TRIBUTE FLASHBACK : ANNE JEFFREYS .. 1923 - 2017 ..

One of Hollywood's most glamorous and elegant stars the lovely Anne Jeffreys has passed away and I wanted to share this shot from 2008 of Anne with Joan and the late Joanna Carson, who was the widow of talk show legend Johnny Carson.. This was taken at the wedding of singer Michael Feinstein in Los Angeles.. Anne starred in the classic 50's series 'Topper' as well as a long running role of Amanda Barrington on 'General Hospital' as well as a recurring role on 'Falcon Crest' as well as many film appearances since her debut in 1942 ..

Anne with Robert Sterling in classic series 'Topper'

Anne as Amanda on General Hospital

TRIBUTE FLASHBACK : JOAN'S GOT PLAYBOY COVERED!

As it was announced that Playboy founder Hugh Hefner has just died, here is a stunning shot of Joan by legendary Hollywood photographer George Hurrell for the classic 1983 edition which featured Joan on the cover ...

PHOTO TRIBUTE : VEGAS BOUND FOR JOAN & THE DUCKIES!

Sad to hear the 'Coronation Street' legend Liz Dawn died today and it reminded of this super appearance by Joan in a special 1997 video edition of the show set in Las Vegas.. Here is a scene sending up Joan's classic Cinzano's ads, with Liz having the bevvy thrown over her, as had happened to Joan in the original with Leonard Rossiter.. Liz as Vera Duckworth will forever be remembered as one of 'Coronation Street's' legendary characters and she was a genuinely funny lady who will be missed...

PHOTO FLASHBACK : WHEN IT'S TIME FOR SINS.. ALWAYS DRESS TO IMPRESS!

This stunning shot features Joan as Helene Junot in the 1985 miniseries 'Sins'.. Also featured are Lauren Hutton and the late Joe Bologna..

PRESS UPDATE : THE TIMES .. FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 22ND 2017 ..

This article appeared in today's issue of 'The Times' and proves how prolific Joan's acting career is in relation to those other British Dames including Maggie Smith & Judi Dench..

EVENT UPDATE : RICHARD YOUNG 70TH BIRTHDAY DINNER .. LANGAN'S BRASSIERE .. LONDON .. SEPTEMBER 15TH 2017 ..

Legendary celebrity photographer Richard Young celebrated his 70th birthday with a dinner at fashionable 'Langan's Brassiere' in London earlier tonight which was attended by Joan among others..

TV ALERT : LORRAINE .. ITV1 .. FRIDAY 15TH SEPTEMBER 2017 ..08:25AM ..

Don't forget to tune into 'Lorraine' from 08:25am Friday Morning on ITV1 to catch Joan talk about her latest film among other things.. Thanks to Alyn Waterman for this stunning shot!

EVENT UPDATE : THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS SCREENING .. THE BFI SOUTHBANK .. THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 14TH 2017 ..

Joan dropped into the BFI Southbank earlier for a special member event, where she introduced one of her favourite film's 'The Fabulous Baker Boys' with Percy as host.. Here are a couple of great longshots from the event..

PRESS UPDATE : EVENING STANDARD ES LIFESTYLE .. THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 14TH 2017 ..

Power Hungry: Joan Collins on the return of 80's fashion

Shoulder pads! Big sleeves! The spirit of the Eighties is back on the catwalk. About time, says Dame Joan Collins...

Glamour personified: Joan Collins leaves Annabel’s nightclub in London,1987 David/Silverhub/REX/Shutterstock
 Just when I thought today’s modern fashion couldn’t get any more hideous, along comes a whiff of sensibility: the return of so-called ‘power-dressing’ for AW17, à la Dynasty. So, hello and welcome back even bigger sleeves (Balenciaga, Tibi), small waists (Saint Laurent, Isabel Marant) and comfortable trouser suits (Ellery and Calvin Klein). Clothes that flatter a real woman’s body.‘Excruciatingly tasteless’ is a common assessment of the Eighties in recent years, but I’ve always felt the decade was unfairly maligned and argue that overall, it was very becoming. Granted, Eighties fashion eventually degenerated into cartoon clothes such as floppy dolman-sleeved sweaters worn over massive shoulder pads, faux Chanel jackets covered in bling and dozens of gold military buttons. But at least no one went out in pyjamas.

