Hattiesburg native Wesley Eure: An entertainment fixture

Good Mornin’! Good Mornin’!

Saturday mornings meant fried eggs and Bugs Bunny for me. With only three channels to find cartoons on, you had to develop patience and pray for good weather, so the antennae picked up Greenwood and Jackson TV stations. If not, you’d be subjected to whatever Public Television was droning on about on a Saturday. Bugs Bunny introduced my generation to classical music, opera and the majestic humor of Mel Blanc. But that was all about to change in September of 1974 when Marshall, Will and Holly went on a routine expedition in a “tiny” yellow raft over some rapids. But then “the largest earthquake ever known” hit and they plunged 1,000 feet below to the Land of the Lost.

Yes, Saturday mornings would never be the same now that the trio had gone back in time it seems to pre-historic ear replete with dinosaurs, sleestacks and an ape boy named Cha-Ka who tried to help them survive. This sci-fi adventure starred Wesley Eure who grew up in Hattiesburg. He was also simultaneously starring on the daytime soap opera, Days of Our Lives as Mike Horton. After a successful three-year run on Land of the Lost, Eure has stayed busy in Hollywood as a writer, actor and much more. He also has been reuniting with cast members from the show and making appearances at Comic Cons across the country.

But just how did this enchanted life come to be? I gave him a quick call and caught up with him in Puerta Vallarta, Mexico where he was on a mini-vacation but still working on projects.

Born in Baton Rouge, Wesley’s family was full of college professors and academia types, and he moved to Hattiesburg to live with his grandparents when his parents got divorced. He participated in all the things boys across Mississippi partake in at a young age in a small town.

“I went froggin’ in the ponds there and stealing pomegranates,” Eure said. 

But after his parents divorced, Eure hit the college circuit living with his mom who took jobs at universities from Texas to Illinois and eventually Las Vegas. It was there while working in a hotel art gallery that he met Robert Goulet and then wife Carol Lawrence who were performing. At 17 and a freshman at UNLV, Goulet took Eure under his wing and gave him a job.

Driving Miss Goulet

Goulet and Lawrence had a tour lined up on the East Coast performing “I Do, I Do” along with concerts and needed a driver. Dodge had given the couple an RV/Van/motorhome type vehicle that only Clark Griswold could love and sent them on the road.

“I had never been to New York City. I was a southern boy and I had to go pick up Carol Lawrence and take her to the Garden Grove State Arts Festival,” Eure said.

The nation’s largest city, a 17-year-old-country boy driver, the Lincoln Tunnel and one of the decade’s biggest stars in the back seat – all the ingredients for trouble.

“I had never seen traffic lights on the side of the street just hanging in the middle,” he said. “A truck was hiding one of the lights and I pull out into the intersection and I realize the light is red.”

He attempts to back up but one of New York’s finest is there, surveying the whole incident. He motioned for Wesley to roll down his window and asked him about the situation. And a flustered Wesley tried to explain but the officer noticed the festival placard on the dash and the star in the back seat.

“He said, ‘hello, Miss Lawrence. Young man, be careful next time. You can go now.’ I realized the value of stardom at that very moment,” he said with a laugh.

The tour and driving had its moments of Goulet situations as well where the singer would take the wheel but they all lived to tell about it. But once the tour ended, a young Eure had entertainment fever and decided to stay in New York to pursue life as an actor. He had no formal training and no union card. He was sent to perform Shakespeare in Connecticut.

“They said you had to do two pieces of Shakespeare and I went home and memorized two sonnets,” he said. “The head of Julliard was directing that year and I get on stage and do my sonnets and they’re laughing at me but I got the job.”

Oblivious to his own thick southern accent, Wesley was surprised when they assigned a diction coach to him to help lose it. Runnin’ became running and jumpin’ became jumping. A full summer of work and performing ended with a full-scale party to celebrate the season. There Wesley and his tutor, who had a bit to drink, were in conversation.

“Wesley, darling,” she said. “The most regrettable experience I’ve had this entire season at Stratford has been to make you lose that wonderful accent.”

