Holyoke resident hopes to finally see herself on screen

Date: 2/10/2010

Feb. 10, 2010.

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



HOLYOKE -- For one Holyoke resident, the third time should be the charm.

Linda Larivee, a retired School Department employee, hopefully will be seen in the new Mel Gibson thriller, "Edge of Fear."

Larivee qualified talking about her appearance in the police thriller with "I hope."

She has been an extra in two other feature films shot locally and both moments in which she could be seen never made the final edit.

In "Edge of Fear," Larivee walked past Gibson in a crosswalk at one of the film's Northampton locations in the fall of 2008.

The scene was shot numerous times and Larivee said she was close enough to the controversial star -- this role marked his first on-screen appearance since his drunk driving arrest and the end of his long marriage -- "to see his bald spot and the wild look in his eyes."

She said the scene could have wrapped up sooner than it did, but Gibson proved his reputation as a "prankster" on the set.

She saw Gibson arrive and go to a secluded canopy where "he chain smoked ... he was working himself into [the scene.]"

"He didn't talk to that many people," she noted. "He had his own entourage."

Larivee had answered a newspaper ad looking for extras for the film. She and her husband, Peter Quirk, took their headshots and resumes to the Clarion Hotel in Northampton where they met with representatives of Boston Casting.

"They told us what would be required," she said.

Larivee received an e-mail later on notifying her where and when she would be needed and what to wear. When she arrived at the location she was told how she would be used.

Her husband had to work that day and missed his chance to be in the film, she said.

Her reward for being in a movie? A paycheck of $70 and a box lunch.

Larivee had been an extra in the 1990 film "Stanley and Iris," which was shot partially in Holyoke. She said that she walked by Robert DeNiro 42 times and the star was "very nice."

The film's co-star, Jane Fonda, was also very friendly, even sending Larivee a note.

Larivee was cut from the film, though, which is also what happened to her work in the 1993 film "Malice." The thriller was set partially at Holyoke Medical center and Larivee was seen in a wheelchair. She said that star Alec Baldwin was also very friendly to her and others.

Readily admitting that she loves acting, Larivee said she would be happy to appear once more before the camera. She added she regularly received notices from Boston Casting about opportunities in Boston, but the $70 isn't compensation enough to endure the drive and the traffic in the city.