Entertainment Weekly asked its readers which movie character’s life they would like to have and got some wonderfully wide-ranging answers. Yes, some wanted to have lives with lots of money, lots of superpowers, and lots of smooching with very attractive co-stars. But some wanted the spectacular homes (two mentioned the house in “Practical Magic,” travels, or adventures of their characters. Some wanted to be characters in the Harry Potter series, there were a smattering of Twilight-lovers and superhero-wannabes. I was interested to see how many people answered with the movies that affected them most as teenagers — “Sixteen Candles,” “Ferris Beuller’s Day Off,” “Say Anything,” “Clueless.”
That’s the great pleasure of stories, isn’t it? The chance to live those lives in our fantasies. My dream home from the movies is the house on the water in “Rich in Love.” My dream superpowers might be the ones from “My Super Ex-Girlfriend.” But my dream significant other is the one I have — no movie dreamboat comes close!
TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA
* Dexter
* House
* In Treatment
* Mad Men
* True Blood
ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA
* Sally Field, Brothers & Sisters
* Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
* January Jones, Mad Men
* Anna Paquin, True Blood
* Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, DRAMA
* Gabriel Byrne, In Treatment
* Michael C. Hall, Dexter
* Jon Hamm, Mad Men
* Hugh Laurie, House
* Jonathan Rhys Meyers, The Tudors
TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
* 30 Rock
* Californication
* Entourage
* The Office
* Weeds
ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
* Christina Applegate, Samantha Who?
* America Ferrera, Ugly Betty
* Tina Fey, 30 Rock
* Debra Messing, The Starter Wife
* Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES, COMEDY OR MUSICAL
* Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
* Steve Carell, The Office
* Kevin Connolly, Entourage
* David Duchovny, Californication
* Tony Shalhoub, Monk
MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
* A Raisin in the Sun
* Bernard and Doris
* Cranford
* John Adams
* Recount
ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
* Judi Dench, Cranford
* Catherine Keener, An American Crime
* Laura Linney, John Adams
* Shirley MacLaine, Coco Chanel
* Susan Sarandon, Bernard and Doris
ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
* Ralph Fiennes, Bernard and Doris
* Paul Giamatti, John Adams
* Kevin Spacey, Recount
* Kiefer Sutherland, 24: Redemption
* Tom Wilkinson, Recount
ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
* Eileen Atkins, Cranford
* Laura Dern, Recount
* Melissa George, In Treatment
* Rachel Griffiths, Brothers & Sisters
* Dianne Wiest, In Treatment
ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES, MINISERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
* Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother
* Denis Leary, Recount
* Jeremy Piven, Entourage
* Blair Underwood, In Treatment
* Tom Wilkinson, John Adams
Darby Hinton played Israel, the son of Daniel Boone on the classic 1960’s television series starring Fess Parker. From the moment he got on the phone to talk with me about the series and its new release on DVD he made me feel like we were old friends.
I’m so excited to talk to you! When I told my husband I’d be interviewing you, we both started singing that Daniel Boone theme song!
Did you remember all the words?
Well, maybe not all of them!
You know, when we all got together in honor of the DVD release, we couldn’t get it straight between us.
That makes me feel better! How did you originally get the part?
I got it on kind of a fluke. I thought I was going on an interview for “The Sound of Music. At that time the youngest one was supposed to be a boy so I was dressed in lederhosen. My mother was driving me to the audition and she was always late to everything. She dropped me off to find a parking spot and I went into the building and got into the first line of kids I saw. I went in and met with the producer and everybody and came out of the interview. My mom said, “You were supposed to be upstairs!” and I said, “But whatever that is, I just got it.” I started out as Nathan Boone for the pilot with an older brother, but by the time the show began it was just one son named Israel, and that was me.
I always wanted to be Veronica Cartwright.
It was fun to reconnect with her.
And with Fess Parker, too, I imagine.
I stayed close to Fess Parker. We had a great couple of hours, shooting a documentary on the real Daniel Boone, in the places he really was. It was so much fun to sit down and talk with him, talking about america’s first legend with a current legend. It was a magical moment. And Ed Ames’ voice is still so magical.
Did you have a favorite episode?
A lot of them! I always loved animals, so it was always fun to work with the animals for the show. My mom was an only child with strict German parents so she wanted us to have the pets she did not have. I had my own raccoon, foxes, and snakes, even a wild boar! There was the episode where Israel fell in love and had his first screen kiss. The first time we shot it they said Israel shouldn’t kiss that well so we had to reshoot. A little frontier boy wasn’t supposed to be that well-versed.
Did you know the other television child stars of that era?
I was one of four kids from TV that Art Linkletter brought to Washington, DC for a show called “A Kid’s Eye View of Washington.” We had tours of everything, the Smithsonian, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, where I got to shred a million dollars worth of bills. We got to meet Nixon and see the Hope Diamond. Maureen McCormick from “The Brady Bunch” was one of the other kids, but I didn’t rate a mention in her new book!
What television shows did you like when you were a kid?
“To Catch a Thief” — there was nobody cooler, nobody more suave with the ladies than Al Mundy. I once crept onto the set and saw Robert Wagner tied up with his arms around the beautiful girl. He looked over at me and said, “Hey kid, do they treat you this good on your set?” It meant the world that he knew who I was. I also loved “The Wild Wild West.”
One of my all-time favorite television moms was Phylicia Rashad as the ever-capable, ever-glamorous, ever-wise, and ever-beautiful Clair Huxtable, lawyer, mother of five, and wife of the ever-bemused Cliff Huxtable. It was a joy to speak with her about this week’s 25th Anniversary Commemorative Edition of the complete series on DVD.
What inspires you?
Oh, I have a well of inspiration to pull from. My mother, my father, my sister, all the teachers I have ever known, and my friends, all of these inspire me. And the practices in which I engage every day, the practice of meditation in which I engage every day. I look in nature in wonder at what nature is and what she does and how she does it, and realize that myself and all people are a part of it and that is very inspiring to me.
How did you come to be cast as Clair?
I had a series of auditions, and at the time it was thought that she would be bi-lingual. When I was 13 my mother took us to live in Mexico City for a semester and I learned my capacity to learn a foreign language and later studied Spanish, and it helped me in the audition. Later I asked Mr. Cosby, “Why did you cast me?” He was twirling his cigar, and said, “By the look in your eye when you told Theo to shut up, that was the eye of a mother.”
What’s next for you?
I am in Halle Berry’s next film, a drama.
Do you have a favorite episode?
Love them all. I loved the one when all members of the family assumed different characters to teach Theo a lesson about money, Theo’s prom, the girls with their hair blown all over creation, that was funny as all get-out. I loved the episode with Christopher Plummer and Roscoe Lee Browne delivering Shakespeare in the living room. The opening credits were a production in themselves, something we looked forward to doing each year.
What makes you laugh?
My nieces and nephews. I take great joy in them. Time with my friends. I have a wonderful group of women friends and I love it when we get together.
I have one Cosby Show DVD set to give away to the first person who sends me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with “Cosby” in the subject line — for those who have not previously won anything only, please!
on the classic 1960’s television series starring Fess Parker. From the moment he got on the phone to talk with me about the series and its new release on DVD he made me feel like we were old friends.
of the complete series on DVD.