PHOTO BONNIE LE ROY From My Eyes only The STARLOG publisher turned into Johnny Carson for a weekend, l'lOW tUFl?lS ll?ltO Clark Kent in order to report what went on backstage at the Ultimate Fiasco. . . Kerry O?Quinn opening the Ultimate Fantasy: ?The loneliest five minutes I?ve ever felt.? first heard of the Ultimate Fantasy I when I returned to the of?ce from a bus- iness trip and wandered into our art de- partment. I spotted a full-page convention ad that featured an impressive list of actors? practically the entire Star Trek cast?and at the bottom it said, ?and Kerry O?Quinn, Publisher of Imagine my surprise! After inquiries around the of?ce, I discovered that our Associate Publisher, Rita Eisenstein, had accepted for me while I was away. ?It sounds spectacular,? she ex- plained, ?and I knew you?d want to go be- cause it?s in Texas.? I called the of?ce of Production Ventures, Inc. in Houston (the corporation sponsoring the event) and spoke to Jerry Wilhite, the producer. What he told me did sound spec- tacular, and I?ll confess I was also lured by the chance to return to my home state. So I agreed to make a brief opening talk and to screen TARLOG ?5 Birthday Fantasy, our 15-minute SF movie. That?s how it started, but those of you who attended know it didn?t end up quite like that. During the next few weeks Wilhite asked me to do a little more, and a little more, and ?nal- ly he said, ?I?d like for you to be the master of ceremonies and to conduct interviews with 94 1982 Uh. . .Fantasv. Bv KERRY the Trek stars. You?ll be our Johnny Carson.? I replied, ?Dammit Jerry, I?m a publisher, not a performer!? But all my protests were met with his arguments. I was needed. It was a personal challenge. So I agreed to do it. Take MB To Our Leader! 1 was met at the Houston airport by a chauffered limo and driven to the luxury hotel where I would spend the weekend with the other guests. Jerry Wilhite?s greeting to me was, ?Well, Kerry, a week from now I?ll be a million-and-a?half richer.? Friday afternoon at 2:00 a rehearsal was scheduled at the Summit arena. I arrived and discovered that the large stage in the center of the ?oor was still under construction. Work- ers were scurrying around, setting lights, wir- ing sound, hammering?but for a few mo- ments, it all looked very exciting. The place was gigantic?a multi-level, sports arena?with projection screens at each end, laser equipment, TV cameras, etc. My heart leapt with the hope that everything might happen as planned. Walter Koenig asked me who?s in charge here, and as the minutes passed that grew into a common question. 3:00 rolled around, and nobody appeared to take charge. Nichelle Nichols wanted to rehearse her songs and test the sound system, but the sound was not hooked up. 4:00 arrived, and De Forest Kelley left in disgust and went back to the hotel. There was no producer, no director, no script, and no- body who knew who ?our leader? was. At 5:00 the stage was still not ?nished, and the cast was wondering whether the show would go on at all. There were rumors that the show had money problems, but I paid lit-. tle attention. My main concern was that the next morning, this huge arena would be full of eager fans, and we owed them a spec- tacular show. Finally, in sheer frustration, Walter started asking each of us what we knew of the plans for the show. Slowly we began piecing togeth? er bits of information, with Walter (bless him) more or less taking charge and trying to bring some order out of the chaos of the afternoon. We discovered that instead of a 60-piece orchestra, we had a band of about eight (who turned out to be terri?cl). We discovered that Leonard Nimoy was not going to make a sur- prise appearance. We discovered that William Shatner had a plane to catch Sunday afternoon, so we would have to run that day?s show in reverse in order to put him on ?rst, instead of last. We discovered that instead of the hour of ?lm clips we had heard would be shown throughout the interviews1/2-minute clip. We discovered lots of problems. . . . I was worried sick because it turned out I was supposed to sit in the captain?s chair on the revolving stage, with a row of guest chairs on each side, and was to conduct the show for almost three hours! In other words, the re- sponsibility for keeping the show moving at a lively pace was falling on the least-quali?ed shoulders of the bunch?mine. Mark Lenard agreed to join me as co-an- chorperson, and we returned to the hotel to have dinner in his room while planning how we?d handle the interviews and writing the questions we?d ask each of the actors. We Worked till 1:00, and then forced ourselves to quit so we would have some sleep before to- morrow?s ordeal: an 8:00 A.M. rehearsal and two four-hour shows. I didn?t sleep very well that night. Open the The ?rehearsal? next morning was nothing more than a series of huddles, with cast and tech crew discussing cues. In spite of the lack of preparation, there was an excite- ment backstage, just like there is before any show opens?jitters, nerves, anticipation. The ?rst show was scheduled to begin at 10:30, so around 10:20 I sneaked out to peek at the house. I saw only a smattering of peo- ple sitting here and there. ?When are they going to open the doors?? ?The doors have been open for the past hour,? one of the polite security people re- plied. My