McGonigals Relocate to Virginia

By Judy Kestner

Marilyn McGonigal, wife of Jon McGonigal, dropped your editor a lovely note the other day, which I have copied, lightly edited, below.  She also kindly enclosed three photos that I will attempt to insert as well.

Dear Judy -
.... The move was very hard but we are here now and settling in and love it here.
     Our new address is 1500 N. Coalter St. #E-4, Staunton, VA 24401.  We live in an apartment complex (5 buildings) and outdoor swimming pool in the middle.  We have 3 bedrooms, kitchen, small dinette area and 2 full baths! (I love that!)
.... I am taking line dance lessons one hour per week and helping in an after school program two afternoons.  Have made three new friends - play cards and go walking and to church with them.
    Jon and I go to this beautiful park and feed the ducks.

Also enclosed is a photo of the Blue Ridge Mts.  We have gone across Sky Line Drive twice since we've been down here.

    Hope to visit in N.Y. around Thanksgiving.

    Love to all,

          Marilyn

Also enclosed was this photo of Jon's mother, Emilie Fieg McGonigal (b. June 29, 1915, d. January 15, 1984), taken in the '60s.  I was amused to see my mother's handwriting on the back -- what goes around etc....!

Greg Fieg Talks With William Shatner on Radio

By Greg Fieg

Anyone looking for a modest diversion today can hear Greg Fieg speaking with television icon William Shatner as a guest questioner on the daily NPR radio talk show "On Point" hosted by Tom Ashbrooke.

Shatner, appearing on the show to promote his new CBS TV series "$#*! My Father Says," took questions from Greg and other listeners regarding his long, varied and stellar television and motion picture career. Greg recalled that Shatner, at the beginning of his career, appeared on the late Rod Serling's classic television show "The Twilight Zone" playing a former World War II pilot on a commercial flight who, while looking out the window, spots a gremlin sabotaging the jetliner. The episode is one of many classics and is well remembered by fans of the program that ran on CBS from 1959 to 1964.

Shatner, relatively unknown at the time, was among a number of future stars who appeared on various episodes on the series, including Robert Redford, Julie Harris, Burt Reynolds, Telly Savalas, Cliff Robertson, Barry Nelson, Cameron Mitchell and Claude Aikens to name just a few. Greg asked Shatner how it was that so many undiscovered stars appeared on the series, and whether that was because top talent competed for the roles or whether the producers sought out top talent.

"I got a call asking me to play a part and I accepted it as a workaday project," Shatner said.

He called series creator Serling, the producer and the casting director "prescient" in finding actors with potential, but said the key was that those hired should be willing to work for very little money.

He remembered that the entire cast of his episode was comprised solely of him, "some guy in a monkey suit" and a handful of bit players and extras, which enabled the producer to hold the budget to a minimum. He also explained that there were many other individuals of enormous talent who might have been as big or bigger show business successes than he, but were not in the right place at the right time and thus not as lucky.

The radio program will be replayed on NPR throughout the day in various cities and time zones and will be accessible in the archives on the NPR website for some time to come, or on the WGBH Boston website.

"The Twilight Zone" program continues to run in syndication throughout the country.