Writer and producer Chris Carter says he gives very few lectures
on college campuses about his long-running television show, "The
X-Files." But an opportunity to look into the Mulder family roots
resulted in his scheduling a lecture at 7 p.m. tonight, April 23
at Montana State University's SUB Theatre.
Yes, the truth is out there. It seems that perhaps the deepest
secret about the complex Mulder family may not be the
long-running conspiracy, but rather that the enigmatic "X-Files"
character has roots in the Gallatin Valley.
Loyal "X-Files" fans may know that Fox Mulder, the brainy
protagonist played by David Duchovny, was named after Carter's
mother, the late Catherine Mulder Carter. (Scully was named for
longtime-Los Angeles Dodgers' baseball commentator Vin Scully -
no relation). But very few people know that Carter's mother was
born to a Dutch-American family in Manhattan, Mont.
"I've heard about Montana all my life," said Carter, the
originator, producer and chief writer of the deftly-written
television show about two rebellious young FBI agents who are
assigned the bureau's most unusual cases. Carter said
coincidentally, his father also lived and worked on a Montana
ranch for a time before landing in the Los Angeles area where he
met and married Carter's mom.
"I'm doing this one (MSU lecture) because I wanted to come to
Montana and I was asked by Shari (Mulder) McCoy, who is my
cousin," Carter said. McCoy is MSU's presidential administrative
assistant. Carter said he is also looking forward to visiting his
uncle, Norman Mulder, a retired Manhattan banker now living in
Bozeman who is McCoy's father.
According to McCoy, the Mulder family moved to the
Amsterdam-Manhattan area from Grand Rapids, Mich. Seven of their
nine children were born in the Gallatin Valley and after an
unsuccessful turn farming here, the Mulders moved to Southern
California to start a feed and grain business in Bellflower,
Calif. Norman Mulder was the only one of the nine children in the
family to return to the Gallatin Valley. While McCoy and Mulder
are Carter's closest area relatives, there are probably many
distant relatives still living in the Gallatin Valley's Dutch
community, McCoy said. She added that the California and Montana
Mulders have always been, and remain, close.
"We were the Montana cousins that always spent two weeks in
California every summer," McCoy said. She recalls large, happy
family gatherings and recalls that both of Carters parents were
very loving parents supportive of their sons' interests. Chris'
brother, Craig, is an endowed chair in physics at Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
The "X-Files" was a fresh but controversial show when it debuted
in 1993. With compelling and unpredictable writing, the series
quickly became a cult favorite generating millions of fans
throughout the world. Soon the offbeat series about two young,
renegade FBI agents found its way into the fabric of American
life and was the basis for an "X-Files" movie.
In 1997 Time Magazine named Carter one of "The 25 Most
Influential People in America." People Magazine voted Carter one
of its "Most Beautiful People of 1998." Carter is the subject of
the cover story of the March/April issue of "Emmy" magazine.
"X-Files" has received an Emmy, three Golden Globe Awards for
best television drama and the Peabody Award for Excellence in
Broadcasting.
Carter's latest offering is "The Lone Gunmen," an "X-Files"
offshoot featuring the computer geek characters often seen in
"X-Files." Carter and his Ten Thirteen Productions (named for his
birthday, 10/13) is under contract to do one more series for Fox.
Carter said his first visit to Montana, which may include a talk
with MSU film and television students, will be short. Much as he
would enjoy it, he said he will have no time to rent a snowboard
and head up to the mountains. A legendary surfing enthusiast,
Carter got his start freelancing and then signing on as a staff
writer and editor for "Surfing" magazine after he earned a
journalism degree from Long Beach State University in 1979. He
still brings a board with him to the "X-Files'" set most days.
Carter said he plans to give a few prepared remarks when he
lectures at MSU, then will open the lecture to questions from the
audience.
Carter's lecture, in the SUB Theatre, is a benefit for the
equipment fund of the MSU Department of Media and Theatre Arts.
Tickets will be $5 for students and $8 for non-students, and are
available solely at the door. For more information about Carter,
contact the MSU College of Arts and Architecture, 994-7414
Carol Schmidt
