The Flashback Interview: Tiffany Helm
My newest interview subject, Tiffany Helm, is a very diverse talent. Growing up in the entertainment industry, Tiffany entered film after some time spent as a model. If you love cult classic cinema of the 80s, then you’ll recognize Tiffany from movies like Friday The 13th, Part V: A New Beginning, Reform School Girls, and O.C. and Stiggs. She would also act in the classic 90s computer game Rama, and is currently active as a photographer, as well as working on the occasional independent film. Ahead of her appearance at the Chiller Theatre convention later this month, Tiffany and I talked recently about her wide-ranging career. I hope you all enjoy our interview.
Say hello to Tiffany Helm!
Johnny: Hello, Tiffany.
Tiffany: Hi, Johnny. How’s it going?
Johnny: It’s going good. First of all, thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to speak to me.
Tiffany: No problem. Thanks for your patience.
Johnny: Oh, that’s fine. I have my questions ready to go…
Tiffany: Fire when ready!
Johnny: Let’s jump in. According to IMDB, you spent some time as a model. Who were your favorite designers to work for, and what are the most outrageous fashions you can recall wearing?
Tiffany: My modeling career (laughing)…My illustrious career. I didn’t really fit the modeling look at the time. It was very cookie-cutter at the time. You had to be a certain height. Your cheekbones had to be a certain width apart (laughing). That kind of thing, right? Now they go for much more unusual looks. I didn’t do a whole lot of the modeling, but to digress, I was working for Stephen Sprouse. This was in the late 80s, I guess. He had opened a store, and we got to wear his clothes. It was a pretty big deal, and one of his friends was Iggy Pop.
Johnny: Ooh!
Tiffany: He’s always been one of my absolute heroes. Iggy was in the store one time, and this was during preparation that we did. I don’t even think the store was open for that long, but I helped get it going. There was Iggy Pop in the same store with me, and I was just a total fangirl. I was like, “Oh, my god, it’s Iggy Pop!”. I introduced myself very humbly as I didn’t know quite what to say, and he charged up to me with one of those funny haircuts he always had, and this was how he spoke: “Oh, my god! You were in Friday The 13th? That was so cool!” (Johnny and Tiffany laughing). I didn’t know what to say.
He was so silly and boyish, and I didn’t expect that. I expected this legendary punk giant to be…I mean, (deepening her voice) he’s got that voice when he sings, (lightening her voice again) but he sounded like a Valley Girl or something. I will never forget that. It isn’t exactly my modeling career, but Stephen Sprouse was a big designer, and that was a pretty outrageous thing that happened.
Johnny: Well, that’s an awesome story. To go to my next question, you were a member of the Beverly Hills Mime Troupe. How did the art of miming help you with your craft as an actress?
Tiffany: Our bodies are really our instruments. Acting is body. It’s voice. It’s everything, and having awareness of your body, and some control, is key. If you see a lot of the big current dancers on Instagram, mime is very much a part of that whole thing. It teaches you some control, and it teaches you to communicate through body language.
We do so much of that anyway, which is why I think there are so many miscommunications now. So many of our communications are through e-mails or text, and we miss that body language. It’s not that you’re going to do a Marcel Marceau act (laughing) when you meet up with your friends, but it does teach you some discipline and control of your body, and as an actor, you body is a huge part of your toolkit. It’s not just your voice. It’s not just that you went to acting class. Your character is going to come out in your body language.
Johnny: I can see that. To jump onto the big screen, you shared scenes with a previous interview subject of mine, Laura Summer, in the 1984 Rick Springfield movie Hard To Hold. As I asked her, were you a fan of Rick Springfield’s, and if so, what was it like to work on that movie?
Tiffany: I wasn’t a fan of Rick Springfield (laughing). It wasn’t that I wasn’t a fan, I just wasn’t *a fan*. I was already much into the alternative scene at that point. It was a wonderful experience for me. I mean, I was just featured in it, running around and chasing him. I grew up in the industry. It wasn’t shocking to be on a set, but all those earlier jobs really set me up to just fall in love with the industry and stick around.
