RAM PRODUCTIONS INTERNATIONAL
  • Home
  • How We Can Work Together
  • About Michael Russnow
  • Actor/Personality
    • Sample Reel
    • 2014 Sample Reel
    • Michael Russnow Does Stand-Up
    • Water Into Wine
    • The Time Tree - Older Alex
    • Actor's Slate - One Minute Version
    • Actor's Slate - Four Minute Version
    • Interview on Stanley Dyrector Show - Part One
    • Interview on Stanley Dyrector Show - Part Two
    • Interview on Stanley Dyrector Show - Part Three
    • Interview on Stanley Dyrector Show - Part Four
    • Michael Russnow Speaks Out Episode 1
    • Michael Russnow Speaks Out! - Episode 2
    • Commentators Shouldn't Say Trump Has Pulse of America
  • Huffington Post Articles
    • Business >
      • Abolish Tipping
      • AIG Reverse Stock Split
      • AIG Plummets: Stock Split
      • Asus Computers
      • AT&T Doesn't Communicate
      • Bernard Madoff Swindled Everyone
      • Citigroup Reverse Split
      • Citigroup to Reverse Split
      • Horrible Banking Experiences
      • Is Shelly Sterling Channeling Lurleen Wallace?
      • Los Angeles Parking Meter Signs
      • My GE Dishwasher Tragedy
      • State Controller Has Your Money Available
      • Windows 7 Not As Great As Advertised
      • You Can't Feed Parking Meters
    • Media >
      • Abolish the Electoral College
      • BP Chairman Choice of Words
      • British Nurse Suicide Overblown By Media
      • Ed McMahon's Money Problems
      • Is Media Keeping Trump Alive
      • Los Angeles Times Backtracks on TV Grid
      • Lou Dobbs and His Ilk are Wrong
      • Media Downplays Hillary 3 Million Victory
      • Media Headline Biases
      • Media Inflames Comey Letter Re Hillary
      • Media Mischaracterizes GOP Win
      • Media Props Trump Up, Even When Hillary Wins Debate
      • Media Says Hillary's Not Transparent
      • Media Scare Tactics
      • Media Sensationalizes Obamacare Premium Rise
      • Memo to the Media: Maybe It's Time For a "Spartacus" Moment
      • Obama Asks Pundits Not to Skew Words
      • Obama Gym Workout No Big Deal
      • Obama Promised Change - From Bush and Cheney
      • Obama Would Be Citizen, Even if Born in Kenya
      • Palin Accuses Letterman of Seeking PR
      • What's Happened to the LA Times?
      • White House Gate Crashers
      • Why Does Trump Get More Face Time Than Hillary?
      • Why Media Normalizes Trump
    • Politics >
      • 2012 Iowa Caucuses: Shakespeare Was Right About the Masses
      • 2012 Vice Presidential Debate: Biden Blew Ryan Away
      • 25th Amendment Might Rid Us of Trump
      • Calling for Al Gore
      • Debate 2: Hillary Held Firm, While Trump Lied
      • Donald Trump Comportment: When is Enough Enough?
      • Donald Trump Supporters Are Deplorable
      • Donald Trump Supporters Must Be Stupid
      • Electoral College Support Because Founders Created it
      • Europeans are for Obama
      • French Choose President By CItizenry
      • GOP Senators Continue to Support Trump
      • Has Hillary Given Up in South Dakota?
      • Hillary Beat Trump in Popular Vote
      • James Comey, Legal Moralist or Fool?
      • John McCain No Longer a Hero
      • McCain's Nervous Breakdown
      • McCain/Palin Debate Spin
      • McCain Pulls Out the Heartstrings
      • Obama Accepts Super PAC Money
      • Obama & Clinton Forces, Can't We Get Along?
      • Obama Becoming First Wimp
      • Obama's Decision to Go to Copenhagen
      • Obama First 2012 Debate: Gotta Do Better
      • Obama Has Every Right to Replace Scalia
      • Obama: It's Time to Play Hardball
      • Obama Must Stop Postponing Health Care Law
      • Obama Needs Marc Antony to Get it Right
      • Obama Nobel Peace Prize
      • Obama Second 2012 Debate: Romney Overmatched
      • Obama Third 2012 Debate: He Gives Romney Presidential Seminar
      • Obama Won, But GOP Doesn't Seem to Recognize it
      • Patriotism Not a Republican Virtue
      • Pence Won Debate, Not By Much
      • Political Leaders and Journalists MUST Discuss Popular Presidential Vote
      • Politician/Media Rarely Discuss Americans Preferred Hillary
      • Popular Vote Must Choose Presidency
      • Primary Ballots For Party Members Only
      • Proposition 8 Backlash
      • Redo in Michigan and Florida
      • Religion in Politics
      • Romney Acceptance Speech
      • Rudy Giuliani's Screaming Convention Tirade
      • Ruth Bader Ginsurb's Contempt for Donald Trump
      • Sarah Palin's Appeal is That She's Annie Oakley
      • Sarah Palin's a Right-Wing Gidget
      • Sarah Palin, A Stepford Wife
      • Sarah Palin Is No Dan Quayle
      • Scalia Should Recuse on Gay Issues
      • Senate Refusal to Vote on Scalia Replacement a Sham
      • Should Anthony Weiner Resign?
      • Super Delegates Caved to Obama
      • Trump Is No Populist
      • Trump Name Calling: Why Hasn't it Backfired?
      • Trump Paris Pull-Out, Time To Elect Popular Vote President
      • Trump Performance as President Might Be Best Solution to Change Presidential Election System
      • Trump's Problems Aren't Going Away
      • We've Finally Got Health Care
      • When Does Political Correctness Go Too Far?
      • Will Hillary Have Last Laugh?
    • Show Business >
      • Movies >
        • A Most Violent Year
        • Black Swan a Must See
        • Boyhood: An Engaging Film
        • Che The Movie
        • Clint Eastwood in Gran Torino
        • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
        • Deborah Kerr, Rhymes With Star
        • Defiance
        • The Fighter
        • Good
        • The Hateful Eight Bloated But Intriguing
        • Honorary Academy Awards Ceremony a Travesty
        • Inception
        • Jackie Chan Should Not Get an Oscar
        • Leonardo DiCaprio Deserves the Oscar for "Wolf of Wall Street"
        • Michael Moore"s Where to Invade Next: Documentary or Propaganda?
        • Minority Report and the Oscar Controversy
        • Mitch Reinholt of American Teen
        • Movie Theatre Etiquette
        • Nicholas Hoult of A Single Man
        • Jackie Chan Gets an Oscar?
        • Quentin Tarantino Afraid Aging Will Make Him Out of Touch
        • The Reader
        • Revolutionary Road
        • Seven Pounds
        • Texting in Theatres Is A Blight
      • Television >
        • The Amazing Race
        • Big Brother: Danielle's Stupid Decision
        • Big Brother: Frank Eudy's Ouster
        • Celebrity Apprentice 2011
        • Charlie Sheen's Rant
        • Conan O'Brien's Pissed
        • David Letterman's Apology to Palin
        • David Letterman Gag Didn't Work
        • Do We Need Intrusive Network Logos
        • Glee Message of Tolerance Misguided
        • Golden Globes 2010
        • Golden Globes 2011
        • Golden Globes 2012
        • Golden Globes 2016
        • Hell's Kitchen's Gordon Ramsay
        • I Can Die Now, I've Met Betty White
        • Lost Finale
        • NBC's Decision to Bring Back Leno
        • Political Correctness on TV
        • Racial Advancement on TV
        • Survivor Caramoan: Why Was Erik Reichenbach Ignored by Jeff Probst?
        • Survivor Nicaragua 2010
        • Survivor Redemption Island 2011
        • Survivor: Samoa 2009
        • Susan Boyle I
        • Susan Boyle II
        • Susan Boyle III - The Finals
        • The Amazing Race: Amazing that Brooke and Scott Made the Top 3
        • The Emmy Awards 2014
        • The Oscars 2010
        • The Oscars 2011
        • The Oscars 2012
        • The Oscars 2013
        • The Oscars 2013 Afterthought: Why MacFarlane's Lincoln Joke Didn't Work
        • The Oscars 2014
        • The Oscars 2015
        • The Oscars 2016
        • The Oscars 2017
        • TV Cops Get Away With Murder
        • TV Shows and Films Shouldn't Screw Talent
        • Young Actors in TV Roles
      • Book of Oded Review
      • Chekhov Alive in Hollywood
      • Cutting Meat in Movies and TV Shows
      • Hal Kanter Memories
      • I Never Cried For My Father
      • Perceptionism is the worst "ism"
      • Robert Anderson Has Died
      • SAG Actors Must Remain Strong
      • SAG Negotiations Marred by Clooney and Hanks
      • Ted Lange's Lady Patriot Onstage
      • Trump Bails Out Ed McMahon
      • WGA Strike For Dummies I
      • WGA Strike For Dummies II
      • WGA Strike For Dummies III
      • WGA Strike For Dummies IV
    • Travel >
      • Airline Fees Are Chintzy
      • Airline Service Is a Sham
      • Bitching Can Be Effective
      • Morocco Can Be Intriguing
      • Volcano in Iceland
    • It's Not Easy to Become a Juror
  • My Novel
  • LA Fitness Has Terrible Customer Service
  • Political Correctness Should Be Challenged
    • Contact
  • Sarah Palin Says She's Not Responsible
  • Remedies When You've Been Cheated
  • The Iguassu Falls
  • Getting to Rio
  • Rio de Janeiro
  • São Paulo
  • London Film Award Certificate


