Courtesy of the ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH (March 2010)
Jessica Radloff
THREE MEN AND JESSICA?: Our town’s Jessica Radloff, an actress who has spent some time swinging at the stars, has launched a unique campaign to get the part of her dreams, that of Mary in the upcoming three-quel “Three Men and a Bride.”
Radloff, a Parkway Central grad, class of 1997, has lived in Hollywood the past several years and has had her share of movie roles. Among other things, she’s been on “The Young and the Restless,” “Entourage” and “Campus Ladies,” and she had a summer job with the “Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
But ever since she was a kid, Radloff said she was “obsessed” with “Three Men and a Baby” and “Three Men and a Little Lady” and dreamed of starring in a third installment, although she had no reason to ever expect there would be one. At age 10 she had a crush on Tom Selleck and watched and rewatched the movies starringSelleck, Steve Guttenberg and Ted Danson. The fact that people told her she looked exactly like the actress who played Mary (who was actually played by twinsLisa and Michelle Blair), added to her interest in the movie.
Fast forward to last November, when Guttenberg announces that there will be a third film. Radloff said today, “I just knew that I had to do whatever it took to get that role. Yes, I told my manager and agent, but somehow that wasn’t good enough. Having lived in LA for so long and been a part of this industry, you learn that the only person you can truly count on is yourself (a good lesson perhaps in any city). I had to find a way in.”
Knowing that the men were the stars of the film, Radloff said she was certain they did not intend to cast an A-list star in the role of Mary. She contacted Guttenberg, who she had met when she first got to Hollywood, and told him she wanted to play Mary. She said he was encouraging and told her to push for the part.
The result is that Radloff has a campaign underway to get the role. She’s got a website with a mock movie poster showing her in the role and written endorsements from colleagues and execs in the movie biz. She’s gotten some press attention for her effort and has started a charitable effort to get people to become fans of her facebook page,“Cast Jessica Radloff as Mary in Three Men and a Bride.” She’s donating 50 cents per fan to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and so far has racked up a $300 donation.
Will Radloff be successful? Who knows. Here’s the young entrepreneur’s thoughts on that: “Who knows if this will work, but I’d rather know I tried my hardest than sat by and did nothing.”
For the local angle, Radloff is the daughter of Barbara and Stuart Radloff. Stuart is a bankruptcy attorney in Town & Country; Barbara volunteers at Missouri Baptist Hospital and is a substitute teacher.