EMERGENCY! CONVENTION '98 - October 9-11
Convention 98 (aka The Boys are Back in Town) took place on October
9th through 11th at the Burbank Airport Hilton, in Burbank, California. The hotel
staff was unbelievably helpful and accomodating considering that quite a few more
attendees showed up than anticipated.
Cast and Crew attending included: Bob
Belliveau (T.A.), Jim Brewer (T.A.),
Randall Carver (Guest Star), Jean
Cinader (Wife of the late Bob Cinader),
Patti Cohoon (Guest
Star), Dennis Donnelly (Director),
Tim Donnelly (Chet Kelly),
Dick Friend (LACo PIO),
Harold Frizzell (Stuntman/Double),
Robert Fuller (Dr.
Brackett), Gino
Grimaldi (Producer), Mrs. Sam Lanier (wife of the late
Sam Lanier), Mike Lewis, (T.A.),
Marco Lopez (Marco
Lopez), Randy Mantooth, (Johnny
Gage), Johnny Miller (Stuntman),
Bob McCullough (T.A.), Bruce Mortimer (T.A.), James
McEachin (Lt. Crockett), Mickey Michaels (Set
Decorator), Johnny
Miller (Stuntman), Jim Page (T.A., Writer),
Ron Pinkard (Dr.
Morton), Ed Self (Producer),
Hannah
Shearer (Producer), Mike Stoker (Mike
Stoker), Kevin Tighe (Roy DeSoto), the late
Bobby Troup (Dr. Early), Cynnie
Troup (Script Supervisor), Mike Williams (T.A.),
and Tom Williams (Guest Star),
among others.
Friday night consisted of registration
and a welcome reception which included 70's music, a (cash) snack bar, merchandise sales,
photography sessions, trivia and other games. A few of the former cast members who
were staying at the hotel came down for the fun and mingled with the guests.
Saturday was a big day. There were
various vendor displays, video showings (of episodes, blooper reel and the music video),
fire & rescue vehicle displays, question and answer sessions with the cast and crew,
the awards ceremony, autograph sessions, fan gift basket presentation, and an auction of
E! memorabilia.
Sunday was tour day. First stop --
LACoFD Headquarters where we were taken on tours of the museum, dispatch & traning
facilities. LACo pulled out all the stops and included a helicopter water drop,
repelling demonstrations and even blew up a car so that the engine and the squad (along
with some other trucks) could respond! They also had various equipment on display
and were happy to help people try on all sorts of gear. Next stop was Station 127
(aka Station 51) where the fans got to roam around and check out all their favorite spots.
Both the firefighters at Station 127 and the folks at headquarters were very
accomodating.
If you missed the convention (and are kicking yourself), Laura has provided us with a
transcript of the cast Q&A session.
Of course, we also took tons of pictures!
Also, Marco has asked us to post a letter of thanks he
wrote and Laura wanted us to post Chief Freeman's letter as well.
And to answer your next question…
We very much doubt there will be another convention.
On a personal note…
Let me just say that the cast and crew were unbelievably
accommodating! They were so very kind and friendly. Many hung around and posed
for photos and signed autographs even when they were not scheduled to. THEY WERE THE
TOPS!!!
I promised to mention my drinking buddies:
Mike Frieders
Allen Baldwin
Werner "doc" Brammer
Todd Overmyer
Joe Taylor
who were kind enough to keep me out of trouble when I was looking for it,
and were extremely nice to me even though I was incredibly obnoxious. Guys, I just
want you to know I had a great time! (Oh, and I had some heavy explaining to do
about the magic marker on my forehead ;-)
A special thank you to all the folks who bought one
of the program books. The project was my responsibility, but I couldn't have done it
without Rozane's research and Lisa's wonderful cover design. I hope they met with
your expectations. :-)
Your fellow fan,
Erika
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