When Oscar-nominated actress Kathleen

Quinlan watches the 1973 classic American

Graffiti she says she exclaims, “‘Oh, there we all

are in the old gym and there are all my

gymnastics buddies!”

You see, while many viewers of the George

Lucas film might be reminded in general of their

own high school days, Quinlan was an actual

teenage participant in the film.  And the scene in

which she appears – the school dance -- was

actually filmed at Tam High while she was still a

student there.  Along with acting in the school

drama department Quinlan was on the

gymnastics and diving teams and graduated

from Tam in 1972. 

JASON: How did you go from being an ordinary

Tam student and gymnast to acting in a George

Lucas film?

KATHLEEN: I was in the Drama Department at

Tam High and they had what they then called a

'Cattle Call' (at Francis Ford Coppola’s Zoetrope

offices in San Francisco).  I was sitting down in

a hallway at Zoetrope studying for my scuba

diving license when Fred Luce, who works for

Francis Coppola, walked up to me and said,

"Honey, will you come in here for a minute?"  I

said okay and I followed him past all (the other

actors) waiting in the hallway.  We entered a

room in which George Lucas, Francis Ford

Coppola, and Gino Havens were sitting.   They

asked me to read this little part and I did.

JASON:  And the rest is history.  So something about you just spoke to

them?

KATHLEEN:  Yup.

JASON:  How long did you actually live in Marin?

KATHLEEN:  Our family moved from Los Angeles and I got to Mill Valley in

7th Grade.  I graduated from Tam in ’72 and lived in Marin through a year and

a half of College of Marin.

JASON: Did your experience as a teenager at Tam during the ‘60s and ‘70s

at all resemble the lives of the characters in American Graffiti?

KATHLEEN:  No, not at all.   I look at (the film today) and I see all my

gymnastics buddies in there.  We thought it was just so much fun because

the circus had come to town and they picked us because we were athletic

and we could pick up the dance steps quickly.  Mt. Tam (High School) was

all about the explosion of the ‘60s and the ‘70s and raising the

consciousness about war and hippies.  All of that was in full bloom (when I

was there).

JASON:  In American Graffiti the characters went cruising around the Miracle

Mile in their cars on a Saturday night.  Comparatively, what did you and your

friends do for fun in Marin on a weekend night in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s?

KATHLEEN: You know that church near Old Mill Park?  They opened up a

place there called The Coffee House and it was all tricked out with tie-dye

and lights.  It was a place for teenagers to hang out.  I mean, even today

there are very few places for teenagers -- they're really kind of ostracized in a

certain way from society.  So, it was a place we could go and hang out

together and listen to Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.

JASON: Did you ever see Janis in Marin?

KATHLEEN:  I didn't see Janis but I remember driving around with my great

buddy Laurel who's been my best friend since the 8th grade and we're still

best friends.  I remember driving by that place in San Rafael off the freeway

where they had a lot of music venues and saying "Jimi Hendrix is playing

there tonight!"  I remember going to a place on Miller Avenue, like a

community center, and hearing Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks.  But I was

mostly into Motown, I have to be honest.

JASON: Did you have your first kiss in Marin?

KATHLEEN:  No, my first kiss didn't go well and it was in Los Angeles. 

When I got to Marin I was skinny and a little bit gawky and had buck teeth so

I wasn't high on the boys' priority list.  I do remember Kremice on the front

lawn of Mt. Tam high school. 

JASON:  You remember what???

KATHLEEN:  Kremice.  That was his name.  He's a local.  He'll recognize

himself.  I thought he lived a really incredible romantic life because he lived

down on the houseboats near Gate 5.  I do remember sneaking into Gate 5. 

That was fun.  I remember going on Alan Watts’ houseboat, the great

philosopher who started a whole movement.

JASON:  How did you happen to go onto his boat?

KATHLEEN: We were walking around down the dock and somebody knew

somebody who lived on his boat and we were invited on.

JASON:  Was he home?

