Beacon Towers.
Patte Barham Collection

Everyone has surely read or seen film adaptations from what is considered to be one of our great American authors, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. His vision began in 1923 and was completed and published in 1925 as a literary portrait of America’s Jazz Age. Often referred to as his greatest work, Fitzgerald’s novel sweeps us into a world that is convincing and not far fetched from the world during the 1920s. Unfortunately Fitzgerald died, believing his finest novel a failure. Great genius as in the world of artists goes generally un-recognized as the masterpiece it is until well after the artist has experienced failure and defeat and has long departed the world of the immortals. The rose on the thorn is that in reality, the artist in the end is indeed immortalized.

However, Baz Luhrmann’s latest attempt at recreating a new film version of the classic novel will likely end up rapidly on DVD release, much as did his short-lived film, Australia.

The party scenes are ludicrous and unrealistic, bordering on cartoonish. In one scene partygoers entering Gatsby’s over-the-top LSD version of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle, wall to wall and front to back are packed in like sardines. I think I even saw Cher in the crowd dressed in her black poultry costume from her Academy Award win for Moonstruck.

The main interior of Jay Gatsby’s Castle looks like an enormous gold gilt cathedral complete with a sweeping white marble staircase winding its way up to heaven’s loft resplendent with a mighty golden pipe organ ensconced with a crazed, stoned, freakish character that apparently came to one of the parties and never left. You wind him up and the organ roars until he winds down; one more cartoon character that belongs in Roger Rabbit.

The exterior shots of the Gatsby estate are almost identical to “Beacon Towers,” which was located in Port Washington on the North Shore of Long Island at Sands Point. I know and have visited this home only because it was once owned by William Randolph Hearst from 1927 to 1942 and unfortunately demolished by a developer in 1945. Sadly today, only a sandy overgrown stretch of beach front strewn with discarded folding beach chairs is all that remains. It has long been speculated that Fitzgerald used Beacon Towers as his inspiration for his novel and the exterior was definitely Baz Luhrmann’s inspiration as well, however the digitally recreated castle looks just that and not real.

While the principle characters appear to have no direction, every speakeasy and party sequence received the director’s full attention. From beginning to end, your senses are overflowingly slammed to the point one feels the need for an oxygen mask, especially during the ending swimming pool scene, a direct steal from Sunset Boulevard.

Jay-Z takes full advantage of his producer share by filling the musical score with his brand of hip-hop rap, guaranteeing he’ll come out ahead on the soundtrack release at the expense of the 100 million dollar film.

Curiosity won’t stop you from seeing this film. On seeing the film a second time, it became much clearer on impact as opposed to our first screening in 3D.

Do yourself a huge favor and rent David Merrick’s 1974 production starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. An exquisitely directed film by Jay Clayton along with an all star quality cast! There simply is no finer film adaptation that does F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby justice.

Right to Left, Grace Robbins with her daughter Adreana Robbins.

The title of the Grace Robbins new tell-all book, Cinderella & the Carpetbagger: My Life as the Wife of the “World’s Best-Selling Author,” Harold Robbins, brought out the celebs for her official book launch party of the year.

The glamorous star-studded event of the rich and famous was held on her birthday, the evening of April 10 at Lisa Vanderpump’s Sur Lounge in West Hollywood. We were among her many friends and birthday well wishers, ready to cut the cake and crack open the book! On hand were of course Grace’s daughter Adreana (published author herself, apparently it runs in the family), actress Renee Taylor, Robin Leach (only fitting while we’re speaking of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous), Frederic Prinz von Anhalt, publisher Larry Flynt, dancer/actress Frances Davis (Mrs. Miles Davis) with Josephine Baker musical holder Robert Wood, actress BarBara Luna (South Pacific with Mary Martin), producer George Slaughter with lovely wife actress Jolene Brand, actor Jacob Diamond, actress Traci Moslenko, model/actress Pooja Batra, actress Angeline-Rose Troy, actor Ajay Mehta, songstress Ginny Mancini (Mrs. Henry Mancini), actor/comic/vocal artist Mr. Roger Rabbit himself Charles Fleischer, Kate Linder (star of The Young and the Restless), singer/songwriter Roxy Darr, actress Terry Moore, Joanna Carson, actress Joan Van Ark, and those are just a few of the many I had a chance to say hello to, as the club was filled to capacity.