In the Eighties, Dynasty became the most popular series on prime-time TV, not least because of the gorgeous and glamorous outfits created by Nolan Miller for all the actresses. I enjoyed working with Nolan, helping to create the elegant and stylish outfits for my character, Alexis Carrington Colby. When Alexis had to command groups of men, either in her office or the boardroom, she needed to look feminine but ruthless. The look empowered women and, across the world, career women were taking to tailored suits and well-coiffed, lacquered hair.

Power-dressing even proved true for me in the Nineties, when I fought the Goliath that was Random House in a real-life US courtroom drama to protect my reputation as a writer, after they tried to take away an advance they had given me for a book. 

I appeared each day in court wearing subdued colours and sober and simple outfits. I looked and felt vulnerable, and was bullied and harassed by the elderly prosecutor (who I thought was a total chauvinist, by the way). I eventually burst into tears because I felt so intimidated, and I thought I was losing the case. The next day, a lawyer friend suggested I ‘become Alexis’ both in attitude and outfit and stand up to Mr Prosecutor, so I did just that.

I put on a vibrant blue pin-striped skirt suit, a statement pearl choker and white, V-necked silk gilet and I immediately felt, and consequently behaved, confidently and assertively. I was suddenly totally in charge, telling the old man not to come near me, to stop intimidating me and overall calling the shots in the cross-examination. I believed my clothes were my armour and I won the case.

Princess Diana was also at the forefront of wearing trendsetting outfits of that decade and I must confess that Nolan and I sometimes borrowed a few of her ‘looks’ from pictures in magazines and newsreels. Although since she was given the moniker ‘Dynasty Di’, it was a fine line who borrowed from whom. I like to think that we collaborated in upping the stakes of that glamorous decade.

That’s not to say I didn’t go too far sometimes. In Paris, I bought an extremely avant-garde suit from Pierre Cardin with enormously high angel-shaped sleeves that practically covered my cheeks. I wore the suit in an episode of Dynasty but a problem emerged when I had to answer a phone, and struggled getting the receiver to my ear. Our esteemed producer sent me a memo the next day to the effect of, ‘Don’t wear that jacket again — it’s you we want to see, not your f***ing shoulder pads.’

Skimming through the August issues of glossy, trendsetting magazines, I couldn’t find anything to wear that would suit me, so I’m delighted that there is a return to so-called Eighties fashion. I say ‘so-called’ because all fashion is cyclical and, in fact, those broad shoulders and cinched waists were all the rage in the Forties, as worn by legendary film stars like Joan Crawford and Lauren Bacall. In fact, the Forties is a well-admired decade fashion-wise, which is why I find it curious that so-called fashionistas have constantly derided the Eighties.

I have never stopped wearing shoulder pads, big sleeves and long earrings. I strongly believe, as did the iconic Claudette Colbert and Bacall, that if you find a style that suits you, you stick with it, because fashion is ephemeral but style is eternal.

TV ALERT : LORRAINE .. ITV1 .. FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 15TH 2017 .. 08:30AM

Joan's previous appearance on the show with guest host Christine Lampard

Don't miss this Friday's edition of ITV 1's 'Lorraine' as Joan joins Lorraine Kelly to talk about her latest film 'The Time of Their Lives' now out on Bluray / Dvd.. Also on the show is Joan's good friend Julian Clary who soon appears in London at The Trafalgar Studios in 'Le Grand Mort'.. You can catch 'Lorraine' from 08:30am on ITV1...

EVENT ALERT : SCREEN EPIPHANY / THE FABULOUS BAKER BOYS .. THE BFI SOUTHBANK .. SEPTEMBER 14TH 2017 ..

Screen Epiphany: Dame Joan Collins introduces The Fabulous Baker Boys

This fabulous screen star introduces a film that has inspired her.

Joan at The BFI in 2010!

As part of the BFI Southbank Member Exclusive Series, Joan will appear on stage to introduce one of her favourite films - 'The Fabulous Baker Boys' starring Jeff Bridges, Michelle Pfeiffer & Beau Bridges. Please note there are a few remaining tickets for this event which you can access here!
BFI SOUTHBANK EVENT : DAME JOAN COLLINS BOOK HERE!

VIDEO UPDATE : WIR LIEBEN FERNSEHEN! COLOGNE GERMANY .. JULY 2017 ..

Recently Joan was invited to Germany to appear on the top rated Variety Show 'Wir Lieben Fernsehen!' with hosts Johannes B.Kerner & Steven Gatjen.. Here is a super video featuring Joan's apearance..

PRESS UPDATE : ZOOMER.COM / THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES TORONTO / VANCOUVER RELEASE ..

