Actress Olivia Barash

Alison interviews Actress Olivia Barash

Episode Transcript

(00:09):
I know Alison Argham. This isthe Alison Arngham Show. Okay, some
of you may recognize me as EvilNillie Elson from Little House on the Prairie
Fun Tonight, I am alis AtAringhram and this is the alis At Arnghram
Show. And here on the AllisonArngingham Show, we talk about things that
make you feel good, the TVshows and the movies that made us feel
good and the people who made them, and people who are doing things now

(00:32):
to make the world a better andmore interesting place. Now I have a
guest on and Okay, as soonas I mentioned who, as I mentioned
yesterday during my Facebook five that thiswoman was coming on my show, people
lost their tiny little minds. Theydid you went mad and people just went
wild because she's a lovely person.She has a very respectable career, many

(00:56):
fine credits, numerous films. She'sa singer, songwriter, and director and
producers. She's done everything. Butshe when she was young, had one
television role that she has not reallylived down. Okay, I kind of
know something about that, and allI did was to be cruel to stutters.
So trigger warning people, yeah,parental advisory. We are talking about

(01:21):
what has become really historically the mostcontroversial episode of The Little House in the
Prairie kind of ever. Yep,I'm talking about Sylvia, Sylvia Part one
and two, which at this pointis become really kind of known on the
internet as I'm going to say it, the clown rape episode. Ah ah,
because yes, in this episode,this beautiful young girl is horribly attacked

(01:46):
by a horrible man wearing what appearsto be a plot asked like making everything
worse, and it's horrible, andshe becomes pregnant and Albert tries to marry
her and make everything okay, andit's all horrible and he's murdered. Yeah,
it freaked people out. It's stillfreak people out there, people who
were very traumatized by watching this episode. It was a good episode. She
was brilliant in the episode, butit's been hard for people. It's like,

(02:08):
oh, it's fifty years the show'sanniversary, and it's like, wow,
this show. Um. I cantell you she she did survive doing
that episode. She has grown upto be a very nice lady. And
I have her here on The Hellisand Argham Show Live. Yes, I
have the wonderful Olivia Barrish, welcomesounds good. Wow, you're good,

(02:32):
No, thank you. But howcrazy is it? How crazy is it?
Because I'm looking at your IMDb.You've had like an entire life and
it's like Sylvia, Sylvia, Sylvia, Sylvia, it's been. I mean
it's really I mean honestly that thisis Sylvia is the character that I am

(02:55):
most recognize. I mean, it'scrazy. I didn't know. I mean
I didn't pay attention. Also whenI was a kid and I was doing
and stuff like I didn't and Ididn't watch half of my shows on thaing.
It's like, you know, butum, I started doing some research
lately because I did this interview umWithout Entertainment Weekly that was huge, huge

(03:17):
Artical Entertainment weekly all about this.It got it got like, uh,
the the the reviewery caught called meand she said and she sent me an
email and she said, you aregetting that interview has gotten you, I
mean number twenty six on Google search, and I she said, it is

(03:39):
one of the biggest things that theyever had in entertaining. So she wants
to do something now about like whatI'm doing the Vibe room and like all
this stuff. It's cool Oh no, I'm not done. There's you know,
it's always calling me. Yeah,yeah, it's it's it's absolutely um
um cuckoo. I am not surprised. It is so big. People talk
about this all the time. TheSylvia episode is like, and you were

(04:02):
very prolific child actress prior to togetting this. Um you had me really
paid much attention to the little house. As you said, you weren't paying
attention to show business or any ofthis nonsense. Now you started in New
York, you started on Broadway.You're a legitimate theater child actress. I
was. I started in the theater. I started, I mean it really
started for me with song and dance. I was like, you know,

(04:26):
I was little. I was like, uh, I was two years old
when we got a baby grad pianoin our house and um and uh and
I went over. I mean Ido remember it. I was too.
I remember I went over and Imade up a song and with two hands,
with trouble, and it was weird. It was like a kind of
the Indian stuff. I had noidea where it came from. I remember

(04:47):
it now. I could play itif I had a pianoda and yeah,
and then and then my mom anddad with me in Carnegie Hall, like
it was like that, and Ilike one, I one, but I
did it, uh recital. Itook classical piano and I was five by
then, and I played in CarnegieHall and I won for the best of

(05:12):
my age group pianist in the UnitedStates. Okay, okay, because people
said the old joke, how doyou get to Carnegie Hall? Process were
five? You were five? Yeah? Yeah, I hated it. I
dropped out that. See what happened? Was I played by year? I'm
just like, I just know Igot you know, I got the music
in my soul, you know.So I and I used to pretend that

(05:35):
I was reading and the teacher knewI wasn't reading. She'd played it for
me first, and then I rememberit and played and she knew I was
reading and she'd scold me. AndI hated it. Oh her name,
her name was Madame Scaghetti. MadameSaghetti. Being a child actor is an
insane amount of pressure. But likebeing a concert pianist to five, like,

(05:57):
yeah, no, I know Iwould did yeah because you have to
pickaneese. She had all these pickaneesedogs. And if she lives in Carnegie
Hall, he the Good Dog Fare. So wait, you were you were
in you were in Gypsy, youwere baby in June On. Yeah.
I didn't do it on Broadway.I didn't go. I was Ranchi Lansbury

(06:17):
was not And I did it.I did it, and I did a
theater and a round tour. Itwas right before I was too young to
go to Broadway. I wasn't allowed, but I got to do with the
tour theater and the round was intent. I never did that before, and
it was really what a great experience. You know, we toured all over
the United States and you were ina touring company at and how old were

