JOBETH'S GHOST STORY

oBeth Williams, the versatile actress who did battle with fiendish thingies in Poltergeist and its sequel admits to skepticism about the supernatural, but can't close the book on the subject. "Once, in an old house in New Hampshire," she explains, "I woke up in the middle of the night, and while I thought I was dreaming, the bed was shaking. I thought it was an earthquake, but the woman who owned the boarding house said, quite casually, 'Oh no, it's just our ghost.' My feeling is it's not an area you should tamper with unless you know what you're doing."

   Believer or not, Williams appreciates the tremendous impact Poltergeist has had. Although she leans toward the big screen–"there's something about the scope which makes it even more scary"–Williams also recognizes that millions of home viewers can't be wrong. "So many people, kids particularly, have rented it that it must still have tremendous impact, even on TV."

   What of Poltergeist III? Williams says she is not interested, despite rumors that the beasts will rise again. "As far as I know they're not writing it now. I won't say would never do it because you always live to eat those kinds of words."

   Not currently committed to any specific projects, the star of such films as American Dreamer, The Big Chill, Desert Bloom, and TV's Adam and Adam: The Song Continues is exploring a number of creative avenues. Williams and her husband, director John Pasquin, are searching out works to produce, preferably made-for-TV movies or low-budget features. But the actress is also looking for a few good comedies. "It's a side I haven't been able to use a lot in film," she says, "and I'm frustrated that there aren't more comedies being written for women." Rather than teen comedies or broad "Animal House, Police Academy stuff," she would love to find more sophisticated, urbane material.

   Returning to the subject of big vs. small screen, Williams notes that cable and the VCR have enabled people ("like my mother") who wouldn't go out to the movies to see films they would otherwise miss. "People who were, are still going out, but it's now easier for families, sick people, kids, and everybody to have them available."

–Rod Granger

[Source: Unknown]

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