Harold Robbins sold more than 750 million copies of his steamy books and along the way influenced many authors to write about the glamorous lives of the rich and powerful, including best-selling author Jackie Collins, who said, “Grace Robbins has written an explosive tell-all about one of my favorite authors – the wild and wonderful Harold Robbins. He did it … She did it … And then he wrote about it … Sexy fun.”

The media had long dubbed Harold Robbins “The Prince of Sex and Scandal,” and Grace holds nothing back in her tell-all about the “real life research” behind the life of her international best-selling author husband. Her book goes way beyond any of the huge TV shows such as Dallas and Dynasty that were certainly inspired by his own personal brand of literature.

I’ll leave it to your imagination for now, but this is a book you simply cannot put down once you open the first page. Robin Leach had this to say, “This racy romp through a lifestyle nobody could dare dream of, is sizzling. You have been warned; this book is HOT! Very hot!” And if that isn’t enough to make you want to cuddle up with this sizzle of a great read, here’s what the New York Post was quoted as saying, “This sweet little memoir will not grab the Vatican’s blessing.”

Truly this was the book launch party of the year and a birthday bash to end all, especially when four handsome men carried out a giant birthday cake made in the exact image of her book with fountains of glittering sparklers as we all sang “Happy Birthday.” What a lovely glow as she made her wish.

As you will find when you read her book, it will seem like a dream; in the way the party seemed like a dream, and you may remember back to Cinderella. “A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you’re fast asleep / In dreams you lose your heartaches / Whatever you wish for, you keep / Have faith in your dreams and someday / Your rainbow will come shinning thru / No matter how your heart is grieving / If you keep on believing / The dream that you wish will come true”

The Professional Dancers Society honored Ben Vereen, center.

The Professional Dancers Society (PDS) honored the incredibly talented singer, dancer, screen, television, and legend of the Broadway stage, Ben Vereen on March 24, 2013 at the Grand Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The almost all-day event was for the 26th Annual Gypsy Award, with a first-time special choreography award presented to Michael Rooney, who has often been referred to as one of our most innovative and influential choreographers.

Mr. Vereen joins the ranks of past PDS Honorees which include the likes of Julie Andrews (last year’s honoree), Angela Lansbury, Ann-Margret, Ann Miller, Bob Hope, Bob Mackie, Buddy Ebsen, Carl Reiner, Carol Burnett, Chita Rivera, Cyd Charisse, Debbie Reynolds, Dick Van Dyke, Dom DeLuise, Donald O’Connor, Florence Henderson, Ginger Rogers, Gwen Verdon, Gregory Hines, Hermes Pan, Jane Powell, Juliet Prowse, June Allyson, June Haver, Joel Grey, Marge Champion, Marie Osmond, Mary Tyler Moore, Mickey Rooney, Milton Berle, Mitzi Gaynor, Rita Moreno, Nanette Fabray, Sammy Davis Jr., Sandy Duncan, Shirley MacLaine, The Nicholas Brothers (Faynard and Harold Nicholas), and certainly not least, because I’m sure I’ve missed many other past honorees, Tommy Tune.

Robert Wood, rights holder and consultant to this fall’s long awaited and highly anticipated Broadway opening of Josephine, the new musical starring Deborah Cox about the life of legendary star Josephine Baker, hit the red carpet with everyone’s favorite Diva, Frances Davis and her Diva Pal, PDS President, Mitzi Gaynor prior to the big kickoff for the fun-filled event led by Miss Gaynor. And if you have ever seen her on stage, she has her one and only brand of show business humor. Telling tales on herself as well as just about everyone else in the celebrity filled ballroom. Also helping with the theatrical shtick was Debbie Reynolds, Dick Van Dyke, Carl Reiner, Jo Anne Worley, and Florence Henderson. No one was left unscathed, and between Miss Gaynor and Miss Reynolds it was a free-for-all cat attack amongst Hollywood royalty. The fun and laughter never stopped and everyone was wiping their tears with their napkins, either from sheer laughter or emotion. If you ask my opinion, those two gals need to put a two-woman show together fast! It’ll be SRO only! Are you listening, John Bowab?

