Diana Rigg, 1938 – 2020 RIP
Thistle, August 2020
Screenplay by Billy Wilder, I. A. L. Diamond
—Bette Davis
{Portrait of a Young Russian Woman in Blue Headdress”
oil on canvas
43 X 33 cm
—Hedy Lamarr
“Woman With Parasol in Front of a Hat Shop” 1914
oil on canvas: 60.5 X 50.5 cm
Beta Israel Ethiopian Jews, Showada, Simens Mountains, Ethiopia 1983
Rosh Hashanah in Uman, Ukraine, 2014
A favorite movie, one I showed my medical students every year, was “The Hospital,” a dark comedy with George C Scott as a harassed medical director of a New York City hospital and Diana Rigg as a love interest. There are few mob=vies that are realistic about medicine and this is one. Hard to find now.
Scott does the most explosive, terrifying meltdown in that film – a man reaching his breaking point. It might be his best performance, perhaps better than Patton.
On Diana Rigg, when I was in the Army stationed in Germany I had a weeks leave and took a military hop to Mildenhall. Took a train to London and I am wandering around at night wandering what to do.
Well, I decided, one can’t to to London without at least seeing a play!
What to see?
I noticed GB Shaw’s classic Pygmallion was on with Diana Rigg! Standing room only. What an evening that was, with Diana playing the part of Eliza Doolittle, of course.
My dental hygienist in Orange County might have been one of the children in the photo of the Ethiopian Jews. She was rescued by Israel as a child with her entire family. I think the family even enlarged a bit as she told me she has 10 siblings. She grew up in Israel and goes back every year with her white husband to see her parents. We have talked about race in America and, like my black foreign medical students, she does not understand American blacks. She has gotten “hate stares” from black women when out with her white husband. They live in Irvine where houses average $1 million !
Good morning, Robert.
I have to agree with Prophet Joe on Davis; I’ve always found her to be nasty and forbidding, but I suppose in those days and with that studio system, nasty and forbidding was the only way to get ahead, especially with Warners! I remember the possibly apocryphal story about the Marine visiting the Hollywood Canteen and being asked what star he hoped to meet that night and answered Davis, because “she [screws] like a mink.”
Diana Rigg is one of those rare stars that you’ve never heard a bad word about. There is a little less class in the world now that she is gone.
That brooch is lovely. I can imagine it at the throat of a pale, lithe archduchess twirling across the floor at the Vienna Opera Ball.
I could look at that picture of the girl in her goat cart for hours. It seems like it ought to be the beginning of a story. I can almost imagine the Hebrew Kid walking out of the Harvey lunch room.
I believe the phrase is, “May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for another year,” so let me wish a lovely and happy Rosh Hashanah to you and yours.
Christopher:
Thanks so much!
Diana Rigg is one of those rare stars that you’ve never heard a bad word about. There is a little less class in the world now that she is gone.
Diana Rigg and Audrey Hepburn. It’s a pretty short list.
Good morning Robert,
Some fascinating stuff this morning, but that watch took most of my time. The Trench watch is fine, but I also love the Empire model too. The marketing staff at Vario did an excellent job on that material, and you’re right, a very reasonable price for a decent watch.
Diana Rigg was cool. We loved her in The Avengers, and, yes, definitely a sex symbol.
I have a love/hate relationship with the Thistle. I find the purple flowers absolutely beautiful, but I will go to great lengths to kill them in my yard!
Th Rene Bouvet brooch is stunning. Such detail in the smallest sections and yet virtually nothing on Google about this artist. . .
That is, without a doubt, the prettiest picture I have ever seen of Bette Davis. I’ll admit there is something about her that has always turned me off. Her voice, her face, her attitude — everything seems a little ‘off-putting’ to me. She is one of the few people who draws an internal response of “why do people think she is a star?” whenever I see her. This photo presents a much softer side, although her comment is true to her ego.
That Rotari painting. . . wow, the eyes are so very well done. They make that painting come alive.
Hedy Lamarr was not only smart, but also self-aware. Too many of us are bad judges of our own past behavior.
The August Macke painting is beautiful too. I love the contradiction between the detail of the stone facade versus the abstract of the woman shopper.
Finally, your grandchildren keep getting cuter every week.
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
P.S. – ” a girl and her goat cart” Of course it was in Arkansas! 🙂
Prophet Joe:
I just love that pic of the girl with the goat cart! Have a great weekend.
I agree with you about the girl in the goat cart!
I’m a little surprised that Vario doesn’t have any option for a Shrapnel Guard of some sort on the Trench Watch.
I wish you and your family a L’shanah tovah tikateivu v’teichateimu and an easy fast. (I do hope that is correct. I always cringe a little when relying to Google)
I think a shrapnel guard might be considered design overkill. I actually like it like this and will probably take part in the kickstarter program. Vario has a great reputation for product excellence and customer support. And because they are in Singapore, their costs are greatly reduced, especially when compared to the outrageous numbers demanded by the Swiss and the Germans for their watches.
You will be happy to know Google has translated the Rosh Hashanah blessing perfectly. Thanks so much for taking the trouble.
They think Bette Davis is a star because her pictures make or made money, by attracting an enormous audience, and talented people wanted, or hoped, to work with her.
Joe – It was hard enough for me to let that thistle grow long enough to flower, knowing that I was risking more in my garden next year.