Patty Mullen - Penthouse to Frankenhooker and Beyond

When I said to my colleague, Geo Brawn, that it looked like Patty Mullen was going to be hard to nail down for an online interview, but would be well worth the efforts to pursue, he replied; "Oh definitely. I mean, c'mon, she was Frankenhooker!" That, she was.

If you're a horror fan, then you undoubtedly know Patty from her iconic title role in Frank Henenlotter's 1990 cult B-horror classic, Frankenhooker. Perhaps you also remember Patty as Penthouse magazine's 1988 Pet of the Year. Some of you have memories of Patty that go even further back to when she was the August 1986 Pet of the Month.

However Patty is remembered first and foremost, she has a select legion of adoring fans. They show up to meet her at horror and comic cons, have her sign (occasionally) Penthouse and (mostly) Frankenhooker memorabilia, ask to her her say "Wanna date!?" and even show her their Frankenhooker tattoos. However, there was long hiatus between the release of the film that made Frankenhooker a household name among horror fans, and Patty's reemergence at horror and comic cons a few years ago. It was a hiatus that was filled with, as Patty puts it; good, bad, and ugly.

Dawna Lee Heising Interview - Part 1

My hour-long interview with Dawna Lee Heising didn't seem like an hour at all, since we had a lot to talk about and she was such a pleasure to talk with. Dawna has done nearly everything on a film set, on both sides of the camera. She's an actress, model, dancer, producer, and entertainment journalist who's also experienced on both sides of the interview mic. For More Horror magazine, as well as her own website, Eye On Entertainment, Dawna's interviewed literally hundreds of people in show biz. Those who are part of the Hollywood scene as well as those who are in town to make an appearance at an event or award show.  Dawna shows the same genuine interest and charm, whether she's talking with a relatively unknown talent just starting out, or an A-lister ....and she doesn't have an unkind word to say about anyone. I found her to be a very sweet and personable lady with a great sense of humor, who just happens to also be a glamours bombshell who pole dances and does bikini modeling.

Since I covered so much with Dawna, her interview here is being presented in two parts. Topics covered in this first part include her family (all of whom are very successful, whether in show biz or otherwise), her behind-the-scenes roles, her interview work with her show Eye On Entertainment, and her modeling. Of course, we also touch on her acting roles, but that will be delved into much more in Part 2. Above photo by David J. McNeil.

Jessica Felice

Jessica Felice began her acting career on the stage, doing dinner theater, as well as touring to do children's theater and summer stock. Besides acting on the stage, she also performed as an illusionist and escape artist, both solo and alongside one of the most acclaimed illusionists in the country. One of her highlighted feats was escaping from a straitjacket, an item she still has as one of her prized show biz souvenirs.

Jessica's first film role was in Steve Yeager's The Rosens, in which she played the challenging role of Rachael, whom Jessica describes as a mentally abused friend of the main character, who comes into her own throughout the film. Since then, Jessica went on to further expand her acting range and has become writer-director Shawn Anthony's favorite lead actress. Soulmate: True Evil Never Dies, The Haunted, and the upcoming Manifestation (written by David R. Williams) are a few of Shawn's films Jessica stars in. Her notable TV series roles include episodes of I Was Possessed, the crime documentary Southern Fried Homicide, and Harvest Moon Productions' currently-running Tales of Horror, in which she plays the darkly-seductive Lilith Death.

Also a very talented voiceover actress, Jessica treated me to uncanny and impromptu impressions of Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch of the West, Bubble (from the British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous), and Ms. Swan (from Mad TV) during our recent interview. Just press the play button to hear it all. Above photo by Wicked Photography.

December 4, 2015 interview with Jessica Felice

Arielle Brachfeld

Actress and model Arielle Brachfeld was brought to my attention by award-winning writer and filmmaker Staci Layne Wilson. Staci sent me the recent press release for her upcoming film Good Family Times, in which Arielle stars as Beatrice. After looking over Arielle's impressive list of credits, it was obvious that this lady had horror in her blood.

Despite considering herself "awkward," Arielle is a skilled fencer and has an extensive fashion modeling background. Even though the mannequin-like demeanor of a runway model is unfitting to Arielle's personality, she's graced runways for some top US fashion and hair designers. However and not surprisingly, she tells me she feels more at home on a movie set covered in blood.

