In the Spotlight with.. Toni

[supermanfan]

Why did you choose miss piggy as your icon?

 

[Barbara Fan]

As they say, I´m glad you made me that question!

I didn´t know you had been to so many Spanish places! Probably the islands (Tenerife, Mallorca, and Menorca) are the most stunning spots in my country. Barcelona must be seen culturally, but only for a few days. The best continental beaches are, in my opinion, in Girona (Costa Brava), and also in the islands.

Hmm, five cities... not easy. If you know Barcelona already, then you must know also Madrid. It´s bigger than my city and takes longer to see the best places. It´s our New York City, so to say. Though, as a popular song said, "there is no beach here!". I´d also recommend you Seville (Andalusia), Oviedo (Asturias), San Sebastián (Basque Country), Santiago de Compostela (Galicia), and Toledo (Castilla). Don't miss the Catalan Pyrenees either! I was there when I was a child and my memories are great! I have lived in Madrid, Oviedo, and Costa Brava, aside from Barcelona.

By the way, did you know that Larry Hagman sort of "sponsored" a hotel in a multi-themed park in Salou, in 2009?

Thank you @Toni for your answers - I loved Menorca and a place called Cala Galdana where i stayed the 2nd time i went = beautiful sandy bay and beach and also did a trip to Fornells which was lovely

I have made note of your answers of places to go and googled some of them as they sound great and I feel a return trip to Spain is on the cards as its been too long and i long for normaility when life can go on as we did pre Covid.

And No i didnt know that re Larry Hagman

 

[Jock Og]

Toni, my question is about FALCON CREST. In 1989 Barcelona born Assumpta Serna joined the cast in a guest capacity, for eight episodes. Assumpta's role was ailing Anna Cellini, ex wife of Nick Agretti and mother to Ben.

Were you satisfied with her storyline? Perhaps the Cellini family could have become the new adversary of the Channings, had the show not gone in another direction in the 9th and final season, under the new honchos.

 

[Long Lashes]

Thank you Toni for answering my previous questions about Miss Piggy, I've become quite fond of her.


Considering Aubergine de la Bitch wasn't in the Big Brother game for long I do remember her well, she left quite an impression on me

Where did she come from? did you base her unique character on someone you know?

Thanks.

 

[Toni]

@Toni, I have some celebrity based questions for you today:

1. Which celebrity or public figure do you think looks the most like you?
2. Who is the most famous person you have met and what did you think of them?
3. If you were having a dinner party and could invite 5 other famous people from any era, who would you choose?

Thanks a lot for your interest! There I go...

1. I can´t say if there is a celebrity who looks like me... When I was younger I might look a bit like Dustin Hoffman (the nose part mainly). If I had been, I´d have loved playing his roles indeed! Once in awhile, I think I should pull a Tootsie and have some fun... (My wig would be better!)

​

2. Probably Larry Hagman. I loved him in person as much as I loved him on "Dallas" and his interviews. He seemed to be in character always for his fans.

3. Hmm... Celebrity dinner, this smells like murder... May I have a "Clue"-style dinner? Just kidding. Let´s see...
- Marilyn Monroe
- Sigmund Freud
- Bette Davis
- Karen Carpenter
- Groucho Marx.

Special Guests: Jane Russell´s Olympic Swimming Team from "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" (actually they aren´t my type, but I´d make an exception!)

​

 

[Toni]

Why did you choose miss piggy as your icon?

Thanks for your question!

Actually, I didn´t choose her, she chose moi! I had Pam´s Twin Sister as a previous avatar, but I seem to remember that after the site´s crash, I opted for using my real name. PTS had a very bad reputation so I had to cancel her contract with moi, and Miss Piggy and I met by chance at a cocktail party in Paris. I asked her if she would like to be my avatar, and she asked moi what that was. I told her "a sort of muse because moi is an artist". And she agreed right there. Then she came to my city and we became roommates. Of course, I had to convince her that the Barcelona fashion is more chic than the Paris one (which probably is!), and that I would cook for her (=call to Pizza Hut! "No pork!" - she specified.). The rest is history.

She´s even taking flamenco dance lessons in her gin gym!​

 

[Barbara Fan]

Someone sent me this - Does MIss Piggy agree @Toni ?

 

[Toni]

Thank you @Toni for your answers - I loved Menorca and a place called Cala Galdana where i stayed the 2nd time i went = beautiful sandy bay and beach and also did a trip to Fornells which was lovely

I have made note of your answers of places to go and googled some of them as they sound great and I feel a return trip to Spain is on the cards as its been too long and i long for normaility when life can go on as we did pre Covid.

And No i didnt know that re Larry Hagman

I don´t know Baleares Islands, though my parents went there when my mum was carrying moi, so in a sense, I do know Mallorca!

Larry used to come to Spain very often in the late 90s-early 00s to sponsor the liver transplant Games held in Barcelona, I think. He was interviewed by the local TV, but the questions were total b.s.

