Sammy LaBella: The Real Skip E. Lowe - Cast

Sammy LaBella: The Real Skip E. Lowe

Sammy LaBella: The Real Skip E. Lowe

A lot of Angelenos can speak with some authority on Hollywood luminaries, if not with actual knowledge then certainly with distinct opinions. Take Skip E. Lowe. Mention Judy Garland, Steve McQueen, or even Madonna, and Lowe will have a ...See moreA lot of Angelenos can speak with some authority on Hollywood luminaries, if not with actual knowledge then certainly with distinct opinions. Take Skip E. Lowe. Mention Judy Garland, Steve McQueen, or even Madonna, and Lowe will have a thing or three to say. But unlike most, the 71-year-old Lowe has had a ringside seat to Hollywood's happenings for more than six decades. He's been an entertainer since escaping a rough childhood, first as a child actor and later a vaudevillian, and for the past 23 years has hosted "Skip E. Lowe Looks at Hollywood," an oddly popular public-access talk show in which he interviews the famous, once famous and almost famous. Here is Lowe's take on James Dean: "Well, darling, he loved life. Men, women, the 42nd Street scene, the night life, the whores, the food, the movies. Everything!" On Montgomery Clift: "Tragic. Lonely. Sweet. Monty was in the closet, but when he got drunk he let himself out. Almost every night he'd get blasted and stagger around Manhattan trying to find his way back to his apartment." And Shelley Winters: "Listen, honey, she's bold, courageous, and caring. This is a very strong lady who's filled with compassion for everyone in the world. Comparable, really, to Eleanor Roosevelt--only Shelley can act." After a life on the fringes of show business, Lowe's phone book of celebrity friends and acquaintances all but bulges. His own recognition, however, only began to build with the popularity of his cable show. "When I walk up Sunset Boulevard, people are honking horns and screaming, 'Skip E., we love you!' I don't have a billboard, but I feel like I'm Angelyne," Lowe gushes in a pitched voice that is immediately recognizable to late-night public access viewers in Los Angeles, where his show is carried by Adelphia and AT&T cable providers, as well as in San Francisco, New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. The show has earned a cult following of viewers of all ages. It's the kind of recognition Lowe seems to have been courting all his life. His journey toward celebrity can be read in his new autobiography, "The Boy With the Betty Grable Legs," publishing this month from Carillon Press. "I spent years showcasing other people," Lowe says, leading the way to his chaotic living room, which doubles as his office. "Now it's time to let them know the real me." The 200-page memoir is chock-full of show-biz stories and photos with a cast of characters that includes strippers, mobsters, mega-stars and fringe players. Lowe spent nine years writing it because "every time I thought it was finished, there was something else to add." It's a campy and sometimes poignant book that's not afraid to dish. Lowe's survivor status is apparent in his West Hollywood apartment, which has the feel of a small, cluttered museum. He coaxes his guest to take a seat next to a lamp once owned by Rudolph Valentino. He points out an ashtray given to him by Lana Turner, a painting by Cornel Wilde and a map of Paris that, he says, once hung in James Dean's New York apartment. That done, he turns his attention to the dozens of framed photographs of dear friends. "There's the singer Dick Roman, who thought up my name. Here's me at some event with Rip Taylor. And there's Frank Sinatra. See the picture of me and Sylvester Stallone? One day his mother, Jacqueline, took me to his house for Thanksgiving dinner, and guess what? There was no turkey left. Sly made us sandwiches for Thanksgiving dinner!" Lowe is short, rubbery and jaunty. He has bright eyes, craggy pink skin and a shock of white hair that he has touched up to platinum. Still, there is an elfin quality about him. He could be 9, he could be 100. His energy is boundless. When he is speaking, which seems to be every waking moment, his voice alternates between a dainty whine and a brusque scream, as if he's trying to catch the attention of someone across the room, rather than the person next to him. It's easy to see why comics like Martin Short have taken to parodying Lowe. "Robert Morse told me he borrowed some of my mannerisms while working on the character of Truman Capote for Broadway," Lowe chirps. Whatever Lowe says he says with enormous zeal, as if everything in his life has been an amazing, madcap adventure. Helping a young Christian Brando find a job, his trip to the 7-Eleven this afternoon to buy lottery tickets, and being tied to the bedpost and robbed in Tunisia are all relayed with the same gushing enthusiasm. He Found His Niche Reintroducing Stars Written by CHARLES CASILLO See less

