Early Edition F.A.Q. - Section 4

Cast and Crew


CONTENTS

1.0 DISCLAIMER AND UPDATES

2.0 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

3.0 THE SHOW

4.0 CAST AND CREW
4.1 Kyle Chandler as Gary Hobson
4.2 Fisher Stevens as Chuck Fishman
4.3 Shanesia (Davis) Williams as Marissa Clark
4.4 Billie Worley as Patrick Quinn
4.5 Kristy Swanson as Erica Paget

4.6 Myles Jeffrey as Henry Paget
4.7 Ron Dean as Detective Crumb
4.8 William Devane as Bernie Hobson
4.9 Tess Harper as Lois Hobson

4.10 Panther, Pella, and Carl as Cat
4.11 Trucker as Spike

4.12 Additional Cast and Crew

5.0 HOW TO CONTACT EARLY EDITION

6.0 EARLY EDITION ON THE INTERNET

7.0 FAN FICTION

8.0 MUSIC

9.0 MISCELLANEOUS

10.0 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Return to Complete Table of Contents


4.0 CAST AND CREW

4.1 Kyle Chandler as Gary Hobson

Kyle Chandler stars as Gary Hobson, a Chicago-based stockbroker who is propelled into heroism when his morning newspaper delivers the news of the future. "While Gary wants to use his advance knowledge to help others, he isn't the angel all the time," commented Chandler. "Gary's just a normal guy... with a tremendous responsibility. Throughout the season there will be times when he's tentative, when he makes mistakes. But ultimately he knows that he's been chosen to carry out this mission, and in doing so affects people's lives."

Chandler was born September 17,1965* in Buffalo, NY. At a young age, he moved with his family to Lake Forest, IL until, at the age of 11, he moved with his parents to Loganville, GA. He earned a bachelor's degree in theater from the University of Georgia, where he first landed the lead in their production of A Comedy of Errors. While there, he also appeared in Macbeth, The Devil's Disciple, and Oklahoma!

Chandler is familiar to many television viewers as "Jeff Metcalf" from the 1991-1993 ABC series Homefront. Among his other credits, Chandler had a lead in the television film Convict Cowboy, and a recurring role in the CBS series Tour of Duty. His theatrical motion picture credits include The Color of Evening, Pure Country, Mulholland Falls, and the independent film Angel's Dance, in which he starred with James Belushi and Sheryl Lee. Chandler received the Outer Critics Circle Award for his Broadway debut as "Hal Carter" in Picnic. Most recently, Chandler will be appearing in a recurring role in The Joan Cusack Show which is scheduled to air on ABC as a mid-season replacement in early 2001. For a complete list of his television and film credits, please see his entry on the Internet Movie Database: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Chandler,+Kyle

Chandler stands 6'1" tall and, by his own description, has "mud puddle green" eyes. He is married and resides in Chicago with his wife and daughter.

*There is some dispute regarding the year that Chandler was born - the year of 1965 is based on a September 25, 1998 interview for Live! with Regis & Kathie Lee (which was just about a week after his birthday) in which Chandler stated his current age as 33. Hence, a birth year of 1965.

For more information on Chandler, please visit this extensive website, which includes information on Homefront: http://w3.one.net/~abacab/kyle.htm

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4.2 Fisher Stevens as Chuck Fishman

Fisher Stevens portrays Chuck Fishman, Gary's best friend, who hopes to use the early edition of the newspaper for his personal financial gain. "Chuck doesn't have all his priorities straight," said Stevens. "If I had the inside information Chuck and Gary did, I'd probably try to make some money initially, too. But after a while, I would think you'd want to try to help others with your knowledge -- personal gain only goes so far."

Stevens achieved recognition on the Broadway stage before reaching the age of twenty. He made his Broadway debut in 1981 as David in Torch Song Trilogy. He then took over the starring role of Eugene from Matthew Broaderick in Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs while appearing as a regular in the role of Henry Popkin in ABC's daytime serial Ryan's Hope.

Born in Chicago on November 27, 1963, Stevens grew up in Highland Park, where his first real ambition in life was to be a professional athlete. Famed Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens was a neighbor in his apartment building and young Fisher idolized him. These athletic aspirations remained with him up until the age of 13 when he and his mother moved - first briefly to Evanston, IL, then on to a Greenwich Village loft in New York - and discovered his physical development didn't quite keep pace with his ambitious plans. Fisher's mother rented their loft to an acting school, and the short, slender youth soon found a new love in acting.

