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Page Three
( and those secondary pages ) You Asked for It. . .
and now, so many years later. . .
Let's Do Lunch
1943s The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
with three-times the lady - Deborah Kerr ______ Those ___________
H O L L Y W O O D recollections ~ flashbacks and backdrafts WHAZUP! Have Questions? Or you think you have an Answer?
The Deborah Kerr Fellowship Foundation - A Museum for the Performing Arts
Est., in Brooklyn, New York 1956
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Sense & Sensuality
The Lady Stays in the Cinemas !How Deborah Kerr learned to play the Hollywood game. " Being myself and down to earth, most of the time, and behaving natural and decent was simply all that was to it . . . so, I suppose . . . " ---- Deborah KerrThe movie that received the most OSCAR nominations in 1953 was FROM HERE TO ETERNITY, starring Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed, all of whom were nominated for an Academy Award, with "From Here to Eternity" as best picture - Fred Zinnemann as best director - Sinatra and Reed as best supporting actor winners.Van Johnson said, " Hollywood went for Grace Kelly in rebellion against a broadside of broads. "Still, Grace had yet to prove herself as a refined femme fatale on the screen. A few stolen kisses in MOGAMBO were mild compared to Deborah Kerr's torrid beach scenes with Burt Lancaster in From Here to Eternity and Elizabeth Taylor's "tell mama all" kiss from Montgomery Clift in A PLACE IN THE SUN ( 1951 ) .* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Actress Deborah Kerr, originally Deborah Jane Kerr-Trimmer. She moved to Hollywood in the middle to late 40s, and invariably played well bred ladies, governesses and nuns. In 1953 she took a gamble and starred with the late Burt Lancaster in " From Here to Eternity ". Throughout her career she was nominated six times for Academy Awards.'The camera,' Deborah Kerr once admitted, 'always seemed to find an innate gentility in me.' Hollywood marked her down as one of its good, sane ladies, one of the few of its citizens who could wear a tiara with ease or hobnob with the diplomatic set. In industry thgeory and practice, only a very select band of actresses was considered for all the 'class' parts. In the 50s Deborah was offered all the ladies of breeding that might in former days have gone to Irene Dunn, Bergman or Myrna Loy ~ or to Garbo or hepburn or Bette Davis. there are little bits of all these ladies within her, but she is somewhat less colourful than any of them: less flamboyant, obviously, than Hepburn or davis, less melancholy than Garbo, less light-hearted than Dunne; not as radiant as Bergman in love, not as clear-sighted as Loy. Discretion is the keynote of her work.In the event, she was only twice the chateelaine on screen, though you felt it was 'There but for the grace of God . . .', as she played somewhat deprived relatives ~ widows, spinsters, governesses, nuns. She might have been unlucky, but she was seldom neurotic. She was deceptively robust; her voice might choke with dry tears but she had no time for self-pity; brisk and British, she would never mope in a corner. Maybe she was lucky, in the 5os, in having this field virtually to herself, but it was and remains a very likeable talent; and has been acknowledged as such by six Oscar nominations~ more than any other artist of those yet to win one, an omission compensated for by three Best Actress awards from the New york critics (for Black Narcissus and I See a Dark Stranger in 1947, "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison" in 1957, and The S u n d o w n e r s in 1960).She was born in 1921 in Helensburgh, Scotland, and trained for the stage by an aunt who ran a drama school in Bristol. She intended to become a dancer, and made her stage debut among the corps-de-ballet in 'Prometheus' at Sadler's Wellsin 1938; but changed her mind and turned to acting. she walked-on at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park during the 1939 season and then joined Oxford rep; her agent got her a bit, as a cigarette-girl, in Contraband (1940) but it was left on the cutting-room floor. Later, Gabriel Pascal auditioned her for the role of the frail but forceful SA girl, Jenny Hill, in Major Barbara (1941), and signed her to a long-term contract. Her performance in that film led to two co-starring roles at British National, both with Clifford evans: Love on the Dole, a creaky if well-meant piece about the Industrial North, and Penn of Pennsylvania, a damp piece intended to dolidify Anglo-American relations. When Margaret Lockwood became pregnant Deborah replaced her as Robert Newton's ill-used daughter in Hatter's Castle; then she was the Norwegian skipper's daughter in The Day Will dawn (1942), opposite Ralph Richardson.Powell and Pressburger, who had cut her out of Contraband, signed her to play the three women in the life of Roger Livesey, in their chronicle of British mores over half a century, The Life and death of Colonel Blimp (1943) - a triple performance, thought Dilys Powell, of 'vivacity and discretion'. The film was both on important one and successful; and it made Deborah Kerr a star. On the stage she played Ellie Dunn in ' Heartbreak House '; then Korda - at that time head of MGM-British - signed her to co-star with Robert Donat in Perfect Strangers (45), a beguiling comedy about a dowdy shmoeish couple who blossom out while on active service. Partly as a result of that film's success in the US, MGM bought half of Deborah's contract from Pascal. She meanwhile was touring in 'Gaslight' for ENSA, during which she met and married Battle of Britain here Anthony Bartley. MGM then decided to buy the rest of her contract, for a reputed total of $ 250,000. Her new deal with them was for seven years, fifty-two weeks a year, no options, with a guarantee of YUIOP{T a week; a clause was inserted to the effect that she would not be required in Hollywood till her husband was free of the RAF.
