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For this question on so many lips, we finally have an answer. On December 17th, I received Email from a gentleman named Tony Ellis, who told me he was Caroline Ellis' brother. The following is a summary of the conversations I've had with him, as well as an Emailed letter from Caroline herself!!! Special thanks to Tony Ellis for providing us with this information, and giving me permission to post it here on the Internet. Caroline is not presently on the Internet.
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December 22, 1997 Hi there First of all, I'm very much alive and very flattered and happy that you remember the Bugaloos with such fondness. The show was a fun and wonderful time for me, and of course Wayne, John and little John. After finishing the series and tour I was asked to do a tv series in England which then led on to much theatre and tv work. Consequently, sadly, I never returned to America and lost touch with Sid and Marty Krofft, the producers. I still keep in touch with Wayne who also has remained in TV in Britain. I have no knowledge of the whereabouts of the two John's. I now live in Spain, and stopped working in 'show business' when my daughter, Sasha, was born nearly 12 years ago. She would be a wonderful 'Joy' if ever a new Bugaloo series was made! I miss 'the business' enormously. Maybe one day I'll return. (If someone makes me an offer!). Anyway, it's wonderful to hear that you remember 'The Bugaloos'. I am extremely flattered and happy to hear from you with your kind words. Take care, Best wishes Caroline Ellis |
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January 24, 1998 Dear Bill, Thank you so much for your lovely letter. I'm absolutely amazed all the interest that's being given to the 'Bugaloos' once again. Of course, I'm very pleased as I wonderful memories of that time. I enjoyed very much making the series and album, though I don't have all the episodes on tape, the ones I do have are occasionally enjoyed by my daugher, Sasha, who is eleven years of age. As you already know, I now live in Spain with my daughter. The Californian climate spoilt me! I prefer the sun and heat to the British cold and damp! I speak with Wayne every now and then. I believe 'big John' lives in Arizona while I've lost contact with 'little John'. From your letter, you say you are working on a compilation compact disc. Yes! I would love a copy if it's not too much trouble for you. Regarding your questions:
I miss 'show business' so very much. Maybe I'll return to acting one day. Unfortunately, I'm not on Internet here so I can't keep up with the interest in the Bugaloos, but my brother, Tony, is forwarding any information to me. So you can contact him if you wish.. I decided to write, by hand, so I hope you can read my letter O.K.? As you said, it's more personal. Thank you again for your letter, and please forward my best wishes to all those friends of 'The Bugaloos' on Internet. Maybe, one day, there will be an invitation to the Bugaloos to return for 'old times sake'! That would be fun!
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(October 12, 1999) As the Bugaloo who turned 16 in our living rooms, no true Bugaloos fan could ever forget Caroline "Joy" Ellis' birthday on October the 12th. With a smattering of birthday greetings from the Chat Board in my hand, I called Caroline Ellis to relay the birthday wishes from her various fans... Folks, there's really no words to describe actually talking to Caroline. I certainly hope I didn't come out too tounge-tied. Our conversation was short, but very sweet. It's not an interview, so there's really no transcript. I have a few short excerpts from our chat, which you may download in either WAV or MP3 formats:
Well, I hope you all enjoyed hearing from Caroline as much as I did. She truly sounds incredible, as if she was doing the Bugaloos just yesterday. We can only hope that a reunion does indeed happen someday. Check out John "I.Q." McIndoe's movie, Mates, for more info. |
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(December 12, 1999) I managed to place a quick call to all four Bugaloos, and they all had warm greetings for all us fans on the web. Here's what Caroline had to say to us all for Christmas 1999:
Be sure to check out the rest of the sound bytes!! |
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(May 16, 2000) Despite it being ~30 years since The Bugaloos, it's wonderful that the cast can find the time to respond to some of the letters from their long-time fans. I'm told Caroline has begun sending hers back using a special postcard design: Although I do not personally have one of these (I haven't written Caroline an actual letter in a while), Jim Kingman was nice enough to send me a scan of his and I thought I'd share. :-) |
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(October 12, 2000) Caroline's birthday this year turned into a new project for Bugaloos fans!! Craig C. came up with the idea of sending not only cards, letters and wishes, but why not an actual video of us??? Although not everybody managed to get a video in, we did get a handful of submissions and produced quite an impressive (IMHO) birthday video for Caroline (and Sasha). For those that didn't get a video in, we still sent the usual Email greetings to her as well ... here's what our favorite Pink Butterfly had to say:
If you'd like to see a bit of the birthday video, a couple of short clips are available, here. |
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(March 16, 2004) This photo was forwarded to me by Mike Vidal ... however, I understand that several Bugaloos fans have recieved one after writing a letter to Caroline. Thanks again Mike, for sharing this picture with us!! |