Sunday, October 30, 2022

PHOTO FLASHBACK : IT'S AN HONOUR FOR JOAN & STACY TO BE IN TEXAS!

In 2000 Joan toured the USA in a successful run of the classic play Love Letters in which she starred with George Hamilton and Stacy Keach.. This rare photo was taken during the Texas run and features Joan and Stacy accepting the Honoraray Texan Award from the Mayor of Texas...

Friday, October 21, 2022

EVENT UPDATE : LESLIE BRICUSSE MEMORIAL SERVICE.. OCTOBER 20TH 2022 ..

THANKSGIVING SERVICE

Leslie Bricusse

The songwriter Leslie Bricusse
GAB ARCHIVE/REDFERNS/GETTY IMAGES

A celebration of the life and work of Mr Leslie Bricusse, lyricist, songwriter and composer, was held on Thursday October 20, 2022, at St James’s Church, Piccadilly.
The Rev Lindsay Meader, lead theatre chaplain for the Diocese of London, officiated, led the prayers and pronounced the blessing.
Mr Adam Bricusse, son, Mr Luca Bricusse and Mr Roman Bricusse, grandsons, read Psalm 23.
Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber read an extract on songwriting from Leslie Bricusse’s book Pure Imagination: A Sorta-biography. Miss Stefanie Powers read When I Look In Your Eyes from Dr Dolittle by Leslie Bricusse.
Sir Michael Caine, Dame Joan Collins and Mr Stephen Fry paid tribute and Sir Elton John CH and Dame Julie Andrews paid tribute by video link.

Joan with Leslie & Evie

During the service Mr Giles Terera, baritone, sang Pure Imagination from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Miss Louise Dearman, mezzo soprano, accompanied by Capital Voices, sang Fill the World with Love from Goodbye, Mr Chips (1969). Miss Dearman also performed Feeling Good from The Roar of the Greasepaint — the Smell of the Crowd (1964), all accompanied by the St Paul’s Quartet and directed by Mr Mike Dixon, musical director. Mr Léon Charles played the organ and Mr John G Smith played the piano. Among those present were: Mrs Evie Bricusse (widow), Ms Anna Sliwinska with other members of the family.

Also present were: Lady Lloyd Webber, Lord and Lady Archer of Weston-super-Mare, Lady Caine, Dame Twiggy Lawson and Mr Leigh Lawson, Sir Nicholas Lloyd, Dame Joanna Lumley, Sir Trevor Nunn, Sir Tim Rice, Sir Tommy Steele, Sir Rod and Lady Stewart.

Mr Nicholas Allott, Mr and Mrs Anthony Andrews, Mr and Mrs Deke Arlon, Mrs Wendy Asher, Mr Louis Bacon, Mr and Mrs John Barrett, Mr and Mrs Bob Benton, Mr Chris Berry, Mr Mark Berry, Mr Sten Bertelsen and Ms Susannah Constantine, Mr Christopher Biggins and Mr Neil Sinclair, Mr Don Black, Mr Tony Bloom, Mr Roger Boyland, Mrs Kay Brandeaux Boyland, Miss Frances Boyland, Mr and Mrs Gyles Brandreth, Mr Gareth Brown, Mrs Ginette Brown, Dr Harry Brunjes (chairman, ENO), Mr Lewis Carnie, Mr and Mrs Maxwell Caulfield, Mr and Mrs Trevor Chenery, Mr Anthony Cherry, Miss Petula Clark, Mr and Mrs Bill Collins, Dr John Cowan, Mr and Mrs Robert Dallas, Mr and Mrs Peter de Savary, Mr and Mrs Charles Delevingne, Ms Karen Diprose, Mr Michael England, Mr and Mrs Theo Fennell, Ms Emerald Fennell, Ms Coco Fennell, Mr Jeff Weiner and Mrs Cathy Ferraro-Weiner, Mr Gregg Field and Ms Monica Mancini, Mrs Nanette Forbes, Mr Steve Furst, Ms Dinah Garrett (director, Experience Really Counts), Mr Percy Gibson, Ms Anastasia Grafftey-Smith, Ms Gabriella Grafftey-Smith, Mr and Mrs Bruce Grakal, Mr Michael Grech, Mr Nicky Haslam, Mr and Mrs Nigel Havers, Mrs Robyn Hemingway, Mr Nolan Hemmings, Mr and Mrs Renshaw Hiscox, Mr and Mrs Michael Howe, Ms Melinda Hughes, Mr Barry Humphries and Ms Lizzie Spender, Mr Chris Ishermann, Mrs Sally James, Mr Ralph Kamp, Ms Katyana Kass, Mr Richard King, Mrs Joan Kingsley, Mr Peter Land, Mr Adrian Leggett, Mrs Lizzy Lloyd, Mr Richard Lyon and Dr Anne Lyon, Ms Ginger Mason, Mr and Mrs Melvyn Master, Mr and Mrs William Miller, Mr and Mrs Harland Miller, Mr Denis Mirlesse, Ms Myriam Molitor, Mr and Mrs Christian Moore, Ms Deborah Moore, Mr and Mrs Geoffrey Moore, Mr Akio Morishima, Mr and Mrs Sam Morris, Ms Patt Morrison, Mrs Chrissie Most, Mr Richard Muddiman, Mr and Mrs Stephen Murphy, Mr Alexander Newley, Ms Tara Newley Arkle, Mr Nick Arkle, Ms Manuela Noble, Ms Lisa Norman, Mr Michael Nouri, Mr John Owen-Jones, Ms Nikki Page, Ms Elaine Paige,

