WG : Could you please tell us a little bit about your current projects?

BM : Well, I just finished starring in a new episode of the new The Twilight Zone television series. It's a sequel to the "classic" "It's A Good Life" episode I starred in as a kid. I'm reprising the role of "Anthony Fremont" and my daughter, Liliana, is playing my daughter in the show, "Audrey", which is absolutely wonderful. She's got an amazing part, and Cloris Leachman who played my mother in the original is back as well. It was great filming it up in Vancouver, Canada, and I think it's going to be very cool. I'm narrating Biography for the A&E television network and have done over 20 of those in the last year. I do lots of voice over work, narration, animation, and commercials. I just did a new Scooby Doo cartoon and I'm the voice for "Farmer's Insurance" among others. I'm releasing my 5th solo CD in April on Renaissance Records. This one is a compilation "best of" if you will, with songs taken from the first four CD's plus a few brand new ones. That will be available through Amazon.com and other internet sites as well as a few of the bigger stores. Renaissance is a pretty small label and is doing mostly direct sales. For all info and things Mumy-like, I encourage people to check out my official website at www.billmumy.com . I'm also performing regularly in Southern California with two bands. As a solo artist doing acoustic sets and a member of the Jenerators, my rock n roll band that has been around for a long time now. And Barnes and Barnes, (who brought you Fish Heads as well as 9 other albums full of quirk-rock material) are discussing making a new album together as well as seeing the remainder of our back catalogue re-released on CD. Barnes and Barnes reissues are on Oglio Records.

WG : And how did you get involved in creating comic books?

BM : Well, I've been a big fan of comic books since I was a little kid. In fact, I used to write and draw my own comic books when I was on the old Lost in Space series. (still have 'em in storage! Ooooh, "Captain Panther and the Fox" "The Comb and his crime busting beauty Caramia!" pretty funny stuff!) Anyway, in the mid 80's I was spending a fortune buying old Golden Age books from the late 30's and 40's and I was making personal appearances at a lot of sci fi and comic book conventions all around the country here so that I could find books for my collection. At one of these cons I struck up a friendship with Jim Shooter who was running Marvel Comics at the time. We kicked a few ideas around and that led to me and my friend, fellow actor and musician Miguel Ferrer creating and writing a mini series for Marvel called "The Comet Man". Halley's Comet was due to pass by soon, so it was a timely idea. A fairly traditional super hero origin that then went into a non-traditional dark story. Marvel liked it and the six issue mini series sold over half a million copies. Miguel and I then wrote a graphic novel for Marvel, "The Dreamwalker", which was like a Zorro meets James Bond kind of project. Then we created "Trypto, the Acid Dog" which has run in Dark Horse Comics and several other indie publishing companies. I went on to write quite a lot of stories for Marvel. The Hulk, Spiderman, Iron Man, She-Hulk, Wonderman, etc. quite a lot of 'em. Then I wrote the "Lost in Space" comic for Innovation until they went bankrupt and disappeared in the middle of the night leaving my second year huge 12 part story incomplete, which was a real drag… (although those scripts are being published this year in a book) and then I went on to write some stuff for DC… Aquaman, with a golden age Flash and Green Lantern. I worked on that one with my sometimes writing partner Peter David. He's great and really fun to collaborate with. Peter and I created a television series which we produced and wrote for two seasons called "Space Cases". That originally ran in the mid 90's. We were very proud of that. It ran in over 60 countries. I haven't been doin' much comic book writing for the last several years though, as I've been writing television projects and a novel. Mark Hamill and I have a television project we've created and written together, a pilot called Outpost Omega. And Angela Cartwright and I have finished a fantasy novel with a working title that keeps changing! As of today it's called "Weapons of Choice". It's a very ambitious story and I've never worked harder on anything. I hope we get that published soon. I always juggle a lot of projects. That's one of the reasons I like to collaborate with other people.

WG : Acting, writing, composing - If you had to pick one activity and stick with it exclusively, which would it be, and why?

BM : Well, thankfully I don't have to pick one exclusively. But if I did, it would be music. I would be making music writing and playing songs regardless of any professionalism or financial rewards. I can't stop making music. Music makes me. (if that makes sense)

WG : "It's a Good Life" (from The Twilight Zone) is generally regarded as one of the all-time best episodes from the Golden Age of Television. I guess in a way it's assumed iconic status. What were your initial thoughts when you were asked to reprise your role for the updated version that is going to appear on the new Twilight Zone series?

BM : Initially when discussing the possibility of doing a sequel to "It's A Good Life" with the executive producer of the new series, Ira Behr, I was just jamming on ideas and concepts and letting my thoughts run wild because I really didn't think it would ever become a reality. But then when Ira called and said the network wanted to do it, for real, then I got nervous about it. I didn't want to do something that would be obviously inferior to the original, which is very highly regarded by a lot of people, myself included. I wouldn't agree to it until the story was on the page. I had to believe in my own heart that the story would be something the late great Rod Serling would have given the thumbs up to. Ira generously invited me to help plot and break the story and he wrote the teleplay. I think it's a great script and I was very very happy to return to that character and make this show. Cloris Leachman and my daughter Liliana gave amazing performances and I feel very good about what I did while we were filming. "It's Still A Good Life" airs in the states February 19th, 9PM on the UPN network.

WG : Nobody knows better than you the potential problems facing child actors. How do you feel about your children getting into the business?