In fact, MGM lost interest. They had signed her partly to prevent another studio from getting her to rival their own Greer Garson, and, as Garson was still going great guns, had no great use for her. She was loaned to Launder and Gilliatt to play an Irish girl in an enjoyable thriller with Trevor Howard, I See a Dark Stranger (46); and to Powell and Pressburger to play another colleen, now a nun, in Black Narcissus (47), a melodrama set in a convent in the himalayas - its excesses redeemed by the colour photography and Deborah's 'quietly magnificent authority'. metro finally sent for her to play Clark gable's love interest, an English widow, in The Hucksters; then they cast her in a yesteryear weepie, If Winter Comes, finding last-reel happiness with Walter Pidgeon. The New York Critics' award at this time cheered them, and they gave her a good role in Edward My Son (49), filmed in Britain, as the genteel wife of tycoon Spencer Tracy, whose foibles drive her to drink. She became a much-courted heiress in Please Believe Me (50) - by Robert Walker, Mark Stevens and Peter Lawford.
Her anodyne presence hardly suggested to MGM that she was the successor to Greer Garson that they were now seeking, and she was cast in a series of adventure movies of variable quality, required mainly to smile winsomely at the leading man: Stewart Granger in King Solomon's Mines; Alan Ladd in Thunder in the East at Paramount, as a blind girl (made in 1951, released in 1953); Robert Taylor in Quo Vadis? (51); Granger again in The Prisoner of Zenda (52). She did play with something like her old verve in a comedy with Cary Grant, Dream Wife (53) but few people went to see it. She was unhappy about these insipid parts and realized that her career was dead if she didn't reverse the trend. The last straw was Young Bess, originally announced as her first Hollywood vehicle: the title-role now went to Jean Simmons, and she supported her, as Catherine Parr. Along with Garson, she graciously did a bit in Julius Caesar (as the wife of Brutus), and then asked MGM whether her contract could be emended so that she could free-lance between assignents for them. They weren't averse. Not one of her Hollywood roles had had any meat - and then suddenly a very juicy part was available, the embittered and nympho wife in From Here to Eternity. She begged Columbia to be allowed to test for it; the off-beat casting appealed to their publicity set-up, and anyway it was a question of expediency (Joan Crawford had nixed the part at the last minute because she didn't like the costumes). She got excellent notices, the film was a hit, and it killed overnight the image of MGM's Deborah Kerr.
For the first time since she arrived in the US she was inundated with offers, but she had already signed for a Broadway play, Robert Anderson's 'Tea and Sympathy', playing the teacher's wife who seduces one of his pupils (John Kerr) to prove to him he isn't queer. She was released from its long run to play yet another unfaithful wife, in the hash made from Graham Greene's The End of the Affair (55), with Van Johnson; and was then a nurse seduced by William Holden ('My pleasures are physical . . . the men call me the Beast') in a war melo, The Proud and the Profane (56). The plum part of the indomitable governess in The King and I then fell into her lap, and those who had seen the late Gertrude Lawrence create the part on Broadway didn't feel too cheated (though Deborah's singing voice was part-dubbed). It was the best of the several stage-bound musical which appeared at that time, and with a 1/2 million gross one of the most successful musicals yet made. The screen version of Tea and Sympathy retained both Kerrs but had been bowdlerized and was very silly.
She next did one of her favourite films, Heaven Knows Mr. Allison (57), John Huston's revamping of his own The African Queen - another unlikely couple in the jungle, this time a nun and a rough diamond (Robert Mitchum) shipwrecked on a desert island. It gained immeasurably from their performances. She was at the peak of her career, heavily in demand - but the next batch weren't very good: An Affair to Remember, a remake of Love Affair, with Cary Grant; Bonjour Tristesse (58), Preminger's heavy version of Francoise Sagan's first, best-selling novel, as a widow engaged to the philandering David Niven; Separate Tables, again with Niven, as the spinster crushed by mother Gladys Cooper, and as good in the rol;e as Margaret Leighton had been in the stage; The Journey (59) with Yul Brynnmer, as a British milady; Count Your Blessings, a comedy, discovering that husband Rossano Brazzi is unfaithful; and Beloved Infidel, a banal film version of the book by Sheilah Graham (Kerr) about her affair with Scott Fitzgerald (Gregory Peck). In 1959 she and Bartley were divorced; he sued Peter Viertel (one of the writers of The Journey) for alleged enticement. She and Viertel were married the following year.
More than anything, Deborah needed a good film, and she got it with The Sundowners (60), a gentle study of Australian homesteaders, with Bob Mitchum. Although directed by Fred Zinnemann it didn't get much critical attention, but the public took to it and it was a particularly big hit in Britain (as well as Australia). With Mitchum and with Cary Grant again she did a weak comedy, The Grass is Greener - that was when she was the lady of the manor - and then she was Gary Cooper's British wife in a thriller, The Naked Edge (61). Then a brace of spinster governesses, where her tentatively declamatory acting style was singularly effective: The Innocents (62), Jack Clayton's impressive version of Henry James's 'The Turn of the Screw,' and The Chalk Garden (64), a very poor version of Enid Bagnold's very good West End play. Deborah was again a spinster, a dabling paintress, in John Huston's fine film version of Tennessee Williams's The Night of the Iguana, and was particularly touching, as willing and as eager as she ever was; her co-stars were Richard Burton and Ava Gardner, paid 500,000 and 400,000 respectively, as against her 250,000.