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155 cast members

Name	Known for
Olivia Hussey Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Romeo and Juliet (1968)
Keith Carradine Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Nashville (1975)
David Carradine Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
Jeff Goldblum Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Jurassic Park (1993)
Julie Newmar Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Bobby Lee Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)
Michael Parks Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Red State (2011)
Stella Stevens Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Barbara Hale Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Perry Mason (1957)
Janet Leigh Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Psycho (1960)
Robert Forster Self Self See fewer	Jackie Brown (1997)
Tony Curtis Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Some Like It Hot (1959)
Barbara Bain Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Mission: Impossible (1966)
Ellen Greene Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Ed Begley Jr. Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	A Mighty Wind (2003)
Ruta Lee Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Michael Dorn Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Shelley Winters Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Eartha Kitt Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
Piper Laurie Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Hustler (1961)
Doris Roberts Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Everybody Loves Raymond (1996)
Sally Kellerman Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	MAS*H (1970)
Lee Meriwether Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Batman: The Movie (1966)
Persis Khambatta Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Cesar Romero Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Batman: The Movie (1966)
Sally Kirkland Self Self See fewer	Anna (1987)
Morgana King Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Godfather (1972)
Mamie Van Doren Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women (1968)
Joseph Cotten Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Third Man (1949)
Season Hubley Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Escape from New York (1981)
Renée Taylor Self Self See fewer	The Nanny (1993)
Susan Blakely Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Rich Man, Poor Man (1976)
Orson Bean Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Being John Malkovich (1999)
Tony Dow Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Leave It to Beaver (1957)
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Patrick Wayne Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Searchers (1956)
Lois Nettleton Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	In the Heat of the Night (1988)
Elke Sommer Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	A Shot in the Dark (1964)
Ray Walston Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Popeye (1980)
Natalie Schafer Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Gilligan's Island (1964)
Joseph Bologna Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Big Bus (1976)
Terry Moore Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Peyton Place (1957)
Virginia Mayo Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	White Heat (1949)
Michael J. Pollard Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Kevin McCarthy Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Red Buttons Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Pete's Dragon (1977)
Alice Ghostley Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Susan Strasberg Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Picnic (1955)
Lynn Redgrave Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Gods and Monsters (1998)
Harve Presnell Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Fargo (1996)
Farley Granger Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Strangers on a Train (1951)
Marsha Hunt Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Pride and Prejudice (1940)
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Al Martino Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Godfather (1972)
Frank Gorshin Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	12 Monkeys (1995)
Don Most Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Happy Days (1974)
Robert Morse Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)
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Casey Kasem Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Ghostbusters (1984)
Peter Mark Richman Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
Charles Fleischer Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Zodiac (2007)
Betty Garrett Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	On the Town (1949)
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Frank Stallone Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
Neile Adams Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Fuzz (1972)
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Jack Riley Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Spaceballs (1987)
Cornel Wilde Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Edie Adams Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
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Rhonda Shear Self Self See fewer	Up All Night (1989)
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Christina Crawford Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Secret Storm (1954)
Dane Clark Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Destination Tokyo (1943)
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Robert Cummings Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Dial M for Murder (1954)
