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Convention Report - Kingdom by the Sea - Revisited - Orlando 99

by Becky Bain, with additional input by Kay Anderson

The best part of a convention is always meeting other fans, putting names to faces and vice versa. But this year, the second-best part - the formal parts of the festivities, were pretty darn good, too!

Friday began with the opening of the dealer's room… and it was hopping! You'd think there were only a dozen things to be bought and everyone else would have to do without!

Opening ceremonies took place a little later, and included a few musical numbers from Diane and Sylvia, who write the funniest parodies of popular songs! Like this one (they were passing out the words), sung to the tune of the Flintstones theme song:

Vincent! This is Vincent! He's the modern gothic beast for me! From under the bedrock He's a myth just full of mystery!

And it goes on... but really has to be heard to be appreciated.

Also at the opening ceremonies, they asked who was at a Con for the first time, and it was amazing how many hands were raised! There were people from as far away as Japan and Holland.

I missed Friday night's costume contest because I had to run to the airport (taking a wrong turn along the way) to pick up a late-arriving friend, but got back in time for the talent show, which was a lot of fun. Young Brooke Hardy honored us all by playing, with considerable skill, a piano piece she composed herself. It was almost as entertaining to see her up there directing Myhr, who as usual was MC'ing, and Stu Shef as they pushed and pulled the piano into just the right position! And then had to move it again to suit the cameraman who was filming the whole thing for posterity and the con video. Later, we got the Chesapeake Bay Area group and their kazoo band, playing selections mostly from Disney. Spit bibs were handed out to folks in the front row before they began playing. Gotta love folks with a sense of the ridiculous! They were a lot of fun. Other folks danced and sang, and Sue Haley performed an Alice Cooper song (in appropriate dress & makeup) in British Sign Language and was very good. Sue also led the participants in that day's Sign Language panel in a signed rendition of Tina Turner's "Simply the Best."

Partway through the talent show, David Schwartz arrived, with Edward Albert and Ron Perlman in tow! They didn't stay long, just stepped up on stage to say hi, and that they'd see us tomorrow, and then stood for a few minutes giving us an opportunity to take pictures. At this appearance, Ron looked like he has other times I've seen him - a little wary, a little uncomfortable. Other than that, he looked really good: lean, and with noticeable silver in his hair, which really suits him.

Following their departure, the show wound down and the day's festivities came to a close.

Saturday - Saturday was great. If you could only do one day of the con, Saturday was the day to go. The Q&A started at 10:30 with Jamie Murray, who talked a bit about how he creates his remarkable artwork. He passed around samples of the work in various stages and it totally flabbergasts me that he can put these elements together to create such fantastic pictures! The man has talent. Someone asked him if he'd ever consider going "pro" with the art, and he said no. He works at a Dallas area TV station (he's a cameraman, I think) and said that not only does he like to eat regularly, but that he thinks that if the art was his job, it wouldn't be fun anymore. Also, he says he's not good with deadlines.

He also warned the LA con that they may want to set up an "adults only" section of the art show next year to house a painting he's planning to do.

Linda Campanelli took the stage next and talked about writing, etc. Pursuant to a recent debate on a B&B Email mailing list, a friend and I did remember to ask her where the title "Walk Slowly" came from (after missing half of what was said earlier because we were wracking our brains trying to remember what it was that we were going to ask!). It's from the Adelaide Love poem of the same title ("If you should go before me, dear, walk slowly…"), and not a quote from Kahlil Gibran's 'Broken Wings' that goes, in part, "... when you pass by that cemetery near the pine forest, enter it silently and walk slowly so the tramping of your feet will not disturb the slumber of the dead…"

Linda was asked how she would have dealt with Linda H's leaving the show if it had been up to her, and said that, with the wisdom of hindsight, she thinks they'd have been better off if they'd just wrapped things up and given us a V&C happy ending and ended the show there.

David Schwartz took the stage then and talked about his current projects, which include producing, directing, and even a bit of writing. He told us how he was hired to work on the pilot of B&B - he was standing in line at the post office, and struck up a conversation with someone who knew someone. The next day, he got a phone call from his new friend asking him to go and meet with TPTB at Witt-Thomas, and the rest is history. He added that he has no idea who might hold the rights to a B&B movie now that Republic's been eaten by Blockbuster which was eaten by Spelling which was eaten by... whoever. Or however that series of transactions went.