DEBORAH KERR, RHYMES WITH STAR
AND WHAT A STAR SHE WAS!

She Deserves to Be Remembered, Too!

 

Picture
                                                                                                          The Huffington Post, April 7, 2008



With the recent deaths of Charlton Heston and Anthony Minghella, and the resulting post-obit tributes that came their way, it bothered me that this was not the case
when one of our greatest motion picture actresses passed away a little less
than six months ago.  In light of this, I thought it appropriate to share the moment I learned of the news.  Perhaps some of you felt likewise.

 

Picture
_I was checking my email at an Internet cafe in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where I was attending the Film Festival in that city when
I noticed a similar subject heading in a large array of messages.  Deborah, they all indicated and without missing much of a
beat my heart sank as I correctly predicted the ominous contents.  Deborah Kerr had died, my lady love and favorite actress since I was ten. Four days prior apparently, and I couldn't believe the news.  Nor that I had missed it on CNN, which certainly must have covered it.  My friends and colleagues assumed I knew and were just passing along their regrets.

But to learn such sad news and so late in an age of instant technology was unfathomable, and it bothered me greatly that
I was in Brazil and could not watch the many tributes to this wonderful star.

It also bothered me that my hometown paper, the Los Angeles Times, had relegated the story to the obit page, whereas it had given front page coverage to the widow of Christopher Reeve!  I'm sorry, but there is no comparison between the public significance of these two women, however tragic the younger woman's death was so soon after Reeve's. Nor was Paul Tibbets as notable.  Indeed the Times had to inform us that he was the pilot of the Enola Gay in its front page reportage of his death, though the man was only a coincidental tool in the events of Hiroshima, having neither planned, perpetrated or made the decision that fateful day.


Shouldn't a newspaper's coverage signal proper import of the collective deeds of a subject's life? There were also no "In Remembrance" memorial columns in the LA Times as a follow-up to her death, and I found this rather outrageous.  Yes, Deborah was 86 and had been out of the public eye for a number of years, but her film and stage career spanned four and a half decades, she was
one of the biggest stars of the fifties, had six Academy Award nominations in the space of eleven years and had secured legendary status in motion picture history. That alone should have made
the choice simple, but the fad conscious editors must have decided her absence from the
spotlight trumped the significance of her contributions to the film industry.

 

Picture
_I was fortunate to get to know Deborah and helped secure her the Oscar long denied her, as well as a royal honour in 1998.Many of her colleagues, including Scottish Film maven David Bruce joined me and appealed to the British authorities
to make her a Dame, but she was awarded instead a CBE, Commander of the British Empire.  This, in spite of From Here to Eternity writer Daniel Taradash comparing the reception that greeted her at the Oscar ceremonies to none other than
Charlie Chaplin when he received his honorary Oscar.  And he'd been anointed a knight, but the female equivalent was
not to be presented to Deborah.  It was an enormous royal shame and I complained about it to the British dailies, a number
of which printed my remarks condemning the Ceremonial Secretariat, which administers the Honours process.

Deborah Kerr was simply a treasure, beloved by her co-workers and generally free from scandal.  The closest she came

was when it was reported that she had fallen in love when her marriage was apparently over. But that was it. Her screen presence of class personified her personal behavior.  Though a star of the highest magnitude, she was enormously taken
by a stranger's kindness, which is how we happened to meet.  She reacted so appreciatively to a letter I wrote her while
she was in Los Angeles doing a play and wrote back saying, "You have no idea what that does for the timid ego I possess!"

She invited me to her meet her and we later began an every so often exchange of letters until she expressed her thanks in a phone call when she received the CBE

in 1998.  Her Tea and Sympathy playwright Robert Anderson told me to call her in Switzerland after he'd related my involvement in the campaign, and she was
ever so grateful, ever the lady.

That's the memory I'll cherish forever.  How I was fortunate to work as a writer in the same industry and got to know the once far off dreamy figure I'd discovered in my youth when my grandmother took me to the Roxy Theatre in New York City to see her performance in The King and I.

It remains my favorite film, and apparently is still much appreciated by her motion picture colleagues, who raised the level of their applause during the tribute to Deborah at the 1994 Oscar ceremonies when a film clip suddenly appeared showing her dancing with the king of Siam.

After I returned from Brazil I performed duties as a strike captain for the 2007-2008 Writers Strike.  While picketing I regaled my fellow writers about this splendid actress, my heart aching for our collective loss, for my personal loss.  Then, a tearful smile occasionally spread across my face when I realized how lucky I was to know her.

                                                   Follow Michael Russnow on Twitter: www.twitter.com/kerrloy


                                                                                                                                                                   Contact Us

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.