heart stopped, and I staggered backstage. My dressing roomate, Merritt Butrick, saw my face and said, ?My God, Kerry, what?s wrong?? ?There?s nobody out there,? I muttered. ?The show starts in ?ve minutes, and there?s no audience. . Word spread instantly, and the entire cast had sinking spells. Just about the time we be- gan asking each other if there was gOing to be a show, we heard the band strike up the over- ture. Before I knew it I heard a voice on the PA system blare out: ?And now, ladies and gentlemen, the publisher of STARLOG, the Pace 6, Section 2 Houston Chronicle Sunday. We 27. m2 Troubled frekkies Science fiction show's broken promises fall light-years snort BY HUNT Chronicle Staff The "Ultimate Fanta- sy" scrence fiction production may have been an "Ultimate Fiasco.? at least ?nancially. Just a week after the production here featuring the major Star Trek tele- ytsion and movte perform- ers. actors are clamoring for their fees. fans are re- couping from bills they never expected to pay and others involved are chalk- ing it up as a loss of the time and money they put tnto the production. in all. losses could ,reach into thousands of dollars for the shiny billed as the "ultimate" ex- travaganza for Star Trek fans. featuring William Shatner. Dei-?orest Kelley and other well-known actors from the television show and movies. The show. which ran June mo at the Summit in COl?ljunCliUll with a science fiction-fantasy contention. ran into finan- cial problems major including Shatner and Kelley re cetved only 60 percent of their fees and minor per- formers receiyed little. if any. of their money. Many fans arrived in Houston to ?nd they owed h0th bills that should have been in- eluded tn the price of the tickets. which ranged from 830 general admis- sron to a $425 fourday vacation package. The production compa~ ny's presrdent and chair- man of the board. Jerry Wilhitc. resigned under pressure Tuesday. leaving the remaining board members to consult with attorne . and try to sal- vagew tthey could. ?fit. hite could not be reached for comment. John McDonald. newly appointed president of Production Ventures lnc.. said chances are "very good" that topic who lost mone will repaid. Me nald declined to elaborate on why the show sold only 2.200 tickets when 50.000 fans were ex- pected from across the na- tion. He did say the ticket ices were bly too igh with seats at $75 and general admission $30 to attract attention from the ral public. Paul racewell. vice president of Houston Con. a vpartner company to i. said the losses were due to ?Murphy?s Law. Whatever bad could have OPEN TODAY Longpoin! Store Only 1 1-1 p.m 48" Brovtm WITH BRASS or white with polishod brass HOWX IAN CO. mm 0! our ANY mousse ha pcned.dld." ans arriving in Hous- ton for the show and con- vention discet?yered they were expect to or their room at thepgham- rock Hilton. although hotel fare was included in the ticket . Mrs. tan Simon of Simi Valley. Calif.. said she purchased the $425 vacation packagefor-two as a to her 15- year son. James. who was ?aduatod ftorn 9th grade May The Simons' ka was to have includ'?efl fig: days and four at the Shamrock llton; tickets to one of three per- formanccs of "Ultimate Fantasy:" side trips to NASA. Galveston and the Astrodome; tickets to As- troworld and admission for four days to the science fiction convention. HoustonCon Instead. Mrs. Simon said she had to her final two days at hotel and never received the side trips. although she said she enjoyed the L'lti- mate Fantasy uction. William Hal . Shamrock Hilon general manager. sail Mrs. Simon?s plight was not uncommon amp the estimated 250 Trekk who came from out-of-tosm. . ?bios! of the people id their own" hotel bill. it said. ?We didn't kick any- has" ryey Hudson. a Har- ris County assistant dis- trict attorney in the consumer fraud division. said Ms office had receiyv ed several calls about the program but no formal complaints. Jim liendley a personal friend of Kc lcy's and a cruise ship entertainer from Houston. was master of ceremonies at the event's costume bail. He saidhelostabout 81.100 in unpaid fees and out-of- pocket expenses. Hendley said the mall- ed banquet was another unpalatable portion of the fantasy. ?it was supposed to be a nectar of the and in- stead it was . balo- nc and hot dogs." elletye? who plays Bones doctor on Star Trek - said through his agent in Dos Angeles that he "didn?t want to get in- yolycd. Any comment should come through the producers of the show. hey knew what was goingon." Agents for Shatner. Smmandgt; of ?hnie fiction- star 3 rprise. and NicliellopNichols. Star Treks? communications officer. Lt. Chura. could not be reached for com- ment. The stunned board members of PVI said they are still combing the production books and searching for a way out of thetangled mess. ?We are in the process of retrenching and reor- and trying to go With a scheduled road PW president McDona said. ?There is the possibility of some lawsuits." Dallas Cowboy football team won?t challenge political TV ad DALLAS - The Dallas Cowboy football team has decided not to challenge the telecasting of a right- ?political commercial portraying a??roup of scanti- ressed models wearing outfits st ar to those of (garlic rs. Tea the team's gerw dent. said he viewed a videot' is satisfied that the spot 1' The othis' lec- iW 1 an!