(06:41):
you when you're doing I must havebeen seven. I think I was seven,
because I got to be like eight. I was either I was just
under age to go to Broadway,and so I do. And then the
next day, the next year,I did another one. I did um.
I did one with Anne Miller thetap d Answer. Yeah, she
played my much my step mom andum. I was the only kid in

(07:03):
that show. And then uh anduh, I think I went. I
went some kind of a War.I won a New York Critic Circle Award
for Dramatic and I was young andthen um, Annie and and my mom
and I were friends and she hadus to come to LA. She was
like, Olivia has to come toLA. Now she's done all she could

(07:23):
in New York. And that's showyou were technically technically you were discovered by
Anne Miller. Well kind, Imean, I did a lot of work
before, and I did fifty fivecommercials and I did all this stuff.
But yeah, she I mean,she said you have to bring She made
my mom bringing me to LA.And then we used to hang out at
our house and she had like fagat its home in Beverly Hills and everything

(07:45):
was white shag rugs and poodles,had two white poodles, and it was
it was it was my own youknow, movie star. It was like,
I mean, that was my introductionto Los Angeles and and it was
great. You know, it's interesting. So you were working like like pre
little house. Um, you werein the movie. Another one that everyone
talks about all the time, Childof Glass. Child of Glass is one

(08:07):
of those who it was like,oh my goals, who was in Child
of Glass? Everybody was in Childof Glass. Everyone talks about it.
Yet you're hellow that that it's funnybecause I mean, I mean it was
a big it was a big thrillto get a Disney movie when I was
you know, it was like wow. And but it was one of the
hardest things I've ever worked on becauseI didn't get to work with any of

(08:28):
the actus. I didn't get towork with anybody. I play a ghost,
so I played You're the ghost.You're the ghost. I the original
the original title I from the bookIt's called the Ghost Belongs to Me.
And I was a ghost and umand and yeah, so Eddie, I
I flow, I had I wason a wire belt the whole performance.
They made me float on a wirebelt and then they had it was a

(08:50):
blue screen in those days, nota green screen of blue screen. So
the kids, they kids went homeand I worked with the script supervisor.
I never got to work with anybody. Number one scene one scene I danced
with Stephen shaw Um and I playedinto life and I was a good girl
and I got to dance with him. So you were already like this massive

(09:11):
stage and screen and television veteran bythe time and Little House came along.
Now had you had you watched anylittle house in the prairie? I don't
think I did. I mean,and that's I know. I was like,
I didn't watch TV. I mean, I I watched you know what
I watched though, because then becauseand I was around the same time I
got I got a series at Paramount, and so I watched like Mork and

(09:35):
Indy and I liked that comedy.Right out of the Blue was out of
the Blue. That was blue outof the Blue, and that was that
was that was I mean, thatwas incredible. I worked it was our
our guest star at the first youknow, it was Robin Williams was he
was the guest star and I workedwith him close. I love and I
adored him. I mean, Igot to meet you know, you know

(09:58):
what it's like. I got tomeet like every but we got to meet
everybody, and it was normal.It was kind of it was kind of
normal, but it was thrilling tosome of the people like John Jubolta.
I met him at Paramount and hedanced with me. He's a slow dance
um went. I went to theGillies rap party a lot and he grabbed
he grabbed me and we did aslow dance under spotlight Western dance and I

(10:20):
was know me and you. Imean, I was like crazy. So
when you found out about this audition, now I was reading that that Crazy
Entertainment Weekly article where you do gointo depth about the whole thing about Sylvia.
In this episode, you mentioned thatyou drove yourself to the audition,
which you completely were not old enoughto be doing. What what the heck?

(10:43):
How old were you? And howin the hell did you have the
car keys my mom? My mom'sa little whoo and my mom was working,
so she was working, she tookthem. She was she got bored,
You got bored being a stage mother, and I was glad. You
know, I want to have heardher things. So I enjoyed myself.
And I also I used to drugsand said, I don't know how that

(11:05):
happened, but I used to.I do there a few times, which
is it's totally illegal at that point, Like I mean, because I remember
they were, and they were relativelystrict on Little House some series they're like
whatever. But generally I know withme that the kids, you are supposed
to have somebody there. Nobody Ihear somebody. I think she shows up.
You had so much, but youcould literally people sometimes brought their nineteen

(11:26):
year old friends and went, yeah, my girl had I had one of
the I had one. I hada twenty year old girl. I want.
I wanted her because I was sothis is this is so. Robin
Williams and I used to hang out, and there's and and nobody. The
teachers did not want me hanging outwith him because he cursed. He said,

(11:46):
he was always telling jokes and andthey and they tried to put me
away from him, and I justwould I just a door. I had
such a crush. Anyway, heused to have me meet him at a
club called and I was like undera huge right, I was like fourteen
or something. The club is calledthe Candy Store. Oh my god,
the candy store, I forget,what the hell is the coconut teaser and

(12:11):
everything? Yeah, yeah, exactlyright there right there are chress and heights,
chrest and night said huge. Butyeah, so he having me and
I wouldn't met my mom. Iwant my mom to take me. So
we hired this girl, a younggirl, and he used to having met
him to play chess every night.I was a chess player. I was
shit different. So you were totallybasically being the Hollywood version of a juvenile

(12:33):
delinquent kind of that, like Drewbarrymore like the adults. There's adults there,
um, And this happened a lot. This happened a lot. But
I said, a little husting.You're supposed to, of course have a
guardian within sight and sound and agrandmama somebody. But there were people,
as we know who when they gotto be teenagers just kind of and showed

(12:56):
up places. Yeah. Yeah,I mean, I I think it's kind
of crazy because my mom was reallyover protective, right, but she I
think, I mean, I hadlet her rest in peace back. I
think she did some don't be things, like she trusted me, I guess.
I mean she shouldn't trusted me.I was. I was like,
yeah, she trusted me, sheshouldn't have. But them, I was

