'What century did he walk out of, what storybook?'
Kristoffer
This post was actually years in the making and inspired by photographer Robert John Guttke. When I posted about Robert's death earlier this year, I wrote about all of the things he used to send me. Movie and book suggestions as well as hundreds of images and even more stories about his work. In addition to be being an incredible photographer and artist, Robert was also a writer.
Robert often sent me pages, and first chapters from the several of the books he was in the process of writing. He wanted feedback, and maybe a little reinforcement that he should keep on with the particular story. Some of you may know that Robert also wrote scripts, most notably, a season two episode of the late 1980's series Beauty and the Beast.
The story for the episode, 'When The Blue Bird Sings' came from Robert alone, but the official writing credit was shared with Roy Dotrice and George R.R. Martin. Dotrice was one of the show's main writers, and Martin was both a writer and producer on the series. It was common for 'guest' writers like Robert to share credit with the contracted writers for the series.
Robert was proud that his episode actually got filmed, and shared he based the idea on the 1948 fantasy romance film, Portrait of Jeannie. This time, it was the artist, not the model, who was possibly a ghost. The artist in the Beauty and the Beast episode was Kristoffer, played by guest actor Franc Luz.
At Robert's urging, I found a copy and watched the episode about 10 years ago and planned on doing a piece on Franc. I was struck not only by the story, but the beauty, and in this case, it wasn't Linda Hamilton. Luz has such a great face, his facial structure and beautiful eyes. I was a bit of a smitten kitten. I got a little waylaid, because I wanted to check out more of Luz's work. Although you may not know the name, I'm betting most of you have seen Franc on screen at one point or another over the last few decades.
After graduating with a degree in the dramatic arts, Luz began working steadily on stage, getting his break in the film Voices in 1979. Luz quickly began getting roles on television, including stints on the soaps The Doctors and Ryan's Hope. Luz also played the role of the sadistic dentist in the original off-Broadway production of Little Shop of Horrors.
Ryan's Hope (1984)
Guest shots on other 80's television shows followed, with Luz playing the 'guest' romantic lead to many of television's most popular actresses. Luz appeared on shows including; Oh Madeline, Remington Steele, The A-Team, My Sister Sam, Hunter and The Bronx Zoo. Luz also co-starred alongside Jane Kaczmarek in the short-lived 1985 series Hometown.
It was one of Luz's guest appearances that inspired me to finally finish this piece. Earlier this spring, I caught Luz on an old episode of The Facts of Life. He was playing Richard Katt, a college law professor that Blair was accused of having an affair with. As soon as I saw that face, I knew it was Luz, and knew it was time to feature him on the site. I was patient though, and waited a bit in order to catch more of his work, especially his film work.
During the late 80's Luz continued to appear on television with roles on; Empty Nest, Kate & Allie, The Young Riders and L.A Law. Luz also appeared on 227 and was due to co-star in the Jackée led spin-off which NBC ended up passing on. He also appeared alongside Alyson Hannigan in one season of the fantasy sit-come Free Spirit.
Although Luz was a fixture on television in the 80's and 90's (Sisters, Matlock, Silk Stalkings and Star Trek: The Next Generation) he also appeared in several successful feature films. Luz appeared in When Harry Met Sally, alongside Johnny Depp in Don Juan Demarco, and took the lead in the sci-fi flicks Ghost Town and The Nest. The Nest was a particular favorite of mine.
Although Luz retired from acting in 1999, he leaves long resume of roles and performances. Sadly, I couldn't find an 'official' nude scenes, but I did find a few films with shirtless scenes, and a hint of butt from a 1994 softcore flick. Check them out on the NEXT PAGE HERE:
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