INTERVIEW WITH RUTANYA ALDA:
CHAMPIONING THE 95%
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| Poster for 1968's Greetings |
Most actors start their careers in grade Z garbage, either some exploitation film or a demented slasher flick or a silly monster movie. Helen Mirren's inauspicious beginnings were in the catastrophically bad "Caligula," a minor example. Jennifer Aniston began life in the horrendous 1993 horror film "Leprechaun." Latvian-born Rutanya Alda had one of the luckiest acting debuts of all time, in none other than Brian De Palma's 1968 cult classic, "Greetings." To follow that role with "Hi, Mom!," another De Palma film and one of the finest sequels ever made, and then a long list that includes "Scarecrow," "The Long Goodbye," "The Fury," "Rocky II," "Black Widow," "Amityville II: The Possession," "When a Stranger Calls," "The Dark Half," "The Deer Hunter," "Mommie Dearest" and many more proves that she is one of the finest character actresses, period. A 50-year-career that includes over a hundred roles in television and film is nothing to sneeze at. As Rutanya points out, no matter how many roles you get, there is still concern when you are not a superstar of Angelina Jolie's status who represent the 1% who never worry about their next acting gig. "We are the 95% who struggle, who worry when they will get their next job."
The De Palma origins remain fascinating for a director whose specialty became Hitchcockian thrillers. "Greetings" and "Hi, Mom!" are counter-cultural late 60's satires that touch on everything from racism to porn to politics and even the Kennedy assassination! Rutanya counts both De Palma films as her "favorite film experiences." As for "Greetings," she states: "I had a really funny strip scene with Robert De Niro. Audiences always laugh at the scene. I am also on the poster for the film."
Following "Greetings" came the 1970 sequel, one of the greatest, shrewdest and funniest satires ever made, "Hi, Mom!" Rutanya had a memorable appearance in De Palma's "Hi, Mom!" as a member of a group of WASP's who enter a so-called theatre production of "Be Black Baby" - it is one of the more surprising, illuminating scenes about race ever. "It was gut-wrenching and powerful," says Rutanya. "It was a one-take scene, full of Brian De Palma's humor. All the dialogue was improvised - there was no script. Same with 'Greetings'." The controversial scene caused audience walkouts when she saw it a L.A. screening a few years back. "A woman was crying in the bathroom," explains Rutanya. "When I came up to her, I explained that the scene was not real, and I was not really raped. The woman screamed, 'It was real to ME!' I told her it was real to me too."
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| Rutanya Alda (right) in The Deer Hunter |
Long before Oliver Stone's "JFK" arrived on the scene, there was a 1973 film called "Executive Action" where Rutanya was cast as a member of an assassination team. "The film opened and died at the box-office," explains Rutanya although she has no idea why the film didn't make it (according to imdb, the film was pulled because it was the cause of too much bad press). "The filmmakers were nervous throughout the two-week shoot. Everything was hush-hush, and a lot of the shooting locations were last-minute." [Footnote: Rutanya had been offered a role in Sidney Lumet's "Serpico" but she had to back out since she was filming "Executive Action" at the time.] Robert Altman, one of the premier iconoclasts of the 1970's and beyond, cast Rutanya in "The Long Goodbye." In the film she played one of Marlowe's neighbors (character's name is Rutanya Sweet, Altman's idea) and, though it is not shown in close-up, she shows some skin to say the least (not unlike her role in "Greetings".) "I had worked on the whole shoot," says Rutanya. "I was asked to stand in for Nina Van Pallandt" (Pallandt played the lead role of the wife of Sterling Hayden's character, Roger Wade).
One of Rutanya's first jobs when she moved to L.A. was in an episode of TV's "Cannon" entitled "Perfect Alibi," where she played a grieving widow, Mrs. Degan. The memories of working with William Conrad, who of course played Cannon, were a bit unusual. "You don't look at William Conrad, and he does not look at you. It was a rule," said Rutanya. "He was an odd duck."
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| Rutanya Alda (right) in Mommie Dearest |
I did express curiosity about Rutanya's highly restrained performance in "Mommie Dearest," playing such a passive maid to Faye Dunaway's high-strung, explosive Joan Crawford, whereas in "Amityville II: The Possession" Rutanya played a highly emotional woman married to that abusive lout of a husband (Burt Young). I had asked about her preference when it comes to acting, raising it a notch or two or dialing it down. "It depends on what the script calls for. It is the job of an actor to justify the reactions of the characters," said Rutanya. "For 'Amityville II', director Damiano Damiani addresses the psychological terror of a family that is very dysfunctional. Even with 'Mommie Dearest', the input is on the actor." As for Diane Franklin's emotionally disturbing role as the daughter to Rutanya's mother character in the haunted house sequel, I had wondered if Diane clinged to her. "Diane was the most inexperienced of the cast yet she was wonderful," said Rutanya. "Damiano was on hand to help her emotionally."
I had not been aware until very recently that Rutanya was married to one of the grittiest character actors with the raspiest of voices of all time, the late Richard Bright. Being an actor married to an actor can result in petty jealousies and messy divorces, especially in Hollywood. "It was very tough," said Rutanya. "Two people have the same concerns and it is tough to be creative all the time. The best match for a couple is to marry someone who is not in the same business. It was fun to work on some of the same projects [1994's 'The Ref' was one of those projects as well as 1983's "Vigilante" with Robert Forster], though we did not share any scenes together. If you are committed actors in a couples' situation, you respect the same insecurities, fears and anxieties."
Lastly, I had to ask about Rutanya's small role as a museum curator in Bob Rafelson's 1987 suspense thriller "Black Widow" with Debra Winger and Theresa Russell (Rutanya considered Theresa a "doll to work with.") Aside from Winger's troubling relationship with Shirley MacLaine in "Terms of Endearment," I had wondered what was the experience of working with the notoriously difficult Debra Winger. "I saw Debra at an Academy luncheon at the 21 club. An academy member said, 'Look there's Debra Winger, didn't you work with her?' Yes, I said. The member then said, 'Dont you want to go say hi to her.' No, I said. I think that says it all. I didn't need to elaborate then and I don't need to elaborate now. Shirley said it...that's all."
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