Nova speaks!

>> Planet of the Apes star Linda Harrison looks back

by MATTHEW HAYS

Actor Linda Harrison remembers only too well the dinner date she had with Hollywood producer Richard Zanuck 32 years ago. He was courting her, and she, then a mere 20 years old, was wowed by stories of his latest project.

"He told me this plot about a world where apes ruled," Harrison says today, from her Maryland home. "He said there was a part for a human girl. A sub-human, who didn't talk. He thought I could fill the part."

Thus Harrison, who had just arrived in L.A. in '67, found herself cast in a major motion picture, Planet of the Apes, opposite Charlton Heston. In the film, she plays his primitive mute mate, Nova. Didn't the plot concerning a bunch of actors running around in elaborate simian makeup being nasty to humans seem rather odd to Harrison? "Oh no, not the least bit strange. It was an incredible idea. I guess that's why we're in the movie business, these very strange imaginations of ours."

Harrison does report having had the jitters about working with Heston. "Ever since Ben Hur, I'd known what a big star he was. And there I was, working opposite him. It was like a miracle. I certainly understand the way my fans feel today, because that's the way I felt around him."

Neither she nor Heston, who played fish-out-of-water astronaut Taylor in the film, had any idea about what 1968's Planet of the Apes would evolve into--an enduring cult oddity that spawned four sequels, two TV series and a critical consensus surrounding its impact on sci-fi. "It's been a hit that grew and grew. I think it's more powerful today than it was when it was released. I always felt kind of funny saying it: 'I'm the mute girl from Planet of the Apes.'"

Harrison, who still gets occasional acting gigs, reprised her Nova role in the second in the Apes series, Beneath the Planet of the Apes. In that film, Nova finds herself caught between hideous nuclear mutants, astronauts from the past and some mighty angry apes. Just after uttering her first word, the mute Nova is shot dead by a gorilla. Heston, as Taylor, looks on in desperate horror as Nova gasps her last breath. Yes, Harrison reports, she does find Heston's anti-gun-control stance ironic, especially in light of this scene. "What can I say? He's very conservative. He's been quite self-righteous on the issue of gun control, a bit of a snob. There's a very real need for gun control. He's out of touch on that issue."

With her famous wordless role, has Harrison ever been approached by mute fans, thankful for an onscreen representation of their disability? "That's an interesting point. People have said, 'You emoted well, without any dialogue.' But no, I haven't heard from that community."

The Planet of the Apes marathon screens this Saturday and Sunday, November 20-21 at the Imperial. See repertory listings for showtimes. Linda Harrison's Web site: www.lindaharrison.com.