Category Archives: Interviews

My autobiography is now available worldwide on Amazon

By Ray Bennett It’s been a long time coming but now I can announce that my autobiography is available worldwide on Amazon. Here’s the description: In the golden days of Hollywood, M-G-M studios boasted that it had ‘more stars than … Continue reading →

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Meeting Rob Reiner a second time showed me a different man

By Ray Bennett Fame and popularity can so easily go to the head of entertainers and so it seemed the first time I met Rob Reiner when he was still in his 20s and starring in the smash hit TV … Continue reading →

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When Topol stood me up to go off to war

By Ray Bennett LONDON – ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ star Chaim Topol cancelled my interview with him in June 1967 but he had a very good reason. He left his starring role of Tevye in the hit West End production … Continue reading →

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Why Emma Samms took nude scenes on TV in stride

By Ray Bennett Emma Samms, who turns 65 today, was one of the hottest young actresses on American television in 1985 when she segued from playing Holly Sutton on the daytime soap opera ‘General Hospital’ to replacing Pamela Sue Martin … Continue reading →

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Jill St. John wanted to share recipes but not Robert Wagner

By Ray Bennett Jill St. John, who turns 85 today, has brightened big and small screens in countless TV shows and movies including her big splash as the first American James Bond girl, Tiffany Case, in ‘Diamonds Are Forever’ opposite … Continue reading →

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When Steve Martin became my biggest fan

By Ray Bennett Carl Reiner greeted me in his hotel room in Toronto and said, ‘Steve Martin is your No. 1 fan.’ Performers become fans of critics, of course, only when we write something they like. Their film ‘All of … Continue reading →

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Giggling over lunch with the great Cleo Laine

By Ray Bennett LONDON – It was lunchtime at the Hotel Pontchartrain  in Detroit and things were getting a bit silly. Cleo Laine, who has died aged 97, was talking about Kurt Weill and the Berliner Ensemble when someone mentioned … Continue reading →

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TV broadcaster Bill Moyers regarded the elite as the enemy

By Ray Bennett Veteran TV newsman Bill Moyers,  former New York Newsday publisher and press secretary to President Lyndon Johnson, has died aged 91. As a broadcaster, he often spun off bestselling books from his TV productions and in 1989 … Continue reading →

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The look on Anne Murray’s face was one of sheer terror

By Ray Bennett LONDON – One of Canada’s most successful singers, Anne Murray, who turns 80 today, became a huge international entertainer but she told me two things had made her nervous – performing in Las Vegas and at the … Continue reading →

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Frederick Forsyth did more than write great thrillers

By Ray Bennett LONDON – English writer Frederick Forsyth, who died today aged 86, not only wri0te  clever and exciting thrillers such as ‘Day of the Jackal’ (starring Edward Fox, above)  and ‘The Odessa file’, he also was prescient about … Continue reading →

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