THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 12, 1996 TAG: 9610120326
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT MCCASKEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 73 lines
Folks walked down a living memory lane Friday as two former stars of popular 1970s sitcoms appeared at Scope to help promote this weekend's 17th annual Farm Fresh Extravaganza benefit.
Don Most, who played Ralph Malph on ABC's ``Happy Days,'' and Gary Burghoff of Radar O'Reilly fame on CBS's ``M*A*S*H,'' posed for pictures and signed autographs with eager fans to help raise money for the Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters.
``The nostalgia craze is always big,'' said Most, who plays disc jockey Vince Fontaine in the traveling Broadway production of ``Grease'' at Chrysler Hall through Sunday. ``In the '70s, people were looking back to the '50s. Now in the '90's, they're looking back to the '70s.''
A line of more than 50 people waited to see Burghoff.
``I come here every year to meet the celebrities,'' said Clayton E. Sayre, 31, of Virginia Beach. ``Radar looks great. He's very personable. He really gave me a great autograph.''
More memories will be rekindled today as Ann B. Davis, who played Alice on ABC's ``The Brady Bunch'' series, meets her public.
While the stars promise to draw hundreds of fans, the extravaganza's massive layout of food is expected to bring in even more patrons. For a $5 admission fee and donations of less than a dollar, participants can sample dozens of items and buy others at reduced prices. Cooking demonstrations, giveaways and raffles are included.
Farm Fresh has pledged $125,000 for the hospital and additional money to other local charities. More than a million dollars has been raised for King's Daughters in the past 16 years.
``This is the busiest Friday we've ever had,'' said Jim Jansen, Farm Fresh director of marketing. ``We've got great food, good entertainment and some popular celebrities.''
Entertainment includes Nickelodeon's Ren, Stimpy, Magellan & Batly cartoon characters, acts by the award-winning children's performer Craig 'n Co., games, skits and live music.
Jansen said he thinks the '70s stars will attract a lot of people who watched the shows as teen-agers and are tuning in again now.
``My dinner gets cold every night because that's about the time the M*A*S*H reruns come on,'' said Janet K. Oaks, 44, of Newport News.
While Most and Burghoff said they have fond memories of the ``old days,'' both have moved on.
``For a while it was tough being kind of typecast,'' said Most, 43, who lives in a Los Angeles suburb. ``But now time has passed, and I'm not always cast in a teen-age age bracket any more. I've been doing a lot of different parts in the theater and on television.''
Burghoff also has been appearing in theater and in some children's films. In the early 1990s he took up painting, focusing on the animals of North America. He has works in numerous galleries across the country.
``The Farm Fresh people heard I was on the road doing a tour of wildlife art galleries and they kind of caught me in flight,'' said Burghoff, 53. Burghoff said he values his years in M*A*S*H.
``There's no other experience I could have had on TV to match it,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: MEET THE STARS
Ann B. Davis, Alice from ``The Brady Bunch'' from 1 to 4 p.m.
Saturday.
Jensen Buchanan, Victoria on NBC's ``Another World'' from 10 a.m.
to noon Saturday
Robert O'Reilly, Cowron, the Klingon Supreme Commander from
``Star Trek: The Next Generation'' from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
and 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
Austin Peck, Austin from NBC's ``Days of Our Lives'' from 10 a.m.
to noon and 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday
The extravaganza runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for children under 12; $3 and $1
admissions with discount coupons from Farm Fresh. by CNB