Herve Villechaize Profile GMA c.1978

In 1978 I shot & directed a profile on Herve Villechaize (Tattoo on Fantasy Island), for Good Morning America. We didn't want to do the typical "sit-down" interview but since he was so small and the correspondent, Jean Wolf, was so much taller, a standing or walking interview would have been awkward. We needed a way to get the two of them at the same level, face to face. Herve was a painter and was creating a mural on the wall of his apartment. He had a ladder so he could paint higher up on the wall. So we decided to put him on the ladder, painting, while Jean stood next to him. It worked perfectly, and looked quite natural. Herve also had a pretty fancy 8mm Home Movie camera rig, so, for a gag ending, we staged it so that it appeared he had been shooting Jean's standup at the end of the piece. It got a big laugh and compliment from GMA's co-hosts, David Hartman and Sandy Hill.