Mary Jo Pehl Interview

AN INTERVIEW WITH MARY JO PEHL

Photos courtesy of Mary Jo Pehl

One of the unexpected by-products of my inteview with Cory Geryak was getting a nice note from the Lawgiver herself, Mary Jo Pehl. Mary Jo was a writer on Mystery Science Theater 3000 for years and is perhaps best known for her portrayal of mad scientist and perennial world dictator candidate Pearl Forrester. She was also a bit player of several memorable supporting roles, including White Trash Girl, Shelly the Nanite, an Amazon Mom, a neighbor from Deep 12, and (my personal favorite) a member of the grunge-polka fusion band, the Power Steves. More recently, she is the author of "I Lived With My Parents, and Other Tales of Terror", as well as several travel articles for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. From time to time she can be heard on NPR as a commentator. Our MST3K rennaissance woman also teaches writing workshops. Her professional website is www.maryjopehl.com.

After I got over the initial shock of getting a note from one on the 'Brains, I received a very pleasant surprise: Mary Jo is is approachable, down-to-earth, and about as intensely funny as anyone I've ever met. (She once submitted a hilarious article to the normally-staid Minneapolis Star-Tribune travel section). We chatted via email about writing, careers, teaching , the struggles of filmmaking, and of course MST3K. In short, you just get the impression that this is a person who genuinely enjoys her fans, even when she has to answer the 10,000,000th MST3K question. (I admit to asking question 10,000,001). Truth be told...I was impressed enough that if Mary Jo scribbles her next book in crayon on the back of a Bazooka gum wrapper, I'll buy it on spec.

Like the rest of the 'Brains, Mary Jo has participated in online interviews and chats. Feeling a bit overconfident from my previous MST3K journalistic endeavor, I tentatively asked if she would also mind doing a "20 Questions"-type interview. She very graciously agreed, which left me with a problem: how do I avoid repeating the same, tired questions (especially the much-hated "where do you get your movies"). No problem...I needed only to listen to my inner voice to find my muse. Fortunately, my inner voice has the melliflous FM radio intervew tones of NPR's Terry Gross and Nina Totenburg. The kind of voice that can pose an utterly irrational question and make it sound completely brilliant. I eventually came up with a decent list, and Mary Jo exceeded all possible expectations. But then, Mary Jo has a lot of depth, so it was actually pretty easy to ask about her latest projects, her travel, and even about MST3K.

Dammit, I'm a science teacher, not a journalist. Here in its entirety is my email interview with the exquisite Ms. Mary Jo Pehl.

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Thanks for doing the interview, and congratulations on the new book, "I Lived With My Parents And Other Tales of Terror". Can you tell us a bit about your new book?

Well, I’m a nervous wreck and excited at the same time. I can’t quite believe it. It’s a compilation of stories and essays, some of which have been published before. Hopefully, I’ve polished them up, and created a bit of a readable morsel.

Pursuing a writing career has been theme for you - you were a writer on MST3K, you've written newspaper articles, you've led writing workshops, you've contributed to anthologies, and now you're an author. Do you tend to think of yourself as a writer first, or as a comedienne/performer?

Wow, that’s a tough one. I think the two are inseparable for me; they are entwined. I love doing the performance thing, the monologues, the stories, the plays whenever I can... and I can’t help but write! It’s how I figure out stuff. I think at heart I am “circus folk”: performers, actors and writers - artists of every sort - comprise my milieu. I can be at a funeral or a wedding and I will be moved to tears but all the while I will be considering the production values of the event. And I’m constantly proofreading and mentally
rewriting things: signs, church bulletins, etc.

After MST3K, you traveled the world, and even wrote about your experiences in China (scary!) and Egypt. You've mentioned Morocco as a favorite. Was there a country that spoke to you in a way you had notanticipated?

Morocco as a country; and Paris as a city. I really hate to admit the Paris thing, it’s such a cliche, and yet, there it is. I still dream of spending three or four months there, perfecting my French, smoking clove cigarettes and picking the tobacco off my tongue whilst writing some magnificent, torrid tome. And Morocco... to think of it still takes my breath away. It felt like a dream - there’s something mysterious and other worldly about it... however, it might have been sheer exhaustion on my part! It was my last stop after about ten months of traveling and I was exhausted. You could have put me in Cincinnati and I might have felt the same way, who knows?

