We caught up with Jessica Walter at her New York apartment on Yom Kippur and talked about how she keeps her black Lab shiny with a little oil, her recurring (non)-maternal roles on "90210" and "Saving Grace" -- and that "Arrested Development" movie. (Maybe!)
The movie is allegedly happening? Are there contracts?
Allegedly! I don't think anybody's had a contract. But we're all hoping it happens. I've heard rumors.
Well, so have I, but. . . .
Honestly, the most I know is what I hear from the other cast members, which is that everyone's hoping it comes together -- and that Mitch [Hurwitz] does have a story line. And that [incessant beeping] means I have a message on my phone. Does that bother you?
No! I'm glad you're popular.
Things have been pretty good. I have a nice big dog, a terrific husband, a fabulous daughter, who's out in L.A. And she is vice president of ABC Family programming and development.
Ooh, cutthroat. So are you atoning?
You know something, I'm not religious. But I'm very Jewish in my heart. Organized religion is a little tricky! I admire anyone who follows their heart. Mine just doesn't take me quite to the door.
So take me back. You went out to L.A., and thought, "I'll hustle at the TV scene and do an episode of 'Flipper.' "
That was out of Florida! One of the first shows I ever did. I was 18, or 20 or something. . . . This is the worst. The story is, I remember, that we were in trouble on our boat, and medicine was dropped from a helicopter and it missed the boat and went into the ocean, so they sent Flipper to dive down and nudge it up with his nose. So I was saying to the other actors, "Isn't it amazing, they had Flipper fall from the helicopter and into the ocean and he doesn't swim away!" And they said, "Oh, that's the dead dolphin, they keep it on ice." Remember the little pelican, Pete? I said, "Isn't it amazing, Pete doesn't fly away!" They said, "Oh, they broke his legs." Welcome to TV!
It's like finding out Lassie's been beaten and burned! So from there --
You know I was doing theater in New York. So when these jobs came along, it was like, wow, TV! My first big job was "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." One of the reasons eventually I decided to move there, there was a garbage strike in New York, an elevator strike and a subway strike, all at the same time. And I said to my husband, my first husband at the time, "Something's telling us. . . . "