Stevens began his acting training at age 13 and eventually went on to study with instructors Dan Fauci and Uta Hagen. When auditions failed to turn up any major parts, he redoubled his efforts in class and soon landed roles in some off-off Broadway productions.

Stevens made his film debut at age sixteen in The Burning, a Filmways Production. "It was fun to do, but never again," he said. "All of us were slaughtered. It was a gory film and I had my hands cut off. But I got paid for it, got my SAG card and changed my name from Steven Fisher to Fisher Stevens." Two years later he was back before the camera in bit parts for John Sayles' Baby, It's You, followed by Sayles' The Brother From Another Planet.

During his Brighton Beach Memoirs Broadway role, he took a brief leave to co-star with Matt Dillon in the 20th Century Fox comedy The Flamingo Kid. Prior to his Broadway success, he appeared in a dozen showcase productions off-off Broadway including Primary Returns/Plain Brown Wrapper - two plays by Keith Reddin at the 18th Street Playhouse, Geography of a Horse Dreamer at the Ensemble Studio Theater, Barry Keating's Starmites at the Ark Theatre, and as Jo in the staged reading of Details Without a Map with Ellen Burstyn.

Stevens continued his stage career in the Off Broadway productions of Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night's Dream at NYSF, Little Murders at Second Stage, Miami at Playwrights Horizons, Out of Gas at Lover's Leap at WPA, and in L.A. he was in Veins and Thumbtacks and Tim Robbins' Violence. On Broadway, Fisher appeared in Brighton Beach Memoirs, A Perfect Ganesh (where he played 18 characters), and in the 1994 Lincoln Center revival production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel, where Fisher portrayed Jigger Craigin.

In 1986 Stevens and actress Lily Taylor founded "Naked Angels Theatre Company," a New York-based ensemble company that specializes in prestigious avant-garde productions. He has been involved with the non-profit organization, "Artists to End Hunger" and also has a co-interest in GreeneStreet Films, a production company based in New York that produces independent films.

Stevens continued to work on films and in television, and has an impressive list of screen credits to his name. He is probably most remembered for and most unrecognizable in his role as Johnny Five's creator, Ben, in both Short Circuit and Short Circuit 2, and for his role as the nefarious Eugene Belford, a.k.a. "The Plague" in the cult classic cyberfilm, Hackers. Among his numerous other roles, Fisher portrayed a cross-dresser in the Showtime film The Right to Remain Silent, a vengeful deliveryman in Mystery Date, and an alter-universe dinosaur-descendant in Super Mario Bros. - the film based on the popular Nintendo video game.

Among his television roles, Stevens has appeared as Phoebe's "intense and creepy" psychologist boyfriend Roger in Friends, as a witness to murder in Homicide: Life on the Streets, and as a murderous film director in the made-for-television Columbo movie, Columbo: Murder, Smoke & Shadows. He also had the starring role in the short-lived Fox Television series, Key West. His most notable television role to date, however, has been as Chuck Fishman, the often sarcastic and sometimes superficial best friend of Gary Hobson (Kyle Chandler) on the CBS television series, Early Edition. Stevens portrayed Chuck Fishman full-time for the first two seasons of Early Edition, after which his character left Chicago to find his fortune in California. Stevens, however, headed back to New York, where he continues to work on films, and on his real love - directing. He made his television directorial debut with Early Edition episode #218 "The Quality of Mercy," and has returned at least once a season since then to guest star in and/or direct several more episodes. For a complete list of his television and film credits, please see his entry on the Internet Movie Database: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Stevens,+Fisher

Stevens is single and resides in New York. For more information on Stevens, visit this website: http://earlydues.usanethosting.com/fisher/

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4.3 Shanesia (Davis) Williams as Marissa Clark

Shanesia Davis-Williams stars as Marissa Clark, a blind co-worker of Gary's, who encourages Gary to use his knowledge of the future for the good of others. "I'm striving to bring integrity and independence to the role," commented Williams. "Playing a blind woman is a wonderful challenge for me personally. I would like viewers to come away from the show seeing Marissa as a strong woman, a real person, with a life outside the realm of the newspaper." To perfect her depiction of Marissa, Williams has done research for her role with the Chicago Guild of the Blind, and continues to do so throughout the series.

Williams was born in Detroit (birthdate is September 30) and later moved to Chicago. In 1989 she received a bachelor's degree in fine arts from The Goodman School of Drama at De Paul University.