It was a very positive experience, and he was lovely. I never really took him that seriously until a few years ago when he showed up on an episode of American Horror Story, and he was amazing. I was like, (laughing) “Holy crap, that’s Rick Springfield!”, and I wanted them to bring back the character, but you know American Horror Story. It’s a high body count, so I don’t think he lasted long on the show, but he was really, really good, so I have good things to say about him.
Johnny: Alright. To go to my next question, many fans of 80s movies will remember you from your role as Violet in Friday The 13th, Part V: A New Beginning. What are your favorite memories of working on that film?
Tiffany: I enjoyed the autonomy. I enjoyed that we were really able to bring to the screen what we wanted to do. I mean, Violet was entirely my making. It wasn’t the script. Originally she was written quite differently in Hollywood’s conception, or misconception, of what was happening in the alternative/punk/goth/whatever scene. They really had no idea, so I was able to bring to life that character.
Wardrobe took me out to shop. The makeup choices were mine, and I had a wonderful relationship with makeup and with wardrobe. They really helped support me, and there was no question with what they allowed me. They trusted me to bring Violet to life, and they trusted me bringing the dance to life. I think that was really nice. The crew was wonderful to work with.
Johnny: Since you do bring up the dancing, you did showcase some memorable pop-locking moves in your death scene. Were they inspired by the breakdancing craze of the mid-80s, or was it based on your dance and mime training?
Tiffany: Actually, it was a club I went to. It was new wave. We were going to goth clubs at the time, and that’s actually the dance that a few of us would do. We would get up on the podium and do this dance, do these routines. I originally had seen a young man do that dance to the tune Send Me An Angel by Real Life. I don’t know if you know that song…
Johnny: I’m a big 80s fan, so yes, I know that song.
Tiffany: …Yeah. I was absolutely mesmerized watching him do this dance, and I was like, “I need to learn to do that”, so I practiced and I did it. Pretty soon I was able to get up there on the podium, and I had my own list of songs that I would dance to, and people would watch. That was it. It wasn’t the 80s hip-hop pop-lock that was going on. This was alternative and gothic where we would all tell stories, so it was a combination of mime and pop-lock.
Johnny: One more question about Friday The 13th. I’ve asked this of several Friday The 13th alumni, and now I’d like to ask it of you as well: What do you think fans saw in the Friday The 13th movies that critics like Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel did not?
Tiffany: Mmm, that’s an interesting question. Well, you look at Rotten Tomatoes scores, right, and half of it is critics and half of it is audience, and you can see a big disparity between the numbers sometimes. It’s like 85 percent audience approval and 15 percent critics.
Critics are generally looking for different things in movies. They’re looking for acting, directing, lighting, flow, editing, story. They’re looking for very different things, whereas fans, particularly horror fans, will probably be looking for kills, how people are killed, effects scenes…The components that make up a horror movie are very different than the components that make up a film for a critic. I would say that’s the difference.
I mean, all you have to do is look at some of the cult classics and see what their star rating is, and you’ll see some of them as two stars and be like, “What?!? That was a great movie!”. Cult classics have a different criteria for gaining their fame.
Johnny: Alright. Well, to switch gears, you played Charlotte in O.C. and Stiggs, a movie I find to be very underrated. How familiar were you with Robert Altman’s work before signing on for the film?
Tiffany: I was very familiar with Robert Altman. I was a huge fan, and as I mentioned with the Rick Springfield film, working with Altman that early on in my career was both a blessing and a curse because it really made me fall in love with the industry, and it makes it harder to walk away from it. You hold that up in comparison with other projects, and it was wonderful to work with him.
We got to watch dailies every night. He would bring us into this little theater near where we were staying in Arizona, and on weekends where there were no dailies, they would show his films. It was great. I’m a huge fan. I think I’ve seen most of his films. He was an absolute gem to work with, and he had pretty much the same crew with him, really like a family. It was a wonderful experience.
