LMC: Many of us were sad to hear you weren’t running it this year.  Hopefully next year you two will come back in full force.

LL:  Hopefully

LMC: Tell us about the new cable show?

LL:  It’s something I think David was born for.  It’s called THE LATE DR LADY SHOW, because it stars the late DR LADY and because it’s on late, 10:00 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday nights.  By now the first five episodes have aired.  David introduces the movie from one of the rooms of Horror Hotel and then, during the breaks, there are skits with ‘Wolfie’, ‘Ilean’, myself, and various other friends and revenants.  He also does interviews with other haunters or anybody else who has something to promote in the area.  He’ll also show some of the old skits from our L.A. days.  It’s only local cable right now, but I’m sure that within a couple more episodes some major network will want to pick it up and I can quit my day job.

LMC: Where does the line start to get autographs from you famous movie and TV stars?

LL: Oh, you can stand over there right by Johnny Depp.  That poor boy is always writing me, begging for autographs and some little personal item so he can pretend he knows me.  It’s sad, really.

LMC: Have you seen mask collecting evolve over the years?

LL: Well, I personally have seen it go from about 16 Don Post masks on David’s bedroom shelves (pre-Laura days) to 2 entire walls of our L.A. apartment to 16 rooms of masks and full-size monsters in our Chatfield, Ohio home.  I can only assume it is exactly the same for any mask collector.  Isn’t it?

LMC: Talk about the mask community itself, the people in that community?                     

LL: All the mask collectors I know are really fun people, but you might guess that anyway because they collect something fun.  A mask can either be on display on a shelf like a fine Ming vase, or you can put it up in the attic window with a shredded bedsheet and a fan and scare the beejeezus out of the neighbors.  And then of course there’s dress-up!

LMC: What type of masks do you prefer to collect?

LL:  Mostly, beautiful masks.  Like the Jean Marais ‘Beast’ or Maria the robot from ‘Metropolis’ or Edward Scissorhands.

LMC: What are some of your favorite pieces in your collection?

LL: The same ones I just named.

LMC: Any  masks out there you’d really like to have?

LL:  I don’t usually have time to “want” a mask… By the time I know it exists, David has already gotten one.

LMC: Any mask artists that make you stand up and cheer when something new comes from their hand?

LL: Well, Henry Alvarez and Carol Hicks top my list of faves.  But there are really a lot of wonderful artists who do come up with masks I must have, and new people joining the scene all the time.  I stand up and cheer when someone who has been collecting for a long time finally gets up the nerve to try sculpting something.  Hey, don’t dream it, sculpt it!

LMC: You’ve sculpted some masks yourself in the past.  Any plans for new stuff?

LL: I wish… If only I can find the time

LMC: Do you enjoy sculpting?

LL: I do like to sculpt, but the day job just takes up so much time that I seldom get a chance to do it.

LMC: Do you paint?

LL: No.  I want to, but I haven’t gotten one of those Round Tuits.

LMC: How did you become THE hair lady for the mask world?

LL: Nobody else wants to do it!

LMC: A lot of artists don’t like to do hair work.  What do you find enjoyable about it?

LL: That’s hard to explain.  So I won’t.

LMC: What hair jobs just make you shriek in fear?

LL: I haven’t really shrieked in fear yet.  But sometimes I swear in frustration.  That Gary Oldman “old man” Dracula, with the cinnamon buns on top and the braid down the back?… I could definitely not hair one of those with the Pastor in the room.

LMC: Can you give any tips on choosing different types of hair?  Why would you use one type and not another?

LL: It depends on the hairstyle and the character.  If it’s going to be short and curly or just messy, then crepe hair is good.  Crepe hair also sticks to the mask and stays in place better than other kinds.  But for someone like the Chaney Wolfman, human hair is going to look bristlier, more natural for him.  If it’s a female character who has a hairdo that looks pretty much like a wig, why not just use a wig?  I’d love to use more NHT hair, but it’s so hard to get.  I love to find new sources and new types of hair so I can do a wider variety of nice realistic hair jobs.

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