BM : Both my kids, Seth and Liliana, work in the "industry". Both of them are doin' great. My son who did three feature films as a very little boy now only does voice over work. Liliana co-starred in Disney's The Santa Clause 2 feature, she's a recurring cast member on a fun family ABC hit series called My Wife and Kids, she's done quite a few episodics for TV lately, a bunch of commercials, and she's one of the main voices for a new Disney animated series that'll be coming out in a year or so. She plays "Mertle" in The Adventures of Lilo and Stitch. She loves it. She reminds me a lot of how I was when I was her age. I don't think showbiz "eats its young". As long as the kids are enjoying the experience, the parents are there with them, the m oney they earn is put away for their future, and their egos aren't allowed to run wild, it's a great experience. So far, so good.

WG : OK, a couple of inevitable questions about Babylon 5. How did you feel about going back into outer space after you had become so well known as a star of Lost in Space?

BM : I enjoy sci fi very much. I was flattered that Joe Stracynski sought me out for Babylon 5. I think it's one of the most ambitious television shows ever produced and I'm proud to have been a part of it. It's not the slightest bit similar to Lost in Space in any way as far as I'm concerned. And of course, I absolutely loved making Lost in Space as a kid.

WG : Babylon 5 always seemed like a thinking man's sci-fi show: complicated plot, ongoing story, and a concern with moral and religious issues of a kind that almost no show on television now attempts to tackle. How difficult was it to perform the role of Lennier? I mean, it's not like you can go out and do research about an alien race that is on the verge of conquering the Earth and then mysteriously surrenders.

BM : I was allowed a lot of creative input into Lennier. Quite a bit of his arc came from me. Joe was generous with allowing me that input. He knew I was a writer and he knew I was producing and writing "Space Cases" at the time… and maybe Lennier wasn't all that fleshed out when I joined the show in the first season. Whatever the reason, I had input there. Lennier was totally different than Bill Mumy. There's very little of ME in that character. Joe is really a great writer. It was easy to deliver his dialogue and believe Lennier's angst. The fact that it was written so well, that it had an interesting arc firmly in place, made dealing with the horrible makeup bearable.

WG : And now, the inevitable question: How long did it take to apply your makeup every day on Babylon 5, and was it uncomfortable?

BM : I never got acclimated to the makeup. Don't get me wrong, it looked great. Greg Funk who did it for the bulk of the run made it as comfortable as he could. They cut the time down as much as they could but it was an awful physical thing to endure. I really hated it. First season it took 3 and a half hours to put it on and almost an hour to take it off everyday. It got better. We finally got the whole process of putting it on to a little under 2 hours. Taking it off was worse than putting it on though. All those horrible abrasive solvents being poured into your skin while rubber is pulled off your face… ugh… I don't miss that at all. I'm glad I stuck it out for the entire 5 season arc, but it would take a lot of money to get me to put that makeup on again.

WG : Who influenced you the most as an actor?

BM : Well, as a young kid it was watching George Reeves as "Superman" and Guy Williamas as "Zorro" on TV that inspired me to get into the TV set as an actor. I really wanted to be an adventurer like that on TV. And I did get to be that, so… I fulfilled that dream pretty early on.

WG : How do you prepare for roles?

BM : Hard to express it in words. I simply program myself to believe whatever situation the character is in. Memorizing dialogue has always come easy and quickly to me. My wife Eileen is also very helpful. She gives me choices, and asks me questions, and runs my lines with me.

WG : Have you ever considered directing?

BM : Yes, I have. But I wear a lot of hats. I'm not so sure I want to add that one. Maybe one day I will. I have great respect for directors who know what they're doing.

WG : In addition to all of your various professional activities and raising your children, what do you do in your spare time, that is, if you have any time left over? Hobbies?

BM : I walk my dogs. I garden a little. I play a bit of tennis. Basically when I have spare time I'm making music. I have about 50 guitars around the house. I can't take more than a few steps without finding one to pick up. I also collect vintage Pez dispensers. If anyone in Germany or Austria has any old Pez stuff hanging around they don't want anymore... feel free to send it to me! (you can find the address at my website. I'd be happy to trade for B5, LIS, or TZone autographed pics! heh heh heh)

WG : You're a voting member of the Academy. Which films have impressed you this year?

BM : Can't talk about that until the awards have ended. Sorry.

WG : Oscar predictions?

BM : Nope.

WG : Why does Hollywood keep remaking the same films over and over again and producing sequel after sequel-with seemingly diminishing box office returns-when well-written movies like My Big Fat Greek Wedding (which has already grossed over $200 million on a $5 million investment) and high-quality TV shows like Frasier, Seinfeld, Cheers and Babylon 5 are box office successes?

BM : Not enough original ideas get past the network or big studio money people. They're afraid to take chances. They look at what worked in the past and try to reinvent it cuz they're not visionaries. At least in the old days people had balls to push their original concepts through the system. Personally, I don't think the film and television industries are run as well as they used to be. Oh sure, we've got great digital effects now but... where are the visionaries?

WG : What are your plans for the future? Feature films? TV series?

BM : Who knows? In the entertainment business, your life can change in five minutes for five years. My plans for the future are to pick my kids up from school and have fun with my family. I hope work continues to come to me in many different arenas. I get bored doing one thing only. I've been very lucky to explore a lot of different artistic territory and I don't see why I won't continue on that path.

WG : You're the first participant in WGPortal's series of celebrity/creative artist interviews. In an oblique (and ironic) homage to James Lipton's Inside the Actors Studio, who always asks his guests the same series of questions at the end of each show, we'd like to start a similar tradition, but without taking ourselves so seriously. So my question to you is this: Besides this question, what is the most annoying question you have ever been asked on an interview?

BM : Was there a man inside the robot?

WG : Bill Mumy, thank you for your time.

BM : Thank you.

For more about Bill Mumy please check out his website billmumy.com. Bill Mumy's CDs and movies are available at Amazon.com