Episode: Damned If You Don't

Damned If You Don't

Damned If You Don't was started on Tuesday, August 8th, 1995. We had a 7:30 am crew call. (And to illustrate how my hours can be different, I had a 6:45 am call.)

The first scene(s) listed for this episode reads as:
EXT. BINGHAM FISH BOWL--Lucas asks Carter to wait

Other thoughts and memories:

This episode was directed by Lou Antonio, who ended up directing more Gothics than anyone else (four). Lou is an actor as well as a director, with
memorable roles in Cool Hand Luke (he's the "cold drank" guy) and original Star Trek series (In the episode "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield," Lou
plays opposite Frank Gorshin as the half black/half white Cherons.) Although we (and by that I mean the cast and crew) liked a lot of the directors, Lou
was far and away our favorite. He worked very well with the actors, he was always pleasant, and he got the work done. We called him "Uncle Lou."

Guest star Muse Watson had made the jump to acting from the other side of the camera. He formerly worked in the transportation side of things, which is where I first met him, on the film Super Mario Brothers. This was the second
time I worked with him since he'd become an actor, and I was very pleased to see him again.

Guest star Steve Rankin was very funny. Lou Antonio wanted a very "Southern Gothic" look to his episode, so as viewers have noticed, people sweat in this episode more than any other. (Except for Lucas Buck, of course. He's always
dry as a bone!) Well, the sweating that you see onscreen is not real sweat.
It has to be controlled, so the actors are actually kept cool and dry, and then, right before the cameras roll, they are spritzed down by our makeup crew with bottles of water. (And sometimes other things are mixed with the
water to give the "sweat" different properties) Well, after seven straight days of having AG Makeup Guy Rick spraying him in the face with water, Steve first autographed Rick's spritzer bottle, giving it a very funny endorsement.
Then he got ahold of a spray bottle himself and returned the favor on Rick, dowsing him pretty
good!

During this episode, we were keeping a close eye on Hurricane Felix, which was moving in our direction. As we all know now, it ended up sitting off the coast and breaking up. But we were worried it was going to strike. That didn't keep our sense of humor down, however, and on the last day of this
episode, the call sheet reflects that. If you look at the list of actors working that day you see this:

1. Gary Cole ....................... Lucas Buck ........................ 10 am
8. Steve Rankin ...................... Carter Bowen ....................... 6:45 am
9. Judy Simpson Cook .................... Etta Bowen ....................... 6:45 am
10. Brigid Walsh .................... Poppy Bowen ............................ 7:10 am
11. Muse Watson .................. Wash Sutpen ......................... 10 am
12. Barnaby Carpenter ....................... T.J. ...................... 10 am
9X. Shirley Smrz ..................... Etta Stunt Double ...................... 1:30 pm
X. Felix ..................................... Hurricane ................................... ???


AG sound mixer Richard Van Dyke (no, not that one, and no, no relation) has a wicked and goofy sense of humor, and one of his running gags was born on this episode. During one take of the scene where Carter runs to Etta after the light socket has blown her across the room, Steve Rankin's voice cracked as he called "Etta?!" It was a pretty goofy sound, and forever after, at the most unexpected moments, Richard would cry out "Etta?!" in a perfect imitation of Steve. It ALWAYS broke me up, too.

And that's all I can think of for now!
Your here in spirit if not in body AG PA, Craig



(Below photo is of Greenfield Lake, Wilmington, NC)