(13:16):
really good on set. I wasa goody two shoes. I portrayed like
the Shirley Temple, you know,right. And then and then I lived
it was I lived a double lifebecause I I was. I was really
teased in school like all these kidsthat they thought it was. They used
to call me goody two shoes.Wow, that was that was my nickname
in New York. And then andthen out here in La I went to

(13:39):
Marymount Junior School. Oh my gosh, it was my idea. I wanted
to go to one of the bestschools, and I wanted to be with
all girls. I wanted to wearin the uniform. That was the whole
thing, and I and it was, but it was it was treacherous that
the kids I was. I waslike the brunt me And there was another

(14:00):
girl named Jephanie and she lays potentiallythe table. We were the brunt of
everybody's joe. It was horrible,horrible, and so I didn't stay.
I didn't go to high school.I went to like junior school, and
I wouldn't And then I wasn't likedby other kids because I wasn't there most
of the time. See that wasthe problem I had. I had friends

(14:22):
because I had some people I've knownsince the Third Greeks. I thank god
stayed in like this, the sameschool, but new friends. I kind
of kept the friends in the thirdGrigs, Like new Friendsmik wasn't there.
I didn't make a new friends.I'm like, I'm here for two weeks,
I'm out for three weeks, I'mworking. I'm back I'm working,
I'm back, and I was like, who are you? So yeah that
it made it really weird, butyeah, but so I guess because you

(14:43):
was so hard working. Your momwent ash, she's a good working girl.
What's she gonna do? So howdid you know how to drive at
fourteen five? Because I mean Ilearned at fifteen and a half. Fifteen
and a half, I was totallyI had a card. I had a
card fifteen and a half too,but I did some go So I had
these two drimmens. I had oldergirlfriends, Christina Polson and Ellena Johnson,

(15:07):
and then they spends with me onFacebook and they were like maybe they were
sixteen, I guess, and theylike you took me under their wing.
And Elena was a photographer and she'dtake pictures of me. And anyway,
they taught me how to drive,and I learned how to drive stick shift
first. I was the first thingI learned. It's from your friends,
just on the side, from yourfriends. Yeah, I was driving a

(15:30):
bug a stick and then and thenwe would would steal Christina's mom's car at
night and they let me drunk andit was called and it was a big
Cadillac it was a big old cadletand we called it the ratty cat.
Look look at her, the youngestdrive because she'll So you drove yourself to
the audition for a little house inthe prairie and just said, well,

(15:50):
this sounds like a good part.I'll just grab the keys, I'll I'll
just go. And what was thatwhen I was thirteen or fourteen, it
looked like I was all that youhad that little baby, which made made
Sylvia so tragic because you were likefifteen, but you look like you're nine.
So this is why four people's thehearts out. So you heard,

(16:11):
you found out about the role,and you thought, well, it sounds
heavy. It sounds heavy because theysaid you didn't know about the clown playing,
but you knew that sexual assault waspart of it. And then it
was this really heavy role. Thisso what you thought it was a good
part, and you just like said, I'm going. I wanted you because
I was all common, like Iwas really gave with comedy, and then

(16:32):
I did that afterwards two bit thatwas my one dramatic only you know what
I mean, was like that tome with outstanding, I really wanted to
do that, and I'm trying toremember, you know, I don't.
It's really weird that I don't rememberthe audition that well. And then then
I think, did did did youread? What did they make you?
I don't remember did you read from? It must have been brutal. I

(16:55):
kind of like I kind of fitto it, and I really I don't.
I remember the set. I rememberbeing on set all the time,
and I remember Michael crying behind thecamera like I'll never forget that he was.
He was one of my very favoritedirectors to work with because he was
it was like because an actor whowas like you know, it was so

(17:17):
great to work with him. Itwas emotional and he made he made me
cry. It was like I wouldget I was still crying, be good
to He's a crying behind the cameraand that dude he did a lot and
it did work. You couldn't youcouldn't watch people cry and not start to
break up. But he started tocry. It was just like io,
I know, I know. Andthat was just the same way when Matthew

(17:37):
when we are had the deathbed scene. I it was I was supposed to
be dead and I was crying likehe made he made me. Oh my
god, actor, He's like,you know, he just really I mean
that and so and still great andyou know, it's still great to work
with great people. I mean that'sthat's key, right, So as as

(18:03):
an actress, even even a kidactress, so basically doing the Sylvie episode
as terrifying it is for us towatch as an actor, was a good
experience. You're saying was a directorand then and Matt, you know Matt
Laverette. Obviously he's a very niceperson. I can see where that would
be helpful that you know, thechemistry and such, and it was so
good that overall it was it wasa positive experience. It was a great

(18:23):
experience. And I remember, Iremember and my mom My mom wasn't said
she wasn't not a difference. Iknow there's a couple of times like she
let me drive, but anyway,um, but she had a crush on
my rapist on one horrible She hada crush on the actor who played hat

(18:45):
but a rap fist in the showGod. That was just my mother had
a crush on my rape Okay,so the guy God was Jacob who is
an act man. Yeah, no, it was it was. He a
really kind person to work with itauis what a horrible role. What okay,
dude, here's her part for theweek. He to rape and murder

(19:06):
this little girl. I know.Um yeah, he's great and and so
it's now world Dano. The dad, my dad, dad who was horrid,
horrid, and the father who wasso horrible to his daughter Sylvia she's
been assaulted me just accuses her everythingand says f file things to his child
in the ro the whole thing.I mean, that was heavy. I

(19:29):
mean it was a heavy experience toact for Like the thing about it for
me that was so great, andI'm sure you'll understand this is that it
was an easy It was easier toact it. It was like it became
real. It was like real becauseit was. It was a very heavy
I mean I like acting, youknow, I was. I get lost

(19:49):
and what I used to do.I even I acted. I started at
five years old, right, soI was working, but he steadily did.
I started, but I played.I played with barbies like a little
bit late in life, like Ikept playing with them. But I had
I had miniature dolls. I hada miniature room of dollhouses, and I
used to just I just lived init. I just like would create all

(20:11):
the scenarios and the family, andI realized I was like acting. That
was when my I think, Ithink, I mean, are directing,
you know, I don't know,it's like, but I love to pretend.
I love to pretend that was thething, you know. And so
now both of them, Jacola andDana who had to play the horrible father
in the Horrible right, because theywere were they obviously they were very nice?

