Iron Curtain Call

“In 1983 we were as close to a thermo nuclear apocalypse as we’d been since the Cuban Missile Crisis—a godsend to Starcke. The Cold War was getting some heat, and so was Starcke. The planet in jeopardy meant job security for me. The Arms Race had America terrified of nuclear war, and the Starcke Franchise would take that terror to the bank. This era produced the likes of CATCH A RISING TSAR, RUSSIAN TO JUDGEMENT, and DEFEKTOR GENERAL. And is wasn’t just the threat of world wide nuclear war with the Soviets, but nuclear weapons in general had captured the imagination of the American public, and put asses in seats. This was also the era of megalomaniacs bent on wanton destruction or atomic blackmail, as we saw in DELIGHT AT THE END OF THE WORLD and A MONTH OF DOOMSDAYS, respectively.

But by 1989, I could see the writing on the Berlin Wall and by 1991 Gorbachev had ushered in a new era of partnership with the West—completely dismantling the Evil Empire and my film career. The Arms Race was over, and much to my dismay, peace was at hand.

Fortunately, throughout the former Soviet republics the transition was not without incident. There was enough revolution, assassination, and military coup d’etats to squeeze out BALKAN AT DEATH.

Starcke was clearly at a crossroads. He and I were facing the big questions. Could a super spy still be relevant in a post Cold War world? And how would I pay my palimony and gambling debts without a regular gig?”  — from TALL STARCKE AND HANSOME, MY LIFE IN MOTION PICTURES by Martin Wellbrock