Edward Albert came next, and if you've seen Edward before, you'll know he doesn't do Q&As so much as he does monologues. He has so much to tell us, and he just goes with it. We heard about him being in Red Square filming Ice Runner the day the tanks rolled in and the Soviet empire began to fall. He doubled as the stunt coordinator for that film, and said that all the Russian stuntmen referred to him as "papa". He also talked about filming in Siberia, and about being baptized into the Russian church in the Volga river, and realizing the priest, who didn't know his real name, was baptizing him by the name by which he was known on the set - "Peacemaker."

He talked about some Public Service Announcements he's producing for the California national parks system, and said the most valuable thing he takes away from the various projects he gets in on are the relationships he forms while filming. Toward the end of Edward's session, a lot of us started peeking at our watches, not because he was boring us, but because the Q&As were supposed to end at 1:00. 1:15 came and went. So did 1:30. At 1:45, I was getting twitchy. Finally, David Schwartz came in to the back of the room and starting giving Eddie signals to wrap things up. "Are you telling me to shut up?" Edward asked, joking. "I would never tell you to shut up," David answered... and then told him again to wrap it up. Edward talked a bit more (he really is fascinating to listen to!) and then yielded the stage to David, who introduced Ron Perlman. Ron came in from the back of the room just as the others had done, and walked up the center aisle of what was really a very small main events room - with 200 people in it, it was pretty packed! Anyone who saw Ron at South of Oz will remember how stiff and wary he was, how he hesitated before answering each question, as if formulating a careful answer. Well, the Ron we saw on Saturday afternoon was totally different! He was relaxed, he was joking - about ten minutes in, he looked back at Edward, who had taken a seat in the very back row to listen in, and said, "Hey, now I know why you like this so much!" He just seemed very much at ease.

After about 45 minutes of Q&A, David S. said something about, "Let me ask the last, second-to-last question," obviously intending to put a stop to things. Ron said, "No, we can stay, we've got time." And stayed maybe another half hour, answering questions, telling stories, doing imitations.Of which the best was him imitating Linda H. the first time she saw him in full Vincent costume and makeup... hip cocked out and a long, appraising look up and down. Apparently she really liked what she saw.

He said he'd had lunch with Ron Koslow recently - apparently their birthdays are only a few days apart and one or the other always calls around that time, and Koslow always says, "Let's get a meal!" and so they do. And he says that every time, the subject of a movie or mini-series comes up. He says he'd love to reprise his role as Vincent.

He talked about filming the Island of Dr. Moreau, which he did with contacts in his eyes that made him blind, because he wanted the character to be blind, and went on to tell about filming with Marlon Brando, who he says is his own personal icon as far as acting goes. Seems they filmed the scene for five days, with Ron having to be placed on his marks because he couldn't see to find them on his own, and then Brando being called and having to push past Ron to get to his own place... and Ron not being able to step politely out of the way because then he wouldn't be able to find his way back! He says it was Day 5 before Brando twigged that Ron couldn't see, and did a great imitation of Brando going, "Are you playing this blind? That's great! That's brilliant! Why didn't you tell me? We have to shoot the whole scene again, I'd have played it totally different if I'dknown!" Or words to that effect. Someone asked if he'd kept anything from any of his past projects, and he said he deliberately kept two things, although he has no idea where they are right now... one was the bones/sticks they used to dress his character's hair in Quest for Fire, and the other was the very last mask he wore as Vincent.

He finally stopped talking only because if he hadn't, they never would have gotten done with autographs in time for us to eat! As it was, the celebrity t-shirt decorating panel (you pay a fee and get to decorate t-shirts with some of the celebrities - I think David S and Myhr were going to participate this year) had to be cancelled, and the start of the banquet pushed back a half-hour. But hey, we didn't care.

Somewhere along the way, Ron got a chance to stroll through the art show, and also stepped into the dealer's room for a look around.

The banquet started fashionably late, but Lyn, bless her heart, made up for it by having them serve the salads as soon as we were all seated, and going ahead with the main course immediately afterwards, so we pretty much ate while the entertainment was going on.

The head table in this case was a very large square table in the center of the room, with two ranks of round tables along three sides, and the stage occupying the fourth side of the room. Our table happened to be placed opposite the stage, right near the corner of the head table where Ron was seated. All the celebrities were seated along that side of the head table, but Ron was at the end, closest to us.

The opening ceremony was very nice, if a bit long, each of the five guests reading parts of what I'm told was the fairy tale that Sue Glasgow read (wrote?) as the storyteller at South of Oz. Edward was third or fourth to read and delayed his reading long enough to ask for a moment of silence in remembrance of his friend, John Kennedy. You could have heard a pin drop, and many of us were moved to tears.