(20:33):
It were they very sensitive to this? I mean because they hadn't felt
weird doing this? How they talkabout it? Did they were done?
They never dressed. I don't thinkI even talked about I mean, I'm
trying to remember because it was weird. I mean I think I remember that
roll and I would have, youknow, a heavy scene and then he's
like make sure I was okay,haf you know what I mean? I

(20:55):
could. I mean, it wasit was it was intense and it was
a was like emotionally abusive. Didhe didn't drike me in it? I
can't remember. I feel like hedid. Maybe that he remember him calling
me up here and he like bad, yeah, he shakes here, He's
thrown around as it's bad. Itwas and everybody thought, you know,
everyone thought if he was the guy, you know, right, we all

(21:15):
thought it was him until there wasblack Yeah came along, but he but
it was a yeah, I meanwhat it was. It was such,
It was such, but yeah,it was a sad episode. Like what
I mean, I think about itnow, I love to. I haven't
seen it in so long. Youhave not seen it in ye's okay,
Now that's interesting like that you haven'twatched it. I have not seen it

(21:37):
in so many I mean a lotof years. Because that's the thing.
People who watch it. There's peoplewho watch it and the big trauma comes
from Okay, little house in theprairie. Most of the time, it
was a nice show. Nice thingshappen. There might be a tornado,
there might be locusts, there mightbe but not great. So people were
very very young people people said tellstories about like, oh, I was

(22:00):
nine and I sat down to watchit. My parents didn't even check to
see what I was watching because itwas a little house. And they went
and then I went, what doyou mean parental advisory? What Sylvia?
And next thing they know, they'rewatching this. And people were like traumatize
and there's people who say I can'tgo back and watch it. There's people
who watched it recently because it's sobrilliant. But you know, I introduce

(22:22):
you my friend by you. PamelaBob who did this thing Living on a
Prairie about a woman's obsessed with theshow. One of the scenes in her
sitcom is this woman trying to explainto a guy why Little House is a
really heavy show. And you don'tunderstand. You understand the topics. They
did racism, they had a drugabuse, they had clown right, they
had clown and it's like, waitwhat And it's people who talk about they

(22:45):
go, well the clown Right episode, did the part with the fact that
this guy had a mask? Howfreaky was this to shoot? Did this
disturb you? Well? Get this. I have fear of clowns when I
was a kid, Yes I didso. No, that's great. Did
that made it really that be easierfor me? Like, I I ate
that stuff up? But yes,I had a to I was fraid to

(23:08):
I would try and scream when Igo to the circus and then my parents
didn't know when I was little whatwas wrong. It was the clowns.
I was terrified of the clowns becausethey're scary. A lot of people are
afraid of clowns, so they're kindof weird. There's true, Yeah,
true clowns. And then you didthis show. Yeah did that screw you

(23:29):
up for life? I don't know, maybe you know what, Maybe that
did and that was it, youknow, But I mean, so there
was so I touched on this becauseI didn't remember a lot, and then
during this interview, um, Itouched on this stuff. It was like,
yeah, I had I had aweird time after kind of. I
mean, I didn't associate it withmy role in the Little House, but

(23:53):
it may have been because people,like, you know, people watched stuff
and like read Oh man, that'sthe other thing I'm really popular about.
Like I I like, there werea couple of boyfriends in mine, like
they I didn't know at first thatthey were. Like this guy live within
e Urope, John Parrots. Iloved him, but he was like staring
at me, and I just hereally liked me, and he was staring

(24:15):
me because I was growing reth onthat and I that kind of loveset me.
That kind of bothered me, youknow, But I know now that
it's all part of me. It'sall like that's who it is, okay,
And that's why I wonder, becauseI mean I've had to obviously be
millions and it's absolutely impacted my life. It's worked out well, It's worked
out in a good way ultimately.I I think it was a great character

(24:37):
and it was really funny and Ienjoyed doing it. But obviously this has
to have impacted I mean, obviouslywe talked about the like impacted your career
because you played a lot of veryquirky indie movie stuff, you know,
like Repo Man. But on yourpersonal life, did you have a problem
with like meeting people who had thisSilvia thing in their head? You know?
I guess a lot of people didn'tsay it. I didn't. I

(25:00):
didn't. I wasn't aware of it. And of course it's like one of
the most popular shows in the world, so like every like everybody like people.
I mean, to be on twoepisodes and get stopped in the street
like you're Sylvie, like it wasweird, I think a lot and still
still today, right right, So, um, but yeah, I had
a thing. I mean, Ithink maybe it did have something to do

(25:22):
like with boys. I had weirdrelationships. I had some like weird things
I didn't have like I And yeahit was it wasn't but a lot of
I had to do with like notbeing not being there an other. It
wasn't one of the kids always likeyou know, So how much of it,
right, was just being a childactor and I needed to go back
to thing and all the other stuffwe were doing. And how much was