This one is from the Kentucky Games​

 

[Barbara Fan]

Larry used to come to Spain very often in the late 90s-early 00s to sponsor the liver transplant Games held in Barcelona, I think. He was interviewed by the local TV, but the questions were total b.s.

Quite a lot of the cast went to Spain in the 80s, I loved Hola and Semana magazines as they had great pictures that you didnt get in UK magazines and all in glossy colour

I have pics of Larry, Charlene, Steve all in Spain - think Steve was doing promotions for El Corte Inglés (My mum bought towels there and loved them!!! washed well and still looked as good as new 5 years later!) Think I have articles of VP in Spain also

 

[Toni]

Toni, my question is about FALCON CREST. In 1989 Barcelona born Assumpta Serna joined the cast in a guest capacity, for eight episodes. Assumpta's role was ailing Anna Cellini, ex wife of Nick Agretti and mother to Ben.

Were you satisfied with her storyline? Perhaps the Cellini family could have become the new adversary of the Channings, had the show not gone in another direction in the 9th and final season, under the new honchos.

Again, I love that question @Jock Og!

Yes, I absolutely loved that storyline. Aside from the return of Ana-Alicia as Melissa´s double, it was the only good thing of that season, sorry to say. Assumpta Serna was (and still is) a very well-known Catalan actress with a rising career in my country. She had starred in a movie of our enfant terrible Pedro Almodóvar, "Matador". It was not only his first truly "serious" movie, but also a very bold story with a lot of nude scenes. Antonio Banderas and another great actor, late Nacho Martínez, co-starred in it. Assumpta was a lawyer with a double life as a... well, the film title means "killer", in bullfighting jergon. She was amazing and wore extreme clothes designed by prestigious Spanish designers. In one sentence, her character was Angelica Nero gone (even more) crazy.

For a few years, I had the suspicion that Almodóvar had watched the Dream Season of "Dallas" because, well, the murderer of "Matador" uses garments in her dresses to kill!! But the dates of production of both things are too close in time (1986). Besides, I don´t think Almodóvar could watch "Dallas" in Spain (the show wasnt´t reprised in Castillian Spanish until 1989), unless he watched it in English, which I doubt. And for some reason, I can imagine him watching "telenovelas" from Latin countries (for the laughs and OTT performances mainly), though not something as American as "Dallas".

Back to topic, at the time, Assumpta appeared in every Spanish magazine for her role in "Falcon Crest". I myself felt that that was as if moi would get into the show through a backdoor. As if moi would guest star in it too! I know it´s nonsense, but that´s part of fandom. She was interviewed often about it, and explained that she was in L.A. to star in a play, and while she was waiting for the union acting card (don´t now how it´s called), she learnt that the show was looking for someone who was very much her type of actress and woman. She was going to be in it for only a couple of episodes and, as usual, a Spanish woman was going to play an Italian woman, as if all Mediterraneans were the same (which we are as a community, of course, but culturally and even physically, we are different). From 2 episodes, it was expanded to 2 more and then to a total of 8, I seem to remember.

As you who have seen this season recently may remember, it seems as if the storyline of Anna Cellini gets re-focused every two or three episodes (is she good? is she bad? is she a Mafiosa? is she an addict? will Ben and Nick be shot by her mob father?) I found that very creative though mega-cliched. But she looked amazing in those high couture outfits, and her character came across as likeable, sweet and well-meant. If we take into account that Maggie had become a very whining woman by then, it´s a remarkable fact that Anna was a nice addition to the show, and to this date, I haven´t read anything bad against her character or Assumpta´s acting.

I must add two things: all the Spanish fans that I know (in person or not) feel the same way about her appearance on FC (pride!). Also, I always found odd (but fascinating) that her FC role was the first time I saw her play a good-natured woman and smile often. In Spain, she had played career women, tough historical characters, and then she went to Hollywood and voilà, she was being all nice! Irony of ironies! Oh and today, she is being interviewed for promotion of other jobs, but she is pleased to re-tell by umpteenth time her FC adventure. Especially her encounters with Jane Wyman. She said that, when she was introduced to her, Jane told her: "They say you are a very good actress. Let´s see if it´s true!" And, when filming got stalled, Jane used to say out load: "Come on, let´s go back to work, we are not making "Gone with the Wind"... It´s so FUN.

I couldn´t find an interview in English, sorry!

​

Just to close this topic, I´ll add that Assumpta is running an acting school in Madrid, and has been reprising her career as an actress too, wrote several books for beginner actors, and is still specialized in historical roles in series like (Italy´s) "Borgia", "Henry VIII" or the movie "The Network of Freedom".

About the continuity of the Cellini family, well, Anna died in "mysterious circumstances". The early days showrunners would have used that to introduce a corrupt Italian family, but I know that back then, Italian community in USA was fighting against the stereotypes, and what stereotype is bigger than a Mafia family?

