Family (1976-1980)

[SoapDope]

Yes She did. I ran across another recent podcast interview with Elayne.

Some Highlights:

* She was treated pretty shabby in her first film Payday (1973). During the bedroom scene with Rip Torn the blanket was pinned up over her as not to expose anything when Rip gets up from the bed. When he did the covers came down exposing half of her breasts. She then tried to pull it up and the director told her not to worry about it that he was shooting her face. When she saw the film she realized he lied to her. She then says now people have taken stills of that scene and they are all over the net. She said when someone enters her name into Google the phrase " Elayne Heilveil Nude" is the top search.

* Another Payday story was that Rip asked her if she was going to cry during a scene and she said no because she felt it was not what the character would do. As soon as she said that Rip hollered for the makeup woman and she came over and blew menthol smoke with a device in her face to get her eyes watering and Rip shot the scene. She said she felt violated and went back to her hotel room pissed. She laughs she took all the drinking glasses in the room and smashed them outside on a brick wall to vent. 

* She said she liked to keep her private life private, but revealed during the 1970's into the early 80's she was in a long term relationship/lived together with with actor Stuart Margolin who co-starred on the Rockford Files & Love American Style. She said when she started guest starring on Rockford, she and Stuart worried they would be found out and the studio or producers may claim nepotism. She said nobody caught on as far as she knew. She even married Stuarts character Angel in one episode.

* When she was doing Family she had trouble with a director on how to play a scene with Sada. She discussed the problem with her boyfriend actor Stuart Margolin who told her just listen to the him and say " Hmmm Hmm" and nod and then when the camera starts rolling do the scene the way you feel you need to play it. She said she did the scene and started to crying because she felt it was the appropriate way Nancy would react. The director yelled CUT ! and ripped her apart in front everyone. The director told her to stop doing that. He was a friend of Sadas and he felt it was taking away from her big moment. She laughed and said it may work for Stuart , but she couldn't get away with it. 

* When she did the TV film " Cry For Help" her character was to wear a trench coat. She went to the wardrobe department at Universal and picked one out. She pulled it out of the rack and on the label it was marked Peter Falk (Columbo). She wore it in the film and was fangirling she was wearing Columbo's jacket".

* She said since she played a lot of serious roles most people were surprised at what a funny person she is and was always cracking jokes with the crew.  

* She also joked that she had a normal childhood and was afraid she wasn't flawed enough to be an actress.  She also joked that she later discovered she did have some quirks as her career progressed.

* She said that on film sets they directors/producers always used the phrase " Get The Girl" when shooting a scene. She said that would be the title of her book is she ever wrote one. 

 

 

[Soaplovers]

I always wonder how Nancy would have evolved if she had remained in the role.  She had a more fragile take when playing Nancy that if the intention was for the audience to not like the character...her take would have made that harder.

While Meredith had a stronger and more strident take when playing Nancy...that when Nancy did something selfish..the audience could be angry at her.

[SoapDope]

It would be interesting to see how she would have handled later material.

Elayne said after the pilot she would film random scenes shot out of sequence and she never quite figured out if Jeff & Nancy were still together or are they getting divorced or what ? It did look as if Jeff & Nancy reconciled, but when season 2 starts with Meredith they are in divorce court slapping each other in front of the judge....LOL

[Chris 2]

I think Jeff and Nancy were expecting another baby in season 1, too. That wasn’t mentioned in season 2.

[SoapDope]

You are correct. In the pilot she say's she's pregnant, but they drop it after that. Later in the series ( I think season 4) Nancy and Jeff hook up again and she becomes pregnant and miscarries.