Guest Who: A Hitch at "Hotel."

Quite some time ago, we did a post about the series Hotel (aka Arthur Hailey's Hotel.) It primarily centered on the pilot movie and the show's first season.  We've also done tributes to its leading man, James Brolin, its grande dame, Miss Anne Baxter, and even given its opening credits a bit of a shout out.  Given that the series ran from 1983-1988, featured a raft of guest stars each week and was an Aaron Spelling production, it's a no-brainer that we adored it. That said, we must have missed this installment, late in the game. (Perhaps I briefly "had a life" in 1988? LOL)

For those uninitiated or who may need a brush-up, Hotel was all about the goings-on in a fictional, very-plush, San Francisco, um, hotel. Each episode focused on two (generally unrelated) stories courtesy of the guests who've checked in. It was at once an ingenious idea for a TV show while simultaneously being something of a rip-off of The Love Boat and Fantasy Island! But since those were also Aaron Spelling series, that was of no concern. 

In the wake of the death of the St. Gregory's owner (played by Anne Baxter who died in real life), the place was run by James Brolin and Connie Selleca.

With the departure of previous regulars Shea Farrell, Heidi Bohay and Michael Spound, security officer Nathan Cook and promoted clerk Shari Belafonte-Harper rounded out the only remaining original cast members. This crazed wig, which is sort of perched on the usually close-cropped Harper, scared me to death at first! I had no recall of this look.

Replacement cast members meant practically nothing to me without looking into them! Valerie Landsburg was a longtime cast member of Fame prior to this, in addition to many other TV roles before and after. (I, however, never watched Fame.) Pretty Susan Walters was in the midst of graduating from daytime TV's Loving, to this prime-time gig. She proceeded to a very busy career in that vein, though in recent years has returned to daytime with The Young and the Restless. Ty Miller was just beginning his career as an actor, having made a handful of guest appearances the prior year. 

You know we're always going to zero in on anyone cute. I had no knowledge at all of Miller. Stayed tuned at the end of this post for a little bit of bonus info on him.

Now... on to the guests. It was more than startling to see Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot as one of the cast members! A virtual legend for his songs such as "Sundown," "If You Could Read My Mind" and "The Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald," this was one of a very select few (and the last) acting attempts he ever made.

He plays a recovering alcoholic country singer (named Joe Daniels!) who has been booked at the St. Gregory for his return to the stage after two years. As his estranged son, looking at the poster, we have...

...Matthew Laborteaux, a child actor of the mid-1970s who grew up before the public's eyes as adopted son Albert on Little House on the Prairie. He was 22 at the time of this and fivew years past Prairie.

Having written to his father that he was coming, he attempts to gain entry to the suite, but is informed that there's no record of him being listed as a guest.

As Brolin steps in to help, we are vastly relieved to see that Belafonte-Harper is sporting an all-new, much-improved look from the one she sported in the opening credits!

It's always a little jarring to spot a Prairie person in contemporary clothing, but Laborteaux looks great.

Taking a personal interest, Brolin brings the young man to his father's room, but Dad isn't even there.

Apparently, he was either looking for Loni Anderson's stunt double or has unearthed the last remaining Hee Haw Honey... HA! Lightfoot, embarrassed at having brought this toothsome tart to his room when his son is there, swiftly moves her back out the door.

While they're happy enough to see one another after a lengthy separation, things begin to unravel when Laborteaux discovers that his old man has only opened about one of the many letters he's written to him over the years!

When he discovers a bottle of Scotch in his dad's belongings when he's supposedly been dry for some time, Laborteaux has had it and flees the suite.

With things taking an unhappy turn and the stress of a looming opening night performance in front of him, Lightfoot struggles to resist the demon facing him.

"DON'T DO IT!"

Adding another layer of confusion to the mix is the sudden arrival of Laborteaux's mother, the ex-wife of Lightfoot. Anyone want to hazard a guess as to who this might be?

Ronee Blakley had burst onto the scene in 1976 with the Robert Altman film Nashville. She was nominated for two Golden Globes, a BAFTA and an Oscar, but wasn't able to take any of the awards home. She continued a varied career of singing, songwriting, acting on screen and even on stage. This would be her final TV role. Her next project (starring Belafonte-Harper, in fact) was a straight-to-video movie called Murder By Numbers (1989.)

Blakley knew a thang or two about country sangin', having costarred as a thinly-veiled Loretta Lynn type in Nashville. (Blakley contended that the role was closer to Lynn Anderson, however.)

Ever-helpful Brolin coerces Laborteaux into joining him for a spin in his hot, red convertible and some lunch.

Perhaps on a recommendation from Pia Zadora, lunch consists of hot dogs. Brolin does his level best to help bridge the gap between this troubled father and son.

Lightfoot never acted on screen after this, but performed on stage for many years. He suffered from some significant health issues (an aortic aneurysm!) in 2002, which waylaid him for a time, but he came back strong eventually. However, in May of 2023 he passed away of natural causes at age 84.

Lightfoot in his hey-day as a recording artist.

Ms. Blakley is still alive today at 78. Having burst on the scene in such a big way, Blakley ultimately wasn't able to capitalize on her success and proceed to a significant movie career. She did work in several films and appeared as a guest on TV, but tended to stay busier with a music career (including a stint alongside Bob Dylan, who happened to be Lightfoot's idol.) She did happen to be in what would become a longtime cult film, 1984's A Nightmare on Elm Street. She is currently 78.

Laborteaux (who has since reverted to his last's name's true spelling of Labyorteaux) was and adopted child, along with his adopted brother Patrick. Both children had health and well-being concerns in their early years, but were nourished and nurtured into becoming healthy and talented youths. Patrick appeared on Prairie, too, as Jonathan Garvey and the siblings were hot topics in the teen magazines of the day.

