- TRANSCRIPT OF BEN MURPHY'S STATEMENTS
ON TV PROMO, PART 3
Granada Plus (UK Cable Channel)
- Aired March 2002
I'll tell you what my ..... my lasting memory,
what I'm always struck by, is that my career peaked with Alias
Smith and Jones and, in a way, I knew it, at the time. I
thought to myself, 'It doesn't get better than this,' and it
never has. I've had other shows that I enjoyed and other situations,
but, but, the chemistry and the reception that the show still
has for people, I have never been able to find again. And so
my lasting, my memory, sometimes when I run into Roger Davis
on the street and we reminisce I wish that er [PAUSE,
LOOKING AWAY FROM INTERVIEWER] I
wish that Peter had stayed alive so that we could have those
times together, so that we could look back fondly because a lot
of people enjoyed that show. They enjoyed it more than we realized
at the time. I think the audiences are like us, see the audience
still likes the show and gets joy from the show. That's our,
that's our, that's what we should be proud of, I think, as actors.
CUT
I was surprised about the death but, I wasn't surprised that
something would happen because Peter, Peter was troubled. He
was, Peter was the most lovable, gracious man. He, I mean, he
was what you saw on screen. You would love him and like him but
he took everything to heart. If a whale died off the coast--
that bothered Peter. Social injustice bothered Peter. He was
an idealist, to the core. And he did drink and he had a troubled
relationship and he had a gun. And I think all those things came
together, along with New Year's Eve, to create a moment in time
which caused him to kill himself. I do believe it was suicide.
I don't think it was an accident. I'm sure that if he were here
today and I would look at him and I'd go, 'Petey.' He would give
me that impish grin and he would admit he, he messed up, you
know. But I'm not sure he wouldn't do it again. I'm not sure
any of us wouldn't live our lives the same way but you would
have loved him.
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