When I met Yvette Mimieux in 1985 on the set of BERRENGER'S, I thought she was much older than me because I still remembered being moved by her performance in WHERE THE BOYS ARE in 1960 when I was 18 and she was already a movie star. But her obituaries say she was 80, as I will be in a few months, so we were actually contemporaries.
She was the star power for BERRENGER'S and my character, a bad guy sweat shop owner in the fashion industry, was a bit part on the first episode that became a recurring role on every episode of the short lived series (a victim of a network vs studio feud). But it was a great time for me. Shot mostly on a soundstage at MGM (though my sweatshop scenes were in a downtown LA garment manufacturer's loft) the thrill of being waved through the MGM gates and into a studio lot with my own parking space evoked every Hollywood film I'd ever seen with scenes of actors trying to crash some studio's gates.
And for at least one season, my name was in TV Guide every week, I was nominated for best newcomer by some primetime soaps fan magazine, and was asked for signed headshots that were mounted along with others behind the meat counter at Mrs. Gootch's and my local dry cleaners, and had paparazzi flashing cameras at me outside Hollywood hotspots. And I got to work with a great cast, some of whom became dear friends.
I didn't have any scenes with Mimieux, but we talked a few times and I, along with everyone else who worked on the show, received a gift from her when it was cancelled. She was always gracious and warm and unpretentious and beautiful and somehow modestly glamorous. I feel humbled and honored to have known her. Condolences to her family, friends, and fans.
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