Kay Lenz on McCloud

In 1974, Kay Lenz was a guest star on the premiere of the 5th season of the hit television series McCloud. In the episode, titled "The Barefoot Girls of Bleecker Street," Lenz shares many of her scenes with the star of the show, Dennis Weaver, and also with the other featured guest star, Shelley Winters.

In this episode of McCloud, Kay Lenz plays Eve Randall, a young woman on her own with a baby who must do very unsavory things to survive on the cruel streets. Shelley Winters plays her pimp/mother figure and she has the lovely Kay Lenz picking up older men at a club so she can steal their credit cards.

Kay Lenz had only been acting for about two years when she appeared on McCloud. Even at this early point in her long career, the young actress had such physical appeal and skill to warrant a special 'and' billing (to indicate that she was important guest). Indeed, just from watching her here, it's easy to see why Kay Lenz was so sought after for TV projects during the mid-to-late '70s.

Jan Smithers in Our Winning Season

In 1978, Jan Smithers co-starred with Scott Jacoby, Joe Penny, Dennis Quaid and many others in a coming-of-age film called Our Winning Season. This nostalgia piece, about a group of high school students in 1967, was a successful blend of drama and comedy.

In Our Winning Season, Jan Smithers plays a key role and her wonderful performance is one of the many memorable aspects of the movie. Besides looking quite beautiful, the lovely young actress (who had only been acting for a couple years at this point) displays great skill and adds delightful nuances to her role. She plays the sister of the film's main character (Scott Jacoby) and she is dating a young man (Joe Penny) who is going to be shipped off to fight in the Vietnam War. Smithers handles her dramatic/emotional scenes with great depth and confidence and it's easy to see why she was in high demand for television work shortly after she appeared in Our Winning Season.

Jan Smithers and Joe Penny

Jan Smithers and Scott Jacoby

Melody Anderson on Philip Marlowe, Private Eye

In 1986, Melody Anderson was the featured guest star on the second season premiere of Philip Marlowe, Private Eye. In the episode "Blackmailers Don't Shoot," based on Raymond Chandler's 1933 short story of the same name, beautiful actress Melody Anderson portrays beautiful actress Rhonda Farr, the target of a complex blackmail/kidnapping scheme. There's only one person with enough cunning to crack the case: private dick Philip Marlowe (expertly played by Powers Boothe)!

Melody Anderson is impeccably cast as a glamorous 1930s movie queen. She's not only physically attractive enough to pull this off, her incredible talent allows for her fully embody the role. During her nearly twenty year screen career, Melody Anderson was only occasionally given the opportunity to appear in period pieces. This particular appearance makes one wish that she could have further explored historical film and television projects (she would have been great in a Western). Regardless, this is one of Melody Anderson's finest TV guest spots and it's recommended that her fans (if they haven't already sought it out) take a look at it.

Mia Sara in Any Man's Death

In 1988, Mia Sara co-starred with John Savage, William Hickey and Ernest Borgnine in Any Man's Death. A South African production, set (and filmed on location) in Namibia, the film deals with the subject of uncaptured Nazis hiding out in the remote regions of the African nation. When an American writer comes in search of a photojournalist who went missing in the area, he finds much more than he bargained for. Mia Sara portrays a beautiful young woman who may be involved in this strange situation.

Following the tremendous success of her first acting jobs (Legend, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and the TV miniseries Queenie), Mia Sara began appearing in a number of interesting, lower budget film and television projects. One such project was Any Man's Death which afforded the stunning and talented young actress an opportunity to participate in an international production and to try her luck at using an Afrikaans accent.

Mia Sara is perfect for her role in Any Man's Death. She doesn't actually show up on screen until about a half hour into the movie, but we get to see her in a photograph during several early scenes. When she does appear, she handles her part with ease and confidence and her physical beauty is beyond compare. Though she doesn't have all that much to do in this film, she makes the most of her time on-screen and she manages to make a massive impact on the viewer.