Starstruck
Harris gives his fans something to smile about
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
NORRIDGEWOCK — Fans of actor Ed Harris were ecstatic Friday morning.
Actor Ed Harris jokes with 5-year-old Danny Henderson outside the set of łEmpire Falls˛ before filming on Friday in Norridgewock. Henderson, who was with his father, Scott, was asked why he wasnąt in school. He said he was an afternoon kindergartner. click to enlarge
Not only did they get to see their favorite movie star, Harris walked across River Road, shook their hands and even chatted for a few minutes.
It was like a dream come true for the few dozen fans who had turned out on the damp, overcast morning to catch a glimpse of Harris while he was on location for the filming of the HBO movie "Empire Falls."
"He said 'Good morning' and my heart just melted," said Norridgewock resident Rhonda Clement, who had introduced herself to Harris earlier in the morning.
Nancy Bubar, who also saw him earlier sighed, "He kissed me; I'll never wash my face again."
Along with actors Joanne Woodard (as wealthy Francine Whiting) and William Fichtner (as arrogant cop Jimmy Minty), Harris, (as main character Miles Roby) was working on scenes that included his encounter with Whiting at a gazebo on the riverbank and a car scene on the town's concrete bridge.
His followers, mostly women, had tromped through wet grass, over camera cables and into the street to spot Harris.
And they were rewarded with a close-up appearance.
"I have a photo of him hugging me," said Debbie Crowe of Norridgewock. "I told him I saw 'Sweet Dreams.' He was not a good person in that movie but he did a good job."
Although generous and polite with his doting fans, Harris seemed to take genuine delight in his exchange with 5-year-old Danny Henderson.
"Why aren't you in school?" Harris said with a grin, peering down into the young boy's face.
Undaunted by the star image but liking the attention, Danny informed the man in the white T-shirt and scraggly blond hair that he was "going to school this afternoon."
"Do you like your teacher?" Harris asked.
"No," was the youngster's unvarnished reply, bringing smiles and laughter from Harris and onlookers.
His father, Scott Henderson, said he had dropped by the movie shoot "just to check it out and figured it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing" for his son. "It was something to do before he had to go to school."
Most of the fans milling about were local, from either Skowhegan or Norridgewock.
Kari Clemens of Skowhegan, like most of the Harris fans, could not believe her good fortune: "It was the excitement of my day. It was very nice of him to talk to us like that."
Her mother, Ida Tibbetts agreed. "We don't get much excitement here. That was really nice of him; we never expected that to happen. It was my day off from work and we just came by."
Carol Lambert, who lives nearby said, "He's even nicer looking in person than in the movies."
Harris was a good sport with fans. He was trying to read the morning newspaper in his pickup earlier Friday morning when fans interrupted his solitude.
Bubar and Clement made the best of the moment.
"I walked up to his window and he said 'Good morning.' I said 'Good morning,' and 'Do you give autographs?' " Clement said.
Although Clement said he rarely gives autographs, she was happily squeezing the one in her pocket, jotted on a yellow Post It note.
"Much love to you and yours," said the note, signed by Ed Harris, along with "Empire Falls," and the date.
Bubar said she told Harris she had been "following him around like a puppy and Gary Michaud, from 'A Touch of Country,' took our picture together. I'm floating on air. He's such a good guy."
The fans then switched star searches and began looking for Woodward.
"I saw her come out of that trailer; she still looks great," Bubar said.
Darla L. Pickett — 474-9534, Ext. 343
dpickett@centralmaine.com