Sandy McCallum and Ed Polish 4/17/05

Some of the actors from the illustrious Oregon Shakespeare Festival have had sordid pasts. One of the most beloved actors, Sandy McCallum, is one of those. Sandy made a special in-person appearance to share his bad Hollywood experiences in films like Sextette with Mae West. He appeared with David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone in the feature presentation of Roger Corman’s Death Race 2000 directed by Paul Bartel, which was the Bad Film Society selection for 4/17/05.

Sandy told us about some of the challenges of playing the President of the United States in Death Race 2000. Being a low budget flick, the costume person presented him with the only suit left - one big enough to fit a linebacker. They pulled the sides of the suit to the back and clipped it, and pulled the underside of the sleeves up. This meant that he could not allow his back to be filmed, and could not raise his arms much. He was also disappointed that they would not let him take the fall off the platform when a car crashed into it.

Sandy said that Mae West was well past her prime when filming Sextette, which made it an interesting experience for all involved. This was her last film, and her health very poor. She looks like a statue in the film because she was barely able to stand. But the had a great time in spite of the bad film.

The Bad Film Society crowd gave Sandy a standing ovation, and then reveled in the trashy and cartoonish Death Race 2000.

Thanks, Sandy, for being so generous with your time! You are our Local Hero!

More about Death Race 2000 film showing.