Saturday, December 01, 2007

Guantanamo Bay

Honorary Hollywood Mayor Johnny Grant, who traveled with Bob Hope for decades on Christmastime tours, says this year's trip to visit U.S. troops will be his last.

Actors Stefanie Powers, Kate Linder and Karri Turner, as well as some Victoria's Secret models, were accompanying Grant to Guantanamo Bay, where he was to be the grand marshal for Saturday's holiday parade on the military base.

Grant has been slowing down as he approaches his 85th birthday, and the Guantanamo trip for the United Service Organizations will reluctantly be his last.

"It will be a bittersweet trip for me," he said. "The USO and military have been a big part of my life, ever since WWII, when as a GI, I emceed a show and introduced Bob Hope."

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Bening, Felder, Kaye, Lewis, et al. Win L.A. Ovation Awards

It was neither Paris nor springtime, but it must have felt that way to the producers and creative artists behind writer-director David Lee's ebullient revised version of the Cole Porter classic Can-Can. The Pasadena Playhouse production of the musical led the winners at the Los Angeles Ovation Awards, which were presented on November 12 at the Orpheum Theatre.

For the second year in a row, actor Neil Patrick Harris was the amusing and amiable host, cracking jokes about the writer's strike and making good-natured jabs at sundry targets, such as actor Jason Alexander. Among the presenters were Kate Burton, Gil Cates, Garry Marshall, Stefanie Powers, Sheldon Epps, Yeardley Smith, and Heroes star Adrian Pasar (whose world-premiere musical Atlanta bows at the Geffen Playhouse later this month).

The Geffen's presentation of Hershey Felder in George Gershwin Alone tied Can-Can's total awards tally of four. Can-Can took home trophies for Lee (direction of a musical); Roy Christopher (set designer for a large theatre); Michelle Duffy (leading musical actress), and David Engel (featured musical actor). Meanwhile, Gershwin wins were for musical in a large theatre, Michael Gillian's lighting for a large theatre, Jon Gottlieb's sound design for a large theatre, and Felder for lead actor in a musical.

Other notable winners were Theatre@Boston Court's world premiere musical Paradise Lost: Shadow and Wings, Damon Cho's Film Chinos for world premiere play; August Wilson's Jitney for play in an intimate theatre; The Marvelous Wonderettes for musical in an intimate theatre; the Deaf West-Center Theatre Group co-production of Sleeping Beauty Wakes at the Kirk Douglas Theatre for world premiere musical, and Stephen Temperley's Souvenir for play in a large theatre. The Ahmanson Theatre netted the touring musical prize for its SRO L.A. premiere run of Jersey Boys.

Among several actors receiving performance honors were Alan Mandell in the Colony Theatre's Trying, Judy Kaye in Souvenir, and Vicki Lewis in Blank Theatre's world-premiere of Michael John LaChiusa's musical Hotel C'est L'Amour.

The James A. Doolittle Leadership Award was presented to the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles for its heroic efforts to aid local companies plagued by real-estate woes during recent years, helping in relocating theatres in rental facilities or possibly constructing permanent homes. An impassioned Michele Lee sang the praises of the Actors Fund, then presented the Community Outreach Award to this distinguished 125-year-old organization. And Center Theatre Group's artist director Michael Ritchie paid tribute to actress Annette Bening, who won the group's Career Achievement Award.

Wednesday, November 07, 2007

2007 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Awards - 11/12/2007

The 2007 Ovation Awards will be hosted by Neil Patrick Harris, and honor winners in 29 competitive categories and 3 honorary categories. The Honorary Recipients include: Annette Bening, The Actors Fund, and The Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles.

Monday, November 12, 2007
7:30 PM
At the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles
842 S. Broadway, LA, CA 90014
Complete with an OPEN BAR
at the Post-Show Party until midnight!

Kate Burton, Orlando Jones, Dan Lauria, Garry Marshall, Rex Lee, Vicki Lewis, Stefanie Powers and Yeardley Smith are among the names to appear.

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Hart pulls at heart



Former “Hart to Hart” actress Stefanie Powers has a one-woman musical all about nostalgic love.

Whether you spell it Hart or heart, the word fits actress Stefanie Powers.

Famous for her role as Jennifer Hart opposite Robert Wagner in the television series “Hart to Hart,” Powers’ one-woman show, “One from the Hart,” debuts at the Orange County Performing Artscenter this week.

Describing the show as a “nostalgic, sentimental journey of the heart,” Powers said the multi-media presentation accompanying her musical performance is “another member of the cast.”

“The screen is the backdrop upon which I tell the story,” she said. “It’s a celebration of love through the vocabulary of love that I was raised with.”

Her mother loved Broadway musicals, she said, was at the movies every Saturday, and her show is reminiscent of a time when “romance was a part of our vocabulary.”

“Hart to Hart” was about a self-made millionaire and his journalist wife.

They spent their free time as amateur detectives, and in spite of being busy solving murders or catching thieves, they always found time for romance.

“It was the ideal relationship — we all dreamed of that kind of love,” Powers said.

Powers said “One from the Hart” is old fashioned in a good way.

“All that we see [on screen] is so violent and vulgar — this vulgarity thrown in your face is unrelenting. When something steps out that’s a bit more of the finesse and style that fantasies are made of, it’s lovely,” she said.

While this show is part of the center’s cabaret series, Powers promises a show unlike any that’s been done before, and said she isn’t a cabaret performer.

