Interview by Paul Salfen
For many actors – and just about everyone in the entertainment business, 2020 has been tough. It’s been hard for many to make films, make shows, play music, or whatever their craft is. For the actors that regularly make appearances as part of their living, there have been almost no opportunities and many fans are now worried about being around other fans – or even their favorite celebrities if they are meeting people. Thankfully for those that are willing to adhere to the rules, there are fan favorites that are getting back out there – and it’s a good feeling. Beloved genre actress Linnea Quigley is one of them. Known for her work in ‘80s horror classics like Return of the Living Dead, Silent Night Deadly Night, and Night of the Demons – among many others, Quigley recently attended a horror convention and was able to meet the fans – at a distance – with autograph signings requiring masks on both ends and photo ops that had a plexiglass divider between you and the star. Not ideal, but still great for people that want that human interaction and a fan experience that isn’t online like Cameo. This weekend, she’ll be traveling to Dallas for a pair of experiences – an outdoor drive-in screening of Silent Night Deadly Night at the Texas Theater in Oak Cliff – or rather outside in their parking lot facing a big inflatable screen and a signing at Frightmare Collectibles in Justin, Texas, a great little store full of amazing horror-related memorabilia like toys, books, posters, signed items, and even pillows. Run by Texas Frightmare Weekend founder Loyd Cryer and his wife, Sue, the place serves as a mini-convention, complete with multiple celebrities and even a barbecue outside. In addition to Quigley, locals Lezlie Deane from Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare and Paul T. Taylor from Hellraiser: Judgment will be on hand to meet and greet safely for their Horror Christmas Market.
Here’s more from Quigley:
AMFM Magazine: Horror fans are some of the nicest people – and you love meeting them, so it must be nice to finally get back to this.
Linnea Quigley: It is. The horror people are the best people in the world. They’re nice – I’ve taken them to shelters and they’re standing in line to adopt a dog or a cat – but they want to talk about horror. They’re talking about blood and guts in line and everyone’s thinking, “What weirdos!” but they’re like [in a high-pitched voice], “Oh, here kitty kitty. You’re so sweet!” They’d never hurt an animal and I love that about them. They’re the best people.
AMFM: You’ve signed some interesting things over the years and have seen some interesting memorabilia brought to you – but you also have your face tattooed on some people. What is that like? I can’t imagine.
LQ: Well, it’s weird to see but it’s the ultimate compliment when someone takes your face or body and puts it on their body.
AMFM: You also have your own action figure. How cool is that? Most of us will never have one.
LQ: Yes! When I grew up, I played with Barbie dolls and I never thought I would be a doll or an action figure. Like The 40-Year-Old Virgin said, “I’m an action figure now!” [Laughs] It’s so cool.
AMFM: We’ll see you for the Silent Night Deadly Night screening, which is a funny Christmas tradition. Although you weren’t in it much, what you were in was striking. What do you remember about working on it?
LQ: I remember this one girl was on set and she had to do this topless scene and she wouldn’t do it, so the director coaxed her with this necklace. He gave her this little tiny diamond or cubic zirconia or whatever and I was thinking, “OK, if I do my topless scene and I don’t complain, I’m going to get something really nice” – but that didn’t happen. I kept expecting somebody to hand me something and it never happened, so I was pretty bummed. I just got impaled on antlers and a “thank you, that was really good” type of thing. I’m like, “Maybe they’ll deliver it to the hotel room!” No, never happened.
AMFM: Are you a horror movie fan yourself?
LQ: I’m a huge horror fan. I grew up on all of the classics like The Birds, Murder In The Rue Morgue, and House Of Wax – all of those good movies.
AMFM: Tomorrow at Frightmare Collectibles there will be so much cool memorabilia. Do you collect anything?
LQ: I collect a bunch of everything. Anything that I see that I like – I like weird tarot cards, I love action figures – I call them dolls, and if I see any artwork I like, I just get it.
AMFM: You’ve been a vegan and animal lover for years but you also have a shelter, so let’s get a plug in for that.
LQ: Yes! The Moulin Rouge and you can go to it by visiting my Facebook page or www.Linnea-Quigley.com. You can go there and scroll down and donate. Right now I have 14 dogs and 4 cats – that I take care of myself, so that’s a lot!
AMFM: We’ve been asking people lately about their Hail Mary Moments in their life or career where they just had to go for it, so let’s hear yours, because I know you have an interesting story.
LQ: I would say that when I moved cross-country was my Hail Mary. I hated it where I lived – I hated the people, the place so much. I wanted to live in either Colorado, Portland, or California. I decided on California and I wanted to work in the movies but decided I’m probably not going to get it. A lot of the money that you get from working in the movies is under the table, right? I’m not going to be able to buy a house, I won’t be able to buy anything so I’m just stuck here. But animal control is coming after full strength, so I’m like, “I gotta do it,” so I just jumped on it and just went – with a lot of dogs and cats cross-country. Anyone says they can’t do it, they can!
Silent Night Deadly Night will play at the Texas Theatre at 8:30pm in the parking lot with a brief Q&A outside and a signing inside to follow. 231 West Jefferson Blvd. Tickets available at TheTexasTheatre.com.
The Horror Christmas Market will take place from 12pm to 4pm at Frightmare Collectibles. The event is free but the stars will charge for autographs and photo ops. 17521 Matany Road, Building 6, Suite 6100 in Justin, Texas. For more info: www.FrightmareCollectibles.com.
Check out Linnea Quigley’s Scary Movie Biography Show from DRagonFlix here:
