Alex Carson
Logan’s Run was a 1970s science-fiction film that was adapted into a television series. That short-lived television series was notable for featuring an adult Heather Menzies, who had previously appeared as one of the von Trapp children in The Sound of Music. Though Logan’s Run only lasted for a total of 14 episodes, the increasingly short skirt that Heather wore during her time on the series left an impression on audiences that still has an effect to this day. Heather’s skirt that she wore on the program was so short that one of it’s producers didn’t want it to be shown on television! Join Facts Verse as we explore how Heather Menzies almost showed too much skin on Logan’s Run.
Logan’s Run Is a Television Series with a Weird Legacy
When most people nowadays hear the name Logan’s Run, they think of the 1976 film. However, that film was also adapted into a television series that remains notable for entirely different reasons. While the film Logan’s Run is generally regarded as a modest classic, the same can’t be said of the television series that it inspired. Still, that doesn’t mean that the short-lived Logan’s Run television series had nothing to offer. Today, the series remains most notable for the increasingly short skirt that one of it’s actresses was forced to wear, with that actress being Heather Menzies. According to Heather herself, her skirt was so short that she wasn’t able to bend over while the cameras were rolling!
If it weren’t for Heather Menzies’ increasingly short skirt, which only continued to get shorter over the course of Logan’s Run’s meager 14-episode run, the show would likely be lost to the annals of history. As it stands, there is little else remarkable about the series, and it’s understandable that it didn’t have a very long lifespan.
Most blame the matter of Heather Menzies’ increasingly short skirt on the phenomenon that has come to be referred to as “jiggle television”. Jiggle television is a term that was coined by the head of the NBC network to disparage the content being made by rival network ABC. According to NBC, ABC was making content that bordered on the verge of pornography with how much it exploited the female form. Shows such as Charlie’s Angels loved throwing actresses into scenes without bras, which resulted in plenty of jiggling.
Logan’s Run Almost Didn’t Make It to Television
Though the Logan’s Run television series is far from being the most successful example of the phenomenon that has come to be known as jiggle television, it’s certainly one of the most aberrant! With it’s science-fiction theming and origins from the PG-rated film of the same name, the show was aimed predominantly at a demographic of children. However, that didn’t stop clever executives from realizing that fathers would be more keen to let their kids watch the show if there was something in it for them. While some executives were in on it, others were flabbergasted when they showed up to the set and saw what Heather Menzies was wearing.
According to legend, one executive working on the television series Logan’s Run saw what Heather Menzies was wearing during the filming of the show’s first episode and remarked that there was no way that such a thing could appear in a children’s television show. Of course, this executive was proven wrong. Not only was Heather Menzies allowed to be shown on television in her short skirt, but the skirt only got shorter and shorter over the course of the show’s run. Despite the increasingly short nature of Heather Menzies’ skirt, the Logan’s Run television series was not a big hit.
There are numerous theories regarding why the television series version of Logan’s Run didn’t click with audiences. Though the series was hyped by it’s network via the press, it was constantly thrown into different timeslots over the course of it’s short run. This resulted in audience members never knowing when the show was going to be on. Without a stable timeslot, Logan’s Run had no chance of developing a stable audience. Despite the fact that Logan’s Run was undeniably mishandled by it’s network, the quality of the 14 episodes that were produced of the series wasn’t all that great.
If Logan’s Run had been given a proper chance by it’s network in terms of a stable timeslot, Heather Menzies’ short skirt might’ve been able to make an even greater impact on audiences than it did. As it stands, the impact that it made was great enough that people are still talking about it today even though less than 20 episodes of the show were produced. Besides her short skirt, Heather Menzies also remains notable for other reasons, including the fact that she was one of the von Trapp kids in The Sound of Music! The actress even paid homage to this in a 1970s photo shoot for Playboy magazine. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
The 1970s Wasn’t a Great Decade for Sci-Fi Shows
Though the Logan’s Run television series wasn’t successful, it was a mildly ambitious endeavor for the time. Science-fiction television series were a bit harder to come by back in the day, and a big part of this stemmed from the fact that they were difficult to produce. The difficulty of producing a science-fiction television series can be seen in Logan’s Run’s lack of quality. The special effects certainly don’t hold up today, and it’s arguable that they weren’t all that great for the time. This is another reason why many theorize that the television series didn’t last beyond it’s meager 14 episodes.