The readings were followed by excerpts of dialogue from the show and selections from the OLAH album. As the readings continued, Lyn, with lit taper in hand, went from table to table lighting one candle at each. The light was shared around the table from person to person and when everyone's candle was lit, there was a pause in the readings while all candles were raised.

With the ceremonies over, Diane and Sylvia took the stage to sing. They usually perform at the opening and closing ceremonies, but since Ron wasn't going to be there on Sunday, they sang the songs dedicated to him at the banquet. The one I remember was based on the song "You Made Me Love You." It started out, "Dear Mr. Perlman," and went along the lines of the kind of fan letter someone who doesn't clearly differentiate between actor and character might write and was so funny! The chorus, of course, used the original words: "You made me love you..." Ron was so struck by this that as soon as it was over, he jumped up and hurried up to the stage. There was a spotlight on the performers, of course, and so Sylvia and Diane had no idea he was on his way until he jumped up onto the stage to hug them! As they came down from the stage, they gave Ron a cassette containing the songs dedicated to him and he responded with more hugging.

The singing was followed by music videos - the second of which brought me, at least, to tears just because Julie and Phil Smith of Novtek fame (Novtek has done the con videos for most of the past eight or nine years, I think) dedicated it to their baby daughter, who was stillborn in April. The song was VALENTINE, sung by Martina McBride.

This was followed by a request for the video cameras to be turned off. The Novtek folks, I noticed, immediately turned their lenses up to the ceiling and walked away.

And then they showed those outtakes that they've been telling us for years didn't exist. It started with a take of Catherine in COI, telling Father that she wondered if she'd been reckless. We heard Roy's voice giving Father's line, although we never saw him, then Linda walked past the camera and did her lines. When the director said "cut," she walked back, saying something about, "I want to do it one more time," before the film stopped. It resumed on the same scene, presumably the next take, and before they start you can hear Linda saying, "I'm going to say something different at the beginning, to make it clearer," before Roy gives Father's line again. The only difference I noticed in the dialogue was that the first time, she said what I remember the line being in the actual ep, "A part of me shares that with him." In the second take we saw, she said instead, "A part of me shares that responsibility." Otherwise, the gestures, the looks, were pretty much identical in both takes, which I found interesting. After the cut this time, Linda walked off saying, "Would you print that..." and it cut off in mid word. We went to shots of Vincent on Catherine's balcony, breaking down her doors, breaking the mirror and flinging Dylan Thomas over the balcony (where we could hear it land amazingly soon!), all from TRIS. After one shot of Vincent snarling his own image in the mirror, Ron looked straight at the camera and grimaced (or grinned), showing all his teeth! That got the first big reaction, a laugh, from the spellbound audience. (And watching these scenes en masse was way more fun than getting hold of a video and watching them at home would have been!)

The bits I found interesting there were Ron lying on his back in Catherine's living room (from TRIS) saying in his own voice, "Is my knee in your way?" and then "Just lean anywhere," only seconds before the director said "action" and he started moaning and flinging his head around. And Linda kneeling, looking concerned, then seeming to recede (as I recall, this was Vincent's delirious POV, the receding part of the delirium, in the actual ep), and then the camera dropped to reveal her kneeling on a low wheeled cart, her hands braced on what looked like a blue folded packing blanket.

And again from TRIS, a scene with Vincent's head in Catherine's lap that started with Linda saying her knee should be up as she raised it, and then you can hear the continuity guy telling Ron to put his right arm up (and he does). And then the director says "action" and the transformation takes place. Amazing how they do that.

Then we went to scenes from the Watcher. Vincent on Catherine's balcony as she invites him inside (her heels on what sounded like a plywood floor went "clomp, clomp" as she crossed Catherine's dining room!), the director saying "ring" and a woman's voice (=not= Linda's at this point) giving C's answering machine message and going on to say "It's Jenny!". Catherine going to answer the phone - I think Linda truncated the conversation with Jenny, she wasn't there long enough for the whole thing, but you can hear her say, "Go back to sleep, Jen," before she comes back to the balcony door, clomping all the way. Again the director saying, "ring" and her going back to answer again. The camera stayed with Vincent as he turned and went to the balcony wall, but you can see Catherine behind him talking, turning in alarm, slamming the phone down and running out to tell him to get off the balcony before retreating inside and shutting the doors. This was all one long shot, not separate bits, all from one camera positioned out on the balcony.

