Joan Collins In Conversation | BFI Live | British Film Institute

****click here for video   Joan Collins In Conversation | BFI Live | British Film Institute  ****


Joan attended a screening of "Rally Round The Flag Boys" on April 17th followed by a conversation.  Thanks to the BFI here is a hi-lites video..

AUTOGRAPHICA 15 THE HILTON BIRMINGHAM 7TH TO 9TH MAY 2010

With GERALD HARPER

Dinner with TIPPI HEDREN

With SYLVIA ANDERSON

Cocktail Party with TIPPI

With SUSANNAH YORK



Dinner Menu



With LESLIE NIELSEN



SHOW POSTER

TIPPI TALK TICKET

A regular event I attend is the Autographica show run by Showmasters and is attended by some of the biggest stars from classic film and television. This event was attended by the legendary Tippi Hedren, Hitchcock leading lady and star of classics "The Birds" and "Marnie". Also appearing were Leslie Nielsen of "Naked Gun" and "Airplane" and "Forbidden Planet" fame, Susannah York, wonderful star of stage and screen and Superman's mother! TV Favourites  Ray Lonnen, Gerald Harper, George Baker and the wonderful Sylvia Anderson of "Thunderbirds" - voice of Lady Penelope and the creator!  As well as stars of stage and screen, the show also features Astronauts and War Veterans and some sports stars. While I  appreciate their achievements, I am not a collector or enthusiast and therefore wont dwell on them here. I love this event as you get to mingle and actually talk with guests. I attend the Friday night VIP and chatted with Tippi, Susannah, Leslie and other stars. There are signing sessions during the day and on the Saturday night a drinks reception and a gala dinner. In the past I sat with Joan Collins and partied with Ursula Andress, this time I had dinner with Tippi and she was a delight as always. We attended a talk she gave on her career and her Shambala reserve in California. She discussed getting the part of Melanie in "The Birds" and how Hitch gave her a brooch to let her know she won the role. It was a thrill at dinner to actually admire and have a good look at the brooch, which she wore that evening. I must also mention Karen Cadle, the legendary producer, who is also booker for the biggest stars that attend. We had a great chat throughout the weekend and she is a hardworking and dedicated lady who truly appreciates those legendary stars of stage and screen.    Shown are some photo's of myself with Tippi Hedren and Karen, Susannah York, Leslie Nielsen, Sylvia Anderson and Gerald Harper. Looking forward to the September show, where I will be having dinner with Linda Gray, of course "Dallas" legend and will chat to Charlene Tilton, another "Dallas" legend.."Charlies Angels" and Bond girl Tanya Roberts, popular action star Richard Roundtree, British film legend Sylvia Syms and many more! watch this space for an update!!

BARBRA & LIZA LIVE SMOCK ALLEY THEATRE DUBLIN MAY 15TH 2010

This is my 1st post for a week or two and I have decided to update this blog every Sunday! Last weekend I attended the wonderful "Barbra & Liza Live" starring Rick Skye and Steve Brinberg at the Smock Alley Theatre Dublin. I had seen Rick in his "A Slice o'Minnelli " show and was delighted to see him again. Rick does a hilarious send up of Liza, while Steve performs a more refined tribute to Barbra. Both talented performers are always worth a visit to see. Steve also does a wonderful string of impersonations as he showcases the alleged many voices who have sung the hit "Alfie".. From Lena Horne to Bette Davis, he provides more than a titter along with witty banter as Barbra and a set-list of Streisand hits. Rick is currently wowing audiences in London and I am sure he will wow us here in Dublin again! Catch them when you can for a fabulous Slice O' Minnelli and a showcase which is Simply Barbra!

DEBBIE REYNOLDS ALIVE AND FABULOUS APOLLO THEATRE 6TH MAY 2010

I was delighted to catch the legendary Debbie Reynolds in London last Thursday night and what a joy she was both on stage and off. The show itself was a fun filled delight and she herself likes to call it..."A good old Variety show" With a starry backdrop and a large screen showing endless photos/stills from her films, the pre-show reflected just how busy a legend she truly is. The show had a mix of songs from her films and songs she herself enjoys, opening with the classic legendary diva number "I'm Still Here". Of course she had to include "Singing In The Rain", "Good Morning" and "Tammy" as a closing number. She also paid tribute to her old friend Judy Garland, by singing a medley of her hits. She also threw in a couple of my favourite numbers .."S'wonderful" and "Just In Time". With bloopers from her personal collection and stories about her films and the stars she has met and worked with, she also demonstrated her talent for impersonation! We got snippets of Bette Davis, Katherine Hepburn, James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, a hilarious Barry Fitzgerald and a sidesplitting Barbra Streisand. It is safe to say, Debbie certainly deserves the title of Hollywood Legend and I am delighted to have gotten the chance to spend an evening with her. Before her 12 nights at The Apollo, Debbie embarked on a 17 night tour of the UK, see flyer above for details. Shown are some of the many items Debbie signed for me, including the program, dvd covers, flyers.. She also did a few "These Old Broads" items which will be seen on my Joan Collins blog at www.joancollinsarchive.blogspot.com in a future post.. I was also delighted to get my copy of her autobiography signed and a couple of photos with the Hollywood Legend...

