The Only Woman in the Room. A conversation with Rita Lakin

RHYS BOWEN: One of the surprising things about writing mysteries is the people that you meet. Mystery writers come from an amazing range of backgrounds and have pasts that would make terrific stories in themselves. But no one has surprised me more than RITA LAKIN.  I first realized that she was a lot more than a writer of cozy paperback mysteries when she was on a Liars panel I hosted at a convention.

Script writer, producer, director of programs that were iconic to many of us growing up:   Peyton Place, Dynasty, The Rookies, Mod Squad and many more.  So I had to have her on Jungle Red to celebrate the publication of her autobiography, THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM.  Read on and you'll see why I was so absolutely fascinated. . 

Rita, welcome to JRW and congratulations on the publication of your memoir. So let's go back to that famous Liar's panel. Some of your answers certainly raised my eyebrows and you were clearly the winner of the game because nobody believed you when you were telling the truth. Invited to join the Mile High Club by Omar Shariff? Who is this woman, I thought? And then I found out. Wow, lady, you have led quite a life. What made you finally decide to write your memoir?

RITA LAKIN:  not “what, but “you” at that Liar’s panel. It had never entered my mind, ever, that I had any reason to write my memoir. To me memoirs were about famous people. But, based on all the laughter to my answers at that panel, I thought I might a put together a slim volume of funny anecdotes during those 25 years I spent in Hollywood.

I had people read my effort, and they suggested that I write a real memoir. Which then led me to dig out boxes of  memorabilia - stuff I’d rat-packed away for 50 years. Once I went through much of it, I realized there was a book. I’d forgotten how often I wondered where the other women writers were and that’s when the story took off in my mind. 275 pages later, I felt I might have something unique.

RHYS: What made you think you could break into TV writing and producing when it was so clearly a man's world?

RITA LAKIN: “Think” being the odd word here. There was no thought. I was a widow with three small children and I needed to earn money. I managed to get a secretarial job at Universal despite the fact I couldn’t type. And after reading the movie scripts on the lot and the realization that writing scripts paid much more money than I was making, I made the decision to write a script. I had been writing short stories for years, and selling a few, considering it a hobby, it wasn’t that  big a jump to thinking I could write.

RHYS: What was the hardest thing for you in those days?

RITA LAKIN: Getting past the grief of being in mourning. Balancing raising children alone and working long hours honing my craft.   I was very lucky. The men I worked for were kind and helpful.

RHYS: Apart from Mr. Shariff and the mile high incident what are some other favorite fantastic stories you share in the book?

RITA LAKIN: I had the biggest opportunity of my career early on, to adapt a novel for a very prestigious show. The other writers (all men) were world famous. All the actors were famous, too. (writers, the caliber of William Inge and actresses like Ann Bancroft. This  was big time) Unfortunately for me I was written up in Variety as a secretary in with all these famous people. Alas, the big name actress picked to star in my movie refused to work in a script written by a “lowly secretary.” She wanted a famous writer, also. So, I was dumped.

Being partnered with another writer on Dynasty. He actually had murdered his wife and even wrote a book about it. He was creepy.

Thinking I’d been asked to his office to pitch a movie idea, a producer pimped a man for me. He turned out to be a mafia boss who wanted to set me up in a house in Beverly Hills and send all my children to college. It was an offer, he insisted, I couldn’t refuse. I declined.

Another producer I worked for insisted I put his name on my Mod Squad script. The show won the MWA Edgar that year. He never told me about the win, nor that he’d gone to the ceremony in NY, and picked up our awards. Nor did he tell me about the Edgar statue I won, that he kept. All he gave me was a certificate saying I won. Need I mention I was very naïve in those days? I hadn’t known about that Edgar award. I wish I could get my statue back.

RHYS: These days you write about a little old lady detective with her friends in Florida. Funny and so accurate. But do you ever itch to get back to the edgy scripts you wrote in those earlier days?

