I'm going to take a break today from blogging on health to indulge both you and I with a blog about a dear friend, Alec McCowen.
Alec is one of the world's greatest living actors - an icon of the stage and screen. He's 86 now but still had the blazing eyes and wit of a 20 year old. He never obtained the same star-fame as Lord Laurence Olivier or Sir John Gielgud (nor was he ever knighted), but when you mention his name in theatrical circles, all bow their heads.
In 1990 I had the pleasure and honor of being his stage manager for his self directed, one man masterpiece St. Mark's Gospel at the Lamb's Theater on Broadway. We took it on national tour as well. The show was a remarkable depiction of the story of Jesus according to Mark that contained a myriad of emotions and incredible humor. If you found Mark a stiff read in bible class, Alec brings the tale to life. I never once tired of watching him perform it. You don't have to be religious to enjoy it.
Since then we've kept in touch sending holiday cards to each other every year for 21 years. So when I knew that we were making England part of our vacation, I wrote to him to see if he would be in London when we were there. Luckily, he was!
So, we went to visit him on August 4th, our second day in the U.K. after a trip to Harrod's department store. Amber, a lover of doll houses, was in heaven!
Harrod's was a mere few miles from his home so we hopped in a cab and went to see him for tea. As we approached his home in South Kennsington, I felt very nervous to see him again after 20 years. I knew he had aged a lot and was, it was rumored, suffering from the loss of a foot due to diabetes. Thankfully the rumor was just that.
We walked up the stoop of his 4 story townhouse (no pic for privacy purposes, sorry!) and rang the bell. A few seconds passed without an answer. Georgia was very excited to meet him and became a bit worried that perhaps he wasn't there. I said "He's old honey, give him time." Then, from the intercom we heard the unmistakable trumpet voice of the great actor:
"Is that Amber?" It sounded like she was being called to the podium to accept her diploma from Harvard.
I gestured to Amber to come closer to answer him. "Yes it is!" she said.
"Is that Georgia?" "Yes it is!" Georgia replied.
"Is that Linda?" His voice softened with a tone of rememberence. "Yes Alec." she said smiling. We were all smiling like Cheshire cats at this point.
"Is that Heathcliffe?"
When we were touring, we discovered that we both had the same favorite movie - Wuthering Heights with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon.
Heathcliffe was played by Olivier and we would toss quotes from the movie out at each other all the time, wherever we went. I love the movie so much that, if I recall correctly, I was actually able to out quote the masterful thespian.
"Why isn't there the smell of heather in your hair?" "Why are your eyes always empty, like Linton's eyes." "Kathy, you're still my queen!" "I cannot live without my life. I cannot die without my soul." "Why do you think I'm here tonight? You willed me here. You willed me here across the sea."
Stuff like that.
You gotta watch it. Make sure to bring two boxes of Kleenex when you do.
Here's a snippet:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igaRpWIoFaw&w=540&h=390]
OK one more:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puxz9xNgtXQ&w=540&h=390]
Though you can't see it, behind Alec and the girls in this picture is a picture of my girls that he put in a special holder.
Alec had never met my girls before we went to visit so showing off my beauties to such a great man was a real thrill. Linda was beside herself.
I wish I could tell you all the stories he told about Katherine Hepburn, Sean Connery, Dame Judith Dench (his close friend) and many others but this blog would go on for hours and hours. Georgia and Amber have recently become fans of the James Bond films. When I told them he played 'Q' Algy in Never Say Never Again they were dumbfounded.
Alec told us the story of how they changed the NSNA script the day he got on the set. He had studied the script for months before and had the scenes set in his mind. Connery didn't like the director much Alec told us and when he discussed the script change with Connery, the big man said in his rough Scottish voice "Don't worry about the damn script Alec. Do the scene the way you want to do it. I'll take care of Kershner."
It was great to see Alec again. Tea was wonderful and he told us all about his home by the sea and how he was happy living as a retired actor.
One more photo:
I hope I'll have the opportunity to see him once again. Life is short and we must all relish in the relationships we cherish.
