Maria8475
It goes on.....
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2001
- Messages
- 4,500
Vic Fontaine was a 1960s Las Vegas singer. In 2374 a friend of Julian’s, Felix who created many of his holoprograms, created a remarkable simulation of Vic capturing his personality as well as his unique singing style. The Vic hologram is self-aware, knowing that he was only a hologram, and referred to himself as a light bulb.
He was designed to be able to see subtle interpersonal relationships and hence became quite close to a lot of the crew. Julian and Odo both approached him for advice on their love lives. In Odo’s case it resulted in him finally being able to admit his feeling for Kira. After Jadzia died Worf asked him to repeatedly sing her favourite song ‘All The Way.’ And after losing his leg Nog escaped to Vic’s holographic world. Vic helped him get over it and get back to work, something neither Counsellor Dax nor his best friend Jake could manage. At first Quark considered Vic his competition but eventually even he began to like Vic’s brand of music.
Felix also programmed in a ‘Jack in the Box’, a surprise buried deep in the holosuite program, some gangsters including Frankie Eyes, Tony Cicci and Mr Zeemo bought Vic’s bar and the only way to get things back to normal is to get rid of Frankie. So almost everyone helped come up with a plan. At first Captain Sisko didn’t want anything to do with it because of the racial discrimination in Vegas during the 1960s but he changed his mind, after a talk with Kassidy. Eventually he was comfortable enough to sing a duet with him.
The songs we heard him sing were: The Alamo; All the way; The best is yet to come; Here’s to the losers; Come fly with me; It’s only a Paper Moon; Somebody to love; I’ll be seeing you; I’ve got you under my skin; I’ve got the world on a string and The way you look tonight.
--------
A story I read in the “Deep Space Nine Companion†By Terry Erdmann, about how Vic Fontaine came into being. The speaker is Ira Behr.
“During season 4, I decided I wanted to bring a character onto the series played by Frank Sinatra Jr., to be a guy like Yoda who would show up periodically. Not in every episode, obviously, but occasionally, like in the teaser or something where we’d find one of our characters coming to this Vegas night-club in the early 1960s and asking for advice about life, love and the opposite sex. He would be dispensing this advice and we would just be wondering ‘who is this guy and how does he know so much?’
So Robert Wolfe and I wrote a scene. Now Frank Sinatra Jr is a big fan of Star Trek (obviously the guy has taste
), so Ron Surma got in touch with him and we sent him the scene. When I spoke to Frank, he thought it was very funny, but he said that he did not want to play a singer, he wanted to play an alien. And so it did not happen.
The following year while we were writing ‘A Simple Investigation’ Rene Echevarria said “Lets put the scene with the night-club singer in hereâ€. And I said ‘We’re not gonna get Frank Sinatra Jr but maybe we can get Steve Lawrence or someone.’ So Rene wrote a scene, and that’s when the character became Vic Fontaine. But the show was too long and we heard that Steve Lawrence wasn’t available, so it never really made it beyond the first draft. And that was the end of that.
Then one day I was driving in my car. You know, it’s not a very long trip between my office and home, but I do tend to think a lot in the car. and I suddenly realised that we were in the midst of year six. And that in terms of Deep Space Nine more had gone behind us then was in front of us. I thought ‘Time’s running out’ and I said to myself, “I want to do everything that I ever wanted to do on this show! We’re doing Vegas baby, and we’re not doing one lousy freakin’ scene of it, we’re doing the whole show about it. And we’re going to have music! And we’re going to have song! And we are going to consummate the relationship between Odo and Kira! That’s what the show’s going to be about!â€
Casting Jimmy Darren is a story in itself. My friend Fred Rappaport, who wrote two early episodes of Deep Space Nine [‘Move Along Home’ and ‘Sanctuary’], and I went to the Beverly Garland Hotel in the Valley to a memorabilia show. Why? One, because we like to and two I always get my cousin his birthday present there. So we’re there and Jimmy Darren is there singing autographs. And Fred says “Oh look Jimmy Darren.†So Fred goes over there and does his Fred thing, because Fred knows everything about everyone. So he’s talking to jimmy Darren about his spaghetti sauce - Jimmy Darren once had spaghetti sauce. And Jimmy looks like he can’t believe someone is asking about spaghetti sauce.