With a background in musical theater and acting, she prefers more of a scripted, theatrical presentation — storytelling of a musical nature.

An animal lover all her life, Powers is president and co-founder of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, formed 25 years ago in memory of the actor and his lifelong dedication to animal conservation.

Holden established the Mount Kenya Game Ranch in 1956, and its Wildlife Education Center opened to the first group of students in 1982.

Powers is director of the ranch, which continues its education and conservation efforts, establishing breeding herds of more than 37 species.

“Education is crucial to wildlife conservancy.”

Powers was 16 when a chance encounter with director Blake Edwards gave her career the push-start it needed.

She was late for acting class, and running down the hallway when she ran into him — with an open door.

One thing led to another, she was offered a contract at Columbia Pictures and Powers credits Edwards with being responsible for her career.

“That’s how people were discovered,” she said, and given the Hollywood writers’ strike, she’s glad she’s able to fall back on her musical theater background.

“I’ve earned my stripes.”

WHAT: Stefanie Powers in her one-woman show “One From the Hart”

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday; 7 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Orange County Performing Artscenter’s Samueli Theater, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

COST: $62

INFO: Call (714) 556-2787 or go to www.ocpac.org

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Stefanie at the Orange County Performing Arts Center

11/8/2007 - 11/11/2007
Samueli Theater
$62

Television audiences fondly remember Stefanie Powers for her Emmy-nominated role as luscious amateur sleuth Jennifer Hart opposite Robert Wagner’s Jonathan in the television series Hart to Hart. Now cabaret audiences are in for a treat as Powers unveils her “closely guarded secret”: the woman can sing, too! In her Center debut, she infuses her jazzy-bluesy-torch-tinged numbers with all the emotions of the veteran actress that she is, delivered with her trademark elegance.

Watch/Download Preview.

View/Download Program.

Friday, November 02, 2007

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday, Stefanie! May you have many more.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Large Pic from the Furr Ball - 10/20/07

Click here to download a large pic from last Saturday's Furr Ball.

Thank you, Rex Welton of the Forsyth Humane Society located in Winston-Salem, NC.

The 4th Annual "Furr" Ball was held at the historic Graylyn Manor House on Saturday, October 20th, 2007. This elegant, black tie celebration was a spectacular combination of delicious food, drink, shopping, music and dancing. It was a time for animal lovers to come together and make a real difference.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Discovery Eye Foundation Gala and Awards Ceremony

On Thursday, October 11, 2007 over 300 people crowded into the Crystal Ballroom of the Beverly Hills Hotel to celebrate the successes of The Discovery Eye Foundation over the past thirty-seven years and also to recognize some incredible people committed to the field of vision research and treatment. Ms. Beverly Gelfand and Ms. Sue Marshall were the co-chairs of this evening, entitled “A Night for Discovery”.

Founded in 1970, by Morris and Rita Pynoos, the Discovery Eye Foundation (DEF) is dedicated to finding cures and treatments for corneal and retinal eye diseases while providing exceptional patient education through two outstanding outreach programs – Macular Degeneration Partnership and National Keratoconus Foundation. DEF has program and administrative offices in West Hollywood and has clinical research facilities in collaboration with the University of California at Irvine. DEF funded researchers are currently supporting research into treatment and cures for diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, ocular herpes, and keratoconus.

Entertainment during the evening was provided by Mr. Tom Sullivan and Ms. Stefanie Powers.

Ms. Powers began her career at age 15, dancing for Jerome Robbins. Under contract to Columbia Pictures, she appeared in 15 films, among them Experiment in Terror, The Interns, and McClintock! After her first television series, “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.”, came 12 more films, over 20 mini-series stage productions and the long-running “Hart to Hart.” She is co-founder of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, established in 1982 as a public charity, is a Fellow of the Los Angeles Zoo, Royal Geographical Society and Explorers Club of America, and she created the Jaguar Conservation Trust for Jaguar Cars North America. Powers will bring her new one-woman show, One from the Hart, to the Orange County Performing Arts Center in November.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers in Winston-Salem, NC 10/20/07

Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers are going to be in Winston-Salem, NC this Saturday.

FURR BALL: 6:30 p.m., Graylyn International Conference Center, 1900 Reynolda Road. Celebrity guests Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers, live entertainment, cocktails, silent auction and dancing. Proceeds benefit the Forsyth Humane Society. Reservations required. Tickets are $75 a couple, or $50 a person. Call 336-721-1303, ext. 102, or send e-mail to Rex Welton at rweltonfhs@triad.rr.com.

Get happy with haute handbags

ALL ABOUT THE HANDBAGS

The fifth annual Handbag Happy Hour will feature celebrity, designer, unique and "previously loved" handbags in live and silent auctions. Here are some examples of what will be available:
• New designer handbags with such labels as Gucci, Bennett Liberty, COACH, Louis Vuitton, Prada and more.
• One-of-a-kind handbags that are handcrafted and/or artist-embellished.
• "Gentlemen Must Haves" such as messenger bags, golf bags, guitar cases, travel/shaving kits, luggage and briefcases.
• Celebrity handbags, with donations received from comedian and actress Phyllis Diller; "The Brady Bunch" matriarch Florence Henderson; Stefanie Powers, who portrayed Jennifer Hart in the 1980s crime drama "Hart to Hart"; and Grammy Award-winning Cuban-American singer and songwriter Gloria Estefan.
• An autographed guitar from Chris Daughtry, "American Idol" contestant and musician.
• A variety of handbags from local news anchors including Patrick Nolan (Fox4), Amy Wegmann (Fox4), Kellie Burns (NBC-2) and Mayela Rosales (Media Vista).
• "Pampered Pets" critter carriers filled with toys, outfits, treats and other goodies for beloved pets.
• "Previously Loved" handbags that are gently used.