(25:44):
Sylvia? Now, you did havethe weird repercussions you've said you've had,
like and we've even seen it onface. We've seen it every the strange
fans, the weird fan mail.Your mother had to like not let you
read the mail because obviously there weredisturbed people who saw this and would write
to you. As a kid,I was, I was being written,
um, from from prisons, likefrom X from cons Yeah, like I

(26:07):
mean they you see the mail,like my mom, I should not live
to the mail. And then alsoit was it was a combination of convicts
and um you know my healers,uh religious people that wanted to save my
soul. Now, the thing thething that got me about that is like,
but I died man, like soyou know that like I died my

(26:30):
characters died, but a lot ofpeople just didn't want me to die,
you know what I mean. It'sweird, so that Yeah, but that
was the combination. It was eithereither convicts in prison who wrote me like
men older men, and or oryou know, like uh, state life,

(26:52):
State brought in the state, I'mgonna save your soul. They were
girls, but her character was murdered, so dick, and she's an actress
that got nikes. I mean Ithought, you know, I just want
to think, like, well,I had it weird because of that note
that nobody I don't think anyone hadit as weird as you. I don't
think anybody got the mail you weredead. Yeah, no, yeah,

(27:15):
I think so. I mean Ididn't know. I didn't realize that,
but I think, yeah, nowthere are some roles of other people like
well, like Laura durned out toyou know, being developt like then then
we would go older. I wantedto like, those are roles that I
wanted. There's a couple of rolesthat I wanted. There's three I can
think of that I didn't get.And Laura became one of my best friends.
She became my best girlfriend. Lovedher. I love her best best

(27:38):
friends. But I um, Iwanted to be I auditioned for on Paul
Herman's Pop's Big Adventure, and Iwanted to be his girlfriend so badly,
right, and I very you andI and I and I was a little
a little bit too young and Iwas a little too young looking, and
so I didn't get it. Butyou know, I I guess that happened,

(28:00):
and I just had a memory ofit, and I thought it was
so wild because I adored him.I adored that show. Previous Playhouse was
like, forget it, I gotto go. He invited me to set
the prevus Playhouse and I spent theday with him. He was in pajamas
and he hadn't abjected when he waspee wee hermit. And I just got
to be there and observed and sothat that was cool. You know.

(28:23):
Well now Repo Man, absolute RepoMan has resonated through the ages. Everyone's
still talking about that. Yes,that's ah. That that was. That
was. That was me going againstthe grain because my agents told me not
to go on the audition again againrunning away and sneaking out to these auditions,

(28:47):
So I I went and they werethey were like don't go. It's
on a Sunday. He was ona Sunday in Venice and it was it
was that like it was in thein the garage. The screen texted me
in the garage which is now JuiceStuff, which is like this really cool
restaurant. But anyway, um,I was yeah, and I always caught
Kevin me there for a while andhe's screen texting me. I was supposed

(29:10):
to read for The Punk Rock Worldfor Debbie Debbie's role, and and he
I did, and then he saidhe he brings me a script. He
goes, would you mind looking atthis row? He goes, he goes,
it's for a forty year old womanis supposed to play in this role.
But uh, layla, but Ijust want to see what you do
with it. And I and Iread with Dick Ruge. Dick Rouge is

(29:33):
the other the punk rocker, theyou know, the chickt heead boy,
and I the only I was likescared at him. He was so intense
that I was a little bit scaredto work with him. And then I
went I went to England. Ijust went after I got after the interview,
I went to London and it's it'sa weird story. This is a
weird story. So I try tothink, how did my mom let me

(29:56):
go to London. I was likeseventeen or sixteen. I was young.
Um, and I went alone withmy first holiday alone but I live.
I moved there but alone and Iand I actually really I followed a person
in a rock man. I huntedhim down. I was a groupie and
so I mean anyway, it wasmy boyfriend from Bow Wow Wow, Leaman

(30:22):
from Bow Wow Wow. So Iwent there and I was like, you
know, it was like ridiculous.And then I'm having my mom. Let
me do that, my mom,Okay, so my dad left h I
tried to kick me together forever anddidn't work. And I was I also
was a thick kid. I nobodyknew this, and I'm telling you now,

(30:42):
I was a really thick kid.I had a disease called ultrative colitis
and I got I was seven yearsold and then um, and it was
under control with like medication. Itwas really heavy. And then by the
time I turned sixteen, I wentto cedar side and night and I didn't

(31:03):
come out. I was in therefor two months. They didn't know what
was wrong. With me and Ihad pancreatitis, and they and pancreatitus,
so you know it to be itsfound in older aged alcoholics. And the
people knew sixties get pancreatitis, right, so they didn't test. They kept

(31:23):
me and there I was in therefor two months because they teuched me for
everything else and I went teuching negativelike and they didn't know. And then
my doctors and let's just do that, and they teuched me and I got
transferred in the middle of the nightto UCLA. I came up positive and
they took my colon out. Butbut but the doctor jake my life.
So the doctor the UTLA and heactually was Gary Coleman surgeon also and I

(31:52):
and I was signed over there andmore normally or i'd worked with all these
I knew. I knew them fora year, like I would to scold
at Janet Jackson all those kids.But Gary Jerry's life was saved by this
doctor and mine was just so hesaved my life. I never told anybody.
Nobody ever knew me, and mymom said it's going to be our
secret. And so anyway, butI had, okay, hold on on

(32:14):
top of about this You're like leadingmultiple lives and flying to Europe and this
is in between seventeen major abdominal surgeriesseventeen So I did I did that?
By parts, I did a movieor a guest startment in between surgeries and
nobody knew. Nobody knew you didknow, right? I know nobody knew?