Ben Vereen. What can we not say about this humble and gracious man? There are few entertainers today that can match the artistic talents of this accomplished and versatile performer. The aura that surrounds him is pure passion. For those blessed enough to have seen him perform, his talents alone encompass huge hits; Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar, Fosse, Wicked, Grind, Jelly’s Last Jam, and who can ever forget Pippin, which won him the highest awards for “Best Actor in a Musical,” the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award. Last year he received the highest honor in the world of theater, being inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. Immediately following, he released his CD Steppin’ Out Live and staged a triumphant return to Broadway with his concert Ben Vereen On Broadway at Town Hall.

We’ve adored his many concert appearances, television movies and specials, and feature films far to lengthy to mention here, but who can ever forget the brilliant “Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie” number from Funny Lady starring Barbra Streisand, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination.

Today, Mr. Vereen devotes his time to lectures and inspiration for thousands of aspiring young dancers, singers, and performers hoping to follow in his legendary spotlight and create one all their own. As he has always been, he remains the consummate singer, dancer, actor, and global entertainer of legendary status.

Mitzi Gaynor said it most eloquently. And God said, “Let there be light” – and the light was BEN VEREEN! Ben changed dancing in the theater, film, television, in life – he made it FUN to kill yourself and love it – he’s MAGIC and we’ve got him – thank you, God.

PDS is an affiliate of The Actors Fund of America, a non-profit corporation formed to serve professional dancers in times of need. They provide comfort and dignity for retired or disabled dancers as well as providing an Emergency Relief Fund to assist in times of crisis. Please contact The Professional Dancers Society and see how you can help as “friends of the dancer.”

Selene began modeling in Washington D.C. to earn extra money while working for the WPA. Modeling was easy for the blonde beauty and her brother influenced her to move to New York City and see if she could pursue a modeling career. With his help she met Mr. John Powers of the John Robert Powers Modeling Agency and with one quick runway walk and turn, “He signed me up right away.”

One afternoon while lunching at the famous 21 Club, she was spotted by Buddy De Sylva, at that time the president of Paramount Pictures in New York. He sent a note over to her table with his card that read, “If you would like to go to Hollywood and be in movies, be at my office at the Paramount building tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock sharp.”

The next morning on the dot she was in his office with several producers who were looking for fresh faces, and would she be interested in signing a Hollywood contract to make movies? “Well I certainly would, and I signed up right there on the spot!” Soon she was on a train bound for Hollywood, and it wasn’t long before she was settled into a Beverly Hills apartment and enjoying all the frills from her new found career and lifestyle.

One day she glanced at the cover of Time Magazine and there was the Shah of Iran and it read, “Now the world’s most famous bachelor! The Shah of Iran divorces Egyptian Princess Fawzia Fuad, the former Queen of Iran.” She said to herself, “If he’s so eligible, I’d like to meet him.” The next day she telephoned a secondhand dealer, sold all her furniture to help gather all the money she could, and the rest is history.

She headed for New York, where at a party, purely by chance she met Aristotle Onassis, the wealthy billionaire shipping magnate, also a single bachelor, and he invited her to dinner. During the evening she mentioned to Mr. Onassis she wanted to meet the Shah of Iran and he told her she’d have to head for Europe. Passage to Europe was not in her budget and Mr. Onassis offered, “I have a ship leaving from Newport tomorrow and I will pick you up, drive you to the dock, and you’ll be on your way.” Naturally she accepted.

Once she arrived in France, she caught the first train to Paris and from there caught a plane to Nice where she ran in to Stephen Crane, newly divorced from Lana Turner. She confided in Crane, “I am here to meet the Shah of Iran.”

Somewhat shocked, he said, “Why do you want to meet him?”

