Chapter 54

On Sunday I went to the hair stylist that we had contacted while I was still in England. Vivian greeted me warmly and we got down to business. I had decided to wear my hair up for the event. It had grown quite long during the past three years and now extended to the middle of my back. Vivian worked for several hours on me, adding hair fillers to give it a little more body. While my hair set she worked on my hands, finishing up around two in the afternoon. I paid her and thanked her for taking me on a Sunday. She said that she was glad to help me out and wished me luck at the ceremony.

I returned to the condo and continued my preparations. Carol and Sam helped me to get dressed just before Oliver showed up. When I put the gown on and added the jewelry and my scent, I felt beautiful. Carol and Samantha indicated that they agreed. Carol insisted on taking pictures, as Mom would have, and she shot half a roll before Oliver arrived.

When Oliver arrived he whistled. "Crys, you're beautiful. I'm going to have the loveliest date at the ceremony. I'm glad that everyone else is going to have a date so that I don't have to fight to keep you."

"Thank you, Oliver. You look wonderful in your tuxedo."

Carol shot the other part of the roll and then we left. Samantha didn't do much except make doe eyes at Oliver the whole time that he was there.

As we rode to the ceremony in the limo, Oliver said, "That roommate of Carol's is strange. She doesn't talk very much does she?"

"She thinks that you're the most wonderful thing on two legs. She loses her voice when you're around."

"Oh, one of those."

"What do you mean?"

"A real fan, as in fanatic. They scare me. Didn't you see that movie, 'Misery' that Kathy Bates won the 'Best Actress' award for in 1990?"

I laughed. "Yes. I saw it, but Sam isn't like that at all. She just has a crush on you. She's really very nice and not demented in the slightest."

"I'll take your word for it, but I'll keep my distance."

I giggled again as I pictured Samantha as Stephen King's Annie Wilkes.

We had a preset time that we were supposed to arrive so we drove around a little on our way to the ceremony and then got on line in back of the other limos. When we pulled up to disembark, Oliver got out and then held his hand out for me. I took it and climbed out of the limo. As soon as I was partway out of the car, camera flashes and bright lights bathed me in their glare. I heard people calling my name in an effort to get me to look their way for pictures and people were tossing questions as I waved. It was actually a bit intimidating. I did my best to smile and answer at least some of the questions as Oliver guided us forward along the long red carpet. We stopped a couple of times to speak to people who were interviewing the attendees, finally making it inside.

Inside, the lobby was filled with show biz folks. I didn't know very many personally but that didn't stop us from socializing. I knew many of their names and faces and many of them knew mine. That almost made it seem like we were friends, or at least acquaintances. People whose job it was to seat the audience did their best to keep the lines moving. Each had a seating chart and, eventually, we reached the head of the line and were shown to our seat. Mr. Silver, the producer of 'Under...' and Mr. Bacon, the director, and their wives were already seated in the row that we were shown to. They stood and came out of the row so that Oliver and I could get in. Our seats were more towards the center of the row. As we passed, Mr. Silver and Mr. Bacon each hugged me and gave me a peck on my cheek.

Since this was one of the largest media events of the year, the cameras were constantly panning the audience from the minute that we had entered the theater. There were large monitors mounted on the walls around the room so that we would be able to see what was being 'sent out' to the television audience.

It was another 30 minutes before the ceremony actually began. As the final minutes ticked off you could feel the tension in the air. Outside of the Superbowl game, this was the probably the most watched event of the year.

The 'Best Actor', 'Best Actress', and 'Best Picture' were always the last to be given out so it would be hours before that time came. In the meantime, the other awards, performances by a number of showbiz folks, and clips of movies would consume the hours.

It was a wonderful experience to be a part of it as the evening wore on. 'Under the Scarlet Maple' did not win the award for 'Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published', but did win the 'Best Director'. Mr. Bacon proudly hurried up to the stage to accept the award and give a little speech. He thanked the Academy and everyone connected with the picture, including mentioning me by name and saying what a delight I was to work with and direct. I smiled and noticed out of the corner of my eye that my face was briefly on the monitors showing the televised image. We clapped as loudly as we could as he waved and left the stage.

When it was finally time to announce the winners of the 'Best Actress' award, I had butterflies in my stomach. They showed a small clip of each movie that included the performance of the nominees, and then opened the envelope. As the television cameras panned the faces of the nominees, they announced, "And the winner is… ", someone else. I hadn't won but I applauded loudly for the winner. I had prepared myself for this moment, and while I was disappointed, I didn't let it show in my face. The winner was a terrific actress who had never won before but whose performances I had enjoyed for years. I was happy for her. She deserved the award.