IF YOU GO

• What: Handbag Happy Hour 2007 • When: 5:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2 • Where: Harborside Event Center, 1375 Monroe St., downtown Fort Myers, FL • Cost: $75 admission includes open bar, hors d'oeuvres and hundreds of handbags to bid on • Theme: It's "Medieval Soiree," with entertainment of the time period. Vintage Emporium, at 1937 Suwanee Ave., Fort Myers, is offering discounts on costumes to Handbag Happy Hour attendees. Call 936-4888. • For the guys: a gentlemen's cigar terrace and bar will offer another diversion. • Information: Register online at icanswfl.org or call (239) 337-2391

Monday, October 15, 2007

Claxton + Moffitt Go Another Lap Around the Sun

The height of chic remains lensman William Claxton and muse Peggy Moffitt, who marked their 80th and 70th birthdays, respectively, with a jazzy celebration this weekend hosted by Benedict and Lauren Taschen, completely filling Dominick’s in West L.A.

With pals Burt Bacharach and vintage guru Cameron Silver, art pioneer Irving Blum and Phoenix Art Museum curator Denita Sewell, this was one swellegant entry for the books. Platters of oysters kicked off the family-style supper, and a jazz quartet kept the mood pulsing, inspiring a still foxy Stefanie Powers (that’s right, Mrs. Hart to Hart) to rise up and share a song.

Wed since 1960, and together two years before that, these two living icons unequivocally changed the way we all think of the birth of cool—from Bill’s indelible photographs of jazz greats Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Billy Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie and many others, to Peggy’s signature kabuki-styled makeup and severe Vidal Sassoon hair cuts which defined the 1960s look and still looks as fierce as ever.

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Moore gets star on Walk of Fame




James Bond actor Sir Roger Moore has been honoured with a star on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

The plaque is located in front of 7007 Hollywood Boulevard - a nod to the British veteran's most famous role.

"I've had a love affair with Hollywood for many, many years," said Sir Roger, who turns 80 this weekend.

The actor - who appeared in seven James Bond films in 12 years, beginning with Live and Let Die in 1973 - described unveiling his star as "a big thrill".

He was joined at the ceremony by his wife Kristina, daughter Deborah and sons Geoffrey and Christian.

Also present was actor Richard Kiel, who played Sir Roger's villainous nemesis Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.

Hart to Hart actress Stefanie Powers and Sir Roger's Live and Let Die co-star David Hedison were the guest speakers.

Sir Roger, now a Unicef goodwill ambassador, told reporters his advancing years had forced him to relinquish his secret agent role.

"Sadly, I had to retire from the Bond films," he said. "The girls were getting younger, or I was just getting too old."

Sir Roger's is the 2,350th star to be unveiled on Hollywood Boulevard, according to the actor's website.

Born on 14 October 1927, he began his acting career as an extra in the 1940s before studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

His other famous roles include Ivanhoe, Simon Templar in The Saint and Lord Brett Sinclair in The Persuaders.

Pierce Brosnan, who appeared in four Bond films between 1995 and 2002, is the only other 007 actor to have been honoured on the Walk of Fame.

Monday, October 08, 2007

The Thalians 52nd Anniversary Gala

The Legendary Sir Roger Moore to be Honored at The Thalians 52nd Anniversary Gala On October 21, 2007 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to Benefit The Thalians Mental Health Center at Cedars Sinai

Sir Roger Moore, considered by millions worldwide as the most elegant and debonair "James Bond," will be honored by The Thalians at their 52nd Anniversary Ball on Sunday evening, October 21 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, it was announced by The Thalians founding members and ball co-chairs Debbie Reynolds and Ruta Lee.

The annual gala honors a legendary individual for their achievements and charitable contributions and raises funds to support the Thalians Mental Health Center at Cedars Sinai Hospital. This year, Moore will make a rare visit to the U.S. to accept this prestigious honor.

In keeping with the "James Bond" ambience of the evening, The Thalians will orchestrate a landmark reunion of some of the most celebrated "Bond Girls" and co-stars to fete Moore, including Maude Adams, Nancy Allen, Lois Chiles, Stefanie Powers, Gloria Hendry, Lynn Holly, Pam Shriver, Luciana Paluzzi, Serena Scott Thomas, Lana Wood, among others to be announced.

The special evening honoring Moore will also feature a live auction hosted by television's "Deal or No Deal" host Howie Mandell and the "Deal or No Deal" girls and a special guest performance by pop music legend Neil Sedaka.

Previous honorees have included Mary Tyler Moore, Sally Field, James Stewart, Liza Minnelli, Burt Bacharach, Angela Lansbury, Whoopi Goldberg, Carol Burnett, Jack Lemmon, and Phyllis Diller to name a few.