Williams went on to become an established theatre performer in Chicago in such plays as Ties That Bind, From Mississippi Delta, and Othello, among others. She has also appeared in San Diego Repertory Theatre productions of Good Night Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet, and Hamlet.

On the film front, Williams has appeared in With Honors and Hell Cab (a.k.a. Chicago Cab). Her television roles include guest appearances on the ABC series Gabriel's Fire and in the telefilms Making a Case for Murder and Missing Persons. For a complete list of her television and film credits, please see her entry on the Internet Movie Database: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Davis-Williams,+Shanesia

Williams currently resides with her husband and daughter in Chicago.

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4.4 Billie Worley as Patrick Quinn

Billie Worley grew up in Vernonia, Oregon, where he briefly attended the University of Oregon. He then moved to Portland where he studied with a private acting teacher for three years.

Worley co-starred in Ed Wood's feature film I Woke Up Early the Day I Died. On television, Worley starred in Poltergeist, the Legacy; and in HBO's The Pentagon Wars and Weapons of Mass Distraction. He appeared in a guest starring role on ER and was a regular on the ABC series Leaving L.A. For a complete list of his television and film credits, please see his entry on the Internet Movie Database: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Worley,+Billie

Worley has played the drums for 13 years and has been playing guitar for the past four years. He is in a rock band called CowTown, is currently writing a television sitcom and a full-length feature. He is also writing and composing original music for a feature film slated to start in early 1999.

Worley is single and currently resides in Los Angeles.

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4.5 Kristy Swanson as Erica Paget

Kristy Swanson was born December 19, 1969 in Mission Viejo, California, and began her career at the age of nine appearing in television commercials. She convinced her parents to move to Hollywood so that she could pursue her dream of acting, and eventually landed small roles in two of John Hughes' films, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Pretty in Pink.

Swanson's first leading film role was in Wes Craven's Deadly Friend. Her other film credits include Flowers in the Attic, Hot Shots, Eight Heads in a Duffle Bag, and Big Daddy with Adam Sandler. She is perhaps best known for her performance as the title character in the film Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, and for her controversial role as a college student discovering her sexuality in John Singleton's Higher Learning. Most recently, Swanson appeared in the short-lived revival of the CBS series Grapevine.

Swanson has completed several independent films, including Tinsel Town, Lover Girl, Ground Control, and Supreme Sanction. For a complete list of her television and film credits, please see her entry on the Internet Movie Database: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Swanson,+Kristy

Swanson has been involved with Thursday's Child, a non-profit organization to help troubled teens, since she was 15 and is currently their longest-standing celebrity member.

Swanson is single and is currently resides in Los Angeles.

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4.6 Myles Jeffrey as Henry Paget

Myles David Jeffrey was born October 5,1990 in Riverside County, California. He is a member of Mensa and has been acting since he was six years old.

Although still quite young, Jeffrey already has an impressive list of film and television credits to his name. He had a featured role in the film Odd Couple II, a supporting role in Face/Off, and his voice can be heard in numerous animated films, including Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story, and Babe: Pig in the City for which he was nominated for a Young Artist Award.

Among his television credits are guest appearances on Beverly Hills 90210, Lois and Clark, and Merry Christmas George Bailey. For a complete list of his television and film credits, please see his entry on the Internet Movie Database: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Jeffrey,+Myles

Jeffrey was nominated for a Young Artist Award in 1999 for his role as "Henry Paget" on Early Edition. Jeffrey has copper hair and brown eyes.

For more information about Myles Jeffrey, visit this website: http://www.mylesjeffrey.com/

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4.7 Ron Dean as Detective Crumb

Ron Dean was born in 1938/1939 and grew up in the Chicago area. He attended Loop Junior College, where he began his acting career in it's production of Noel Coward's Design for Living. Since then he has worked on stage in many of Chicago's Off-Loop theatres, while supplementing his income as a short-order cook, chestnut vendor, bellhop, printer, carny, bookstore clerk, and bartender. In 1971 he founded the loose-knit federation of pedicabs that are still to be found in Chicago.