The movie also failed to win the 'Best Picture' but we were content with the one award, which officially made it an Academy Award winning movie. The ceremony finally ended just before 10 p.m., which meant 1 a.m. on the other coast. Mr. Bacon invited Oliver and me back to his house for a small party but we begged off with the excuse that I had to leave for England tomorrow. We did congratulate him on his award before we parted.

I did enjoy talking to some of the showbiz people as we left. A lot of them congratulated me on my nomination and commiserated with me on my loss. It was nice just to rub elbows with Hollywood's finest.

Once back in the limo, Oliver said, "I'm sorry that you didn't win, Crys. You were really great in that picture."

"Thanks Oliver. It was an exciting evening anyway. Thanks for being my escort."

"Anytime. I love spending time with you. The hours fly by."

"I've been so preoccupied with the ceremony that I never asked how you're doing. Any roles coming up?"

"Maybe. I've been on two callbacks for a new television series. They're going to let me know next week. If I get it, we'll start shooting the pilot in a few weeks."

"That's great. I hope that it works out for you."

"Thanks. I'm itching to get back to work."

"I know the feeling."

Oliver escorted me to the door of the condo and kissed me goodnight. We said goodbye and he wished me luck with the new movie and the next 'Open Spaces' movie.

Carol and Samantha were waiting up for me.

"I'm so sorry that you didn't win, sis, but you looked great on television. The Awards show itself was spectacular," Carol said.

"Absolutely," Samantha said.

"It's okay. The actress who won deserved it. She did a great job. We can't all win. Besides, there's always next year."

*****

The next afternoon I took a limo to the airport to take the 6:45 p.m. non-stop flight to Heathrow. It would get me into London at 1:25 p.m. on Tuesday. Carol had classes so I didn't want her to try to get back to the condo in time to take me. We said our good-byes in the morning as she and Samantha returned to the campus.

Mom was there, waiting to pick me up once I had cleared customs. The customs agent offered me sympathy that I hadn't won the award. I thanked him and told him that maybe I'd win next year for the movie that I was making in his country. He said that he couldn't wait to see it as he'd enjoyed 'Under…' so much.

"Hi, honey. I'm sorry," Mom said as we hugged.

"I didn't expect it anyway, Mom. It was a great experience though. Did you see the dress that Barbara made? It was the most gorgeous thing that I've ever seen."

"Yes, I saw it. The announcer went absolutely gaga over it."

"I made the top ten 'best dressed" in the LA newspaper. I brought the section about the Awards Ceremony back with me."

Back at the house I got out the paper that I had bought at the airport and gave it to Mom.

"You didn't tell me that you were one of the three whose picture they printed in the paper. They didn't even put in the picture of the actress who won the award."

"That's because she was listed with the ten worst dressed."

"We have to save this article for Barbara. She'll love it."

"She probably has it already since it's in a syndicated paper, but I'll save it for her. Carol took an entire roll of pictures so we'll have an enlargement made for her also. It's too bad that I'll never be able to wear that dress again. It really is the most beautiful dress ever."

"Maybe someday you can wear it again. Or perhaps they'll want it for a museum."

I giggled. "Yeah, right. They'll put it right between the Marilyn Monroe exhibit and the Patrick Swayze exhibit."

*****

We made up for my absence during the past week by shooting all the scenes that they had skipped over. My fellow actors, after expressing their sympathy that I didn't win, promptly either forgot or ignored the issue, which was fine with me, as I didn't intend to dwell on it.

By the third of April we wrapped up the shooting at the studio and prepared to travel to Spain for the final work. The house was paid for through the end of April so we left much of our stuff there. Aunt Jessica was supposed to come over in a week and she would stay at the house until we got back. Mrs. McGuire would look after her while we were away. Mrs. McGuire had become almost like a member of the family during our stay and leaving her would be hard.

*****

The location in Spain was all set up and ready to begin shooting as soon as we arrived. Rehearsal was limited because there wasn't a lot of dialog in these scenes. It was mostly action footage with special effects thrown in, but there were a lot of takes until each scene was perfect. I was exhausted at the end of each long day.

After 10 days of shooting, we wrapped the picture. There would be many months of postproduction and editing work, but I was done unless they needed me for dubbing work as the editing neared completion. I was happy when we left the hot, dusty site in Spain to return to England.

*****

Aunt Jessica was at the house in Iver Heath when we got back. It was late when we arrived but we stayed up to talk for several more hours. I finally couldn't keep my eyes open any longer and kissed both Mom and Aunt Jess before dragging myself off to bed.

*****

Using the house as our base of operations, we spent the next two weeks taking day trips around London and the south of England. Most days, Mrs. McGuire would pack us a lunch although we frequently stopped in somewhere to eat instead. It was nice to have the lunch basket for backup in case we didn't find some place that appealed to us.

