Category Archives: Interviews

Don’t mistake Anthony Hopkins for roles he plays

Posted on December 31, 2022 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – No one expects Anthony Hopkins, who turns 85 today, to be anything like Hannibal Lecter but he told me people do often assume he’s like other roles he’s played. ‘I get a lot of people … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews | Tagged 'Remains of the Day', 'The Mask of Zorro', Anthony Hopkins, Martin Campbell | Comments Off

Ted Danson’s epiphany in the African desert

Posted on December 29, 2022 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Ted Danson, who turns 75 today, has had an astonishingly successful career on television but there was a time when he wanted something else. After his sitcom ’Cheers’ became a massive hit in the early … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Recalling ..., Television | Tagged 'Cheers', 'We Are the Children'', Ted Danson | Comments Off

When Julie Taymor met Paul and Yoko

Posted on December 15, 2022 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Julie Taymor, who turns 70 today, is known best for creating ‘The Lion King’ among a long list of theatrical productionsi but her films are just as fascinating such as ‘Titus’, ‘Frida’, ‘The Tempest’,’ The … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Music, Recalling ... | Tagged 'Across the Universe', 'The Lion King', Elliot Goldenthal, Julie Taymor, Krakow Film Music Festival, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono | Comments Off

Stuart Margolin and James Garner: ‘a perfect friendship’

Posted on December 12, 2022 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Stuart Margolin, who died today aged 82, was one of the great screen sidekicks working regularly with James Garner. Traditionally, in film and on TV, there have been two kinds of heroes – loners and … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Music, News, Recalling ..., Television | Tagged 'Bret Maverick', 'Nichols', 'The Rockford Files', 'The Summer of George Adams', James Garner, Stuart Margolin | Comments Off

When ‘Dynasty’ star Linda Evans had my number …

Posted on November 18, 2022 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – On a sunny California day in the early Eighties, I had a long, leisurely lunch with Linda Evans, who turns 80 today, at La Scala on Little Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills. I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Recalling ..., Television | Tagged 'Dynasty', 'The Big Valley', afAR, Barbara Stanwyck, Bo Derek, Festival de Cannes, Joan Collins, John Derek, John Forsyth, La Scala, Linda Evans, Ursula Andress | Comments Off

Life wasn’t always easy for Loretta Swit on ‘MAS*H’

Posted on November 4, 2022 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Loretta Swit, who turns 85 today, is regarded fondly for playing ‘Hot Lips’ Houlihan in ‘M*A*S*H’ on TV for eleven years but life on that show wasn’t always easy for her. It was a struggle … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Memory Lane, Recalling ..., Television | Tagged 'Cagney & Lacy', 'M*A*S*H', Alan Alda, Harry Morgan, Loretta Swit, Mike Farrell, Sharon Gless, Tyne Daly | Comments Off

Stefanie Powers loved to travel more than act

Posted on November 2, 2022 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – I spoke to Stefanie Powers, who turns 80 today, a few times on the set of her hit TV series ‘Hart to Hart’ with Robert Wagner (above) but my favourite encounter with her was an … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Recalling ..., Television | Tagged 'Hart to Hart', 'The Feather and Father Gang', 'The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.', Papua New Guinea, Robert Wagner, Stefanie Powers, William Holden | Comments Off

Recalling … a great afternoon with Deidre Hall

Posted on October 31, 2022 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – One of the true queens of the soaps, ‘Days of Our Lives’ star Deidre Hall, who turns 75 today, sent me a very nice note after I interviewed her in 1981 for a cover story … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Memory Lane, Recalling ..., Television | Tagged 'Days of Our Lives', Canadian TV Guide, Deidre Hall, Dr. Marlena Evans, Salem Strangler, Wayne Northrop | Comments Off

Giggling over lunch with the great Cleo Laine

Posted on October 28, 2022 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – It was lunchtime at the Hotel Pontchartrain in Detroit and things were getting a bit silly. Cleo Laine, who turns 95 today, was talking about Kurt Weill and the Berliner Ensemble when someone mentioned Monty … Continue reading →

Posted in Interviews, Memory Lane, Music | Tagged Cleo Laine, Eric Sykes, Hotel Pontchartrain, Jimmy Edwards, John Dankworth, Kurt Weill | Comments Off

Why Roger Moore did not become a bank robber

Posted on October 14, 2022 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Roger Moore, who was born on this day in 1927, told me that really he was a frustrated bank robber. ‘It’s only fear that’s stopped me from robbing banks,’ he said. ‘I’d get caught. That’s why … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Recalling ... | Tagged 'A View to a Kill', James Bond, Pinewood Studios, Roger Moore | Comments Off