One of my favorites of the classic 80’s teenage boobie films is the 1984 movie Revenge of the Nerds. It fit right into the mold of some of the other raunchy comedies of the era, while possessing extremely likable characters and a good heart. So I was pretty ecstatic that the Hollywood Show that I attended on Saturday, October 9, 2010, was having a Revenge of the Nerds reunion of a half-dozen cast members. Had Don Gibb, the large fellow who played Ogre, shown up as he was scheduled to do, we would have had seven. This posting will highlight the first three.
I was initially nervous when I saw a big sign plastered behind the Nerds that indicated the details of their professional photo op. It worried me that they wouldn’t be doing ‘regular’ photos. But much to my delight, I soon found that like the Twin Peaks cast, they were all offering free photos with them when you purchased a signed photo.
The first actor I came upon was Brian Tochi, who had portrayed Takashi Toshiro, the most blatant of all of the stereotypical characters in the film. While the character had a very strong and laughable Asian accent, the actor spoke as plainly as you and I would on a sober day. He was a very nice guy, who told me that this was the first show that he had ever done. He laughed and gladly added the inscription “Oh…hair pie!” – which was one of the most memorable lines from the film.
The owner of said “hair pie” was also present at the show. This gal, Julia Montgomery, was so hot and likable in her role as Miss Betty Childs in the film, that you couldn’t help but be ecstatic that she eventually turned on the jocks and ended up dating one of the nerds. It gave hope and promise to the undesirables across the nation. Although she had aged more than 25 years since the film, she was still incredibly attractive – and very nice to boot. I could only dream of her whispering those words in my ear, “Are all nerds as good as you?”
I had high hopes for my meeting with Booger, that is, actor Curtis Armstrong, who pretty much stole every scene he was in. I felt I had a personal connection with him (other than picking my nose). He was a member of the Way Out West tent of the Sons of the Desert and frequently came to some of their meetings. So when I approached him, I professed my love of Laurel and Hardy and told him how I was a long-time member, pointing out Jimmy and telling him that he was the Grand Sheik’s son. They chatted for a bit about when Booger might make the next meeting.
But when I made him an offer (which is not unlike offers I’ve both put forward and had accepted many times in the past), he almost balked. He was charging $20 a signature and I simply asked for him to sign my cast photo plus an additional one of his photos for a total of $30. He wasn’t rude, but he kind of said as he laughed “now it’s not fair to ask me to do that since your a Sons member.” But he accepted nonetheless.
The photo I chose to have him sign from his group of shots was a great picture from Better Off Dead. When I asked him to add his character name, he added ‘Booger’ – his name in Revenge of the Nerds – instead of Charles De Mar, his name in Better Off Dead. In an effort to make the situation even more uncomfortable, I pointed this out, so he threw this picture aside and signed another one. I could have gone two ways here. I could have asked if I could have the photo that he just threw away too. Or I could have just let out the world’s longest belch, rivalling his in Nerds.
I did neither. I just said thank you, pleasure to meet you, and then moved on to the rest of the Nerds.
More Nerds from the Hollywood Show in the next posting…
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