A Prairie Home Companion…was a live radio variety show, the kind that died fifty years ago, but somebody forgot to tell them. Until this night.
One of my favorite films tells the fictional tale of the very real radio show, the titular A Prairie Home Companion. The film follows the cast and crew members’ struggles during their final night together singing and telling jokes on the stage of St. Paul’s Fitzgerald Theatre. It became the final film directed by legendary director, Robert Altman, before his death in November 2006, a mere five months after the film’s release and nine after receiving his Honorary Oscar. It brought together an impressive ensemble cast and crew, including Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Woody Harrelson, John C. Reilly, Tommy Lee Jones, Virginia Madsen, Lindsay Lohan, Kevin Kline, Maya Rudolph, and Garrison Keillor.
A month ago or so, I learned that one of its’ stars, Virginia Madsen, would be making a convention appearance in Dallas. There was a catch, however. It was at Texas Frightmare Weekend–a horror film convention! I have never been a fan of horror films. I usually won’t go near them with a ten foot pole. So I told my friend about it after discovering the event. Then we sort of forgot about it and resurrected the idea the weekend before, to be a stop in conjunction with other stops in a Dallas adventure.
So off we went to the Hyatt at DFW Airport. What I was to expect, I did not know. I just hoped not to see anything too disturbing. After circling the parking garage several times for a parking spot, my friends let me out and I ran in to the hotel, ran down some stairs marked for the convention and was immediately greeted by some volunteers. They directed me to the line. When I told them I was only there for Virginia Madsen, one of the guys ran to check that she was still there before I bought my ticket.
I walked up and bought my ticket, and then for the most part, walked up to Ms. Madsen with only a couple of people ahead of me. She was beautiful in person. The gentleman in front of me had her sign his photo, but wasn’t really talking to her. So, I took the opportunity to start conversation. Believing that she would be surprised that of all the things for her to sign at a horror flick convention, I said “Are you ready to be surprised by what I brought you sign?” “Yeah, I can’t wait to see.” She turned away for a moment, probably to not seem rude to the gentleman paying to get his picture made. I could tell that she was very warm and welcoming. The gentleman sat next to her, as she put her arm around his back and the photo was snapped. Nervous, I was already trying to unravel the large poster from its tube and plastic sleeve. On top of everything else, my voice was very hoarse that day due to allergies.
The poster sprouted out of its rolled up form and I unraveled it the rest of the way. “Oh, look!,” she exclaimed. “Where would you like me to sign it?” “Just above your photo.” “How would you like me to sign it?” “Just your name…” Then changing my mind, I added “Or you can write ‘To Tyler.’” She looked up at me and started to write on a scrap of cardboard next to the poster. “Okay, how do you spell it?” Then, through my coarse voice, she tried to decipher my spelling: T-y-l-e-r. “Okay, there are so many different spellings, I just have to be sure,” she apologized as she looked at me. She took her fine point Sharpie across to her likeness and signed ‘To Tyler, Virginia Madsen.’
I reached for my wallet, still shaking due to my rushed effort to get there and not waste any time talking with her. Her handler, as I supposed him to be, stood there with a money pouch accepting the money. “You want a picture?” “Yeah.” I paid him for the autograph and photo, still shaking, literally shoving the change in my pocket. Then I sat where my predecessor had sat, right next to Virginia Madsen, as she reached around and put her right hand behind my back and her left arm on my chest. Smiling for the camera, I said “I loved you in that film.” The photo was snapped.
Figuring I should hurry along so she could get to other fans, I stood and began rolling my poster back up. “You know, making that movie was an incredible experience.” I paused. “At that point, Bob (speaking of the director) was going through chemotherapy. And that’s why Paul Thomas Anderson had to be there. On Bob’s chair, it had his name but on Paul Thomas Anderson’s, it said ‘Pitch hitter.’ I would come to set with my makeup half-done and would sit behind them because Bob wasn’t sure where he wanted me. Then he would call out ‘Bring in the angel,’ and I would put on the white trench coat and go where he wanted me. So for much of the film, I got to sit and watch them direct. It was an incredible experience making that.” I was in awe.
There were people still standing behind me, selecting which of the provided photos, amassed over two tables, to have her sign. I thanked her for her time, finished rolling up my poster (without replacing it in its’ sleeve or original mailing tube yet), thanked her handler when he returned my camera and dashed out of the convention hall. As I was getting ready to dash up the stairs to be hotel lobby, I heard my name called and saw my friends standing waiting for me, amidst all of the costumes and dedicated presence of fans. By the end of the evening, they had pretty well accepted that I found myself more of a fan after meeting her than before. She was sweet. She was real. And her hair was super soft and beautiful. And I was hoarse. This is how it was meeting Madsen.