Radames Pera (John Sanderson Edwards Jr.) Exclusive Interview!
1. Hi Radames, thanks for being interviewed for PrairieFans.com!
Wow, it's been 30 years now since Little House first aired on TV.
What do you think of its success after so many years? Would you have
thought it would still be as popular today as it was many years ago?
Thank you. It is truly an honor to be in such great company and to
have my work appreciated in this way.
I don't think anyone could have predicted, exactly, that the show
would end up having such "legs." No doubt a part of its success
stems from the fact that several key alumni went on with successful
careers of their own after that, and with work evidencing a similar
integrity. But even more central to its longevity is the fact that
when a creative work comes so clearly from the heart as "Little
House" surely did, and so consistently, it becomes part of the
landscape of the culture.
When an audience, be they readers or viewers (and a combination of
the two in many cases here) connects so deeply with well drawn
characters, and are included in so many simulated intimate moments
with those characters, well, people like the Ingalls Family become a
part of their lives in a real way. Then, as we go about the business
of our own lives, opportunities arise when we find moments of
resonance with those characters, and they come alive in us once
more. It's almost magical. Such is the power and legacy of any great
drama.
I have had the fortune to have been a part of two television series'
that have endured in such a manner. To this day, people will still
tell me how profoundly affected they were by my role as Grasshopper
in the "Kung Fu" TV Series, and how watching the show led them to
change their lives. I believe that when any character on television
or in film goes through a well written and performed transcendent
experience, as Laura Ingalls, Charles Ingalls, and Kwai Chang Caine
surely did (all in the same historic era, coincidentally) it can't
help but live in the heart and mind of the conscious viewer for a
very long time.
2.
What was it like to be on Little House? Had you ever read the books
by Laura Ingalls Wilder before getting the part of John Jr.
That's a real two-part question. Well, I started my appearances on
"Little House" in a two-part episode, so I guess it's appropriate. I
remember being very excited to know I was going to work with both
Michael Landon and with Patricia Neal (who played my Mother in Part
I of "Remember Me".)
The fact that John Jr. was a writer and poet certainly appealed to
me, I had been writing my own poetry for several years before that,
having been inspired by my great 5th and 6th grade teacher at
Gardner St. Elementary School in Hollywood, Mrs. Gunther (although
in my day she was Ms. Altmann). We would come off the hot playground
after lunch and she would have the lights off, just the afternoon
daylight reflecting through the windows of our classroom, and once
we were all there, she would invite us to put our heads down on our
folded arms as she tuned the radio to the local Classical music
station for about 5 minutes - to cool us out and get our minds
gently focused back into more "educatable" frame of mind after the
wild physicality of the "kid culture" of the lunchtime playground.
She was, and still is a great teacher, and was so good at coaxing
the poetry out of us all.
I realize I've digressed, but I thought it important to recount a
profound experience of my own childhood, since so much of "Little
House" is about that, and I believe it did help me get the part in
some way a few years later. But don't think I've just been stalling
from answering the second part of your question: No, I never read
the books. (Honestly though, how many boys do you think did?)
3. What was the audition process like for John Jr.? Was it
competitive?
Well for whatever reason, I don't distinctly remember that first
audition. But I know it wasn't any more or less competitive than
others I had been on at the time. I remember being called back to
read for Mr. Landon and, now that you've jogged my memory, I do
remember being excited to meet him. I also felt that the role was a
good fit for me, and I guess I did the best job with it. What I had
no idea about was Mr. Landon's intentions for my character. I came
on the show expecting it to be just the two-part work on "Remember
Me" but hadn't yet realized that if I was becoming the Edwards'
(Victor French and Bonnie Bartlett's) adopted son it meant I was
also becoming part of the regular cast. This was a pleasant surprise
and thrill to me.
4.
What could you remember most about working with the cast and crew?
What was the atmosphere like on the Little House set?
That production was one of the most closely knit groups I had ever
had the pleasure to have worked with. I'm sure others involved have
said similar things already, but it was really like working with a
bunch of friends. Beside the fact that any well produced show has a
large set of dedicated professionals at the top of their field all
working together to create a single product, this show had the extra
quality of Michael's presence. His charisma, talent, and utter
dedication to the project permeated all levels of the production.
During my time on the show, I think I was the oldest teenager of the
bunch, an odd age where I felt urges to be both included in the fun
and shenanigans of the younger actors, and yet also identified with
the older actors and crew at the same time. I guess you might say I
never felt like I totally fit in because of that. I remember really
enjoying Melissa Gilbert's company, I wish we could have played more
scenes together. As the series went on during my tenure, I admit
having felt a little "stuck" with Melissa Sue Anderson, who was not
a happy camper at that point in her life. Among other things, I
think she, too, felt "out of place" in some way.
