Passionate, Eternal Optimist, Driven Achiever

After hearing so many wonderful things about Simon the other day, and the fact I’ve been meaning to write something like this down for a while, I figure it’s now or never.

A few words about Simon: ‘Passionate, Eternal Optimist, Driven Achiever’.

These are the words Simon choose to describe himself in our ‘Meet a Member‘ questions a few years ago.  I don’t think I know anyone who would disagree with any of these words.

For me Simon always came across as a decent guy, kind and caring and it was these characteristics that made me a fan of Simon and his work, the fact he was damned good looking was an added bonus.

I’ve always believed you can tell a lot about a person about what others think of them or what they think of others.  I remember talking to Simon in a theater and there was an old man with severe hunch behind me, Simon suddenly said ‘oh my god that poor man’, I’d never seen anyone look so concerned and it was for someone he didn’t even know.  I also never heard Simon say a bad word about anyone.

From a fans viewpoint Simon is an excellent role model, honest, hard-working and happily married for over 20 years.  Mimicking is the highest form of adoration and if more people were like Simon then the world would be a better place for everyone.

I always felt I knew a different Simon to his friends and family, I felt I only really knew the guy off the telly (Harry, Peter, Jonathan, Greg) although there were times where you could see Simon himself in interviews and in person.  Even if it was just a minute Simon tried to give time to his fans, by having photo’s taken, signing autographs or just by talking with a fan.  He always had a way of making you feel relaxed and he would try to talk to everyone waiting for him outside a stage door and make them feel important.

I miss Simon, but in someway I know that part of the person I knew I can never forget as all I have to do it dig out a DVD and there he is, smiling, laughing and joking.  I also know that in decades from now probably around Christmas or Easter I’ll turn on a TV and there will be a 25 year old Simon on my TV in Death on the Nile and all the memories, if they’re not still at the front of my mind, will come pouring back.   I don’t think I’ll ever be a fan of anyone the same way I am of Simon, he is someone I’ll never ever forgot, and I’m glad I got a chance to know him.

This interview was carried out with Simon on the 10th February at the London Palladium. There is a video message that was filmed at the same time and audio can be found on the forum – in Simon’s Secret Society. This is Simon in his own words (i.e. typed word for word what he said)

001 – What’s next
I really don’t know is the answer. I’m doing a couple of things, there are a number of things being talked about, but nothing that’s absolutely carved in granite. I’m gonna do another day on another movie, literally next week, for a friend, the same sort of set up as that other one, who’s title I think is the one you saw.

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This interview was carried out with Simon on the 13th February 2008 at the Beck Theater in Hayes. Audio can be found on the forum as well as a video message from Simon filmed at the same time. This is Simon in his own words (i.e. typed word for word what he said)

We also got Simon to answer the forum’s ‘Meet a Member’ questions which can be found here

001 – From Clare: How have you family (Susan included) influenced your career?
Well I think mostly through their absolute continued unquestioning support for whatever I embark upon. Susan particularly is a very good springboard for various choices that I have made so I do share all the choices that I make. I think that my mum and dad particularly, it was about the honesty of what one was trying to do, and the respect for the audience. Very early on my father taught me about respect for the audience. I’m not sure I was ever really gonna go down in a daft way with it but certainly that I think has been a very important part in how I deal with the public. I’m always giving the time for other people even within a busy schedule.

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This is the interview we managed to arrange for the site’s first birthday in April 2007 , though the interview was recorded late February. All answers are pretty much word for word what he replied. The interview was carried out at the Grand Theater in Wolverhampton. This is quite a long interview and the questions are out of order from when they were originally asked to make more sense.

Audio from the interview can be found on the forum

Question 000 – From shelliwood: How did you get the scar under your right eye?

How did I get the scar under my right eye? That happened when I was about 13 and I was playing cricket and I got hit by a cricket ball.

I hit a ball and it caught the edge of the bat and flew back up into my face, and hit me right under the eye, split it wide open. But it’s been there and I’ve used it, on a couple of jobs I did I actually highlighted it slightly and made it a feature of the character.

Did I use it in Manimal? Did I or not, do you know I can’t remember. I mean it was more noticeable, it become progressively less noticeable, I don’t even notice it anymore actually. I haven’t ever had anything done about it but as one’s face changes so does it. It also stated a little higher it was nearer my eye so it gets a bit lower, force of gravity (chuckle) or something like that.

Question 003 – From Kerri: Do you find it weird that there are fan sites about you?

I suppose I don’t find it weird because I did when it first happened and therefore having accepted it, I know it’s there.

When Lonna Poland approached my manager in California, which was probably 1982, she would know better than I, but I’m sure it was 1982, it seem to me to a very strange thing, seemed to be rather an American thing because I hadn’t really experienced it much in the UK. We discussed it, my manger said, ‘No this is really fairly normal and it’s not a bad things at all it’s good for PR, it a good way of communicating with fans and we can control a lot of thing so forth to a degree.’ So anyway I said to Lonna that we’d do it and we did. So having made that judgment, from then on I knew about fan sites and therefore I knew what it could be like and Lonna was exceptionally good at running it.

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