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Sammy LaBella: The Real Skip E. Lowe

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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	STARmeter	Known for
Jeff Goldblum Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Julie Newmar Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	Batman (1966)
Olivia Hussey Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	Romeo and Juliet (1968)
Frank Gorshin Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	Twelve Monkeys (1995)
David Carradine Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
Persis Khambatta Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Keith Carradine Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	Nashville (1975)
Janet Leigh Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	Psycho (1960)
Michael Parks Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	Red State (2011)
Michael Dorn Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Piper Laurie Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	The Hustler (1961)
Michael J. Pollard Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Sally Kellerman Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	MASH (1970)
Tony Curtis Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	Some Like It Hot (1959)
Cesar Romero Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	Batman: The Movie (1966)
Robert Forster Himself Himself See fewer	Top 5000	Jackie Brown (1997)
Burt Young Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	Rocky (1976)
Ellen Greene Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Bobby Lee Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas (2011)
Susan Blakely Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	The Towering Inferno (1974)
Elke Sommer Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	The Prize (1963)
Eartha Kitt Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	The Emperor's New Groove (2000)
Barbara Hale Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Top 5000	Perry Mason (1957)
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Barbara Bain Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Mission: Impossible (1966)
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Ed Begley Jr. Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Pineapple Express (2008)
Lee Meriwether Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Batman: The Movie (1966)
Doris Roberts Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Everybody Loves Raymond (1996)
Terry Moore Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Come Back, Little Sheba (1952)
Lois Nettleton Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	In the Heat of the Night (1988)
Geri Jewell Herself Herself See fewer	Members only	Deadwood (2004)
Patrick Wayne Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Searchers (1956)
Shelley Winters Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
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Frankie Laine Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Blazing Saddles (1974)
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Stella Stevens Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Susan Strasberg Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Picnic (1956)
Farley Granger Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Strangers on a Train (1951)
Ray Walston Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Popeye (1980)
Robert Morse Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967)
Peter Marshall Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1965)
Natalie Schafer Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Gilligan's Island (1964)
Renée Taylor Herself Herself See fewer	Members only	The Nanny (1993)
Neile Adams Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Fuzz (1972)
Joseph Cotten Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Third Man (1949)
Theresa Saldana Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Commish (1991)
Edie Adams Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
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Lynn Redgrave Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Gods and Monsters (1998)
Season Hubley Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Escape from New York (1981)
Marsha Hunt Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Pride and Prejudice (1940)
Betsy Palmer Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Friday the 13th (1980)
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Mamie Van Doren Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Teacher's Pet (1958)
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Virginia Mayo Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Robert Cummings Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Dial M for Murder (1954)
Casey Kasem Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Ghostbusters (1984)
Tony Dow Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Leave It to Beaver (1957)
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Della Reese Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Touched by an Angel (1994)
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Frank Stallone Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
Milton Berle Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
Alice Ghostley Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
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Don Most Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Happy Days (1974)
Anne Jeffreys Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Riffraff (1947)
Jackie Mason Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Jerk (1979)
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Turhan Bey Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Mummy's Tomb (1942)
Betty Garrett Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	On the Town (1949)
Peter Mark Richman Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989)
Ann Savage Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Detour (1945)
Cornel Wilde Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	No Blade of Grass (1970)
Jack Riley Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Spaceballs (1987)
Jesse White Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
Linda Christian Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Murder in Amsterdam (1966)
Seymour Cassel Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Rushmore (1998)
George Montgomery Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Samar (1962)
Jeanne Carmen Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Millionaire (1955)
George Maharis Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Satan Bug (1965)
Christina Crawford Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Secret Storm (1954)
Esther Rolle Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
Paul Rodriguez Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Blood Work (2002)
Joseph Bologna Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Big Daddy (1999)
Red Buttons Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Al Martino Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Godfather (1972)
Rip Taylor Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp (1990)
Roxie Roker Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Jeffersons (1975)
Rhonda Shear Herself Herself See fewer	Members only	Spaceballs (1987)
Dane Clark Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Destination Tokyo (1943)
Art Metrano Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Police Academy 3: Back in Training (1986)
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Chuck McCann Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)
Jeff Maxwell Himself Himself See fewer	Members only	MAS*H (1972)
Steve Allen Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Player (1992)
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Anne Gaybis Herself (as Annie Gaybis) Herself (as Annie Gaybis) See fewer	Members only	Friday the 13th Part III (1982)
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Morey Amsterdam Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961)
Rudy Vallee Himself Himself See fewer	Members only	The Palm Beach Story (1942)
Eric Douglas Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Golden Child (1986)
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Paul Mooney Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Brewster's Millions (1985)
Teri Copley Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Brain Donors (1992)
Pat McCormick Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
Timothy Leary Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Roadside Prophets (1992)
Shari Lewis Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Lamb Chop's Play-Along (1992)
Christian Brando Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	I Love You, Alice B. Toklas! (1968)
Jackie Stallone Herself Herself See fewer	Members only	Beach Babes from Beyond (1993)
Dodd Darin Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Beyond the Sea (2004)
Shecky Greene Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	History of the World: Part I (1981)
Patti Page Herself Herself See fewer	Members only	Die Hard 2 (1990)
Jerry Vale Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Nutty Professor II: The Klumps (2000)
Quentin Crisp Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Orlando (1992)
Jan Murray Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	History of the World: Part I (1981)
Scotty Bowers Himself Himself See fewer	Members only	Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2017)
Sammy Shore Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	History of the World: Part I (1981)
Fred Travalena Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Black Scorpion (2001)
Holly Woodlawn Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers (1972)
Yma Sumac Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
Jackie Gayle Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Bulworth (1998)
Jim Bailey Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Steve Allen Comedy Hour (1980)
Mimi Hines Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Fake-Out (1982)
Romeo Carey Himself Himself See fewer	Members only	100 Kilos (2001)
Arthur Marx Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Mickey (1964)
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Charles Pierce Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Torch Song Trilogy (1988)
Alison Martino Herself Herself See fewer	Members only	Merge (2003)
Skip E. Lowe Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Black Shampoo (1976)
James Bacon Himself (archive footage) Himself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
Florence LaRue Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Greatest Song (2009)
Jaime Monroy Himself Himself See fewer	Members only	Hollywood Desperado: Rebel or Royalty (2008)
Vampyra Herself (archive footage) Herself (archive footage) See fewer	Members only	The Tyra Banks Show (2005)
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Brian Hamilton Himself Himself See fewer	Members only	Days of Our Lives (1965)
Charles Casillo Himself Himself See fewer	Members only	Summer of Sam (1999)
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Alan Eichler Himself Himself See fewer	Members only	The Sorrows of Dolores (1986)
Steve Berent Himself Himself See fewer	Members only	Sammy LaBella: The Real Skip E. Lowe
Bill Rosendahl Himself Himself See fewer	Members only	Week in Review (1988)
Edward Lozzi Himself Himself See fewer	Members only	Trance (2002)
Fran Lewis Herself Herself See fewer	Members only	More (1969)
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