In honor of my latest interview with actress STEFANIE POWERS (Episodes 79 & 80), who is best known for playing the role of the glamorous crime-solving Jennifer Hart on the classic mystery television series "Hart To Hart", here's a fun blog post describing the first time I met this TV legend in person for you to enjoy!
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In January of 2022, a few years before I had the opportunity to sit down and interview her for my podcast, I went to The Hollywood Show at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport in Burbank to meet one of my childhood idols in person....the fabulous Stefanie Powers who starred on one of my all-time favorite TV shows from the 1980’s “Hart to Hart”!
In case you’ve never heard of The Hollywood Show it is perhaps the best known pop culture event on the west coast. It started in 1979 and is held four times a year at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport in Burbank, in addition to shows in Chicago. Actors, writers, performers, collectors, and celebrities all come to interact with fans, autograph photos/merchandise and take selfies with their fans. Think of it as a giant meet and greet (that you have to pay for) with Hollywood stars mainly from the past. Ohh…and aside from taking a selfie with your favorite star you can get a professional photo taken with an individual star or a group of actors for a fee if you like.
I had heard of The Hollywood Show before I went to the event that day, but I had never attended it before. What prompted me to go, you ask? Well, I saw a social media ad on Facebook or maybe it was Instagram I forget which that was announcing that TV star Stefanie Powers was going to be there in person! After my heart skipped a beat and my eyes did a double take I immediately checked the date to make sure that I didn’t have any conflicting events that weekend because I REALLY wanted to go and meet her!
I can’t tell you how much I loved watching her on the show “Hart to Hart” when I was a teenager. I couldn’t get enough of watching her as Jennifer Hart with that gorgeous red hair of hers blowing in the wind while she was driving down the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in her Mercedes convertible during the opening credits of the show week after week! Come to think of it...that's probably the reason why I bought a Mercedes convertible when I could finally afford one. And yes, I have driven down the PCH with the top down just like the Harts did on that classic series. LOL Anyway, I thought she and Robert Wagner were both fabulous on that show!
If you know anything about Ms Powers' 60-plus year career, it is much much more than playing the glamorous Jennifer Hart on that classic 80s TV show. At the age of 16, she was put under contract to Columbia Pictures -- in the twilight of the Hollywood studio system -- where she made 15 motion pictures including “Experiment in Terror” (1962) with Lee Remick, "If a Man Answers” (1962) with Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee, “Tammy Tell Me True” (1961) with John Gavin, “Palm Springs Weekend “(1963) with Troy Donahue, the hospital melodrama “The Interns “(1962) with Cliff Robertson and its sequel “The New Interns” with George Segal. She was also loaned to United Artists for a part in the classic feature film western "McLintock!" – in which she played the daughter of screen legends Maureen O’Hara and John Wayne! Following that she played opposite the incomparable Tallulah Bankhead in the 1965 thriller “Die! Die! My Darling” - which I think is a pretty fabulous film. So if you enjoy films like "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane" or "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" you have to put this film on your "must see" list.
Then, MGM Television bought her contract from Columbia to present her on their new spy series "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.". Her TV credits include over 200 guest appearances, 18 mini-series including “Mistral's Daughter”, “At Mother's Request”, and “Hollywood Wives” and 2 more weekly series, "The Feather and Father Gang" and the long-running Aaron Spelling series "Hart to Hart" – where she and her dashing co-star Robert Wagner played the wealthy -- mystery-solving couple -- Jennifer & Jonathan Hart. The series ran for five seasons from 1979 to 1984. After the show’s cancellation, Powers and Wagner reunited for eight "Hart to Hart" TV movies in the 1990s.
Aside from her acting career she is also founder and president of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation -- established in 1982 -- to continue and to further her long-time partner’s conservation work in East Africa, after his death. She has been on the advisory board of four zoos in the U.S. and is a fellow -- of the Los Angeles Zoo, the Explorers' Club, and the Royal Geographic Society. She is active in the movement to preserve and protect the remaining herds of North American wild horses -- and has received -- numerous international awards for her grassroots work in conservation
So when the day of the event arrived, I drove to Burbank filled with great anticipation and excitement! Entering the convention hall, I was overwhelmed by the amount of people there to see stars like Jill Whelan, Eric Roberts, Kim Delaney, and Sam J Jones. So when I stumbled upon Ms Powers' table I got super nervous and barely spoke while she signed a photograph and a copy of her memoir “One for the Heart” for me. Yes, believe it or not, I still get nervous (aka starstruck) whenever I meet one of my childhood icons.
Due to the continued masking restrictions at the time (this was right after the lockdown lifted, at the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic), professional photos with the stars were taken outside. Since I didn’t want to take a photo of Ms Powers and me with our masks on and I didn't trust myself to take a non-shaky selfie with her (due to my nervousness meeting her) I opted to purchase the pro photo - which was the best idea I've ever had because it turned out perfect!
When I finally got the courage to speak to her during our photo session, she was so charming that my nerves suddenly disappeared. As you can see from our photo together above I was beyond thrilled meeting her. I now see why The Hollywood Show is so popular. The whole experience left me starry-eyed. It was totally worth it.
Little did I know that a year later I would spend an hour and a half with her over the phone interviewing her for my new podcast - which didn’t exist when we met in 2022. The lesson of this story is…if you have an opportunity to meet one of your childhood idols don’t let anything - including your nerves - get in the way. You never know how things are going to turn out.
If you’re interested in attending the next Hollywood Show on October 18 & 19 2024 at the Marriott Burbank click HERE for more info and to check out the list of celebrities that are scheduled to be attending.
To listen to my conversation with the fabulous STEFANIE POWERS (Episodes 79 & 80) on my podcast, click the links below. Enjoy!
Episode 79 - HERE
Episode 80 - HERE