Then we went to another Watcher scene, Joe and Catherine getting off the elevator after she's been rescued. The director gives cues - "floors," then "doors" (and the elevator doors open). This may be the shot actually used in the episode; Jay looks exactly like he did in the ep, leaning back against the back wall, one ankle crossed over the leg he's standing on, with Linda beside him, Vincent's cloak draped over her arm. They come out, walking toward the camera, then turn a corner toward Catherine's apartment door. (This part wasn't in the episode!) The director says "Jenny" and Jenny comes out of Catherine's door to hug her and say how glad she is that C's all right, adding, "The super said I could wait here." When that scene was cut, the video went back to the same opening shot, the closed elevator doors. This time, the director said "numbers" instead of "floors" (which is when I figured out he hadn't said "doors" the first time and then had to repeat it! He must have been cueing the lighted numbers that show the floors) and then "doors"...and the doors parted to reveal Jay and Linda with their arms around each other, kissing passionately! The crew broke up laughing, and Jay and Linda came reeling out of the elevator laughing. Linda was laughing so hard she could hardly walk. That was cute.

There was also footage in there somewhere of the park, when the Watcher (whose face we finally got to see!) shuts Catherine in the trunk. First we got the shot of Catherine looking dazed while the Watcher makes his speech about how he's always liked it there (at the park) and now she'll be there and he can visit her, and he slams down the trunk lid. The lid didn't stay down more than two or three seconds, and when it popped up again, there was Linda, looking alert and saying, "that was the best one." That was followed by a shot from C's POV inside the trunk, looking up at the Watcher while he gave the same speech - his sort of sweet expression turned startlingly savage right at the end, as he slammed the trunk lid.

The "Watcher" scenes ended with a couple of takes of Catherine rushing to Vincent on the balcony at the end - the "hold me tighter" bit. One time, Linda hit Ron a bit too vigorously, and he had to step back and said, in his own voice, "Whoa!" She turned around, grinning, and went back to try it again. The other takes went pretty much the way we saw them in the episode... except that the hug went on for a while, and you could hear both of them breathing very heavily! I noticed, too, that Linda was up on her tiptoes during the hugs, which I thought was interesting.

The next scenes were from A Happy Life. We started with Catherine's dream of herself and Vincent in the park, on a blanket in the sunshine. In the episode, you'll recall, she leans toward Vincent for a kiss, then opens her eyes to find she's about to kiss Rebecca's brother Buddy, with Vincent in the background, walking away. This was the scene with Catherine and Vincent. She gave her speech about being happy and said how much she loved him, and they leaned in for the kiss. When they were about an inch apart, the director said "cut!" and everyone in the banquet hall groaned in dismay. Both actors sort of hovered there for a couple of seconds... and then Ron leaned forward that tiny little bit and gave Linda a sweet kiss on the lips. The banquet crowd roared.

The next scene was Central Park at night, with Catherine pelting across the grass at a run. I think we all were expecting to see the scene we've come to refer to as "Bowling for Vincent," but no. Ron staggered back maybe half a step when she hit him, but remained upright, and they did all the dialogue... and then moved into a kiss. And not just a kiss, but a hungry, passionate one! (This must be what Howard Gordon was thinking of when he told an interviewer that there was footage of them "kissing like Gable and Lombard.") Wow. It's a wonder we didn't blow the roof off the banquet hall. And there, on the perfect note, the video of outtakes ended.

After the whooping and hollering was over, we moved on to the closing ceremony, which was more clips of dialogue from the episodes and selections from OLAH, and was again, IMHO, a bit too long. We took a short break after that. A friend and I slipped out to our room to change (I can only wear dress-up clothes for so long!). When we got back, we learned Ron had used the intervening time to pose for pictures with fans. Lots of pictures and lots of fans. >From what was said, I have the impression that he didn't feel pressured or uneasy. I saw him pose for a few photos throughout the evening, and he always did seem relaxed and willing.

David Schwartz is the usual charity auction auctioneer, and this year was no exception. He started things off by saying that they had a =lot= of items to sell this year, and offered a bribe - if we all stayed 'til the end, they'd show the video again. We stayed.

The auction was fun. David has apparently been staying at Ron's house because he's been in L.A. a lot recently (he lives in San Francisco), and he claimed to have appropriated a number of items from Ron's office and closet which were offered at auction. Ron played along from his place at the head table. David would hold up an item and say, "I stole this from Ron's house," and Ron would say, "Hey! Where'd you get that? I want that back!" We're pretty sure it was all an act, though, because a number of the items supposedly "stolen" were already autographed when Jamie Murray, who was acting as runner, brought them around.

