Remembering Freddie Prinze

[Laz77]

Hi all! I just wanted to say THANK YOU! for helping me get all this Freddie material. You guys are true fans. I couldn't believe the response I got from this. There are alot fo people who love Freddie out there.
For those who aren't aware of what I am doing. My name is Lazaro and I am a comedian/actor who has gotton the great honor of playing Freddie Prinze in an upcomming show at the New York Comedy Club.
A lil about me:
I am a 24 yr old Puerto Rican/Cuban from North Bergen (thats like the wannabe ghetto of NJ) and I have been acting for about 6 years now. Mostly theatre up till now - Puck in a Midsummer's nights Dream -- Mack the Knife in 3 penny opera and a variety of other roles. But comedy has always been my lady.
The neighborhood that I grew up in was ruff and I was a dork so I used comedy as a way of escaping the hardships of my life. Pretty soon I started finding humor in everything and could stay positive thru any situation. I also became the center of attention well lets face it - I STILL AM
Its amazing how much I have in common with Freddie and I never knew who he was until a month ago!!! The more I work of this project the closer I feel I'm getting to Freddie. Someone here mentioned that they dreamt with him the other night - So did I. Maybe its because I've been reading his book and listening to his CD constantly but in my dream we were in a room - small room and he was sitting on a couch and talking with me. I could not hear what he was saying but I have a feeling I'm not supposed to know yet. Sounds crazy right - well those are actors for you.
The anniversary for his death is this weekend and I am starting to feel terribly depressed - maybe thats why I'm blurting all this out to you guys. I will be lighting a candle on Sunday night for him - I hope all of you will join me. I think it was mentioned on this board before.
As far as what happened to him - the more I research this I find loops in the story and you know what - as of now I know it was an accedent and he did mean to shoot himself and the drugs were not his fault. The producers - managers - wifes - girlfriends - doctors and schedule all played a part in this young man's early demise in my opinion.
Anyones opinion is welcome and if anyone wants to talk you can also reach me: twice2000@yahoo.com since I only come to this board once a week.
Take care all.
Remembering Freddie
Lazaro Viciedo

[MariposaLKB]

Lazaro, many of us have been waiting a long time for someone to do a sympathetic portrayal of Freddie, and you sound like just the person to do it! Even though you didn't know much about him just a short time ago, it seems that you have already reached the same conclusions we have about who and what Freddie was and what contributed to his tragic end. You are so fortunate that he has visited you in your dreams--it is not a bit crazy, most of us have had that happen and a few of us even seem to experience his presence in our waking hours. I know he will be right there with you when you are on stage!

I'm not surprised that you have been able to get so much help from the people who gather here, including my closest friend, who is sending you tapes of the show. This board is like a family, as are all the other sites devoted to Freddie. We will be pleased to have you join us in remembering him on the 25th anniversary of his death.

Could you please let us know when and where this show is going to be performed? Thanx mucho!

Mariposa (Lori)

[Pitooey]

Freddie was a truly remarkable young fellow and we love him unconditionally here. When you perform you can email me and tell me when and where and I will "RUN" to see you. I loved Freddie. I hope you do him justice because he never had a chance.

[Cheryl Harrell]

Wow, you sound alot like Freddie & sound like you really care about Freddie. Good luck with the show! Is it coming to VA? Is there a way folks can get a video of it? I'd love to see it! It is nice there is gonna be a tribute to him that is done respectfully & not sensationalized. Glad to see younger people enjoying him & the show! Good luck!

[Luckymama58]