Founded in 1955, The Thalians continues to raise over $500,000.00 annually to support The Thalians Mental Health Center at Cedars Sinai, considered one of the top and most respected mental health centers in the world. As the main support group for the Department of Psychiatry at Cedars Sinai, The Thalians has proven to be an outstanding facility performing clinical care for in and out-patients as well as cutting edge neuroscience research and medical advances in the areas of Alzheimer's disease, schizophrenia, depression, substance abuse, bi-polar disorders and autism.

For information and tickets to this year's ball, please visit http://www.thethalians.com or call (310) 423-1040.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Hope for the Holidays

Saturday, December 8, 6:30pm

HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS –
A S.T.A.G.E. SEASONAL CELEBRATION
Each spring, the Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event (S.T.A.G.E.) benefits AIDS Project Los Angeles with an all-star gala that salutes Broadway’s most respected names. Now, enjoy this special, holiday-themed edition of S.T.A.G.E. with perennial cast favorites and surprise celebrity guests. Enjoy dinner and a live auction before the show. (Stefanie will be appearing).

Location
The Key Club
9039 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90069
www.keyclub.com

Contact
For more information, please call Madonna Cacciatore at 866.679.0958 or send an e-mail to mcacciatore@apla.org

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Stefanie Powers Premieres 'One From the Hart' at OCPAC


Stefanie Powers will step into a new starring role when she premieres her one-woman show, "One From the Hart," an evening of song and story, running November 8-11 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Samueli Theatre. "One From the Hart" will take audiences on a romantic holiday brimming with anecdotes and visual images from Powers’ extraordinary life, underscored by some of the most evocative love songs ever written.

Powers, who last month starred in the Reprise! production of “On Your Toes” at UCLA’s Freud Theatre, actually began her career at age 15, dancing for legendary choreographer Jerome Robbins. She soon found her musical skills overshadowed by a remarkable film career, working with many of Hollywood’s greatest talents, among them Lana Turner, Helen Hayes, John Wayne, Tallulah Bankhead, Bing Crosby and David Niven. She has starred in three television series, including “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.” and the long-running hit “Hart to Hart” with Robert Wagner, and in mini-series such as “Mistral’s Daughter” and “Beryl Markham: A Shadow in the Sun.” She has also regularly returned to her first love—the musical theatre—with star turns in the revival of “Applause—The Musical All About Eve” and “The King and I” in which she toured in England and throughout the United States in 2005. Her collaboration with noted jazz pianist/arranger Page Cavanaugh yielded the CD “On The Same Page,” a collection of great American standards.

The classic American songbook serves as the source for selections in "One From the Hart." Reminiscences from Powers’ often surprising, adventure-filled life supply the narrative. Powers is also internationally-renowned for her work in animal conservation and, this year, she is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, of which she is co-founder and president.

"One From the Hart" will play four performances, Thursday through Saturday, November 8-10 at 7:30 PM and Sunday, November 11 at 7:00 PM. The Samueli Theatre at the Orange County Performing Arts Center is located at 615 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa. Tickets are available through the Orange County Performing Arts Center box office, their website at www.ocpac.org or by calling 714-556-2787.

Powers to Debut One From the Hart Nov. 8-11 in California

Stefanie Powers

Stefanie Powers, most recently seen onstage in the Reprise! mounting of On Your Toes, will debut her new one-woman show this fall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center's Samueli Theatre.

Entitled One From the Hart, the evenings of song and story will play the Costa Mesa venue Nov. 8-11. The show, according to press notes, will "take audiences on a romantic holiday brimming with anecdotes and visual images from Powers' extraordinary life, underscored by some of the most evocative love songs ever written." Audiences can expect to hear tunes from the Great American Songbook.

Show times are Nov. 8-10 at 7:30 PM and Nov. 11 at 7 PM.

Stefanie Powers, who is best known for her TV work on "Hart to Hart," also starred in a U.K. revival and a U.S. national tour of The King & I. Her numerous stage credits include Oliver!, Annie Get Your Gun, My Fair Lady and the London production of Matador. She also starred as the legendary Margo Channing in a touring revival of Applause – The Musical All About Eve. She reunited with "Hart to Hart" co-star Robert Wagner in the play Love Letters in London's West End, followed by tours of the play in the U.S. and Canada.

The Samueli Theatre at the Orange County Performing Arts Center is located at 615 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa, CA. Tickets are available by visiting www.ocpac.org or by calling (714) 556-2787.

Friday, August 24, 2007

STARFAIR

Susan Stafford has been chosen as Ambassador of Entertainment for STARFAIR, founded by Bob Alexander, which will take place at the Palm Springs Convention Center Dec. 6-9, with countless stars like Stefanie Powers, Tab Hunter and Adam West to name a few. This is your opportunity to see great classic movies, and meet your favorite stars. For further info, please call 760-416-5811 or check out their Web site at www.palmspringswalkofstars.com.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Rodgers and Hart to Hart

The Reprise! Theater Group is an organization that stages musical revivals for short runs on shorter budgets. Four times per subscription season, they mount some semi-lavish production at Freud Hall at UCLA with minimal sets and even more minimal rehearsal time. But there's always a maximum of talent and it makes up for an awful lot.

About Stefanie Powers' performance in the revival of On Your Toes, the 1936 show by Richard Rodgers, Larry Hart and George Abbott:

Stefanie Powers played the rich lady who manages the ballet troupe and she seems to have aged about a week since she was The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. She had a nice star turn and handled her musical numbers quite well. (One joke was added to the script to reference her run as co-star of Hart to Hart).