RITA LAKIN:  I’ve written 464 scripts for television, 8 MOW’s, 2 Mini-series  - spanning 30 TV productions. I consulted on 60 shows. Created and produced a number of them as well.

Wrote 7 Gladdy Gold mystery novels, 1 gothic novel, 1 YA novel. 2 theatrical plays, some short stores (and stuff I’ve already forgotten.)

I no longer have any “itch.” But maybe I’ll go back to my old lady comedy mysteries. They’re so much fun to write.     

RHYS: Rita, you are fabulous and an inspiration to women writers everywhere! And if you recognize Aaron Spelling and Dick Van Dyke etc etc in the photos. Well, yeah.

Rita's memoir is called THE ONLY WOMAN IN THE ROOM  and will be available any day soon. And Rita will sign a copy to a commenter, so leap in and ask questions.

Rita Lakin--A lady who has done it all.

RHYS:
If you meet Rita Lakin your first impression will probably be--pleasant elderly lady, probably a retired librarian or schoolteacher. How wrong you'd be. You're looking at a real Hollywood power broad. Rita spent a life as writer, producer, showrunner in the TV business. She was one of the writers of Peyton Place, the Rookies, Mod Squad. She was showrunner for Executive Suite, Nightengales,Flamingo Road. In fact everyone who reads this blog is bound to have seen at least one TV program touched by the hand of Ms. Lakin.

Now when she should be taking up bridge and needlepoint, she has started writing mystery novels and flourishing in a whole new career. So welcome, Rita, to Jungle Red. Tell us, what drove you to a life of crime, Rita?

RITA: Purely an accident. When I left “show biz”, I decided to finally write a novel after 25 years of scripts. I wanted to write about my mother and aunts and other relatives who retired to a condo in Ft. Lauderdale. But as I started to write it, I knew it wouldn’t sell. Because I was so ingrained with being “commercial,” I decided to turn them into elderly private eyes. And because they were so funny in real life, I knew it had to be a comedy. Ergo –crime.

RHYS:What do you miss about the glamorous life in TV land? What don't you miss?

RITA: PRO: Being the boss of about 100 people as a producer. Seeing my characters and stories come to life on the screen. Enjoying being involved in production like editing, dailies, having the fun of casting the actors, hiring and working with other writers, etc. First class airfare, best hotels when travelling. Really, really loved script-writing. And, not to be sneezed at, the money!
CON: Since there is a lot of money in that biz, you have to deal with a lot of sharks. Before becoming a producer, as a free-lancer, having to deal with the hundred network and production people who can order you to make changes in your work that kill the soul. Hardly ever do you get your work done the way it should be. Oh, all those egos!

RHYS: Gladdy is such a wonderful heroine--she spunky, sexy, witty. Completely shattering all stereotypes of what an older woman should be. So--in what ways is she you? Would you like to be her?

RITA: My character, Gladdy, is totally self-assured. And very wise. She says what she wants and does what she wants. I find myself becoming more and more like her. But, then again, I assume Gladdy and I are both in our second childhood and we can get away with a lot!

RHYS:It's a case of "when I get old I shall wear purple etc."And what about the latest book in the series?





RITA: I get a lot of fan mail and with it a lot of opinions. Most of my fans are women and want Gladdy and Jack to get married. I took a poll and 85% voted for marriage. The other 15% said it would ruin everything. I might add the 15% were men. I managed to keep the couple out of bed for five books, but the pressure was on. (and so was the suspense- will they or won’t they?) So, finally, in book six, GETTING OLD IS TRES DANGEREUX I bite the literary bullet and deal with it.

Rita's new book is in stores June 30. And if you get a chance to go to a book signing or hear her speak, she has such wonderful stories--casually dropping famous names, telling about the time Omar Shariff invited her to join the Mile High Club! I should also add that when we're not writing and promoting, Rita and I belong to the same AAUW group and laugh ourselves silly once a month playing board games.