I was watching Revenge (COUGH!) I mean, Return of The Jedi when I suddenly remembered my first and only in-person sighting of Mark Hamill. Long, long ago (in this very solar system) I was working for Screen Actor's Guild and he was working on a Broadway play. I can't quite remember the details, but I'm almost sure he was directing it. This was around 1992-'93, just before I went to Ireland on my own.
I was doing my own thing, rushing to catch my train to work in Penn Station. Up the hall from the 1, 2, & 3 trains near the newsstand that sells soda (you know, the big one across from information), I was angling my way across the stream of the crowd when I spied something not-quite-right. A man about a head taller than me in a black Bakersfield coat (a raincoat that the Phantom of The Opera might have worn, with a small attached cape) was limping toward me at a breakneck pace. His cane flew in front of me, making me worried. I used to work for the home-bound and had done some emergency dispatching. I'm naturally concerned for those who might be injured. The feeling was immediate: this sandy-haired man was moving much too fast for his one good leg to carry him. I had to see what his rush was, and looked to his face. Unmistakably, it was Mark Hamill. In the camel coat and jeans and a dress shirt, with well worn leather dress shoes - no, I thought. That couldn't be Mark Hamill. He's too angry/sad/scary.
I got closer, simply because we were walking toward each other on the way to our goals. He limped/leaped past me, and I knew that it was him. What shocked and disquieted me was that his lovely features were all contorted with pain and worry. He was the Jedi Master - running late to a play that he was directing himself. He was the school master, the frightening one with the ruler and the switch. His poor "hamburger of a face", and his leg (from the car accident in CA) were obviously troubling him. Had I not been late myself to work, I would have taken the subway with him and asked for his autograph, hoping to cheer him up...
But he frightened me so - my heart really skipped a few beats.
Why? I was 13 when SWTNH came out. Mark was my hero. He was the 'new hope' of science fiction, the genre that had lain dormant for many years. I even dressed as Luke in high school, for Halloween. When I was young, I wanted to be Luke Skywalker, not some beauty contest queen. I eventually grew out of Star Wars, tho...and back into Star Trek, but Mark Hamill will always have a little soft spot in my heart.
That's why I freaked and froze, and nearly had a heart attack. Who expected to meet their teenage heartthrob while commuting, and be so affected by his aging that you go into shock?
I really did freak for days after that. As you can see, it still troubles me to this day. It's too bad, but I didn't have the money to go see his play. I would have liked that very much.
But more than that, I would have liked to have cheered up Master Mark.
I'm so glad that his vocal talent is being used to its full extent, so happy for him now that he's got kids, and really amazed at the body of work that he's completed.
Good job, Mark, I wish you well. *ahem* Do Smile more often. We love that, and it's good for your health.
:)
**Note: I did try to find out what play he was directing, and have fallen short.
The two plays that he starred in "The Nerd", (see picture above) was in 1987, and he did another play in 2003, but I cannot find any mention of his Booadway or Off-Broadway dieectorial debut. The reason why I knew about it was because I'd read it in a newspaper that very week...probably "The Village Voice". I'm guessing that if the play didn't live long, nobody chronicled it after that. Speaking of which, why is it that the only sites to talk about Mark's work in "The Elephant Man, "Amadeus", and "The Nerd" (and actually show some pictures) are Russian websites????
Huh.
3 comments:
Are you high or something?!
Mark Hamill-
1) Never directed a play
2) Never had a limp
3) Didn't even look that 'old' or 'hamburger faced' in 1992. I know you are probably too lost in your own weirdo world, but watch his appearance on The Flash series for proof of 2) and 3). As for Broadway and off-Broadway credits, well, look up his bio anywhere to correct your directing- related gaffe re 1).
MAKE SURE you do all this when you are off whatever stuff you were on when you wrote this piece of bullshit-perpetuating fluff that seems to plague anyone who attempts to write about Hamill.
Surely one man's career is not that hard to get right?!
Hmph. Just because it's not written down on the Internet does not mean that a person never did something. It's possible it wasn't a play, but some rep theatre group or perhaps acting classes.
And Mark did make a "hamburger of his face" (his own words from a quote after his accident).
His sinuses were badly affected as well as his nose and upper lip. Look for references to "Hamill and accident". On IMDB.com in his trivia section you can find a quote: "He was originally cast as David on "Eight Is Enough" (1977), and asked to be released from his contract before Star Wars (1977) came out because he sensed the movie would be successful, and Hamill wanted to focus on his movie career. ABC refused to release him from his contract, thinking that having a successful movie star connected with the show would help "Eight is Enough" (1976). Hamill was then in a car crash in December 1976 and injured his face. This made him unavailable for shooting the TV series, and ABC was forced to recast the role of David, which then went to Grant Goodeve."
No one ever discussed his accident after he completed the Star Wars films. Who needed to? He had proven that he was still active enough to make tons of money.
I dunno if you live with Mark or not, but you might give us a hint if you're related to him or a personal friend.
Your blog is private, so unless you say otherwise, we'll never know how you know, eh?
All I do know is that he's a nice guy with a nice family who's doing well for himself. He's friendly, outgoing, and smart. Who could ask for anything more?
Ah, here's another quote from another respected source on the Internet:
"On January 11, 1977, a day before he was set to shoot one of the final scenes needed for Star Wars, Hamill was in a car accident[2] that severely injured his face. An A&E Network Biography special from 2002, entitled Mark Hamill: A Force to Be Reckoned With, claimed the damage was extensive and that Hamill had to have multiple plastic surgeries to reconstruct his face. The nature of the accident was recounted in the A&E special by members of Hamill's family, including his older brother, William, and his cousin, Eric Johnson.[3]"
One more thing to note:
As people get older, their faces change as a result of age, injury, gravity, and sun. Nobody ever looks perfect before their makeup goes on.
How do I know?
I worked at SAG. I met actors and actresses in their own person, which is quite different from the person who is seen in movies and at public charity events.
I'm not putting anyone down. I'm just making a comment about reality. Life can be hard, and life takes its toll on all of us.
Stars included.
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