So I’m like five feet away. I haven’t gone over to the table, I’m just looking at Fred in all his glory, as I am wont to do because it’s very entertaining and I see that this guy is handling Fred so well and is so smooth and so friendly and so likeable and looks so good.D)
By now we had met with Robert Goulet and had tried to get Steve Lawrence, and Tom Jones, and Jerry Vale, so when Fred comes back I say, “You know, I’m doing a show on Deep Space Nine about a Vegas lounge singer and that may be the guy. I’m gonna go talk to him.†And Fred says “You can’t talk to him here!†I say “What do you mean I can’t talk to him here? You just talked to him about his spaghetti sauceâ€. Fred says “he’s gonna think you’re a mental patient!†I say, He’s gonna think I’m a mental patient?†He says you can’t do it here. I said ‘I have a business card, I’m legit.’ He says ‘No no no you can’t do it here. Go to work on Monday, talk to your casting guy and do it that way. So I listen to Fred.
So on Monday I talk to Ron Surma. And Ron sent Jimmy the script. A few days later Ron says “You know Jimmy’s been directing for 15 years, but he’s gonna come in. We’re not gonna have a whole casting session, he’s gonna come in a lone and we don’t know if he’s gonna read.’
So the other writers and I go out to lunch. And sitting there at lunch, at our favourite sushi restaurant, I’m telling the guys that Jimmy Darren’s coming in. To which they want to know ‘Who’s that?’ I say “Moondoggie.†No response. “Moondoggie, from Gidget.†No response. I say, “The Time Tunnel guy.†Nothing. “Remember they guy with the turtleneck in the Time Tunnel?†‘Not really, vaguely.’ “Okay†I yell “William Shatner’s sidekick in TJ Hooker†‘Oh!! yeah!! sure!!’ These people have Star Trek on the brain. It’s like it all has to come back to Star trek in some way, shape or form.
So Jimmy Darren comes in, and he’s talking about how he owns a pair of Dean Martin’s shoes, and he knows where to get the right tuxedos, at Sy Devore’s store, and all of that stuff, and he’s being great. We’re all listening to him. And suddenly he starts talking about him and Frank and Dean and gambling and making all this money, and suddenly we realise that he’s doing the part. It catches us totally by *surprise*. We’re sitting there with the script pages and donâ€t even realise it!
He had gone right from being Jimmy to being Vic - without a beat. After he did that we said goodbye and I started freaking out that he was great. But then I started to say “well maybe we should see some other people, just to be on the safe side†and Hans Beimler just said “Are you out of your mind? What are you talking about? Vic Fontaine was just in the room! There’s no question, there’s no question! He’s the guy!’ And he was.
:star:
He was designed to be able to see subtle interpersonal relationships and hence became quite close to a lot of the crew. Julian and Odo both approached him for advice on their love lives. In Odo’s case it resulted in him finally being able to admit his feeling for Kira. After Jadzia died Worf asked him to repeatedly sing her favourite song ‘All The Way.’ And after losing his leg Nog escaped to Vic’s holographic world. Vic helped him get over it and get back to work, something neither Counsellor Dax nor his best friend Jake could manage. At first Quark considered Vic his competition but eventually even he began to like Vic’s brand of music.
Felix also programmed in a ‘Jack in the Box’, a surprise buried deep in the holosuite program, some gangsters including Frankie Eyes, Tony Cicci and Mr Zeemo bought Vic’s bar and the only way to get things back to normal is to get rid of Frankie. So almost everyone helped come up with a plan. At first Captain Sisko didn’t want anything to do with it because of the racial discrimination in Vegas during the 1960s but he changed his mind, after a talk with Kassidy. Eventually he was comfortable enough to sing a duet with him.
The songs we heard him sing were: The Alamo; All the way; The best is yet to come; Here’s to the losers; Come fly with me; It’s only a Paper Moon; Somebody to love; I’ll be seeing you; I’ve got you under my skin; I’ve got the world on a string and The way you look tonight.
--------
A story I read in the “Deep Space Nine Companion†By Terry Erdmann, about how Vic Fontaine came into being. The speaker is Ira Behr.
“During season 4, I decided I wanted to bring a character onto the series played by Frank Sinatra Jr., to be a guy like Yoda who would show up periodically. Not in every episode, obviously, but occasionally, like in the teaser or something where we’d find one of our characters coming to this Vegas night-club in the early 1960s and asking for advice about life, love and the opposite sex. He would be dispensing this advice and we would just be wondering ‘who is this guy and how does he know so much?’