Johnny: Cool. Altman said that O.C. and Stiggs was intended to be a parody of 80s teen movies and not a straight example of them. As you appeared in O.C. and Stiggs, as well as several straightforward examples of 80s teen films, what’s your take on whether O.C. and Stiggs was a parody or not?
Tiffany: I would say yeah, it’s a parody, but I think it is hard to follow. I mean, you need to know where it was coming from, and the characters appeared in National Lampoon magazine. His humor is so subtle. It’s kind of like having an inside joke with a friend. You don’t really know. Most people did not get the film, although I heard it did very well in Europe (laughing). “It did well in Europe” because I think people accept more oddball things out there, and because there wasn’t really a flow to it. I’ve seen it a few times, and I know the script and what the story was, and there’s still the lack of flow that is signature Altman, right? He really allowed the actors to just kind of take it, and then it’s up to editing to get it all coherent.
Johnny: Alright. To change genres again, you memorably played Fish in Reform School Girls. You’re now the sixth cast member from that movie that I’ve interviewed, following in the footsteps of Sybil Danning, Sherri Stoner, Linda Carol, Sheila Lussier and Darcy DeMoss. Recently released as a feature-loaded Blu-Ray in Germany, what made Reform School Girls such a standout in your career?
Tiffany: Well, I did a pretty lengthy interview for the German release, and they sent me these DVDs I can’t play on my machine (laughing). I’m interested to see the interview.
It was unlike anything I had worked on before. The audition process was very different where, on our callbacks, they had us act off, you would say. It’s not a dance off. They took all the girls that were up for the roles of the bad girls. They put us together, and they would switch us up to see who was the bigger badass, so we were being pitted against each other in our callbacks. I’m not quite sure how professional that was, but that’s how they did it, and it was up to “whoever’s going to be the bigger badass”.
It was very, very strange. I remember there was one woman who showed up at our wrap party and another place, and was very aggressive towards me. She basically accused me of taking her part (laughing). I was like, “Who are you?”. It was very strange. There was other stuff, and we may get into it in the interview, but it was a very different experience than anything I had ever dealt with, and I wouldn’t say it was the highest level of professionalism. I’ll just leave it at that.
Johnny: I’m sorry you had that experience, but I must say you did great work in it. It’s one of my favorite 80s movies, and it was actually one of the first movies I ever purchased on DVD.
Tiffany: Awesome! (Laughing) Classic.
Johnny: Jumping into the 90s, you played Francesca Sabatini in the 1997 computer game Rama, based on several books by Arthur C. Clarke. What drew you to that project?
Tiffany: I was living in Seattle, and there’s not a whole lot of work in Seattle. Most of the projects that supposedly take place in Seattle are actually filmed in Vancouver and surrounding Canadian areas because it looks like Seattle, but they get the Canadian exchange rate so they can pay a lot less for filming. I think they’ve changed, but the Seattle Film Commission, back when I was there, was not terribly friendly to film crews coming in. That was unfortunate because there’s a lot of revenue to be had when film crews come into your town.
Rama was one of the very few projects that was going on. I worked on a couple of projects when I was in Seattle. That was one of them, and again, what an honor, meeting Gentry Lee and working on an Arthur C. Clarke project. I mean, it was pretty sophisticated, and I got to be an Italian scientist, so that was really fun.
Johnny: Yeah. I’ll have to look to see if there’s any gameplay video of it on YouTube. It would be really interesting to get a refresher on it from the perspective of how far gaming has come since then.
Tiffany: Yeah. They kind of were banking on that being the next thing, having these live-action actors and mixing them with computer graphics for games. They thought that this was going to be it and, of course, it wasn’t (laughing). That didn’t last very long, but there are a few things you can find on YouTube. There are a few clips, and you can see how it works. I mean, I have the discs, but of course, (laughing) I can’t play it on anything because none of our systems are compatible with that sort of thing anymore.
Johnny: Yep. To switch gears for a few questions, one of your many talents is photography. What led you to become interested in that?
Tiffany: Being in Seattle, there really was no acting work for me. Being on the other side of the camera was something I was always interested in, so I just picked up a camera and started shooting. The more I shot, the better I got, and I started a business. I did a lot of fine art, a lot of conceptual stuff, and then I got into family photography and ended up doing quite well with that. I had a portrait business in Seattle for a long time.