Unofficially, she retired - but Frank Sinatra insisted on her for his wife in Marriage on the Rocks (65), her first Hollywood-made film in six years ( she lives in Switzerland ). It was a pity she was persuaded; she got the first really bad notices of her career - an embarrassingly skittish performance, all mock - Lombard. Then David Niven talked her into doing Eye of the Devil, which had almost been completed when Kim Novak had an accident and a replacement was needed; she told interviewers she was glad to be working again - probably the only good thing about that benighted ( in both senses ) film. It got a few bookings in the US in 1967, was shoved into Britain in 1968 as a second feature. She decided to go on working, but took Casino Royale (67), she said, because nothing better was offered; and was very surprised when the critics lammed into everything about the film except her and most strongly agreed that she could play comedy after all. They liked her in another comedy - but not the film itself, Prudence and the Pill (68), with Niven again, as his unfaithful wife; then she had thin roles in two Hollywood films, The Gypsy Moths (69), being unfaithful with Burt Lancaster this time ( for the second time in her career ), and The Arrangement (69) where Kirk Douglas was unfaithful to her.
In an interview in 1971 she said that she was no longer being offered movie roles - or at least any she carred to do. There was talk in 1972 of a version of Irish Murdoch's A Fairly Honourable Defeat, but instead she returned to the West End in 'The Day After the Fair,' which she also did in the United States.
She was later announced for the role in An Eagle Has Landed that Jean Marsh did; and has restricted herself to stage work: 'Seascape' by Edward Albee in New York in 1975, and 'Souvenir' by her husband and George Axelrod in Los angeles - both of them quick flops; and two revivals, 'Candida' in London in 1977, and 'The Last of Mrs. Cheyney' on tour in the United States.
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Harrison Ford and Julia Roberts
earn million and more per making
of a motion picture. . . .
But who was the first actor to break the million-dollar barrier ?
The late William Holden was the first Hollywood star to cross that lofty threshhold, earning $1 million in 1957 for The Bridge on the River Kwai. The first actress was Elizabeth Taylor, who collected a cool million for her 1963 star turn in C l e o p a t r a.
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1977, the then President Jimmy Carter with his wife Rosalynn and daughter Amy head down Pennsylvania Avenue on January 20th; behind them are the Carter sons and daughters-in-law. The new First Lady decided to walk from the Capitol steps, where the President was sworn in, to the White House.
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Arlene Dahl, tripped from behind by a blind woman's suddenly extended cane, hit the 58th & Fifth sidewalk on her hip. Taken to Emergency, she was operated on for a broken femur . . . .
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The ranks of those who purchase Florida orange juice were depleted during the year, as leaders of the homosexual community began a campaign to persuade Americans to boycott the juice. their reason: Singer Anita Bryant, paid ,000 a year by the florida Citrus commission to promote its products, spearheaded a drive that in June, 1977, brought about the repeal of a Dade County, Florida, ordinance forbidding discrimination against homosexuals in housing, employment, and public accommodations. Angry gays organized and immediately began to agitate to get the citrus commission to drop her. The commission seemed half persuaded, but then decided to renew her contract. Ms. Bryant, meanwhile, was named woman of the year by the readers of Good Housekeeping Magazine
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Our Readers
Write Us
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please feel free to contact me. Edmund W. Hiller
Down From The Attic
Post Office Box 10242
Albany, New York 12201 Nancy Reagan welcomes a Dutchess to family . . . . . . . Entertainer Merv Griffin gave former First Lady Nancy Reagan a Shar-Pei puppy she named Duchess in honor of her late husband, former President Ronald Reagan. "It's keeping her busy," Reagan chief-of-staff Joanne Drake said Monday. Griffin gave the puppy to Mrs. Reagan for her 83rd birthday on July 6th. The former talk show host shares a birthday with her - Griffin turned 79.
Mrs. Reagan immediately named the 4-month-old puppy Dutchess in honor of her husband, whose nickname was Dutch. Reagan was 93 when he died June 5th. Mrs. Reagan is scheduled to participate in a July 23rd ceremony for the USS Ronald Reagan, the nation's newest nuclear aircraft carrier, when it arrives at its San Diego, California home port. It will be Mrs. Reagan's first public appearance since her husband's burial June 11th. TIMES UNION - Tuesday, July 13th, 2004 ***** Another side of the Duchess ....... OHHH, I have something juicy to tell you. Ohhh, so good, so tasty that I want to kiss myself all over just for the fact that I my very own self learned this and can spill this before anyone else hears this. Now, you won't believe it, I don't believe it, but believe it ...
