Inaccuracies in E! True Hollywood Story
Monday, 07-Aug-00 00:34:16
Here's an e-mail about the E! True Hollywood Story from Walter:
Dear Dave,
Just got through watching the EIE feature on E!, and though it was fun seeing the whole gang the way I remember them, I have to call E! on the carpet for some slipshod reporting.
The line about Dick's "occasional poker game and
sorties to the racetrack" was lifted verbatim from the Dec. '79 People Magazine feature. Willie Aames was never on "Family", that was Gary Frank who played the blond-haired brother, and Buddy's boyfriend was Leif Garrett.
Lastly, the interracial romance story for Mary was a Frankenstein stitching of two actual
episodes, one where she moved in with Don Johnson (the episode that introduced Betty Buckley), and one where she fell for a black guy who was played by Dorian Harewood, not Cleavon Little. Those were the most glaring errors, I'm sure more
were uncovered by hardcore 8heads.
I've been a big Adam Rich fan since about 1980, just in time to chart the downhill progress of his career. It's been largely depressing, compared by a friend of mine to Charlie Brown's faith in Joe Schlabotnick, the ballplayer on
the perpetual downward arc. It's sad the way Adam was robbed of a regular childhood, and his misfortune was to stand behind America's most charming and famous face. This is not to excuse his transgressions and lawbreaking God knows, Adam is a grown man responsible for his own happiness and well-being.
But no ten-year-old, in spite of a personality that was prone even then to chew life up and spit it back out, can resist the temptations of fame, money, and come-ons of life's bottom feeders. Adam and his family must have felt like deer caught in the headlights.
Thoughts?
Monday, 07-Aug-00 00:47:43
They also messed up Betty Buckley's age(she was 30), Laurie Walter's age(she was 31 and they said 21)and they showed a photo of Laurie Beechman as Grizabella in CATS, not Betty as Griz.
Julie
Monday, 07-Aug-00 00:49:49
I've read on numerous EiE websites that Laurie Walters (Joannie) was the same age as Betty Buckley (Abby). According to the E! True Hollywood story, Ms. Walters is actually ten years younger that Ms. Buckley. (In the beginning of the segment they say how old everybody is when they joined the show.)
Monday, 07-Aug-00 07:54:05
Laurie Walters was born in January, 1947 and Betty in July, 1947. They are the "same age" for part of a year.
Susan
Monday, 07-Aug-00 01:53:38
I was disappointed in the mistakes that was made in the show and I felt it was way too short. Should have been longer.
GayLynn
Monday, 07-Aug-00 08:46:48
I also feel that the show could've been longer. They easily could've made that a two hour special. There are so many other things they could've touched upon.
I was also disappointed that they didn't talk to more original cast members and that they didn't give better updates at the end. It felt like they just rushed right through it. They didn't even give updates on Brian Patrick Clarke and Joan Prather. Even though they're not part of the original eight, they still had key roles AND they participated in the E! True Hollywood story. As a courtesy, you think the show would've mentioned what they're doing now.
Monday, 07-Aug-00 05:17:14
E! also got Sarah's birthday wrong. It is February 27th, not March 27th.
Monday, 07-Aug-00 06:11:36
While the people at E! are very nice I think the problem is some of the staff they hire to do research are in their early to mid 20s and they weren't around to watch EIE all those years. So, as a result, they aren't as capable of "catching" errors such as people's right ages, etc., as easily as people who are more familiar with the show.
When E! ran the Barbara Payton episode of Mysteries & Scandals I was in, I noticed the same thing...many errors that maybe the casual fan or audience member wouldn't catch, but I sure did! I guess in a way it's unavoidable.
Friday, 11-Aug-00 00:15:24
Actually I don't think ALL of the indiscrepancies were E!'s fault. They didn't tell the story about Mary wanting to move with her black boyfriend, Dick Van Patten did, but E! did get the wrong actor playing the black man.