Handsome, but only having only grown to 5'7," he seemed mired in teen roles and struggled to emerge as a leading man in projects. As the millennium approached, he segued into voice work for many animated projects and video games with only an occasional foray into on-screen acting. Long single, he startled fans by marrying for the first time at 53 and becoming a stepfather for two. Now 56, he and his brother worked together for some time towards troubled youth fundraising. 

But you really didn't think that when I called this post "A Hitch at 'Hotel'" I was merely referring to a rather broken-down country singer striving for a comeback and hitching his wagon to The St. Gregory, did you? Come on, now. You know me better than that...! The other story line offered in this ep will illuminate the title further.

Yes, children. The principal guest star for this installment was Miss Tippi Hedren, making a glamorous visit to (script-wise) San Francisco. You'll recall that The Birds (1963) was partially set in Frisco, too.

Hedren is entering her deluxe suite when she hears a woman screaming down the hall.

Catapulting down to the room and pushing the door open, she sees...

...a man strangling a gal on the bed!

The highly threatening-looking man is portrayed by...

Peter Mark Richman. Richman, a highly prolific TV actor had worked on countless episodes of various hit shows from the mid-1950s on, with a recurring part on Three's Company and a decent stint on Dynasty among them. He worked up until 2016 before retiring with his wife, to whom he'd been wed for darn close to 70 years when he passed away. He died in 2021 at age 93 from natural causes.

Hedren makes her way back to her suite and frantically calls for help.

She's just able to get her door closed before the deranged Richman can get her. But he does announce that he now knows where she is!

Security chief Cook enters the room where the strangulation was happening and finds just an unmade bed and an otherwise unremarkable vacant space.

Any birds in here?? This episode gives Hedren multiple chances to pose and emote in ways that recall her two famous movies for Alfred Hitchcock, The Birds (1963) and
(1964.)

Selleca (and her earrings) lend a caring, concerned ear to the distraught Hedren. She also manages to get her into a different room, though the hotel is booked solid. Seemingly free from danger, Hedren goes to her new room to prepare for a downstairs meeting.

The glass elevator begins to have a mind of its own! This sequence recalls Hedren's famed entrapment in a phone booth during The Birds.

When the door finally opens, she's met by the menacing Richman! But she manages to escape his clutches.

Down in the lobby is a cousin of hers, who she's arranged to meet with for dinner. Do you recognize her?

Comer was a Texas-born actress who began working on television sitcoms and westerns in the early-1960s before scoring an Emmy nomination for Arrest & Trial (a precursor to Law Order.) She lost to the formidable Ruth White in Little Moon of Alban. She soon graduated to movies such as Quick, Before It Melts (1964), The Loved One (1965), The Appaloosa (1966) and Banning (1967), though was found more often on TV in the 1970s. She continued to act on screen into the millennium, but apart from an appearance in 2011 has been retired. She is currently 84.

In her late-50s at the time of this episode, the Tipster next gives us a bathing scene. She still looked terrific (and, truth be told as far as I'm concerned, always had far better looks and figure than her frequently-undraped daughter Melanie Griffith!)

Unfortunately, something is amiss again!

Whoever it is on the other side of this door has some crazy-big hands! 

Somehow, she keeps staying at the hotel even though someone keeps attacking her (and a dead body was even found in a parking lot across the street!)

Hedren has been so busy with attempted murders that she forgets to let her concerned cousin Comer know that she made it through the previous night basically unscathed!

Fans of Hedren and/or Hitchcock can't afford to miss this installment, in which Hedren looks great and keeps giving us memories of her earlier work, such as Marnie, seen here.

All during her ordeal, Selleca is on hand to see that she's heard and cared for (to whatever extent the hotel can protect her!)

Selleca is not exactly one of "my people," but she had a certain soothing serenity mixed with a modicum of authority when called for. And she could really rock those '80s earrings and other fashions. And you have to love those eyes, coated down with so much smoky liner and mascara.

Anyway, even here, there are echoes of Marnie. The full episode without commercials may be seen on YT here. 

Those startled expressions and wide-eyed reactions were part of her considerable training for that long-ago debut film. Though she hasn't been seen acting on-screen since 2017, Hedren is still with us today at 93 and continues to maintain a collection of lions and tigers at her nature preserve Shambala. You may have wondered to yourself... WHO directed this episode of Hotel, which seemed so bent on creating a dark, suspenseful atmosphere with a nod to Hitchcock?

!!!

Who'd have thought it?!

If you're still lingering... Ha ha! I told you I was going to return to Ty Miller at the end of the post. The headline of this clipping made me chuckle. Turns out that he wasn't talking to any "guys," that was just the title of a teen rag. After Hotel checked out, he was hand-picked by Aaron Spelling to appear in the cast of The Young Riders, a new sort of western based on The Pony Express. I loved the fact that Miller made mention of having liked The Big Valley, a Top-5 favorite show of mine.

The Young Riders put Miller in the mix of all those teen rags of the day.

Although it ran for three seasons, I must confess that I have never seen a single moment of the show!

Apart from Anthony Zerbe, who often mentored younger performers, the series boasted a few guys who would later spring to greater fame, including Stephen Baldwin and Josh Brolin. Yes, Miller's next series after appearing with James Brolin was one in which he costarred with James' son! 

Miller didn't stay in the limelight much after Riders was over, though he kept working. He was Tim Thomerson's costar in Trancers 4 (1994), which recently got a mention here, as well as Trancers 5 (1995.) He worked on screen until just before the pandemic, but hasn't been seen - as of this writing - since. He is currently 59.

Sometimes I think that Hollywood truly is a very small town.