February's Space Babe is the lovely Gay Rowan as Rachel, from the 1973, Canadian-produced television series The Starlost. As a member of an Amish-like community who follows the man she loves into exile, forced to face the startling revelation that her world is just an artificial biosphere - one of many - on a gigantic space ark, Rowan's Rachel always exhibited a sense of wonder, a warm heart, and admirable bravery... all of which made her extremely appealing. The scripts and production values didn't usually give her or her co-stars (Keir Dullea and Robin Ward) much of an opportunity to showcase their talent, but Rowan was always likeable and came off well.
The Canadian actress was born in 1948 and had a few small roles in Canadian and American TV series for about ten years ('73-'83), but as far as I (and the IMDb) can tell, The Starlost seems to have been her only regular series role, and she hasn't made any film or TV appearances in almost 30 years. It's too bad. As I mentioned above, she was a very appealing young woman, pretty and intelligent, and deserved a bigger career. I wonder what became of her?
Kudos to you for showcasing Gay Rowan as a Space Babe. This is the only thing I remember her in, and I found her really likeable. I just wish the show had been better.
ReplyDeleteShe was delightful. If any show ever deserved, no, earned the right to a remake, it's The Starlost. Such unbelievable potential squandered.
ReplyDeleteAs a rule, I believe that remakes should be limited to good ideas that originally received poor execution, and THE STARLOST certainly falls under that heading.
ReplyDeleteHow I would love for this show to be released on DVD.
ReplyDeleteIt is on DVD in the U.S. from VCI Entertainment. The link in the post above goes to my review of the discs. You can purchase it from Amazon.
ReplyDeleteShe sells insurance in California. The Starlost was released on DVD about 2 years ago. Gay has a copy.
ReplyDeleteAnyone looking for other work she's done, a couple years after Starlost she co-starred in a Canadian-made Our Man Flint TV movie that was intended to be a pilot for a TV series. Both of the James Coburn films were released together in a box set a year or so ago and the TV movie was included as a bonus feature.
ReplyDeleteshe's still alive and kicking http://www.plaxo.com/directory/profile/25770339355/f36e9fd2/Gay/Rowan
ReplyDeleteThis is long after the discussion here, but I've been watching the Starlost via Netflix, and was looking around on YouTube to see what might be there. I ran across this interview with Gay Rowan from 2012.
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/xMKLizlaARQ
Yowwwrrr!!!!
ReplyDeleteShe lives in San Diego California and I married and has 1 grandchild. she owns her own Business and has not been acting for over 30 years.
ReplyDelete