Actress, model, and author Liane Langford passed away on July 14th, 2020. Despite being in poor health and undergoing surgeries within the last few years of her life, Liane kept her fighting spirit all along as well as her wonderful sense of humor. I learned of Liane’s passing from a mutual friend, author Joseph McCann. Joseph’s novel The Replican, was inspired by the imagery and characters from the mind of musician and composer Gary Numan, whom Liane was a huge admirer of. In fact, the topic of my last interview with Liane was on her planned project with Joseph.
After my first telephone interview with Liane, back in April 2012, I knew there would be more to follow. The time flew by as we talked. She was a dynamic, colorful lady with a fascinating past, just some of which she wrote of in her autobiographical and humorous book, My Life As Julia Roberts: Snapshots of a Life, so titled since she was often mistaken for Julia, especially when she wore large sunglasses. Some of Liane’s recollections in her book included a disastrous family Thanksgiving get-together, a Halloween costume prepared on short notice, and anecdotes about her mother, Toby, who, judging by Liane’s descriptions, was as colorful a character as Liane herself. The thought of them now reunited is one that brings a smile to my face. Thanks to Liane, I’ve never looked at Halloween or Thanksgiving the same as when I did before I met her.
Liane became a personal friend to myself and, of course, an Idol Features favorite, gracing these pages five times over the last several years. Her sparkling personality and wit are especially apparent in the audio interviews. I never had to worry about coaxing more detailed answers to my questions with Liane. You’d give her the ball, she’d run with it. Her photo shoots were equally priceless and Liane would often come up with the concepts. My personal favorite was her 2014 “Barbies on the Barbie” shoot she did in Florida with Mark Pernal.
While I was composing this sort of tribute article on Liane, I reached out to Joseph McCann and asked if he’d like to share some words here on what it was like knowing Liane. He gladly obliged:
On a personal level, I felt as if I’d known Liane Langford my whole life. I loved hearing her stories of how geeky she was as a teenager, listening to Kraftwerk, Bauhaus, and Gary Numan at full volume in her bedroom. Over time, there was a growing bond between us so I ordered the book she wrote; My Life as Julia Roberts. This gave me an even greater insight into Liane’s fascinating life growing up on the backlots of Universal Studios and A&M Records. In it I discovered that her grandmother, at age 18, became a wing walker for a flying circus. Liane oozed with that Hollywoood look. Soldiers at an airport were once laying down bets that she was actually Julia Roberts. Even when she flatteringly insisted to someone that she wasn’t, they’d still ask; “Are you sure?”
She went through an incredible amount of procedures which left her with so many metal parts that I used to call her “The Terminator.” This made her giggle before eventually she’d break out into her Arnie voice with “I’ll be back.” Liane was undoubtedly a legend in her own right, a very strong determined and opinionated woman. I can almost hear her now stamping her feet above us, not wanting us to focus on her loss.
Liane’s involvement with “The Replican” was truly admirable. As soon as she read the novel she instantly fell in love with it. She was my mentor, always there for me, guiding me in the right direction. She was so passionate and focused about taking both of my novels and adapting them into a TV series. Liane then became the driving force behind this project setting up a fantastic production team of Hilary Bercovici, Scott Engrotti, Stefano Milla, and Gary Numan’s original keyboard player Chris Payne. Chris then set about working on the soundtrack for “The Replican,” leaving Liane totally blown away by what she then heard. She rang me up sounding almost like that excited child she once was in her bedroom, swearing out loud and turning up the volume.
Liane picked her favorite line from the book “I’m not evil I’m just wired differently” and then began designing her marketing idea, a T-shirt. She asked me to give 50 of these T-shirts away to try and create the buzz over “The Replican” that she was looking for. She was thrilled when saw these T-Shirts appearing at every single meet n’ greet on Gary Numan’s last tour. All profits for these T-Shirts are going directly to the Soi Dog foundation, a charity close to Gary Numan’s heart and a great cause that she was very proud to be part of.
Liane then helped me design the book cover on the follow up novel “New Man, Becoming The Replican.” She was so excited about reading this novel, but sadly, she was holding out until August before starting it. It was such a shame that she never got to read it because there are several references to her throughout the book. The team behind this project are now even more determined to make this project happen, to become the TV series that she, like the rest of us, are so very passionate about. Towards the end of this year we will be producing a trailer that Liane would be immensely proud of. We will continue with her dream of taking this to screen and everything that we do, will be now be dedicated to her memory.
I was totally shocked and devastated by her loss, it was one of the saddest days of my life to hear of Liane’s passing, I am so honored and privileged to have known this remarkable woman. All of my thoughts are with her family and friends. I feel truly blessed to have been part of her life. Thank you Chris for allowing me to publicly pay my respects to this wonderful lady.
Joseph McCann
The following are links to the interviews I did with Liane over the last eight years.
About the author
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Chris flirted with the music business there and in Nashville before joining the U.S. Army and serving in South Korea. He remained in Asia for several years afterwards, teaching English, traveling, and covering the regional entertainment scenes. Currently in a mindset between Seoul and San Francisco, besides Idol Features, you can also catch his writings in the print edition of the monthly magazine, Effective.
I want to thank you for your kind words and remembrances of my beloved cousin Liane. Joe has been very lovely about sharing everyone’s efforts with me, which I then share with our family. We appreciate this more than you could possibly imagine. Thank you so very much. She was such an inspiring lady and is sorely missed.
S. Banfield
Thank you so much Chris for this amazing article. Liane and I met via Facebook back in 2017. I did an interview with her for Women in Horror month and she and I had an instant connection. We became close friends right away. She was such a bright and loving soul. She taught me so much. Thank you to Joe as well for his kind words. Liane was so excited about “The Replican.” She talked about this project almost every day with such passion. She was so loved. I miss her every day. Thank you again for this wonderful article <3