In 2006, Valerie Perrine met Stacey Souther, a Georgia native who came out to Hollywood looking to act. The two became close friends, and as Perrine’s health deteriorated, Souther became her de facto caretaker (with some professional help). For years, he’s driven her to doctors’ appointments, kept her fed, entertained her at home, and works odd jobs to help support Perrine, who was left financially strapped after the 1980s (a GoFundMe started by Souther raises money to cover Perrine’s Parkinson’s-related expenses).
Perrine and Souther have always maintained theirs is an intimate but platonic friendship. Souther takes no money for caring for her. “Valerie inspired me,” he told Parkinson’s Life. When Perrine went in for deep brain stimulation, Souther considered it a “once-in-a-lifetime event” and filmed the whole thing. That footage became the kernel of “Valerie,” a documentary short on Perrine’s life Souther produced and directed. The film covers Perrine’s life and impact on pop culture. It made it into several film festivals and picked up several awards, including the Youth Jury Award Best Documentary Short at the Rhode Island International Film Festival and Best Short American Documentary at the American Documentary and Animation Film Festival.
The awards must have been a nice bonus, but they weren’t a factor in making the film in the first place. “This film is a love letter to [Perrine],” Souther told Parkinson’s Life of the film. “I didn’t want her to be forgotten. I wanted her life and legacy to be celebrated and shared with the world.”
