Exclusive Interview: Lisa Jane Persky from KISS Meets The Phantom of the Park
October 30, 2007 by Jesse Capps, Editor
Your role in KISS Meets The Phantom Of The Park came very early in your acting career. What acting experience did you have up to that point?
It was early! I was new to California at the time, too. I had been acting in New York off-off Broadway in a play called “Women Behind Bars” by Tom Eyen. It was my second play and my role was “The innocent; raped by the system.” During the play, I was stage-raped by Divine eight times a week for about a year (with a couple of brief respites during which time I was stage-raped by understudies Holly Woodlawn and Monte Rock III). I was riding that wave, so to speak. Divine got me my first agent who was in—where else?—West Hollywood. I had a hell of a time adjusting to L.A.
Were you a KISS fan at the time?
Not for a second. As a matter of fact, I was a proto-punk. During my stint in Women Behind Bars, I was going to CBGB’s or Max’s Kansas City almost every night. This was in 1975-6. I’d even done poetry readings there in ’74.
Did you hear about the movie and pursue a part in it or was it something that was suggested for you?
My agent at the time simply sent me out for it. I thought it would be a scream for an ass- kicking punk like me to play a part in “The Kiss Movie” (which is how it was spoken of). The main thing that excited me at the time was the director. Gordon Hessler had directed one of my favorite Fantasy films, “The Golden Voyage of Sinbad,” which was primarily a vehicle for great Ray Harryhausen animation. Still a classic!
What do you remember about the audition?
I barely remember the audition except that I wore my normal, daily clothes. It was one of the only times I ever got to wear my own real-life clothes to an audition.
My personal wardrobe was a problem for me when I came to Los Angeles. I had to actually go out and buy a dress by a company called Gunne Sax to look like a normal girl for auditions because I would get feedback about the boots or my “Anvil” t-shirt. This was about simultaneous with the L.A. Punk scene and “normal” people probably thought I was an actual ass-kicker.
Almost everything I wear in the movie was my everyday haberdashery.
Was KISS involved in any of the auditions or offer any input as to who should be given certain parts?
After I got the job I was called in for my wardrobe fitting which basically meant the costume designer and Gordon approved my clothes, which I though was fantastic until our first day of shooting out at Magic Mountain where it was 104 degrees. I was melting in all that leather. Gene was at the studio when I went for the fitting and I sat on a bench waiting outside and he came out and sat for a minute and I said “I remember back in the day when you guys played Kenny’s Castaways.” And he looked at me like I was vermin and said “We NEVER played Kenny’s Castaways.” So that was the full extent of my relationship with the boys. I lived from that moment on in my trusted intuition that they’d gone and got full of themselves.
It’s now a well known fact that KISS wasn’t getting along during the filming of the movie. Was it noticeable to any other members of the cast?
I guess the answer to that is: definitely yes. They all seemed grumpy as hell. Gordon really had his hands full and everyone knew it. The reason for the ill-tempered behavior could easily have been the script which no one ever seemed to be trying to improve (at least as far as I could tell).
Were there any “KISS specific” rules on set? You always hear crazy stories about cast members not being allowed to approach certain actors/actresses, ask questions, etc.
Not that I know of, but then the schedule and the script was such that none of us worked together with the band. I don’t know if this was intentional. But when you look at the film, the tangential/marginal nature of the other characters (except for Abner) is one of the more ridiculous aspects of the thing.
Your character, “Dirty Dee,” was a hellraiser in an amusement park. I always remember the way you said Chopper’s name. How much input did you have in developing Dirty Dee’s personality?
My voice was very loosely based on one completely random thing. I am recalling a cartoon character duckling named Yakky Doodle who had a dog nemesis named Chopper. I don’t know who did the voice of the character but Yakky had a speech impediment to make him sound duckling-like and I always loved the way he said “Chopper” so for my own amusement I said it slightly in homage to that childhood cartoon.
I had a free hand in developing Dirty Dee. This was good because I had a lot of fun and bad because when I look at it now, it rather feels as though I was in a “costume drama.”
I’m not even sure I know what I mean when I say that—except that all I see in that performance is the cockring on my jacket.
What was the general attitude like on set? Did the cast all get along?
Everyone lived in fear. The thing wasn’t well written. Everyone knew it. There wasn’t a lot of time to do it in. The budget was growing, and people had bad attitudes. These aren’t unusual problems, but the “Kiss” factor aggravated all of it.
Me and my ass-kicking boys didn’t really have to suffer the blowback.
The ending of the movie has left many people baffled – KISS doesn’t even know what it means. Do you have any clue as to why Abner Devereaux turned into an old man at the end? Was he dead?
Perhaps he was created by an Uber Abner and was simply terminated. I don’t know. It’s a great metaphor for the movie, if that’s the case. The fact that it’s all inscrutable is a better metaphor for the film business.
Paul Stanley said he attended the movie premiere and wanted to hide in his seat when it was over and the lights came back up. What did you think when you saw the finished movie for the first time?
