Is it just me or did the actress who played Fionna Cregan (I think that's her name. The girl of Otto at the apt and not the blonde girl friend) act like she was on drugs? Her answers and acting seemed spacey and slow. Almost intentionally. Maybe she was a hippie type, but it was annoying to me.
shareFiona was played by Arline Sax, aka Arlene Martel, a really brilliant actress.
She also appeared in TCOT Dead Ringer, where she plays a secretary testifying at a civil trial. The character is totally different and you won't reven recognize her as the same actress who was in Absent Artist, unless you know it's Arline/Arlene.
I'll keep that in mind when I get to that episode. I think it was the way they wrote the character for the artist episode that made me wonder if her character was suppose to be on drugs. I think they also have Leldlie Parrish in two different episodes as well. I'll be interested if I can recognize her in the episodes I have not seen her in. I saw her in the episode about the Health Club. I have to say, rarely have I ever watched an old black and white tv show and had to look up,who it was. She was absolutely stunning. I didn't reslize I had watched her through the years as guest stars in a lot of the shows I enjoyed growing up (Star Trek, Wild Wild West etc)
Also bonus question. I knew I recognized the artist who used proper English and was the bigger one. He drove Otto back to LA. Wasn't he King Tut in Batman?
Yes, that was King Tut in Batman, Victor Buono. He was in four PM episodes.
I have always thought that the Fiona character in Absent Artist was played as a spaced-out beatnik in order to keep the viewers from connecting the fact that Otto and Gabe were one person. Gabe was a suit-wearing sophisticate in Hollywood who wouldn't look twice at Fiona if he saw her on the street. The first time the viewer realizes that dual identity is involved is when Fiona identifies the body as Otto but Perry knows the man as Gabe.
Also, in the scene where Gabe goes to his room in Port Harmony, he pushes the door open a little and a voice inside the room says, "come in." The voice actually sounds like Gabe, but it's actually the killer. That scene was designed to further convince the viewers that Gabe and Otto were two different people entirely. That makes the scene at the morgue more surprising and effective.
The actress that you mentioned is best known as Spock's wife in the episode "Amok Time" on Star Trek. She also was a French agent in Hogan's Heroes" .
shareArline Sax, later Arlene Martel, was more a beatnik type, Daddy-o.
Viewers never did get a clean look at the murder victim's mug as the beat artist. SPOILER--Speaking of mugs, whenever Dick Erdman's mug is seen in an episode, it's a good chance he's the murderer. Erdman still walks among us. Would have made a great Mr. Magoo.
One of Zasu Pitts' last roles.
Arline Sax, later Arlene Martel, was more a beatnik type, Daddy-o.
There's a coffee table book you might be interested in called "Hippie" (Barry Miles; Sterling Publ Co. (c)2004.) The first chapter of the book is more or less a history of how "hippy" grew out of the "beat generation" and many of the beat spokesmen (like Jack Kerouac and Jack Cassady) were spokesmen for both groups. I kind of have the feeling "hippy" grew out of beat but later in the decade became drug sopped, selfish, and self-important. Beatniks, from what I remember, were much more of a subculture that kept to itself and was also a lot more intellectual than hippydom. JMHO.
shareBoth were anti-establishment countercultural movements. There was some overlap but the Beat Generation was more cultural and literary, influenced by Frisco writers Jack Kerouac and the beat poets. More laid back and less organized they tended to do their own thing. Hippies who came later were more political united in their anti-war beliefs and demand for social change.
shareTrue. Beatniks were literary, or pseudo intellectual,or artistes and quite laid back whereas hippies were more reactionary and overt in their anti establishment attitude. They always looked for a cause to protest, be it Vietnam, drug legalization, or free love. Hippiedom got hijacked by its more violent elements, whereas beatniks, at least true beatniks, would never allow violence to become part of their lives
shareI always considered Arline Sax's characterization to be both spacey( look at her arm and wrist early on) and also mopey. Fiona Cregan I believe, was one of those lonely types who was always looking for an escape from her drab life. Sax also added a darker underlying element to Cregan, making her one of the more memorable characters in the series. I almost wish her character could have had a sequel episode.
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