When she's not in front of the camera, Arielle spends much of her time doing volunteer work for the charitable organizations she belongs to. One of which is the the Young Storytellers Foundation, a wonderful organization who provide underprivileged kids with programs to encourage literacy through storytelling, script writing, and stage performances. Another one of her involvements is with The Horror Starlets, a genre-based group of actresses who work in conjunction with the Busted Foundation, a Los Angeles-based breast cancer charity. 

I recently had the pleasure speaking with Arielle about her latest projects, as well as delving a bit into her background, interests, and what certain bongo-playing physicist's name, when mentioned, will cause her to giggle like a giddy schoolgirl. (No, it's not Sheldon Cooper.) Above photo by Tiffany Keeyes.

Naked News Anchor Carli Bei

(Editor's Note: This interview with popular Naked News anchor Carli Bei was conducted in June of 2014 by Tom Heckbert for the now-defunct website Eyestrane.com. It’s been republished at Idol Features courtesy of Carli and Tom.)

Carli Bei is one of the newest anchors on Naked News. For those who do not know, Naked News, billing itself as "the program with nothing to hide," is a subscription website featuring a real television newscast. The show is filmed in Toronto and airs 25-minute episodes, 6 days per week. The gorgeous, all-female cast delivers the news fully nude or while removing their clothes.

A very short time after starting at Naked News, Carli has become one of the most popular anchors due to her on-screen personality, reporting skills and of course, she’s easy on the eyes. Naked News anchors cover regular news such as current events, business news, tech, travel, TV, music, dumb criminals, and more. There are also interviews, and a regular "Versus" segment where the anchors compete with each other at various tasks like hockey, sumo, and darts with often hysterical results. Naked News anchors travel occasionally to cover events like Hedonism Jamaica or the AVN awards.

Tristan Risk

I'll admit, I'd never heard of Tristan Risk until I saw the movie American Mary, in which she played Beatress Johnson (yes, "Beatress," not "Beatrice"), a stripper who had 14 surgeries to become a real-life Betty Boop look-alike. She gave such a striking performance, hers was the first name I Googled right after the final credits rolled ....and that's saying something because American Mary was full of memorable female characters. It also has the makings of a potential cult classic.

Tristan has been described as a "corsetier, chocolatier, baker, ta-ta shaker, hip-swayer, tight lacer," and a "troublemaker." While all of that's true, first and foremost, the Vancouver native is one of the best-know names in neo-burlesque, incorporating fire-eating and vaudeville-style magic into her act. She was originally recruited by the producers of American Mary, Jen and Sylvia Soska, as a choreographer for the film's dance numbers. The role of Beatress had not yet been cast since none of the actresses who'd read for the part so far, seemed to understand the character. When Jen and Sylvia decided to give Tristan a shot and saw her audition, they knew they'd found their Beatress and the rest is history.

After doing a bit of research on "Little Miss Risk," I sent her a link to the piece I wrote on the female cast of American Mary and told her I'd love to do and interview with her sometime. When she promptly replied, saying she'd love to, I was flattered, feeling that she was an admirer of my writings. However, it turned out, Tristan's a self-admitted attention whore and relishes any chance to talk about herself and her doings at great length. Certainly nothing wrong with that but I was a little disappointed that my journalistic qualifications didn't play a role in getting her to agree to this interview. Anyway, regardless of her reasons for doing this, I'm proud to add Tristan to my list of lovely interviewees. Above photo by Black Opal Images.

Annie Cruz

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Liane Langford

My first telephone conversation with Liane Langford lasted well over an hour, but it seemed like only about 10 minutes. I had my list of questions ready for a straightforward Q&A session, but we quickly fell into a conversation like two old friends catching up. The former centerfold model and current interior designer and art dealer has a very colorful background. With anecdotes that include names like Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), Roger Taylor (of Queen), Alice Cooper, Rosanna Arquette, and Peter Frampton (who taught her how to properly make tea), I'll definitely buy her tell-all autobiography, if and when she writes it.

When Liane mentioned the titles and issues of some of the magazines she's appeared in, I knew I'd seen her before. The titles and dates coincided with the collection of men's magazines I compiled as a teenager. (If the clerk wouldn't sell a copy to me, I'd hang out outside the store and ask a clearly-over-21 male to do me the favor of purchasing it for me.) I did some checking and I was right. It's not every guy who gets to meet one of the ladies he ogled on the pages of his favorite girly mag as a teen, so talking with Liane was quite a fulfillment for me. What follows are the extracted and condensed Q&A from my conversations with Liane. It had to be condensed because her tales of Toby alone could fill a whole book ....and may someday.

