The Flashback Interview: Lezlie Deane

Johnny Caps sits down with actress, singer Lezlie Deane for a career-spanning Flashback Interview. Deane shares behind-the-scenes stories, personal reflections, and memorable experiences from her career in entertainment.

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I was first introduced to my next interview subject, Lezlie Deane, through my friendship with former interview subject JJ Cohen, who co-starred with her in the 1988 horror favorite 976-Evil. I sent her a friend request shortly afterward, and we got to know each other well enough to do an interview in 2015. Unfortunately, a lot of things came up and we were never able to publish it, but she agreed to do another interview on Tuesday, October 10th.

Lezlie Deane is an actress, a singer, a roller-skater and a former model, and she talked about all of that and more, including a common bond I was pleasantly surprised to find we share.

I hope you enjoy reading this. Say hello to Lezlie Deane!

Johnny Caps: Hello, Lezlie.

Lezlie Deane: Hey, Johnny. How are you?

Johnny Caps: I’m doing good. Before anything, thank you for agreeing to do this again.

Lezlie Deane: Thank you. Hey, let me ask you one question. Do you have Asperger’s?

Johnny Caps: Yes.

Lezlie Deane: Awesome! I knew it. First of all, thank you so much for doing what you do!

Our brains fucking rock.

Johnny Caps: I’m very flattered by that compliment, and it’s an honor to knowyou and be able to speak to you. Alright. I have my questions ready to go…

Lezlie Deane: Yay!

Johnny Caps: Starting off with this: You have extensive experience as a roller-skater, whether as a roller derby player, or utilizing the skates
in acting roles like your appearance on Night Court. How did you start roller-skating, and what’s been the most fun thing about doing that?

Lezlie Deane: I started roller-skating at, like, six or seven years old because I was bored in Texas. I learned how to skate, and then I
learned that there was competitive art skating and speed skating, and that’s what really made it fun. I get really obsessive-compulsive with it. Wanted to be the best I could be.

Johnny Caps: Alright. My next question is: You have some experience as a model. What drew you to that field?

Lezlie:  It was either that or become a stripper in Hollywood.  i just thought if i became a stripper i would end up doing comedy dance routines on stage.

Johnny Caps: Okay. One of your most intriguing photos you did as a model was a bikini photo where, on Facebook, you said it reminded you of the Heat Miser from The Year Without A Santa Claus, while I said it reminded me of adult film legend Lois Ayres. What’s the story behind that picture, and what do you think has made it stand out after all these years?

Lezlie Deane: That’s actually from when I first moved to L.A and a guy said, “Hey, do you want to make some money? I want to do a photo shoot of you”. He did it, i saw it and said, “I look like the motherfucking Heat Miser”. I never let him release that picture.

Johnny Caps: Well, I certainly think it was a lot better than you had initially given it credit for.

Lezlie Deane: Oh, thank you so much.

Johnny Caps: Alright. You made an appearance in the video for W.A.S.P’s “L.O.V.E Machine”, and looked smoldering doing so. What’s your favorite memory of working on that video, and have you ever considered covering the song?

Lezlie Deane: I’ve never considered covering the song. My favorite memory is that the guys from W.A.S.P were so cool, and working with Rick Rosenthal, who directed it. That was one of my first jobs in Hollywood.

The funny thing is that I was in a Meisner acting class where we were told, “You cannot miss an acting class, or you will be kicked out”. I was very diligent, and I take people literally for what they say. It’s like, “I can’t miss an acting class even though I have a paying acting gig in Hollywood. I have to go to acting class now”.

They said, “Okay, we have to bump her shoot up first. ” I wasn’t in the video that much, but happy with the outcome.

Johnny Caps: Definitely. According to the IMDB, you made your credited acting debut as Lola on the TJ Hooker episode “Partners In Death”.

Lezlie Deane: Yes.

Johnny Caps: After you had spent time as a model, were you nervous about making the jump to acting, or was it easy to do?

Lezlie Deane: I looked at it as an awesome adventure. The thing is, when I went in and auditioned, William Shatner was really cool. I
auditioned with him. I had no idea he was going to direct the episode. We just wen through the lines and we had a blast.

After
that, I got the role, and then when I got to the set, I said to him, “I thought I was doing this role with you”. He said, “No, no, you’re doing
it with another actor”. I said, “It’s not going to be as fun as it was with you”. We just really had a connection. It’s really weird. I pretty much always have a great connection with the directors i worked with. It was the same with Robert Englund on 976-Evil. Anyway, we finished shooting my scenes (or so i thought) for TJ Hooker , and Mr. Shatner came into my dressing room and said, “Now we have to go for close-ups”.  i was like, “Shit. I thought i was finished. How can I recreate what I just did then?”. It was a great learning experience for me. You have to be cognizant of what you do on set all the time. Does that make sense?