“Well, I just think it would be exciting to know him,” and so he invited her to a dinner party at the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo. “While dining I noticed they were rapidly arranging another large table of guests and low and behold there he was, the Shah himself!

“Somehow I managed to catch his eye and he came over and asked me to dance. It was pure magic for the next three weeks, until the studio called me and said, ‘Selene you are making headlines all over the United States and you must immediately return home or you will lose your career and your daughter. Your ex-husband is calling you unfit in the newspapers.’

“What could I do? I left for home brokenhearted, because my daughter came first. To this day she has refused to speak to me for almost 50 years, and so not only did I lose my love, the Shah, but I also lost the love of my only daughter.

“The Shah understood and years later I went to a reception and when I approached him in the reception line he said, ‘Oh, my dear Selene, how is your daughter?’”

Life can be so cruel.

Jerome Robbins and Arthur Laurents wanted her for West Side Story and she accepted. Being billed as Elizabeth Taylor, people have asked over the years how could this be, two actresses with the same name? The answer is really quite simple. In order to work in Hollywood, the Academy Award winning Elizabeth Taylor was required to become a member of the Screen Actors Guild, and in order to work on Broadway, one must belong to Actors Equity. This is where the two Elizabeth Taylors begin. There was already an Equity member under the name of Frances Taylor, so she assumed her middle name of Elizabeth and another first was made. The show opened at the Winter Garden Theatre with Carol Lawrence, Chita Rivera, and Elizabeth Taylor, winning her the “Gypsy Robe Award.”

It wasn’t long before Miles and Frances were married and began setting up what she thought would be their loving/working together household, only to find out he was canceling her from West Side Story by announcing, “I want you out of West Side Story! You are Mrs. Miles Davis and a woman should be beside her man at all times.” He meant just that!

One night at a Lena Horne performance Jerome Robbins came over to their table and asked Miles if he would please consider allowing Frances to do the movie version of West Side Story. There was a polite “I’ll think about it” and when they left the club and got into his Ferrari he immediately said with expletives, “Is that man crazy?” That was the end of the discussion, permanently!

Miles gave her bits of beauty fame by gracing her on the covers of five of his greatest albums. By this time Miles Davis had so much clout with his record label that he no longer wanted his album covers to portray white women and he wanted his wife on his album covers; once again, another first for Frances.

Perhaps it was his controlling and physical abuse that was the demise of their marriage, which led to separation and final divorce. Frances always kept a handbag full of cash in the closet by the front door in case she had to make a quick getaway. Ten years had passed and a decade was all she could endure, even though when asked why she stayed, she will always say, “But I loved him.”

Here are a few words from “The Optimist’s Creed,” which I think sums up why Frances Davis has endured and remained forever young.

To be strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. To make all your friends feel there is something worthwhile in them. To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. To think only of the best, to work only for the best and to expect only the best. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. To forget the mistakes of your past and press on to the greater achievements of your future. To give so much time to improving yourself that you have no time to criticize others. To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble. To think well of yourself and to proclaim this face to the world, not in loud words, but in great deeds. To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side, so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

From l, Frances Davis, Stephen Papich (Katherine Dunham’s producer), and Vanoye Aikens (Katherine Dunham’s last dancing partner). Stephen is holding an original costume sketch by John Pratt (Miss Dunham’s husband) from one of her famous ballets, all of which he designed the sets and costumes.

Recently at one of our house parties, we were graced with the charm and beauty of one of America’s truly iconic femme fatales. We are speaking of everyone’s dearest friend, the Diva, Frances Davis, whose life will be portrayed in a much anticipated movie.

Born Frances Elizabeth Taylor to proud parents Ellen and Maceo Taylor in Chicago, she was raised to be the perfect Afro American princess, and if we must put a name to it, she is simply American royalty. She has graced the world of celebrity throughout her career, with her own personal inner strength, style, and tenacity.

Schooled at Chicago’s finest, she began ballet at age eight and by age ten she was already dancing en pointe. With diligence and desire to achieve as a prima ballerina, she moved rapidly at the Edna McRae School of Dance, where at sixteen she auditioned for Katherine Dunham and her entire dance company who were appearing in Chicago.

Winning a scholarship to the Katherine Dunham School of Dance in New York, she would have to wait another two years before she could attend. At eighteen the vivacious debutant began to realize her dream as she left the glamour of Michigan Avenue in Chicago for the exciting theatrical world of New York City, accompanied by her protective father, who made sure his prima ballerina princess remained unharmed and always the perfect young and sophisticated lady.

From that moment on, the rest of her life is pure history! Miss Dunham became mesmerized with the young talented enchantress, creating a special ballet for her based on Rima from the book Green Mansions. Later, Miss Dunham provided choreography for the movie, which starred Audrey Hepburn; however neither she nor her company appeared in the film.

Success seemed to be around every corner and every step. “The first” began to appear before her every move. A Dunham School teacher named Walter Nicks became her dance partner opening for the Benny Goodman Orchestra; billed as “Nicks and Taylor,” their opening number was “Sing Sing Sing.”

Arriving in Paris she joined the Paris Opera Ballet, another first, as the Paris Press quickly labeled her “the Leslie Caron of the tropics.”

Soon America beckoned her home where she appeared with Sammy Davis Jr. in Porgy and Bess, Mr. Wonderful, and Shinbone Alley. Frances Taylor was shooting to stardom.

Years earlier she was appearing with the Katherine Dunham Company at Ciro’s on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood and “The Genius of Jazz,” Mr. Miles Davis stepped into her life. Miles was smitten with Frances, as were her many other backstage suitors; however, he was just another hello, nice to meet you, and thank you for coming to the show. Not to dismiss him, but one must remember that Ciro’s was “the hot spot” and the roster of entertainers who appeared at “Ciro’s Le Disc,” as it was also called, reads like a who’s who; Cab Calloway, Nat King Cole, Xavier Cugat, Sammy Davis Jr., Katherine Dunham, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Merv Griffin, Herb Jeffries, Hildegarde, Abbe Lane, Gypsy Rose Lee, Peggy Lee, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Freddy Martin, Tony Martin and Cyd Charise, Johnnie Ray, Dinah Washington, Mae West, and on and on. So in the nightly audience of the club, one would find Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, Dean Martin, Judy Garland, Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, Cary Grant, George Raft, Hugh O’Brian, Rory Calhoun, Lana Turner, Peter Lawford, Jimmy Stewart, and even future Presidents Ronald Reagan and John F. Kennedy.

…to be continued next week…

Marilyn Monroe singing “After You Get What You Want, You Don’t Want It” in a Billy Travilla gown.

On Monday, Feb. 18, 2013, we lost a distinguished gentleman who made Los Angeles and California his home. I’m talking, of course, of our dear friend Dr. Jerry Buss, who after eighteen months with cancer lost his final battle.

Jerry Buss was born Gerald Hatten Buss on Jan. 27, 1934 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and little did he know the many battles that would lay before him and the challenges that would bring him dear to the hearts of many.

A former chemist and real estate investor, master minding the purchase of the Mary Pickford/ Douglas Fairbanks grand estate above the Beverly Hills Hotel from Mary Pickford herself. An all American businessman, he had had many achievements; left to the world in many ways other than his beloved Los Angeles Lakers basketball team.

I remember meeting Jerry in the cocktail lounge of his Palm Springs hotel along with my dear friend Stephen Papich. I was weekending at Stephen’s Palm Springs estate in the quiet and exclusive South end section of Palm Springs. It was a glamorous home on an acre, built in the early 1920s by an executive from the Ford Motor Company. Stephen had his friend Mel Lashley, the interior decorator to the movie stars, decorate it beautifully in the 1920s style with a black horseshoe shaped swimming pool in the front lawn to reflect the towering palm trees; at night the pool was lit with a black light which gave you the feeling of swimming inside a Peter Max poster.

We had a lovely dinner and Stephen asked if I would like to go to the Ocotillo Lodge cocktail lounge, just around the corner where we would surely run into the owner, Jerry Buss. As predicted he was there and greeted us warmly. Stephen and Jerry talked about the tragic death of the great and talented Miss Dorothy Dandridge and the night club act they had worked so hard to help bring her back into the spotlight and hopefully film and television roles.