GRAND LADIES OF COUNTRY THE HELIX DUBLIN MARCH 2010

For the last three years I have attended Queens of Country Music show, which this year was re-named "Grand Ladies of Country". The main star of this lineup of top female country artists, is the legendary Billie Jo Spears, who I grew up listening to, as my dad was a fan. Still sounding as good as ever, she sang all her hits, "Blanket on the Ground", "What I got in Mind", "Sing me an Old Fashioned Song" and one of my favourites "57 Chevrolet". Billie released her first single back in 1953, a song called "Too old for Toys..Too young for Boys!".It was great to see her back on form as she had by-pass surgery a few years ago. Also on the bill, was Ireland's Queen of Country, Philomena Begley, who has been on the music scene since the 60's and she had her first big hit in 1970, with "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow." She is best known for the song "Queen of the Silver Dollar" and a hit in Ireland with Billie Jo's hit "Blanket on the Ground". In fact both ladies duet the song in the show. Georgette Jones makes her first appearance in the show as she sings hits from her mother Tammy Wynette's back catalogue as well as a few of her own. Georgette also appears in the hilarious "Sordid Lives" and I asked her if there would be a 2nd series, she was hopeful there would be! Leona Williams has had many hits starting in the 60's with songs such as "Once More" and "Yes Mam! He found me in a Honky Tonk!" She also is an accomplished songwriter and has written hits for her ex-husband Merle Haggard. A newcomer to the country scene and certainly not a lady, is Nathan Carter, a young guy from Liverpool with a great country voice and he has a bright future on the country scene. The flyer shows Stella Parton, who was due to appear on the tour, but she did not finalise the contacts, so she didn't do the tour. The producers had printed up the posters and flyers well in advance. Shown here is a signed flyer and a shot of Billie and Philiomena, ticket and some shots of myself with the artists..

THE PRODUCERS PARIS LAS VEGAS OCTOBER 2007

Although not a big fan of Mel Brook's, I had heard very good things about the stage musical of "The Producer's", which had been a smash hit on Broadway and London's West End, that I decided to attend a performance in Las Vegas. I also was lured by Tony Danza, who had taken over the starring role from David Hasselhoff. The show opened to a gala premiere in February of 2007, but failed to be the success it needed to be, to stay on the strip. The curtain closed on this production in February of 2008. I quite enjoyed the show, preformed in the Paris theatre, which currently is the new home for Barry Manilow, who has moved from his previous home at the Las Vegas Hilton. I have been to that show and plan to see his new production in December. The night before I attended this performance, I attended a performance of the fabulous "Jubilee" at Bally's and the cast of "The Producers" including Tony Danza, sat next to us in the VIP booths. Have seen "Jubilee" many times and will be featuring it in a future post..

HANS KLOK ... THE BEAUTY OF MAGIC FEATURING PAMELA ANDERSON .. PLANET HOLLYWOOD THEATRE LAS VEGAS 2007

Over the years there have been many, many shows appearing on the Las Vegas Strip, but it takes a show with that certain something to run and run. As a regular visitor to Vegas I have experienced the best and the worst, needless to say the worst shows, usually close after a short run. I have always been fond of the magic/illusion shows and was pleased to see a new spectacular show advertised for the Strip. There have been few big magic shows since the demise of the fabulous Siegfried & Roy show closed, well apart from the enjoyable Lance Burton and the entertaining Rick Thomas.  The new Planet Hollywood Resort, which was once The Aladdin launched a an exciting new show in 2007 featuring the Dutch illusionist Hans Klok and a guest spot for Carmen Electra. After a few glitches the show finally opened but Electra pulled out, probably due to her ability to perform in a live show. The producers drafted in another Baywatch off cast Pamela Andreson, who just about was able to commit to the show. Although it should have been the easiest job on the strip, as all she had to do was to appear for ten minutes throughout the entire 90 minute show! Hans first performed in Vegas in 1994 as part of the NBC show "The World's Greatest Magic", broadcast live from Caesars Palace. He was little known in America when he debuted in June of 2007, but he is a hugh draw in Europe. The show opened in June, but failed to take off even with the dubious star billing of Anderson, so the show closed in December of 07. I attended this performance on Thursday October 18th 2007. While I enjoyed the show, it really was a rehash of everything that had been seen before on the Strip. I would describe it as a cross between the Siegfried & Roy show (minus the tigers), and David Copperfield by was of Lance Burton, on a smaller budget. It was obvious that Pamela was only drafted in as marquee value, as she brought nothing to the show. She looked quite out of it, as I recall on this occasion. I dread to think what Carmen Electra would have been like in it! Nevertheless is was an enjoyable evening! Shown here is a Flyer, ticket and promo shot of Hans and Pamela..