So Robert Wolfe and I wrote a scene. Now Frank Sinatra Jr is a big fan of Star Trek (obviously the guy has taste
), so Ron Surma got in touch with him and we sent him the scene. When I spoke to Frank, he thought it was very funny, but he said that he did not want to play a singer, he wanted to play an alien. And so it did not happen.The following year while we were writing ‘A Simple Investigation’ Rene Echevarria said “Lets put the scene with the night-club singer in hereâ€. And I said ‘We’re not gonna get Frank Sinatra Jr but maybe we can get Steve Lawrence or someone.’ So Rene wrote a scene, and that’s when the character became Vic Fontaine. But the show was too long and we heard that Steve Lawrence wasn’t available, so it never really made it beyond the first draft. And that was the end of that.
Then one day I was driving in my car. You know, it’s not a very long trip between my office and home, but I do tend to think a lot in the car. and I suddenly realised that we were in the midst of year six. And that in terms of Deep Space Nine more had gone behind us then was in front of us. I thought ‘Time’s running out’ and I said to myself, “I want to do everything that I ever wanted to do on this show! We’re doing Vegas baby, and we’re not doing one lousy freakin’ scene of it, we’re doing the whole show about it. And we’re going to have music! And we’re going to have song! And we are going to consummate the relationship between Odo and Kira! That’s what the show’s going to be about!â€
Casting Jimmy Darren is a story in itself. My friend Fred Rappaport, who wrote two early episodes of Deep Space Nine [‘Move Along Home’ and ‘Sanctuary’], and I went to the Beverly Garland Hotel in the Valley to a memorabilia show. Why? One, because we like to and two I always get my cousin his birthday present there. So we’re there and Jimmy Darren is there singing autographs. And Fred says “Oh look Jimmy Darren.†So Fred goes over there and does his Fred thing, because Fred knows everything about everyone. So he’s talking to jimmy Darren about his spaghetti sauce - Jimmy Darren once had spaghetti sauce. And Jimmy looks like he can’t believe someone is asking about spaghetti sauce.
So I’m like five feet away. I haven’t gone over to the table, I’m just looking at Fred in all his glory, as I am wont to do because it’s very entertaining and I see that this guy is handling Fred so well and is so smooth and so friendly and so likeable and looks so good.
D) By now we had met with Robert Goulet and had tried to get Steve Lawrence, and Tom Jones, and Jerry Vale, so when Fred comes back I say, “You know, I’m doing a show on Deep Space Nine about a Vegas lounge singer and that may be the guy. I’m gonna go talk to him.†And Fred says “You can’t talk to him here!†I say “What do you mean I can’t talk to him here? You just talked to him about his spaghetti sauceâ€. Fred says “he’s gonna think you’re a mental patient!†I say, He’s gonna think I’m a mental patient?†He says you can’t do it here. I said ‘I have a business card, I’m legit.’ He says ‘No no no you can’t do it here. Go to work on Monday, talk to your casting guy and do it that way. So I listen to Fred.
So on Monday I talk to Ron Surma. And Ron sent Jimmy the script. A few days later Ron says “You know Jimmy’s been directing for 15 years, but he’s gonna come in. We’re not gonna have a whole casting session, he’s gonna come in a lone and we don’t know if he’s gonna read.’
So the other writers and I go out to lunch. And sitting there at lunch, at our favourite sushi restaurant, I’m telling the guys that Jimmy Darren’s coming in. To which they want to know ‘Who’s that?’ I say “Moondoggie.†No response. “Moondoggie, from Gidget.†No response. I say, “The Time Tunnel guy.†Nothing. “Remember they guy with the turtleneck in the Time Tunnel?†‘Not really, vaguely.’ “Okay†I yell “William Shatner’s sidekick in TJ Hooker†‘Oh!! yeah!! sure!!’ These people have Star Trek on the brain. It’s like it all has to come back to Star trek in some way, shape or form.
So Jimmy Darren comes in, and he’s talking about how he owns a pair of Dean Martin’s shoes, and he knows where to get the right tuxedos, at Sy Devore’s store, and all of that stuff, and he’s being great. We’re all listening to him. And suddenly he starts talking about him and Frank and Dean and gambling and making all this money, and suddenly we realise that he’s doing the part. It catches us totally by *surprise*. We’re sitting there with the script pages and donâ€t even realise it!
He had gone right from being Jimmy to being Vic - without a beat. After he did that we said goodbye and I started freaking out that he was great. But then I started to say “well maybe we should see some other people, just to be on the safe side†and Hans Beimler just said “Are you out of your mind? What are you talking about? Vic Fontaine was just in the room! There’s no question, there’s no question! He’s the guy!’ And he was.
:star:
