Category Archives: Kolchak the Night Stalker

Aging Fantastically

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I had a wonderful time last Sunday re-connecting with my long-time friend, Sondra Currie (star of The Hangover, The Hangover II, and The Hangover III) at the Aging Fantastically Festival in Los Angeles.

Aging Fantastically Festival-Sept 2015We are re-inventing what it is to be “of a certain age,” alive, vibrant and looking forward to the next 30 years of living full out and doing all the things we forgot to do in our 30s and 40s. Youth no longer has to be wasted on the young! EVERYthing gets better when you stay healthy and maintain a positive mental attitude!

Sondra and I started our careers together in a TV show entitled Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Yikes!! What fun. Erik Estrada had a small role…wearing a 3-piece pink suit. Egad.

Here is a screen snapshot of that episode (“Legacy of Terror,” 1975) from Kolchak: The Night Stalker with Yours Truly seated in a fancy uniform.

12107131_10206786548638110_7565987658984225913_nHere, you can see Erik Estrada making his TV debut in a hot pink 3-piece suit (I’ll bet you thought I was kidding). The beautiful Sondra Currie is on the right. She looks the same today. Darren McGavin is on the far right.

12079467_10206786531117672_4683850165345246108_nFor the record, I had a nice little scene here, flirted a lot and then got killed off in the next scene. Ahhh…such is the life of an Ingenue.

Udana Talks About Her TV and Movie Career, Pt. 3

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NOTE: This interview with Udana Power was conducted by publicist Bill Murphy in late Spring, 2013. This is Part 3 (covering the years 1976-1979) of what’s likely to be a 4-5 part series of interviews with Udana about her appearances on TV and in movies. We hope you enjoy it!

Udana-1976Bill Murphy (BM): Let’s start with Hawaii Five-0, 1976. You did this episode (“Tour De Force, Killer Aboard”) just after LaVerne & Shirley. The show was filmed in Hawaii, so they must have flown you out there, right?

Udana Power (UP): Yes.

BM: What was that experience like?

UP: It was the first time I’d been to Hawaii. It was into the unknown. Exciting. Cliff Gorman [who played the bad guy in the episode] was there. I called him as I got in just to connect with him as an actor. But he didn’t want to. I think he thought I was asking for a date. I wasn’t. The episode was really fun. I didn’t get to see much of Jack Lord. I mean, when you’re working on something like that you’re only there doing your scenes and connecting with the director and the people you’re doing the scenes with as well as the full crew. I remember being in the station wagon [in her first scene]. Remember station wagons?

BM: Oh, yeah. [laughs]

UP: They don’t have station wagons any more. And it was a woody [wood paneled sides] station wagon. The sides were metal, painted to look like wood. (laughter) So 70s and 80s. Here’s another thing I noticed, and I noticed this in the episode of Soap: many women had dark hair, and there were no highlights in the hair. It was pre highlights. [Laughs]

BM: [laughs]

UP: I was killed off in the first few scenes. [Laughs]

BM: Yeah. I think you lasted about 10 minutes into the episode.

UP: Yep. But I threw myself into it like it was a leading role. I was interested in making sure that the scenes were good. I felt like I was up to speed. I knew my lines and, as Spencer Tracy advised a young actor, I knew my lines and didn’t bump into the furniture.

BM: Cliff Gorman. What was he like to work with?

UP: Terrific. He was an excellent actor. Very professional. Intense. I really appreciated Continue reading →

Udana Talks About Her TV and Movie Career, Pt. 2

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NOTE: This interview with Udana Power was conducted by publicist Bill Murphy in late 2012. This is Part 2 of what’s likely to be a 3-4 part series of interviews with Udana about her appearances on TV and in movies. We hope you enjoy it!

BM: I believe we left off last time with Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1975). You know what the next one is in your career? Barbary Coast (1976).

UP: Oh my gosh!

BM: Tell me about Barbary Coast and your role as Sara.

UP: Sara. Did I send you a picture of it? I sent you a picture of it, didn’t I?

BM: Yes. It was you and Bill Shatner.

UP: Yeah, it was me and Bill Shatner, and I know I have some pictures of it, but it was old-fashioned setting. And I played this innocent little girl, young woman, in old-time San Francisco. It was a take off on the old movie, Barbary Coast. I don’t remember what I did so much. I just remember wearing this beautiful little high neck, and my hair being done up. I felt so pretty. It was just something unusual that I hadn’t done before. I was very 1800s. It was very Barbary Coast. And as I remember, he [Bill Shatner] would wear disguises. Doug McClure was in the show, too.

[NOTE: This episode of Barbara Coast that someone posted on YouTube doesn’t feature Udana. It’s just an interesting clip to watch because Barbary Coast has been off the air and unavailable for decades.]

I was a fan of Bill Shatner. Bill had amazing energy, pizzazz. I really liked him. He and I got along and we started talking, and I ended up a lot in his trailer. [laughs] And that started a relationship with Bill that went on for several years. And I just adored him. The show didn’t last for long. I don’t even know where we could find it on DVD. But I just thought [Bill] was Continue reading →

Udana Talks About Her TV and Movie Career, Pt. 1

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NOTE: So many people have asked me about my career that I decided to spend time with my publicist, Bill Murphy, who interviewed me about my first few appearances on TV. Our conversation took place in September of 2012. This is Part 1 of what’s likely to be a 3-4 part series. I hope you enjoy it!

Bill: Let’s talk about your first TV appearance, which was Ironside in 1971. The episode was called “In the Line of Duty.” How did you get the gig on Ironside? What had you been doing? You were in your mid-twenties. So this must have been one of your first jobs.

Udana: That was literally my first job. I was going on auditions, and I had a manager who was helping me go on auditions, and I went to Universal Studios, and somehow I got chosen. I think [producer] Cy Chermak had something to do with that.

B: Let me check IMDB. Yep, Cy Chermak.

U: Got it. That’s so long ago. I had no idea who I was. I had no idea that I was pretty, all I knew was that I just wanted to act. Cy Chermak hired me for this, and I got my SAG card. That’s how I got my Screen Actors Guild card, and it cost me $280 to get my SAG card then. Now it’s $1000, $2000 or something like that. But at that point it was a whopping $280. [laughs]

B: [laughs]

U: And I got my Screen Actors Guild card. I kind of knew who Gary Mason was and Raymond Burr was, and I had, I remember I had a scene that I had to be very emotional in. I had to be crying. And there were four people in the scene. I think we were Continue reading →