Thursday, July 19, 2007

LIVING Commissions New Show from Ginger Productions

LONDON, July 19: Virgin Media Television-owned channel LIVING has commissioned Ginger Productions to produce a new clip-based show with the working title Who Do You Want To Solve Your Murder?

The new show will air over two nights on LIVING in September. It reveals which TV detectives people would trust to investigate their own murders, and will interview the actors who have played some of the most famous and legendary TV detectives, such as Kevin Dobson (Kojak), Eric Estrada (CHiPs), George Baker (DCI Wexford), Stefanie Powers (Hart to Hart), and Peter Falk (Columbo), along with pundits such as Melissa Joan Hart, Michael Winner, Ian Hyland and Colin Dexter (the writer of Inspector Morse).

Clare Hollywood, LIVING’s head of commissioning, commented: “TV detectives can be a hot topic when it comes to who is the best, and this show focuses on why people would trust one detective over another—especially if it was for their own murder! There is some great talent in this show, and it is a fun twist on a tried and tested format.”

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Stefanie Powers to Headline L.A. Reprise! Staging of On Your Toes


Stefanie Powers and Dan Butler will lead the cast in the upcoming Reprise! staging of On Your Toes at the UCLA Freud Playhouse in Los Angeles. The show will preview on August 14, open on August 15 and continue through August 26, directed by Dan Mojica. Jason Alexander recently assumed the artistic directorship of the Reprise! series.

Also featured in the cast of On Your Toes will be Jeffry Denman, Beth Malone, Brett Ryback, Jonathan Sharp, Yvette Tucker and Diane Vincent. The ensemble features Shell Bauman, Seth Belliston, Quintan Craig, Jennie Ford, Casey Garritano, Jeff Griggs, Chelsea Hackett, Joey T. Marshall, Melissa Paris, Aaron Pomeroy, Mark C. Reis, Katie Rooney, Jean Michelle Sayeg, Leslie Stevens, John Todd, and Scott Weber. The show will feature musical direction by Gerald Sternbach and choreography by Lee Martino.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Friday, June 22, 2007

Hart to Hart in OK

Oklahoma's The Cox Channel is expanding. The station also has added syndicated programming, including "Gunsmoke,” "Hart to Hart,” "Bewitched” and "Designing Women.”

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

TV Land Canada Announces Its Fall 2007 Schedule

On TV Land Canada, everything old is new again! New to the TV Land Canada schedule this September is Fantasy Island; Hart to Hart; Love, American Style; and It's Garry Shandling's Show.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Rabbit Faver on DVD! Pre-order Now!

Rabbit Fever, starring Stefanie Powers, is out on DVD on June 11.

You can pre-order now from www.rabbitfeverthemovie.com.

The first 200 customers will receive a free RABBIT FEVER key ring, so hurry while stocks last!

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

A night of stars to benefit Family Services of the Desert

You could really become jaded with all the charity fundraisers that offer a stellar line-up of performers here in the desert.

Most charity events with star quality offer up one or two, and on rare occasion three, celeb performers to sell the high-end tickets.

Photographer and film producer Michael Childers goes one better by assembling 21 stars for One Night Only: A Benefit for Family Services of the Desert on Saturday at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert.

The lineup for the night includes Chris Calloway (Cab's daughter), Wilson Cruz, Loretta Divine, Joely Fisher, Betty Garrett, Sally Kellerman, Andrea Marocovicci, Rod McKuen, Robert Morse, Valerie Pettiford, Stefanie Powers, Brian Lane Green, Nancy Dassault, Freda Payne, KT Sullivan, Kevin Spirtas, Bruce Vilanch, Ronobar Lahiri, Channing Cook Holmes, Susanna Guzman and emcee Doris Roberts.

Just one night
What: One Night Only: A Benefit for Family Services of the Desert
When: 6 p.m. Saturday, April 21
Where: McCallum Theatre, 73-000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert
Cost: $95, $135, $175
Other details: $350 VIP tickets include after-party with the cast at Piero's Acqua Pazza at The River, 78-100 Highway 111, Rancho Mirage
Information: 340-2787 McCallum Theatre

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Orange County Performing Arts Center 2007-08 Season

In the cabaret series, Stefanie Powers will make her center debut November 8-11, 2007.

http://www.ocpac.org/cabaret/index.asp

“In addition to the right mix of reserve and stately beauty, she also possesses a lovely soprano voice.” –Variety

As a Hollywood star, Stefanie Powers is known for inimitable style and sophistication. Now she brings those same qualities to the American songbook and unveils yet another facet to her remarkable talent.

Stefanie Powers on Paul O'Grady

Sunday, March 18, 2007

The Polish Americans

The Polish Americans
WQED, 9:30 p.m. Tuesday

Canonsburg's Bobby Vinton appears in The Polish Americans, along with actress Stefanie Powers; former U.S. National Security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski; Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland; author Suzanne Strempek Shea; and others.

This program is filled with human-interest stories, some lengthy, of how Polish-Americans maintained their heritage in a brave new country.

Archival footage focuses on the immigrants and how they built churches and communities that resembled European villages within American cities like San Antonio, Cleveland, Baltimore and New York. The program briefly sifts through Poland's political problems, then concentrates on the development of Polish pride in its food, music, dance and, surprisingly, as members of Notre Dame's "Fighting Irish" football teams.

