Entertainment
Mariska Hargitay Recalls Thinking Peter Hermann Was ‘Gonna Have Me Whacked’ When He Surprised Her with Her Mother’s Piano
NEED TO KNOW
- Mariska Hargitay revealed she thought Peter Hermann was “gonna have me whacked” when he was surprising her with her late mother Jayne Mansfield’s grand piano for her 60th birthday last year
- The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit actress recalled feeling “scared” when Hermann was being secretive in the lead-up to the surprise
- Hargitay called the surprise “magnificent” during a Q&A at the HamptonsFilm’s SummerDocs series on Thursday, July 17
Mariska Hargitay is reflecting on the dramatic way Peter Hermann surprised her with her late mother Jayne Mansfield’s grand piano last year for her 60th birthday.
Retelling the sweet story during a Q&A at a special screening of her documentary, My Mom Jayne, at the HamptonsFilm’s SummerDocs series on Thursday, July 17, Hargitay said the way Hermann, her husband of more than 20 years, handled the piano reveal made her think the worst.
It was her first day filming for the documentary in Los Angeles when Hermann called her and told her, “There’s an Uber outside. I need you to get in the car.” When she gave pushback, she recalled him saying, “I need you to listen to me. Do as I say and get in the car. It’s an Uber.”
“I get in the car, and I’m so mad,” she recalled.
Hargitay said while she began checking the locations of Hermann and their three children, all of which were turned off.
“So now I’m starting to get scared,” she said of how she felt at the time.
Hargitay said the car took her down the 405 freeway in Los Angeles, making her think she was headed to Los Angeles International Airport.
After passing that landmark, they took another freeway and started heading into an area Hargitay wasn’t familiar with — and that’s when she began to think the worst.
“I’m sure that my husband’s gonna have me whacked,” she remembered thinking, to which the audience erupted in laughter. “I’m so scared. I was like, ‘I did nothing but be a perfect wife!'”
Hargitay eventually arrived at a warehouse where she saw her family and co-producer on My Mom Jayne, Trish Adlesic, as well as cameramen there to capture her reaction when Hermann revealed Mansfield’s piano for the documentary.
The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit actress said being gifted this item that had belonged to her late mother, who died in 1967 when Hargitay was just 3 years old.
“There’s no words,” she said of what Hermann’s gesture meant to her. “It was so magnificent. It was one of the best things in my life.”
“It was a reclamation,” she added. “It was everything that I wanted — and it was a surprise, so it was extraordinary.”
Despite the dramatic way Hermann gifted her the grand piano, Hargitay admitted that “it’s a great story.”
“It’s still like a dream come true,” she said. “It’s magic.”
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My Mom Jayne is streaming on HBO Max.
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