OH YEAH! I knew it would be bad but it was worse. Gordon wasn’t a bad director so you couldn’t pin it on him. The story was crap but, as you know, some crap is just GREAT! It’s very funny in its own special way. I would hope that Paul has come to appreciate it as a completely zany part of Kisstory.
Regardless of anyone’s opinion, the movie has been seen by millions of people and has been recently brought back to life in KISSOLOGY Volume 2. Looking back, what do you think of your role in a cult classic like “KISS Meets The Phantom”?
I’m tremendously proud. It gives me a lot of pleasure that people enjoy it. I get a kick out of Zerbe, too—in anything. I really like him. I think it’s terribly interesting that sometimes you do/create something awful and everyone knows it’s awful and you go ahead and that’s what makes it good and that’s what makes it all so fucking hysterical.
You can take that irony to the bank.
Do you have any interesting stories from your work on that movie that most people don’t know about?
I think I have at least one other factoid related to Kissology on my blog: http://www.noirpictures.blogspot.com/
You have quite an accomplished career. I’m going to mention some projects you’ve been involved in and you tell me the first thing that comes to your mind when you see ‘em.
The first thing that comes to my mind is that this is a funny selection. No one has ever picked most of these to ask about.
The Incredible Hulk - Hot Girl-on-Girl Action! I have a fight with another woman and we roll around on the ground and tear at each other’s hair a lot. It goes on far too long.
The Golden Girls - Bea Arthur saying “Good Morning Everybody” in her big deep voice when she came to work and then never talking to anyone the rest of the day unless she wanted to give a performance note.
thirtysomething - I played a chiropractor. I cracked Elliot’s back. There was a sexual component to the scenes we shot but they cut it out. “too massage-y” or something. Then they won an award from the Chiropractic Association for the honest portrayal of chiropractors. I missed the ceremony.
When Harry Met Sally - When I shot this, my best friend had just died. It was emotionally one of the hardest times I’ve had in my life but also probably the most per-diem laughter I’ve experienced. Billy Crystal is really and truly one of the funniest people on earth.
Designing Women - Because of this, I wound up on some website with pictures of women bound to chairs. More proof that work yields unexpected results.
Murphy Brown - This one was all about the babies. It was after Murphy had hers and Eldon organized a Mommy Group. They brought in 5 sets of twins for us and dressed them in snowsuits. We sat under the lights. Babies got hot and cried. We traded them out for their twins. It felt to us like child abuse but the parents were cool with it. I’m still not sure.
King Of The Hill - I have no sense of it. It was like it never happened. I went to a dark studio. No one talked to me much. There was a desk where I filled out my forms and no other furniture. I got paid. Weird.
Coneheads - Rent it. Watch the birth scene. It’s good. You’re done.
People always ask me if various different people I’ve worked with are nice. Jane Curtin is the nicest.
I’ve always wondered why they made Jan Hooks and I look so much alike (hair, make-up, wardrobe). If I had known, I would have altered my own appearance.
The X Files - This episode opens with a demon pulling a baby from between my legs. The first set of parents took their baby home after take one. Several hours later another couple brought in another baby.
Does anyone have any idea how many times I said “Wayne” in this episode? That should be a trivia constant. It’s like five hundred.
I love Bruce Campbell. He played the demon (except in the birth scene) and he has the word “Camp” built in.
Quantum Leap - Anything that connects us to Elvis is good, isn’t it? I have scenes with “Elvis” in a Twilight Zone episode as well.
Dean Stockwell has just as much natural charisma as Elvis.
What TV or movie role stands out as your favorite? Why?
I am extremely partial to “The Big Easy” (with Dennis Quaid) for many reasons.
1. I’ve worked with my friend Jim McBride (who directed the film) many times. We fight but it’s always for the good of the movie and the character and we trust one another.
2. The movie was boy-heavy. I asked Jim to change one male character to a female: Me.
3. I got to invent my role and even to write many of my lines.
4. It’s a quirky, sexy movie.
5. New Orleans!
See it.
“The Sure Thing” is one of my favorites. It really holds up. Rob Reiner is a great director and it has a superb Anthony Edwards performance.
You’re a published writer and photographer and have even been involved behind the cameras in TV and film. What part of your career do you enjoy the most?
Always the people—even when they’re awful. I’m more comfortable behind a camera than in front of it.
What are you up to these days? Where can readers check out your current projects?
I write various things. Working on a memoir of my early days in Greenwich Village. I contribute here and there. The latest bit is in Fortean Times Issue no. 227. It’s linked from my blog along with other peculiarities updated periodically:
http://www.noirpictures.blogspot.com/
Gary Valentine Lachman (author and ex-Blondie member) and I are working on a special edition Blondie pictures and commentary book. I have a bunch of pix from a session in 1975 that are of interest. A few are on my photo website:
http://www.lisajaneperskyphoto.com/
I have my own graphic design business and work as a photographer. I am in the process of completing a series of photomontages for a show in 2008.
Looking for another acting job. For an actor, this pursuit may only end with death.
What words of wisdom would you like to leave with our readers?
LICK IT UP!
