Pop Geeks’ Flashback Interview: Raye Hollitt
In the 90s, I would watch the show American Gladiators on Saturday afternoons. It was fun seeing everyday people competing against muscular men and women in feats of strength and endurance. One of the talents who stood out upon further review of her filmography was Raye Hollitt, who was known as Zap on the show. I came to know of more of her work when I purchased the Blake Edwards comedy Skin Deep on DVD. She showed she had the comedic skills to be in an Edwards movie, and she looked great as well, and she still does so now. On Wednesday, July 27th, I spoke to her about her career and more, and I hope you all enjoy this latest Flashback.
Say hello to Raye Hollitt!
Raye: Hi!
Johnny: Hello, Ms. Hollitt. How are you?
Raye: I’m great. Thank you.
Johnny: Alright. I have my questions ready to go. I would like to thank you for taking the time to do this. Let me get started with the questions. I always start off my interviews with these two questions. The first one is: What were your pop-cultural likes growing up, like favorite movies and music?
Raye: Well, I was born in the 60s, and my parents were musicians, so I was introduced to a lot of different types of music back then. In the 70s and 80s, I loved AC/DC and hard rock, Skynyrd and country. My tastes changed as my age changed. When I went to Los Angeles, I became more into dance music and things like that. I grew up on a lake in Pennsylvania in a hickish, very redneck area.
Johnny: What were your high school days like?
Raye: I did dual sports. I was a jock, so I played softball, volleyball, field hockey…I played everything. I was horrible at basketball, but I excelled in track and field as a state champion. I also excelled in the javelin, and we were state champions in volleyball. I also enjoyed snowboarding. All around, I enjoyed athletics.
Johnny: Alright. Who or what inspired you towards becoming a bodybuilder?
Raye: I was extremely thin when I was in high school…EXTREMELY thin. I weighed 107 pounds when I graduated, but because I was an athlete, I had a high metabolism to begin with. I ended up in a gym, and I ended up dating a guy who was going for the Mr. Universe competition back then. When we were dating and I was thin, he took me into the gym and introduced me to weights and weightlifting. I was more or less doing power-lifting to put on some muscle because, back in the day, there was couples competition. We were going to do Mr. and Ms. Pennsylvania together, but he slipped a disc in his back. He didn’t go on and I did, and that’s when I started getting on stage by myself. After I won Ms. Pennsylvania, I left Pennsylvania and headed straight to the Mecca of bodybuilding, which is Venice in California.
Johnny: I see. What’s your favorite memory of your days on the bodybuilding competition circuit?
Raye: I loved doing magazine covers. That was fun. When I got to Los Angeles, I ended up hanging out with the best of the best. As soon as I got off the plane, I mean, the Barbarian Brothers gave me a ride, the morning of my arrival, to the gym. Mike Christian was at the same hotel I stayed at, which was a couple of miles from Golds’, which is the Mecca. It’s now a Lowe’s, but there were a lot of bodybuilders at that hotel. The taxicab driver, when I arrived, took me straight to that hotel, so it was perfect. My first boyfriend was Mike O’Hearn. I also know Stallone and Ferrigno and Arnold. I’ve known them for 30 years. The celebrity part of it was fun. My knowledge just went through the roof from these guys.
Johnny: I see. When posing in bodybuilding competitions, did you ever witness people sabotaging each other, like what occasionally happens in beauty pageants?
Raye: No. (Laughing) I can honestly say no. If anything, there was a camraderie, with someone else helping you put on your oil for you, or helping other girls with their bikinis, or posing. It was a wonderful environment to be in, even though we were all depleted and dieted down.
Johnny: In 1987, you made your acting debut as a Boxer in Penitentiary III. Were you nervous about making the jump from bodybuilding to acting?
Raye: No, no. I didn’t know anything about the acting. I didn’t want to be an actress. I just wanted to be an athlete, and I was on a really good path. Most of the things I’ve worked on were pretty much by accident, and I think I did well in the acting because I didn’t know what I was doing anyway, so I had nothing to compare it to. It was just what came natural.
Johnny: I’ve interviewed several talents who have worked on Cannon movies, and there have been mixed feelings about the company. As Penitentiary III was a Cannon release, what was it like working for them?
Raye: If I did it now you would get a different answer. Back then, not knowing any better, being on a movie set and playing a boxer and getting in that ring, doing take after take after take for Jamaa Fanaka was a lot of fun. Now these days? Not so much fun at all.
Johnny: You played Lonnie in 1989’s Skin Deep, which I find to be one of the most underrated comedies of the 80s.
Raye: Thank you.
Johnny: What was it like working with Blake Edwards and John Ritter?