Monday, 07-Aug-00 12:42:20
i enjoyed the e!true hollywood story,also.but i was upset that they didn't even show grant goodeve or adam rich much at all!!!i am a big fan of adam rich and would have liked to see more of him.i also think it should have been longer.it should have been two hours instead of one.
Monday, 07-Aug-00 18:53:51
Hey DT,
I didn't even notice that, I guess I was so busy seeing how cute of a baby my girl was back in the day. Ha, I won't tell her I missed it though. Those interviews with Susan are only a few months old but she never told us she was gonna do it. Actually I think Sarah asked her and she said no. Oh, well. Talk to you later
Monday, 07-Aug-00 07:43:36
Hi, EiE pals! I didn't see the show yet, I don't have cable but my friend taped it for me. I'm just wondering, was the whole cast there? Did they talk extensively about what they're doing now, where they're living now, marital status, how many children they have, etc.?
Missy
Monday, 07-Aug-00 14:53:27
No, they didn't really talk about any of the things you asked except a glossing over of what they're up to. No the whole cast wasn't there. The ones that were there are:
Dick Van Patten
Betty Buckley
Willie Aames
Susan Richardson
Connie Needham
Dianne Kay
Joan Prather
Brian Patrick Clark
One writer from the show and one producer.
They showed photos/footage of Grant Goodeve, Adam Rich, Lani O'Grady and Laurie Walters but no interviews.
Julie
Tuesday, 08-Aug-00 01:28:52
re: The ones that were there are:
Dick Van Patten
Betty Buckley
Willie Aames
Susan Richardson
Connie Needham
Dianne Kay
Joan Prather
Brian Patrick Clark
That explains it. Eight IS enough for one hour, but even then they could have made it into a two hour show easily. If they could do the Partridge Family's six members in two hours, they can do EiE's 12 in four as well, of course by then it would be a miniseries, but hey, two hours would have been sufficent.
Wayne
Monday, 07-Aug-00 16:37:07
I was very disappointed in the show as a whole and particularly the fact that usually overlooked cast members like Laurie Walters were once again overlooked. (Perhaps she, Grant Goodeve, Adam Rich, and Lani O'Grady refused to be interviewed for the show?) I always thought it was interesting that Walters was evidently much older than the character she played; in this special, not only was that not mentioned, but, as already mentioned, an error in her age was given. I suppose it also was a bit depressing to see how some of them aged...given that we've all aged too!
Zila
Monday, 07-Aug-00 14:31:50
Another thing that wasn't mentioned was Betty Buckley's drug problem during the show. I was told by a friend who worked with her in New York that EIE was not a great period for her in her career. She wanted to be recognized for her work in theatre and not as "Abby." Also was told that Buckley is indeed a perfectionist and will put up a fight to do things her way. What Willie Aames stated on "E!" pretty much confirmed this. I don't believe that Betty Buckley had any desire to return for the reunion movie, even though she said so in the interview. Nevertheless, in despite of all the problems, her contribution to the show was wonderful. I think if there was one actor that added realism to "EIE" it was Betty, and I don't think the show would have lasted as many seasons as it did without her.
C.L.
Monday, 07-Aug-00 21:38:19
I think that Betty had her problem under better control, than say Adam Rich, who was a typical Hollywood wild child. You just didn't notice it.
Betty didn't go around breaking into pharmacies for drugs or wasn't arrested, so of course there wasn't a big media hoopla over it.
I personally am glad that they didn't go on about it because she worked at it and got it under control so that it didn't interfere with her career. Betty seemed to have learned from her mistakes and I think that this has just made her a stronger person.
Monday, 07-Aug-00 22:49:14
While watching a second time I noticed the following 2 errors:
1) The narrator said that the search for the cast began in the fall of 1977. It had to have been 1976.
2) It was stated that Betty was 31 when she was hired. She was actually 29. She didn't turn 30 until July of 1977.
I assume that most viewers wouldn't have caught all the errors that we did. I don't watch the E! network on a regular basis. After this, I wouldn't recommend it as a bastion of good journalism!
Susan
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