Radames Pera: A performance that is a gem! (Ever hear of him?)
Perceptions And Illusions
I've ever seen on television.
The story was so beautifully written and wonderfully acted by those who
participated in it but especially by a truly gifted actor who was about
12 or 13 at the time of his performance.
This episode was from 1972 from a Walton's episode called "The Ceremony"
and the star of this powerful and moving story centered around a boy
turning 13 and about to become Bar Mitzvah.
The actor who played the boy is named Radames Pera of who I've never
heard of until today. Has anyone ever heard of this truly amazing gifted
actor? I was in awe over his performance.
I went to Star Galaxy and there were four general pictures under his
name and a few pictures under Kung Fu. I seem to recall on that series
there was a boy whose hair was shaved. Is this the same boy you saw in
those flashback episodes of a young Caine or just pictures of him of a
guest star appearance on a particular episode? In the pictures of him in
Star Galaxy under that heading, his hair isn't shaved so it appears that
may be a guest starring role on Kung Fu.
Hopefully someone will know more about Radames Pera then I do. What else
did he do as a boy in his acting career? Did he have a lot of other
roles or was he in any movies or shows? How come I've never heard of
him? Is he still acting today as an adult and what nationality is he?
Radames.... is it Jewish or German?
For those of you who have seen this episode, you'll know how great it
is. A German couple with their son move to Walton's Moutain for awhile
after escaping the beginnings of Anti-Semitism in German during the
30's. There's one powerful scene with John Boy sitting around with his
family listening to the radio news and the newscaster mentions that
books in Germany are being burned and Jews are victims of attacks and
hate and being targets of violence. John Boy explodes since he loves
literature and books and can't believe no one else has the same feelings
of anger that he does. He says that burning books is like burning
people..... a very powerful statement and scene and a great job by the
writers of this show.
John Boy along with his brothers and sisters meets a boy named Paul and
is shown some great books that the family has in the attic. Two of John
Boy's brothers the day before break the Mann's window by accident while
playing with a sling slot and when John Boy drives home Paul Mann the
following day, Paul invites him in to meet his parents. When they aren't
home yet he brings John Boy up to the attic to look at the books but
Paul has an accident and falls down just as his parents enter the house.
The father still upset about the broken window thinking that they were
attacked because they were Jews and not seeing who broke the window,
thinks John Boy tried to hurt his son and throws him out of the house
before Paul introduces his new friend to his parents.
The stories in this episode continue and center around Paul who is upset
that his parents want to hide their identity of being Jewish just a
couple of weeks before he is to become a man in a ceremony known as a
Bar Mitzvah of which is very symbolic to 13 year old boys in the Jewish
faith.
Of course the Waltons prove to be understanding and good people and the
story ends on a happy note when the father finally takes part in the
ceremony and in a touching and heart warming scene puts the Tallas on
his son and the son helps his dad with the Tallas on him as well. A
Tallas is like a scarf that is wrapped around a male Jew when he prays.
Paul makes a moving speech and is in tears with his mother and dad when
the father shows up to honor his son.
What a wonderful, inspiring and moving story and a magical performance
from Radames Pera. I wish I saw other things he did but today is the
first time I recall ever seeing this episode from over 30 years ago.
"The Ceremony" is definitely worth watching next time it airs on
Hallmark which is the channel that currently is airing the episodes of
this great classic.
The episode does not make reference of the Jews that were killed by the
Nazis and Hitler and it predates what the world was yet to discover
later on in the 1930's. This family was one of the lucky families of
that time to escape the horrors of the holocaust and I wonder how many
families out there actually made it to America and other places around
the world. The sad reality is probably not many but this powerful drama
showed how these people still feared for their safety after escaping an
unimaginable nightmare that stayed with them even after leaving Berlin.
RTJoby
Caradine as a boy growing up.
After the series was canceled, he became a regular on Little House On The
Prairie playing one of Mr Edwards sons during the 1st few years of the show.
He and Mary Ingalls had a thing for each other in the storylines. Then when
the actor who played Mr Edwards (Victor French) quit, they replaced the Edwards
with the Garveys (enter Patrick Laborteaux).
Daryld Watson
"Perceptions And Illusions" <Perceptio...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:4447-3E3...@storefull-2372.public.lawson.webtv.net...
If I remember right Radames' grandparents had a great love of opera
especially Aida. Radames is the main male character in the opera.
According to imdb Radames Pera left show business in the early '80's
Daryld
Perceptions And Illusions
>Radames Pera played Young Cain
>when they would show flashbacks of
>David Caradine as a boy growing up.
Thanks for confirming that. Wasn't too sure with the pictures in Star
Galaxy with the hair instead of the bald headed shots that were usually
used in that series.
>After the series was canceled, he
>became a regular on Little House
>On The Prairie playing one of Mr
>Edwards sons during the 1st few
>years of the show.
Another wonderful program. In fact one of my top five favorite shows of
all time. With the sudden interest of the Waltons the last week, I was
thinking which show was better, Little House or The Waltons?
Really hard to pick two first rate shows in a head to head contest. Both
were beautifully written and acted.
