WAY back in February, that blogger from Buffalo, Jaquandor wrote about the entertainingly cheesy (or is it cheekily entertaining?) 1980 movie Battle Beyond the Stars.
Of particular interest to me was this paragraph:
“The other girl there is Nanelia (Darlanne Fluegel), who is every bit as naïve about people as Shad is, which makes her a perfect fit for him. She, too, gets far too little screentime because she’s really cute. I remember her being one of the first females onscreen to impress me with her cuteness. I mean, look how cute she is in that clip, when she giggles at the prospect of learning how to “tingle, tangle, prangle” her new love interest from this warrior in the goofy headdress! Yeah, Nanelia is really, really cute:”
I had to comment: “Never saw the movie.
But I went to Binghamton Central High School with Darlanne Fluegel!
(I think she was Darlene at the time, but I could be wrong.) So maybe I should see it. Or not.” I didn’t know her well, but I knew her older sister better, for the record. In fact, if her IMDB piece is correct, she’s more than five years younger than I am. That can’t be right, can it?
Jaquandor asks, “Roger: was she that cute in high school?”
I wrote: “There is a picture in my high school yearbook. I’ll have to scan it for you. (In answer to your question, I say yes.).”
A few days later, I wrote: “J- Haven’t forgotten; we’re painting the attic and I can’t get to my yearbooks yet.” That proved to be true for MONTHS (long story).
But finally – the young woman in the lower right:
I had not looked at that yearbook in decades and STILL remembered that particular photo.
So anyway, early happy birthday, Jaquandor. (It’ll be September 26.)
Since I had the yearbook out, I also scanned these pictures of Rod Serling and his teacher (and mine), Helen Foley, one of his greatest influences (and mine). Note the constant cigarette in his hand.