(32:37):
So yeah you okay? Do Ihave to ask because I'm always asking
these like work permit questions, childactor questions, How the heck did you
keep a work permit? Because Ihad to go to the doctor every six
months and he had to signed tothink, oh, yes, it's fine,
Oh wow, that's right. Idon't know work permit date. You
had to go school. The principalor the dean or somebody had to go.
Okay, you had to have reasonablegrades. You could get seen,

(33:00):
but you had to be you hadto be not flunking out, and you
had to be pronounced quote healthy enoughto work. Hi, heck were you
getting out of surgery and then goand get I guess we didn't. We
just didn't tell anybody. I meansomebody cheap excebod es. I guess we
didn't tell because nobody, nobody knewnobody in street. Nobody knew. I
mean people that I knew didn't know. My friends knew, though my friends

(33:22):
knew, because I mean, itwas okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna say,
I'm gonna just like tell them myselfbecause I'm gonna write my memoirs at
some point too, hopefully. AndSo I had a colostomy bag for six
months at sixteen year as a kid, as a kid, and that's the
worst thing a sixteen year old girl. I mean, it's like it was
like that change that really messing.That was like, I mean, okay,

(33:44):
so this is what you're like,what Sylvia, big deal you had
a colostomy bag at sixteen You survivedthat? Jesus, Yeah, I mean
I got I got story. Igot some story, you know, I
got some story. And then andthen and then I began and then I
became addicted to opiates. And throughthrough the hospital stays, I was like,
I was addicted to denall, youknow, but then I but then

(34:05):
then I come off. And thenonce I was out of the hospital,
they give they give me methodone pills. We didn't know what they were,
but but I mean, I thinkthat a lot of it that that proves
to me that addiction is so psychologicalbecause once you know that, the you
know, it's like I didn't knowwhen I was a kid. I didn't
know about that. I didn't knowabout addiction, and so my mom would
just take me out. I wouldget off a metodate like it was not

(34:25):
a thing. But you know,it became a thing. But that was
something I battled with later in life, and it was I was all related
to my hospitalizations and then I gotplained and two after twenty years, you
know that, So it was like, wow, you know, yeah,
there's some stuff just freaking miracle You'realive. Yeah, I guess. So,

(34:47):
I mean people say that and Iand it is and I should realize
I don't know's I mean. Ifeel like it's miraculous that I survived,
and like a lot of people inthese last these last four years particularly,
but like right before the pandemic,I had some real tragedy in on it.
But it's like, yeah, Imean, I don't know how,
I like there's something. I mean, maybe I believe that there's a reason.

(35:08):
I don't know. I don't know, but I know I know it
doesn't tell people. I can't helppeople that to like believe in stuff that
they maybe they didn't think that theycould do, like I've done that,
you know, but I'm kind oftired of being like I didn't want to
be strong like I've been being toldto the pandemic, like when you're strong,
you're gonna be able. ID anda family now, no significant other

(35:30):
right now, And I like,I just like I wanted to be weak,
you know, like for a while, like I wanted to be but
I I guess I pretend I am, but I'm not. So well I
did. You're completely amazing. Andthen on top of all of this,
you also sing. You also right, you were in the Doors movie.

(35:52):
You played this folksing and you havea song in the movie. I yes,
um okay, So that to whatwhat I say is I mean it
started with music for me, likethat's I was. I was singing Sinatra
songs and conventions from that my dadhad and he I would not eat my
dinner unless they would let me seesinging with a band, like it was.

(36:15):
It was like that. And sounless I get a gig you booked
me up with the band, orI don't eat Yeah, exaxactly. I
mean I was, I really meantit. And then and so I would
go up and I was like young, I was like three four and and
the band leader would name down tocommunity, say what what do you what
do you want us to play?Mary had a little lamp, and I

(36:36):
go, no, lady, ladyis a tramp in ka of E So
Rosemary Clooney, the love I love, well, my dad. My dad
is snat, you know, he'sloved. And he taught me every song
and and I love I love Sinatra, so and and and then I'll just
come back. I went, I'vegone so much timegins I know. But

(36:59):
my dad. So, my dadleft home. I was in the hospital.
It was my first surgery. AndI came home and Daddy was gone.
And that was really that was lame. That was just not okay,
no, no, nothing. It'slike he wasn't there, and said was
gone. Yeah, he moved.He moved to Venis. He wasn't so
but I lived. We lived inSanta Momaga, like right on the edge

(37:19):
of Venis. And I was asurfer too. I was. I used
to serve for the Dogtown Boys.I was the only girl at that point
to serve for them. But yeah, my dad moved to Venis and then
and then I got mad at himwhen he moved away to San Diego because
he had a girlfriend and he washe lived for her, and and then
I felt like he left me.You know, I didn't talk to him
for a lot of years. Butanyway, after my dad left, okay,

(37:44):
so then my mom left when Iwas six. It was weird.
It was like my mom adorned Iwas my mom's world. And I just
want to preface this by saying,my mother had a great loss when I
was a little When I was fouryears old, we lost my brother in
Vietnam and that really and it reallyjust like it completely, you know,

(38:07):
it changes people. And I didn'treally understand it. I was too young.
I didn't really then I understand morenow, But that happened, and
then she put me into show business. She was like I was her joy,
but I felt I felt the responsibilityto make my mom happy, which
was kind of messed up, right, But I this is her recalled with
the child actors. I mean,I just I just didn't But I didn't

(38:30):
love it. I love I'm gonnasay I loved it. When I was
in New York, when I waslittle, young, young, and and
then I loved it for some ofwhen I was in LA, but really
I just wanted to start surfing andlike not have to leave and go to
said like I wanted to be akid kid then and I didn't get into
that, and then I built resentment, you know. And my mom but