While there he did happen to ask his bosses how he got the job with such a pronounced accent and little experience.

“Wesley, you came in and blew the sonnets but you were so funny – you made us laugh and we couldn’t imagine spending the summer without you,” his boss explained.

Eure took his experience back to NYC and worked for a few years and finally figured out that for all the money he was spending to rent a small loft in NYC he could rent a home in Los Angeles – so he headed west. He started auditioning, got a job but the writer’s strike in 1971 stopped the production. But he kept auditioning and working and found a home on daytime TV – as Mike Horton on Days of Our Lives. And his career kicked into overdrive. He auditioned for Land of the Lost and NBC allowed him to do both gigs at once.

“In the morning I’d do all my scenes for Days at NBC and then I would drive over to the studios to film Land of the Lost,” he said. “In the morning I’d be crying about girlfriend problems and in the afternoon, I’d be running from dinosaurs.”

While growing up in Mississippi, Eure would watch Days with his grandmother.

“Every time I watched the soap opera I could smell the iron burning,” he said.

Sadly, his grandmother passed away before ever seeing Eure on her favorite show.

“I was a kid and grew up there. McDonald Carey was like my grandfather,” he said.

All together he put in nine years on Days and three on Land of the Lost.

“It was every kid’s fantasy. You got to go to the sound stage and there was a lagoon and a jungle and a cave and dinosaurs – it was three years of bliss,” he said. “It was written by Star Trek writers. The show – was amazing for its time – it looks so hokey now but it cost them a fortune. My entire performance was, ‘run, Holly, run – there’s a dinosaur!’ That was it.”

Eure attributes the show’s success to its roots with Star Trek writers and creators who worked on Land of the Lost.

“We were the little brother of Star Trek. David Gerrold was our head writer – he created Trouble with Tribbles. Walter Koenig who played Chekov wrote the first episode. We had Larry Niven and DC Fontana and Norman Spinrad and a lot of people who were young in their careers before they blossomed and became huge sci-fi writers. But that’s one reason why the scripts have held up with the sci-fi elements. The stories are really amazing. It never talked down to kids.”

His career candle was burning at both ends, the middle and anywhere else it could be lit. Eure started working with fundraisers and was putting on March of Dimes Telethons across the country. He opened for headlining comedians in Vegas and he was in movies and he also became a regular on Match Game and Password along with Bewitched star Elizabeth Montgomery.

“I was so nervous and I got to park in Johnny Carson’s parking space,” he said. “We taped on the weekend (five shows) and they had my name taped over his.”

He was a natural on the show and even helped “train” Lucille Ball to be on the show.

“We’d shoot a whole week and you had to bring five sets of clothes,” he said. “I’m in my dressing room in Burbank and I called my mother and said do you want to spend the day with Lucille Ball?”

He would film an episode, come back to the dressing room and change and answer questions from the red-headed comedienne.

“We spent this amazing day and then she spent time on there for years,” he said.

Eure was living a life that could only be dreamed of in south Mississippi. His career was validated one evening when attending an awards show.

“I was at the bar and got a tap on the shoulder and its Jimmy Stewart and he says, ‘Hey, kid, I love your work. I watch you on Days of Our Lives all the time,” he said.

Wished on a Dragon Scale

After being onscreen, Eure had been writing and producing and got a call from a friend to see if he could help sketch out a kids show for PBS. There was a large grant at stake and the competition was tough as Henson Productions and other big names were vying for it as well. Turns out, the friend’s secretary had been to an art show and had come back with some dragon paintings. After looking them over, Eure left the office and wrote a treatment or an overview for the show idea.

“We beat out everybody,” he said. “It ran for nine years. It was great – it still is great, it’s all over the world and there are even live stage shows.”

Dragon Tales was a huge hit south of the border as well and he gets more recognition in Mexico for that. He spent time lecturing in schools there as well.

“I was renting a place on Airbnb there and when the lady found out who I was she asked me to lecture at her husband’s school,” he said. “I had a translator because even though I speak Spanish I couldn’t totally communicate perfectly with the kids.”