Just be prepared to go on humming Vinton's part-Polish "Melody of Love" for the next few days.

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Stefanie on the Go

"I am en route to India for a conference on the Asiatic lion. I was asked to
replicate tour education center there and am giving a speech at the
conference. I go on to Hong Kong and Beijing for another set of meetings,
this time for the mutual funds, and then I go to Kenya so I am a bit busy
just now. Look on the site...www.sixdegrees.org and dial me up."

(Info from Nancy Dugan, Stefanie Powers On-line Fan Group).

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Stefanie, the Correspondent

Stefanie is the USA correspondent/interviewer for the UK's Sir David Frost television program. She'll be doing 20 interviews for the program and, there is a possibility that the show will be airing in USA as well. Several interviews are already in the can, including Micky Dolenz and Jacqueline Bisset.

She's also done several documentaries and is now trying to hook up with PBS for funding.

(Info from Nancy Dugan, Stefanie Powers On-line Fan Group).

Monday, February 05, 2007

Wildlife is no 'wild guess' for these experts

Saving endangered species from extinction, that's what a group of wildlife experts from USA, African and European countries will talk about at a two-day international symposium which begins on February 27 at Karnavati Club in Ahmedabad.

The symposium on 'Conservation of Endangered Species' has been jointly organised by the State Forest Department and Mumbai-based Vanishing Herds Foundation.

"Our main objective is to deliberate on conserving endangered species across the globe. More importantly, we wanted to get inputs on preserving Gujarat's wildlife from renowned experts in the field," said Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Pradeep Khanna on Monday.

Among the prominent wildlife experts expected to participate in the symposium are Don Hunt, chairman of Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy; Iris Hunt, who established Mount Kenya Animal Orphanage; Dr Betsy L Dresser, who is considered to be the world's foremost specialist in 'big cat' reproduction and genetics; Stefanie Powers, a Fellow of the Los Angeles Zoo and also a member on the advisory board of the Atlanta and Columbus Zoos;

Dr Stephanie Dloniak, a Zoology professor at Michigan State University and also the Director of The Mara Carnivore Conservation project, and, Scotland-based

Dr Roger Windsor, an expert in veterinary wildlife science.Giving profiles of the experts, Khanna said: "Don Hunt was part of a Kenyan Government project to stop wildlife, especially the rare White Zebra and Bongo antelope, from decimating.

The project, which lasted 35 years, is one of Africa's greatest success stories as not only did the decimation stop, the numbers of wildlife also increased significantly."

"Don Hunt's wife, Iris, is credited with the setting up of the Mount Kenya Animal Orphanage, a privately-funded animal shelter and refuge for wild animals with special needs.

The orphanage has become a model for a number of wildlife projects across the world. She has also been assisting her husband with wildlife translocations," he said adding that during the symposium, she will talk about the importance of an animal shelter in cohesive conservation programmes.

"Dr Dresser has worked with the University of Cincinnati's Medical Centre and is the senior vice president of the Audubon Centre for Research on Endangered Species. Her goal is to save endangered species from extinction through use of high-tech reproduction such as embryo transfers and in-vitro fertilisation.

Ms Winnie Kiiru, another eminent wildlife conservationist to participate in the symposium, will speak on "man-animal conflicts" and "large mammal translocation".

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Interview with Linda Evans

Not counting your battles on Dynasty, what's the meanest catfight you've ever been in?

I only did one other major catfight, in an episode of McCloud, before Dynasty. Stefanie Powers and I just went on for five minutes - beating the heck out of each other - and it was one of the best fights I've ever done with anybody. So when the Dynasty producers wanted Krystle and Alexis to have a fight, I told them what worked really well - what gave us the most punch for the least amount of injury. That was the pillows coming apart with feathers going all over the apartment.

I had learned to do my own stunts with Barbara Stanwyck on The Big Valley, because she's one of the few actresses who loved to do her own stunts, and it so pleased her when I did mine.

Of course, I love the fighting and Joan hates it. She hates being touched.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Special Screenings - February 1

American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Bl, Hollywood, (323) 466-3456. Egyptiantheatre.com. Overlooked and Underrated � Experiment in Terror, 7:30; followed by Mister Cory. Discussion in between films with actress Stefanie Powers.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Sidney Sheldon, 89; master of flashy, trashy bestsellers

Sidney Sheldon, a writer whose keen grasp of popular tastes fueled a string of feverishly romantic and suspenseful books that made him a perennial bestseller with millions of copies in print around the world, died Tuesday. He was 89. Sheldon died of pneumonia at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, according to his friend and publicist Warren Cowan.

A multifaceted writer, Sheldon won a screenwriting Oscar and a Tony award and had created popular television sitcoms before starting his first novel at the age of 52. But it was through the novels that he gained his overriding fame.

His books usually revolved around characters of great wealth, beauty, brilliance and bedroom prowess — none of which protected them from infidelity, betrayal and indiscretion. Sheldon's protagonists were usually women and his plots were so artfully constructed that his books are the very definition of a page-turner.

He was one of the world's most translated authors, selling more than 300 million books in 180 countries. They were printed in 51 languages, including Urdu, which is spoken in Pakistan and India, and Swahili.

With his second novel, "The Other Side of Midnight" (1974), Sheldon broke into the blockbuster ranks; the book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for 53 weeks — a record at the time.

About half of his 18 novels — with such titles as "Rage of Angels" (1980) and "Memories of Midnight" (1990) — were turned into television movies or miniseries. Demand for his stories was so great that CBS executives reportedly paid Sheldon $1 million for the rights to make a miniseries of 1985's "If Tomorrow Comes" before they had even read it.

Some critics said his dialogue was banal and his plots were unbelievable, but many grudgingly acknowledged the author's unusual talent at producing what the Washington Post once called "good junk reading time after time."

After Sheldon's 1987 novel "Windmills of the Gods" debuted at No. 1 on bestseller lists, Charles Champlin, then The Times' arts editor, wrote that Sheldon had found "a statistically wider audience each time, evidently satisfying everyone except most literary critics, who regard popularity and quality as incompatible."

Fans admired plotlines that were amazingly complex yet easy to follow — and the colorful characters who could never be counted on to do the expected.

"Sidney's longevity secret is that he is a great storyteller, a master of the narrative tale," his literary agent, Mort Janklow, told The Times in 2004. "Readers care about his characters, many of whom are women under threat. He has an instinctive ability to read women's emotions."

For his part, Sheldon said: "I don't write for critics. I write for readers."

From the early 1940s until almost 1970, he had written mainly for viewers.

Wins Oscar in 1948

His wry and witty script for "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" (1947) won him a 1948 Academy Award for original screenplay. The farce, which starred Cary Grant and Shirley Temple, was "uncloyed with cuteness," the New York Times review said at the time.

Sheldon was also a screenwriter for the Judy Garland-Fred Astaire musical "Easter Parade" (1948) and the Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical "The Barkleys of Broadway" (1949). After he helped adapt the Irving Berlin hit "Annie Get Your Gun" to the big screen, the 1950 Betty Hutton-Howard Keel vehicle received generally favorable reviews.

He wrote half a dozen plays for Broadway. His biggest hit was the musical "Redhead," starring Gwen Verdon, which ran for a little more than a year from 1959 to 1960 and brought him a Tony for co-writing the book.

After working on about two dozen films, he turned toward television, writing scores of episodes for two hit sitcoms he created — "The Patty Duke Show" (ABC, 1963-66) and "I Dream of Jeannie" (NBC, 1965-70), according to Sheldon's memoir "The Other Side of Me" (2005).

Creating a show for Duke was a challenge because "she was so extraordinarily talented I did not want to waste her abilities," Sheldon wrote. He decided she should play twin sisters but changed it to look-alike cousins to explain why the characters had grown up without knowing each other.

"Jeannie," which starred Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman, opened to mixed reviews but had a loyal fan base, Sheldon wrote. One episode, "Bigger Than a Bread Box and Better Than a Genie," featured Sheldon's wife, Jorja, as a fortuneteller and his mother as a character in a seance scene.

He also created the glamorous "Hart to Hart" series, starring Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers, that aired on ABC from 1979 to 1984.

He was born Sidney Schechtel on Feb. 11, 1917, in Chicago, the son of Otto, a salesman, and Natalie, a homemaker. Unable to pay the rent, the family kept moving and Sheldon attended about a dozen schools.

Sheldon later remarked that his career as a writer was rather improbable considering his background.

Becoming a writer

"Both my parents were third-grade dropouts," he said. "My father never read a book in his life and I was the only one in my family to complete high school."

Sheldon won a scholarship to Northwestern University. Although he was forced to drop out halfway through his freshman year because of the financial pressures of the Depression, he recalled having an epiphany of sorts as he walked on campus one day.

"I saw all these well-dressed students, and I thought that years from now, no one will ever know they existed," he wrote years later. "I wanted to leave a mark, I wanted people to know I was here."

He made up the last name of Sheldon in the mid-1930s when he entered an amateur radio contest as an announcer.

At first, he worked in Chicago as a theater usher, shoe salesman and attendant in a nightclub checkroom. After the club's bandleader, Phil Levant, played a song Sheldon wrote, Sheldon left for New York City to try to make it as a songwriter. While there, he saw a lot of movies and turned his thoughts toward Hollywood.

Soon, he was in Los Angeles — he wanted to be a screenwriter but had promised his parents he would return to Chicago if he didn't have a job within three weeks.

Repeatedly, he was turned away from movie studio gates. As time was running out, he learned that producers hired readers to help analyze scripts. Since he had just read John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men," Sheldon sent synopses of the classic to every studio and was soon working at Universal for $17 a week, he told The Times in 1992.

At his boarding house, Sheldon met a young writer named Ben Roberts and they began collaborating on "B" movies like "South of Panama," "Gambling Daughters" and "Borrowed Hero," all released in 1941.

"I can't even call them 'B' pictures," Sheldon once said. "They were 'Z' pictures. But we got paid and we got screen credits. We were professionals."

At the start of World War II, Sheldon enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces but within months he was discharged for medical reasons. He began collaborating with Roberts on a revival of the musical "The Merry Widow," which ran for nine months beginning in 1943.

Two other musicals they wrote, the comedy "Jackpot" and the fantasy "Dream With Music," had brief Broadway runs about the same time.

Back in Hollywood, Sheldon won an Oscar for "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" but couldn't wait to leave Shrine Auditorium.

"On what should have been the happiest night of my life, I was suicidal," Sheldon wrote in his autobiography of the paralyzing mood swings he experienced. A psychiatrist soon diagnosed him as manic-depressive, Sheldon wrote in his memoir.

