Martin Scorsese’s 1980 film Raging Bull is a movie that just keeps getting better the more times you watch it. I think it was somewhere around the third when I realized just how much of a masterpiece it was, how the period flavors swirled around the intense action, and how every nuance of every character had been perfected. The movie of course is the story of boxer Jake LaMotta, one of the most determined, but self-destructive, men who ever entered the sport of pugilism. Cathy Moriarty played opposite Robert De Niro as his ever-suffering wife Vikki to absolute perfection. She conveyed the part of a sexy and loyal woman who gradually watches her husband turn into a jealous monster.
That’s where I come in. Naturally there was absolutely no question that I was going to add an encounter with Cathy Moriarty to my checklist when she made an appearance at the Chiller Theatre Show in Parsippany, New Jersey on April 28, 2012. Whatever she was charging, I was willing to pay. It so happens that her price was actually quite fair: $40 for a signed photo with a free photo op included.
I opted to go with a color publicity photo from Raging Bull (most of the film was in black and white), even though I had quite enjoyed some of her other roles as well: Neighbors specifically, but also Cop Land, Analyze This, Another Stakeout, and Soapdish to name a few.
Our encounter was fun, flirty, and memorable. When I got behind her table to get a photo with her, I told her that she looked great and I was really excited to be meeting her. She smiled and said, “thanks” – sounding just like all of her characters combined into one.
Then I asked if I could get another photo, this time without holding up the signed picture. Our conversation went something like this:
- Me: Can we do one more photo?
- Cathy: You can do anything you want…
- Me: Anything?
- Cathy: (smiling coyly)… well, not that
- Me: (laughing) Thanks again. It was great to meet you.
- Cathy: (whispers something inaudible)
- Me: I’m sorry? (lower my ear to her)
- Cathy: (low and throaty) I said I like your glasses.
It was an encounter I’m sure I’ll never forget. Robert De Niro wasn’t around to punch me in the face of course, but not far away was the next best thing. We’ll meet him…
… in the next Spring 2012 Chiller posting.
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