KATHLEEN: I don't remember.  (Laughs)

JASON:  There was ALMOST a really interesting story there for a moment.  I

thought you were going to say you sat down with Alan Watts on his

houseboat and discovered the meaning of life or something.  Were you

around for all that hot tub stereotyping about Marin?

KATHLEEN: No, I remember moving down to LA for work and hearing this

whole thing about people making fun of people in Marin County who sat in

hot tubs.  I thought 'Well, that's odd.  Why would anybody care if somebody

sits in a hot tub?'

JASON: As a competitive gymnast at Tam, do you remember who was your

toughest competitor?

KATHLEEN: Oh yes!  There was a girl named Lucia Tuffanelli from

Redwood.  She was really good and we used to be nervous about her and we

used to tease her a lot because we were insecure.  Guess what? I'm friends

with her now!!!   I love her!

JASON: When visiting Marin, is there anywhere that takes you back in time

to when you were a kid here?

QUINLAN:  Mill Valley still looks quaint but Marin looks a lot fancier to me,

especially when I go through Sausalito.  I remember the old bookstore (there)

and people hanging out on the steps smoking -- I guess the kids call them

'spliffs' now.

JASON: Spliffs?

KATHLEEN: Spliffs…  Joints!  (Laughs)  See -- you're out of the times now

too! 

JASON:  I know, I just turned 38.  I don't know anything.

KATHLEEN:  The thing that brings me back the most is when I go into Old

Mill Park and I smell the Redwoods.  That just sends me straight back. And

when I walk into the Mill Valley Library -- I used to love to go to that library. 

That library is the way all libraries should be --  really homey and with a

fireplace.  I used to do my homework in there.

JASON:  Where were some other places you used to hang out after school?

KATHLEEN: A bunch of us kids used to go to...I think it's Blithedale...past

the Mill Valley Market as you go further back towards the mountainside,

back in that little canyon by the creek.  There was a tree that had grown sort

of sideways and someone had cut it off a little and we used to sit on it and it

would bounce up and down.  We called it 'Grandpa's Knee'.  I loved the

sound of the creek.

JASON: Where did you live back then? 

KATHLEEN: We lived in two different places -- once on Ethel Avenue and

once in the Scott Highlands.  I used to take off with my dog for 3 hours and

hike to the base of Mt. Tam all the time.  That was my backyard.  It was

heaven. 

JASON: Thank you for doing this interview.  I think a lot of people from Marin

are really proud of you and the great work you've done in your career.

KATHLEEN:  Thanks.   I feel a lot for Marin.  I feel like it was the first place

that ever felt like a home and a community.  And then I ran off and traveled

all over the world and worked and came to the conclusion that I still think

Marin County is the most beautiful place I've ever seen.

-------

Kathleen Quinlan's single-line of dialog in American Graffiti role blossomed

into decades of work in films such as I Never Promised You a Rose Garden,

The Doors, A Civil Action, and Breach as well as the TV series Family Law. 

In 1995 she received both an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination for Best

Supporting Actress for her work in Apollo 13.  In 2008 she will appear in the

film Made of Honor starring Patrick Dempsey.

COPYRIGHT

All of the material

on this website is

copyrighted by

Jason Lewis

unless otherwise

stated.  Those

images not owned

by Jason Lewis

are copyrighted

by their

respective

owners.  If you

are interested in

using material

from these pages,

please contact

Jason Lewis at

jason@marinnost

algia.org prior to

doing so.

Home

Jason

Who?

Forum

People

Spotlight

Most

Wanted

80's

Arcade

Trivia

Polls

Timeline

COPYRIGHT

All of the material

on this website is

copyrighted by

Jason Lewis

unless otherwise

stated.  Those

images not owned

by Jason Lewis

are copyrighted

by their

respective

owners.  If you

are interested in

using material

from these pages,

please contact

Jason Lewis at

jason@marinnost

algia.org prior to

doing so.