Dancing with John Wayne . . .

After my stint as one of Dean Martin's Golddiggers I became one of the Beautiful Downtown Beauties on the last season of "Laugh-In".

Working on Laugh-In with Dan Rowan and Dick Martin was amazing! I had the chance to work with incredible actors. Once again I was able to enjoy the comedic talents of Ruth Buzzi, who I had had the chance to perform comedy sketches with on "Chevrolet Presents the Golddiggers".

As most "Laugh-In" fans remember their was always a Flower Party at the end of the show. We would all Go-Go dance and then freeze to allow for some scintillating banter from the stars.

On one particular show John Wayne was the guest star and it was my privilege to dance with him! Mr. Wayne didn't really dance so it was decided that I would dance in a circle around him. John Wayne was a notorious drinker and true to form he had been happily "partying" before taping began. He was in a very good mood as we started the scene. At the first motion freeze, he "twirled" to follow my dance and started wobbling precariously. (can you even imagine John Wayne twirling?) I became very concerned. . . I think we re-shot the scene three times, with each take getting more wobbly. Thankfully I heard "that's a wrap" called just in the nick of time.

The possibility that I would end up in a heap with the 6'4, 200 lb plus, John Wayne had been averted.

Spartacus and the Crimson Pirate . . .

In the late sixties my fiancee (dancer Mark Hudson) got a job performing in a revival of the musical "Knickerbocker Holiday". It was set to star Burt Lancaster in the lead role of Pieter Stuyvesant and Mark was quite excited to be in the show. Rehearsals and previews took place in San Francisco and I would fly up to watch.

I've referred to my crush on David Niven in an earlier post, but with Burt Lancaster I was absolutely star struck! I had grown up idolizing him and had seen all his movies. Mr. Lancaster picked up on this and started teasing me about it. I would end up with a red face every time I was around him.

After the show opened in Los Angeles, Burt Lancaster threw a pool party at his house in Malibu. And of course Mark and I went.

Walking past the pool (in my lavender bikini), I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and came face to face Kirk Douglas! Reaching out to shake my hand he said "Hi, I'm Kirk Douglas". (like I wouldn't know) I almost fell in the pool. "Spartacus" is one of my all time favorite movies. At this point I could not talk. To make matters even more embarrassing Burt Lancaster came over to make introductions. (not missing an opportunity to tease . . .) There I was standing between Spartacus and the Crimson Pirate!

I think I spent the remainder of the party in a corner of the pool.

Marlon Brando and Pralines'n'Cream . . .

When I was living in Studio City, CA I would on occasion splurge and treat myself to a Baskin-Robbins ice cream cone. My favorite flavor was always Pralines'n'Cream.

One extremely hot day I stopped in at the local ice cream store to indulge. The store was empty, except for a rather large gentleman and a very young girl working behind the counter. As I waited for my turn I heard a very distinctive voice next to me asking "how much do I owe you". I turned and standing right next to me was none other then Marlon Brando! (he had even ordered my favorite flavor, Pralines'n'Cream)

He finished his transaction and left. I asked the gal if she knew who that was that had just left. She didn't, so I told her it was Marlon Brando! Her reply was, "who's that?" I thought about this for quite a few seconds (I couldn't believe she didn't know who the iconic Marlon Brando was)

I looked at her and said, "Superman's Dad?"

"Oh yeah", she replied unenthusiastically. She was very young.

Backstage with Charlie Chaplin . . .

In 1972, along with my then husband (dancer Mark Hudson), I auditioned for the 44th Annual Academy Awards. We were both looking for the opportunity to be part of the dance team that would perform on the show. The choreographer, Ron Field, ended up choosing both of us and we were very happy with the outcome. However, later when we were at home, we received a phone call from his assistant. Apparently there had been a mix-up and Field had chosen too many dancers! This was an unusual circumstance and he apologized for the mistake.

Mark was asked to stay on and I was asked if I would model one of the Best Costume nominees instead! I was actually relieved! Ron Field had teased me mercilessly at the audition (if I remember correctly, for being very balletic). It was a situation I had run into in New York, especially with choreographer Michael Bennett,

whenever I auditioned for a Broadway show. I know it was always meant as a compliment, but I would get terribly embarrassed and uncomfortable.

I was asked to model Vanessa Redgrave's costume from "Mary, Queen of Scotts". (must have been my red hair). It was gorgeous, and though it had to be shortened a bit in the bodice, other then that was a perfect fit! (Ms. Redgrave is 5'11 and I'm 5'7)

The award show was directed by Marty Pasetta and produced by Howard C Koch, who immediately started calling me "Vanessa" ( . . . more teasing). During rehearsal I remember seeing presenters Jill St. John, who was wearing a gorgeous denim and suede pantsuit, and Raquel Welch! I remember being in awe of Ms. Welch - she was incredibly beautiful in person. I felt the camera never did her justice!

