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Former Law and Order star Michael Moriarty is in town this week, shooting an episode of the locally produced Family Channel TV series Mentors.
The American-born actor who now calls Vancouver home is playing newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst in an episode that will be an homage to Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, said Mentors producer Josh Miller.
Not that Miller expects that any of the show's young viewers will pick up on the references to the 1941 classic.
"I don't think that they'll get it at all," said Miller, adding that's why the pressure is on to make sure the story stands up on its own. Parents, on the other hand, should get a kick out of the Rosebud riffs.
While most commonly known for his four-year stint as assistant district attorney Ben Stone on Law and Order, the Tony- and Emmy-winning actor has appeared in dozens of stage plays, TV productions and films, notably 1973's Bang the Drum Slowly, opposite Robert De Niro.
Moriarty has also gained some notoriety for his outspoken political views, including his founding of the Republican Party of Canada and his support for Stockwell Day as the next prime minister. And he made headlines again last year when he was charged with assault after a slapping incident involving his common-law wife. The charges were stayed on the condition that Moriarty have no contact with the woman when he's drinking.
Each episode of Mentors features a different guest star portraying a historical figure, brought forward in time by a young computer genius to help solve a problem. The award-winning series, filmed entirely on location in Edmonton, airs Saturday and Sunday mornings on the Family Channel, Cable 32 and 45.
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