Adventures in aging with intention
A towering personality at 4’ 10,” Judy is quite a character, literally. She honed her performance skills as a five-time US Ice Dance Champion, finished on the podium at four World Championships, was an ESPN commentator and is an inductee into the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame. And that was just the prequel to her character roles as Sesame Street’s Betty Lou, Ernie, and Alice Snuffleupagus. Then, Charles M. Schulz personally selected her to be Snoopy, and at 75 she just signed on for more appearances. As Snoopy she’s ridden an Olympic bobsled, rung the bell at the NY Stock Exchange, directed the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, earned laughs with Arnold Schwarzenegger in “Jingle All the Way,” thrown the opening pitch in six different Major League ballparks, and rode floats down Central Park West in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. There’s just too many milestones to count. I’ve been an admirer since we skated together in the 1980s so this is a reunion of sorts as she opens up about life, and the canine encounters that shaped her. Fair warning, her energy is contagious!
What are you curious about? Where do you get your joy these days?
I live on a lake. And we have a tiny little boat. My husband and I try to go out every day if we can. Just nature, I’m a bird lover. I love to go bird watching. And breathing. At this point, breathing is really important.
You say growing up you always wanted to be a showstopper. When did you know that about yourself?
Would you believe as a four-year-old I skated with Sonja Henie?! I have no idea how it happened. I just know it did. They sent me to New York to skate in her show at Madison Square Garden, which at that time the structure was literally a square garden. I don’t remember much, but I know the audience was up in the balconies. My parents’ motto was, ‘Let’s let Judy to do everything she wants to do.’ So, I started early with tap, ballet, gymnastics, skating, swimming, and diving. As a teenager, there wasn’t enough time for everything, so I had to choose. I’d won the junior nationals in gymnastics. And although I hadn’t yet qualified at the national level as a skater, I chose figure skating because it had a possible show business future. I always wanted to be a performer from the start.
You were a trailblazer in getting ice dancing in the Olympics — what was that experience like?
I never wanted to skate by myself. I always wanted to be an ice dancer. And then I found out ice dancing wasn’t in the Olympics, but that didn’t really matter to me, except that now everybody asks if I was ever in the Olympics. My partner Jim and I were the U.S. Champions, one of 10 couples from around the world that were chosen to show ice dancing at the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble. I said, ‘Oh, I’ll be the very first one to step on the ice.’ But I also realized Ice Dancing was a tough sell, because nobody thought of it as a sport. They said it wasn’t difficult. Of course, now it’s one of the most watched and often controversial events. We stayed amateur until ’72, thinking it would get into the Games, but that milestone didn’t happen until the 1976 Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.
What did competitive figure skating teach you about yourself that you couldn’t have learned anywhere else?
Most of the things that I’ve learned for character work came after skating, but the learning skills I crafted on the ice I carry with me in everything I do… I discovered that you only have to use the muscles that are needed, and you must be selective. See what’s needed for the task at hand. So, for example, listening may be the most important thing to accomplish a job. So I try to turn off my attention to everything else. I need to have a vision of what’s out there, read the audience and focus. That’s when I can do my job well.
I’m also forever a student led by curiosity. When I began character work, I studied with Lee Strasberg (acclaimed method actor/teacher/director). I also dove into Piaget’s cognitive child development courses to see things through a child’s eyes.
I’m fascinated that in your “skins” character work you had to overcome feelings of claustrophobia. What was your process?
I had no idea I was claustrophobic until I began working with Jim Henson at Sesame Street. We were bringing the muppets to life, and nobody had been in full body costumes before, but it became really clear I had a problem when it took me 14 hours to put on pieces and get accustomed to the movements. I have found, at least in my case, claustrophobia has to do with thinking that you don’t exist. So, if you pinch your finger with your nail and you can feel it, you’re alive. It works for me. I do the ritual every now and then, but it doesn’t come up very often anymore. Sometimes I’m out for five hours in a 100-degree parade. So, it’s probably more exhaustion than claustrophobia.
Is there something you think you totally failed at that turned out to be a real win?
Yes, my classically worst audition ever! I’d kept in touch with Jim Henson after we worked together when I was in Ice Follies for the Sesame Street segments. One day Jim called me to ask if I would audition for the role of Mr. Snuffleupagus’ baby sibling. So I headed to the studio. Snoopy never speaks; he only thinks, so when they asked me to get into character and talk it was a totally new world for me. I ended up babbling in both boy and girl voices. They had not decided the gender yet. They had only built a frame of what the animal looked like, and I kept turning the wrong side to the camera, so they had a lot of my backside. Then I knocked over a camera. Then I stepped on the director’s foot. And I don’t think she ever forgot that. It was a terrible audition.
Amazingly enough, I got the part. I couldn’t believe it when a call came in asking for a fitting time. They chose the name Alice for the little girl.
What’s it like from your perspective, being inside Snoopy?
It’s hard for me to say, but Charles Schulz chose me and he always thought I was the best. So, I must assume that I have something unique. As I’ve looked at it and trained other people, it’s not about me. It’s really about all the people I’m busy caring about — the audience. So, it’s very important for me to listen, and read the crowd. To understand that somebody had just heard bad news and they’re in line to hug Snoopy. That somebody graduated from college and they want to celebrate with Snoopy. I think that’s why they talk to me so much — because they trust Snoopy. My job is to discover why they’ve waited so long in line to see him. Which of Snoopy’s characteristics do they like? He has so many. The audience member may be a lawyer, or a ‘great writer’ or even Joe Cool. Many of the people that come to see Snoopy are Vietnam vets – they carried the flying ace mascot with them on their plane or helicopter. I’ll hear them tell Snoopy — ‘You saved my life!’ So it can get intense.