Kiddies, mother is telling you that you may soon see Fergie, the longtime Duchess of York, the onetime daugter-in-law of Queen Elizabeth - naked. Nude. Not that Her Majesty's naked, Sarah Ferguson is. All of mankind will be able to gaze upon the wondrous weight Watcher's waist - and other of her assorted parts. Her ex-Highness is dressed only in Cartier jewels and Jimmy Choo spikes.
It's in a book. The title is "Four Inches." That's the hight of the stilettos. We're talking a bunch of beauteous naked ladies. Like Rebecca Romijn-Stamos. Like Lara Flynn Boyle. Like model Rachel Hunter. Like Kate Moss, who's so skinny she probably only takes half a page. Fifteen women from the world over. Facing front. Staring out. All turned to granite wearing solely big gems and high heels.
Proceeds of this book, every penny, every farthing, goes to the Elton John AIDS foundation. And all the ladies were photographed by female photographers. And the whole deal reminds me of last year's movie "Calendar Girls," where Helen Mirren and a passel of females strip for photos to raise funds for charity. The book was the brainchild of England's very creative Tamara Mellon , the stunning thirtysomething owner and founder of Jimmy Choo shoes. Anyone know how Jimmy Choo came to be? He himself is a real, live little old Malaysian shoemaker in London who, in days of yore, might make one pair of handmade shoes a week. She, with Vogue magazine, needed some sharp footwear for a shot. She went to him. He made them. It worked. He had a photo credit. She replicated this. Over and over. He became famous. She dredged up yet another idea. Institutionalize this famous name. Thus, Jimmy Choo Shoes were born. Mr. Choo himself, now a very rich little old Malaysian shoemaker, still prefers his simple one-pair-of-handmade-shoes-a-week life and Tamara Mellon today owns the internationally famous Jimmy Choo company.
Somebody suggested the book include Paris Hilton. Somebody else suggested they don't include Paris Hilton because, they purred, most everyone's already seen her all togethers altogether. Anyway, the book, being published by London-based Scriptum Editions, comes out in the spring. And not only didn't these famous names get anything special for their efforts, but the Duchess didn't even keep the shoes. by: Cindy Adams NEW YORK POST - Friday, October 15th, 2004 *****
Q1 : The 1961 movie " SPLENDOR IN THE GRASS " took place in Kansas. I have often wondered where it was filmed.
Q2 : I have been trying to remember - with no luck, please help - how many children screen legend Rita Hayworth had ?
Q3 : What did movie great Gary Cooper do before he became a star ? Q4 : According to a biography of Jackie Gleason, he starred as Chester A. Riley on the tevee show "The Life of Riley." William Bendix played that role. Is there something we're missing here ? Q5 : Chanel No. 5 - why number 5 ? Was there ever a number 1 through 4 ? Q6 : Where did the phrase "Praise the Lord and keep your powder dry" originate ? Q7 : When was the New Year first celebrated ? Q8 : What was the cause of death of Michael Jetter, who was so good as the condemned prisoner in The Green Mile ? Q9 : I was wondering, with the passing of John Ritter recently, How his dad Tex Ritter died .
Q10 : Celine Dion was supposed to get a star on the Hollywood walk of fame in March,2003, but it was posponed due to the war in Iraq. Will it be rescheduled ?
Q11 : How is Roy Horn of Siegfried & Roy doing since being mauled by one of his tigers on October 3rd, 2003 ? That was Roy's bithday. Could he have been drinking ?
Q12 : I heard Joel Grey say he was among a handful of actors to win a Tony ans an Oscar for the same role on stage and big screen. Who are the others ?
Q13 : What can you tell me about Redmond O'Neal, the troubled son of Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O'Neal ? Q14 : I was a fan of Pier Angeli, who was only 39 when she died of a drug overdose in 1971. Why did she commit suicide ? Q15 : Who provided the voice of Snow White in the 1937 Walt Disney movie " Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs " ? Q16 : For many years, celebrities have placed the impression of their hands and feet in cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. What kind of theater is it, and when did it start ? Q17 : The release of the new CD Dino: The essential Dean Martin got me wondering: Is Dean's wife Jeannie still alive? And what do his children remember most about him? Q18 : Being a Howard Keel fan. I'd like an update: How is his health, where does he live, and does he still sing? Q19 : I've always been a big fan of '40s leading man Van Johnson. What is he doing now ? Q20 : Was the original Howdy Doody replaced by a different puppet ? Q21 : What has British rocker George Michael been up to since his arrest for lewd behavior in a public bathroom ? Q22 : Whatever became of actor John Kerr, best known for playing the sensitive student in the 1956 movie TEA AND SYMPATHY and Lieutenant Cable in 1958s SOUTH PACIFIC ? Q23 : I have a bet going. I say Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis are married. My friend says she's just his girlfriend. Who's right? Q24 : The wife of actor Vincent Price was supposedly in the movie " Aunty Mame. " Who was she? Q25 : When John F. Kennedy was president, his favorite chair was a wooden rocker. Where is it today? Q26 : I was a long-time fan of TV's "Murder, She Wrote," with Angela Lansbury. Lansbury played the role of Jessica Fletcher, a widow who gained fame as a mystery novelist after the death of her husband. The show takes place in Cabot Cove, Main. Is there really such a place? Q27 : Merv Griffin gave Nancy Reagan one of