10/27/2006 4:51:00 PM Lou Gossett Jr. all smiles during Fort Worden visit
Louis Gossett, Jr. laughs Friday while saying goodbye to Port Townsend residents who participated in the production of "An Officer and a Gentlemen." - Photo by Steven J. Barry
By Kathie Meyer, Leader Staff Writer
A man on a moped rides by, and Louis Gossett Jr., at Fort Worden State Park to film an interview for the 25th anniversary DVD of "An Officer and a Gentleman," jokes: "That's a Saturday Night Live shot right there. Richard Gere on a scooter 25 years later. From Harley to moped."
Twenty-five years ago, Gossett, a cast favorite among locals while filming the movie here in 1981, had no idea his performance would win a best supporting actor award. He was known for mixing well with the locals and still remarks upon the abundance of salmon.
The interview, called "Return to Port Townsend," will show Gossett strolling and commenting on different film locations in the park such as the parade ground, the balloon hangar, Building 204 and Battery Kinzie. As he walks, he recalls that the Joseph F. Wheeler Theater served as the production office. Later, he asks in what direction Mt. Olympus is located, remembering a trip to the hot springs.
The interview was also a reunion of sorts among Gossett and Barbara and Lowell Bogart, Brent Shirley, Donna Olin, Ruffin LeBrane and Tim Jones. Brent Shirley, in 1981 the Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce president, was the first point of contact for filming the movie at this location. He showed up on Friday with a photo album his mother had compiled of Shirley's "Officer and a Gentleman" experience. The album witnesses the 25-year passage that has taken place since Hollywood and Port Townsend first became acquainted.
The first thing Gossett said to Shirley when reintroduced was, "What happened to our hair?!"
Barbara Bogart, president-elect of the chamber in 1981, helped find some of the locations for Paramount Pictures.
"I was a little nervous about it because I was afraid it would make us look like a backwater town," said Bogart. When her husband, Lowell, read the script, he convinced her it would be a "blockbuster."
Lowell Bogart went on to play the father of the movie's Casey "Sugar Britches" Seeger, played by Lisa Eilbacher. "Sugar Britches" is known as the cadet who struggled with going over an obstacle course wall.
Tim Jones was an extra in the fight scene filmed at the Town Tavern, now The Water Street Brewing Co., and Donna Olin and Ruffin LeBrane were extras in the suicide scene. Also featured in the film was Paula Amell's apartment, above what was then Olympic Hardware. That building is currently under renovation.
Several other fans showed up to see the interview take place, including Donna Corey, who says she has seen the movie more than 200 times and knows every line from the script.
"Everyone I've talked to reveres this movie," said Steve Wolcott, executive director for the interview project. Wolcott flew abroad to interview Richard Gere, who is shooting a new film on location. Debra Winger declined to be involved.
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