Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing provides children of the '70s a dinomite treat in publishing "Run, Holly, Run!," which is the memoir of "The Land of the Lost" star Kathy Coleman. This compelling tale of childhood stardom and related family drama, post-fame ups and downs, and apt survival story hits real and virtual shelves on May 9 2017.
For the benefit of folks unversed in the awesomeness of '70s-era Saturday morning television, "Land" is a groovy 1974-77 Sid and Marty Krofft live-action series. The show initially centers around Park Ranger Rick Marshall, who is enjoying the most famous "routine (rafting) expedition" when "the greatest earthquake ever known" plummets Marshall and his teen offspring Holly and Will into the titular prehistoric creatures laden area.Coleman plays wholesome tomboy Holly.
This literal cradle-to-present auto-biography begins with the February 18, 1962 birth of our survivor. We quickly learn that she still is the youngest of her 10 siblings and is associated with a touch of conceivable scandal. This coverage of her early life additionally includes a passage that is a reasonable and gracious version of the "Don't call me Ricky" incident involving former child star Rick Schroder roughly a decade after his '80s-era "Silver Spoon" fame.
Consistent with the armchair psychology in a May 2015 Unreal TV post on the psyche of child stars, Coleman soon becomes a young performer who is the sole breadwinner in her family. The associated costs include pressure to keep getting cast, dealing with truly the mother of all stage moms, and contending with the responses of the other kids when she attends a traditional school.
A personal favorite story from the entire book is Coleman sharing the glee of her and the other children in a commercial when their adult co-stars start cursing several takes into filming an advertisement for a product. This is so hilarious that your not-so-humble reviewer unconsciously mutters "f**king Cheez-its" under his breath on seeing two displays of that snack in a grocery store the day after reading the related experience of Coleman.
Another memorable pre "Lost" gig for Coleman has her being the youngest member of the "Up With People" style chorus "The Mike Curb Congregation." The memorable venues of the latter include Disneyland, which returns to haunt Coleman later in life.
Coleman delights fans of (tragically discontinued) Quisp cereal and (equally missed) "Schoolhouse Rock" in quickly getting to the topic of "Lost." Much of this relates to the prior friendship (and future "its complicated" relationship) between Coleman and co-star Phil Paley. Paley is the portrayor of friendly missing link ape-boy Cha-ka. The reported bond of these two relates to the co-child stars' adventures pulling pranks on the set and being the only students at the on-set school.
Having the privilege of interviewing Will portrayor/theme song performer Wesley Eure and maintaining correspondence with this righteous dude for a short period after that makes learning that he is an ideal big brother figure awesome. A highlight of this is learning of the playful on-set competition between Coleman and Eure. A fall-on-the-floor funny story revolves around Eure pouncing on Coleman.
Learning that Rick portrayor Spencer Milligan affirmatively fills a void in the life of fatherless Coleman is awesome for "Lost" fans. Discovering that the actor who plays the brother of Rick fills the role of creepy uncle is as distressing as learning that Milligan is as righteous as Eure is exciting.
The post "Lost" portion of "Run" is the stuff of which compelling primetime soaps (and page-turner Hollywood memoirs) is made. The adventures in the actual and figurative chapters that follow include Coleman having an upsetting initial sexual encounter that a second encounter that outwardly is the thing of which softcore porn is made but is endearing and special.
The adult life of Coleman includes marriages to two princes who turn out to ogres, having two outwardly and internally beautiful boys, working at fast food restaurants and discount stores to pay the bills, being homeless, and periods in which she does her best to drown her sorrows.
The award for best story in the entire book goes to a tale (no pun intended) of Coleman still being anxious after being rescued from her second husband deserting her (again, no pun intended) in the desert. Coleman being anxious after reaching a seeming safe place prompts her savior to dump a litter of puppies on her to relax her.
The final chapter in this saga that is one of the greatest adventures even known revolves an aptly (but sadly) lost documentary on a "Lost" cast reunion. The circumstances behind the filming and the possibility of seeing this holy grail to the aforementioned children of the '70s affirms the themes of "Run" that we must endure folks in our lives who are not so nice and that there always is hope for a happy ending.
The overall message of the tough life lessons that the adult Coleman learns is that money can be a blessing or a curse but never should be a priority in itself. She (like Holly) further demonstrates the importance of perseverance and a positive attitude.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Holly" is strongly encouraged either to email me or to connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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