One of your travel articles, "Your Tour Group And You" appeared in the travel section of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. I've never seen a humorous article in a newspaper travel section - it was a hilarious read.Did they specifically ask for a humorous piece, or was that your idea? Thank you for your kind words!

They did not request a humorous piece: I submitted it and the current editor, a fine bloke by the name of Chris Welsch, liked it, printed it, and later shared with me some people’s indignation about it!

Any new travels to report on? Or perhaps a cool New York story?

Actually, I’m currently working on another story for the Minneapolis Star Tribune about the Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend, Iowa. I’m planning/hoping to go to either Thailand or India this fall.

So you're minding your own business, and the next thing you know you're involved with a TV show with the most intense followingsince the original "Star Trek". That hast to be a little disconcerting.How on earth do you top that?

I’m not sure I can!! You have to understand I had no idea what an intense following it had. We worked in isolation - we were in a suburb of Minneapolis, puttering around with this great show, and it was always kind of a shock to encounter fans. (Please bear in mind that I’m kind of a dope in the first place). I’d remember - oh, yeahhhhh, this gets beamed out over the “television” airwaves that all the kids are talking about... thaaaat’s right...!! I’ve been spoiled for life.

Thanks for your kind words about the Cory Geryak interview. (Corywas the cinematographer of 1004 - Future War) It seems that he, like Beverly Garland and David Giancola ("Time Chasers" director), found the MST episode featuring his film to be very funny. (Joe Don Baker,on the other hand, doesn't seem to have such a well-developed sense of humor). Have you heard from other cast/crew of other MST3K films that have enjoyed the MST3K take on their movie?

Camille Paglia made some positive comments about us somewhere (memory escapes); I know Kim Cattrall also dug the show (as is well documented!).

The early Sci-Fi shows had an "Apes" motif, and your character was called "The Lawgiver". Are you an "Apes" fan, or was that one of the other writers' contributions? What is the appeal behind "Planet of the Apes"?

Well, I was a big Roddy McDowall fan, ergo, Planet of the Apes. But I can’t remember where the idea originated - I don’t believe it was me. If I remember correctly, we spent a lot of time brainstorming all the sci-fi conventions that existed.

Any regrets about jokes or riffs from specific films? Anything in retrospect that was perhaps too harsh, or not harsh enough?

Oh, yes! I’m sorry, I’d be hard pressed to cite specifics but that was the beauty of the show - it had a real “skin of the teeth” essence, sometimes hit or miss, right or wrong! But yes, when I see some episodes, some lines make melaugh sooooo hard, and other lines I think, sheesh, I can’t beleive we said that!! But again, that’s what I loved about the show.

To my eye, you really started to hit your stride as Pearl Forrester sometime in the middle of the MST3K's glorious 8th season. What, if anything, changed about your portrayal of this strong, demented woman?

Again, thank you for your kind words. I’m embarrassed to admit that for a good while, I was soooo intent on executing my lines accurately and moving to the right place at the right time that there was little room for actually ACTING! I think another critical element was that when I got the role, there was a lot chat on fan sites about how I was too ugly, too fat, too whatever to be on TV, and how dare I usurp Trace’s role, that sort of thing. (Never mind that I had Trace’s full support and encouragement). It really bummed me out for a while, then I realized that I was letting complete strangers rob me of my joy with the greatest job in the world, and I was incredibly blessed to be doing this crazy thing. After that, I just had a ball with it. Sheesh, it was only a television show. (Editor's note: I think I speak for about 50,000 MST3K fans in stating how much we appreciated Mary Jo as "Pearl Forrester ". It is simply impossible to watch the "Loving Lovers" duet between Mary Jo and Brain Guy in episode 822 - "Overdrawn At The Memory Bank" and not injure your diaphragm with laughter. And I'm a MSTie from WAYYY back).