those Chinese wrinle dogs. Why that breed? Q28 : How many spices in ALLSPICE ? Q29 : Whatever became of child star Bobby Driscol, who played Johnny in 1946s SONG OF THE SOUTH ? Q30 : I heard that Robin Williams, Nicolas Cage and Steve Martin all wanted to play Willy Wonka when CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is remade. Which one will get the role ? Q31 : When Kirsten Dunst and Jake Gyllenhaal broke up, who got their dog ? Q32 : Now that Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt have gone their separate ways, who'll get their million Beverly Hills Mansion ? Q33 : Saw the 1957 motion picture TWELVE ANGRY MEN. How many of its stars are still alive ? Q34 : As First Lady, Hillary Clinton received two horses from the children of Iceland for the children of America. What has happened to them ? Q35 : How has the recent death of Doris Day's son, record producer Terry Melcher, affected her ? Q36 : Any chance that Hugh Jackman will do a film version of THE BOY FROM OZ, his Broadway hit about Peter Allen ? Q37 : What's happened to Debra Paget, one of the most exotic film stars of the 1950s ? Q38 : Is Adam Brody, one of the cute stars of Fox's THE O.C., related to Academy Award-winning actor Adrien Brody ? Q39 : How is Ronald Reagan's first wife, Jane Wyman, these days ? Q40 : I understand that director Blake Edwards ( "The Pink Panther" ) is celebrating his 43rd year as a recovering alcoholic. What got him to stop drinking? -- Joanne Blackman, Miami, Fla. Q41 : Jerry Bruckheimer is famous as a hands-on producer. How much influence did he have over Johnny Depp's zany performance in "Pirates of the Caribbean" Q42 : Q43 : Q44 : Q45 : Q17 : The release of the new CD Dino: The essential Dean Martin got me wondering: Is Dean's wife Jeannie still alive? And what do his children remember most about him? Q18 : Being a Howard Keel fan. I'd like an update: How is his health, where does he live, and does he still sing? Q19 : I've always been a big fan of '40s leading man Van Johnson. What is he doing now ? Q20 : Was the original Howdy Doody replaced by a different puppet ? Q21 : What has British rocker George Michael been up to since his arrest for lewd behavior in a public bathroom ? Q22 : Whatever became of actor John Kerr, best known for playing the sensitive student in the 1956 movie TEA AND SYMPATHY and Lieutenant Cable in 1958s SOUTH PACIFIC ? Q23 : I have a bet going. I say Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis are married. My friend says she's just his girlfriend. Who's right? Q24 : The wife of actor Vincent Price was supposedly in the movie " Aunty Mame. " Who was she? Q25 : When John F. Kennedy was president, his favorite chair was a wooden rocker. Where is it today? Q26 : I was a long-time fan of TV's "Murder, She Wrote," with Angela Lansbury. Lansbury played the role of Jessica Fletcher, a widow who gained fame as a mystery novelist after the death of her husband. The show takes place in Cabot Cove, Main. Is there really such a place? Q27 : Merv Griffin gave Nancy Reagan one of those Chinese wrinle dogs. Why that breed? Q28 : How many spices in ALLSPICE ? Q29 : Whatever became of child star Bobby Driscol, who played Johnny in 1946s SONG OF THE SOUTH ? Q30 : I heard that Robin Williams, Nicolas Cage and Steve Martin all wanted to play Willy Wonka when CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is remade. Which one will get the role ? Q31 : When Kirsten Dunst and Jake Gyllenhaal broke up, who got their dog ? Q32 : Now that Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt have gone their separate ways, who'll get their million Beverly Hills Mansion ? Q33 : Saw the 1957 motion picture TWELVE ANGRY MEN. How many of its stars are still alive ? Q34 : As First Lady, Hillary Clinton received two horses from the children of Iceland for the children of America. What has happened to them ? Q35 : How has the recent death of Doris Day's son, record producer Terry Melcher, affected her ? Q36 : Any chance that Hugh Jackman will do a film version of THE BOY FROM OZ, his Broadway hit about Peter Allen ? Q37 : What's happened to Debra Paget, one of the most exotic film stars of the 1950s ? Q38 : Is Adam Brody, one of the cute stars of Fox's THE O.C., related to Academy Award-winning actor Adrien Brody ? Q39 : How is Ronald Reagan's first wife, Jane Wyman, these days ? Q40 : I understand that director Blake Edwards ( "The Pink Panther" ) is celebrating his 43rd year as a recovering alcoholic. What got him to stop drinking? -- Joanne Blackman, Miami, Fla. Q41 : Jerry Bruckheimer is famous as a hands-on producer. How much influence did he have over Johnny Depp's zany performance in Pirates of the Caribbean? Q42 : Q43 : Q44 : Q45 :
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TM Photo from the Hugh Miles-Hutchinsen Collection c2003 All Rights Retained Hereto
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A1 : The film, which was directed by Elia Kazan and starred Natalie Wood and Warren Beaty, was shot in Staten Island, New York. A2 : Rita Hayworth, who died of complications from Alzheimer's disease in 1987 at age 68, had two daughters: Rebecca Wells, with her second husband, the late Orsen Wells, and Princess Yasmin, with her third husband, Prince Aly Khan, a Persian-Italian playboy who died in a car crash in 1960. Rebecca is now 57; Yasmin is 53 and raises funds for Alzheimer's research. A3 : Frank James Cooper ( 1901 - 1961 ) grew up on a sprawling Montana ranch, where he became an expert horsman. After college he worked as a newspaper political cartoonist. Not finding ranch work very romantic or cartooning financially rewarding, he decided to find a new career.