 

[Toni]

Someone sent me this - Does MIss Piggy agree @Toni ?

View attachment 23421

She kindly disagrees...​

 

[Toni]

Quite a lot of the cast went to Spain in the 80s, I loved Hola and Semana magazines as they had great pictures that you didnt get in UK magazines and all in glossy colour

I have pics of Larry, Charlene, Steve all in Spain - think Steve was doing promotions for El Corte Inglés (My mum bought towels there and loved them!!! washed well and still looked as good as new 5 years later!) Think I have articles of VP in Spain also

Steve was hardly 24 hours in Spain, as he said to Linda in Mirande in front of moi. He was in a press conference for El Corte Inglés (I think it was for a jeans commercial) and also picked up a magazine´s award the show had won (for the second year of "Dallas").

Charlene has been several times here, and she has been treated as the (mini) superstar she is! Until I discovered internet, I had only seen one interview of Linda and one of Larry (both for the very tacky Italian "Rafaella Carrà Show"). Nothing from Victoria or Patrick or Steve. I guess I missed them, though I´m sure that Victoria didn´t accept interviews when she came to promote the Catalan cava.

I have a page in my site devoted to the "adventures" of the Dallas cast in Spain:
https://sites.google.com/site/mundodallases/origen/spanish-files

 

[pete lashmar]

Hi @Toni , hope you've enjoyed your week. Can I ask you, once this bloody virus has finally gone what will be the first thing you'll do that you haven't been able to do since it took over our lives?

 

[Karin Schill]

Thanks Karin! So far so good! Yes, I went there on Saturday and I think you went on a workday (though it was summer).

Thanks Toni. Yes I was there on a thursday if memory serves me correct!

I saw your new tribute video to Kevin Dobson. Great work. It was interesting to see him in the roles he did before and after Knots.

Now with Halloween just around the corner I would like to know three more things:

1) Which is your favorite holiday?
2) Which is your favorite season?
3) Which is your favorite TV-mini-series?
(Except for season one of Dallas)

 

[Emelee]

If you got stuck in an elevator for 2 hours, who'd you pick to join you?

If you were a show host on TV, what would your show be about?

What's your favourite form of exercise?

 

[Toni]

Hi @Toni , hope you've enjoyed your week. Can I ask you, once this bloody virus has finally gone what will be the first thing you'll do that you haven't been able to do since it took over our lives?

Hugs, kisses...and a bit of shagging!

 

[Toni]

Thanks Toni. Yes I was there on a thursday if memory serves me correct!

I saw your new tribute video to Kevin Dobson. Great work. It was interesting to see him in the roles he did before and after Knots.

Now with Halloween just around the corner I would like to know three more things:

1) Which is your favorite holiday?
2) Which is your favorite season?
3) Which is your favorite TV-mini-series?
(Except for season one of Dallas)

1) We in Spain (at least in XX century) didn´t have "festive" holidays, in the sense that everything was either "official" (workday et al) or sad (all saints´ day), but no Halloween or Santa Claus for Christmas. We had the three Magi in January 5, which was terrible for us kids because we didn´t have time to start playing with our toys since the next working day school began (Claus passed on us, and sent those odd kings who flew on their camels!). Now it´s different, we are totally americanized: we have Halloween, Carnival, Santa Claus, New Year´s Eve (which is big holiday here) etc. So I never had a preference, besides I used to work on holidays for a long time.

The Magi...lost in the beach...​

2) My favorite season was spring. I say "was" because now we have no seasons in Spain. There is a long winter season, and then a long hot (and sometimes rainy) summer. I also fancied Autumn... So romantic... in good company, of course.

3) My favorite TV miniseries is, undoubtedly, "Brideshead Revisited". Exemplary in so many ways (including the fact of creating a masterpiece without a finished script!!), it made me fall in love with England and the period pieces. To this date Jeremy Irons still is one of my favorite actors (though he´s obviously sold-out, and yes, I think he´s never been better than in "Brideshead"!).

Charles, Sebastian and Aloysious​

 

[Toni]

If you got stuck in an elevator for 2 hours, who'd you pick to join you?

If you were a show host on TV, what would your show be about?

What's your favourite form of exercise?

Love your questions @Emelee!

1) A tall handsome man with a big imagination.

Ooops, wrong pic! Please delete...
No, better don´t!


As I said in other threads, I´m quite seduced by Mr. Corey Stoll!
Love a man in a suit!
​

2) About ways to help the planet avoid the apocalypse. Or diet cooking.

3) Walking:

 

[Toni]

Hi @Toni , hope you've enjoyed your week. Can I ask you, once this bloody virus has finally gone what will be the first thing you'll do that you haven't been able to do since it took over our lives?

WHAT? Wasn´t this a regular thing and wasn´t the site retitled "TonyTalk"?????

​

 

[Barbara Fan]

Thanks @Toni (and MIss Piggy naturally) for all your great answers
mucho amor
Barbara Fan xx