Thursday, October 18, 2007

Deborah Kerr, 1921-2007

Actress Deborah Kerr died Tuesday at the age of 86, according to her agent. I know she never directly worked with Audrey Hepburn, but I feel that she is definitely worth remembering because she was in the same class of actors as Audrey and they did end up having quite a lot in common, actually. Deborah was a refined European woman known for her poise and modesty, like Audrey. They were both dubbed by Marni Nixon, Deborah in The King and I, and Audrey in My Fair Lady. Both women dreamed of being ballerinas and looked up to dancer Margot Fonteyn as their idol as children, and both grew too tall to ever become prima ballerinas. The two were even pitted against each other at the Oscars in 1954, Deborah being nominated for her career-altering performance in From Here to Eternity, and Audrey for her breakthrough performance in Roman Holiday. Audrey won, as we all know, but there were obviously no hard feelings when Deborah went to meet Audrey backstage during the run of Ondine (above left). If you would like to learn more about Deborah Kerr, the L.A. Times wrote a beautiful three-page memorial to her, which you can read here.

1 comment:

Char Ruiz Manjarrez said...

Oh what a beautiful blog! I loved it. Anyway I have a question: have you seen Gossip Girl on The CW? Blair has the most darling picture of Audrey on top of her bed, she is in profile and wearing a hat. I've been looking for it everywere and can't find it! Do you know were I can find it? Thanks! Stop by my blog sometime.

C.

PS. I adore Kay in Clap Yo Hands too! What a scene!