On Saturday 31st of August, we attended Comic Con Amsterdam at the RAI in Amsterdam. While we were there we had the opportunity to have a little chat with Kim Hartman and Richard Gibson. They are mostly known for their roles in one of the best British comedy shows of all time: "Allo, Allo". Kim Hartman played the role of German Private Helga Geerhart in all of the 85 episodes of the show. Richard Gibson played the role of Gestapo Officer Herr Flick in 79 episodes (in the last season of "Allo, Allo" he was replaced by David Janson, because of conflicting work schedules). If you would like to read more about Kim and Richard's career, check out the article we wrote about the guests of Comic Con Amsterdam.
Let's get back to Comic Con Amsterdam. The "Allo, Allo" panel was planned in the afternoon and afterwards we were allowed to go backstage, to have a little chat with Richard and Kim. Unfortunately we couldn't record the interview, but that doesn't mean we can't tell you about it. We asked them three of our favorite questions. Curious for their answers? Well...keep reading
Excited is an understatement!
The first thing we noticed was how incredibly close Hartman and Gibson seem to be. They looked like they had so much fun together during the autograph signings and on stage. They were constantly smiling and when we came backstage to talk to them this wasn't any different. I (Liv) remember how we used to watch "Allo, Allo" when I was younger. Friday night was "Allo, Allo" night and we would watch it all together. Since then, I've watched it in re-runs and I have the complete collection on DVD. You can imagine how excited we were to get a chance to talk to this legendary duo....and of course: excited is understatement.
Now that you know what we were excited about, we asked Richard and Kim what gets them excited?
The first thing Richard Gibson asked was if we were sure we wanted to know that. Both thought it was a difficult question, but then Kim Hartman mentioned that she gets excited about the fact that they travel the world together as Helga and Herr Flick. Kim talked about a cruise they did several years ago (2012). A big part of the cruise took place on the Amazon River in Brazil. She and Richard were there ( 200 miles up the Amazon river) as Helga and Herr Flick and they did some sketches on board. She says it was very funny to be in the jungle of Brazil on the Amazon River, as Helga and Herr Flick. Richard (in his own sarcastic way) mentioned it was also very hard work. They were on the boat for more than three weeks and within these weeks they did some Q&A's and sketches. The story behind it was that Herr Flick and Helga escaped to the Amazon.
Richard and Kim made a lot of people laugh in their roles a s Herr Flick and Helga in "Allo, Allo", but how would they describe their own sense of humor?
Richard: "Sick and twisted, that's the best kind"
Kim: "I would say childish"
She elaborated the fact that she loves to scare people, by jumping out on them. She mentioned she has never been slapped yet, but according to Kim that is only a matter of time. Richard mentioned that she does it to her husband (actor John Nolan) all the time. She hides and then she jumps out. After a while she stops, while her husband still expects her to jump out. And then when he thinks he is safe, Kim starts again. Kim also mentioned that she used to do it to her children, but now they are bigger they do it to her. She says she also scares strangers and it is a miracle that no one has slapped her for it. She continued by wanting to tell a story about it, but she mentioned that it might be too long a boring. Richard insists on her telling it. So she tells the story on how she was in a play and she was supposed to go on stage, but her opponent in the scene was late. It was almost time to go on stage, but she said she couldn't go without him. At that point she heard his footsteps approaching fast, like he was running to get there. She hid behind one of the set pieces and jumped out screaming, when he got there. She scared the hell out of him.
Unfortunately we only had time for one more question: If you could choose to be any historical figure, who would you be?
Kim would want to be someone very rich in a peaceful time. Someone that lived in a palace or something like that. Someone who didn't suffer a violent death. When I mentioned that we could cross out someone like Joan of Arc, Richard added Mary Antoinette. "That wouldn't be much fun, but it ended quickly". Carola and I had been talking about this question before and I mentioned that Carola chose Socrates, because she would love to have witnessed the rise of the Western philosophy. Richard immediately reacted with: "Of course, because brainy people get all the action, right?".
Unfortunately we had to end our little talk after this, because Kim and Richard had to go and prepare for their photo op, but it was so cool to talk to them. Be sure to pay them a visit when they are at a convention, you won't be sorry. They seem to still have so much fun together and fill the room with positive energy.
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