Ron was very gracious about personalizing already autographed items, and about signing things that either hadn't originated in his closet, or hadn't been signed earlier. I heard him invite two ladies, who were patiently standing, waiting for their turns at signatures, to "have a seat," when the auction proceedings temporarily required his attention. After that, pretty much everyone sat in the same two chairs, but everyone I saw - and I had an unobstructed view from about 15 feet away - was very polite.

One young lady did approach him partway through the evening and take his hand without so much as a by-your-leave that =I= saw, and started reading his palm, but that didn't seem to disturb him much. (Of course by then, he'd downed a couple of pinkish-reddish colored drinks and was even =more= relaxed!) David tried to call him up on stage at that point (I don't know whether he saw what was happening and was attempting a rescue or it was just coincidence) and Ron demurred loudly, saying, "I can't, I'm getting my palm read!" All while lounging back in his chair, his arm flung out to make the palm available for reading.

Among the items auctioned was Linda H.'s crew jacket from T2. Jay Acovone's B&B crew jacket was there, too. There was a sealed bid on that item, offering $1500 if Ron would model it, and he went right up and put it on. It looked a little small on him, but he walked around the stage until it was determined that no one else was going to bid on it. He went up a little later to model a long hooded cloak that was part of one of William's costumes. A potential bidder wanted to feel the material and he acted astonished, saying, "Hey, no touching!" but then coaxed her behind the big pull-down movie/video screen. David went with them and there was a lot of commotion back there before the woman came scurrying out... with Ron crawling behind her on his hands and knees. I have no clue what that was all about, but all concerned seemed to be having a good time.

Edward Albert, who'd been offering bids of $51 all night (didn't matter to him whether the current bid was lower or higher than that, he bid $51 regardless) but who didn't take his usual place on the stage as co-auctioneer, left early. Paulette Edwards, who runs his fan club, said later that he was simply so broken up by the apparent (at that time) death of his friend John Kennedy that he couldn't stay.

Which reminds me, earlier during the banquet, Edward delivered a really dramatic and heartfelt rendition of Shakespeare's 29th Sonnet. You know, the one that starts, "When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes..." There was, I think, a lot of pain in that performance.

They had way too many items to auction off in the time allotted, even though Lyn's decision to let us eat during the opening ceremonies had gotten us almost back on track, schedule-wise, so about 1:00 am, David said, "Hey, how much would you guys pay to see that video again, right now?" The sum of $1 per person was quickly agreed upon and you never saw dollar bills appear so fast! The tape was cued up, the lights were dimmed... and we watched the whole thing again. David, meanwhile, crept around and picked up the money we'd piled on the tables.

By then, it was way late, and they decided to continue the auction in the morning, after the celebrity brunch. Which was postponed by a half-hour, probably to give us a little more time to sleep!

Ron, of course, had to leave the next morning, so he took the stage long enough to thank us for having him and say goodbye.

Sunday began with the new tradition of a celebrity brunch. The food was only decent, but the entertainment was outstanding. Sylvia and Diane sang again, this time with songs dedicated to Jamie Murray (who wasn't there because Myhr was in full catface), Linda Campanelli (all I remember is her name, over and over, to the tune of "Gary, Indiana" from The Music Man), Edward, and David. They must have stayed up late into the night writing lyrics, since one song also made reference to the outtakes. And at some point we segued into a brief Q&A type thing.

Someone brought up the subject of that last AHL kiss we'd seen in the outtakes, and said something I'd already been thinking. That she understood now why they didn't go ahead and show that kiss, instead of the spirit-kiss we ended up with. And the more I think about it, the more I have to agree. If AHL and first season had ended with =that= kiss... the second season would have had to be a much different show! And I can understand why they didn't want to be going that fast. Even Vincent couldn't have mistaken what Catherine was telling him with that kiss, and I didn't seen any sign of him being hesitant or uncertain, either. That kiss demanded progress in the relationship, and it demanded it =now=.

I talked to other people on Sunday who said the same thing - that now, finally, they understood the decision not to go with the filmed kiss.

David S. answered by saying that Ron K had pulled up to where they were shooting in Griffith Park at about 1:30 in the morning to say that he'd been told that some of the higher-ups were uneasy about the idea of Vincent and Catherine kissing - the bestiality thing, I think, although my memory's not totally clear on this point. David said the filming came to a complete stop for about an hour and a half while he and Ron K and Ron P and Linda and the director (wasn't that one directed by Victor Lobl?) met in, um, someone's trailer, Ron P's, I think, and talked about it. And he said that Ron and Linda decided they weren't going to give them anything "to cut". I think he meant they weren't going to give the kind of kiss the network apparently wanted to see. This would tie in with Ron K's comment at A Distant Shore in 1995, that the kisses they ended up with on film weren't magical enough.