Beyond the technical problems, people also point to the Logan’s Run television series’ lack of plot and memorable lore when speculating why the show didn’t click with audiences. Other successful science-fiction series from around the same time, such as Battlestar Galactica, had deep backstories that drew audiences in and encouraged fans to obsess over small details. Meanwhile, the lore of Logan’s Run may have been enough to carry a film, but it proved decidedly thin when stretched out into a full television series. Though the writers of the Logan’s Run television series may have found their groove if more episodes of the show had been produced, the 14 episodes that were released didn’t explore any territory that the film didn’t.
Today, it’s remarkable that the television series adaptation of Logan’s Run is notable in any way whatsoever. The people working in the wardrobe department of the series likely had no idea that the skirt that they were continually forced to shorten was going to prove so iconic decades down the line. The shirt got shorter over the course of the show’s short run, and Heather Menzies also became increasingly scantily clad in other ways, For instance, the producers eventually decided that her character didn’t need a bra.
Heather Menzies Was More Than Just a Skirt
Following the failure of Logan’s Run, Heather Menzies could be seen acting in the B movie Piranha. The film was released in 1978, and remains most notable nowadays for being the directorial debut of Joe Dante. Joe Dante went on to direct the 1984 Christmas classic Gremlins. Prior to becoming known for the short skirt that she wore during Logan’s Run, Heather Menzies was best known to the public for being one of the von Trapp kids in The Sound of Music.
Heather Menzies was born in the late 1940s, and she got her first processional acting gig at the age of only 13. This gig came via the 1960s television series My Three Sons. Not long after, Heather was cast as one of the von Trapp kids in the film adaptation of The Sound of Music. Heather developed a close bond with lead actress Julie Andrews during the picture’s filming, and subsequently worked with Julie again on the picture Hawaii. After working with the established stage actress twice, Heather decided that she wanted to try out acting on the stage for herself.
Heather Menzies’ role as Louisa von Trapp in the film adaptation of The Sound of Music paved the way for her to debut on Broadway. At the age of 16, Heather appeared alongside actress Shirley Knight in the play We Have Always Lived in the Castle. As an adult, Heather would find the majority of her success on television. In addition to Logan’s Run, she also appeared alongside husband Robert Urich in a handful of his television series, including Vegas.
Heather Menzies’ Marriage and Later Life
Heather Menzies met Robert Urich while the two were filming a commercial together. They subsequently got married, and worked together professionally many times. The marriage lasted until Robert’s death from cancer. Many years later, Heather would die of cancer herself. Robert and Heather had several children, and one of those children grew up to become a doctor as a result of his father’s death. It wasn’t until son Ryan was already a doctor that his mother passed away, increasing the fatefulness of his profession.
Heather Menzies and Robert Urich were married for nearly three decades. In addition to working together on television, they also performed together on the stage to universal acclaim. The biggest play the two featured in was called The Hasty Heart, and Ronald Reagan allegedly loved the play when he and his wife attended a performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The late Heather Menzies undeniably deserves to be remembered for much more than the increasingly short skirt that she wore on the television series Logan’s Run. However, it’s also certainly understandable that it remains a popular topic!
Though the television series adaptation of the 1976 film Logan’s Run only lasted for 14 episodes, the increasingly short skirt that actress Heather Menzies wore on the program left such an impression on audiences that it’s still talked about to this day! Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Logan’s Run’s Heather Menzies was one of the von Trapp kids in The Sound of Music, and that she paid homage to that fact in a 1970s Playboy shoot? As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
