Don Marshall Interview with Giants Log

Interview with Don Marshall

"I dislocated my shoulder. I dived over a fire to save Gary (in 'Ghost Town'). Gary was lying down and couldn't get up and I was trying to block myself. What I did was, I put my left hand out and I dislocated my shoulder. I went back to work the next day after I dislocated my shoulder, and we started to shoot new scenes - we started another show as a matter of fact. That's when you saw me with the sling on." "The one that Sugar Ray Robinson did. That was a good show. Beautiful. I had to teach him how to play the trumpet. That was the first time I met him. We stayed friends after that. He was a beautiful human being. I think that was one of the best shows, writing wise, that we had. It made more of a statement than anything else. That show, it made me want to act, rather than figure out what dialogue to say." "I stay in contact with Don Matheson. We talk now and then. The others always travel, going here and there, and of course Kurt is no longer with us. It was a very pleasant set most of the time, especially when Irwin Allen wasn't there. When Irwin Allen came on the set, the whole place became completely different. When he wasn't there, everybody got along. When he came and was chewing people out, it would make everybody else uptight. He would make the directors uptight, as well as making them feel they didn't know what they were doing. And you had a director like Harry Harris who had won several awards. Harry was very good. I really liked Harry and really appreciated him. He was interested in what he was trying to do. Harry is very good with people and very relaxed and he'd get everybody at ease and everybody worked together when Harry was directing. As a matter of fact, Harry got an Emmy for another show he did later on, on television, 'Fame'. Harry and I were trying to buy a script together to do a film and nothing came of it. I spoke with Harry - I ran into him in Los Angeles about 7 or 8 years ago and he gave me his number on a little piece of paper, a match book. And, lo and behold, this match book popped out, laying on the table. I called him. It was strange. When I called, he was working in Canada. I called Don and he said there may be something there. My mother was born in Canada and Harry told me they hire mostly Canadian actors. They had a guy living here that was from Canada originally, and they had to get him through all kind of issues before they could get him a show. Maybe you need to be born in Canada. But, I know that would be a director who would hire me." "'Land of the Giants' does have a following. A lot of people remember that show. I'm really surprised so many people enjoyed the show the way they did. I'm surprised and very happy about it. It was shown until about two months ago on the Sci-Fi Channel, and every time I turn around, people are telling me about 'Land of the Giants' and how they were watching it. It was during the day, at 12 in the afternoon, when not many people are home. Maybe they don't write in that much...unless you have primetime, such as in the evening when people get home from work. To try to get that kind of time is real difficult I would think. It is prime time (in the evening) and I don't know what carrier you would use as it is not a new show. I cannot get the Sci-Fi channel. It's another area all together. I am South West Cable." "The excitement - you've got to have that in the 'Land of the Giants' - there's got to be something physical in the show. There was a lot that Irwin Allen didn't want to show. He didn't like doing a lot of close-ups and where it would show the fear etc of the character, the real in depth fear. You have to have surprise, and people escaping. The characters have to be more in depth now. It is 20 to 25 years later." "I played ball a little. I did track at school and pole vaulting - the best in the city - and that helped me quite a bit, that and high jumping and running. All of that helped keep me physically in shape. So, when 'Land of the Giants' came up, I was already there."