Cloris Leachman to be Port Townsend Film Festival guest

Cloris Leachman, whose film work ranges from classic comic roles in Mel Brooks' movies to an Oscar-winning dramatic turn in Peter Bogdanovich's "The Last Picture Show" (not to mention TV stints on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Dancing with the Stars") will be the special guest at the Port Townsend Film Festival next month.

In the festival's centerpiece event, Leachman, now 83, will be interviewed onstage by Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies, after a screening of "The Last Picture Show." The festival will also showcase Leachman's comic side, with an outdoor screening of Brooks' "High Anxiety."

Now in its 10th year, the PTFF has previously hosted such guests as Tony Curtis, Eva Marie Saint, Patricia Neal, Elliott Gould and Debra Winger, among others. It also presents a variety of features, documentaries and short films from around the world. Among this year's events will be a tribute to longtime festival director Peter Simpson, who died earlier this year.

This year's festival adds an unprecedented fourth day to its length, running Thursday, Sept. 24, through Sunday, Sept. 27. Festival passes start at $125 and can be purchased by calling 360-379-1333 or through the festival Web site, www.ptfilmfest.com.

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com