This week in The Wall Street Journal, I interviewed actress Kyra Sedgwick for my "House Call" column in the Mansion section. In addition to talking about her childhood, she explained how knocking over an important piece of art became a valuable life lesson. I think we all miss her in TV's The Closer—a show she was in for six seasons. [Photo above of Kyra Sedgwick from YouTube]
Here's a trailer of the pilot, with Kyra playing Deputy Chief Brenda Johnson...
Johnny Mandel, one of America's great big band and movie composers and arrangers, was interviewed by saxophonist and educator Bill Kirchner in 1995. To read the detail-rich interview, go here.
Grant Green. Following my post on guitarist Grant Green, Robert Fletcher reminded me that Green's former daughter-in-law, Sharony Andrews Green, published a biography of Green in 2002. You'll find the book, Grant Green: Rediscovering the Forgotten Genius of Jazz Guitar, here.
Eva Marie Saint. After actress Eva Marie Saint finished On the Waterfront in 1954, she won an Oscar in '55 for her performance and playfully said she might gave birth to her baby (son, Darrell) on stage while accepting the award in New York. Her followup film, That Certain Feeling (1956), was oddly soft for an Oscar-winner. Perhaps the new mom wanted it that way. Surprisingly, the film showcased her comic skills beautifully. Though Bob Hope is wooden as a leading man, the scene that makes the film for me is the pajama dance. If you don't want to watch the film from the beginning, start at 53:10 and catch the exquisite Pearl Bailey. Watch through the short boardroom scene to the pajama dance and the title song. In these scenes, Ms. Saint and Ms. Bailey run away with the film. Here's the entire film of That Certain Feeling...
Oddball cover of the week.
Once again, the prop drives the art direction. Someone must have had a rubber dino in the closet. So they built the cover around prehistoric notions of how women should be treated. A perfectly imbecilic way to illustrate This Love of Mine. Come to think of it, that looks like Jayne Mansfield on the floor with husband Mickey Hargitay's foot on her back.
