Jessica Novak (Greta Blackburn) is the bitchy movie-star in the 1987 episode "The Last of the Red Hot Vampires" for the TV series "Sledge Hammer!".
Jessica is first seen laying in bed dressed in a white victorian style slip and her hair braided up on top of her head. Suddenly light comes through the drapes and a full moon is shown shining through. A single bat appears followed by Count Dracula, who slips inside. Jessica awakens, while Dracula open his mouth revealing his fangs. However, the fangs drop out of his mouth, and immediately the director yells cut!
This was a filming of a vampire movie, and Vincent Lagarski (Bernie Kopell) was attempting to make a big comeback in his film career. The director, Stephen Schmielman (Robert Fieldsteel) had had enough of Vincent's mistakes on the set of the movie "Touch of the Vampire", and fired him on the spot. As he walked off the set, a pleased Jessica smiled with pleasure.
While Sledge Hammer (David Rasche) and Dori Dorreau (Anne-Marie Martin) were sitting at a bar, a news bulletin came across that Vincent Lagarski had passed away at the age of 76 years old. It said that he was survived by a daughter.
We next see the director killed in his bed, as a caped figure and bats surround his bed. At the coroner's office they discover that he has been drained of all of his blood, and they also find a script of the film. The team decides to visit the set.
Cut to the Monogamy Pictures film studio, where Sledge and Dori learn from the producer Zeff Campbell (Bud Cort) that Jessica is distraught. They ask whether she and Lagarski were intimate, and they find out that she is upset because all of her close-ups have been cancelled for the day.
They interview Jessica, while she is having makeup applied. She fakes some tears and describes how great an actor and man that Vincent Lagarski was. After she learns that Sledge and Dori aren't press, but rather detectives, she immediately changes her tune. She responds that, "Are you telling me that I have just wasted a perfectly brilliant crying jag on a couple of non-media peons?" She then slapped Sledge Hammer and walked away.
Back at the office, a drunk (James Caan) tries to report that he saw Vincent Lagarski walking the streets last night. This is followed up by a lady of the evening who tries to report the same thing, that she saw him while standing on the street corner.
In a news report later that evening, the story tells that Vincent Lagarski is getting more publicity in death than he did as a film star. Numerous city residents have reported seeing the deceased actor. As a result of the popularity, the network announces that they will begin showing several of his movies in commemoration of him.
Next we see the lovely Jessica Novak sitting in a bubble bath in her bathroom. The film star's head is the only thing visible, as she has her blonde hair up in a bun. She is singing about bubbles in a high pitch children's voice, while sipping champagne. Suddenly the door creeps open leading out to the hallway. Jessica knocks away the bubbles to get a good look at who is coming in. We hear bat noises as the camera imitates a flying bat coming toward a now terrified Jessica in the tub. That is the last we see of this.
When the phone rings, Sledge Hammer is still sitting on his couch. He is told that Miss Jessica Novak has been murdered, and he needs to come to the crime scene.
When Sledge and his partner arrive, the bathroom is full of paparazzi and media taking pictures of Jessica still laying the tub covered up with suds. Her legs are dangling over the sides of the red tub.
Dori tells Sledge that the body was found by a landlord after Zeff Campbell called when Jessica missed a date. People in the apartment building report they saw a guy running through the halls of the building in a cape.
The worst part of all of this, was the fact that we are only 14 minutes through this episode, and the loveliest eye-candy has been killed off.
Sledge brings Lagarski's coffin into the precinct to find out if Lagarski's body was still there. Upon opening it, they find that it is missing. Sledge then decides to check out Lagarski's daughter to ask her some questions.
At the residence of Lagarski, we finally meet Malovia Lagarski (Deborah Wakeham) who is dressed in a black latex dress that is opened in the front. She has matching opera gloves, and her red hair is gathered up in the back. Malovia has black high heals and dark stockings on. She explained that her father had been creamated and is definitely dead.
While she began touting what a grand actor he was and that he had been unappreciated, Sledge became suspicious that Malovia might be a suspect. He was about to arrest her, when the real Vincent Lagarski walked out from the shadows. He was very much alive. His intention was to receive the accolades and tributes that are heaped only on the dead. He was planning to then make the greatest comeback of all-time....from the grave.
Sledge then asked why he had killed both Schmielman and Novak. Vincent denied it, and both he and his daughter were arrested for suspicion of murder.
Thinking the case was closed, Sledge went to sleep. However, he was visited in the night by Zeff Campbell dressed as a vampire. Sledge called him out and asked him why he had killed Schmielman and Novak. He responded that it was jealousy. Stephen and Jessica were lovers. He desired Jessica, and all she did was mock him and make him feel unworthy. He killed Jessica not only for the rejections, but also for the publicity that the finished film would fetch at the box office. However, if Lagarski wasn't dead, his plans were ruined, therefore. he had come to kill Sledge and get rid of the evidence. With that being said, Zeff pulled out a cage and unleashed a vampire bat. The bat flew at Sledge and attatched to his neck. Sledge was able to rip the creature off and throw it across the room. He then took out his pistol and shot it in the wing. Zeff was arrested and Vincent Lagarski was set free.
Gallery []