Roberta Gonzales

If you live in a metro area where there are several local news stations to choose watching, you might gravitate toward a particular one, for one reason or another. In my case, it's KPIX Channel 5 in San Francisco, whose chief meteorologist is Roberta Gonzales. Besides having never been wrong about the weather, Roberta's bio reads like that of the main female character in an action movie.

To say Roberta has a busy schedule is an understatement. Besides being in the studio Monday through Friday to deliver the weather report four times a night on live TV, she also delivers it every half hour from 3:00PM to 9:00PM on KCBS radio. Her days "off" are usually spent training for whatever the next marathon or triathlon she'll be competing in and attending events for charities she actively supports. At one such event, she rappelled down a 38-story building. Oh, and if the San Jose Sharks are playing at home, the avid hockey fan can often be found in "The Tank," cheering them on.

Just last evening, Roberta found time in between news broadcasts at KPIX studios, to personally answer my e-mail questions and send me the online hello you see above. Even though our correspondence was through e-mail, Roberta, obviously not one to put things off until later, replied to me so quickly, it was practically a real-time interview.

Rena Riffel

I remember seeing the movie Showgirls on the big screen in 1996 shortly before I went in the Army. As my friend and I left the theater after the the film let out, I said that I wished Rena Riffel would have had more screen time. He said if she did, she would have stolen the show. I couldn't have agreed more. So, a few weeks ago when my good friend Carlo Rodriguez over at Underdogs.com mentioned that he was personal friends with Rena and asked if I'd be interested in interviewing her, I immediately said "hell yes!" and asked him to put in a good word for me. He did, and here she is to start out this site's 2012 with a bang.

Even though she's been appearing in movies since 1988, Rena will probably always be best known for her role as the sweet and slightly naive stripper Penny/Hope in the now camp classic film Showgirls. What many don't know is that she was originally up for the part of the seasoned diva Cristal Conners (played by Gina Gershon) but the producers felt she was better suited for the role of the younger and seemingly-innocent small-town girl working in a Las Vegas strip club for the first time. If you're a fan of the film, you know the brief but unforgettable Cheetah Club dance scene with Rena and Elizabeth Berkeley. It was one scene where I'm sure, Rena would have stolen the show if it would have been longer.

Jessica Cameron

Originally from Ontario, Canada, actress Jessica Cameron didn't decide to become an actress until after she began her first career choice, which was fashion design. After taking some acting classes, the Ryerson University alumna gave up her position at an Ohio design company a few years ago to pursue her passion for acting and hasn't looked back since, not that she should. Since she's been acting, Jessica's landed roles in several TV commercials as well as short and feature films, several of which are now in post production, so stay tuned.

I contacted Jessica about an interview in September but didn't hear back from her until just a week ago, when she complimented me about the recent interviews that have been featured here. Asking when I would get to add hers to the list, she replied I would soon and was true to her word. Now living in Los Angeles, Jessica's the second Golden Cob Award-winning actress I've had the pleasure of interviewing. She won the honor in 2010 for "Best Rising B Actress" for her role in in the short film Absolution. Some other films of note she's done are Ninety Degrees and Sunny, and the shorts The Wrong Damn Thing to Say, and Accomplice. You can currently catch her in the web series Two Doors Down and read her most recent interview right here after the jump.

Debra Lamb

I first caught actress Debra Lamb on video in a little-known gem entitled The Stripping Telegram: Special Delivery, which was shot in Hollywood in the mid-80s. In it, she played a pizza delivery girl who forgot the pizza but more than made up for it with a sizzling routine that showed she had formal dance training. Her exotic looks were familiar to me and I was sure I'd seen her somewhere before, so I did a little digging and found her featured in the June 1987 issue of Easyriders magazine I had in my collection.

Wanting to learn more about such a striking girl, starting with her last name, I checked magazines stands, book and video stores (these were the pre-Internet days) and found her featured in a now-defunct publication entitled Focus, which included her bio and list of acting credits. That was in 1994 and she has since been among my favorite B-movie actresses. The above photo of her as "Jessica" from the 1989 B-classic Beverly Hills Vamp should save me from having to explain why.