It was the ranch skills that he was able to parlay into a Hollywood job as a stuntman. Still not content, he hired an agent and changed his first name to Gary and was signed by Paramount. Before long, the handsom and rangy actor became a leading man. A4 : There is - about four years. "The Life of Riley" started out on radio in 1944 with William Bendix playing the lead role. In 1949, the show was brought to television starring Jackie Gleason.
Though the show won an Emmy, it was dropped after 26 weeks. In 1953, the program returned to television with a whole new cast, this time starring William Bendix. That version lasted five years. A5 : Designer Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel ( 1883 - 1971 ) introduced her first perfume in 1921 and gave it the name Chanel No. 5. According to the company, she considered "5" to be her lucky number. She introduced it on May 5th, the fifth day of the fifth month. A6 : I don't know. However, just before the Battle of Edgehill in 1642, Oliver Cromwell of England told his troops, "Put your trust in God, but keep your powder dry." A7 : Many historians say that New Year's is one of the oldest - if not the oldest - of celebrations. It is believed that the ancient Babylonians began celebrating the new year about 4,000 years ago. They didn't have a written calendar; their celebration began at the time of the spring equinox ( what is now the end of March ). Springtime meant new crops were planted, the beginning of new growth and the revitalization of the dead into the living - the same meaning that the new year holds for people today. A8 : Jeter had been living with AIDS since 1995. He apparently had an epileptic seizure and suffocated on March 30th, 2003 in his Hollywood home at age 50. The coroner's report lists cardiovascular disease and hypertension as contributing factors. At his memorial service, Jeter was eulogized by his fellow actors including Robin Williams, Tom Hanks and Kevin Costner.
A9 : Singing cowboy Tex Rritter - perhaps best known for the haunting Oscar-winning theme "Do Not Forsake Me," from the 1952 classic HIGH NOON - died of a heart attack in 1947 at age 67. His widow, 1930s Western heroine Dorothy Fay, died at 88 last November - two months after her son, John. Incidentally, Tex was one of the six original inductees into the Country Music Hall of fame.
A10 : Yes. Her star will be installed this Tuesday - January 6th, 2004. Dion, 35, who has sold 150 million albums worldwide, will jet in for the occasion from Las Vegas, where her Caesars Palace musical extravaganza continues to play to packed houses despite lukewarm reviws. Her star will be in front of the Kodak Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.
A11 : " The birthday party was the previous night, and Roy would never drink before a show, " says spokesman David Kirvin. Roy, 59, has been recovering at UCLA edical Center. siegfried Fischbacher, 64, says his partner communicates via hand signals and writing.
A12 : Grey, 71, who won a 1967 Tony and a 1972 Oscar as the MC in Cabaret, belongs to a very select club of double winners. The others are Jose Ferrer (Cyrano de Bergerac), Shirley Booth (Come Back Little Sheba), Yul Brynner (The King and I), Rex Harrison (My Fair Lady), Anne bancroft (The Miracle Worker), Paul scofield (A Man for All Seasons) and Lila Kedrova (Zorba the Greek). A13 : Redmond, 19, was charged with forgery last year and ordered into rehab for heroin addiction, which he left prematurely. His parents were there in April when a judge sent him back to rehab. It's hard to say who is in greater denial: mom or son. Asked about Redmond, Farrah said: "He's in a good place, mentally and physically." A14 : Perry Damone, 48, insists his mother's overdose of a prescription drug was accidental -- she'd just landed a TV role and was upbeat. But there's no doubt that the actress " never got over her love for James Dean, " says producer Gene Corman, who's readying a biopic titled NO TOMORROW. " Her mother blocked plans to marry Dean because he was not Catholic. " Instead, Pier wed singer Vic Damone in 1954 but was haunted by rumors that Dean was Perry's dad. A15 : That would be Adriana Caselotti, who was born May 16th, 1916, into an operatic family. Her father taught music and was a well-known voice coach, while her mother was an accomplished opera singer. The story goes that the Disney casting director called up her father and asked if any of his students had the voice for Snow White. Adriana overheard the conversation and managed to get an audition. According to another legend, Walt Disney personally hired her. Adriana was paid for the project; Disney, on the other hand, made millions. Caselotti's acting career was limited after this uncredited voice-work, but she remained involved with the publicity of the movie whenever "Snow White" was re-released. She died on January 19th, 1997. A16 : Sid Grauman came up with the idea of a luxurious movie theater, so he built the Egyptian Theatre in 1922 - the same year King Tut's tomb was discovered. Five years later, he built the Chinese Teatre on Hollywood Boulevard and began putting movie stars' footprints in the cement of its forecourt. The first were Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Norma Talmadge. In 1973, the theater was sold to Ted Mann, who renamed it Mann's Chinese Theatre. In 1986, Mann sold the theater to Paramount Pictures, which in turn sold half interest to Warner Brothers. The theater continued to be called Mann's Chinese Theatre until 2001, when it was rechristened Grauman's.
