from new york, i think, or from l. a. i was 17 years old when i did that. there was a big audition for it and every actor my age went down there to read for it. i was lucky enough to get it. it was so much fun and he was such a lovely man. he was just charming and laid - back and there was never any stress on the set. i believe that that show was where he introduced kermit the frog and the character really developed from there. and so kermit was sitting there espousing what he had to say in such a tongue - in - cheek manner that the dialogue also spoke to adults on a different level, which was unheard of in children' s programming back then. and the wonderful frank oz was my dog rufus in that show! he was so delightful and sometimes, when the camera would stop, we might be sitting there and rufus would be saying something to me and i' d be sitting there talking to rufus and then,' wait a minute! frank! what are we doing? i' m talking to a muppet here! we' re having a conversation!' frank would stay in - character and just kept the conversation going through rufus and it was lovely. he was just a delightful man and, of course, he went on to complete anonymity! (laugh )
when i was working on' hey, cinderella!' i found it very easy to maintain that suspension of disbelief and really believe in the muppets as real characters and as actors in the scene, especially with the evil sisters in the show. they were also muppets and they were just so funny. joyce gordon was a wonderful fairy godmother, she was a well known canadian actress, she was just terrific. pat galloway played the evil wicked stepmother and she had been a great theatrical actress. we just had the best time ever. jerry nelson played featherstone and he also did the voice of stepsister # 2. he was a brilliant guy. we had such a wonderful time shooting it. we shot this show at laurence productions in toronto. i remember having a meal break or something where they couldn' t take the time to get me out of my cinderella costume. so i said,' why don' t i just go like this?' so i took my wand and i had my diamond tiara on along with my ball gown - - it was after the fairy godmother had changed me into the princess in the storyline - - and there i am going down the street with frank oz and jerry nelson to a cafe with me dressed up as cinderella. when we walked in, it was like an apparition had walked in. people sort of did a double - take like' am i dreaming? have i had too much to drink?' i loved doing that, of course, being a teenager and startling people, so that was a lot of fun.
chief zabu is a long-unreleased film that was written , produced and directed by neil cohen and zack norman ( under the pseudonym howard zuker ) . it stars allen garfield , norman and allan arbus , telling the story of a group of new york businessmen trying to take over a polynesian nation . production began in 1986 but , due to various issues , norman and cohen were unable to complete the film until 2016 . it premiered at laemmle theatres ' monica film center on october 28th , 2016 and screened on november 7th at the fort lauderdale international film festival ( " fliff " ) . the trailer and various clips are available through both vimeo and youtube . a long running advertisement for the film in variety was the source of a recurring joke on mystery science theater 3000 . 
chief zabu is a long-unreleased film that was written, produced and directed by neil cohen and zack norman (under the pseudonym howard zuker). it stars allen garfield, norman and allan arbus, telling the story of a group of new york businessmen trying to take over a polynesian nation. production began in 1986 but, due to various issues, norman and cohen were unable to complete the film until 2016. it premiered at laemmle theatres' monica film center on october 28th, 2016 and screened on november 7th at the fort lauderdale international film festival (" fliff "). the trailer and various clips are available through both vimeo and youtube. a long running advertisement for the film in variety was the source of a recurring joke on mystery science theater 3000.
chief zabu is a long-unreleased film that was written, produced and directed by neil cohen and zack norman (under the pseudonym howard zuker). it stars allen garfield, norman and allan arbus, telling the story of a group of new york businessmen trying to take over a polynesian nation. production began in 1986 but, due to various issues, norman and cohen were unable to complete the film until 2016. it premiered at laemmle theatres' monica film center on october 28th, 2016 and screened on november 7th at the fort lauderdale international film festival (" fliff "). the trailer and various clips are available through both vimeo and youtube. a long running advertisement for the film in variety was the source of a recurring joke on mystery science theater 3000.