PORT TOWNSEND — Actress Piper Laurie, winner of the Golden Globe and Emmy awards — and thrice-nominated for an Oscar — will be the mystery guest for the ninth annual Port Townsend Film Festival.
Only three people guessed the guest’s identity in an online contest for the Sept. 26-28 festival, said Peter Simpson, the festival’s artistic director.
A winner will be randomly drawn from those three names, and announced later this week, he said.
The winner will have the opportunity to meet the actress during the festival.
Laurie, 76, joins the list of Hollywood stars who have appeared at the festival that celebrates great films and filmmakers.
Previous guests have included — in order of appearance — Tony Curtis, Eva Marie Saint, Patricia Neal, Shirley Knight, Peter Fonda, Jane Powell and Dickie Moore, Debra Winger and Arliss Howard, Malcolm McDowell and Elliott Gould.
Laurie is a replacement for the original star — believed to be Cloris Leachman — who backed out of the festival because of a new television series.
This year’s “Guess the Guest” contest offered only two clues to the celebrity’s identity, rather than the usual three. The contest, which began in June, was truncated because of the switch.