*****

At the end of the two weeks we made our preparations to go home. I promised myself that sometime I would come back when I had lots of time to spend running around the county-side here.

The day before we left I came down early for breakfast. Mrs. McGuire brought me a glass of juice and took my breakfast order. When she returned with my food I said, "Where will you go now, Mrs. McGuire?"

"Well… I'll return to my sister's house until I find another position. There's always a new crop of actors coming through when a new picture starts work. I'll probably secure a new position within a couple of months."

"Have you been doing this for long?"

"Since my husband passed away eight years ago. My sister and her husband have a small room that they let me use when I'm in between positions."

"I've been very happy with your services and will be happy to give you an excellent recommendation."

"Thank you, Miss. I've enjoyed working for you and your family. You're not at all like some of the other Americans that I've met."

"Aren't we? I thought that we were fairly typical."

"Then perhaps I've only seen the bad. Most of the Americans that I've worked for over the years have been crude and demanding without any consideration for other people's feelings."

"We're just like any other nation. We have all types. I hope that we can get you again if I get more work over here."

"I'd like that. I expect that you'll be back. You're a very good actress. I've seen two of your movies."

"Really? Before we came or after?"

"Before. I spend a lot of time at the cinema between jobs."

"Have you ever traveled to the United States?"

"No, Miss. I've been to the continent a few times but that's it."

"Where to, Canada?"

"No, Miss. France and Belgium."

"Oh, you mean the European continent."

"Yes, Miss."

"How would you like to go to America?"

"I'd like that. Perhaps some day."

"How would you like to come back with us and work for me full time?"

"Uh… I don't know, Miss."

"Well, I thought that I would ask. As I said, we've been very happy with your services. I'm doing well enough now that I can afford to have a full time cook and housekeeper that will travel with me when I work and take care of me when I'm at home."

"Could I think about it overnight, Miss?"

"Of course."

"Thank you, Miss. I'd like to talk it over with my sister."

"Let me know when you've decided."

Just then Mom came in and Mrs. McGuire left to get her some juice, then returned to take her breakfast order. After Mrs. McGuire left to prepare the food I told Mom about my offering Mrs. McGuire permanent employment.

"And she said?"

"She wants to think about it overnight. What do you think?"

"I like her. I feel very comfortable with the idea."

"Good. I hope that she accepts."

"Where will we put her?"

"We'll have to give her Carol's room initially, if she comes. I've been thinking lately about getting a housekeeper for us. If we do get Mrs. McGuire, or someone else, then we can get a place with an extra bedroom for a housekeeper. The condo doesn't offer any security at all. Ever since the incident at the Mall, I've been thinking about ways to protect us. We should either get a new place in a secure community, or a place with security measures such as walls and alarms, and maybe even dogs."

"I agree that the condo doesn't offer any protection. We didn't really need it before, but now that you've become an internationally recognized actress, it's time to do something. As soon as we get back we'll start looking around for a house."

"What's that about a house," Aunt Jessica asked as she came into the dining room.

"We're going to look around for a new place when we get back to California," Mom said. "The condo is too exposed. It wouldn't offer much protection against crazies."

"It's such a shame that fans actually drive the people that they adore away from themselves by their behavior."

*****

The next morning, as she served us our last breakfast in the rented house, Mrs. McGuire announced, "Miss Ramsey, if the offer is still open, I'd like to come with you to America."

"Wonderful, Mrs. McGuire. How soon can you be ready?"

"I'm afraid that I've let my passport lapse. I'll have to wait until it's renewed. Then there's also the matter of immigration in your country. I've been told that I need to get something called a green card that will permit me to work there. Other than those items, I could leave right away."

"Hmm… well, you get busy on the passport and I'll see about the US issues. I'm sure that we can get this taken care of without too much difficulty."

Mom, Aunt Jessica, and I all completed our packing and were ready when the limo arrived to take us to Heathrow. I had called Jill and told her about wanting to bring Mrs. McGuire with us. She said not to worry about it, as she would take care of it. She would be in England for a couple of more weeks as everything was wrapped up.

We said goodbye to Aunt Jessica at the airport as she was taking a different flight. We were going non-stop to LAX while she was stopping at Chicago to catch a commuter flight.

Mom and I arrived at LAX two and a half hours later after flying for 11 hours. That was the weird thing about traveling in the same direction as the sun. If you fly on a supersonic, you get to your destination before you left. Of course what I'm talking about is local times at the point of origin and at the destination.

Carol had classes so we had arranged with a limo to take us home to the condo. It was only 3 p.m. but we were both tired, so we both took a nap, getting up around 6 o'clock to make a light dinner.