Incidentally, footprints and handprints aren't the only impressions there. A few of the unique imprints left by stars include Grouch Marx's cigar, Betty Grable's legs, John Wayne's fist, Al Jolson's knees, Jimmy durante's nose and even the hooves of Gene Autry's horse. A17 : Jeannie is alive and well at 77, as are six of Dean's eight kids. (Dean Paul died in 1987 at 37, and Claudia died in 2001 at 56). "My father was always cool and funny," says Gail Martin, 59. "If you did anything you shouldn't have, you'd go into the den, and he'd say, 'I'm so disapointed.' We all adored him. That's why you never read about a Martin kid getting into trouble." Incidentally, Dean had three wives: Betty (1940-49), Jeannie (1949-73) and Catherine (1973-76). A18 : Keel - best known for SHOW BOAT and KISS ME KATE - is still vigorous at 85 and occasionally gives concerts. He and his wife of 34 years, Judy, live in Rancho Mirage, California where Keel loves to golf. A19 : " Still breathing, " the 87-year-old actor tells us. Best known for war films like BATTLEGROUND and musicals like IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME (both 1949), Johnson left Hollywood in the 1960s. He now lives in Nyack, N.Y. Johnson spends his days painting, walking and visiting old friends. He toured with Kathryn Grayson, 82, a few years back in LOVE LETTERS and says he's still open to acting offers. A20 : He was. Puppeteer Frank Paris created the first Howdy Doody but walked off the show in 1948 after a dispute over royalties. When he left, he took his puppet with him. NBC, in a frantic search for a replacement, discovered puppeteer Velma Dawson, who created the famous Howdy Doody in a little over a week. Velma received for her puppet, and no residuals. A21 : That 1998 arrest in L.A., which Michael termed a self-sestructive act to expose his "last remaining secret" (his homosexuality), was only the tip of his iceberg-sized troubles. After his success in the '80s, he endured a nasty legal battle with Sony Music, the AIDS-related death of his lover, a pot-smoking habit, the cancer death of his mother and severe depression. Michael, 41, credits therapy and a new lover with producing his current peace of mind and his just-released CD, Patience. A22 : Mr. Kerr went on to play a lawyer in the '60s on ABC's Arrest and Trial and Peyton Place, then became one in real life. A graduate of Harvard and UCLA Law School, he was admitted to the California bar in 1970. Now 72, John Kerr lives in retirement near Los Angeles. A23 : Neither of you. The gorgeous French singer-actress-model is more than a girlfriend but, legally speaking, less than a wife. Paradis, 31, has lived monogamously for six years with Depp, 41. They have two children - Lily Rose, 5, and Jack, 2 - and divide their time between a home in the south of France and a .3 million gated mansion in Los Angeles. Depp also bought a Caribbean isle this summer for .5 Million. A24 : Australian actress Caral Browne played the role of Vera Charles in that 1958 movie, but she and Vincent Price were not married at the time (at least not to each other). Browne and Price met when she co-starred with him in "Theatre of Blood" in 1973; they wed the following year. The two remained together until her death at the age of 77 on May 29th, 1991, two days after Vincent Price's 80th birthday. Vincent passed away on October 25th, 1993. A25 : How about a bit of histery on the chair first? Kennedy acquired the solid oak rocking chair with a woven rattan seat in 1955 when he was a Massachusetts senator, and he had it moved to the White House in 1961 after he wasnaugurated. The chair was made by the P&P Chair Company in Asheboro, North Carolina, and is now part of the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston. Reproductions of the chair are available from the museum's gift shop. A26 : Cabot Cove is a fictional seaside village near the real-life Boothbay, Maine. Truth is, the outside shots for the show were filmed in Mendocino, California, and Jessica's Victorian house is actually the Blair House Inn, a bed-and-breakfast in the town. Most of the program, however, was filmed on the Universal Studio lots in Southern California. The show ran for 12 years, and each week Jessica solved a new murder. Though not all of the crimes occurred in her hometown, enough of them did for Cabot Cove to have been the Murder Capital of New England. A27 : Because Merv, 79, is extraordinarily fond of his own sharpei, Charlie Chan. He thought the newly widowed Nancy, 83. who'd met Charlie, could use a companion. Incidentally, Charlie - who enjoys traveling on Merv's yacht and private jet - has a restaurant named in his honor at Merv's hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona. Talk about a dog's life. A28 : One. The berry of a West Indian tree of the myrtle family. This spice is made from the berry; so named because its flavor seems to combine the tastes of several spices. A29 : Bobby - just 13 when he got a special Oscar in 1950 for that powerful performance in this thriller THE WINDOW and the family drama SO DEAR TO MY HEART - quit acting in 1957 to take a "straight job." Sadly, his life quickly slid downhill with multiple arrests for drug possession, assault and forgery, a six-month prison sentence and a trip to a psychiatric hospital. In March 1968, Driscoll died penniless and alone in an abandoned New York tenement. He's buried in Potter's Field on nearby Hart Island. A30 : None of the above. Director Tim Burton chose Johnny Depp, 41, to star as Willy. Helena Bonham Carter, 38 - Burton's girl friend and the mother of his son Billy, 1 - plays Charlie's mom. A31 : For starters, we're not convinced they broke up. So who has canine custody is a moot point. Jake, who turns 24 today - 12/19/04, and Kirsten, 22, have been spotted canoodling since their reported split last summer. But it seems that Atticus - the lop-eared German shepherd mix they adopted - spends more time with best bud jake. A32 : Maybe neither of them. Renovating that mansion (with its baby nursery) was a two-year labor of love for Pitt, 41, who dreamed of raising a family there. Aniston, 36, reportedly has moved out already. Who knows? Brad may feel the same way about a place with such sad memories. He still has a Hollywood Hills house that Jen never liked. A33 : Just three: Jack Warden, 84; Jack Klugman, 82; and John Fiedler,80.
