BETWEEN THE COVERS : SEX AND SHOPPING ... SINNING WITH JUDITH KRANTZ!

STEVE KRANTZ

As I have put 'Dynasty Revisited' on hiatus for a few months, have decided to continue a regular posting, feature exerpts from books that have mentioned Joan.. This week it is from Best-selling authoress Judith Krantz autobiography -'Sex and Shopping The Confessions of a Nice Jewish Girl'.. Judiths husband Steve was the producer of Joan's lavish 1985 mini-series 'Sins'.. Here are Judith's memories of this time.. this exerpt is edited...

JOAN AND PETER HOLM AT LAUNCH OF 'SINS'
'CBS had been so delighted with the success of 'Mistral's Daughter', that they asked Steve to do another mini-series, the project was called 'Sins'. It was from a book of the same name, all they had going for it in the beginning was the fact Joan Collins had agreed to star in it. Both Joan, riding very high in 'Dynasty', and her new boyfriend Peter Holm, had insisted on the titles of executive producer, which didn't bother Steve, as he knew who would get the work done, his title of producer was sufficent. Meanwhile a suite had been taken at The Ritz for Joan, plus an additional room for her clothes and yet another room for the excercise equipment she was bringing with her. Steve had made an arrangement with Valentino to make a large number of haute-couture outfits for her to wear in her role as a fashion designer and the wardrobe department had created other lavish costumes.

 

Joan would be spending the summer in France with her serious new beau Peter Holm. With her too was her assistant and best friend, Judy Bryer, a delightful woman. I had only watched 'Dynasty' once or twice, but of course I knew what kind of woman Joan Collins was. Her ultimate bitchiness was so well established that I never questioned it. I would never have guessed that she would turn out to be a major exception to the rule that a movie star can't be a real friend... That the day would come when we'd think of Joan as a down to earth, hospitable, cozy, terrific broad, with a sense of humour all her own, a platoon of loving friends and as a totally devoted mother who has an admirable fortitude that has enabled her to survive a lot of difficult moments. The first time I met her revealed nothing. She was calm, cool and distinctly reserved during a welcoming dinner at the Tour d'Argent. Peter was tall and blond, not faintly attractive to my eyes, a Norwegian hulk, whose eyes only betrayed interest when I brought up the subject of the rising price of real estate! On the first day of shooting, Joan was two hours late, nobody said anything to her about it. On the second and third days, she was also two hours late! Finally Steve decided that he had to intervene by having a serious discussion about her turning up on time. The following day she was three hours late! She made her point. It was decided to rearrange the schedule around the star.. However once she was ready to work, nobody could be more thoroughgoing professional than Joan. She gave her best every moment she was on the set, her best was compellingly watchable. The important thing to understand about her was that she had an absolute daily and addictive need to shop. Those first hours in the morning were the only time during the day when she could look in store windows and spot things she'd later have sent to her hotel to try on, without this she simply wasn't happy...



JOAN AND JUDITH AT A PARTY TO CELEBRATE 'SINS'

The entire 'Sins' company would later in the summer, spend ten days in Venice. There Joan worked in costume and showed up right on time for nine days, with only one day off, a Sunday during which we bumped into her on the Lido dressed in jeans. However the day before we were due to leave, I discovered Judy Bryer buying seven new Vuitton suitcases for Joan!
"How could she possibly need them?" I asked.. "She hasn't had a minute off to go shopping since we have been here."
Judy answered... "You'd be surprised!" I later discovered that the Venice shops were sending boatloads of things across the lagoon to Joan's hotel, 'The Cipriani', for her to pick from every night, after she finished work. Her shopping addiction aside, I discovered that Joan could be irrestibly charming and deliciously funny. That side of her is best described by a story Tony Newley told me one night.
"You know Joan and I used to be married and before our divorce I was quoted correctly as saying that I'd rather kiss Hitler than her! Well, this afternoon I had to spend several hours with Joan discussing our kids schools and Judy, so help me God, I damn near fell in love with her all over again."
The real difficulty on 'Sins' came from Peter Holm, who one day actually stole the books from the production office to study them, looking to find places in the budget where they had been cheated. Of course he found nothing, Peter fomented trouble whenever he could.  Joan was to marry this perfectly dreadful man, we went to the wedding reception she gave at her house in Los Angeles and she would soon divorce him! Call it a giant lapse in judgment..I am sure she would have a more colourful term!
(c) 2000 Judith Krantz ..