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Harry Groener -- News and Notes

Harry Groener -- News and Notes

New news is in aqua, old news is in salmon
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6/5 -- This past week saw the first anniversary of our trip to New Harmony. Thanks for the memories, Harry. :)
Go to The Darkest Night for a pic (yes it is him, NOT Tony Head) at the wrap party of the 100th Buffy ep?? (He wasn't in that...was he? I haven't been watching...)

5/13 -- David rocks.... Go here for new photos from Odyssey 2001, incl. some with Anthony Stewart Head and others from the convention. Everlasting thanks, David! :)

5/10 -- This comes to us from David, henceforth known as Extremely Lucky Bug, who was at the Odyssey 2001 convention in England last week:

"I believe this was Harry's first convention, and was he value for money, you bet!! He really set the tone when he did his first talk. After the initial blast of flashguns going off, Harry totally turned the tables on the fans by taking a camera from his pocket and taking the fans pictures. A nice touch that really broke the ice. In all the talks / photo sessions / autograph sessions he did over the weekend, he came across as a really nice guy, and I'm sure his face must have been aching by the end with his infectious grin.
"One of the Harry highlights happened on the final panel on the Monday morning. While on stage with Robin Sachs (Ethan Rayne in BTVS), the following question was asked from the floor; "Now that Tony Head has left the building - you can tell us the real story of what he is like to work with". Nobody expected any dirt to be dished, and in that respect, were not disappointed. What we got was an inspired piece of ab-libbing from Harry and Robin on the problems Tony had with dealing with the other members of the BTVS crew due to his false leg, wig and glass eye!!! Needless to say, the audience knew it was a windup (these guy's tongues were firmly in their cheeks), and there was not a dry eye (glass or otherwise) in the audience.
"Another favourite moment happened at the stewards party, when Harry carefully balanced a bottle of beer on Armin Shimerman's head!!!
"At the end of the day, it was a pleasure to meet Harry, and I think he enjoyed himself as much as the audience did."

Thanks very much for that anecdote, David!! :D

TV-wise, watch the first-run The Drew Carey Show on Wed, the 29th, on ABC at 9PM.

5/1 -- A new musical: "The Grave White Way" opens in previews May 3rd at the Hudson Backstage Theatre in Hollywood and will run Thursdays through Sundays until June 17. In the comedy, five dead Broadway actors try to get into Musical Theatre Heaven by performing an "afterlife revue" of the disastrous flop musicals that condemned them to the musical theatre purgatory known as the "Grave White Way." Harry is listed in the Celebrity Schedule as appearing May 31st and June 1st. Call (310) 289-2999 for tickets, or check out the official website (they listed my site next to Harry's name!! I guess I really ought to start calling this the Official Harry Groener page, shouldn't I??)

4/23 -- With that voice, why isn't he getting more voiceover work??... Harry's lovely tones will be heard on an episode of FOX's King of the Hill, on Sunday, May 6th, at 7:30 PM.
Also, the Antaeus Project has posted some cute photos of Harry and Dawn (it's her, trust me) performing at their annual Valentine's dinner on their homepage.

4/8 -- Got an email today.... :-D
Harry has a whole scene with Tom Hanks in "Road to Perdition"! The film will be released November 2, 2001. "Ghost of a Chance", the Scott Bakula movie, seems to have been pushed back indefinitely, although "Manna From Heaven", the Five Sisters Production, has been getting good reviews at festivals and may be out soon.

TV-wise, watch Fox's Boston Public on April 16th, 8 PM. 18 Wheels of Justice aired on TNN this week, and I dropped the ball on it! Sorry!! However, this fall may bring us a very intriguing series from the WB called Dead Last, about rock stars who see dead people; Harry filmed an episode playing a bad guy, but he doesn't think it will see daylight. (But it sounds so cool!!....)

