Spotlight with Mitzi Gaynor
IN THE SPOTLIGHT WITH MITZI GAYNOR
What was the first movie you fell in love with? I was 9 years old when I first saw The Lady Eve with Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda and I was mesmerized. I fell in love with every part of that movie but especially with Barbara’s incredible performance. Si�ng in my seat gazing up at the screen, I turned to my best friend and told her that someday I was going to play that part, and lo and behold, I did! In 1956, I was cast in a reimagining of Preston Sturges’ script for that film called The Birds and the Bees along with David Niven and George Gobel. What a thrill! I also had the pleasure of becoming friends with Barbara Stanwyck and that was one of the great gi�s of my life.
What ar�st has been most influen�al in your life? There are so many ar�sts who’ve been important in my life – Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, of course, but another ar�st who was kind of a guiding light for me was Be�y Grable. I adored her. Can you imagine the magic of watching her sing and dance on the screen in glorious Technicolor, and then at just 17 years old, having the opportunity to make your first movie with her? Heaven!
I learned so much from her about how to perform for the camera. I had come from the theater, so those first few days on the set of My Blue Heaven, I projected as if I were playing to the back of the house and I some�mes missed my mark. Be�y helped me understand how to be a screen performer. I followed her everywhere on the set, I was so enamored with all she could do. I’m sure it drove her to distrac�on, but she was always generous and kind to me. I s�ll miss her!
What is one skill people would be surprised to know you have? I can cook a five-course meal on just a hot plate in a hotel room. It’s a skill that has served me well throughout my years of being on the road with my live stage shows, and it can also come in handy when you have 10 dinner guests at home and suddenly your stove doesn’t work!
What is the first thing you do in the morning? I thank God that I’m s�ll alive! Then I put on my eyelashes! I can’t quite open my eyes without my lashes on. And then I turn on TCM.
How do you relax during stressful �mes? I really don’t sweat the small stuff anymore. Remember that expression, “can’t see the forest for the trees?” Well, when I was younger, I used to fixate on the one tree in that forest that was just a li�le off kilter. I did that so many �mes that I may have missed the beauty of the whole picture. I guess that’s the Virgo in me. Today, at 90, and I can’t believe I just typed 9-0, I’m just grateful…truly happy to be here. And if I do get stressed, TCM is there, it’s a good friend. I have it on all the �me.
What is your favorite movie moment? There are so many – Be�y Grable’s hospital scene in The Dolly Sisters when she has on her hospital makeup – the �niest li�le band-aid you’ll ever see; plus any moment with Marlene Dietrich, but especially Shanghai Express; and Marie Dressler in Dinner At Eight telling Jean Harlow – “oh my dear, that’s something you need never worry about”… perfec�on!!!
What movie would you describe as "perfect" in every way? I absolutely adore My Favorite Year – the perfect screenplay (Norman Steinberg & Dennis Palumbo), impeccable direc�on by Richard Benjamin, and every performance is just fabulous! I mean Peter O'Toole as Alan Swann, what a delight. The dinner party scene always has me in hysterics from the moment glorious Lainie Kazan opens the door. This movie is the cure for anything that ails you. I fell in love with it, and I quote it to this day.