I’m fairly certain that child actor Martin Stephens had appeared at previous Chiller Theatre events that I had been to, but I had always bypassed him. He had been one of the main kids in the sci-fi classic Village of the Damned, but I had never seen it so it didn’t mean anything to me. But less than a year before the Chiller on October 25, 2014, Carolyn and I had watched another classic scary film in which he had starred, The Innocents, a very creepy and scary film starring Deborah Kerr, the screenplay of whic had been co-written by Truman Capote.
In fact we actually watched it because of Carolyn’s interest in Capote. Martin Stephens had played the ultra-creepy child Miles, who shared one of the most unsettling onscreen kisses you’ll ever see on film with Kerr. Naturally I chose to spend my $25 on a photo of the ultimate creepy smooch, and he signed it nice and boldly.
The autograph included a nice photo op and he let Carolyn get one for free as well. She did most of the talking to him, asking if he had ever actually met Truman Capote. He had not, apparently because Capote became quite busy working on his ultra-famous book In Cold Blood at the time of the movie’s filming and release. He had regretted never having the chance, and commented how much he enjoyed the film… although still creeped out not as much by the kiss, but by the eerie poem that Miles recites that still gives him chills.
It was very cool meeting Martin Stephens. There’s nothing quite like watching a really good film with a child actor, and then less than a year later meeting that child all grown up.
Celebrity encounters of the Fall 2014 Chiller Theatre show will continue…
Have you two ever watched the film, “Murder By Death”?
Dave Chasteen
March 2nd, 2015