Lauren Holly Would Be My Valentine

Who better to be featured on Valentine's Day than Lauren Holly, one of my long time crushes.  Just look how happy I am in that picture.

I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Holly at Wizard World Chicago 2012.  Thanks to the persistance of Matt Parker and despite the unintentional interference by Luke Perry, I was able to talk to Holly for a few minutes.  That interview can be found at On the Beat With Lauren Holly.

I had been a fan of Holly's since her days on tv's All My Children.  I was excited simply to meet her, but I was not going to pass on the chance to interview her.  Things got a little tricky when there was no time set.  Then when our opening came, booth neighbor Luke Perry started talking to her.  I will forever thank and appreciate Matt for sticking with it and almost forcing the issue.  While it was a bit of a wait and sometimes uncomfortable, in the end I got one of my favorite interviews from one of my favorite stars.

Lauren Holly and me in Rosemont, IL-August 2012.

Remembering Lauren Holly at Wizard World

With Wizard World taking place this weekend, I have been thinking about all of the great times I have had at this huge convention.  Right at the top of that list has to be meeting, interviewing and talking to Lauren Holly.
Lauren is definitely on my Mount Rushmore of celebrity crushes.  Although the interview took a little work, it all turned out great and Lauren was super about everything.
Meeting someone as special as Lauren is always cool just by itself.  Add an interview and some one-on-one conversation and the event truly becomes memorable.  Last and not least, Lauren could not have been nicer.  This will forever be one of my favorite moments.
I am sure this Wizard World will produce some great and fun moments.  I look forward to the experience.  Still, I know it will be very tough to top my time with Lauren.
Thank you Lauren, Jerry Milani (PR guy at Wizard World) and Matt Parker for all pitching in to make this happen!

Lauren Holly and me in Schaumburg, IL-August 2012.

Darn You Luke Perry!

I had a major crush on Lauren Holly during her time on All My Children in the late 80's.  Okay, I have had a major crush on Lauren Holly since her time on All My Children in the late 80's.  She would probably make my Mount Rushmore of famous crushes.
At Wizard World, I was fortunate enough to be confirmed for a short interview with Lauren.  As usually happens at these conventions, Lauren was very busy and the interview got delayed.  Then it got delayed again.  I was determined to get it (and Contributor Extraordinaire Matt Parker was determined to get it for me).
At one point, Lauren said to come back when her line died down.  Matt and I camped out about 20 feet from her booth (not too close, but close enough to seize the right moment).
After about 10 minutes, there was only one person left in line and no stragglers headed in Lauren's direction. Matt and I made our move, only to have Luke Perry beat us to her.
Darn you Perry!
Perry had the booth next to hers and apparently had nobody at his booth, so he took the opportunity (my opportunity) to scootch over and start chatting with the lovely Lauren.
Darn you Perry!
After a few minutes (during which I was tempted to pay someone to go to Perry's booth to get him away), Perry finally returned to his booth and my moment arrived.  Lauren was very pleasant and apologized for the continual delays.  In turn, I apologized for my potential paparazzi-like behavior.  I simply stated that I was a huge fan and did not want to let this great opportunity go.
As promised, I kept the interview short.  All the while, I kept thinking "wow, I am interviewing Lauren Holly."  Yes, it really does happen like that.
I wrapped up in about 3 minutes, just as her line had started to build again.  I thanked her again, thanked Matt again and walked away on air.
Then I walked over to Perry and hit him.  No, actually Perry was very nice when I met him and he had no idea I was waiting to interview Lauren.  It all ended well, although if he cost me the interview, I might have hit him.

Lauren Holly and Luke Perry in Rosemont, IL-August 2012.

On the Beat with Lauren Holly at Wizard World 2012

Lauren Holly instantly became a celebrity crush of mine when she appeared on tv's All My Children.  That crush is still ongoing.  Lauren is definitely on my Mount Rushmore of crushes (but I'll save that for another time).

When Contributor Extraordinaire Matt Parker and I became official video bloggers for Wizard World, I set my sights on interviewing Lauren.  I have been lucky enough to interview many of my favorites and I knew that this would be my best shot at interviewing Lauren.

I endured a handful of obstacles along the way to actually interviewing Lauren, including being blocked by Luke Perry (more on that in a future post) but I eventually got my chance to sit next to Lauren and interview her.  Many thanks to Matt for his perseverance and logistical maneuvering.

Lauren was pleasant, funny and beautiful.  She even apologized for the delays.  We talked about her time on All My Children, her favorite role, her current project and more.  She was a pure delight and an easy interview.  I floated away when the interview ended.

People ask me why I do JohngysBeat.com.  This is why.  I interviewed Lauren Holly!  Not only is Lauren arguably the biggest celebrity I have ever interviewed, more importantly she is one of my favorites.

I really appreciate Lauren for doing the interview, despite being very busy at the convention.  I thank PR Director Jerry Milani.  I also thank Matt for helping me get this done.

After you watch the interview, you can follow her on twitter @laurenholly.  Right now, she does not have a website, but I believe one is on the way and I am sure she will announce it on twitter.