During the MST3K writing process, was there a particular type of humor that you specialized at? I think Paul Chaplin was the sports guru - what was your "expertise"?

Believe it or not, Bridget and I were usually the last to make “girl” jokes, like about make-up or boyfriends!! I was always a little too empathetic to the situation, and I projected a LOT about how I’d be feeling in any given situation - so I could point up a lot of awkwardness in any scenario! I also new a little bit about art, and I had a lot of friends who were actors so I saw a lot of performance art, theater n’ shit, and I was bringing all that to the table.

Have you seen Mike Nelson's commentary on the "Reefer Madness" DVD? What is the possibility of a similar commentary from you?

I’ve never been asked, but I would certainly love to!

In addition to Pearl Forrester, you played a number of supporting characters on MST3K. Examples include Magic Voice, Jan-In-The Pan, a neighbor from Deep 12, an Amazon woman, a member of the "Power Steves", the recipient of a wrong number that Mike dials...these were really, really funny characters. Which character wasthe MOST DIFFICULT to portray, and why? Which was the easiest?

Most difficult: Jan in the Pan. It was my very first on-screen thing, and it all happened very fast, after I’d been gone for some time after a horrible death in my family. I was a bit wiggy but I thought it was a really funny bit so I kept pinching my hands really hard to keep myself from giggling and so I could focus. Plus, I was in this elaborate rigging and, as is my wont, had had quite a lot of diet Coke but could hardly sneak off to the ladies room. I think the easiest to do was Shelly the Nanite, who was the prototypical female Minnesota hairstylist. I liked doing White Trash Girl, too. Many people I’ve worked with say that no-one does white trash girls like me. I think that’s a compliment.

During the Sci-Fi years, I found your chemistry with your costars Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy to be, well, captivating (yes I know Kevin was in a monkey outfit and Bill carried a fake brain with him). To what do youattribute this?

A couple of things: they are the best damn guys to work with, and I was friends with them in the first place, and through their professionalism and damn funny-ness, they made it easy. I should mention too that everyone off-camera always made it easy too: Jeff Stonehouse, Patrick Brantseg, Beez McKeever, Brad Keely.

In January, many of us had the good fortune to see Kevin, Mike, and Bill perform a comedic monolog and Q&A session at the San Francisco Sketch Fest MST3K Symposium. Would you consider doing a similar performance?

Why, I’d love to! I’ll get on a plane right now! Oh, wait, you probably didn’t mean this very instant. Seriously, folks, I’d love to.

Do you enjoy going to the movies, or has that been wrecked for you? (Hopefully you don't get recognized in the theater....:-) Last movie seen?

Oh, gosh, I’m still mad about the movies! Love the talkies, love the motion pictures! However, my tolerance level for crapola is much lower. As of this writing, the last movie I saw was the rerelease of Life of Brian. It was a little disappointing because it wasn’t a very good print, and some of the content didn’t hold up but some of the other stuff, gads, so funny. And I’ve also become a Netflix ho. Just saw King of Comedy again after some 20 years. Rather prescient, and wickedly hilarious!

It's such a cliched question....but what is next for you?

Laundry... dishes... working on another book for Plan 9, which I’m very excited about. I’m also working on a play... a number of essays... I always got a million irons in the fire...

And now for the question on the minds of MSTies everywhere. Mary Jo, what is it going to take to crank up MST3K again? We miss the 'Brains and would love to see you climb the steps to Castle Forrester again, or perhaps take a road trip in the VW Van with Bobo and Brain Guy at your side. Is direct-to-video a possibility, or perhaps some DVD commentary tracks?

It will take millions and millions and millions of dollars... or a couple hundred.

Anything you'd like to add?

Did you know I was the first clue in the April 18 TV Guide Crossword puzzle? I’ve “made it”, baby!!

(Editor's note: Indeed I did know that. I'm sure this TV Guide interview will go for lots of $$$ on Ebay! )

I'm delighted that Mary Jo could spend some time answering questions for her fans. I have no doubt that we'll hear more from this talented woman very soon.

-Alleged

(Return to the Alleged MST3K Site)