Also, Harry will be appearing at Odyssey 2001, the 51st British Trek convention, to be held in the Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Heathrow, London, England, May 4th thru 7th 2001. Tickets are selling fast! See the official webpage here. Also appearing are Armin Shimerman (Principal Snyder on Buffy; Quark on Deep Space Nine), Anthony Stewart Head (Giles on BTVS) and Robin Sachs (Galaxy Quest, Ethan on BTVS), plus lots of Trek notables. A *huge* thank you to Harry and Dawn for the info!! :)

4/1 -- Happy April Fools Day, and no this is NOT an joke update.... Harry's new movie "About Schmidt" is being directed by Alexander Payne ("Election"), and looks to be shooting for a fall 2001 release date. Also in the film are Kathy Bates and Dermot Mulroney. More info about the Jack Nicholson movie can be found at UpcomingMovies.com and the very sparse IMDB page.

Shooting back to back with "Schmidt" is a Dreamworks film, "Road to Perdition", directed by American Beauty's Sam Mendez and featuring a huge-name cast, including Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Jennifer Jason-Leigh, Alfred Molina and Dylan Baker! The film is based on the Max Allan Collins graphic novel and is set in Depression-era Chicago. More can be found at this semi-official site and at comics2film.com.

Meanwhile, Harry's wife Dawn Didawick is filming a movie for the very prestigious Masterpiece Theatre series on PBS, "Almost a Woman", based on the memoirs of Esmerlda Santiago. Much thanks for the info! :)

3/19 -- Long time no news, but I hear from Harry's agent today that Harry's making a movie with Jack Nicholson called About Schmidt! About all we know so far is it's been filming for some time. I'll post more as soon as I hear it. :)

1/19/00 -- Harry will guest star in an upcoming episode of the TNN series "18 Wheels of Justice". The show is about a renegade trucker who travels the country doing good and crimefighting. I'll post when the ep gets an airdate. Thanks Patti and Dawn! :)

1/10/00 -- The 1995 IMAX film Across the Sea of Time features Harry as...himself. Well, sort of. There's a scene in the film (which was shown in glorious 3-D in IMAX theatres in New York) where a young boy enters the theatre where Harry is performing in Crazy For You. Thanks kindly to Sue for spotting this!

1/2/01 -- Happy New Year! Five of Harry's twelve Buffy episodes are being released in a box set on January 9th. Go to amazon.com to pre-order a copy. The episodes featured are: Bad Girls, Consequences, Enemies, Graduation Day Part One and Two. The Harryless Earshot is also included, apparently on the strength of its being the one (along with GD2) that was postponed in the States due to the Columbine tragedy. All in all great television, if you missed it the first time, or just want it on crispy crunchy VHS, this is one you have to buy.

12/20 -- Happy holidays to you all. Go buy the brand-new Watcher's Guide Volume 2, a Buffy book published by Pocket Books. Harry is interviewed in it and has loads of interesting tidbits and insight on the Mayor. A few cute pictures too!

In the obsessive category, TV Guide quoted one of the better one-liners from Harry's recent Judging Amy episode, (however anonymously) in this week's Cheers & Jeers page: "'You've got more fake parts than Inspector Gadget!' -- An angry husband to his wife during a divorce case on CBS' Judging Amy"

My unsightly site: for some stupid reason all the archived news before January 12 2000 got erased down at the bottom there, but at least the navigation bar is back. Sorry about that. :)

And did I mention he sent me a Christmas card?..... :-D

12/17 -- Harry has agreed to appear at Odyssey 2001, the 51st British Trek convention, to be held in the Radisson Edwardian Hotel, Heathrow, London, England, during the weekend of May 4/7 2001. Look at the official webpage here. Thanks to Rob Vandal for this info! :)

12/1 -- Two upcoming appearances: Harry will guest star on December 5th's episode of Judging Amy, at 10 PM on CBS, and on Dec. 7th's City of Angels, at 9 PM, also on CBS. Thank you TV Guide.com!!! :)

11/17 -- Harry made a guest appearance on the 11/9 episode of Charmed as an empathic priest. Sorry I didn't hear about it beforehand, but Khae's Charming World has put up a few screen grabs. I'll watch for the rerun and post when it comes up.

9/14 -- Harry was in New York on the 10th (his b-day) for the final performance of Cats at the Winter Garden Theatre. How do I know this? Uh...well, I don't actually know it for sure, but Showbiz Today covered the event and talked to Ken Paige (Old Deuteronomy) and for maybe three seconds you can see a guy who looks like Harry over his shoulder. I told you I was obsessed!! :)

I have revamped the image galleries and added one or two images to nearly every section. The Buffy gallery was in serious need of help, hopefully it's a bit more organized now.

