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SYFY WIRE Fantastic Fest

Freddy's Revenge star Mark Patton on chilling with Cher and kissing David Bowie

By Kristy Puchko
Scream Queen Mark Patton

Before his rise to stardom was derailed by the reception of the notorious slasher sequel A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, Mark Patton was living his dreams — snagging roles opposite Cher, meeting fascinating stars, and moving in with his lover, Dallas star Timothy Patrick Murphy. The outstanding documentary Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street dives deep into all that came after.

When SYFY FANGRRLS sat down with Patton ahead of the film's U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest, we asked him to reminisce about his most fabulous encounters — and this included the time David Bowie kissed him, plus some star-studded stories that didn't make it into the film's final cut.

In Scream, Queen!, Patton recounts his Broadway debut in Come Back to the Five & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, which was directed by Robert Altman and co-starred Karen Black, Kathy Bates, and Cher. (Yes. THE Cher!) With such big names onstage and off, celebs frequented the playhouse often. And on one special occasion, David Bowie came by and kissed Patton. It's a story he mentions in the movie, but we FANGRRLS needed the full scoop.

"How that happened, actually," Patton began with a smile. "We were rehearsing. There was only one electrical outlet, right? And it was in Bob [Altman]'s office. So I had to do my James Dean hair and I needed a blow dryer. So I was just sitting there all self-involved." At this point, he mimed doing his hair into a Dean-worthy pompadour. "And Bob said, 'Oh Mark, this is my friend David. David, this is Mark.' I'm like, 'Hey, how are you doing?' Still blow-drying my hair."

In telling the story, Patton re-enacted. At this point, he paused in his pantomime of blow-drying to glance over her right shoulder. Then he said, "That's f***ing David Bowie." After this brief introduction, Bowie went out to the house to watch the show. "Many people did this, [and] then would give us notes and everything," Patton explained. "But as [Bowie] was running down the stairs, he grabbed me, kissed me and said, 'Oh, you're fabulous.' And then went off to see Cher."

Speaking of Cher, Patton had another story to share. "I had one experience," Patton began. "Me, Cher, [hockey player] Ron Duguay, [Studio 54 co-owner] Steve Rubell, and [American fashion designer] Halston, who everybody called 'Pussy,' we were in a limousine going to Liza Minnelli's house, where nobody wanted to go. They were like, 'Oh, that b*tch does nothing but talk about herself all the time.' And so we get to her house, and it's a black-and-white fantasy. It's all Liza everything and Oscars. And by the end of the night, she's dancing up a storm to 'New York, New York.' And I'm fascinated.

"And then my favorite experience ever of all of those," Patton continued, as this reporter sat jaw-dropped and deathly envious, "Was when Cher and I went to Studio 54. We were sitting in Studio 54, and again it was the same crew of people, like some ballet dancers and some famous people. And Liza came in. And the songs are playing, and she was like, 'Oh, I wish somebody would dance with me.' And she kept saying this, 'I wish somebody would dance with me.' And I was like, 'Well, I'll dance with you. Like nobody else is, so like I'll dance with you.' She says again, 'I wish somebody would dance with me.' I mean, like I didn't even exist. Right? So finally Cher leaned over, and she said, 'She wants to dance with me because she knows when we go out on the floor that every photographer will come out. And we'll be on their front page of every newspaper in the world. But I'm going to make the b*tch beg for it.' And those pictures are in the documentary."

Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street made its U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest alongside a revival screening of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge.