Sunday, October 18, 2015

ALI MACGRAW......ALI MACGRAW......ALI MACGRAW.........ALI MACGRAW.......AND, UH, OH YEAH...RYAN O'NEAL



ALI MACGRAW AND RYAN O'NEAL IN "LOVE LETTERS" AT THE WALLIS





Should you go see it? Absolutely!!!! It is wonderful to see our "Love Story" heroes together again. It's like coming home to your childhood. There are moments when you see them up there that you almost think it's a mirage.






Let's talk about Ali, a model who was thrown into being an actress, and someone who said she was never comfortable doing it. Well, she was superb. She never broke character; she had a laser focus; and her performance could go up against any of the other ladies who have done this role. And---I've seen most of them---from Sandra Dee and Carol Burnett to Blythe Danner. ALI, YOU WERE JUST FANTASTIC! BE VERY PROUD!

I'll never forget you on the cover of MADEMOISELLE magazine's college issue in your turtle neck, plaid skirt and knee socks. I wanted to be you.









As for Ryan---shame on you. You phoned your performance in. You acted as if you'd never even seen the script before. You blew line after line; you stuttered; you threw off timing; you came in when you weren't supposed to; didn't come in when you were supposed to; you lost your place on the page repeatedly. Your boyish charm is still working for you, but that's not enough anymore. You're lucky Ali saved the show.




FRIENDS WITH CAUSES---END RAPE ON CAMPUS










PEOPLE MAY NOT WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT, BUT WE HAD BETTER. ALEXANDRA DWEK'S FRIENDS WITH CAUSES HAD AN EVENING RECENTLY FOR US TO LEARN ABOUT EROC---END RAPE ON CAMPUS.

Most colleges and universities claim to be trying to help, but the usual pattern is to shove legitimate rape crimes under the rug. A young woman named Sophie Karasek  decided to do something about it, and she co-founded EROC.

Meet Sophie: 

This brave, young woman graduated from UC Berkeley this year.. After finding their investigation non-existent, she and two other women founded EROC. They counsel women who are victims of this violent crime how to make their schools stand up and take notice. They also now work with the schools as well---30 of them so far-- as to how to improve their handling of the situation. AND THEY HELP YOU FILE A FEDERAL COMPLAINT.

One of their goals is to start educating younger women in high school and middle schools about the situation before they even get to college. The founders are also available to speak all around the country. God bless them

424.777.EROC                  You can reach Sofie at skarasek@endrapeoncampus.org.


Cara Esposito, Alexandra and Elaine Elipworth



Susan Kandel and Megan Aubrey
Alexandra and Sophie leading the discussion

Paying rapt attention----Front--Bridget Gless Keller, Cara, and Georgia Spogli


Mychelle Charters and Vanessa Sandin

Sue and Michelle

Megan Aubrey and Bridget Gless Keller

Georgia Spogli and Aubrey Thorne Carey

Raquel Lavandeyro Katy Strouk, Allison Choizen, Marlo Gottrurcht Longstreet, Kira Cooper









Me, Sophie and Raquel
 

Friday, October 16, 2015

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IRENA MEDAVOY



                                      HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET 16




Danielle Del, Irena, Linda Thompson, Dagny Dubelko
 We were all at Church Key on the Sunset Strip
And, we behaved fairly well.

Not pictured are yours truly, Danica Perez, and Larissa Sabadash.

This time we did NOT play Shag, Marry, Kill.
Birthday Girl

Sweet Lady Jane

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

'EDITH HEAD" IS COMING TO PALM SPRINGS. Yeah, I know she's dead.

LUCIE, LARRY AND I ARE GOING!

Queen of Hollywood Costume Design Edith Head Comes Alive in Play

Susan Claassen serves up designer's celebrity dish, quips, and quotes







Besides bearing a resemblance to Edith Head, Susan Claassen was attracted to how the designer made a name for herself against an all-boys club in Hollywood.
Besides bearing a resemblance to Edith Head, Susan Claassen was attracted to how the designer made a name for herself against an all-boys club in Hollywood.
Photos courtesy of Susan Claassen

Palm Springs will be alive with the spirit of Edith Head when actress Susan Claassen brings the doyenne of costume design to life in her one-woman, award winning show, “A Conversation with Edith Head.”
Written by Susan and Paddy Calistro and based on Paddy Calistro’s book, Edith Head’s Hollywood, the stage version runs Oct. 21-24 at The Palm Springs Women's Club.
Head visited the desert mainly for business purposes promoting films she worked on with such Palm Springs perennials as Bob Hope and Lucille Ball. She retreated more to her hacienda style house in Coldwater Canyon choosing to spend time with her husband, animals, and a small coterie of friends. In later years they were Elizabeth Taylor, Tippi Hedren and long-time friend Bette Davis. Not reclusive but just dedicated to her work, it was normal for Head to put in 16-hour days. She worked up until her death in 1981 at age 83.
PalmSpringsLife.com spoke to Claassen about the role and the play's longevity.