Raye: For one thing, I knew who John Ritter was. I didn’t know who Blake Edwards was. He died, too, didn’t he? Oh my goodness. Working with John, and not being an actress or knowing how to deliver lines, John was so hands-on and gracious and funny. What made me nervous was that sex scene because I didn’t know what to do, but Blake cleared the room for that and Julie Andrews was there, so she made it a little lighter. That whole movie, that whole set, everything about it was so professional. All the other actresses, the other women, were so talented. I used to see them around in the gyms in L.A, and they were just wonderful women. I got so lucky working on that film, but again, I did not set my goal on being an actor. I was still into bodybuilding.
Johnny: As Shout! Factory has been assuming Blu-Ray rights to titles from the Morgan Creek library, would you participate in extras for Skin Deep if Shout! were to release the movie on Blu-Ray?
Raye: Yeah.
Johnny: Okay. The same year as Skin Deep, you were part of the original cast of American Gladiators. Was Zap the name that was given to you, or did you come up with that yourself?
Raye: There were 6 original Gladiators. We auditioned for those roles. Sunny was blonde, tall and a cyclist. Lace was Marissa Pare, who was Michael Pare’s wife at the time. Michael Horton auditioned for Gemini, and the creator called me to come in as Zap. His father was infatuated with my bodybuilding career (Laughing). He had a poster on the door of me flexing. That’s how I got that role.
Johnny: Did they allow you and the other talents to come up with backstories for the Gladiators, like they would do in professional wrestling, or was it more just you playing these characters?
Raye: No, and we weren’t characters.
Johnny: Oh, I’m sorry.
Raye: No, that’s fine, but that was always the big question. We fit the names. Zap? You get in, cause a lot of damage and get out fast, and that was Zap. I was like a lightning bolt. Ice? When I went on hiatus, she came in and picked her own name, which fit her perfectly. She was kind of cold like ice, anyway. Nitro? Explosive. We kind of just fit those names, so there wasn’t a backstory at all. It’s funny because I’ve never even thought of this. Now Gemini was a huge teddy bear on one side, but a mean mofo on the other side, which is a Gemini, two sided.
Johnny: I see. What were your most favorite moments of working on that show?
Raye: I think the tour, when we went out like rock stars to 100 cities. We started out in Vermont. We flew all the way to Vermont, and then went down the East Coast, and then up and around the Southern states. We were like rock stars. Every day we were going into a different city, and we were treated like rock stars. It was really cool, especially when you’re in your 20s.
Johnny: I see. One of the non-American Gladiators projects where you played Zap was 1993’s Hot Shots Part Deux. As most of the female characters in that movie had Rodham in their names, as a play on Hilary Clinton’s decision to use her maiden name, was there talk given to crediting you as Zap Rodham?
Raye: (Laughing) No, sorry. These are good questions, Johnny, but no.
Johnny: Okay. In 1994, you played Finola in Cyborg 3: The Recycler, which starred another one of my recent interview subjects, Khrystyne Haje. Had you been offered roles in the first two Cyborg movies before coming aboard for this one?
Raye: No. I don’t think I was popular until the 2nd or 3rd season of Gladiators.
Johnny: So you’re saying that by season 3, people were starting to reach out to you more?
Raye: Yes, but especially after Skin Deep. That was exciting because I was in the trailer. I was in a movie theater, and to see my scene with John was what I think really caught people’s attention.
Johnny: I see. In 1995, you played Cassie in 2 episodes of JAG. Was that role intended to be a recurring character, or was it a two-and-through role?
Raye: No. I auditioned for Don Bellisario and I agreed to cut my hair for that role. In the back of my mind, I was thinking, “Wow, this is great. Now I’ll get another series under my belt”. Paramount was originally where we filmed, but I think they got rid of everybody but David James Elliott, all of us. Nobody else went back. It had something to do with the studio. That would’ve been a heck of a run on that show. That was very professionally filmed. Don Bellisario knows what he’s doing.
Johnny: In 1996, you joined Andy Sidaris’ Girls, Guns And G-Strings gang for one movie by playing Kym in Day Of The Warrior. What was it like to work with Andy Sidaris?
Raye: Cheesy (laughing), very cheesy. It was guerilla filmmaking. It was just done so very low-budget that I honestly wanted to take it off my resume, which I think I did.
Johnny: I see. According to the IMDB, the last time you played Zap was in the “Gary Cahuenga Episode” of Muppets Tonight alongside Ice, your fellow American Gladiator. I’m always interested in hearing from talents who have worked with the Muppets, so what was it like to do so?
Raye: It was freakin’ fabulous. We had all of those Muppets there. We put Gonzo on the railroad tracks. All those Muppeteers underneath? It was really fascinating to watch how they do it, and then to be interacting with Muppets? I grew up with Muppets, so that was definitely an adventure.