*****

I spent the next day lying by the pool, relaxing. Mom wasted no time in contacting realtors about finding us a new house. I had about 6 million available in mutual funds or in my accounts in the bank and I felt that that should be more than enough to buy a great house, even in California; even in Beverly Hills.

After I went back inside, I called Mr. Daniels. He was out but I was told that he would get the message as soon as he came in. I thought about calling his private cell phone number but decided against it. He might be involved in some negotiations somewhere, and I knew that he wouldn't ignore me once he called for his messages.

About an hour later he returned my call.

"Hi, Mr. Daniels."

"Hi, hon, what's up."

"Well, I hadn't heard from you lately about work so I thought that I would call you to find out if anyone needed an out of work actress."

I heard Mr. Daniels chuckle before saying, "You're not out of work. You start shooting 'Open Spaces, Lost Loves' in a couple of weeks. In fact, you should be getting a script by tomorrow, along with a packet of other stuff. You'll have a four bedroom rented house this time instead of a couple of motel rooms. Your part has been increased substantially over the size of your part in the first movie, and your paycheck for this movie is four million. Not bad considering that you only got one million for the first part. They're getting you cheap because they signed you before your star rose."

"That's a lot more than I was expecting. Since I'm not the lead, I'll have a lot less work on this one than the last two. But what about other offers, Mr. Daniels? Have there been any?"

"Are you kidding? I've got twenty scripts from companies that want you. Unfortunately, most of them don't look like something that you should consider at this point."

"What's wrong with them?"

"Oh… well… some require full nudity. I know that you're not interested in them. Most scripts requiring nudity are trying to make up for poor writing or lack of plot. Most of the others are either under-funded, poorly written, or have a weak director. But you don't have to worry about job offers. We'll find some good vehicles for you. In the meantime, how about doing some guest appearances to advertise the Mexican movie."

"Okay, Mr. Daniels."

"I'll be in touch as soon as we have them lined up."

"Okay, good-bye."

*****

The next morning I went over to see Sharon and the twins. I could only stay for a few hours because Mom had set up appointments in the afternoon for us to look at houses. While I was out, a courier delivered the new script that Mr. Daniels had mentioned.

The twins had really grown since I had last been over to visit Sharon five weeks ago. They were three and a half months old now, and they were much more alert and animated, waving their arms and gurgling as they lay in their playpen. While I was there, I helped Sharon bathe and feed them. We got a chance to talk for about an hour after we put them down for a nap, and then I had to leave to get back to meet the realtor.

The realtor, Beatrice Smith, took us around in her car, a new Mercedes. Mom had given her the list of the things that we wanted and she had done a search through the listings. Mom had put an upper limit of two million on the price, so naturally Mrs. Smith started at that end.

We drove by several homes in Beverly Hills, stopping in front of each one to read the features in the listing. None of them appealed to Mom or myself. It seemed that all of the homes that we looked at were so close to others that you could probably tell when your neighbors flushed the toilet. As a result, Mom and I added that the property must be at least three acres. I wanted a little privacy, after all, if I was going to spend millions of dollars. Mrs. Smith told us that, given the price of land there, we'd have to raise our price range to get what we wanted.

To show us what she meant she took us to a couple of houses that were in the 15 million-dollar range. They were more like what we wanted, but I couldn't afford that much money. Even with the new movie, all I would have is eight million.

At the end of the day, we hadn't seen anything that excited us so we made another appointment for the next day to look at some more.

*****

On Sunday we attended the baptism of Sharon's babies. Roy was still off working on a movie but Sharon didn't want to wait until everybody was there because that might take forever. The 'godfather' was Roy's best friend, who was presently in town, and Carol and Samantha came to the church with Mom and me, for the ceremony. Since neither Roy nor Sharon had any siblings, and their parents were deceased, there wasn't any family at the ceremony. Afterwards we all went back to Sharon's for a small party.

The weather was nice and we had planned to have a cookout in her tiny back yard. Roy's friend didn't stay around very long. As the only male there, he probably felt like he was at a baby shower or something. It was a nice party, and we didn't leave until well after dark.

*****

Over the next week I did half a dozen guest appearances on talk shows, to advertise the new movie. Rather than travel to Chicago and New York I did remote interviews via satellite. The shows knew that I had to begin the new 'Open Spaces' next week.

In between doing the promos, we house hunted, gradually widening our search to the areas north and northwest of LA. We found some 'possibles' in the area around Santa Barbara, but before we had a chance to tour the houses it was time to leave for the Idaho site to start shooting the new movie. I had worked on the script every night and had been surprised by the number of scenes that I was in. It seemed more like a leading role rather than a supporting part.

 

(continued in Chapter 55)

I want to express my grateful appreciation to Lynn Jennings and Debbie Cybill for their very helpful suggestions, and proofreading services on this series.

 

 

 

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