At the time I was incapable of understanding it, and just thought
she was an unpleasant person, but over the years I came to realize a
few things about her (...and these are all unconfirmed conjecture on
my part. I'll add my own disclaimer here, partly for fun: "The
opinions expressed here are those Mr. Pera alone and do not reflect
those of the other individuals involved, either living or dead.")
First, she was clearly and deeply unhappy about something in her
life at the time. Second, her religious upbringing was in direct
conflict with her professional life and experiences at the time, and
third (and perhaps not least) was her knowledge that she would never
be the real focus of the show, she was always going to be the
satellite of the Laura Ingalls (Melissa Gilbert's) character. This
combination couldn't have felt very good for a budding young woman.
I was so caught up in my own head myself then, it just looked to me
that she was being unprofessional. I am referring specifically to
the way she treated me and her sense of responsibility toward her
character essentially.
We had a scene depicting our first kiss, and she refused to let our
lips touch. Repeatedly she tried putting her hand up to her lips
where she thought the camera couldn't see as our heads met, but that
didn't work. She tried every which-a way to NOT to kiss me. And here
we were, 75 people standing around in the hot afternoon sun while
she was making a fuss. ("Was I limburger cheese?" I wondered, "Was
it something I said?") I guess, in retrospect, it might have clashed
with her interpretation of her religion, or... maybe she just didn't
like me. Either way, if you're going to be an actor, your job is to
suspend you own beliefs, if only for a few moments, in order to
portray the truth of the character.
Well, anyway, the Director of this episode, Bill Claxton, had to
pretend to yell at ME for not doing the scene right in order to
communicate to her. He was in a tough position, Missy Anderson was
one of The Stars of the show, and she had a reputation, early on, of
being occasionally "difficult" around that fact. So he couldn't call
her down for it, that would have been neither politically correct,
nor, as he astutely deduced, very effective with her either. Suffice
it to say that it was one of the most awkward moments of my career.
I was just wondering why the heck she couldn't just do the scene!?
But now, I can only imagine the discomfort and pain she must have
been in to have felt compelled to behave like that in the situation.
Poor thing. Once I got wind of the fact that Michael had decided to
develop a romance between the two characters on the show, I did my
professional best to befriend her, get to know her, anything a pro
would do to create some comfort and trust between us so we might
serve the production better, but to no avail. Perhaps I seemed like
a "big bad boy" to her in her world at the time, and she just
couldn't get past that. I'm sure I don't really understand the half
of it, though.
As
far as everybody else, I really enjoyed them. Alison Arngrim (Nellie
Olson) and I were going to Hollywood High School at the same time,
and we were friends, (though I think I may have broken her heart
when she tried to let me know how much she cared for me and I was
unresponsive.) Okay, I was an idiot, I couldn't see myself going out
with the geek she was then, but the irony was I was as much of a
geek, too, but I didn't know it. In retrospect, I regret not having
had a real relationship with her, it might have spared me several
years of confusion in my young adult life. Alison is a very evolved
soul, and I surely would have benefited from loving her, but I was
obviously incapable of it at the time.
Brian
Part was fun to work with as my brother. I was jealous of him
because he got to ride motorcycles and my mom forbade it. He went on
to become a motocross champion. In the past couple of years we've
gotten to know each other as adults and I am proud to be his friend.
He is a fine, and quite musically talented individual. Along with
his wife they make a powerful musical duo that write and perform
some of the best songs I've ever heard. I wish them success in their
musical careers. Their work is important.
5. What, if any, affect did your role as John Jr. have on your
career over the years? Did it help you land roles in other projects?
Are you still associated with or recognized from being on the show?
Well, ironically, shortly after my stint on "Little House" I
essentially "left the business" for a few years. At one level of
reality though, I was really delving deeper into my craft, and for
good reason.
I was taking 2nd year film courses the same year I would have been a
senior at Hollywood High (gosh, I hated "regular" school) so I took
the Equivalency Test at the end of 11th grade and went directly to
L.A.C.C. Back in the summer of 1978, following that year of College,
(I took a couple of acting classes with the legendary Stella Adler
who came to L.A. every summer from New York to reach some of the
actors in Hollywood and let them know what the real Craft of Acting
was about.
Well, I was smitten, and realized that in order for me to have a
better chance of fulfilling my Big Plan to become a director, I
would really have to get some serious chops (no pun intended) under
my belt, really become a stronger actor with enough training and
Technique to perform the more demanding roles I knew lay ahead in my
career.
