Armstrong Recalls ‘Moonlighting’ Days
Curtis Armstrong had an atypical introduction to film and television work.
“I was spoiled going into movies, because my first movie was ‘Risky Business’ and I was spoiled for television by ‘Moonlighting,'” says the veteran character actor.
Armstrong arrived on “Moonlighting” early in its third season, a transitional moment for the private investigator comedy. The show had just received 16 Emmy nominations, including a somewhat peculiar outstanding drama series nod.
“Once ‘Moonlighting’ had established its reputation for being clever and flip and self-referential, that’s what everybody was looking for and at the same time everyone’s looking for that, maybe the leads are saying, ‘You know, we’ve done a pie fight and we’ve done drag. Now I would like to do something that gives me a little exercise.'” Armstrong says.
Introduced as an unwilling love interest for Allyce Beasley’s Agnes, Armstrong’s Herbert Viola initially provided an awkward, bumbling injection of humor, allowing stars Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd to concentrate on their emotions.
“As much as it may have pleased Bruce to do serious dramatic stretches on that show, it may not have been what the audience particularly wanted,” explains Armstrong. “They might have liked the flip, crazy David Addison of the old days, so they needed somebody to dress up as a woman and pop out of a cake and that was me.”
The show’s third season, premiering on DVD on Tuesday (Feb. 7), had only 15 episodes. Amidst that truncated schedule came classics like “Atomic Shakespeare,” the show’s take-off on “Taming of the Shrew.”
“They wrote the script, which was so clever, and they had these fabulous costumes … and then we went to shoot at the Court of Miracles at the backlot of Universal and, for me, this was the biggest thrill of my life, because I had grown up loving the old Universal horror movies and the Universal Sherlock Holmes movies, which all took place on that set,” Armstrong recalls.
That season also featured “The Straight Poop,” a behind-the-scenes exploration of the animosity between Willis’ Dave Addison and Shepherd’s Maddie Hayes, which parodied tabloid rumors surrounding the real on-set antics.
“Because of the tensions around the set there were different camps and you had to avoid being in any of the camps — and I’m not just talking about two camps, there were other camps,” Armstrong says. “They were dancing around this Maypole of weirdness and stress.”
Armstrong only recently revisited his “Moonlighting” experience, screening an episode for his daughter.
“It was enough to live it and I’ve never really been compelled to relive it,” he laughs.
Armstrong has found Europeans associate him with “Moonlighting,” while Americans recognize his familiar face from films like “Revenge of the Nerds” and “Better Off Dead.” Armstrong has never had a problem being approached by fans, even ones calling him “Booger.”
“The way I look at is, if you’re an actor and you have one role in a career that people remember with affection and write you letters about and stop you in the street, then you’re damned lucky. To have more than one is an incredible blessing.”
Categories