Actress Veronica Cartwright is an indelible part of cinema history. She was not only Cathy, the little girl chased by all those winged creatures, in The Birds, but she was also Lambert, the butch dyke to Sigourney Weaver's butch femme in Alien. The gay community will remember her as Will Truman's mother on TV's Will & Grace, as the tough-talking agent in the indie gay comedy Straight Jacket and, most recently, as part of the cover of the new Scissor Sisters CD, Ta Dah.
The forthright, very funny Cartwright was recently in town for a screening of The Birds and for a benefit performance of Hell in a Handbag Productions' latest parody musical, Caged Dames. ( Pal Tippi Hedren also attended. ) It was here that Windy City Times caught up with the actress.
Windy City Times: It's ironic that right after you were here in town for The Birds, they're going to be showing Alien here at the Gene Siskel Film Center ( Nov. 10 and 14 ) as part of their ongoing science-fiction movie series.
Veronica Cartwright: You're kidding!
WCT: I hope it's a compliment to tell you that you cry beautifully on screen. Especially in Alien.
VC: That was one of the things that bugged me about it. I thought, 'I'm weeping in every scene,' but they insisted that my character, Lambert, was actually the audience. That was [ director Ridley Scott's ] concept. Originally, I thought I had the part of Ripley.
WCT: That's what I've read.
VC: Even my agent thought that. I called and I said, 'Aren't I Ripley?' and he says, 'Yes,' but I wasn't and nobody had bothered to tell me I wasn't.
WCT: Filming those scenes where you put on those suits and go into the huge spacecraft and find the alien eggs must have been intense.
VC: Oh, that was horrible! The suits were lined with nylon and there happened to be a heat wave and, even wearing just a leotard under this thing, I lost 10 pounds that week. They were supposed to put air vents in there and they didn't. You'd start breathing your own carbon monoxide as we're carrying John Hurt's body across that soundstage of sand. Then we get on this elevator that takes you up 24 feet in the air and I started to pass out. We all dropped like flies. John went first, then I went, [ and ] then Tom [ Skerritt ] passed out. It was ridiculous but, of course, we were actors complaining. This went on until they shot the long-distance thing with Ridley's three kids in little suits and they all passed out, too. Then, of course, things changed.
WCT: So Alien really was a horror film.
VC: [ Laughs ] Yes, it literally was.
WCT: How did you end up on the cover of the new Scissor Sisters CD, Ta Dah, and in the promo video?
VC: Well, out of the blue Jake [ Shears ] called. He got my number and he leaves this message, 'Hi, I'm Jake from the Scissor Sisters. I am not a stalker! I have always loved your work and would you please give me a call because I would love to have you on our new album cover.' We ended up having a long conversation and he's just a sweetheart. I thought it was terrific that he tracked me down. Then, I saw them when they were here in L.A. God, what a show! I went with my friend, the drag queen Coco Peru, and Jake saw us up in the balcony. The next thing we know, all of these eyes are looking at us and waving to us. It was hysterical; it was great. I was in a movie with Coco that has a huge gay following: Red Sparkler. I'm bisexual in that one.
WCT: I haven't seen it but I will now. Is this a rather a new thing for you to be aligned with the gay community?
VC: Oh no. They love me and I wish they were producers because I'd be working all the time. [ Laughs ] I'd be the lead in a lot of things!