Stephen had known Dorothy Dandridge since she joined the working team at 20th Century Fox to begin filming Carmen Jones with Harry Belafonte. Sparks flew between the two actors on screen, but Harry become infatuated with a Katherine Dunham dancer named Julie Robinson when Stephen invited her to the studio and introduced her to Harry on the set — then sparks really flew! So thanks to Stephen, Gina and David Belafonte are here because of that one afternoon chance meeting when he introduced the two.

I do not remember if the night club act Stephen and Jerry were reminiscing about was for Las Vegas or the infamous New York show, which unfortunately we lost Dorothy just before that opening night with a broken foot and blood clot, or as many have said, an accidental overdose. We lost a beautiful star and great legend.

I do remember they were talking about what fun she was to be around and such a good sport. Jerry was backing the show and Stephen was directing and choreographing. They needed her to look fantastic, so she and Stephen headed to Western Costume when it was still right next to the original front gates at Paramount Studios. They walked past Edith Head who was working at the center table, the heart of Western Costume, and they exchanged warm hellos and went directly into the enormous locked cage where there were racks and racks of movie star gowns from dozens of famous movies. There Stephen spotted a “Travilla” gown that had been designed for Marilyn Monroe for There’s No Business Like Show Business, a film Stephen had worked on at Fox with Ethel Merman, Donald O’Connor, Marilyn Monroe, Dan Dailey, Johnnie Ray, and Mitzi Gaynor. The dress was from Marilyn’s first number in the movie called “After You Get What You Want, You Don’t Want It,” and it fit Dorothy Dandridge to a “T.” She and Marilyn were good friends and ironically, exactly the same size, so no fittings were necessary. Edith Head remarked it looked as if it had been designed especially for Miss Dandridge, a huge compliment to Dorothy from one costume designer acknowledging another designer’s work. I have a feeling after seeing the movie that the dress probably looked more stunning on Dorothy than Marilyn.

Anyway, that’s just a small side note to the many wonderful contributions Jerry Buss made to the world and he should not only be remembered just as a great loss to Los Angeles and the Lakers, but as a humanitarian who truly cared about people.

We had night clubs and hot spots where we danced and mingled with the movie stars and sophisticates of the day. Ladies wore evening gowns and men wore suits and ties with great looking fedora hats. Elegance was overflowing in clubs such as Ciro’s, the Trocadero, Slapsy Maxies, the Mocambo, and Thelma Todd’s Roadside Inn. Even the local joints for the hardworking regular guys had class. We all had fun and some of us paid dearly for it with our lives. We were a kingdom and there are still the remnants of the great palaces along West Adams Boulevard, the Hollywood Hills, and Beverly Hills to remind us of our “Golden Age of Hollywood.”

I remember being at Paramount Studios to interview Bing Crosby and he saw a group of soldiers on the lot and went over to be friendly and commend them on their patriotic duty. He bought them coffee and lunch and felt good inside making them all feel at home with a welcome back from a job well done. Suddenly a shout was heard, “Okay guys, back to work!” It turned out they were extras working on a film, and for a change, the laugh was on him.

The Robe was number one on the best seller list and later made into a grand Cinemascope picture in 1953 with an all-star cast that included Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Michael Rennie, Jay Robinson, and Dean Jagger. Our dear, departed, close friend Stephen Papich was the dance director and even appeared in the movie in a two-shot with Richard Burton when they were short an extra. In those days, it didn’t matter how your contract was written other than to do whatever you were told.

Cole Porter was busy writing musicals left and right, while Cary Grant was busy filming the movie Night and Day, the Cole Porter story. The Pirate starring Judy Garland and Gene Kelly was one of my favorites, directed by Liza’s father, the great Vincente Minnelli. Also Cole’s incredible Taming of the Shrew, which he dubbed Kiss Me, Kate, starring the stunningly gorgeous Patricia Morison and Alfred Drake, was a masterpiece. Anything Goes just keeps on going as we saw it on the stage again a few weeks ago at the Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center. It definitely leaves you tapping your way up the staircase and out of the theatre.