In midlife, he turned to writing novels, a career change that came about almost accidentally, he often told interviewers:

"I had an idea for something complicated, that delved into people's minds and motives to a greater extent than I could put in any film or TV script. Trying to put it into novel form was the only answer."

"The Naked Face," published in 1970, did not sell well, but readers loved his second novel, "The Other Side of Midnight," the so-bad-it's-good guilty pleasure set in World War II. It centers on a beautiful French woman named Noelle Page who is spurned by a dashing American pilot and spends the rest of her life obsessed with him.

Almost all of Sheldon's books hit the bestseller lists after that.

In his fourth novel, "Bloodline," a beautiful heiress becomes the target of the man who murdered her father. In his sixth, "Master of the Game," the Blackwell family rises to riches in the diamond mines of South Africa. In 1991's "The Doomsday Conspiracy," a naval intelligence officer must find witnesses to the crash of a weather balloon that could actually be a UFO.

His 18th novel, "Are You Afraid of the Dark?," which was published when he was 87, was a New York Times bestseller shortly after its release in 2004.

In his personal life, Sheldon was the opposite of the love 'em and leave 'em cads who populate so many of his works.

A family man

After a brief first marriage, he was married to his second wife, Jorja Curtright, for 33 years; she died in 1985 of a heart attack. In 1989, he married Alexandra Kostoff. Besides his wife, he is survived by a daughter from his second marriage, Mary, who is a novelist; two grandchildren; and his brother Richard.

During most of his writing years, Sheldon and his family traveled the world together, researching and taking photos of the locations where he planned to set his next novel.

"If you read the description of a hotel, or of a restaurant meal, you can bet we actually stayed at that hotel or ate that exact meal…. That's what makes my books so realistic," he told an interviewer.

He wrote every day, first "ad-libbing" an initial and very long draft, which was transcribed by a secretary, and then rewriting and editing what he had written.

Over the years, he also wrote popular children's books. He owned a string of luxurious homes, finally settling in Beverly Hills and in a five-house compound in Palm Springs.

He told the Times in 2000 that he thought the profession of author suited him best.

"In a book, your imagination has no limits," Sheldon said. "There is no budget to worry about, you can have as many characters as you want, you can give them all yachts…. It's remarkable to write a novel, because the author is the star."

Services will be private.

The family suggests that memorial donations be made to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, 4650 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles 90027. A celebration of Sheldon's life will be held later.

Profitable page-turners:

The novels of Sidney Sheldon

• "The Naked Face"

• "The Other Side of Midnight"

• "A Stranger in the Mirror"

• "Bloodline"

• "Rage of Angels"

• "Master of the Game"

• "If Tomorrow Comes"

• "Windmills of the Gods"

• "The Sands of Time"

• "Memories of Midnight"

• "The Doomsday Conspiracy"

• "The Stars Shine Down"

• "Nothing Lasts Forever"

• "Morning, Noon & Night"

• "The Best Laid Plans"

• "Tell Me Your Dreams"

• "The Sky Is Falling"

• "Are You Afraid of the Dark?"

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Through the Keyhole

Micky Dolenz was interviewed by Stefanie Powers for David Frost's U.K. game show, "Through the Keyhole."

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Lively — and revealing — 'Legends'

BEVERLY HILLS — Joan Collins showed off more than her talents at Tuesday night's opening performance of her traveling stage play, Legends, when the zipper on the back of her dress slid down, exposing the 73-year-old's lingerie-covered backside to a theater packed with '80s TV legends.

Among those who were treated to the moon: Hart to Hart's Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers; Knots Landing's Michele Lee; Falcon Crest's Lorenzo Lamas; and Dynasty's Pamela Sue Martin, Al Corley, Gordon Thomson and Pamela Bellwood.

On stage, Collins' co-star and Dynasty rival, Linda Evans, 64, struggled in vain to zip Collins up. "I tried, but it just didn't want to stay," Evans sighed at the after-party.

So Collins momentarily broke the fourth wall, vocally acknowledging her "wardrobe malfunction" and inspiring Evans to ad-lib "nice (butt)." Collins, who also was battling the flu, spent the rest of the show delicately sidestepping her way across the stage, occasionally clasping her hands over her posterior.

"That poor thing; what a trouper," Powers said. "I once had a set fall down on me."

At the after-party, Collins shared a booth with sister Jackie, who just finished her latest racy novel, Drop Dead Beautiful, about the continuing antics of heroine Lucky Santangelo

"How embarrassing," Joan said of the mishap. "But I had to make it fun, because if you're not having fun, neither is your audience."

Joan's husband, Percy Gibson, is a producer on the show, which casts Evans and Collins as aging actress rivals. After its two-week engagement in Los Angeles, the show will continue to Phoenix, Denver, Chicago and Boston before concluding in New Haven, Conn., on May 13.

It also was a night to remember those who could not attend. The most missed face was Dynasty patriarch John Forsythe, who had colon cancer surgery in September and was released from the hospital three weeks ago.

Forsythe's wife, Nicole, said her husband, who turns 89 Jan. 29, is cancer-free but is now fighting a leg hematoma. "He thinks he can get up and walk, because he's not getting any pain to his brain," Nicole said.

She planned to make the two-hour drive back to their Santa Ynez Valley ranch the same night so she would not worry her husband, who "saw me getting all dolled up."