(38:50):
she told me something before she passedaway, because I told her, I
said, Mom, how could youlike how how could you not know and
keep me in show business, whichis like the most stressful, Like I
was an actor as a child,Like how did you not know having surgery
and then holding down the job?How did you not know that that it

(39:12):
would like that? It messed meup? Like how did you not know
that? How did you not feel? Because she's smart, right, you
know, she said to me,she said, if it weren't for your
acting career, you you probably wouldbe dead because you wouldn't have been able
to get that surgeon because your healthinsurance. She she she kept me in

(39:34):
the business because I had good healthinsurance. My dad wasn't. He was
in the breadwinner. It was likethat's it and it's bananas, and like,
oh my god, what that's yourfreaking answer. But it's also true.
I had a survival. It wasa survival thing. I didn't even
know. She never said anything likeI did. I didn't. I didn't

(39:54):
put it together. And then whenshe said I felt so bad. I
felt bad. You know, butyou know, it's like we don't we
don't. You know, it's Imean, it's it's weird being a child
actress. You know, I'm youknow, I mean it's weird. It's
like it's different. I mean it'sdifferent. We're different. We're different are
but you you act now you're stilldoing so if you've directed, produced and

(40:16):
you're still doing stuff, now,what's that like? Well, that's new
and the duty stuffs in front ofthe camera again is new, very new.
And I'm mentor it like I really, I didn't realize how much I
loved acting or mischief. I gettime I had a grudge or something.
And when I went into music,I was like, I wanted to be

(40:37):
cool. I wanted to be accepted, and I didn't want my acting career
to get away of my music careerbecause back then, in those days with
early nineties, it was not coolto be a rock and roll singer and
an actor. It was uncol Nowyou can do it. Now it's like
it's great, But it wasn't whenI when so I actually exited the business.
Um, I had, I got, I left my agency and I

(41:00):
was done. And then I thinkthe Doors was like one of the last
things I did, and I wantedand I wanted to sing it. So
I was up for a regular role. I was up for one of the
girlfriends of Jim Marshy, right ofVal Kimber and um again I'm young,
but um and I read and itwas crazy. Alder Stone, I can

(41:21):
say it. I mean everybody knowsin the business. The only auditions the
women, the girls who had theirsex scenes. He only read their sex
scenes. I mean, yeah,it's all over town about the Doors.
Yeah, the Doors auditions. Itwas like being a complete birth with everyone
apparent life. It was just likethe birth fest of the universe and the
whole Doors movie. I didn't care. I was like, I'm I said,

(41:44):
you know, okay, who willtell me about it? Which again,
um, my mom Actually it wasmy momma. I'm having a I'm
having a senior moment. Uh.Proji Arkhead our caut was my friend.
We were on a audition together andshe's like, Olivia, you should be

(42:05):
in the Doors movie and she andshe goes, my agent won't let me
out dishing for it because she knewI was getting out of the business,
like I was going into music,and she was my agent. Well and
and and and then it turned outand she said half the agents in town
won't let their actresses go up forit. And she goes, right,
and she did just go just shegoes, I'll get I'll get the information

(42:28):
for you, and she they andthen I read went went to Oliver Stone.
I went right there. But yeah, it was like they had a
guy like it looked alike. Idon't remember his name, but he was
Falcomer's double, you know, standingand I had like I didn't take my
clothes off, but I you know, I like all our Stone all other

(42:49):
Stone talks on the phone when you'rereading. He has he has a phone
call, has a phone call.But he put the phone down. He
started, he put the phone downand pay attention. And I was and
then I knew, I knew heliked me. And then and then after
that, after I read, um, he didn't say I don't think he
didn't say anything. And and Iknew he liked me. I could tell.

(43:10):
And then I got home, like, right, I we didn't have
you know, we didn't have cellphones. I got home, I had
a message from my agent saying thathe really writes you and he loves you,
and he wants to write you intothe film. You're too young,
but you're gonna get rich into thefilm. So but then I get I
get a call back. I waslike called back like a month or two

(43:31):
later, because they it was beinga long prep. It was a big
movie, right, And so Iget called back and I walk into the
office. It's in Venice. AndI walked into the office and there's all
these like six tall, drop deadgorgeous models and they're all auditioning from my

(43:52):
role. Okay, I was sopinished. I was like, I was
freaked out. I wanted to bein that movie. And oh the do
was and I had my band already, like we were playing out and I
did. We did a door songand it wasn't because of the doors.
It was like it's just happened tobe so I used to I was inviting
I was having my agent invite Oliversince come see me playing and he never
would no. So I'm like,I'm sitting there and I'm looking at these

(44:15):
girls, and I'm like, andthen and then I see what they had.
We had one line and it wasI love you Jim groupie playing a
groupie. I was like, Okay, I'm I'm in trouble. I'm in
trouble. So I didn't know whatto do. Oh and then right before,
right before I go in, thisone girl, beautiful Goal comes screaming
out Oliver's office, crying and screamingand crying, hello means and he did.

