In the August 1977 issue of Skateboard World magazine, Pam Kenneally received a “New Faces” feature because she had been cast in the role of “Randi” for the upcoming movie Skateboard: The Movie (dir. George Gage, 1978), a kind of side-kick skateboarding girlfriend of Richard Van der Wyk, who played “Jason Maddox.”
It was noted in Skateboard World that “Pammie” had been in hundreds of commercials and acted in television shows, but “this was her first chance to skate in front of the camera.” Pam explained that, “I’ve skated before with the kids on my street, but I’d never done any real tricks like the handstands and wheelies I do in the movie.” She also shared that there were some tensions with other personalities on set but, “Ellen and I were like sisters. We were friends almost immediately. She really helped me refine my riding.” And that’s skateboard champ, Ellen Oneal who was in a lead role as “Jenny Bradshaw.”
Photo: Pam Kenneally as “Randi,” Craig Chaquico of Jefferson Starship as “Craig,” and Richard Van der Wyk as “Jason” in Skateboard: the Movie
In another article about the movie, from the July 1977 issue of Wild World of Skateboarding, it was explained that “From the ranks of Hollywood, the producers were able to sign teenage stars Leif Garrett and Pammie Kenneally to their fictional skateboard team, the L.A. Wheels. Leif and Pammie, aside from being accomplished in film and television, also demonstrated, to the luck of the producers (who had planning to use seconds or look-alikes for all the action footage), remarkable prowess on skateboards” (p. 64).
Based on the handstand photo and some of the film clips, it looks like Pam easily took to skateboarding. Her IMDB bio says that she was born in June 1961 in Los Angeles, and some of the series she acted in included “Adam-12” (1971), “The Sixth Sense” (1972), “The Bob Newhart Show” (1977), and “James at 16” (1978).
As far as I can tell, Pam’s acting career ended in the 1970s but hopefully she has some positive memories of her time as a skateboarding actress.
Photos: Barry Shapiro
Reference:
- Warren, Tiger. “Behind the scenes during the filming of the new feature-length flick ‘Skateboard.’” Wild World of Skateboarding (July 1977): 60-65.
- Shapiro, Barry. “New Faces: Pammie Kenneally.” Skateboard World (August 1977): 92.
Womxn Skateboard History 