Pop Geeks’ Flashback Interview: Patricia Alice Albrecht
I enjoyed the 80s cartoon Jem, and one of my favorite characters was Pizzazz, the lead singer of The Misfits. Her speaking voice was provided by my next interview subject, Patricia Alice Albrecht. I feel that Ms. Albrecht bought a great over-the-top attitude to Pizzazz, and I knew I wanted to interview her someday. That interview came about on Tuesday, September 6th. I spoke to Ms. Albrecht about not only Jem, but also her live-action work. Contrary to the character of Pizzazz, Ms. Albrecht is a very soft-spoken and kind performer. I hope you all enjoy getting to know this wonderful talent.
Say hello to Patricia Alice Albrecht!
Johnny: What were your pop-cultural likes growing up, like favorite movies and music?
Patricia: Oh my goodness. You know, I really liked classical music, like Tchaikovsky. As I matured, I didn’t get into pop music until I was an adult, and then I really loved world music and I loved blues. Now I’m liking jazz.
Johnny: What were your high school days like?
Patricia: I had a great time in high school. I went to three different high schools. I contend that I hardly learned anything, but I’m making up for it for the rest of my life. I was a cheerleader, and as a freshman I was in varsity. I was very athletic. If I didn’t have that outlet, I think I’d be a different person. I don’t like to lose. I like to win. (Laughing)
Johnny: I see. What drew you to a career in the entertainment industry.
Patricia: Well, I wanted to act since I was 9 years old. When I was starting theater in high school and college, I knew that I was not a strong projector. I figured that if I was going to pursue acting, it would need to be on camera. It would need to be in a more intimate setting instead of, like, musical theater. I just didn’t have the chops to compete with the people who were just so stunning and great in that arena.
Johnny: I see. In 1980, you played Lucille in Midnight Madness. An early attempt by Disney to appeal to an older audience, if teenagers can be considered an older audience, what was your favorite part of working on that movie?
Patricia: I made wonderful friends that I still have today. I’m still very close to the twins, Betsy and Carol Thompson. I love Sal Lopez, who played Blade in the film. A few years ago, I reconnected with my boyfriend in the movie, Stephen Furst, and one of my dear friends who lives here in Tennessee is Debra Clinger. We were rivals in the movie, and we’re still very good friends, you know, “Come on over for Thanksgiving Dinner”-kind-of-friends. They’re very sweet. I had a great time playing a bitch, and I met great people whom I really love.
Johnny: Cool. Midnight Madness remains a cult classic to this day. What do you think made it such a favorite of 80s children?
Patricia: Well, I’ve never felt part of pop culture, but I think it’s because they had five different groups of people. The nerds, the jocks, the frat girls, the bad guys, the good guys…They were trying to cover as many bases as they could, even though we could go back and say, “They missed all this”. That’s true, they did, but for that time, I think it was innovative. Also, I think at that time, Disney, which would be Buena Vista, really took a leap of faith and put it in the hands of young directors. They had a lot of fun, and so did we.
Johnny: Okay. Actually, Midnight Madness will be screening this Friday morning as part of Turner Classic Movies’ Treasures From The Disney Vault block.
Patricia: (Laughing) Oh, boy. That’s great.
Johnny: It’s going to be airing at, like, 4:00 AM in the morning, but it’s still part of this Disney block.
Patricia: Oh, okay. Cool, very cool.
Johnny: To my next question: You appeared as Cathy in 1981’s Force: Five, which also starred another one of my previous interview subjects, Mel Novak. What was your favorite part of that movie?
Patricia: The location. We got to shoot in this amazing old building in Hollywood, if I remember correctly. It was sort of like an estate, that became a nunnery, which became this almost castle-like residence, if that could be possible in old Hollywood. It was beautiful. That was what was so amazing. It was like, “People lived here!”. It was amazing. It was so beautiful.
Johnny: Okay. In 1982, you played Carol in a Native American-themed horror movie called The Ghost Dance. Apparently it’s tied up in copyright issues, but IMDB says Trans World Entertainment had distribution rights last. As MGM currently owns the rights to that library, if they were to have rights to that movie and license it out to Scream Factory, would you participate in extras?
Patricia: Goodness. That’s going back. I can’t even really remember details, but it was a wonderful experience to go and do that. If I was approached, I would consider it, right? (Laughing)
Johnny: Okay. Now we come to the Jem questions. You were the speaking voice of Pizzazz on Jem. What do you think has made the whole series stand out decades after it was cancelled?
Patricia: The series has endured because they were a series of morality plays. Almost everyone who has seen the show has had a sense of completion, that some justice has been confirmed, that you came away with a feeling of “Alright, we can go on and do the right thing”. Doing the right thing is the way most people live, and when it’s reflected in entertainment, I think it’s satisfying.
Johnny: Definitely. What were your favorite episodes of Jem to work on?
Patricia: I loved the first season. I don’t exactly remember the episodes’ names, but it was really fun. It was fun because we were really inventing and having such a great time, and I loved the stories. The beginning was especially fun, and as it went on, we had a good time because we knew each other as actors, and we just had a lot of fun off-camera.
Johnny: Okay. Like Samantha Newark was the speaking voice of Jem while Britta Phillips was the singing voice, Ellen Bernfeld did the singing for Pizzazz. Did you ever try out singing yourself, either on Jem or in another project?
