Linnea Quigley [Interview]

Welcome Everybody to the 2nd Annual Week of Horror here at Trainwreck’d Society!  If you were around last year, you might remember how this works.  We are here to give you a week’s worth of interviews from some of the greatest minds and talents from the world of horror, new or old, indie or mainstream, whatever.  Each of the people we have are featuring is special in their own right, and held a very dear place in the world of horror that we all just can’t get enough of.  So without further ado, let’s begin Day 1!

Scream Queens.  We all know what one is.  In fact, we’ve probably picked out our favorite one at some point or another.  Scream Queens rose to incredible amounts of cult fame in the 80’s, and their legacy has yet to falter.  How it all started, or who started it all, really doesn’t matter (Jamie Lee can’t have everything!).  We love Scream Queens, with their raunchy and delightful spirit.  Their unashamed nudity.  Their overall vast amount of straight badassery!  We love them.  There may never be anyone quite like them in the world of horror.  And one woman who embodies the brilliant overall spirit and charisma of a Scream Queen is without a doubt the legendary Linnea Quigley.

Linnea Quigley rose to fame in the anything goes world of the 80’s horror scene as the premiere Scream Queen of her time, ultimately landing her a brilliant role in Return of the Living Dead, and many more wonderful projects.  And she has been relentlessly working ever since.  With over 150 projects under her belt, she has refused to slow down.  She’s written a couple of books on the matter that have been called some of the most insightful words ever written about the genre, and whenever a documentary about horror and/or the Scream Queen label, you can bet your sweet bare ass that they will come calling for Linnea.

So without even further ado, we are proud to present our interview with the lovely and insanely talented, Linnea Quigley.  Enjoy!

In your own personal and obviously professional opinion, what does it mean to be a “Scream Queen”? And what do you personally believe it is about them that is so fascinating to viewers? 

I think a Scream Queen is someone who has done and also loves horror films and embraces each role and the genre.

You seem to have a relentless work ethic, appearing in multiple films each year. So, how do yo do it? What keeps you motivated to keep working?

I keep motivated from the responses I get from people AND I love the work when you love something its never a chore and it feel like I’ve managed to do something in life its amazing how people remember from all those years I’ve been working.

I’ve also come to learn that you are quite the musician yourself, having been The Skirts. So do you still play and/or perform these days? Is The Skirts reunion in effect?

I was in the band but the bass player Haydee is on the other side of coast from me. Man I would have loved to have kept working and kept doing gigs its so cool that some of the music I wrote and played is in some movies and documentaries its a great feeling. I hope to get together with her soon and play somewhere I miss that a lot.

What do you consider to be your all-time favorite gig over your long and illustrious career?

My best projects were Return of the Living Dead, Night of the Demons, and Sorority Babes. Well, it’s hard to name just one all of them have their memories and hope to do another book about them soon.

And, of course, what would you say is the worst? 

My worst was probably Animals it was filmed at this mosquito filled nudist camp and its very corny. But the people were nice so its hard to say since everything is a learning process.

Can you tell us about some of your upcoming projects, as I noticed you have several in the works?  And what are your plans for Halloween?

Right now I have a lot of things lined up I have cons booked all through October and also films lined up. So I will have a working Halloween! Busy.

What was the last thing that made you smile?

The last thing that made me smile was one of my dogs who took a dip in pool jumped in bed all wet on me they constantly have me smiling.