Some mysteries
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Kristy Swanson
marcusman48 — 15 years ago(March 02, 2011 10:03 PM)
You hear the oddest - and sometimes even the craziest! - things about celebrities sometimes, and Kristy Swanson is no exception. I've picked up all kinds of strange stories about her on the Internet (some of which I'm almost sure aren't true, some of which I think really could be the case), and I was wondering if anyone could help me clear up some mysteries about K.S.
- First - although I don't exactly doubt this - every online biography of her claims she was born in Mission Viejo, California, in 1969. I've been to Mission Viejo, and it's pretty out-of-the-way even nowadays. As it happens, it wasn't even officially recognized on California state maps until 1988 - after Kristy had moved away from there! So what gives?
- I also read somewhere that her real first name is "Renee," and that "Kristy" is derived from "Kristen," her middle name. Is that true?
- I also heard this rumor that before she became an actress, Kristy worked for a circus in Oklahoma. That sounds pretty far-fetched, but I'm reserving judgment until someone can set me straight on the matter.
- Finally, I've been having trouble digging up hard evidence of many of Kristy's appearances in films and television prior to 1986. It's been said that she appeared in an episode of "Archie Bunker's Place," but I can't figure out which one. There's also an allegation that she was in TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A., but she's not listed in the cast even as an uncredited cast member.
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timeslord — 15 years ago(March 04, 2011 04:30 PM)
about question number 2, Imdb cites her full name as Kristen Noel Swanson, and there's hardly any reason to doubt it.
About question number 4 On a book about Flowers in the attic, which I own, there's an interview with Kristy and it adds a resume of her work una24til then (the interview was done while she was filming The Program). Appearances in Archie Bunker's Place and Ohara, which are not listed on imdb, are cited. As for To Live And Die In L.A., it is said on the book it was to be her film debut but her scenes got deleted on the final cut.
If you have facebook, you can add her there as a friend and ask her, she does reply sometimes, she did on a few questions I asked her. -
marcusman48 — 15 years ago(March 05, 2011 10:21 PM)
Well, you haven't really told me anything that I didn't kind of suspect all along, but thank you. I guess I could ask the woman herself, but I've always been2000 a shy type! Besides, I don't really think it's my place to bother her about such things, anyway.
There are two things I'm wondering, though. First, I was going to the movies all the time in 1993, when THE PROGRAM came out. But I never heard about the film until the late 1990s (when I first started to research Swanson's career), and I didn't actually see the movie until a little less than a year ago (which was a good movie, by the way, but I think Halle Berry should have been in it more). Of course, in '93 I was still largely a kid and was mostly seeing "family" films like JURASSIC PARK, but I did research more "adult" movies also. Was THE PROGRAM a major release? I somehow don't think so, because otherwise I'm sure I would have heard about it.
And what was Kristy's role to be in TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A.? She was only about 14 or 15 when they were filming, so it couldn't have been anything major. -
marcusman48 — 14 years ago(July 15, 2011 03:13 PM)
I came upon another weird rumor just a year ago, and this one's so intriguing (to me, at least) that I just can't resist bringing it up. Supposedly, Kristy was originally supposed to play "Gina," the Italian acrobat with whom Pee-Wee Herman falls in love in BIG TOP PEE-WEE.
I have a really hard time believing this one. Kristy may be a pretty good actress, but she's not THAT good, and a convincing Italian accent would probably have been beyond her. She was also only 17 or so at the time, which (in the context of the movie) would have made her character kind of.unsavory. (In the end, they got an actress of mixed Italian and Greek descent for the part.)
Maybe the poster whose post I was reading was a bit mistaken, and meant that Kristy almost played the other girl in BIG TOP PEE-WEE, who was blonde. THAT would make sense. -
marcusman48 — 14 years ago(August 15, 2011 12:51 AM)
Here's where I read the "Italian" rumo1354r: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCOzKufIIzs&feature=related.