My big "Plan" was to get into another series at some point and
cultivate the opportunity to direct an episode or two, as I had seen
many actors do in the 10 years I had been in The Business at that
point. Seemed logical: act better, get better roles, move on to the
primary pull in my life. "Ahh, Grasshopper, the best laid plans..."
My agents in L.A. begged me not to go to New York. They said that my
work on "Little House" had a certain "momentum" to it and they were
going to be able to do great things with it for me. But after those
few weeks studying with Ms. Adler, I realized there was a whole lot
I didn't have a clue about when it came to acting, writing and
directing. Stella was not simply teaching an acting technique, but a
whole approach to life that made a lot of sense to me. Her belief
that the actor could become "an empty vessel" and then fill that
vessel with their imagination in order to serve the intent of the
writer was a profound revelation to me.
Unlike the Strassberg Technique of "sense memory" where the actor
digs deep into their own experience to find the character's truth,
Stella's technique seemed much healthier for the whole person since
the entire character was constructed from the actor's imagination,
and could hence be left in the dressing room with the wardrobe,
whereas with Strassberg, the actor carried the whole shebang around
with them. She felt that was unhealthy for the artist. I tend to
agree. Marlon Brando once said that he studied acting with Stella,
but went to Strassberg's Actor's Studio to pick up women, who were
all neurotic over there!
So, to make a long story even longer, I left for New York with two
big suitcases on my 18th birthday in the fall of 1978 to devote
myself to the study of this craft. I felt I owed it to my profession
to become as good as I could be instead of resting on the laurels of
my "natural abilities." Plus, I really needed to get away from
Hollywood. I grew up in it and a little objectivity would be good
for my soul. What I didn't realize is that is was curtains for my
career. I came back to Hollywood three years later only to find that
Hollywood had pretty much forgotten about me. My agents were right,
career-wise it was a bad move. But for me, personally, it changed my
life for the better... even though it took me a few more years to
realize that a career in Hollywood at that time was no longer in the
cards for me.
The "child actor" stigma didn't help either. It was so difficult to
slowly realize as an adult that my entire career as a child had
become an odd liability instead of an asset. My last TV performances
were in the shows, "Starman" and "The New Mike Hammer" (where I
played a vigilante Nazi-like youth gang leader - I had a great time
with that role). For film, my last work was as the Russian soldier,
Sgt. Stepan Gorsky in "Red Dawn" in which my platoon gets ambushed
and I get tortured and later executed by Patrick Swayze. But when it
really came down to it, finally, I had to accept the fact that I was
done with acting and that I really wanted to make films, not be in
them.
6. Did any of the cast make any impressions on you?
It was the combination of everyone working together as a family that
made the biggest impression on me.
7. What can you remember most about Michael Landon and Victor
French while growing up? Was Victor as friendly onscreen as he was
in person? Was he ever a father figure to you?
Victor: A sweet man tortured by many demons. Very private, though
very professional. Had a good sense of humor, but you always felt
that he was all the while crying inside. Kept everything and
everyone at arm's length, though again, this did not get in the way
of his excellent work and fine presence on the set. It was
impossible to get to know him more than that. But yes, he was
"friendly" as much as such an unhappy person could be.
Michael: What you would call "an actor's actor". In complete command
of the set, and all the artists and craftspeople he surrounded
himself with. Everyone felt as if they were a part of his extended
family, and so did their very best to please him. He was jovial,
generous when he needed to be, and told some of the best and
bawdiest dirty jokes you (or I) ever heard. When it came time for me
to do a particularly difficult emotional scene, and he realized that
I wasn't going to "get there" on my own, he told the crew to back
off a little bit, "give us a few minutes," is what he said. He put
his arm around my shoulder and took me off to the side to tell me a
little story about a dear friend of his who was losing their child
to cancer. He told this story in such a heart wrenching way, and
began to cry himself, that it brought tears to my eyes, and when I
"went there" with him, he gently brought me back to the set and
rolled camera. That's the level of commitment he had in order to get
the results he wanted. He made everyone feel special.
Now, I also heard about his "dark side" and was the indirect
recipient (or direct, depending on how you look at it ) of this
aspect of his personality. One day, toward the end of my work on the
show, Victor French went off to do a pilot for a sitcom called
"Carter Country" which then went into production. That was all good
for Victor, but he made the mistake of not consulting with Michael
before he did so. This made Michael very angry and he wrote Mr.
Edwards, and his whole family off the show for a few years until the
time that he and Victor patched things up. In fact, he had an entire
episode written to put my character in disfavor with the public,
having John, Jr. turn out to be two-timing Mary Ingalls, which she
only finds out after she and her father come to Chicago where John
is going to school. NBC got so many letters from people who couldn't
believe John, Jr. would do that, and how out of character it seemed.