On April 10th the show went on! Live, of course, and very exciting! One of my old buddies, Jack Lemmon was co-hosting. (check out my "The time I met David Niven . . ." post) Towards the end of the program a tribute was scheduled for Charles Chaplin. He was awarded an honorary Academy Award for his "incalculable effect in making motion pictures the art form of the century."

I was backstage as the legendary Charlie Chaplin was wheeled to the edge of the stage. (he needed the aid of a wheel chair at the time) It was amazing to watch one of the greatest icons of American cinema, pull himself up and stand, so he could walk onto the stage and receive his award!

There were many celebrities present at that awards show and it was an incredible experience. But my brief encounter with Charlie Chaplin will always be the moment to remember!

A Two Foot High Pineapple Head-dress?

Right before I left the ballet world, at the age of 17, I auditioned for the legendary Alicia Markova for a chance to join the Metropolitan Opera Ballet.

The audition went great and I was told I would definitely have a spot with the company! I was overjoyed at the prospect of dancing with the renowned NYC Metropolitan Opera!

My excitement was short lived. As Alicia Markova stated in her book, "Markova Remembers", 'an unfortunate nine month strike at the Met ended our arrangement.' I was devastated. To make matters worse, we were asked to "help out" the Radio City Ballet at the Radio City Music Hall in the interim. We were assured that our place with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet was safe and as soon as the strike was over we would be back!

I felt dancing for the Radio City Ballet was a major demotion. I thought the Rockettes were incredible, but the ballet company did not enjoy the same kind of reputation. It turned out to be one of the hardest jobs I've ever had and surprisingly a lot of fun! Performing in the Christmas extravaganza at Radio City Music Hall was a humbling experience. There were five shows a day! (out of necessity, napping became a way of life) There were also camels, sheep and all their natural elimination processes and some very challenging Costumes!

The theme of the ballet portion that year was a loose (very loose) variation of "The Nutcracker". We were dressed in kind of boxy yellow tutu with the most humongous pineapple head-dresses you've ever seen! It turned out we were supposed to be pineapple confections or candies. After emerging from a gigantic candy box we performed our little ballet. (praying that the stage had been swept clean of you-no-what) Strategically the triple pirouettes (performed on pointe) had to be downgraded to doubles due to the centrifugal force of the said "pineapples".

Before the nine months were over Alicia Markova left the Met and all bets were off. What could I do but move on to summer stock and eventually audition for Dean Martin's Golddiggers?

Pigs Trample George Balanchine . . .

When I was cast as Katy, Fembot #1 (in the Kill Oscar trilogy), I found out I would be working with the great John Houseman. He turned out to be a longtime friend of George Balanchine's and had a keen interest in ballet. As a child I studied ballet at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet in NYC.

One of the stories I shared with Mr. Houseman was my experience working with Balanchine in the ballet "Don Quixote". When I was thirteen, several of the young dancers at the School of American Ballet were asked to participate in Balanchine's delightful version of "Don Quixote". I was fortunate to be included in the selection! It turned out that we were to make our New York City Ballet debut as . . . pigs.

Not very glamorous, but it was still a chance to perform with the famous New York City Ballet! We were "choreographed" to stampede across the stage in a scene in Act 3. We had to carefully navigate around the dancer portraying Don Quixote, who would be lying on the ground, directly in our path. The goal was to give the illusion that Don Quixote was being trampled.

"Mr. B" liked to step in and perform the roll of Don Quixote from time to time and unfortunately no one told us this was likely to happen. One night, the "pigs" ran across the stage in usual formation, only to find Don Quixote was not on his mark! Too late we came upon him and inadvertently trampled him for real. Balanchine was furious and raced back to our dressing room as soon as the scene was over. He demanded to know which of us had done the trampling!

Luckily part of our pig costumes were full pig head masks and they turned out to be the perfect disguise. None of us confessed to the unforgivable trampling, we all just sat there and shook in fear!

Mel Brooks in a golf cart . . .

While I was working at Warner Bros. on "Mame" with Lucille Ball and Robert Preston, another movie was being shot on the lot. Mel Brooks was busy directing his comedic masterpiece "Blazing Saddles".

I was approached by one of his representatives and asked if I would like to be a small part of the movie! I, of course said YES!

The next day I reported to the set and met Mel Brooks! He drove me around the set in a golf cart while explaining what he wanted me to do. He told me about the "pie fight" scene he was filming, and how he wanted a tour guide and her charges to walk right through the middle of the scene. Oh, and by the way, did I mind getting pie in my face?

Check out the pie fight on YouTube:

The Great Pie Fight