Laz and everyone here. I wanted to check in with my 2 cents worth of opinion, for what it is worth.
Laz, I had the opportunity to appreciate Freddie's remarkable talent when he was with us. I always enjoyed his humor and his honest approach to life as it was for him back in the 70's. My children find his humor dated, but I firmly believe his talent would have allowed him to change with the times. He was growing as an actor as well as a comedian, and he would have gone on to do great things. Sadly, that never came to be.
I was in college when his talent was taken from us. At the time, I never questioned what the media was telling us regarding his death. I swallowed the verdict of his death, drug induced suicide, like everyone else in America. They did tell us about his depression and, as a sufferer of that awful disease, I could understand a little of what he might have been going through. But I never heard the whole story. He was buried and I moved on with my life, saddened by the knowledge that even though this world was richer for having Freddie here to make us laugh, it was now much poorer because his talent was taken from us.
22 years had passed and I really hadn't given Freddie too much thought, except when another Latino comic would entertain me and I would think how much Freddie's laughter made me smile! Then his son started making a name for himself and my teenaged daughter became enamored with Junior as I had been of Senior when I was a girl in highschool. (yes, now I am dating myself! ) I would tell her how much more talented and handsome his dad was, but she never believed me. Then one year ago, TV Land decided to air CATM after 20+ years of it being off national airwaves. I don't know if it was because of the interest in Junior or what, but I was ever so grateful to finally show my daughter what I was talking about.
And as I watched, I became enamored with the man all over again. My girls questioned me about the circumstances surrounding his death, and quite frankly, I was a bit curious too. I had watched the first airing of the E! True Hollywood Story back in November of 2000, but felt it really didn't answer all of my questions. Why had a brilliant young man who seemed to have it all feel he needed to end it? I heard about his problems on this expose of his life and death, but it left me with more questions than answers. One thing I have now that I didn't back then was the internet. So being a novice internet junkie, I started surfing the net for more info. At the time, February of 2001, there wasn't much to be found. Soon, though, I found a movement started by people like myself, people who admired Freddie and were just as curious about him as I was. That movement mushroomed into the network of fans and websites we have today. I secured a copy of his mother's book from eBay at tremendous cost and devoured it, trying to find answers. I searched the internet about the drug methaqualone, to see how it affected people. And I bought and read numerous articles written at the time of his life and death that analyzed his story. Have I found the answers I was looking for? Sorry to say, I am no closer to solving the mystery of why Freddie put the gun to his head that night in January of 77. But I have gained some insite into who Freddie was as a person. Because of this, I have come to several conclusions about his death. I have not shared too many of them publicly, because these kinds of topics tend to enflame some people into arguements and that is not my style. Some of my Freddie family, as we have grown to call ourselves, have heard some of my views on the subject. Being a scientist and an educator, I rarely draw conclusions without an exaustive search for the facts. Any conclusions I have reached, I have done so after much research. I will share two here. I have come to the conclusion that he never meant the gun to go off. He, like many suicide victims, had staged many "mock" suicides prior to this night, I feel, in an effort to have someone try to get him help. It is my opinion that this was another mock attempt. He was too proud to come right out and admit he needed help, but I know the whole last few months of his life were spent on attempts to get someone to realize he needed it without him coming out and saying it or even admitting it to himself. My second conclusion is that we will never know the real mind of Freddie, short of getting a hold of the journal his mom quoted from in her book. She also quoted from margin notes in his bible, but that was buried with him. I don't know where the journal ended up, perhaps it is still in his mother's posession. That journal might be the key to understanding this very complex young man.
I know I have rambled on at great lengths here, but I was inspired by another young man's quest... you, mi amigo, Laz! Thank you for being interested. Not many young people take an interest in the past. I wish you the best on your own personal quest for knowledge about this remarkable person called Freddie Prinze. I hope to get to see your portrayal of him. I feel honored to make his show available to you. Anytime you want to talk about Freddie, feel free to e-mail me and I will share more of what I have found out!
And to my other amigas on this and the other boards, thank you for being my friends...my Freddie family!

[Cheryl Harrell]

I just read Luckymama's post & had to get a hanky... It's so sad how he died. Oh how I wish that gun hadn't gone off... I hope his suicide wasn't intentional but that the gun went off by accident but we may never know & never know what was going thru his mind at the time. Bless his heart. Thru young people like Laz & all of us fans here his memory will be kept alive. & we'll all be here for each other Tues...

[Joy]

Luckymama you go girl!!!
I agree with you 100% Thank you for sharing your heart.

[Pitooey]

Originally posted by Luckymama58

Laz and everyone here. I will share two here. I have come to the conclusion that he never meant the gun to go off. He, like many suicide victims, had staged many "mock" suicides prior to this night, I feel, in an effort to have someone try to get him help. It is my opinion that this was another mock attempt. He was too proud to come right out and admit he needed help, but I know the whole last few months of his life were spent on attempts to get someone to realize he needed it without him coming out and saying it or even admitting it to himself.

Luckymama - This quote above made me shudder. You hit the nail right on the head. Bless you................

[tylersmistress2002]

Luckymama.... I had the same feeling. Maybe he just wanted someone to reach out and help him and his "mock" attempts were his way of reaching out. But unfortunaytely no one answers his pleas. Perhaps, it was as I have read in another post, his crying wolf one too many times. I just wish SOMEONE had realized the seriousness of the situation and there WAS a reason he did these things.....he REALLY needed help. It just breaks my heart everytime I think about it.

[Joy]

I agree with all of you this is indeed a sad tragedy but in regards to crying wolf one to many times I feel-and this is just my opinon that in depression and thoughts and threats of suicide should never be considered crying wolf.
Perhaps it was that very attitude that some of his friends had that prevented them from stopping Freddie from doing himself irreprairable damage

[tylersmistress2002]

O I DEFINATELY AGREE! I just read that on a post and it is apparently the way the people around him viewed it. So very sad. Anyone with an ounce of common sense should have realized he was deperately crying out for help.