These days he also lectures in school districts on the premise of anyone can write a book. Then he does just that with an oral lecture.

“Then we pass out pencils and paper. We all write a book and illustrate it,” he said.

In his spare time, Eure likes to travel and in the mid 80s he backpacked across Bali and other countries. He’s also been creating websites lately for friends and now businesses.

“I’m working on a website for an awards show for the Voice Talent Hall of Fame,” he said. “It’s been fun. I just finished a play in Tampa, Florida – Spring at the Willowbrook Inn. And I’ve got a new book coming out – another kids book. And I also have another book in the works.”

There’s talk of the stage play getting dates in LA and New York but he’s waiting for that to work out. You’ll see Wesley up on the big screen as he has a part in the William Shatner movie Senior Moment that is currently in post-production. It was filmed in Palm Springs where Eure mainly lives and he brought in plenty of his friends and neighbors to take part.

“I was at a restaurant in Palm Springs and this guy walks up to me and says, ‘Aren’t you Wesley Eure?’ and I said, ‘yeah.’ And He said, ‘I’m making a movie here with William Shatner and I want you to be in it.’ And I said, ‘well, ok.’”

The film stars Shatner along with Christopher Lloyd and Gene Smart. The director was looking for some Palm Springs locals so Eure started gathering his Hollywood friends who live there.

“I called Kaye Ballard and Ruta Lee and I said, ‘how about Gavin McLeod from Love Boat?’ But he was busy. It’s a comedy and its really fun. I just have a cameo, a smidget part,” he said.

Eure hasn’t had a chance to get home to Mississippi though he’s trying to get booked in the Magnolia State’s Comic Cons.

“I love Mississippi. I miss Mississippi. I would love to come back,” he said.

It was in Mississippi that he got to understand the power of Hollywood fame years ago.

“My family had moved away from Hattiesburg and I was coming through to host a Telethon. I drove through and wanted to see my old house that’s now been torn down. I was walking downtown and this police officer looked up and recognized me. He stopped traffic in all directions and had me cross the street cattycorner and as I walked passed him, he said, ‘Welcome, home.’ And I thought, ‘I made it.’ It was heaven on earth.”

And like many actors, he has a list of near misses with bigger fame. He was cast originally as Gopher on Love Boat but at the last second NBC wouldn’t allow him to be on the ABC production. He was cast to replace David Cassidy in the Partridge Family but Cassidy returned to the show and he was set up to be the Tonight Show Host – Australia Version but the government would not let an American host.

“But Land of the Lost is going good and we’re celebrating our 45th Anniversary. It’s got cult status now. We go to the autograph shows and all these young kids will come.”

Looking over his long and continuing career, Eure summed it all up.

“It’s a great life,” he said. “Who would have thought a little kid in Hattiesburg, Mississippi would have the chances that I got. I remember when I was five years old, I announced to everyone that I was going to be an actor.”

From the sticks to Goulet’s sidekick, running with Cha-ka, to creating Zack and Weezy – these have all been a part of The Days of Our Lives with Wesley Eure. What’s your favorite Wesley Eure film or TV moment? I’d always ‘preciate your comments here or over at Facebook, or you can tweet me @markhstowers ... See yah next week! As a freelance writer, I’m working to grow my business and have created a GoFundMe page to help with that. Please take a look and see if you can help. I’d greatly appreciate it!

A Rebel, a Statesman — or Fightin’ Okra — and even a Trojan, I’m the Sunflower County farm boy with no green thumb who longed to live in the big city, got his wish and now is working his way back to the farm.

A freelance writer, middle-of-the-road-conservative and wannabe fry cook, I look to bring native Mississippi folks and businesses to your attention through my looking glass.

There are those of us that packed up Mississippi and took it with us to new destinations and neighbors. My area code may be 248 but my heart is all about 662, with plenty of room for the 601. Heck, I’ll even saunter into the 228 from time to time.

There’s more about me at markhstowers.com.