Celebrity Gossip /By Liz Smith
Matlin releases memoir
Iam reading the latest in celebrity tomes and it seems the “news” belongs here.
Take the divine Marlee Matlin and her memoir “I’ll Scream Later.” This fabulous actress still holds the record as the youngest woman ever to win a “Best Actress Oscar” (age 21) and she did it against all odds, having been deaf since childhood. May I just add personally, that she is one of the most interesting and charming of all the stars I have met in a starry lifetime— friendly and down to earth.
Now Marlee tells us that at the same time she took home the Golden Globe in 1987, she was about to put herself into the Betty Ford Clinic to fight against her addiction to alcohol. This is a saga of a family struggling to get the best for their talented deaf child. It is a saga of Marlee’s problems and joys as an inspirational role model for millions of the hearing impaired. And it’s the story of her love life—up-front and personal. She has romanced William Hurt, Rob Lowe, Richard Dean Anderson and the famous TV writer David E. Kelley.
You have seen Marlee in her notable films, on “Seinfeld,” “The West Wing” and “The LWord”— plus as a sensation on “Dancing With the Stars.” Now read all about it from Simon&Schuster.
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This very week, the musical “Mamma Mia!” celebrated 10 glorious years and the ads at the Prince of Wales Theater noted that this amazing hit, derided by critics, has been seen by over 40 million people worldwide. (Oh, yes, and then there’s the movie that was supposed to put the kibosh on the dazzling career of Meryl Streep. Detractors said the popular musical would “ruin” this amazing actress. But the film has grossed around $200 million and Ms. Streep is not only rich but is still in the Oscar fast lane and has a fascinating comedy coming up via Nora Ephron any minute, titled “Julie& Julia.”)
So, with these facts in mind, it might be worth noting that Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, the “Mamma Mia!” songwriters (with Stig Anderson) say they have written a worthy follow-up to their West End hit. The show they have conceived is titled “Kristina From Duvemala,” which has already been welcomed as boffo in Sweden.
Word is that the music is very different from that of “Mamma Mia!” It is said to be symphonic and a bit folksy.
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I am saying a fond farewell to the handsome actor Jack Wrangler who has died at 62 of emphysema.
Famous as a porn star, he became a role model for the gay liberation movement. Jack had a long happy marriage to the famous songbird Margaret Whiting. He was a true gent and I’ll miss him.
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