Edith Head looks over a sea of costume sketches she drew.

Why Edith Head?
“I first got the idea while watching a television biography of Edith Head. I literally did a double take. My physical resemblance to her was uncanny. The more I watched, the more I knew there was a story to be told. I was fascinated by the complexity of this strong, executive woman in the all-boys club of Hollywood. Her career spanned over 60 years and 1,131 films! It was a powerful story of a woman who helped to define glamor in the glamorous golden age of Hollywood.”
What is the key to keeping the show fresh after 13 years?
“I’m constantly researching and learning and the show adapts to the host city. Another element is the audience. Each performance is different as the audience gets to submit questions.”
How was Edith Head a maverick and ahead of her time?
“Before Project Runway, there was Edith. She understood branding and was doing the first makeovers on Art Linkletter’s House Party.”
Claassen as Head serves up celebrity dish, bon mots, quips and quotes with signature bangs, chignon, and glasses. She’s also clad in Edith’s sartorial uniform of dark suit and classic pumps. MGM claimed more stars than in the heavens, but Head dressed more from de Havilland to Stanwyck and Audrey Hepburn in such classics as The Lady Eve and Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Surprisingly, she preferred costuming men over women and did for some of the most handsome men in Tinseltown from Sean Connery to her final Oscar winning designs for The Sting starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. She was nominated 35 times for an Academy Award and came home with eight golden trophies.
“A Conversation with Edith Head,” Oct. 21-24, Palm Springs Women's Club, 314 S. Cahuilla Road, 760-325-1950; www.edithhead.biz

Edith Head was known for her costumes for leading ladies, but actually preferred to design for men.

FRANCE AND ENGLAND ---DREAM VACATION


GRAB A CAR AND DRIVE ALL OVER ENGLAND AND FRANCE! YUP. THAT WORKS FOR ME.



I was in Honfleur, France in 1989 for 30 minutes.  I waited until 2015 to return, although I kept thinking year after year that I would get there sooner. Things change between 1989 and 2015. The beauty is still there, but now, so are the tourist buses and the river cruises. I soon figured out that between the hours of 11-5 p.m., Honfleur is filled with day tourists. I left town each day at 10:30, after a wonderful breakfast, and returned by 6 for a delicious dinner.

I flew to London, met up with a friend, Gail Sackloff, and we took the EuroStar from St. Pancras to Calais. The rail station in London looked like it was about to be under a terroist attack. Most of the passengers seemed to be from the Middle East, and the security was very tight. It was unnerving.
Once we arrived in Calais, we took a wrong turn in our car and ended up in Sangette, the city now overrun by dangerous migrants who storm the train tunnel each night to stop the train system. Not easy times in London and France.

Dinner in Richmond on the Thames

St.. Pancras


My loft apartment at La Petite Folie Hotel

The patio

 La Petite Folie Hotel. So charming
Without tourists


Alley to my apartment

Good morning



Gorgeous without tourists

OFF TO MONT ST. MICHELLE:



Sister Mary Kishka

MONET'S GIVERNY:

THE FAMOUS LILY POND

Gardens

Gardens

Giverny Village

Monet's House   





Monet's kitchen


















THE MAGICAL SEASIDE HIDEAWAY CALLED ETRETAT ON THE NORMANDY COAST:

My new favorite place----drive miles through countryside on the Normandy coast and then you hit this.


My favorite meal in France was also in Etretat. It's a galette filled with ham, eggs, mushrooms and cheese

BACK IN LONDON TO EXPERIENCE THE COTSWALDS:

CASTLE COMBE----dating from 2500 BC!!!! It is the village where "Dr. Doolittle" was shot. Again, total magic for me. It is used for movie locations a lot, and one was being shot while I was there.




Back in Richmond with Gail Sackloff and singer Simon Bell, the saint who took care of Dusty til the day her cancer siege was over. Simon has a new EP called A BETTER DAY. Feel free to download.

KIM NOVAK HONORED AT TIFF--TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL

"VERTIGO" SCORE PLAYED LIVE AT SCREENING---
                           KIM NOVAK HONORED















In background--lines around the block
Waiting to go on
Three standing ovations from 2000 people!

Fan wears a "Madeleine" suit

 They had an exhibit highlighting photos and a scrapbook collection that was extraordinary


Kim looking at her exhibit.













Kim's joking reaction at seeing her entire life captured in scrapbooks!!!!
Members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra


Playing on the red carpet

AND THEN THE EVENT WAS OVER AND WE WERE UNLEASHED ON TORONTO

We had only one night, so we went to three of their top restaurants--Daolin, Bar Isabel, and La Campagna. Yes---three courses; three restaurants. Toronto is like a baby New York and we loved it. Thank you so much to TIFF for making this wonderful trip possible.

 Bar Isabel
Tempura watermelon with fresh basil at Daolin



La Campagna


AND THEN WE WERE BACK IN LA. HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED:





YUP. A PIG-OUT AT NATE 'N' AL'S!!!!