Johnny: Yeah. I actually met Jim Henson shortly before his passing when I went to Disney World in 1990. I was 7 years old at the time.
Raye: Aaah.
Johnny: He was definitely a great guy, but enough about me. Let’s go back to you. A recent direction your career has taken these past few years is that you’ve become a talent agent. What led you to making the transition from being in front of the camera to being behind it?
Raye: Control…Creative control. I’ve got a lot of ideas. I produced a live women’s strength show in Hollywood, which turned out fabulous. I wrote two screenplays, but it’s very, very hard to get movies made. Everybody knows that. I’ve had major stars have problems getting their stuff produced. I just hang on to it, let the time go by and see what happens.
Johnny: Okay. You’ve appeared at several conventions over the decades. What’s been the most rewarding part of attending conventions like Chiller Theatre, for example?
Raye: The fans. They’re so dedicated, and they know all of your work. It feels good when you know that they’ve been watching your career and they know everything about it. Also, it’s meeting other people in the industry who are next to you signing autographs. I mean, I’ve signed autographs with some major superstars. Muhammad Ali is one who comes to mind, and that was a few years ago.
Johnny: Speaking of Chiller Theatre, you went there in April of 2014, a show that was noted for the chaos involved with several Walking Dead cast members in attendance. Did the chaos of that weekend impact whether you wanted to attend Chiller again or not?
Raye: No, absolutely not. It’s like the big one, Comic-Con. That’s what it’s all about, people coming in costume. I’ve had people coming in in makeshift Zap outfits. They took the time to go out and have something made. The Walking Dead? That just makes it fun. It’s like Star Trek and Star Wars. It’s huge. I used to wear my outfit all the time. I had one made. Ha!
Johnny: Okay. Over the course of the years, you’ve been a bodybuilder, an actress and a talent agent. What talents do you have that you haven’t had the chance to show off yet?
Raye: Hmmm, that’s a good question. You’ve just opened up my mind. I would love to do another film. I was thinking about getting some of the other Gladiators together to do Spartan, a spin-off of American Ninja Warrior. They have different groups and teams, and we’re all still in really, really good shape. I’m in better shape than I’ve been in 20 years.
Johnny: There are also outfits like IndieGoGo where you could work on crowdfunding projects to get the band back together, as it were. I know that alumni of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and its’ assorted spin-offs have been working on an IndieGoGo campaign for a movie they’re all going to be starring in. Perhaps something similar could be done for you and your fellow Gladiator alumni.
Raye: Thank you.
Johnny: My next question is: What would you say has been the biggest change in the entertainment industry between the 1980s and 2016?
Raye: From personal experience, the Internet has taken away the personalization of auditions and getting jobs that way. Also: There are so many paid casting websites. You have to pay $2 to even get looked at. I mean, it’s an incredible money pit. I’ve been a talent manager for 7 years, and to watch the casting makes me think there are so many ways for actors, although you have to pay per view if you will. You’ve given me a great idea for sending out a pitch package. I’d love to be on something like Orange Is The New Black or a lot of other episodics. I’d like to get my foot in the door. Being a talent agent, I know a lot of the casting people, and it’s SO hard. There’s a lot of nepotism, and it’s, quite frankly, saturated. A bodybuilder would go in for an episodic, and if she didn’t do it, somebody else would do it. There’s another person waiting in line.
Johnny: I see. I now come to the question I end every interviews with, and it’s this: If you could go back to your youth with the knowledge that you have now, would you do anything differently?
Raye: The only thing I missed out on? I don’t think my life would be the same if I would’ve taken up music, as my parents were musicians. It was right there for the taking. I could’ve played guitar or piano or any instrument. I rebelled against it and I went into athletics. I did double sports. It’s funny I don’t have any musical talent whatsoever. Other than that, me leaving Pennyslvania for Los Angeles, I made a huge decision and moved out of Los Angeles. I’m in the most beautiful, heavenly paradise in Nevada right now, Lake Tahoe. It’s where I belong. It’s so beautiful and so healthy. I don’t know if you’ve ever been over here. I can’t describe it. There aren’t words for it.
Johnny: I can’t say I’ve been to Nevada yet, but once I learn how to drive, I’m going to definitely do a lot more traveling. I thank you for taking the time to speak to me, and I hope you have a good evening.
Raye: Thank you for the questions. They bought back a lot of memories. I appreciate it, Johnny.
Johnny: Talk to you soon.
Raye: Bye.
Johnny: Bye.
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I would like to thank Ms. Hollitt for taking the time to speak to me. For more on her life and work, visit her official website.
Who will I Flashback with next? Stay tuned.