>He and Mary Ingalls had a thing for
>each other in the storylines.
I seem to remember that now. In fact I think they were planning on
getting married but Mary didn't want to let his education stand in the
way if I recall.
For some reason though, his performance in Little House did not stand
out as strongly as this particular episode I saw today on The Waltons.
If you haven't seen this one, please do.... you owe it to yourself and
will truly find this enjoyable.
Sometimes a great peformance makes you wish it would last longer and
this show seemed to go by too quickly. I wish it was a two hour episode
instead. That's how great it was.
>Then when the actor who played Mr >Edwards (Victor French) quit, they
>replaced the Edwards with the
>Garveys (enter Patrick Laborteaux).
Patrick Laborteaux and his brother Matthew were great additions to
Little House. Matthew is one of the reasons I became such a big fan of
that series.
Before Matthew Laborteaux played the part of Albert, he also appeared on
an earlier program in that series. Matthew played the part of a young
Charles Ingalls in a flash back episode. I guess Michael Landon and the
producers were so impressed by Matthew Laborteaux's talents that they
kept him in mind when then they created the role of Albert Ingalls.
Kra...@webtv.net
Little House episodes. He was in KUNG FU first. He was around 14 to 15
in Litl Hs I guess. His character was the son of a woman dieing of
cancer or something. His character had a couple other siblings I
recall. She was wanting them to stay with someone. I'm almost certain
these episodes were midrun in the series and not early in it. He did a
NIGHT GALLERY episode about a boy fascinated by snow in some
supernatural way. Not sure what else that would be seen on TV much.
Krandle
Perceptions And Illusions
>I remember hin. I used to watch
>Kung Fu all the time. If I remember
>right Radames' grandparents had a
>great love of opera especially Aida. >Radames is the main male
character
>in the opera. According to imdb
>Radames Pera left show business in
>the early '80's Daryld
Daryld, of course! Why didn't I think of that, especially being a fan of
opera.
Funny you should mention opera. As I started to read your reply a radio
show came on called "The Vocal Scene" with George Jellinick(sp?).
Aida is probably the most popular opera of all time or at least today.
I wonder if anyone in this group remembers this Walton episode I posted
about today. So far RT and you didn't mention seeing it.
Daryld, you gotta to see this episode. Look for it next time it airs.
William
Just A. Fan
>when they would show flashbacks of
>David Caradine as a boy growing up.
>Thanks for confirming that. Wasn't too sure
>ith the pictures in Star Galaxy with the hair
> instead of the bald headed shots that were
> usually used in that series.
- - - - - - - - - - -
In the pilot movie of the "Kung Fu" series, Radames is seen at the beginning
with his hair, when he is first considering becoming a Shaolin monk after
the death of his parents, and then later in the Shaolin monastery when he
joins fully, his head is shaved. In the flashbacks that happen throughout
the series, you would see him both with hair and without, depending upon how
far back he was remembering.
The flashbacks were not all taken from the pilot movie. Many (and probably
most) were shot along with the episodes. Radames clearly gets older
looking as the series goes on for a couple years. It's fairly obvious a few
times in the close-up shots that they did not actually shave his head but
used one of those skin-tight flesh colored things to cover up his hair.
He was one of my favorite young actors of those years. His performances in
Kung Fu, Little House on the Prairie, and the episode mentioned of The
Waltons, were all outstanding, in my opinion. His quiet persona seemed to
be genuine and sincere. Most likely, he was a lot like that in life. I was
sorry to see him disappear from the screen scene. He was great to watch.
But perhaps there was a lot going on in the background of television life
that didn't appeal to him and so he opted out, much to our loss, but most
likely to his gain. At least he didn't get swallowed up by the high life of
other rising stars.
"Radames" is also a common South American name. I thought perhaps that
might have been his family's origin, since "Pera" also seemed Hispanic. But
that's purely a guess on my part. Maybe the reference to Aida could also be
a clue. Since he had never really been featured much in the tv magazines of
the time, there wasn't much biographical info available on him. At least I
don't remember seeing any.
Daryld Watson
>dwats...@earthlink.net >(Daryld Watson) wrote:
William
Hi
I am dating myself but I think I have seen the Waltons episode you mentioned
but I saw it when it first aried on network tv so my memories of it are
fuzzy at best. When it comes back on I will probably try to catch it.
One movie you might waqnt to check out is Red Dawn. Radames has a part in
it. I can't remember how big it is but the movie is suppose to be comming
out on dvd.
Speaking of opera years ago I recorded a masterpiece theatre showing Aida
with Placido Domingo as Radames. As I was watching the tape my mother came
in the room and sat down to watch. She normally likes only country but she
watched the whole opera and told me she really enjoyed it/ You never know
what kind of music people will like.
Daryld
RTJoby
>about today. So far RT and you didn't mention seeing it. <
No, I watched the Waltons a few times & remember only liking the scenes or
stories of the family but when it switched to John Boy and college too much I
lost interest.
I also liked the ones with Keith Mitchell toward the close of the series.
But the episode you mention sounds like a good one I'd like.
