denise nickerson, rip

Denise Nickerson, who died today, isn't exactly a household name. As near as I can tell from IMDB, she quit active a little over 40 years ago, and she was never a huge star. But she was involved in three distinct projects that I associate with my childhood and teen years, so her passing kind of reminds me that I'm aging.

Nickerson was, of course, involved in other projects. Notably, she was in Dark Shadows and she made a guest appearance on The Brady Bunch. But here I'm sticking with the three things that made her matter to me more than she should have.

By the way, Nickerson was only 62. Rest in peace.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Nickerson's role in Willy Wonka is probably her best known, so I'll start with that. When I was younger, I liked the movie. But it is a deeply flawed film -- especially if you judge it by 2019 standards, which isn't fair. But the movie is very judgemental and mean, and there are racist elements to it. Given the horror elements, I find it amazing that it was marketed as a kids film and got a G rating. Still, I have a certain warm place in my heart for it. And, since Nickerson is the subject of this post, I should note than she was very good in her role.

Zero to Sixty

Judging from IMDB, Zero to Sixty was Nickerson's last acting gig before she quit show business. It's a crappy little movie (crappy, but entertaining) about a teenage girl and a fifty-something man who work together to repossess cars.

I remember it vividly because of one visit to Florida. I don't know how old I was, but my family visited my grandparents in Florida. My grandparents had cable TV which was still a novelty -- at home we had fewer than ten working channels. Zero to Sixty was playing on cable, and my father and I watched it over and over and over during that visit.

Years later, he would still reference the movie by shouting "Repo!" in imitation of Denise Nickerson's character, Larry. And, without fail, if I brought up the (much less charming Repo Man), my father would confuse it for Zero to Sixty and start shouting "Repo!"

Zero to Sixty had a much better cast than one would expect. In addition to Denise Nickerson, there were Darren McGavin, Joan Collins, and other big names. But Nickerson held her own with these older, more seasoned stars.

Yeah, it was a crappy movie. But I remember it fondly.

The Electric Company

The Electric Company, which I also remember fondly, featured a group of teenagers (dubbed the Short Circus), of which Nickerson was one. The Electric Company was very popular among children of my cohort -- kids who had graduated from Sesame Street. One of my favorite bits was Fargo North, Decoder. The above is one segment.