I once had a tête-à-tête with Buffy Chandler, who was the heart and mind behind developing the Music Center. Our conversation was wondering why more people didn’t go to musicals and instead chose dark dramas that found you reaching for aspirin or the leftover whiskey sour still sitting by the bedside. Needless to say, the great musicals have lived on and bring fresh breath and excitement to our theatrical going experience.

I am also reminded that Stephen Papich who went on from Twentieth Century Fox Studios to become a director/producer at the Hollywood Bowl, along the way garnering the largest audience attendance ever with his presentation starring Marie Costa, which can never be broken simply because with so may seats removed to accommodate more box seats, the Bowl cannot hold as many people as it did back then. He told me when the Music Center opened they took all the top people from the Hollywood Bowl and set them all in place to operate the new Music Center, and what a grand job they all did. I met Marlene Dietrich on the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage during her rehearsal with my co-writer and dear friend, Robert Wood while we were in the company of Stephen. She stopped everything and came over to the wings and said, “Hello, I’m Marlene.” It was so sweet and endearing and I must tell you she was extraordinarily beautiful! Here’s the real scoop she told me, “I never wear a slip dear and neither should you, you’ll look twice as sexy without one.”

That reminds me of the great salon and fashion shows at the grand Bullocks Wilshire and their wonderful Tea Room. Marlene Dietrich set the world on fire with her men’s suits styled and tailored at the famous department store. At the Orry Kelly Fashion Show, a beaded dinner gown for Alexis Smith, at the time married to Gary Cooper went for a whopping six grand, and at one of Irene’s Fashion Shows her suit with a bugle beaded vest went to Joan Crawford for $4,500.

Now that’s a slice of the Hollywood I remember!

Once upon a time you belonged to special clubs and no one thought about diets, just good food and lots of fine wine. Such were the courts of Europe where people indulged themselves on food and drink. Henry VIII had an appetite that inspired those in his court circles to eat everything in sight. Stuffing their palates followed by vast amounts of vintage wine.

Interestingly enough, Henry VIII was once a thin young man and well-bred in the English Court, where pheasant was generally the main dish, followed by a stuffed goose or two, freshly plucked game hens, fish stuffed with caviar, and all sorts of goodies culled from the kitchen.

The result of being master of the house was to eat every thing on your plate, with nary a bite left. So, thin little Henry soon learned that by the time he reached manhood he was required to eat everything on his plate, and so he did. As the perpetual ritual of dining (which was in reality stuffing oneself) went on and on, little Henry grew and grew and grew! In actuality he preferred veggies fresh from the palace gardens and did not care for rich foods or wine. That soon changed!

As he became older and socialized and dined at other palaces, he would find platters of foods that in order to be polite, he had to eat. Thus he ate to keep up with his plump hosts, or keeping up with his own guests, resulting in now becoming a rotund man. His clothing was constantly being re-made to fit his now growing physique and as his wardrobe was made of the finest silk satins and brocades, when he now tended to get a bit sloppy, well it was another new wardrobe fitting.

It is difficult to imagine that Henry VIII was once a thin person, forced by his tutors to eat all the succulent meats, etc., and leave the potatoes for the help. He no longer liked salads from the palace gardens and could not get enough sweets. It’s no wonder he grew up with bulges in all the wrong places. He loved creamed lamb dishes and stuffed beef roasts, barbecued beef, and dishes with hams and poulettes, pigeons stuffed with truffles. Whipped cream atop a dish of chocolate was his favorite desert. The rich dark sauces were his gradual undoing.

They say he could not resist chocolates and would hide them in his bed and under his pillows. It is said he died with a smile on his face that could not be erased, with just a smudge of chocolate on his lips.

“So now that we’ve gathered ‘round the tree, drinking mulled cider and eggnogs with glee. After feasting on turkey and stuffed roast beef, caviar toast points, escargot, and brie. Fruit cakes and chocolate bark, pies, cakes, and whipped cream. Our New Year resolution, one we all hate, which never occurred to King Henry the Eighth. Lose some weight!”