Johnny Caps: It does make sense. That could also apply to life in general.

Lezlie Deane: Yep.

Johnny Caps: Speaking of 976-Evil, after having made several TV guest shots, what was it like to be making a movie?

Lezlie Deane: Its cool because you get to delve into the character development so much more!

Johnny Caps: Okay. To my next question: Your first participation in the Nightmare On Elm Street universe came through your role as Sue Kaller in the Freddy’s Nightmares episode “Cabin Fever”. This was your second collaboration with Robert Englund as a director.

Have you ever
considered directing yourself?

Lezlie Deane: I get to do that with our music videos. Actually, that wasn’t my first. It was after Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare.

Johnny Caps: Oh, alright. I’ll be returning to the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise in a moment, but first, near the end of the run of Dynasty,
you played the role of Phoenix Chisolm. What was your favorite part of working on that show?

Lezlie Deane: My favorite part of working on that show was my friends coming up with my nickname, which was “Fetus Jism”. (Johnny laughs) That’s all I have to say about that.

Johnny Caps: Okay.

Lezlie Deane: Well, just let me say Joan Collins was awesome. Gordon Thomson was amazing. i was grateful for that opportunity, for sure.

Johnny Caps: Alright. You made your permanent mark on the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise with Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, playing Tracy, the woman who finally killed Freddy Kruegger. What was your favorite part of working on that movie?

Lezlie Deane: My favorite part was bonding with everybody. It was just amazing! Working with Rachel rocked, and it’s pretty cool that from all the movies and comic books Tracy is the sole survivor.

She holds the title!

Johnny Caps: Cool. So, what do you think it is about the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise that’s given it such a lasting appeal?

Lezlie Deane: You know what? So many people ask me that. I’ve rolled it around in my brain and I really don’t know.

I truly, truly, truly don’t know, but just off the top of my head, maybe it’s because most people liked to be scared.  maybe it’s about overcoming one’s own fears.  whether it’s a father that molested you, or the boogieman. I don’t know. You tell me…What is it?

Johnny Caps: I do think it’s the fact that, well, people have nightmares, and watching a movie like A Nightmare On Elm Street, or any of its’ sequels, helps to channel that fear into something of therapy…

Lezlie Deane: …Which is weird,  I get a lot of messages from people saying that the character, Tracy has really helped them in their life. I think Tracy is grand, in a way, because she literally kicked the shit out of Freddy. Maybe it all boils down to, “Stand strong. Face and overcome your fears”.

Johnny Caps: I think it’s something like that. To my next question: Although you would continue acting throughout the 90s, this was also the decade when your musical side started showing, starting with your time in the group Fem2Fem. Touring with them in the 90s, what’s your most exciting story from the road, the scariest and the funniest?

Lezlie Deane: It was just a blast to tour with Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, and I’ll leave it at that, hahahaha!!  That’s all I have to say.

Johnny Caps: What was your favorite song that you recorded with Fem2Fem?

Lezlie Deane: Most of them.

Johnny Caps: Oh.

Lezlie:  Here is why. It was such an amazing and bizarre opportunity. I think i learned so much from just absorbing.

I believe it helped propel me to where I am now. I am very thankful for that,  plus i have made lifelong friends from Fem2Fem.

Johnny Caps: It does, and it leads me to my next question. More recently, you’ve taken a turn from pop to punk with your group Scary Cherry And The Bang Bangs. What has Scary Cherry provided for you that Fem2Fem didn’t?

Lezlie Deane: i get to express myself even more. Minx The Jinx and i write all the songs with the band. We do most all our artwork and video work.

Aurelia Baker has a hand in that as well, so I get to be creative in most all aspects with Scary Cherry and the Bang Bangs!

Johnny Caps: Alright. Your band has the alter-ego of a throwback group called The Dead 20s, who perform songs in the styles of performers from the 20s and 30s. Considering that there were risque songs in that time, have you ever considered performing those songs with this side project?

Lezlie Deane: We do.

Johnny Caps: I guess I was thinking of songs like the song by Harry Roy, “My Girl’s Pussy”, or “Shave Me Dry” by Lucille Bogan.

Lezlie Deane: Oh, yeah. No, we’re original.

Johnny Caps: Oh.

Lezlie Deane: I mean, if we’re going to do covers, it’s going to be for the people who inspired me/us. We do a cover of Iggy Pop’s “Funtime”, Runaways “Cherry Bomb”, and “Time Warp”. Gotta say, I think our covers are pretty badass.