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Theresa Saldana Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Commish (1991)
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Linda Christian Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Murder in Amsterdam (1966)
Anne Jeffreys Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Riffraff (1947)
Chuck McCann Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990)
Robert Clary Self Himself (archive footage) Self Himself (archive footage) See fewer	The Bold and the Beautiful (1987)
George Montgomery Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Samar (1962)
Jesse White Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
Pat McCormick Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
Paul Rodriguez Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Blood Work (2002)
Teri Copley Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Brain Donors (1992)
Chris Lemmon Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Wishmaster (1997)
Rip Taylor Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990)
Morey Amsterdam Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)
Joey Bishop Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Joey Bishop Show (1961)
Art Metrano Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986)
Rudy Vallee Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Palm Beach Story (1942)
Jeff Maxwell Self Self See fewer	MAS*H (1972)
Peter Marshall Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1965)
Virginia Capers Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Howard the Duck (1986)
Turhan Bey Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Mummy's Tomb (1942)
Bruce Vilanch Self Self See fewer	You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008)
Steve Allen Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Casino (1995)
Soupy Sales Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Black Scorpion (2001)
Shecky Greene Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	History of the World: Part I (1981)
Shari Lewis Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Lamb Chop's Play-Along (1992)
Eric Douglas Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Golden Child (1986)
Frankie Laine Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Blazing Saddles (1974)
Jackie Mason Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Jerk (1979)
Gary Owens Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron (1993)
Anne Gaybis Self (as Annie Gaybis) Self (as Annie Gaybis) See fewer	Friday the 13th: Part 3 (1982)
Ann Savage Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Detour (1945)
Timothy Leary Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Roadside Prophets (1992)
Kaye Ballard Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Baby Geniuses (1999)
Paul Mooney Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Bamboozled (2000)
Jim Bailey Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Surrogate (1984)
Jackie Stallone Self Self See fewer	Beach Babes from Beyond (1993)
Dodd Darin Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Beyond the Sea (2004)
Jeanne Carmen Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Untamed Youth (1957)
Scotty Bowers Self Self See fewer	Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2017)
Quentin Crisp Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Orlando (1992)
Christian Brando Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Unmasked Part 25 (1988)
Patti Page Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Die Hard 2 (1990)
Sammy Shore Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	History of the World: Part I (1981)
Fred Travalena Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Black Scorpion (2001)
Jerry Vale Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000)
Holly Woodlawn Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers (1972)
Yma Sumac Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	No Time to Die (2021)
Charles Pierce Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Torch Song Trilogy (1988)
Jan Murray Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	History of the World: Part I (1981)
Romeo Carey Self Self See fewer	100 Kilos (2001)
Jackie Gayle Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Bulworth (1998)
James Bacon Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
Arthur Marx Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Impossible Years (1968)
Skip E. Lowe Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Black Shampoo (1976)
Alison Martino Self Self See fewer	Merge (2003)
Mimi Hines Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Fake-Out (1982)
Sally Marr Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Dance Hall Racket (1953)
Florence LaRue Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	It Takes a Thief (1968)
Jaime Monroy Comedian Comedian See fewer	Hollywood Desperado: Rebel or Royalty (2008)
Brian Hamilton Self Self See fewer	Days of Our Lives (1965)
Charles Casillo Self Self See fewer	Summer of Sam (1999)
Vampyra Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	The Tyra Banks Show (2005)
Kenny Ellis Self Self See fewer	Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attendant (2015)
Alan Eichler Self Self See fewer	Boulevard! A Hollywood Story (2021)
Edward Lozzi Self Self See fewer	The Room (2003)
Steve Berent Self Self See fewer	Sammy LaBella: The Real Skip E. Lowe
Fran Lewis Self Self See fewer	More (1969)
Le Maire Self Self See fewer	Saving Face (2000)
Dusty Stiles Self Self See fewer	Pets 90210 (2012)
Kenny Kingston Self (archive footage) Self (archive footage) See fewer	Playboy After Dark (1969)
Bill Rosendahl Self Self See fewer	Week in Review (1988)