There are a few good ones that pop in every now and then. One that comes to
mind is when their house burned down and all the kids had to go stay with
different people because there was so many of them. Another is when Jim Bob &
the mother get lost in the woods after an auto accident. I believe a very
young Willie Aames plays in a good one too.
Starz_Kid
quitting)??? I seem to recall Michael Landon going on the Tonight Show to
lament about the unexpected passing of his friend Victor French!!
Starz_Kid...
"RTJoby" <rtj...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030123211154...@mb-fc.aol.com...
Kra...@webtv.net
Highway to Heaven" about him as an angel with French as his mortal
traveling companion. I think this series lasted 3 seasons? Landon died
around 3 to 5 years later maybe. I'm ot sure. Krandle
RTJoby
>quitting)??? I seem to recall Michael Landon going on the Tonight Show to
>lament about the unexpected passing of his friend Victor French!! <
Victor French quit Little House in the 3rd or so year due to (I think) a
stroke.
Occassionally he returned as a guest then returned as a regular during the last
few years of the show. Then after the series Victor French appeared in all 3
of The Little House reunion movies.
But after the Little House series he & Michael Landon went on to the tv series
Highway To Heaven. Sometime during or after that series, Victor French passed
away. That would be when you saw Landon on the Tonight Show. But Michael
Landon went on the Tonight Show to report his upcoming death as well. That he
only had so many months to live and right after was on all the cover of
magazines reporting the news. Soon after, Michael Landon died.
Kra...@webtv.net
guess. He did'nt seem to be in many things. Vince was in a bunch of
things. Krandle
RTJoby
Not true.
Eric Olsen had a WAY better TV series in Irwin Allen's Swiss Family Robinson
with (a name I mentioned in this thread before) a very young Willie Aames (and
Helen Hunt as a very young girl.).
It played a few years ago on FX and I sure was hooked. But it only last about
a dozen or more episodes.
Whatever Apples Way is, there's no way it could have been better than that one.
Philo D
> Whatever Apples Way is, there's no way it could have been better than that one.
???
RTJoby
>one.
Philo wrote:
>???
Does this help you comprehend:
There's no way "Apples Way" (whatever that was) could have been better than
"Swiss Family Robinson".
Kra...@webtv.net
him, I liked him a lot. He was in that tv movie about a flood or
something too. Still, not that extensive a tv career. What movies did
he do? Vince Van Patten ( who's Dad was a kid actor I hear but I don't
know what he did ) was in 5 times as many things and I figure he was a
bigger kid star. I figure we won't be seeing THE MAN SHOW BOY in much
either. Krandle
RTJoby
>him, I liked him a lot. He was in that tv movie about a flood or
>something too. >
Irwin Allen liked using some actors he previously used before in projects and
in the movie "Flood", he rehired Eric after Swiss Fam Rob was over. The movie
also, co-starred Leif Garrett.
> Still, not that extensive a tv career. What movies did
>he do?
We have been mis-spelling it here.
It is actually Eric Olson.
Out of all of the following, I've seen his bit role in Gunsmoke which airs on
TV Land.
Also Swiss is listed twice because 1st it was a TV movie then later a TV
series, for which he played in both. So I guess you could say Irwin hired him
for a total of 3 projects.
In the TV movie, the Willie Aames role was played by Michael-James Wixted
(anyone know him ??) in the movie pilot.
Eric Olson Roles:
Enemy of the State (1998) .... Aide #1
Viva Knievel! (1977) .... Tommy Atkins
... aka Seconds to Live (1977)
Flood! (1976) (TV) .... Andy Cutler
Widow (1976) (TV) .... Jon Caine
Conspiracy of Terror (1975) (TV) .... Roger Logan Gordon
"Swiss Family Robinson" (1975) TV Series .... Ernie Robinson
... aka "Island of Adventure" (1975) (UK)
Swiss Family Robinson, The (1975) (TV) .... Ernie Robinson
Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (1975) (TV) .... Bobby
Mixed Company (1974) .... Rob
"Apple's Way" (1974) TV Series .... Steven Apple
------------
Notable TV Guest Appearances
"Eight Is Enough" (1977) in episode: "A Hair of the Dog" (episode # 2.16) 4
January 1978
"Little House on the Prairie" (1974) playing "Elmer Dobkins" in episode: "The
Election" (episode # 3.20) 21 March 1977
"Gunsmoke" (1955) playing "Johnny Carter" in episode: "The Iron Man" (episode #
20.7) 21 October 1974
"Love, American Style" (1969) in episode: "Love and the President" (episode #
4.8c) 3 November 1972
"Nanny and the Professor" (1970) playing "Donnie Dodge" in episode: "A Diller,
A Dollar" (episode # 2.14) 8 January 1971
Kra...@webtv.net
during his teens. Had no idea he was in a film as an adult. OlsOn 'eh?
I've never came across that version of the spelling, it's always OlsEn
like Jimmy Olsen, Olsen Twins and I think Little House on the Prairie
had Mrs. Olsen. Krandle
Philo D
<Kra...@webtv.net> wrote:
> OlsOn 'eh?
> I've never came across that version of the spelling, it's always OlsEn
I think "Olsen" is Danish, "Olson" is Swedish. Or something like that.