Johnny: Who were you biggest influences as a photographer?
Tiffany: Well, initially, it was Joel-Peter Witkin I absolutely adored. He’s really dark. That’s some dark, dark stuff, and I found his stuff very interesting, very compelling. My work has really morphed since then, but that was earlier on. Lee Friedlander, one of the Leica photographers back in the 60s and 70s…I loved his stuff. It was those two, and now there are so many influences. Joe McNally was a big influence as well.
One of my favorite things to do now is photo illustration, creating these kind of surreal worlds. I do a little bit of everything. I do wedding photography. I’m mainly a portrait photographer, but the photo illustration is really what I love.
Johnny: What pictures are you most proud of having photographed?
Tiffany: I have a couple. (Laughing) Usually, it’s my current one that I love. I do a big Halloween piece every year, and this year’s piece I put together is an alien-monster kind of thing who’s sitting in his kind of retro living room, watching a showing of the original Alien. He’s eating popcorn, and he’s got a little pet frog with him who’s eating a little bowl of worms (laughing). I absolutely love this piece. I put it on my Facebook fan page.
As far as things that are memorable, when my family and I were traveling in Montana and Wyoming, we were told about an area where we could possibly see wild horses. We drove and drove and got into some really back country. We came around this ridge and I looked down, and there were these wild horses. I was like, “Oh, my god”. It took about an hour. I would walk a few feet and sit down and talk to them, and then walk a few more feet down and talk with them. I ended up getting these great shots of these horses.
I basically emptied the card on my camera, and when I got the last shot, when my card was full, the lead horse kind of gave a snort, and he and his mares all just took off. It was really like being in the presence of God. It was quite beautiful, and an intense moment for me, so I have a whole bunch of pictures from that series that I cherish. I also have some photos of wolves I feel really fortunate to have gotten.
Johnny: Very cool. When I interviewed Darcy, who’s also an active photographer…
Tiffany: Yes.
Johnny: …And does a lot of work in nature, she had some cool stories to share about her photos. It’s definitely an amazing experience you related.
Tiffany: Mm-hmm. Definitely.
Johnny: In the past few years, you’ve started acting again after having taken a break from it. What led you back to acting?
Tiffany: We live in a small town that doesn’t have a whole lot of work, so I kind of do a little bit of everything, and I thought, “Hmm, might as well get an agent while I’m here”. There’s not a lot of work here, but I’ve been very fortunate, and I’ve booked a few jobs. They’re all little roles, under-fives and stuff, because that’s really all that’s cast out here, but it’s fun, and it’s really nice to be back on a set. I enjoy it. It’s always been one of the few places in the world where I feel very comfortable immediately, and I can always relate to the people that are on the set, the cast and crew. It’s my language, what I grew up on, so it feels good to be back on a set.
Johnny: Alright. If you can reveal, what acting projects are you most looking forward to in the near future?
Tiffany: There’s a short film that’s being edited for the end of October that I just finished up called Death Rattle, and I’m super-excited to see that, but it’s not going to get a major release or anything. It’s, like, a five-minute film, but it should be very interesting, and it was shot ON film, so even better. I have a lot of photography work, and I had an audition the other day, but I’m not booked for any films or shows right now.
Johnny: Well, that does lead me into my next question: You’ve appeared at a decent amount of autograph conventions over the years. What’s been the most rewarding part of attending conventions for you?
Tiffany: The fan turnout. It always just blows me away how devoted and supportive the 80s horror fans are. You see people passing it on to their kids, so there are little kids who know Violet. It’s really cool, and for the most part, it’s a very warm, generous and great group of people. I got some really cool friends out of going to these cons, and it’s nice. We had one a few years ago where the whole Friday… V cast was there, and that was great, just getting to reunite with everybody. We didn’t see it coming. Back when the film was done, who would’ve thought that there would be these conventions (laughing) where people get together and celebrate it? It’s a very interesting cultural phenomenon.
