His voice sounds hoarse and weary. It`s no wonder. He has been up all night, being torched by angry villagers.
It`s all in a day`s work for Robert Englund, a.k.a. Freddy Krueger of ”A Nightmare on Elm Street” fame. He`s toiling on the syndicated ”Freddy`s Nightmares” TV series, which is shown on WPWR-Ch. 50 at 8 p.m. Friday and 11 p.m. Saturday.
”The first episode was kind of a prequel to the movies,” Englund says.
”It gave a little more of the background story about Freddy being released by the court and vigilantes burning him to a crisp. It`s directed by Tobe Hooper (”Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” ”Poltergeist”).”
Englund himself will direct a couple of episodes, and he`ll serve as
”creative consultant” on the first 22. He`ll also be seen as Freddy, the walking Cuisinart, in many of the stories.
There seems to be no end to Freddy`s popularity. Just when you think it`s safe to sleep, he pops up in another sequel, invading the dreams of adolescents and turning them into teen tartare.
In each outing-there`ve been four to date-Englund has been able to add a bit more of Freddy`s wisecracking personality. ”I`m freeing him up in terms of his relish, his enjoyment of sweet, sweet, brutal revenge.”
Englund has played the part with enough relish to turn Freddy into a phenomenon. Dorm walls are covered with posters of this creature with a razor- tipped glove and a face only a mother demon could love.
”It`s not so much that people idolize Freddy, although there is a certain punk sensibility, liking Freddy, because he`s an anarchist, out there trashing the white, Anglo-Saxon, middle-class that inhabits Elm Street.
”Another factor in Freddy`s popularity is audience anticipation. They love to watch Freddy manipulating his potential victims, using their fantasies and tragic flaws to abuse them. It`s fun, like watching Ralph Kramden on `The Honeymooners,` anticipating when he`s going to yell at Alice.”
Sure, Kramden is light years removed from Krueger, but not as far removed as the roles that Englund first tackled. When he was 12, his parents enrolled him in a children`s theater program.
His professional credits include 40 TV guest shots, 30 movies and 2 TV series, including ”V,” in which he portrayed Willie, the kindly alien.
That part won him a cult following, but nothing compared to the legions who enjoy Freddy`s exploits. Englund`s career is going off on profitable tangents. He recently teamed up with The Fat Boys to record a rap tribute to Freddy. And he`s awaiting the release of his first directorial effort, ”976- EVIL,” due this fall.
As to Englund`s own nightmares, he says, ”I wish I could say I have fabulous, ornate, Fellini-esque nightmares, but I don`t. My dreams are banal. My nightmares are usually about what I missed on my shopping list, that extra roll of toilet paper I forgot to buy.”
In or out of dreams, mild-mannered Englund couldn`t be more unlike Freddy. But sometimes a bit of Freddy can come in handy. ”I`ll slip into the voice with a rude cab driver or salesman. But I have to be careful, because I`ve scared some people pretty bad.