Magical? No. Try earthy.

Finally they started the charity auction again.

Edward had brought a copy of "The Eddie Albert Album" - something his father had recorded way back when - well, when Edward was just a boy. Edward and his mother were on the album cover with his dad and he looked maybe thirteen or fourteen. It wasn't signed, but he said he did a fair imitation of his dad's signature, so no one would know. It went, I believe, for $200, and prompted Edward to say he plans to ask his dad, who's 93 this year (and spends a couple hours a day working on his website, then works on his autobiography, and who has four girlfriends, all this according to his son) to come to next year's con, health permitting.

Paulette Edwards had unearthed a movie poster for Edward's film Forty Carats and another poster for Butterflies are Free and they went for a couple of hundred dollars each, too, I think.

A framed photo of Vincent and Catherine, with signed cards from both actors matted below the photo was also sold, and prompted David to say that he's seen a few things on the Internet (he may have actually mentioned eBay, but I'm not positive) that are purportedly signed by Linda... but which aren't, and urged us all to take a good look at this signature so we'd know what a genuine autograph looked like! So if you're out there buying, be careful! Partway through the auction, David brought up the outtake video again, and asked how much we'd be willing to pay =this= time to see it! We decided on $2 a head, and again dollar bills flew. And many of us didn't bother to make change for larger bills this time. I know they got nearly $30 from our table of seven or eight. When the money was collected, David said, "Someone went to the room to get the video." He paused, and then added, "I hope she took an armed guard!" which made us laugh.

When the video arrived, we watched it yet again (this is why I remember so much detail - and it was on this viewing that I noticed that during the AHL picnic scene in the park, when Ron leaned over after the director called "cut" and kissed her, Linda kissed him back. Sweet. It's also when I noticed she was up on her toes during the "hold me tighter" hugs on the balcony in the Watcher.

Shortly after that, we retired to the dealer's room to open the table. I didn't attend the rest of the charity auction or the art auction either, but I did get to closing ceremonies which were quite nice. It's obviously been a long time since I've attended closing ceremonies, I had no idea it was traditional to "pass the candle" to the group organizing the next con!

It was a lovely con, and many thanks are due to Steven's mommy Lyn for all her very hard work to make it happen! And to Steven for helping her with it.

Forthcoming 1999 Orlando Convention

From Lyn Musacchio, chair of the 1999 B&B convention in Orlando, a convention update:

FROM THE CONVENTION PIPES

There will be an all-you-can-eat pizza party at the conclusion of the convention to be held at the hotel. The party is tentatively planned to be held from 6:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. on Sunday night. The price is $6.99.

Also, we are selling advertising space in the convention fanzine; 1/4 of a page is $25.00, 1/2 of a page is $50.00 and a full page advertisement is $75.00. This is a way to help curtail costs of the fanzine and is a great way to help you to promote your merchandise. So please consider advertising in the con zine.

For both the pizza party and for advertising in the zine, payment is to be sent to me. Make check or money order out to "A Kingdom by the Sea -- Revisited." Send your advertisement to Trish Kehoe at 101 Prospect Street, Apt. 102, Waltham, MA 02453-8535.

Don't forget for those of you who have not registered yet, I have just started another promotion for the convention. New registrations received by April 15, 1999, will be placed in a drawing. One lucky registrant will receive one free hotel night during their convention stay at the Holiday Inn International Resort for the 99 con.

I just want to remind everyone that the block of rooms that are being held for the convention is for Wednesday, July 14, through Sunday, July 28.
These rooms are reserved for our convention. The three days before and the three days after these dates the hotel gives the convention rate to us which is $92.00 but these days are not being reserved for us and are not part of our block and are on a first come first serve basis. So keep this in mind when you make your reservation. And keep in mind that summer is a very busy time in Florida so it is best to make your reservations soon if you plan on staying a longer time in Florida.

Talk with you all soon.Goodbye for now, Lyn

From Nan Dibble's update - 21st March 1999

The dates for the 1999 Beauty and the Beast convention, "A Kingdom by the Sea--Revisited," are July 16 through July 18, 1999 at the Holiday Inn International Drive Resort in Orlando Florida.