KYLIE ... X TOUR 2008

As a teenager I grew up watching the Australian daily soap "Neighbours" and when Kylie Minogue hit the pop scene back in 1986 with her first hit "I Should Be So Lucky", I was one of the first few to own the 12" single month's before it hit the UK charts. I left my hometown of Sligo in the West of Ireland in the Autumn of 1986 to do a training course in Dublin and started to buy my regular fix of records from a wonderful little store called "Beat Records", which specialized in dance records, they also had the latest eurobeat/hi-nrg tracks and all the advance releases from the PWL stable, of which Kylie was an artist. 24 years later and I am still a fan of Kylie and so delighted that she still is as vital in the music business as she was then. With a brand new album "Aphrodite" out next month and a single not to mention the chances of another spectacular tour, I thought I would feature items from her 2008 tour "X".

As with all Kylie tours, it was a large spectacle and due to this this show only went to Belfast, as The Point Theatre which normally houses large shows, had closed to allow the brand new O2 Arena to be built. So I decided to travel to Glasgow on Saturday 5th July to attend this performance at the SECC. With not as many feathers as the ultra glamorous "Showgirl" tour, it still had it's fair share of hi-tech glamour!!  Here is the flyer..secc  promo ad..ticket and print ad..

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE : THEATRE ROYAL GLASGOW 2008

As a school goer I grew up reading the books of Agatha Christie and I also enjoyed all the various film versions of her novels, including the star-studded epics such as "Death On The Nile" and "Murder On The Orient Express". One of the first films I watched based on a Christie novel was "Ten Little Indians" which was originally called "Ten Little Niggers", but the title was adjusted for obvious reasons. The film version I remember the most was from 1945 and was also retitled "And Then There Were None". I was delighted back in 2006 when Bill Kenwright launched The Agatha Christie Theatre Company. This venture aimed to mount a different production every year with a cast of familar faces. The first production was a lesser known play "The Hollow" and it starred one of my favourite femme fatales, Kate O'Mara, who I have seen many times over the years and will feature her in different productions in future posts. This production was for the 2008 season and I flew to Glasgow to catch this performance on Saturday 28th June 2008. This play was originally performed in 1943 at the St Jame's Theatre in London's West End. Of all the versions that were filmed and performed, this production is the original adaptation by Agatha Christie, as it retains the original bleak ending of the novel. The classic storyline concerns a group of seven travellers invited to a secluded house and are eventually killed off one by one!  Among the cast members in the production was Mark Wynter, who in the 60's had been a pop star teen idol, with nine top twenty singles, hits including.."Venus In Blue Jean" and "Go Away Little Girl", similar to Cliff Richard. My mum had been a fan of his and as I was born in the 60's, she somehow got the inspiration to name me after Mr Wynter. He seemed amused and flattered when I told him this after the show! Mark after his pop career dried up, as where, turned to theatre and has appeared in many productions such as "Charlie Girl" with the legendary Cyd Charisse and Dora Bryan. He also appeared in the Tigon shocker "Haunted House Of Horror". Mark has appeared in every Christie production since 2007.  Other stars in the production included Jennifer Wilson, who is remembered for her role in the long running 70's series "The Brothers". Gerald Harper is best known for the cult series "Adam Adamant" and "Hadleigh", but his body of work has also included films such as "The Admirable Crichton", "Tunes of Glory", "The League Of Gentlemen" and "The Shoes Of The Fisherman". I will be meeting Gerald next weekend in Birmingham, will find out if he has any more Christie in the works!. Denis Lill has appeared in many films including, "The Eagle Has Landed", "Batman", "Empire of the Sun" and "Evita". On tv he has a regular role in the long running ITV series "The Royal" as well as classics such as "DR Who", "Rock Follies" and "Lillie".  Chloe Newsome was a regular "Coronation Street" star, playing Alec Gilroy's granddaughter Vicky, while Alex Fearns played the nasty wife beater Trevor in "Eastenders" and Peter Byrne is famous for appearances in "Dixon of Dock Green", "Bread" and "Blake's Seven"
All in all a diverse cast and as usual from this company a quality production. The latest play to get the Touring company treatment is "Witness for the Prosecution" and hopefully I will catch this in the Autumn.

Shown here are the flyer signed by Mark Wynter and a page from the program, photo of myself with Gerald Harper. ticket and ad from Glasgow.