Everybody has a Snoopy story they identify with. He becomes part of their life. I remember calling my therapist saying, ‘I’m not trained for this. How do I help?’ So we worked on re-focusing my energies and realized folks need to be heard and hugged. I mean, right now, Lisa, this country, this world — the hugs that I’m getting are so warm and personal. The stories I’m hearing are so important. People need to be seen. And hopefully, if I can just renew their feelings of trust and love, they get to be heard. Snoopy’s a good listener and an even better hugger.
As Snoopy over the years did you ever have an aha moment where you said, ‘I can’t believe I’m doing this?’
Yep! I got to fly totally weightless in a plane doing backflips flying over Florida.
I never dreamed of being an astronaut. I am not brave. But I did get to fly zero gravity in an airplane that does parabolas – it goes up super steep and then dives down so you’re weightless for about 15 seconds. It’s called the Vomit Comet for a reason. I must have been about 35, maybe 40 at the time. The idea came from talking with Sparky’s wife Jeannie. We were figuring out things we wanted to get on tape, while I could still do them. So, there I was soaring through the skies in full dog mode as Snoopy performed cartwheels, a backflip and a front flip. Talk about a total blast. And my husband Blake was my escort, so it was even more special.
In this longevity game, you’ve been Snoopy for five decades, and you just signed a two-year contract. How do you do it?
Yeah. He’s a good boy. The funny thing is, we’re both 75 years old.
And when I was a little kid, I had a little beagle that looked for all the world like Snoopy. And her name was Peanuts. Go figure.
I used to do backflips as Snoopy. But I don’t anymore. Only because I say that they must pay me double. And no one ever does. I’ve modified my approach, so I don’t do trapeze or skate anymore. When it comes to fitness I don’t do routines well, but I go to the gym three or four times a week, and I do balance exercises every day. I swim in the lake. I kayak. I’m an active person, so it’s just a part of what comes with staying in tune with your body. It would drive me crazy to sit still. Actually, Snoopy keeps amazing my doctors. The costume weighs about 35lbs. Exercising with weight is great for your structure. I have the bone density of a teenager. I’ll take it!
When you zoom out to look at your entire life, were you the one with a five and 10-year plan?
Still do, still do. And the only thing I haven’t done is own a blue Mustang convertible. Now I don’t want one. We live in New Jersey and it’s not very suitable for a convertible.
Is there something that you can do today that you couldn’t do a year ago?
My husband was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. So I’m a far better caretaker today than I was a year ago. I’m so blessed to be the one with him, because I can make him laugh. We share many memories. He was the head audio technician on Sesame Street for 30 years. So we have lots of things to talk about. We go out in our little boat. We travel. We were in Ireland last month visiting his grandchildren. I shouldn’t say that travel is difficult because that would mean I don’t want to do it. It’s another challenge, and I’m here to help. And to inspire.
What do you like best about yourself?
My sense of humor and curiosity. I’m not afraid to talk to everybody. It’s easy for me to ask a stranger ‘How are you doing today? Did you see the rainbow?’ To just spread joy.
We performed together on Charles Schulz’s “Musical on Ice” TV Special. I remember getting a real glimpse of who “Sparky” was. Such an amazing human being. What do you cherish most about your relationship with him?
I was his dog, which sounds strange to people, but it’s a relationship I treasured. He would share things with me that he knew would go no further. And they never will. I recall one time when he came over to the ice rink from his studio, handed me a sketch on a piece of paper, and asked ‘What does Snoopy think these are?’ And I said, ‘Sparky, if you don’t know what Snoopy thinks they are, how can I know?’ ‘You’re Snoopy,’ he said ‘and I already know what they are.’ So I said, ‘Oh, they’re those little Chinese toys where you put your fingers in, and you can’t pull them out.’ He went away laughing, later sharing that they’re Woodstock’s leg warmers. But it made the strip, he trusted me. I was just the muse he needed. He would always carry a dog biscuit and say woof when he saw me. I was his puppy. I was privileged. He wanted to have something, someone, that he could confide in and be safe. He always treated me very kindly, and we had many human moments that were hysterical.
You have such a connection with your mind and body. Is there any sort of practice that you do to strengthen that correlation?
Every day I study a language — German.
But my self-compassion began when I was maybe 12. I either saw a play or I read Don Quixote. And when things got rough, I would sing “To Dream the Impossible Dream,” — that maybe the world would be better if one person followed their dreams. So, I continue to dream the impossible dream. I think we can all do that in some way. Recognizing that what we give is important, so we need to make sure it’s good. I mean, who gives hugs for a living? Who enjoys an audience? Who loves people perhaps in a way that they can’t be loved by another? I’m still a dreamer.
Judy’s message to Intentfuls: “A true friend is one who sees through your act and still enjoys the show.”
***Keep on the alert for more inspirations from Judy. She’s penning a book about how Snoopy sees people and sometimes how they see him. Coming soon!
Links: People Magazine
https://people.com/movies/meet-judy-sladky-snoopys-real-life-alter-ego-of-37-years/
https://people.com/woman-who-plays-snoopy-discusses-celebrity-encounters-11840465
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