For registration ($85), send to: Lyn Musacchio, 873 North Lake Claire Circle, Oviedo, FL 32765. You can also contact Lyn by clicking here. If getting an answer is urgent (few things are THAT urgent!) you can reach Lyn by phone at 407/359-5814. Click here for the convention website.

From Nan Dibble's 11th April Update...

From Lyn Musacchio:
The 1999 Beauty and the Beast Convention, A Kingdom By The Sea, Revisited, is less than four months away and there are many things happening that will make this a convention to remember. Some events will be familiar whereas others have never been done before and some will have a new twist.

One of the new events will be a Welcoming Party planned for Thursday night running from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. The event that will have a new twist is the Celebrity Sunday Brunch. I am planning an activity that will be involving the celebrities and a participation game with prizes for the attendees! To find out more you'll just have to sign up and be included in the fun. I don't think you will be disappointed. Also, an all-you-can-eat pizza party is planned for Sunday night following the convention at the hotel from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The cost is $6.99 per person. Make your check payable to the convention and send your payment to me. My address is 873 North Lake Claire Circle, Oviedo, FL 32765.

The emphasis is romance at this years Saturday night banquet where you will be swept back in time to Vincent's and Catherine's first Winterfest with candlelight, soft music, and ahh so much more.... There will be so many tantalizing delights in the dealer room that you won't know where to begin, but don't leave until you have seen all the wonderful donations that have been given to me for the "Table of Hidden Treasures" including many fanzines, t-shirts, and posters. Many artists will be showing off their talents in this years art room. Clare Sieffert, Jamie Murray, Sandy C. Shelton, Sandy Tew will all have art at the convention, just to name a few. one new item in the art room this year will be the "Wall of Hidden Treasures" which will showcase artists from the past that are no longer active members in B&B fandom, such artists as Barbara Gibson, Beth Blighton, and Rita Terrill. Proceeds from the sale of the "Table of Hidden Treasures" and "Wall of Hidden Treasures" will go to the charity, the American Cancer Society.

This year's Celebrity Auction will be an exciting place to be. The LA Group has donated young Lisa's dancing outfit and one of William's coats. I also have a Gallo pewter limited edition statue of Vincent. It stands on a wooden base and is signed and numbered and the Gallo pewter loving cups of Vincent and Catherine. Both of these were very popular items when they first were made available to fandom in the early 90's. I have two Starlog magazines one with Vincent on the cover and the other one with an article about Edward Albert.

I am working on getting us a discount on the transportation to and from the hotel. I will announce this at a later date.

Finally, we will enjoy sharing this year's convention with the celebrity talents of Edward Albert, David Schwartz, Linda Campanelli and Myhr.

See you in July. Goodbye for now, Lyn Musacchio Chairperson e-mail or web site.

Further details from a more recent update:

A special extended stay is offered for people who would like to "Stay ALittle Longer" after the convention concludes:

MONDAY JULY 19, 1999 TOURS
DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM is a theme park about animals -- wild animals. Explore every corner of the Park and you will discover creatures in all shapes and sizes. From the Kilimanjaro Safari where you climb aboard an open-air safari vehicle for an exciting expedition, where African animals freely roam through acres of savanna rivers and rocky hills. Search Asia's Maharajah Jungle Trek where you can explore the Anandapur Royal Forest and hunting lodge, home to exotic creatures such as the giant fruit bats, tigers and colorful Asian Birds. Wander through the gardens where you may encounter a Komodo dragon. Or journey through a beautiful tropical rainforest before being plunged into rapids that will leave you soaking wet!! And lets not forget Dinoland USA. The worlds fascination with dinosaurs is celebrated in this wacky "fossil park". Dodge dangerous dinosaurs and face the furry of flaming meteorites as you journey back 65 million years to save the last dinosaur in "Countdown to Extinction" attraction.
OR
DISNEY'S MGM STUDIO where show business takes center stage -- Relive classic Hollywood moments on the "Great Movie Ride," such as 'Singing In The Rain,' 'Wizard of Oz,' "Tarzan,' 'Alien,' and 'Raiders of the Lost Ark.' Catch a backstage glimpse of an exciting special effects water scene, then take a backlot walking tour where you'll see such props as the Armadillo vehicle from the blockbuster movie Armageddon. Or go behind the scenes and see a real television production. You can also enjoy live performance shows such as Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid, and Hunchback of Notre Dame. Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular is something you want to save time for and Twilight Zone, Tower of terror where a runaway elevator drops you 13 stories will leave you shaking in your seat. The cost for either Disney theme park is $65.00 per person which includes round trip transportation and admission cost to the park of your choice. The bus departs for the theme parks at 9:00 a.m. and will be returning at 4:00 p.m.