But Michael was mad at Victor, and with one line spoken by his
character, the Edwards' were gone. It's at a dinner scene with Mary,
Charles and John, Jr. where Michael asks me, "So, are you coming
back to Walnut Grove, or are you going to visit your folks out in
California?" Just like that.
Then, the big irony for me, personally, was years later when I
decided to visit the set of Little House after I moved back from New
York in late 1981. I caught up with them the very afternoon at
Universal Studios where they had just filmed a scene where Isaiah
Edwards (Victor) and Charles Ingalls find MY dead body!! I
practically ran onto the set shouting, "I'm alive! I'm alive!" But
it was too late. Apparently, Michael and Victor had put aside their
differences and of course later went on to make the series "Highway
to Heaven" together. But John, Jr. was now, as they say, "history."
Such is Hollywood. Naturally, I would have liked to return to the
show, but by then Mary had gone blind and married another gent (one
who could remain faithful apparently) ...and besides, "I" was dead.
8. Do you have a favorite episode of Little House? Why is it your
favorite?
Well, I liked the episode entitled, "His Father's Son" where my new
step-dad and I go out into the woods to camp and hunt. John, Jr.,
the sensitive young man that he is, writes a note expressing his
appreciation for Isaiah's having adopting us Sanderson kids, and how
I'm looking forward to the developing relationship as father and
son. Little does John, Jr. know that Isaiah can't read, and so the
lukewarm reception of his little note is devastating to the young
man. Later, when a bear attacks Isaiah, John is frozen by his
suddenly ambivalent feelings toward this man. Isaiah survives the
mauling, and Charles tells John that Isaiah is illiterate and that
he was too embarrassed to admit it. This of course rekindles our
bond and allows a secret out into the light. This was my favorite
episode because it focused on our characters, and was an opportunity
for me to do some of my best work in the show. And I didn't have to
kiss Mary!
9. Going back to John Jr.'s death from the eighth season episode
"Chicago" what are your feelings towards the character's death?
I might add that I was sad about the finality of John, Jr.'s death.
I admit that in the back of my mind, I had hoped I might return to
the show when I learned that Victor was back in. It was truly
painful on a personal level that day when I decided to visit the set
only to learn of my character's demise. But everybody else thought
it was funny that I showed up at that moment, so I had to roll with
the punch. It was hard not to feel cast out of a magical kingdom,
though, since I did feel like part of the family for those few
years. Now on the outside looking in, as it were. Those were my
honest feelings at the time, and for some years afterwards.
10.
Finally, How are things going for you these days? Are you currently
acting, any projects in the works?
I am well. Thank you for asking. Shortly after I met and married my
wife in 1984 (going on 22 years now!) I began to question my whole
involvement in Hollywood. It had been such part of my life that I
thought I could never earn a living any other way. It was all I
thought I knew how to do. When I finally faced up to the fact that I
was going to have to get a "job-job" in the "real world" it was
rather daunting. What could I do. Well, I had been making my own
short films and videos at that point and so I found a job as an
assistant film editor, then as a video editor, and began acquiring
some electronic engineering skills. After working for other people
for about 3 years, I decided I wanted to try working for myself. I
had always had a passion for stereo systems, speakers, amplifiers,
etc. I made up a card for a service to hook up people's VCRs and
hi-fis, and started getting business right away. No one knew about
my acting background until I chose to tell them, and then it was
just for fun.
I built my business and my reputation with my own two hands. This
was very important to me, being able to guide my own success, rather
than what most actors must face, the fact that their success is much
too much in the hands of others, casting people, agents, managers,
producers, directors, etc. To be able to make a few phone calls,
knock on a few doors and have business which could support me and my
family changed my life. I've been doing the same business ever
since, and have had clients like Johnny Depp, Nicholas Cage, Sharon
Stone, Ben Stiller, Charlize Theron and several other notables. I
take pride in creating home theaters and multi-zone sound systems
for all kind of people.
I didn't need to stay in L.A. to do it either, and this allowed my
wife and I to move to Portland, Oregon where we lived for a decade
and thrived together. When you grow up in a Big City like L.A. or
N.Y., you can easily start to believe that life couldn't possibly go
on anywhere else, and
many people can stay trapped in those places their entire lives. But
the world is a big place, and life does go on, I learned that it
could be even better than I imagined somewhere else. That was my
experience.
Thanks for taking the time to be interviewed for prairiefans.com!
For more information on Radames Pera visit his Official Web site at
www.radamespera.com
Webmasters Note: Interview was done on June 15, 2005. Pictures of
Radames that appear on this page with Alison Arngrim and the recent
head shot are courtesy of Radames Pera
