My Interview With Mrs. Ochmonek

Every ALF fan out there is familiar with the character of Mrs. Raquel Ochmonek. The actress who played her is Liz Sheridan and you have probably also seen her on Seinfeld, where she played Jerry Seinfeld's mother. Liz Sheridan is a very nice lady who appreciates her fans support. As you might have noticed on the top of this page, she even sent me an autograph after I wrote her requesting one.

After I had received my autograph from Ms. Sheridan, I asked her if I could interview her for my site. Once again she showed how kind and generous she is to her fans and agreed to a small interview. Here it is, I hope you'll enjoy it:

Q: How was it working on the ALF set?

A: It was fun because we had no audience. The entire stage was made up of pits, where Paul worked his puppet with his assistant. The actors had to be careful not to fall in.

Q: On ALF, you play the nosy next-door neighbour Raquel Ochmonek, do you think you have any similarities to that character?

A: Do I think I have any similarities to Raquel? God, I hope not. Other than the fact that she was so nosy, her only saving grace was the fact that she bought all her furniture in Tijauana, Mexico, which make her a little off-beat.

Q: Do you get a lot of recognition by fans for playing Mrs. Ochmonek on ALF, or is it mostly for playing Mrs. Seinfeld on Seinfeld?

A: Do I get recognized more for Seinfeld, than for Alf? I used to, but in the last few years I get a tremendous amount of email from other countries where Alf seems to be playing.

Q: How would you describe the creator, producer and voice of ALF, Paul Fusco?

A: How would I describe Paul? Younger than I thought he would be. Nice to work with. He worked very hard and spending the entire day with his arm up in the air, we had a massage person on the set at all times. Paul worked the right hand, and head, and of course, voice. His assistant Lisa worked the left hand, and up on the floor Bob, Lisa's husband, had a little machine with which he worked the eyebrows. Sounds complicated, I know. It just took a long time, which is why we had no audience.

Q: What is the fondest memory you have of the show?

A: The fondest memory? I loved the actors and I adored Bob and Lisa. It was my first major job as a show regular, so I was beyond thrilled. I had such a good time playing Raquel. She was bigger than life and ridiculous.

Me: Thanks a lot for giving me the opportunity to do this interview.

Liz: My pleasure.