We will most likely record them in the next 6 months. We have some really cool stuff coming up that we are excited about

Johnny Caps: Definitely. What’s been your favorite gig so far with Scary Cherry And The Bang Bangs?

Lezlie Deane: Okay. That would be with Sponge. Do you remember Sponge from the 90s?

Johnny Caps: I do.

Lezlie Deane: There have been so many. One in recent months pops out….We opened up for Sponge here in Dallas. Sponge’s lead singer, Vinnie, is such a bad-ass, and he always wears sunglasses onstage.

Whenever we played with them, he kept looking for us in the audience. He said, “Scary Cherry, get up on stage and sing with us”, and I did. He took his glasses off and there was this great
connection of 2 people, eye-to-eye, going, “This is what we’re doing onstage, moment to moment”. It reminded me of being an actor. “This is true. This is real. We are doing this together, and it rocks”. That is one of my favorite moments, and coming up soon, there will be an awesome moment.

Can’t wait to share it with you!

Johnny Caps: Fantastic to hear. Now I’d like to ask about a couple of the music videos of Scary Cherry And The Bang Bangs.

Lezlie Deane: I get direct most of them, and edit them with Aurelia. Her post production is out of this world!

Johnny Caps: Alright. With the music videos you’ve directed, who have been your biggest influences as a director?

Lezlie Deane: i really don’t know…

Johnny Caps: Okay. Have you only directed for yourself, or have you directed for others?

Lezlie Deane: People have asked Aurelia and I to direct for them, but the thing is, I have to be really close to the project, and I don’t have time to be close to any other project except ours.

Johnny Caps: Alright. Fair enough. You started out in dance-pop, and are now doing glitter punk.

What music would I be most surprised to find on your iPod?

Lezlie Deane: Goldfrapp and Katy Perry.

Johnny Caps: I think that if Katy Perry were to really do some digging down and do a Scary Cherry song, that’d be interesting to hear.

Lezlie Deane: Goldfrapp is a great band to have sex to…

Johnny Caps: Alright. You’ve appeared at quite a few conventions…

Lezlie Deane: Actually, I have not.

Johnny Caps: Oh, you haven’t? I’m sorry.

Lezlie Deane: No.

Johnny Caps: My apologies. Sorry.

Lezlie Deane: That’s okay. I may have appeared to help somebody deliver magazines. I think I’ve done it twice in my life.

I just wanna move forward. If the conventions want the Bang Bangs to play, that is a different story.

Johnny Caps: Alright. What would you say has been the biggest change in the entertainment industry between the 1980s and 2017?

Lezlie Deane: Which industry?

Johnny Caps: Since music is your primary focus, we’ll say music.

Lezlie Deane: The Internet. Shouldn’t that then be all the way around?

Johnny Caps: Yeah, I would think so, what with the rise of Netflix and iTunes and websites where you can download games. I think digital is probably the main thing.

Lezlie Deane: Of course it is.

Johnny Caps: Alright. I now ask my last question, and it’s this: Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years?

Lezlie Deane: Rocking my ass off onstage all over this awesome planet!  Married and have had several books published..

Johnny Caps: Well, that about does it for my questions. I again thank you for taking the time to speak to me. I certainly enjoyed this interview, and it was interesting getting to know more about you.

Lezlie Deane: This was awesome. Thank you so much for your time and patience!

Johnny Caps: Thanks. I’ll catch you on Facebook and I’ll speak to you soon.

Lezlie Deane: Thank you, my Asperger’s brother.

Johnny Caps: Thank you, my Asperger’s sister.

Lezlie Deane: Okay, bye!

Johnny Caps: Bye.



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I would again like to thank Lezlie Deane for taking the time out of her schedule to speak to me. For more about Lezlie Deane’s life and work, you can visit her Facebook fan page, where a lot of the cool pictures in this article came from. If you’re interested in getting Lezlie Dean’s autograph, you can visit her online store.

Who will I Flashback with next? Stay tuned.

Discuss this interview on our Johnny Caps Flashback Interviews forum

Key Takeaways

• Johnny Caps sits down with model, actress, singer Lezlie Deane for a wide-ranging conversation covering your role as Sue Kaller in the Freddy’s Nightmares ep.
• Lezlie Deane discussed Sue Kaller in the Freddy’s Nightmares episode “Cabin Fever”.
• Lezlie Deane shared behind-the-scenes stories and personal memories from throughout their career.
• The interview covered Deane’s reflections on the entertainment industry and its evolution over the decades.
• Deane discussed their convention appearances and the joy of connecting with fans.
• The conversation highlighted the dedication and craft that have defined Deane’s career.