Also Harry and Dawn celebrate their 22nd wedding anniversary on the 19th. Much happiness to them and many more years of it. :)

8/13 -- This new tidbit about "Ghost of a Chance": the film is being distributed by Disney or one of their vast minions, and will likely be made for cable. Jason Stuart and Nancy Cartwright (Bart Simpson) are also in the film. This is the one in which Scott Bakula plays a presumed-dead actor trying to get the role of himself, and Harry is his agent. Thanks to Pam and Emma at the Scott Sightings Scott Bakula page for this info. :)

I'm still trying to get some info about "Follies". Harry was one of three up for the role of Buddy, but according to his agent, it may not happen. Stay tuned.

7/4 -- It's a go on the New Harmony story!! :) Harry very graciously okayed it, so here it is. Also: from July 7 thru August 20 Harry will star in Neil Simon's "The Good Doctor" at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena Calif. The play is a comedy based on the stories of Anton Chekov and co-stars Michael Learned and tickets can be ordered thru Telecharge at 1-800-872-8997. Check out the official site too.

7/1 -- Happy 4th to you all. "This Year's Girl", the final final Buffy episode for the Mayor (unless they're nice and invite him back next year :) reruns Tuesday, July 11, 8PM on the WB.

6/21 -- The Shirley Jones website has put up a page about Manna from Heaven. This page has pictures with the cast and that looks like Harry in the last one at the bottom in the car, I'm not sure.

6/16 -- There's an interview with Harry in the latest Shivers magazine, #77, a British sci-fi/fantasy mag, in which he talks about playing the Mayor. Order a copy at the website.

Argh... Fox ran Harry's Time of Your Life on Wednesday without telling us! I taped it, happily... he plays kind of the drama teacher from hell of one of Sarah's friends. The one time Harry talked about TOYL he kept referring to "they, them"... wonder if he did more than one.

6/13/00 -- After some thought, I've decided to pull the New Harmony story offline for a while until I send Harry a copy of it for um, proofreading. The story will hopefully be back up within the month. Be patient!! :)

A great interview with Eliza Dushku (Faith on BTVS) in which she says some nice things about Harry can be found at Fanforum.com.

Also, according to Deja, Harry seems to be in the running for a production of Roundabout in NYC? More later...

BTW, Cats has been pushed back to a Sept. 10 closing.

Join the campaign to get Dear John rerunning on Nickelodeon! Visit Nick At Nite and write them a letter!

5/24 -- Small blurb from Fox.com: "Time of Your Life returns to FOX with all-new episodes beginning Wednesday, June 14th! Tune in at 9:00 PM/8:00 C." Harry's episode? Stay tuned...

5/15 -- Here's a tidbit about Harry's new film "Manna From Heaven" from the Shirley Jones website:

"Written by Gabrielle D. Burton and produced by Five Sisters Productions, of Santa Monica, California. Shirley loves the script for this new film. She plays a scoundrel in the film, a con artist type of role. The movie is a comedy and it co-stars Cloris Leachman, Frank Gorshin, Shelly Duvall, and Wendie Malick, from TVs "Just Shoot Me". & That's not all! Actresses Louise Fletcher, Jill Eikenberry, Fay Grant and actors Phil LaMarr, Harry Groener and Mark Ethan are also working on this picture.

Filming has taken place in and around the city. Some of the site locations have included the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, the Buffalo-Niagara Airport, Salvatore's Italian Gardens and Mason Manor (Gumball Mansion, built by the inventor of the Gumball Machine)".

And on a personal note..... I get to go see Harry's play in Indiana in June!! Yee-haaw!! :D

5/3 -- This from The Buzz, a Susan Egan fanpage: "TOO DEAD TO SWING -- Susan just completed a stint in the studio recording a book on tape. She is the narrator and central character, Katy Green, in this vintage murder mystery with Swing-era music and songs performed by Ann Hampton Callaway. Harry Groener also stars. It is scheduled for release in June of 2000."

