Lois Lane, meet Lois Lane
by Philip Chien
About a dozen actresses have played "Lois Lane", Superman's girlfriend. One of the most memorable was Noel Neill, who played the character in the 1948 movie serial and the classic 1950s TV series, "The Adventures of Superman." The current "Lois Lane" is Erica Durance in the WB series "Smallville." The two had the opportunity to wow a packed audience at the Megacon comic book convention in Orlando Florida in March. It wasn't the first time they had done a similar event, similar panels with multiple Lois Lanes have happened at various comic cons. The previous year Margot Kidder (Lois in the 1978 "Superman" movie) and Noel Neill did a similar get together at Megacon. Get togethers have also occurred on screen. In many cases producers have cast the actresses who played Lois in previous incarnations in cameo roles. For example, Noel Neill plays Gertrude Vanderworth in "Superman Returns."
I asked Noel Neill about her cameo in the 1978 "Superman" movie. (She appears with serials co-star Kirk Alyn aboard the train in Smallville with a young actress playing Lois as a kid. The scene wasn't in the original theatrical version but is in the extended versions on DVD). Noel said, "I was working for United Artists and got a call from the publicity department who handled all of this stuff. They said would you like to go to Canada and do it?" Noel added, "Kirk wasn't going [to do it]. I got call from some woman who said, ‘I know you're going up there and work up there, and you've got to take Kirk.' I thought ‘What do you mean I've got to take Kirk with me? I'm not his agent or anything.' It ended up he did go on up. We got along fine."
So how did Erica Durance get into acting? She kidded, "I wasn't very good in school; so what will I do - I'll pretend to be somebody else." She did musical theater and acting festivals. A Canadian by birth she ended up in Vancouver, noting that, "it seemed like a smaller Hollywood. I was a little tentative to go down to LA because it's a big scene to get into."
Erica explained how she got her part on "Smallville" - "I went in to audition. I didn't really want to. Not because I didn't want to do Lois, but I wasn't too enamored with the industry at the time. I had a couple of things happen. But my husband said, ‘Get in there and do it.' And I said ‘Yes, dear' (I'm very different from Lois in real life) and so I went in and didn't expect anything. They said I got the part and it was originally the four episodes I started with, and it's been this wonderful roller coaster ride. I was okay with it for a while at the beginning because it went so quickly - I got the part on Friday and worked on Monday, so I really didn't get the chance to think about it."
Erica's husband David Palffy is her acting teacher. He appeared in "Stargate SG-1" as "Anubis" in several episodes. He had appeared at comic conventions in the past and Erica had tagged along as his assistant, helping him sell his photos and take photos of fans posing with him. So she was very aware of what it would be like to meet the fans in person and the type of questions they would ask.
Unfortunately many of the fans who attend these events can't comprehend that the actress has very little to do with the character and isn't involved in any of the behind-the-scenes activities. They're asked about storylines, what's going to happen with the show in the future, and other things they aren't involved with. One of the most common questions is how much the actress likes kissing their co-stars. Erica was asked about her scenes with Tom Welling. She said, "I hate to crush everybody here. But when you're working on a set it's so respectful and technical. Of course you sell things for the fans and hopefully people are believing your storyline and you enjoy each other as friends. But you have a strong family life, which I do have. So I don't really think in those terms. You want to keep a good working experience, so you respect the fact that they're your working partners."
Lois has changed with the times. In the 1950s Lois spent most of her time screaming, "Superman save me!" Now Lois is a present day woman and a fairly strong character (with the minor character fault of never noticing that Clark Kent happens to have super powers). Morals also change with the times and society. Noel Neill had a big surprise when she read the script for "Superman Returns." She thought, "Lois has a child without being married! and I said ‘What? I can't go to conventions anymore!' Oh the pain of it all! I don't know how they're going to wiggle out of that one." Erica noted, "I think over the years what you're seeing is [the authors] are adapting the character to society and how society is seeing women differently. Gradually as you're going on you're seeing how the different ladies are portraying it differently. The character I'm portraying has brought in more of the physicality and showing that side of things. Women can be tough, they can be physical, they can go nose-to-nose with someone."
Noel Neill's favorite episode was "The Wedding of Superman" where dreamed that she was married to Superman, and "Tomb of Zaharan" because of the costume. She remembered, "I wore a great queen dress and a long black wig which they wouldn't let me keep - I tried, I tried." Erica loved her episode "Combat" "I remember when I was preparing for it I was originally going to have this big fight, go on [a special effects wiring harness] and flip upside-down. It still ended up being a lot of fun - anything where I'm doing something really physical, and fighting with people, I enjoy that side of it." Another favorite episode was "Siren." She explained, "the one where I broke up with Green Arrow and had the moment with Clark where I showed some vulnerability. I really enjoyed it a lot."
Erica was asked about Michael "Luthor" Rosenbaum's reputation on set as a prankster. She said, "With Michael it's just a general ADD. He's one of those people who has a lot of energy and focus, and constantly cracking jokes, trying to trip you as you go out the door - he's just all over the map. People give him a real hard time and say he's hard to work with. But [I had a scene] where he was just recovering from back surgery, he stood up with me for nine or ten hours and was right on. He's always there when you need him so you can't get that mad at him."
Michael has this reputation for passing gas while filming on camera as a prank. Erica recalled, "I remember he did that once and producer goes, ‘Thanks a lot Michael, that was a $2,000 fart.'"
Erica noted that in the future she would love to get a role where the female is the lead and not dependent on a primary male character. She noted, "I would love to work with Cate Blanchett. Just like, mop her floors - she's so awesome."
Meeting Noel Neill and Erica Durance in person was quite enjoyable. It was an exciting to meet two actresses who I had admired in person - one who I grew up with and one who I watch today. It was especially nice to see them as ordinary humans, not just the roles they play.
Photos copyright 2008 Philip Chien.
Links
The Lois Lane character page on the Internet Movie Database.
Smallville on DVD.
Adventures of Superman on DVD.
The Megacon homepage.
About the author
Philip Chien has been a fan of Lois Lane since the "Adventures of Superman."
copyright 2008 neatinformation.com. All Rights Reserved.
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