ISOSHADO's last event of year 2002 is over and here's the detailed report on "Meeting: Commander Straker!".
The above title comes from a funny answer Ed Bishop gave when asked about Straker's possible love relationships with SHADO Staff.
But
let's go back to the two unforgettable days spent with Ed...
Ed was planning on landing in Milan by the first available flight on
Saturday morning, December 14. Unfortunately his original flight was
canceled because of a thick fog around Milan Linate airport.
After more than one hour in deep concern, he stepped out of the customs
area, having luckily been booked on the following flight.
Misfortune persisted: the second airline had lost his luggage. No considerable
valuables were inside the bag, except for his precious Mysterons shirt...
Saturday
afternoon schedule included a video interview with Ed and Isoshado Staff
in Paolo Malaguti/Isoshado's loft, where Ed was shown original studio
items.
The interview ended with a sequence on the famous original SHADO 6-wheel
jeep.
Dinner
was quite enjoyable. Ed was very kind - as always - with answers to
questions, photos and autographs.
At one point he offered to show around the table his UFO watch. That
is the original wristwatch Ed wears in all episodes. It carries a writing
on the back of the case: "UFO 1969 with affection Gerry Sylvia
Reg".
Sunday's
schedule was mainly set for the whole afternoon, with a minicon with
Q&A and photo/autograph session.
A display of original items was also set up: Straker's original blond
wig was there too...
Many were the questions asked, some recurrent, some new.
When asked about the wig, Ed recalled how the hairdresser used to "glue" it strongly with an adhesive strip under his sideburns because they used to fly loose and did not stick to his cheeks.
Ed
made also some comments about 2001: a space odyssey.
He explained how upset he had been when he was invited to the "premiere"
of
the movie. Recalling how many scenes he had shot, he got much deluded
by the cuts.
One funny scene was played on the spaceship taking Dr. Floyd to the
moon: the scene we know shows Ed as commander of the ship, meeting "upstairs"
his sole passenger and gently greeting him and inquiring on how the
trip was going. The whole scene included Ed's walk from the cockpit
to the passenger deck (round walk on the ceiling included, as the hostess
- same actress who played Peter Carlin's sister in Identified - does
in the movie); the captain's scope was to inquire about his sole and
mysterious passenger (how come such a big ship for just one passenger?
must be a VIP indeed!!).
Ed has then delighted the audience telling about many anecdotes and facts happened during the production of the series, as well as his very interesting and appreciable personal thoughts on his fellow actors.
As it often happens in the ISOSHADO events, more than half of the con was dedicated to interaction between guest and audience. After about 1H30 of conference, Ed was so kind as to release autographs and to pose for photos with the attendees, for more than one hour...
Although the event had to be over around 6PM, many of the attendees were still reluctant in leaving the room: Ed's presence was for sure the main reason, but much interest was shown in the original items display too.
Ed was then driven to the airport where his flight was due to take off at 7,45PM.
Please join us in thanking Ed once again for his kindness and availability, hoping to be meeting him again - very soon!
Here
is a large selection of photos that we think don't need any description.
December Saturday 14th 2002
You can click here to download all images of Saturday 14 in zip format (9.722 KB)
or you can see the images one by one clicking on the thumb here below
