Writer's Block: Brush with stardom

[fleurlb]

[Error: unknown template qotd]



In 1995, I spent almost six months living in Dublin with my then-boyfriend (now-husband, hooray for happy endings :)). Our favorite show at the time was a new show on Channel 4: Father Ted. 

Set on a remote island off the coast of Ireland, Father Ted was all about the adventures of three parish priests and their tea-pushing housekeeper. If you're even a little Irish or a little Catholic, the show is a laugh-fest that skewers all of the best bits of rural, Catholic, Irish living. 

At the time, I wasn't yet an Irish citizen, so I'd been having a rough time finding a job. It was my last day in Dublin and I was due to head back to the States to study computer programming in an attempt to become employable in Ireland. The threatening prolonged separation was looming large, so we decided to spend my last day in Dublin doing all of my favorite things.

We'd finished feeding the ducks in Stephen's Green and were walking along the road. Were just crossing Kildare Street, a big crowd of people crossing in the opposite direction, when Himself said "That was Father Ted!" I didn't believe him, so I turned around, caught the distinctive shock of grey-white hair and followed the guy. He was taller than I expected and I wasn't sure it was Dermot Morgan.

He caught onto the fact that he was being followed pretty quickly, took a sharp turn on Dawson Street and ducked into the first shop he found. Which turned out to be a bridal shop. I stood on the sidewalk, watching in delight as he took off his sunglasses and looked around the shop, completely confused. He had a look at me through the glass and I guess decided I was harmless enough, since he came out and smiled at me.

"Are you really Father Ted?" I asked, grinning like an eejit. Yep, that was the best I could come up with. He chuckled and said "Sometimes, I am. Sometimes." Then he put on his sunglasses and walked away.

Sadly, Dermot Morgan died of a heart attack shortly after filming the last episode of Father Ted. (A fact that my husband insists I bear partial responsibility for,  because of the way I ruthlessly stalked him through the streets of Dublin.) If you've never seen the show before, keep an eye out for it. I know the DVDs are available in the States. And you can watch this short clip from the pilot, which perfectly illustrates the quirky sense of humor that made us fall in love with the show.

As for whether I have any interest in meeting anyone else: no. It's not the actors I care about; it's the characters. (I find actors creepy, to be honest with you. At best, they're paid liars. At worst, they're actually a little psychotic, willfully becoming other people.) That said, I do reserve the right to stalk Christian Kane if he ever shows up in Ireland. :)

 

 

Comments

[elzed.livejournal.com]

Oh, Father Ted, what an absolute joy of a show! I miss it...

Love the image of Dermot Morgan blinking in a bridal shop. And like you, I might stalk CK if he turned up on my radar here in London... ;)

[elzed.livejournal.com]

Also, just rewatched the spider baby clip and I might just spend a while watching Father Ted on 4OD as I am fluey and in bed... Can't think of a better way to spend my time.

Thank you!!!

[fleurlb.livejournal.com]

Hope you were able to spend the day in bed, enjoying all of the hilarity of the show, and are now feeling better. :)

And like you, I might stalk CK if he turned up on my radar here in London... ;)

I don't want to be accused of aiding and abetting later, but I heard he's going to be in London in November for some vampire convention thing. Just sayin'. :)

[celtic-flicka.livejournal.com]

"Sometimes, I am" is an adorable way to answer that question. :)

While there are some celebrities that I think might be interesting in real life, there's nobody that I'm just dying to meet. I think that most often, people are disappointed to discover that their favorite actor or singer or whatever is just a regular person (and usually shorter than you'd expected, heh). Also, growing up in Chicago, I've known or been friend-adjacent to, a number of people who ended up being famous in some way, so that makes the whole thing seem less impressive? Or it's just my father's pragmatism coming through. :)

That being said, I met Robin Givens briefly when I was interning at a radio station in the early 90s (when she was still known for more than being Mike Tyson's ex), and that woman has the most perfect skin you've ever seen in your life.

[fleurlb.livejournal.com]

Could be pragmatism, but what's wrong with that? I kind of feel the same way about movies and movie sets, from working in Chicago. It looked like the most boring thing in the world - who would want to stand around and try to watch that? I'd much rather see the finished product.

[khemlab.livejournal.com]

I freaking love Father Ted. The episode where the Mrs. Doyle (I forget her name) has to guess the priest's name just kills me. I found a transcript:

Mrs. Doyle: (attempting to guess the new priests name) Father Hank Tree. Father Hiroshima Twinkie. Father Stig Bubblecard. Father Johnny Helzapoppin. Father Luke Duke. Father Billy Furley. Father Chewy Louie. Father John Hoop. Father Harry Cakelinem. Father Rabulah Conundrum. Father Pee-wee Stairmaster. Father Tri-Peglips. Father Jemimah Ractoole. Father Jerry Twig. Father Spodo Komodo. Father Canabramalamer. Father Todd Unctious.

Father Todd: Yes!

LOL FOREVER.

[fleurlb.livejournal.com]

hahahahahaha!

Mrs. Doyle! The woman who plays Mrs. Doyle is actually very pretty - they really uglied-her up for that role. (She's also smart and a brilliant writer - has published about 5 books at this point, the last few were quite good and the earlier ones were quirky mysteries.) So yes, basically Mrs. Doyle is Batman. :)