(44:40):
He he was doodling on her pictureand he drew, he drew something.
It's so sure we could do atre episode about the horror of the
Oliver. He liked me. Idon't know what happened was I didn't know
what to do, and I'm thinking, I want to get this and I
gotta do something to stand out.And I had a guitar in the car.
I had an acoustic guitar in mycar, and I went to the

(45:05):
car and I strapped it on mybody. I just went and I walked
into his office and I said,they stopped back, and I walked in
with the car on and he lookedat me like he's gonna throw me out,
Like I knew he didn't know what'sgoing on. And I said,
I said, I been invited tryingto get you to come to month dance
shows and you wouldn't. So Ithought I'd just come and play for you
here and and in the big longsilence pause, and then he goes,

(45:30):
okay, go ahead, and soI did. And then um, he'd
stopped me like halfway through. He'dstopped me at after the second chorus,
and he started yelling at it's reallybig capting directors. The directors, they
were such, they were huge captaindirectors. I never ever auditioned for them
again. And he was why didthe why the brief didn't you tell me

(45:50):
how bamn talented she is? Andthen he goes, do you want to
sing in my movie? And hegoes, you're bene a thing in my
movie, So that's why you're thefolks. Okay, So again I said,
never be afraid to be assertive atan audition, because when everything's gone
to hell and women are just gettingsexually exploited at the audition and they don't
care, they're just looking for bimbo, you have nothing to lose, that's

(46:12):
right. I used to go atjust say screw it. I didn't.
I did it, you know,and it worked. It worked, you
know, it's like it was.I mean, I I was kind of
like, I mean I did.I didn't do that all the time that
I started doing stuff like that.And it's like, and it worked for
me, and it your stuff rightnow, because I believe it or not,

(46:32):
we're like, we're like almost done. I can't come on again.
We'll do like five hours or something. I don't know. But so you
have this insane thing called Barkville thatI just saw on YouTube. It's little
dogs, little dogs, little dogslike talking and seeing. It's the most
absolutely demented thing. You creately createdthis, you produced bit this thing with
the dogs. What is happening?Um, I don't know. I can't

(46:55):
remember how we thought how I thoughtof it. I think oh, um,
I asked Dave Jerdan. We adoredwe had We used to watch these
shorts from the nineteen twenties and theywere called Dogville and I kind of stole
it from that. They used todress up the dogs and they and they
would they would dug their voice.I mean, it was it was brilliant,
but it was different. It waslike, I mean, but it's

(47:16):
I'll show you. I mean,it's it's fantastic and so um, but
it wasn't good. They were cruelto the dogs. I think I think
they put them on they had holdingtheir backs up big wall, so they're
horrible to them. But anyway,I thought, I thought, I loved
I love dogs, and I'm reallygood with dogs. I was a dog
handler and I was like that,and and I wanted to work with the

(47:37):
doggies and so I just um,I did a pilot. I did call
it called Barkville Comedies, and Ishot it and they had people in it.
But people didn't end up being inthe The big people didn't work.
The dogs were better, so thedogs. It's just I used I used
people in the In the uh dogumentaries, there were people because they held really

(48:00):
intense stories. But the Barkfel,the Barkville Pup fiction, that was all
just dogs. I want to bringit. I want to bring it back,
you know I have. I reallywant to bring it back. Everybody
go on YouTube. Look at thisa Barkville It's a Barkfield tility. You
will you will, you will peeyour pants? This thing? So okay,

(48:21):
where do people find you now?Like you said, you don't have
a book out, but clearly youneed to. Um, um, you're
on Facebook. They can find youon Facebook. You're there's a r IMTB.
There's a bunch of YouTube stuff.There's actually some great YouTube videos of
you singing and performing that are outthere that I've seen. So what do
your stuff? Where do we findyou now? Do you have a website?
Do you have anything? I don'thave I don't because I just the

(48:45):
pandemic kind of made me take abreak. But I actually was developing a
project. I have a documentary thatI shot like thirty five hours of footage
on the viper room. I don'tknow that we're doing. I was in
development with it for a long timeand then um, I switched it up,
and I think, I'm I wantto do I want to do it

(49:06):
as a narrative series and incorporate mydocumentary footage into it. They episode.
So that's what and there, andthere's a pretty large company that my partner
took it to them, and ithappened right before the writer strike and they're
sitting on it. They can't doanything but so that that there's that and
they don't have a website. Um, I and I'm writing I have a

(49:29):
project called The New Wave Murders andI'm just going to be a film and
I'm and there's people may be interested, like I want to get back and
do everything again. Act and Iacted on in each two. Yeah,
I'm like I'm starting to active thetwo. What you got like there's a
shorten a feature or something, right? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, just
really um cameo, you know,like student cameos. And but I realized

(49:53):
like people might pass me just becausethey want to cast. Like I didn't
audition this stuff. It was justlike random. And one person found me
on Facebook or I found hit likewe found each other and I freended.
He friended me and they said heasked me, do do I want to
be in his tige of sci fi? Relieve it is really cool. He's
in Berlin, he direct. That'show these things start. I have been

(50:15):
found through the most like weirdest waysin our fabulous, insane twenty first century.
It's a I am just so likeblown away. I mean I knew
about you, and I knew thatyou've gone into music, and I knew
that you've done reap home add andbunch cool stuff, but realizing that you
triumphed it for being a child actressand extreme physical illness and extreme loss of

(50:37):
your family all at the same time. I did not know that you have
do it all of that, andI'm really impressed that you have to talk
about survivor. Um, you gotto do a book. I want to
see the documentary in the viper room. I want to see the next things
you do. I want to seemore dogs so we can find on Facebook
and hopefully soon there will be awebsite in personal appearances and everything else.

(51:00):
This is amazing. Thank you.You've been so open and so unbelievable.
Thank you for coming on my showso much. It was great, so
great, great, great to seeyou. I'm telling to see you again
in prison too. That was reallygreat. And we shall now, we
shall now ideas we can. I'vegot all my I've got all my shots.
I feel like a dog rock.Yeah, get together. Um,

(51:20):
thank you so much. Has it'sjust been amazing. And yes, ladies
and gentlemen, Yeah, Sylvia isstill with us and she's good. She's
been Thank you, and this hasbeen the Alison Arghraam Show and I'm Alison
arghram sister fan page, and that'sright.