Neon Rider star fights for the survival of his show Evelyn Jacob SPOTLIGHT FEATURE ROM THE moment | stepped into work that soggy Monday, | had the feeling this wasn’t going to be my lucky day. First, Winston Rekert’s publicist called to change the location of my rendezvous with the TV leading man. At3 o'clock sharp | pull up to the Bridgehouse restaurant, only to find it’s being renovated. Great. | can’t leave now, | mutter to myself, and proceed to wait in the pouring rain. .Minutes later a conspicuous- looking car negotiates its way into the parking lot, one of those great black land yachts — probably a '70s Cadillac or Lincoln Continen- tal — with Rekert at the wheel. Can't mistake Winston’s Marlboro Man craggy face. _ jump in, we float up Capilano scanning the soaked streets for an Open restaurant. Not 15 minutes into Rekert’s reminiscences of his schoo! days at Lord Byng, the Cafe Boulevard waitress tells us the res- taurant is closing. Feeling like an Israelite who, after surviving Pharoah, slavery, plagues and the Red Sea, is told she must wait another 40 years in the desert, | leave. But from the interview of the doomed, | glean- ed a fair bit about the man Cana- dian TV viewers know as Dr. Michael Terry. He began his'stage career at the age of 12, landing his first role in a local amateur theatre children’s production, By the time he was 16, Rekert was ‘shamed’ out of acting by his schoolmates. “My friends would say, ‘What are you doing? That's for weirdos. Rekert headed north to a logging camp, but after slugging it out in the bush for five years, acting began to look more attractive. He enrolled in Langara’s acting pro- gtum and before long was netting lead roles in productions like Hotel Baltimore, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and School for Scandal. Then his career took another turn. During the early ‘70s, when the film and TV industry had yet to find its footing in Vancouver, Rekert followed the work east to Toronto and stayed there for 10 years. The first few years would bea short chapter in his biography: “For a while | wasn’t doing any- thing,’’ he says, fiddling with his thick gold native bracelet. ‘'t shovelled snow. It was really hard breaking into film because | had_ no experience. And everybody said, ‘Well, he’s from the West.’ ” And he missed Vancouver ter- ribly. “When you grow up here one “you take it for granted. But when you're 3,000 miles away living in a flat city on a polluted lake, you do miss it.” * The hard work paid off. For a time Rekert was on a streak, ap- pearing in more than a dozen feature films, including Heartache with Margot Kidder and Annie Potts. “I went from shovelling snow to being picked up in a limo in front of the same sidewalk | was shovelling,”” he laughs. it was the regular TV experience he gained as host of the late-night CBS show, Adderley, however, that prepared him for the biggest project of his career: Neon Rider. Twelve years ago Rekert and business partner Danny Virtue dreamed up the idea for the series about a psychologist healing street kids on a horse ranch. It took 10 of those years before the pair shot their first episode. It wasn’t for lack of trying. “it was an idea that we got down on paper, but no one was interested. Everyone saw the potential, but nobody wanted to get involved,” says Rekert. But Rekert fought for what he believed in — and it wouldn't be MVE Mls ? Pefls THts WEES WED... SWOnY NiGttT RAST BECE PItAGE #995 Mevory Gh? BBQ SAMS OME P9. qS Me ores py Niu Tr U8 Eas Niger THREE CoNesé Dube Pi IS the last time. That was clearly demonstrated last year, when the financially strapped CTV decided to dump the show for cheaper American content. Rekert got on the phone im- mediately and convinced a con- sortium of Canadian television sta- tions, including U.TV in Van- couver, to put Neon Rider back in its saddle. Now in its fourth season, Rekert is happy with the show’s progress. Never one to sit. back, he directed his first episode last year and has added more dimension to the characters and more spark to the show's direction. “In the first few years 1 would have heated debates with CTV. My character was an alcoholic in the See Neon Rider page 37 am Nikki Bartsch, Advertising Consultant, with Ineke from Dykhot Nurseries. NEWS ADVERTISER SAYS: Dykhol Nurseries ld Woy 460 Petet Kvarnsttomn E GER ES MANA aah Shore News Dear Petet, fo ler you the North Shure N Lam writing ¢ advertising 0 Que last few > r sory a our nursery ane ta i cll ter the response was “ an “a rage success and wi demonstra : jee from MY this spring a ee y ate wed 0 is always 1 have recets es ising tT advertising ma ring for new WP ¢ w advertise . 4 mographic enable me der arket and ‘ 2 prarket fg carupaiens: Tiare id or ecesstul advertisin Nikki alow tatio research to tinued working ela a col 1 look forward 10? paper. ty s has the apP * cist wich DY nship with your “Ob Nf NEWS photo Paul McGrath KEEPING HIS TV series Neon Rider on the airwaves is West Vancouver actor Winston Rekert’s biggest challenge. ~ x Listen to our advertisers. They'll tell you that advertising in the North Shore News brings in new customers and increases their business. Find out how the North Shore News can help make your business grow. Give us a call! 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