Jim and Janice McNulty are pictured with actress Kirstie Alley. This photo with a short account of “Drop Dead Gorgeous” filming is in the history book “Waconia: Paradise of the Northwest – Vol. II.”
Jim and Janice McNulty are pictured with actress Kirstie Alley. This photo with a short account of “Drop Dead Gorgeous” filming is in the history book “Waconia: Paradise of the Northwest – Vol. II.”
The Dec. 5 death of actress Kirstie Alley brought back memories of her brief time in Waconia.
The two-time Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress, best known for her role as Rebecca Howe in the sitcom “Cheers,” also had a lead role in the 1999 movie “Drop Dead Gorgeous.” Many scenes from that dark comedy about a small-town beauty pageant that turns deadly were shot in Waconia.
The movie was shown again at Emagine Theatre in Waconia in 2019 on the 20th anniversary of the release. And Jim and Janice McNulty, who live on West Lake Street still recall their brush with the actress.
They agreed to vacate their home one evening so Alley and family could experience a night on Lake Waconia while the cast and crew were filming here.
“It unfolded on a Sunday morning with a knock to find a nice young lady at the door,” Jim McNulty said. “She said she was the personal assistant to Kirstie Alley, and that Kirstie was shooting a movie in town, loved our home, and was wondering if we would rent it to her for a brief stay. I looked out on the street and there was Kirstie in the car window smiling and waving. We invited them in, had a nice chat and told them we would be happy to let her stay at our home.”
The family had a summer party planned for that afternoon and invited her join them. So in between her movie shoots at St Joseph’s Church, Alley came to the party and brought her assistant and her two young children.
“She was fun to talk to, and she and her kids enjoyed the picnic festivities and boat rides on Lake Waconia,” McNulty said. “She said that our home reminded her of John Travolta’s home on the sea coast in Maine.”
Alley co-starred with Travolta in the romantic comedy “Look Who’s Talking” and as reported in her obituary he said their friendship was “one of the most special ones he’s ever had.”
The actress died after a brief battle with cancer. She was 71.
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