Mr and Mrs Tino Paissoni, Ms Jackie Palmer, Mr Clarke Peters and Mrs Penny Ephson-Clarke, Ms Eve Pollard, Ms Merrill Powell, Mr and Mrs Robert Powell, Ms Alison Price, Mr Mike Reed, Mr John Reid and Dr James Thompson, Mr and Mrs Simon Reuben, Ms Liz Robertson, Mrs Daniele Roux, Mr and Mrs Emmanuel Roux, Ms Lesley Rutherford, Mr and Mrs Gordon Samuel, Mrs Tricia Shepherd, Mr Raja Sidawi, Miss Annie Skates (choir mistress, Capital Voices), Mr Mike Smith, Mr and Mrs John Standing, Ms Paulene Stone, Mr and Mrs Simon Tattersall, Mrs Kathy Temperton, Ms Annegret Tree, Ms Jade Vincent and Mr Keefus Ciancia, Mr Andrew Vinter, Mr and Mrs Stephen Way, Mrs Geraldine Winner, Mr Ian Wood, Ms Sarah Woodhead, Mr Hugh Wooldridge, Mr and Mrs Bill Wyman with many more friends and former colleagues.

Thursday, October 20, 2022

EVENT UPDATE : GLENDA BAILEY X PERUVIAN CONNECTION LAUNCH PARTY .. THE POLISH HEARTH CLUB.. LONDON.. OCTOBER 20TH 2022 ..

Glenda Bailey, Dame Joan Collins and Peruvian Connections Annie Hurlbut Zander

Joan attended the London launch of clothing brand Peruvian Connection's new collection in collaboration with Glenda Bailey.. The launch party was held at The Polish Hearth Club...

Glenda Bailey on collaboration with Peruvian Connection...

“I have been consulting for a brand called Peruvian Connection for just over a year. I was looking for projects that were a little bit out of the ordinary and something that people would be surprised by. What I liked about the brand is its quality, as that is what people really want now, as well as value for money of course. It was founded by a woman called Annie Hurlbut Zander who was one of the first women to go to Yale in the 70s. She’s a super bright lady and she has run her business from a farm in Kansas for 46 years. She has worked with female-led companies in Peru but the country was the hardest hit country in the world when it came to Covid because of the lack of medical care. So I wanted to help, and Annie wanted me to make the brand a bit more fashion forward. My GBPC collection, which launched in the US in April, is excellent value for money, the quality is there and it’s sustainable because alpaca is much more sustainable than cashmere, which many people don’t realise. It was a huge success. We are launching the collection in London this month at the Peruvian Connection store in the King’s Road and online, and we’ve produced a separate catalogue with all my designs.

Joan & Percy at The Polish Hearth Club

Saturday, October 15, 2022

PRESS UPDATE : THE SPECTATOR WORLD ... OCTOBER 14TH 2022 ..

Remembering Orsini’s

By the time I hit the ground running in 1956, Orsini’s was jumping..

JOAN COLLINS WITH TAKI

Written by:

Taki

If Paris is cafés and London is pubs, New York is bars. Most of the legendary Big Bagel bars have been Irish: P.J. Clarke’s, still going strong, and the now-shut Elaine’s, where Woody Allen, Jackie Onassis, and Norman Mailer partied and gossiped protected by the formidable Elaine. But for me, although a regular at the above watering holes, there’s one that stands out because it was there where I cut my teeth as a young man about town, where I met Joan Collins, Janet Leigh, and Linda Christian — and debutantes and models galore. That was Orsini’s, at 43 West 56th Street, just off Fifth Avenue.

It was owned by Armando Orsini, an Italian immigrant who changed his plebeian name to the noble one of Orsini, prompting the few in the know to point out that Armando looked far nobler than the real nobs back in Rome. He established the small-but-intimate bar-restaurant around 1953, and by the time I hit the ground running in 1956, the place was jumping. Armando’s success was due to the beautiful women he dated and who patronized the place, and the credit he extended to young people like myself whose parents eventually settled the bill. Debutantes brought their shy young dates to 56th Street knowing that no matter how expensive the evening might turn out to be, there would never be an issue about the check.

Lord Hanson met Robert Hanson’s mother Geraldine at Orsini’s. Gloria Vanderbilt met Frank Sinatra there. Celebrities chose Orsini’s because Armando — unlike the other proprietors who would ring up gossip columnists when a celebrity walked in — never allowed any of his staff near a telephone. Another rule of Armando’s was that females drinking at the bar alone could not be approached except in the most courteous manner.

The barman, Joe, was an exact lookalike of Ernest Borgnine, the actor who won an Oscar for Marty in 1955. And endeared himself to all of us night after drunken late night. All my school and college friends attended regularly and old dad happily paid the bills each month. I say happily because he also became a regular, but that’s another story altogether. Orsini’s lasted forty years and Armando left us at a ripe old age.

This article was originally published in The Spectator’s October 2022 World edition.

Friday, October 14, 2022

PHOTO FLASHBACK : JOAN WAS THE TOAST OF THE 80'S! ...

Over the years Joan has appeared in many tv adverts in UK and USA.. This rare shot from 1986 features Joan on set of a shoot for an ad for Sanyo's Toaster Oven, she did other ads for their kitchen appliances..

Saturday, October 8, 2022

PHOTO FLASHBACK : THE FLINTSTONES A TESTING ROLE FOR JOAN! ...

These rare test shots were taken for the 2000 rlease 'The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas' in which Joan played the role of Pearl Slaghoople, a role originally played by Elizabeth Taylor in the first Flintstones release in 1994 from Universal..