Laurette just sent her first welcome letter for the website. I won't be able to get it posted on the homepage until tonight, so... forum members get a preview! Just another benefit of registering at LauretteSpang.com.
Here it is June already and I'm steeped in summer plans. First I want to welcome all of you to my new website. Thanks to the wonderful Bill Gordon who has guided me through the maze of possibilities and materials as well as introducing me to the equally wonderful Darrell Lawrence.
I just returned from a trip to the Catskills in New York. My daughter is in a musical theatre camp for a few weeks. We flew into Newark then rented a car. Beautiful country and I had a rapturous time exploring the area on my own once Molly was settled. The afternoon I spent hiking along a small path down to a lake was one of the most peaceful I've ever had in my life. Warm sunny day, hawks soaring overhead, dragonflies, bullfrogs croaking on the shore and even a deer that stepped into a clearing at a nearby opening in the woods. Talk about living in the moment. Very Zen. I don't think any of us do that enough, you know..being in the 'here and now'. It's an instant gratification society and we tend to forget what really matters. Look around you and simply take it all in. Most of the details of our everyday life are just that..details. Simplicity is big with me. Can you tell?
I went on to Michigan after that and visited with my Dad and stepmom in Kalamazoo for a few days. We drove to Lake Michigan..Saugatuk, South Haven. Any of you from there? Incredible. Okay, here's a plug for a brand new amazing restaurant that my Dad took me too in Paw Paw Michigan called "Kevin's Tavern on the River". You must go there if you're passing through and tell Kevin I sent you. You can have a delicious meal sitting outside by the river or inside in the old stone winery building. It's a beautiful experience.
The most exciting part of my summer will be our family trip to the French Riviera the last 2 weeks of July. My husband and I rented a villa there. Our 3 children, Jake 23, Becky 21 and Molly 15 are going as well as my sister Marilyn and nephew Ryan 19 and my mom Evie who are all coming in from Seattle, Washington. We're 10 minutes from Monte Carlo and steps from the village and the Mediterranean Sea. John and I were in Monte Carlo 2 years ago for the International Television Festival. We were on the steps of our hotel one evening on our way to a black tie event and there was a small crowd waiting. 2 women approached and told me they loved me in
Battlestar Galactica and wondered what it was like to kiss Dirk Benedict. I'm amazed how often I meet fans of the show.
In August I will be in Birmingham, England for a convention with my friends Dirk Benedict, Richard Hatch, Annie Lockhart and Terry Carter. I believe those dates are August 10-14th. For more information, visit:
http://www.memorabilia.co.uk/index.asp I hope to see some of you there.
I want to thank all of you who have stayed loyal to our
Battlestar Galactica. It was quite the phenomenon, wasn't it? People are always asking me how many seasons we did and although we yawned into a year and a half shooting the show from pilot to last episode, it was only one season. It had all the earmarkings of something extraordinary. I felt it from the first day my agent sent me the script. There was an excitement on the set every day. The feeling that we were involved in something big. How could it not be big when I saw Lorne Greene striding across the soundstage. 'Ben Cartwright' for Lord's sake. He was a daddy to all of us.
There was also the pending lawsuit between George Lucas'
Star Wars and Universal which landed the show on the cover of Newsweek. We had the brilliant John Dykstra of
Star Wars fame doing our special effects, so naturally there were similarities. I think in the end it just fueled our shows popularity. We also had covers of
People and
Us Magazines. Big hype and bigger battle between the networks to see who could knock
Battlestar of it's rising pedestal.
Gone with the Wind aired opposite us one week then we got the Emmy's another week. You know the history. Lots of politics. What an education I got in the land of television. It was not, after all just about great storytelling, special effects, and an exciting cast.
In the end though, I think
Battlestar Galactica has held up and forged ahead spawning other shows, some not so good and recently one that has become a hit. Not bad for a ragtag fleet of actors in 1978 who for a short period of time had the great opportunity to be a part of something wonderful.
-- Laurette
Laurette Spang Forums
Author
