I’ve already confessed my love and infatuation with the early-1970’s TV Saturday morning TV series Land of the Lost. Actually I did it here, if you’d care to check it out, when I met the little girl Holly from the series (no longer a little girl as an adult Kathy Coleman of course). I’ve even come to love it more in recent days as I work my way through the first season all over again. Sometimes, I see things or hear music cues that literally send chills down my back because this show is so intimately intertwined with life as a little boy.
But I will confess that even as a kid, I must’ve only seen episodes from the first two (out of three) seasons, because I have no recollection of actor Spencer Milligan, who played the father Rick Marshall, leaving the series. He was ultimately replaced by the character’s brother, “Uncle Jack”, played by Ron Harper.
Harper’s acting career goes back to the early 1960’s when he played parts in such TV series as Wendy and Me, Wagon Train, and The Big Valley… and they go up to the new millennium in such shows as The West Wing and Cold Case, with many roles, quite a few in soap operas, in between.
But it was ultimately his role as Uncle Jack in the final season’s 13 episodes that interested me the most. I knew one day I’d be watching those episodes, and in all likelihood they may just spark a memory or two, so it was super cool to meet him at the Hollywood Show on August 12, 2012.
Ron Harper was an extraordinarily friendly guy, carrying on for a couple minutes how much I looked like him. I didn’t object to it, as he was decent looking guy at age 76. He also drifted into some political-speak with my friend Ashleigh, coming down on the liberal side of the spectrum. This was all well and good, and his $20 price tag for the autograph, with free photo ops for all was good news. My only complaint would be that the photos were screen captures printed on crummy computer photo paper.
The last season ended unexpectedly, leaving Will, Holly, and Uncle Jack trapped in the Land of the Lost – but I was pleased that the actor Ron Harper had managed to make it to the Land of the Hollywood Show. It was a fun encounter, and it’s going to be even more fun when I get to that point in the series.
Celebrity encounters from the Summer 2012 Hollywood Show will conclude in the next posting…
And let’s not forget his role on the “Planet of the Apes” TV series.
Peter
March 6th, 2014
I think his role on the “Planet of the Apes” series has made him the butt of one of Tom Wilson’s (Biff from Back to the Future) stand-up comedy bits. Before he does the “Sci-Fi Convention Song,” he talks about an actor that he sat next to whose claim to fame was being in the “Planet of the Apes” TV series – but not the films. I can’t think of who else this might have been if it wasn’t Ron Harper.
Brad
March 6th, 2014
How about that — you must be right. The only other possibility would be James Naughton.
Peter
March 7th, 2014