Joseph Sweeney died at 79 in 1963; Ed Begley at 69 in 1970; Lee J. Cobb at 64 in 1976; George Voskovec at 76 in 1981; Henry Fonda at 77 in 1982; Robert Webber at 64 in 1989; Edward Binns at 74 in 1990; Martin balsam at 76 in 1996; and E.G.Marshall at 84 in 1998. A34 : In 2001, she gave the shaggy duo ( Reimar, 15, and Spadi, 13 ) to Green Chimneys, a facility in upstate New York for kids with learning or emotional problems. They joined 16 other horses used as therapy. A35 : Doris Day, 80, is still recovering from the loss of her only child. She and Terry - who died of skin cancer in November, 2004 at the age og 62 - were very close and shared a commitment to her nonprofit Doris Day Animal Foundation. The actress plans to dedicate a special area of her dog-friendly Cypress In in Carmel, California, to her son's memory. A36 : More than just a chance. The producers tell us they wouldn't dream of doing an OZ film without the multitalented Jackman, 35. But it will have to wait until after the Broadway show closes next month (it has closed) and Jackman shoots Darren Aronofsky's sci-fi film THE FOUNTAIN. There also are discussions to bring stage versions to London and Sydney, its producers will launch the show in other big cities to earn the maximum before putting OZ on film. A37 : Best known as the love interest in BIRD OF PARADISE and BROKEN ARROW, Debra Paget was married three times for four months to actor David Street, 22 days to director Budd Boetticher and 16 years to Texas oilman Ling-Chieh Kung. The reclusive star, who turns 71 at her Houston home, says: "I don't want to be contacted by anyone about anything. A38 : No. The newbie star, 23, is no relation to Adrien Brody, 30. The younger Brody, who was born in San Diego and moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting in 1999, was mostly unknown before landing the part of seth Cohen on the Wednesday hit. Besides bit parts in commercials and daytime dramas, he had played Barry Williams ( The Brady Bunch's Greg Brady ) in the 2000 TV movie GROWING UP BRADY. Some critics actually thought he was too good-looking to play the nerdy son in THE O.C., but Brody's talent outshone even his handsome face. A39 : The 91-year-old Oscar winner ( 1948's JOHNNY BELINDA ) is charming, mentally sharp as ever and involved with the Arthritis Foundation. Jane Wyman and the late President ( married 1940-1948 ) had a daughter Maureen, who died of melanoma in 2001 at 60, and a son Michael, now 59. A40 : The experience of directing Days of Wine and Roses , a frank depiction of alcoholism. Edwards, now 83, went into recovery a month after it wrapped and has not had a drop since. " It [ the 1962 film ] haunted me so, " he says. " Because I'm a masochist, on the same day I quit drinking, I quit smoking. It was terrible, but somehow I managed. " A41 : Practically their whole lives. The twins, 13, were in ads as infants, then shared the Tevee role as Brett Butler's son on Grace Under Fire. Cole was Ross' son on Friends. Favorite film role: as Adam Sandler's son in Big Daddy. Incidentally, they're launching a line of boys' clothes for the Olsen twins' company. A42 : Not much. "Johnny's interpretation differed from our concept of aa Burt Lancaster-inspired swashbuckler, "Bruckheimer tells us. "But we always trusted his instincts and didn't want to crush his creativity - that's why you hir him." Depp will reprise his compy Pirates role in Part II, Dead Man's Chest. Part III will open next summer (2007). A43 : A44 : A45 :
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http://www.DVDS.ORG http://www.twilightzoneradio.com http://www.mygayweb.com http://www.galleryofhistory.com/archive/9_2004/gb-actors/75263-DEBORAH-KERR.htm http://www.historyforsale.com/html/prodetails.asp?documentid=157074&start=1 http://www.historyforsale.com/html/prodetails.asp?documentid=175226&start=1 http://usatoday.com/news/world/2002/04/01/queen.htm http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/04/07/mum.htm http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2002/04/03/queen.htm http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-260471,00.html http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-260522,00.html http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,1-260757,00.html http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/31/obituaries/31QUEE.html http://www.kataweb.it/cinema/detail_articolo.jsp?idContent=276762 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/3594676.stm
http://news.scotsman.com/celebrities.cfm?id=993202004
The Deborah Kerr Fellowship League - A Foundation for the Performing Arts
Those Neon Lights and Film Journals
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