Theatre alumnus, Edd Byrnes, has a great story from his most-notable role as Kookie on 77 Sunset Strip. He played a serial killer in the pilot (who endlessly combed his hair) but he was so popular with the audience that he was brought back as a regular cast member. The producers even did a pre-credit title saying: “We previewed this show, and because Edd Byrnes was such a hit we decided that Kookie and his comb had to be in our series. So this week, we’ll just forget that in the pilot he went off to prison to be executed.”
While some will know him as the fast-talking TV host, Vince Fontaine, in Grease, at the Historic Elitch Theatre he is known as Andy Hobart in the 1968 production of The Star Spangled Girl.
Seasons at the Theatre
- 1968