On the film and television scenes, Dean has made a career of playing police officers of one sort or another. He has appeared in several dozen films, including Risky Business, The Fugitive, Cocktail, and Hellcab (a.k.a. Chicago Cab). Dean has also guest starred on numerous television programs, including Frasier, NYPD Blue, and ER. For a complete list of Dean's television and film credits, see his entry on the Internet Movie Database: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Dean,+Ron

Dean's history of portraying officers of the law seems ironic, considering his troubled youth. According to "Life and Art: Police Story," an article appearing in the October 1996 issue of Chicago Magazine, Dean was "a petty thief growing up in Humboldt Park and Logan Square. At 16, he was arrested for breaking into a car, and was locked up in the Shakespeare District station. According to court papers and Tribune accounts, on July 5, 1955, while police were escorting him through the station, Dean grabbed a revolver and shot Officer Albert Brown, 57, and escaped. Two days later, Dean was arrested at North Avenue Beach. Brown died in the hospital. Today, Dean prefers not to talk about the incident. 'I feel sorry for the family of the officer,' he says." Dean was handed a life sentence for murder and was released after 12 years. For the complete article, locate a copy of the magazine at your local library.

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4.8 William Devane as Bernie Hobson

Born on September 5, 1940, in Albany, New York, Devane has an extensive list of television credits to his name. He has guest starred on several television programs, including Hawaii Five-O and Touched by an Angel, and had a lead role as Gregory Sumner on the night-time soap opera Knots Landing. He also starred in the short lived CBS drama Turks. On the feature film front, Devane as appeared in such films as Phenom and Payback. For a complete list of his television and film credits, please see his entry on the Internet Movie Database : http://us.imdb.com/Name?Devane,+William

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4.9 Tess Harper as Lois Hobson

Tess Harper was born Tessie Washam on August 15, 1950, in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas. Harper attended Arkansas State University at Beebe, where she had leading roles in several plays. She did "street acting" at the Dogpatch USA and Silver Dollar City theme parks, and was "discovered" while doing theatre work in Texas.

Harper guest starred on several television programs, including L.A. Law and Walker, Texas Ranger, and had a starring role as Fairlight Spencer on the short-lived CBS television series Christy. Most recently, she portrayed the narrator and elder Laura in the made-for-television film, Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder. On the feature film front, she starred in The Man in the Moon and My New Gun. For a complete list of her television and film credits, please see her entry in the Internet Movie Database: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Harper,+Tess

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4.10 Panther, Pella, and Carl as Cat

Panther, an orange tabby born around 1987 and rescued from an animal shelter, portrays the mysterious Cat, a.k.a. Snow's Cat, with a little help from two other cats, Pella and Carl. Panther is the original cat used in the series and carried most of the workload during the entire first season. Panther enjoyed playing helper to character Gary Hobson, but according to trainer Bill Casey, "as the episodes went on and a second season began, some of the scripts called for more demanding situations that the cat had to work within. And cats are unlike dogs, which you can teach a number of stunts. So it's much harder to put one cat into a wide variety of situations and stunts because cats have their own personalities."

Panther is considered the "hero cat," as "he's the one in the main title film footage" and does the sitting and staying shots, he's the one at Gary's door with the newspaper, and he's also the one that does most of the posing and close-up shots. Carl is very sedentary and does the laying around shots. When the script calls for action, it's Pella's turn to step in.

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4.11 Trucker as Spike

Trucker, the German shepherd that portrays Marissa Clark's seeing-eye dog Spike, was originally trained as a search-and-rescue dog. As such, Trucker tends to be more active than a normal seeing-eye dog would be, but he was able to use his search-and-rescue training in several episodes of the show. Trucker's first appearance was in the first episode of the series ("Pilot"). He appeared in many of the first season episodes, but his presence diminished as the series went on. He was rarely seen during the third season. Spike has not been seen at all in the fourth season, and appears to have been replaced by a golden retriever ("Fatal Edition Part 1").

According to Bill Casey, EE's animal trainer, Shanesia Williams was never comfortable working with Trucker because of a biting incident involving a German Shepherd dog many years ago. They tested out several other dogs and seem to have found one upon which all can agree. Trucker is doing well and is happily back to his first love, search-and-rescue work.

As for why this wasn't explained in the series, Casey says he brought it up but "the producers did not really care".

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4.12 Additional Cast and Crew

For complete list of cast and crew see the episode guide at this website: http://earlydues.usanethosting.com/ee/

Additional information about Co-Creators Patrick Q Page, Vik Rubenfeld, and Ian Abrams, and about Executive Producer Jeff Melvoin can be found in the September 1998 issue of EXTRA EDITION; more information about Sean Clark - writer, and Bill Casey - animal trainer, can be found in the October 98 issue of EXTRA EDITION. Both issues, chock full of interesting Early Edition tidbits, can be found through this URL: http://www.geocities.com/eeextraedition/

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