TUESDAY JULY 20, 1999 DAY TOUR
DOWNTOWN DISNEY -- is a fantastic shopping complex where you can spend a day shopping until your hearts content. There is something for everyone. You can buy a variety of items from children's clothes and toys to adult clothing and items for your home or hobby. There are many shops such as Pooh Corner where they have Pooh clothes, toys and more for the whole family; Disney At Home sells innovative and unique items for the bedroom and bath, and at Eurospain you will find Crystal collectibles and artisan demonstrations and custom engraving. The newest and biggest Disney shop on earth, the World of Disney have twelve huge rooms based on Disney classics which showcase a mountain of plush toys, infant wear, gourmet items, jewelry and Disney gifts. If you are looking for quality women's clothing, Resortwear Unlimited is the place to go. Harrington Bay Clothiers has men's casual resort apparel by Polo, Calvin Kein, Tommy Hilfinger, and more.
The Gourmet Pantry sells a full variety of fascinating culinary gadgets, cookbooks and wines. Disney's Days of Christmas makes everyday seem like Christmas with its year-round enchantment with character and personalized items collectibles ornaments and embroidered gifts. These are just some of the shops that are featured at the shopping complex. The cost of this tour is $17.50 which includes roundtrip transportation. The bus will depart for Downtown Disney at 9:00 a.m. and will return at 3:00 p.m.
Please note that tours will run only if there are 20 participants.

TUESDAY, JULY 20TH NIGHT TOUR
KING HENRY'S FEAST -- a banquet and variety show. You'll dine in a magnificent Great Hall with the spectacle of dueling knights, masterful magician, and the dazzling performers appearing on center stage. Pretty wenches sing and serve up a bountiful four course banquet. Tankards of beer, wine, and coca-coca included. Two hours of bigger-than-life entertainment and hilarious comedy for the family. The cost for this tour is $38.00 per person which includes round trip transportation. The bus will depart the hotel at 6:00 p.m. and will return after the dinner show.

For more information and a registration form, visit the official "A Kingdom by the Sea Revisited" website at or snail mail: Lyn Musacchio, 873 North Lake Claire Circle, Oviedo, FL 32765.
Email: lyn.musacchio@mci2000.com

Edward Albert and Linda Campinelli at July 1999 Orlando Convention

This message was obtained from Nan Dibble's Hotline dated 19th October 1998
Nan received this Via Jackie Hunt, who she thanked, Lyn Musacchio's newest convention update:

Fellow Tunnel Dwellers:

I am pleased to make a really BIG announcement: Edward Albert will attend the 1999 Beauty and the Beast Convention (subject to his availability in July).

I talked with Edward's fan agent, Paulette Edwards, who told me that even though he is a busy actor both she and Edward are really looking forward to this convention and will make every effort to come since this will be the first convention he will have attended since 1995. He is especially looking forward to having the opportunity in Orlando to interact with the fans again!

With this development, I have decided to extend the current promotion that I have been offering to end on December 31, instead of the original date of November 15. Anyone who registers now until December 31, will be placed in a drawing. Two lucky registrants will each win a $25.00 certificate to be used in the Dealer's Room courtesy of the convention. Since the dealer's room is nearly full, there should be many goodies to buy with your certificate.

As good things come in threes, I am announcing a special offer, the $10.00 discount that I ran earlier in the year is available again until December 31. The cost of a registration in now $75.00 until December 31.

Okay, everyone, this is the time to register. These offers will not come along again, so dig deep into your pockets and send in your registration today.

Goodbye for now, Lyn Musacchio

Also, this message posted on Nan Dibble's Hotline onf 15th November 1998:

From Lyn Musacchio
FROM THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 99 CONVENTION PIPES--November 1998

"I am happy to announce that along with Edward Albert, Linda Campanelli will be attending the 1999 Beauty and the Beast Convention. She is co-sponsored by CABB (Classic Alliance of Beauty and the Beast). Along with her partner at the time, Linda wrote some of the episodes we enjoyed so much, such stories as "The Watcher" and "Gentle Rain". I'm sure she will have many delicious stories to share with us.

Trish Kehoe, our fanzine committee head, has informed me that we need stories for the convention zine. I know that there are many talented and creative people out there. Please help us to make this the best convention fanzine possible. If you would like more information or the fanzine guidelines, please contact me at my e-mail address, or Trish Kehoe at her new e-mail.