JOIN JOAN COLLINS FOR "THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES

Opening this weekend in Toronto and Vancouver, the delightful feel good

comedy "The Time of Their Lives" brings a dash of madcap fun to theatres, as screen legends Joan Collins and Pauline Collins star as an odd couple who set off on an eventful road trip to the South of France when Joan's character decides to gatecrash an ex-lover's funeral.  The film matches great laughs with heart-tugging emotion, and most notably it marks the triumphant return of Joan Collins to a delicious starring role – one that indeed, feels as if it was tailor made for her.

In the film Collins plays Helen Shelley, a washed-up movie star living in a grim English retirement home. But when Helen learns that the director of her best-known film has died, she decides she can no longer be trapped in retirement.  She decides she absolutelymust go to France for his funeral – invited or not – so she can land herself a part in a movie to resuscitate her long-dead career. Helen soon wrangles Priscilla, an abused wife played by Pauline Collins, into accompanying her. Pooling their limited resources, they hit the road in a tiny blue car, and before long a real friendship begins to emerge between the women, as they recognize that they both still have plenty of time to stand up and get what they really want from life. As the adventure grows they even become entangled in a love triangle with a reclusive Italian millionaire (Franco Nero).

The Time of Their Lives was a surprise box office smash hit in the UK this summer, building largely on great word of mouth from audiences and fans. This is in no small part to the pitch-perfect leading role played by Joan Collins in the film. As the washed up, manipulative and slightly delusional diva Helen, it's a performance that perfectly references many of Collins' own most famous roles. Film and TV fans have loved seeing Joan Collins as a diva since she first emerged on the scene in the 1960s.And of course, no one could ever forget Collins as the shoulder-padded, perfectly coifed Alexis Carrington on TV's "Dynasty," a now iconic role from one of the biggest hit shows of the 1980s. In The Time of Their Lives, audiences can delight in the references to this the over-the-top screen persona that Collins has cultivated, like the shocking moment in the film where Helen stands on a beach and pulls off her wig. It's truly an act of defiance for both her character and for the actress who has always been known for her impeccable, picture perfect style.

The film also has won over audiences with its positive message about female friendship and empowerment. Helen and Priscilla have both been through a lot, but rather than resign themselves to unhappiness, their trip allows them a fresh start on life and love. It's a delight to see two well written, charming female characters "of a certain age" taking center stage and being the focus. And nothing could be more fun than a road trip across the stunning south of France with these two ladies – so this weekend, get ready to join Joan Collins at the cinema, for the feel good hit comedy The Time Of Their Lives!

[THEATER]

SEPTEMBER 22 - CINEPLEX VARSITY - TORONTO

SEPTEMBER 22 - CINEPLEX INT'L VILLAGE - VANCOUVER

SEPTEMBER 29 - MAYFAIR THEATRE - OTTAWA

SEPTEMBER 29 - PRINCESS THEATRE - EDMONTON

SEPTEMBER 29 - ROXY THEATRE - SASKATOON

SEPTEMBER 29 - RAINBOW CINEMAS - REGINA

OCTOBER 6 - STRATFORD CINEMAS - STRATFORD

PHOTO UPDATE: CELEBRATE THE 8TH IT'S A DATE TO REMEMBER!

Joan with Barry & Umair at San Lorenzo

It was a weekend of celebrating for Joan! The 8th of September is a very good date as not only is it my birthday, but also the date of Joan's son Sacha and her longtime friend Barry Langford big day's.. 

Joan celebrating Sacha's birthday with his girlfriend Sheela..

TV ALERT THE JONATHAN ROSS SHOW .. ITV1 .. SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 9TH 2017 .. 09:15PM ..

TV ALERT : THE JONATHAN ROSS SHOW .. ITV1 9::15PM .. SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 9TH ..

Don't miss this week's edition of 'The Jonathan Ross Show' on

ITV1 as Joan joins the guest list along with 'Game of Thrones' star Natalie Dormer.. Tune in at 9:15pm!

Joan with Natalie and Jonathan.

EVENT UPDATE :' CLIVE DAVIS - THE SOUNDTRACK OF OUR LIVES ' .. SPECIAL SCREENING .. THE CURZON MAYFAIR LONDON .. SEPTEMBER 5TH 2017 ..

Tribeca Festival Poster for the film..

Joan back in London for her first event of the Autumn season attended a special screening of her good friend music mogul Clive Davis's new docu-movie 'Clive Davis - The Soundtrack of Our Lives' held at The Curzon Mayfair earlier this evening ....

Joan & Percy on the carpet!