Johnny: Cool. What’s been the most wonderful piece of memorabilia you’ve signed at a convention?
Tiffany: I’ve been asked this question a few times, and I go back to the albums. The music is something that I chose, so when people have the Pseudo Echo albums, I think that’s really cool, but people bring all kinds of things. Oh, yeah. Actually, you can see this on my Instagram page. 1428 ST, I believe, is the name of the page, and they do thse hand-painted knives. Violet’s image, all in beautiful blues and purples, is painted onto this knife, so I got to sign that, and that was pretty cool. They do everybody on this page. Really, really wonderful work.
Johnny: Fantastic. I’ll be meeting you later this month at the Chiller Theatre convention.
Tiffany: Right on!
Johnny: If you’ve been to Chiller Theatre before, what have been your favorite memories of that convention, and if not, what are you most looking forward to when you attend later this month?
Tiffany: I haven’t done a Chiller. I think the other New Jersey show I did was a Monster-Mania. I don’t know quite what to expect because there’s not going to be anybody else from V. I know Sybil Danning’s going to be there, but it seems like they have such a wide variety of guests there that, I don’t know, I might get lost in the shuffle myself (laughing), in some back room by the kitchen door or something, but I hear it’s a wonderful show…
Johnny: It is.
Tiffany: …And it was going to happen just before the lockdown set in, right? I remember plans were being made to do it, and i was getting really nervous because COVID was busting out, and I didn’t really know. “Should I do this? Should I not do this?”. My husband was like, “Don’t worry about it. It’ll probably take care of itself”, and sure enough, we got the call it had been put on hold for the lockdown. It’ll be really nice to get out of town for a bit. I haven’t done any traveling since the beginning of this thing. It’ll be really nice to get out there. I’m really looking forward to it.
Johnny: Likewise. I’m looking forward to meeting you, and since you did mention COVID, that leads into my final question: We’re in rather uncertain times as we’re continuing to deal with the chaos of coronavrius, so what are you most looking forward to once we have COVID knocked out once and for all?
Tiffany: Well, (laughing) we’re not going to have COVID knocked out once and for all. It’s endemic, so we’re just going to have to work with it, and a host of other things that will come along because we haven’t really learned anything from it. We had an opportunity to learn some stuff and change our ways, and we didn’t, so this sort of thing will continue and we’ll just have to adapt to it since we don’t really want to change what we’re doing.
I look forward to getting out. I had family in town yesterday, which was really nice. I’m really wanting to see my mom. She’s had to cancel coming to see us twice because of this. It’s scary times, particularly for older people to be traveling, for anybody to be traveling, so I guess that would be it. I mostly look forward to seeing my mom (laughing) in person.
Johnny: Alright. Well, that does it for my questions. i again thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to speak to me. I hope you have a wonderful afternoon, and I’ll see you at Chiller later this month.
Tiffany: Thank you so much, Johnny. I look forward to meeting you. I’ve already got three or four people I know who are coming to see me, so it’ll be nice to see some friendly faces there.
Johnny: Fantastic. Have a wonderful afternoon.
Tiffany: Thanks so much, Johnny. You have a wonderful weekend, too.
Johnny: You, too. Be well.
Tiffany: You, too. Bye.
Johnny: Bye.
I would again like to thank Tiffany Helm for taking the time out of her schedule to speak to me. If you’re in the Parsippany, NJ area from October 29th through 31st, 2021, come visit Tiffany and many other great talents at the Chiller Theatre convention.
The pictures used in this article came from Tiffany’s Facebook fan page. The exception is the cover photo, which I purchased from Tiffany’s page on the Signature Horror website. Check it out if you’d like to buy her autograph. For more about Tiffany’s photography work, visit Rascal Photo and Design on Facebook.
Coming soon to the Flashback Interview are conversations with convention talent booker and horror expert Sean Clark, acclaimed dancer and actress Sandahl Bergman, and Oscar-winning makeup artist Matthew W. Mungle. Thank you as always for taking the time to read my interviews. Have a wonderful day, everyone.