I wouldn’t be so silly to try and make the case that the obscure TV show It’s Your Move carries the same kind of quality or weight as, let’s say, the films of Laurel and Hardy. No sir, not by a long stretch. But here’s the thing: somehow this little show that ran for just 18 episodes in 1984-1985 has taken on some serious acreage in my landscape of nostalgic loves. In that regard, the show has become just as sacred as the masterwork films of Laurel & Hardy. Therefore it would stand to reason that like actors from the Laurel & Hardy films, the actors from It’s Your Move are highly sought out by me when it comes to celebrity encounters. Of course considering that the TV show was made just over 30 years ago, and the L&H films were made roughly 75-85 years ago, meeting the IYM actors hasn’t quite taken on the same urgency.
Naturally I’d love to meet all of the leads, all of whom are still alive, but so far no dice. The closest I’ve come so far is meeting the actor who played the character Eli, who although not in the cast credits, appeared as a supporting cast member in more episodes than any other actor. That encounter rose above all expectations and we ended up spending a day together at Disneyland. But outside of that, the encounters thus far have been pretty scarce, even when it comes to one-off appearances. There’s Kristy Swanson, who appeared as Laura in one episode, and then there’s… well, that’s about it. Until now.
Recently I’ve had the pleasure of adding three more performers who appeared in one episode each to my celebrity repertoire. All of their roles were not only one-offs, but very, very small ones at that. But as you might expect all of them were better known for other things they’ve done, just like Kristy Swanson.
Kicking off the trio is Bradley Gregg, who starred as the jock Jim in the episode Put to the Test (as seen at the top of the posting). Jim’s only lines in the show were “Eli, you seen Matt?” and “This better be good.” And indeed it was.
I met Bradley at the HorrorHound event in Indianapolis on September 12, 2015, which served as a pretty massive reunion of Nightmare on Elm Street actors. You may even recall that I mentioned in my Dream Warriors posting that I had one more up my sleeve that I was saving. And I did that because IYM trumps NOES and always will.
Of all of the bit-part performers I’ve spoken too, Bradley was the most enthusiastic about chatting about a role so old. He remembered it right away, and even volunteered his memories of doing some other work on the fellow Embassy produced sitcom Silver Spoons, in which he appeared in five episodes. He also recalled working with Jason Bateman again in the sitcom Valerie (which would later become The Hogan Family). What he didn’t mention were some of his other cool roles in films like Stand by Me, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and The Fisher King, or roles in other TV series like Growing Pains, My Two Dads, or ER. It was a cool encounter for $20, which included both the autograph and photo ops with both Carolyn and me.
The next two I.Y.M. bit-parters both happened to appear in the same episode of It’s Your Move, called The Experts. The first of these two actresses was Galyn Görg, who played the waitress where Norman and Principal Ellis are forced to enter an amateur contest when they are wiped out by a big stock loss. I typically make a habit of perusing the TV and movie credits of all guests who will be appearing at a show that I am going to attend, and it’s quite a good thing I did as this one would have slipped right by me otherwise when she appeared at the Chiller Theatre show on April 26, 2014.
Probably her biggest claim to fame was her recurring role in the TV series M.A.N.T.I.S., but she had some other good credits as well, which gave her a bit meatier rolls than her line in It’s Your Move: “another round for the house?” – which was earlier coupled with her disgusted reaction to Principal Ellis making a drunken pass at her. Among her other notable roles were Twin Peaks, Amazing Stories, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, A Different World, and most recently, Parks and Recreation.
Still her roles were obscure enough that I decided I really didn’t need an autograph, especially considering that there were separate charges for the autographs and photo ops, so I just went with the $10 photo with her. She was very friendly and could recall her work in I.Y.M. but didn’t remember much about the part except that she was pretty thrilled to work with Garrett Morris. She posed for a picture with Carolyn as well, and she and I later became friends on Facebook.
The third and final actress has probably become the most famous of the three thanks to her roles in Saw franchise, appearing as Amanda Young in parts 1, 2, 3, and 6 – plus in archive footage in the others. I was also interested in the fact that Shawnee Smith was part of the main cast of Ted Danson’s sitcom Becker, and played the ex-wife of Charlie Sheen in the sitcom Anger Management. She might also be seen in the original Annie (as an unnamed dancer), Silver Spoons, The Stand mini-series, Leaving Las Vegas, and The Shining mini-series.
I had been disappointed that I had missed her at a couple of other shows, but finally got my chance to meet her at the Steel City Con in Pittsburgh on August 8, 2015. She could barely recall her I.Y.M. roll in The Experts, even when I quoted Matt’s line that he said to her “Honest Brenda, I’ve changed… the girls, the scams, all that’s behind me. You’re the only woman in the world to me” (which he would repeat to two other girls Charmaine and Michelle before the episode was over). I got little more than a blank stare… but then it clicked and she remembered it. Like all of the actors I’ve met from the series, she claimed I was the first one to ask about it. No surprise there.
Again I opted to just get the photo op, this one a little pricier at $25, the combo of which would have been an insane $60. She had a peculiar way of posing too, by taking my arm like I was a suitor escorting her to the ball. My assumption would be that this was a measure to deter the creepers with a wandering hand who might put their arms a little too far around her. It made no difference to me as long as I got my picture.
So for now, that’s all I’ve got. As long as these performers keep dipping their toes in the personal appearance pools, I’ll keep getting them. Unlike other series, one can safely assume that no one will be making any big effort to arrange an It’s Your Move reunion, so for now I’ll just keep gathering them as they pop their heads up. It’s their move.
Celebrities of the 2015 Indianapolis HorrorHound will continue…
Celebrities of the Spring 2014 Chiller Theatre will continue…
Celebrities of the Summer 2015 Steel City Con will continue…
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