Patricia: Not professionally. I’ve sung my whole life, but not to that degree and not to that level. No, people would not go out of their way to hire me as a singer, unless they’re really desperate (laughing)…Not even my husband, and he’s a producer. He needs someone who can really sing. Okay.
Johnny: I see. I had seen some videos where you and other Jem alumni had exhibited enthusiasm for the Jem And The Holograms movie last year. Considering how big of a financial and critical failure that movie was, and I apologize for being so forward, I have to ask: Were you genuine in your enthusiasm for Jem And The Holograms, or was it demanded that you speak positively about the movie?
Patricia: I actually enjoyed the movie truthfully, and I was surprised by the response that it got. I did not expect it to be a carbon copy of Jem as we knew it. I was excited to see how it has changed, how it had inflated, how it had been moved. I didn’t have great expectations, except I hoped it was entertaining. I have a feeling that, in 10 years or less, there’s going to be a whole rash of 6th grade girls who will find that movie important and receive it better. I could be wrong. My finger’s certainly not on the pulse of people all the time, but I was surprised at the reaction it got, so maybe I’m really off-base. I don’t keep track of pop culture, but I thought it was done well. I thought it was sweet.
Johnny: I see. I can recall, in 2008, I did an article for a website I was writing for at the time called RetroJunk, where I came up with my own ideas for a Jem And The Holograms movie. I was thinking of a higher budget. I was thinking Ridley Scott as director, Paul Haggis as screenwriter, and Rod Temperton, who wrote some of the best music on Michael Jackson’s Thriller doing the music. I was thinking of a film-length version of the 5-parter that launched the series.
Patricia: Wow.
Johnny: Yeah. Needless to say, it was pretty different what they ended up doing.
Patricia: Yeah. I think they needed to make it more current in order to speak to the audience that it was appealing to. 10-to-13-year-old girls are who the series was originally intended for. That’s the target audience…Tweenagers. That’s what I think. I have this vision that there are a lot of single dads who will want a clean movie to entertain their daughters.
Johnny: Fair enough. During the last year of Jem and going well into the 90s, you did a lot of voice-over work for Hanna-Barbera. What would you say was the biggest difference in making cartoons between Hanna-Barbera and Sunbow, the producers of Jem?
Patricia: (Laughing) Speed. At Hanna-Barbera, we would get out of there in less than an hour, and working with Wally Burr usually took all day. Very different approaches…
Johnny: Alright. Your most recent acting credit, barring documentaries about Jem, came in 1994 when you voiced Brenda in the Batman: The Animated Series episode “Riddler’s Reform”. What was your favorite part of working on that episode?
Patricia: It was who I was working with, but I don’t remember it very well, probably because it was very quick. Also, one must remember that although all cartoons are done ensemble, some parts you just come in and lay down your voice, and you don’t meet everybody else. I apologize for not remembering that episode very well.
Johnny: No big deal. If you were to return to acting, which two shows, one live-action and one animated, would you most like to work on?
Patricia: Oh, wow. That’s a really good question. I’m not sure that I could name the shows, but there are people that I would like to work with.
Johnny: Okay. We can go in that direction.
Patricia: I think there are some great directors, including Dan Attias, who is a wonderful director. It has to do with story. It would have to be something that’s not yet invented, but then I look at stuff and I’m like, “Oh, I’d like to be on that show”, and my husband will go, “Are you crazy?”. I’m like, “Yeah. Okay” (Laughing) We have different tastes.
Johnny: Okay. You’ve frequently attended Jemcon, a convention all about Jem. What’s been the most rewarding part of attending those conventions, and other ones as well?
Patricia: Oh, goodness. Well, it’s the fans. They’re honestly my friends. They’re so tolerant and patient with me. They’re kind and generous and giving and loyal and dependable and consistent. It’s wonderful to see them, and to see them again and again and again, and some of these people, I won’t even call them fans. They’re just deep heart connections that I’m blessed to have in my life, and I’m very grateful for them.
Johnny: That’s very lovely. This leads to my final question. I end every interview with it and it’s this: If you could go back to your youth with the knowledge that you have now, would you do anything differently?
Patricia: Yes. I would choose to live my life with less fear and more love, and that would mean trusting that something much larger than myself has got my back.
Johnny: Okay. That about does it for my questions. I thank you for taking the time to speak to me. I apologize for the time mix-up.
Patricia: No, no. It’s no problem. I appreciate you so much, Johnny. I think that what you’re doing is really good. I read the interview you did with Lesley Ann Warren, and it was so wonderful because I used to make her acquaintance in Los Angeles, so it was lovely to hear her speak so eloquently. You asked such terrific questions and got great answers. It was just so nice and very sweet, so I thank you for all your hard work and your dedication. Thank you.
Johnny: I’m very flattered by that. You’re very welcome.
Patricia: I appreciate the labor of love you put into your work. It’s very sweet.
Johnny: Thank you for taking the time to speak to me, and I’ll be in touch with you soon.
Patricia: Okay. Thank you so much. Take care, and thanks for being patient with me.
Johnny: You’re very welcome. I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.
Patricia: Okay, sweetie. Bye bye.
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I would once again like to thank Patricia Alice Albrecht for taking the time to speak to me. I considered it a truly outrageous honor to do so.
Who will I flashback with next? Stay tuned.