From l, Ladies of an Indeterminate Age: Anne Jeffreys, Pat Marshall, Jane Kean, Patricia Morison, and Charlotte Rae.

And what a joy to behold: It was Monday evening at the Pantages Theatre as “The Actors Fund, for everyone in entertainment” held a very special benefit with five special ladies of the theater. Ladies of an Indeterminate Age was a more-than-special evening which began with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres and ended with desserts and theatrical chatter. In between we were wowed with “Five Grand Ladies of the Musical Theater” all together sharing the spotlight on one stage!

Patricia Morison, still radiantly beautiful as ever with her unwavering mezzo-soprano voice, held court front and center with her dear friend; stunningly gorgeous, Anne Jeffreys, along with fellow beauties and stars all unique; Jane Kean, Pat Marshall, and Charlotte Rae. Such a glamorous tour de force telling tales from their hit shows and sometimes outrageous co-stars such as Yul Brynner sitting naked in a lotus position when Patricia Morison was asked to his dressing room to discuss the show, only to discover he was soaking in pigment to darken his skin for his character. The pro she was, she nonetheless cut to the chase and discussed the show and then refused his dinner proposal. They remained great friends throughout their lives (even without dinner) and it is important to mention the great star, Gertrude Lawrence, who was cast in the lead role as Anna in The King and I, also winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She was extremely ill and dying with cancer and told her producers, “The person I want to replace me is Patricia Morison, and to make my role her own!” Only hours before her death, she asked her manager, Fanny Holtzmann, to arrange for Yul Brynner’s name to be added to the marquee of the St. James Theatre in New York, where it had only held her name.

Unfortunately Miss Morison was on tour starring in Kiss Me, Kate with Alfred Drake and was unable to move into the role until her tour was complete. As soon as possible she moved into the role of Anna in The King and I and once again theatrical history was made as she and Mr. Brynner toured for two years plus and there are magic moments filmed from the show that live on.

You may remember the wonderful movie called Star about the life of Miss Gertrude Laurence, staring Julie Andrews, which was wonderful.

Here is a little touch of theatrical history Miss Morison shared with us. In one of her first Broadway productions, she was Helen Hayes understudy for Victoria Regina, also starring Vincent Price. Of course, Miss Hayes never missed a performance!

Often a guest at Ten Chimneys, the Wisconsin home of the famous acting team; Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, Miss Morison never missed a single one of their Broadway shows.

The evening was filled with all “The Grande Dames” singing and sharing their remembrances from such hit shows as Kiss Me, Kate, Mr. Wonderful, The Three Penny Opera, Pajama Game, Lil Abner, and Three Wishes for Jamie, just to name a few of the many highlights of the night. When Miss Anne Jeffreys in her stunning white ensemble with diamonds and white fur sang “The Music of the Night” from The Phantom of the Opera, well, tears were flowing; at least I know mine were! And then again when Patricia Morison sang “Brush up Your Shakespeare,” a song sung by two men from Kiss Me, Kate, which she remarked she would stand in the wings at every performance and watch, well it brought down the house as well!

Miss Morison will be in New York at the end of this month and will be present for a special tribute to honor Cole Porter at Yale University.

Jean Kean wowed us all when she sang not once, but twice, at two different tempos, “It Was Just One of Those Things.” You talk about music to the ears, the night was full.

Pat Marshall wowed us with her hits and lit up the theater like a giant spotlight, being reprimanded by director John Bowab, saying, “And I told you ladies not to overdress.” Like she would ever pay attention to her director!

On the other hand the stand up microphone was readjusted so many times that when Charlotte Rae stood up to sing her last number, she automatically said, “Will you lower the microphone?” only to discover it was already at her height. So she said, “It appears I keep shrinking, but at least I’m still above ground!” What a sense of humor and what a great, fun night to behold.

And when I said “Oh Joyful Night” I sincerely mean it was a joy and it is saved on film for all of us to remember. A very kind and generous thank you to the Actors Fund! Please join; they support all our wonderful actors in times of need.