4/27/00 -- At last, a real update!! The following news comes from Patti:

Harry has started on a feature film, "Manna From Heaven", from Five Sisters Productions. The movie will also star Shirley Jones, Cloris Leachman, Jill Eikenberry and Faye Grant. The film seems to have something to do with dance as Harry's and Faye's characters own a dance studio. (All right!! Anything to see him dance is fine by me! :)

Also, from May 19th to June 4th Harry and his wife Dawn Didawick will be appearing in a new musical together, "Steeplechase", from the prestigious New Harmony Project in New Harmony, Indiana. The musical is written by John Pielmeier and Matt Selman and based on 'A Midsummer Nights Dream', set on Coney Island at the turn of the century. For those wishing to attend, the closest town to fly into is Evansville, IN. And there's talk of the couple doing a musical together sometime later this year....stay tuned.

Dawn's character in Erin Brockovich has a name!! She appears as Rosilyn the Receptionist (I still haven't seen this movie, so I don't know quite when in the movie Dawn makes an appearance, but keep your eyes peeled....) She is also appearing in a revival Arthur Miller's first play, "The Man Who Had All The Luck" in Los Angeles. It's the first time this play has been produced in the US since 1945. A HUGE thanks to Patti for all the great news!! :)

Also, in the site-maintenence department, I've (finally) updated the theatre page and gotten us on a webring (see home page. Could they have picked a more miniscule title?? Ah well....)

Does anybody out there know a really good theater/Broadway ring I should submit this page to? E-mail me at the bottom of the page!

4/12/00 -- Small news: There's a fun little voting booth at freevote.com for the most amazing actor on TV, and Harry's up to about 4th place! (other contenders being David Duchovny and Scott Cohen from The 10th Kingdom) You can vote for Harry here. There's no prize, just bragging rights. :)

3/27/00 -- "Time Of Your Life" has now been moved back to a summer return, according to Fox's official website. Harry was scheduled to appear on one of the new episodes since waaay back last fall.

3/19/00 -- New info about "Ghost of a Chance": Tony Alda, (a Broadway director??) is directing, with Ed Sanders producing. Actor-standup comic Jason Stuart ("Lost and Found") is also in the cast. The indie film started filming February 15 but is described as being "in pre-production". Thanks to all at the Scott Sightings Scott Bakula page. :)

After eighteen years, the hugely popular musical Cats, which Harry was part of the original Broadway cast for, will close on June 25. Read about it here.

3/6/00 --Finally!! Harry will guest-appear on the March 18 episode of Profiler titled "The Long Way Home" at 10pm on NBC (eastern). Thanks Buffyholism for the info. :)

Harry made a very welcome return last week to Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Mayor Wilkins III, albeit in flashbacks, on the Feb 22 episode titled "This Year's Girl". I will be updating my Mayor site Sunnydale City Hall as soon as my pal Luke sends me the videotape. :)

2/10/00 -- The official fan mail address, kind courtesy of Harry himself... :)
Harry Groener
c/o Susan Smith Agency
121 N. San Vicente Blvd.
Beverly Hills, Calif. 90211

2/27/00 -- Just a reminder: "Metro Entertainment in Santa Barbara is proud to announce an autograph signing with Harry Groener, the mayor from Buffy, and Elisabeth Rohm, Det. Kate Lockley from Angel. It will be on Saturday, March 11 at 1pm. Please contact us for more information at metrosbca@aol.com or call (805) 963-2168.
Can't make it? Mail orders are available:"

Metro Entertainment
6 W. Anapamu
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Metro Ent. is also looking for any 8x10 photos of Harry, Elisabeth Rohm, and/or Marc Blucas, so if anyone's got any they can bear to part with....:)

1/24/00 -- Fox has pulled out yet AGAIN: Time Of Your Life, on which Harry was to have appeared Feb. 7th, has been put on hiatus. Sources say the show has indeed been renewed for six more episodes and will return in March, so stay tuned.

1/21/00 -- Some sad news: Mike Ockrent, the director of Crazy For You and numerous other Broadway musicals, passed away on December 2. Mr. Ockrent directed Harry during his time in Crazy For You, and Harry and other performers are scheduled to speak at a public memorial service on January 24, at 1 P.M. at the New Amsterdam Theatre on 214 West 42nd St. in Manhattan. Information comes from Playbill.com.

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