Flash back with local celebs

COEUR d'ALENE — When John Travolta's film career took off thanks to "Grease” and "Saturday Night Fever," he was still a "Sweathog" on ABC's "Welcome Back Kotter."

As he transitioned from television to film, a dreamy new Sweathog was introduced: Beauregarde "Beau" De LaBarre, played by Coeur d'Alene's own local artist, Stephen Shortridge.

“They wanted to bring on a new character that kind of took up storyline as John was leaving," Shortridge said. "The last year of the show, John only did eight shows, and I did eight shows with him, but then he kind of just wasn’t there, so they needed another character to help build the story.”

Shortridge was an artist and a model as a young man, so acting was a new venture for him. He recalled his debut moment, on stage in front of a live studio audience.

“When I was going to walk out for the first time through the door onto the set and into the scene, I wasn't sure if I was going to open the door and just throw up,” he said. “I was scared to death, but I pulled it off.”

It was the 1970s, television was king and the world was a much different place. Shortridge will join Ellen Travolta and her daughter, radio personality Molly Allen, to reminisce and share thoughts about "the biz" Nov. 6 during "Then and Now," a retro evening of sitcom memories. The trio will present clips from their careers, answer audience questions and show a very special pilot episode of "The Marie Osmond Show" featuring Ellen and Shortridge. The show was never picked up, but the pilot will be entertaining for actors and audience alike because Shortridge said he hasn't seen it in many years.

“We did this so long ago. It’ll be fun for me to see it for the first time, again,” he said, beginning to smile. “It won’t be the first time I ever saw it, but I don’t remember it, so it’ll be like the first time.”

Ellen appeared on numerous popular sitcoms through the years and Shortridge was a teen heartthrob for a short time. They met when Ellen was visiting her brother on the set of "Welcome Back Kotter" and now, years later, they both call North Idaho home.

“Everybody, I think, thinks that their time was the best time, but in retrospect, I think that our time was the best time to be involved in television," Ellen said. "The way they did it, how you could go in and see how it’s all done … I think the ’70s was a really big time."

Ellen said Molly loved "The Brady Bunch" growing up. Molly also grew up with a mom and uncle who were actively involved in Hollywood, television and film, giving her a unique perspective on how things have changed through the years.

“One of the reasons Molly is there is she’s so 'now,'” Ellen said. “The difference between what they did then, what constituted a sitcom, what they thought was a successful sitcom, and they were allowed, really, to be politically incorrect, which you will see in this pilot.”

Aside from the walk down memory lane, "Then and Now" will serve as a fundraiser for the Coeur d'Alene Library Foundation, which contributes financial and organizational support for library facilities, programs and services that are free and available to the public. Shortridge will present his third book, "A Finger-Painted Life: Letters from a Painter's Chair," and donate 50 percent of the evening's sales to the library.

“I don’t want to see hard books go out of print,” Ellen said. “I am still in the 20th (century). I like the feel of a book, I still buy books, I don’t have one of those readers and I want it to stay that way. I want children and adults to be able to come in and grab a book and have a library card, take it home, bring it back. I don’t want to see that go.”

She also said she is most looking forward to people's reactions when they see the pilot, as well as including them in the discussion and sharing memories with people who also remember the good old days of TV.

“I think there’ll be a lot of, ‘Oh my gosh I remember this one or that one,'" she said. “I think it will be just fun because most of them, I bet, know Stephen and know me and the stuff we’ve done.”

Tickets to "Then and Now" are $25 and can be purchased by calling 769-2380 or emailing cdalibraryfoundation@gmail.com.