Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Cinderella, The Musical Pantomime, with Stefanie Powers, Opens in U.K. Dec. 9

Stefanie Powers, Christopher Biggins, Matthew Kelly and Craig McLachlan head the cast of one of the U.K.'s biggest Christmas spectacles, Cinderella, The Musical Pantomime, opening at Southampton's Mayflower Theatre Dec. 9 (following previews from Dec. 5), for a run to Jan. 17, 2009.

Powers, who plays the Fairy Godmother, is making her British panto debut in the show, though she has previously appeared on the U.K. stage in the West End premiere of the musical Matador. She is still best known for her role as Jennifer Hart, wife and crime-fighting partner to Robert Wagner, on the 1980s TV series "Hart to Hart." She recently toured the U.S. in a production of The King and I.

Biggins, who plays Buttons, won ITV's "I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!" reality show in 2007. He has regularly appeared in pantos, and was seen as Baron Bomburst in the West End run of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the London Palladium.

Kelly, who was seen as the Wicked Witch in last year's Mayflower production of The Wizard of Oz, returns this year as one of the Ugly Sisters, playing opposite his actor son Matthew Rixon as his sibling.

McLachlan, best known for his appearances on the Australian soap operas "Neighbours" and "Home and Away," has appeared in the West End in Grease and previously at the Mayflower in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and White Christmas.

The title role of Cinderella is played by Rachel Stanley, who also appeared at the Mayflower in White Christmas and was Truly Scrumptious in the 2008 tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

To book tickets contact the box office at 02380 711811 or visit www.mayflower.org.uk.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Stefanie Powers to Appear on Paul O'Grady

For you UK fans, Stefanie Powers will be on The Paul O'Grady Show on Channel 4 on Monday, November 17 at 5 pm. Presumably this will be to promote the panto she is doing this year.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

Stars brave storm to attend Twinight bashStars brave storm to attend Twinight bash

Holy Hanna, Batman! Was that really you sharing cocktails and mango lobster hors d'oeuvres with J.R. Ewing, the Incredible Hulk and two-thirds of the gang from "Three's Company" in Centre Island?

By thunder it was. An eclectic mix of a dozen stars, from '60s Hitchcock heroine Tippi Hedren to "Married With Children's" David Faustino didn't let a little wind and rain keep them from descending Saturday night on Twinight, the multimillion-dollar manse of businessman Richard Baron Cohen (no relation to Sacha) to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Cold Spring Harbory Fish Hatchery and Aquarium.

"I wanted a good mix of people," said Baron Cohen, who's also a member of the trout rearing facility and environmental education center's board of trustees. "Adam West I've met several times, and my wife was a competitive bodybuilder once, so that's how I knew Lou Ferrigno. My mother loves Larry Hagman, so I asked him."

Guests also got to see the reunion of Joyce DeWitt and Priscilla Barnes from "Three's Company" as well as Hagman and Cindy Williams, she of "LaVerne & Shirley" fame.

"I did a movie for Larry that he directed called 'Beware! The Blob' and I played a girl who got eaten by the Blob," Williams said.

All of the celebrities on hand, including "Mr. ChiPS" Erik Estrada, who arrived late because of the storm, Emmy winner Ed Asner and '80s TV sex symbols Morgan Fairchild and Stefanie Powers, were asked because of their involvement in other green projects.

The stars, none of whom live on Long Island, were paid to attend the $250-a-plate gala. Some, such as Hedren, who operates the Shambala Preserve for wildlife in Acton, Calif., were familiar with the work of the hatchery. "Preserving animals and the environment is something that always has to be considered, to be aware of, to be thoughtful about. Otherwise, we are on a collision course," Hedren said.

For some, coming to Long Island wasn't just a socially conscious journey but a trip down memory lane. "I've sailed across from Larchmont to Oyster Bay and spent the night at your lovely yacht club," Powers said. "My boyfriend has a boat there and he sails and races up and down the Eastern seaboard."

Ferrigno also is no stranger to the area. "I was always involved with Long Island fishermen. I grew up in Brooklyn, but I used to come here to meet girls when I was 19 and 20," Ferrigno said.

Asner, as curmudgeonly as his TV alter ego Lou Grant, was more direct about why he attended: "I was asked, I was informed, and I hope to think that I'm an environmentalist. And I had nothing to do."

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Stefanie Powers Featured in Donruss Americana II


ARLINGTON, TX – In the true spirit of Hollywood , Donruss presents a sequel to its successful Americana trading card set which tapped into the world of entertainment, politics, sports and pop-culture. Donruss Americana II, released on July 16, includes even more heavy hitters from film, sports, history, classic television and pop culture, to truly capture the flavor of America ’s rich and storied history. Each four-card pack (SRP $40) offers collectors the chance to uncover autographs or memorabilia cards.

The base set features 100 common cards and is deep in star power such as John Wayne, George HW Bush, Buzz Aldrin, Jake LaMotta, Marilyn Monroe, John Cusack, Jackie Chan, Willie Mays and 30 of the hottest new Mixed Martial Arts fighters.

Each of the 100 cards is also presented in a variety of numbered parallel sets, including autographed versions and memorabilia cards featuring a swatch of the star’s clothing. As a result fans can collect up to ten different cards from many of the stars.

Other Donruss Americana II program highlights include:

  • Hollywood Legends Card Set: This 25-card set is comprised of Tinseltown’s greatest in the shape of multi-swatch and combo cards. Hollywood legends John Wayne, Johnny Weismuller, Douglas Fairbanks, Burt Lancaster, Gary Cooper, Montgomery Clift, and Judy Garland are all found within the set.

  • The Co-Stars Signatures: 15 different cards with less than 50 of each signed by such duos as George HW Bush/Barbara Bush; Burt Reynolds/Angie Dickinson; Married with Children’s Christina Applegate/David Faustino; Kurt Russell/Goldie Hawn; and Different Strokes stars Gary Coleman/Todd Bridges; Hart to Hart’s Robert Wagner/Stefanie Powers.

  • Headliners: Autographed cards and memorabilia cards highlighting important accomplishments including George HW Bush (elected President); Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11); Jake LaMotta (1949 World Champion); Hank Aaron (Home Run King); Willie Mays (4 Home Run game on 4-30-61).

  • Stardom Triple Signature series is made-up of five different cards with famous trios such as Batman’s Adam West/Burt Ward/Lee Meriwether; and game show hosts Bob Eubanks/Chuck Woolery/Peter Marshall among others.

  • The Hollywood Legends Materials features 25 different cards, numbered 1-500. The set has swatches of clothing from Tinseltown greats John Wayne, Johnny Weismuller, Gary Cooper, and others. (same as above)

  • Ring Kings – The first trading cards, autographed cards and memorabilia cards of 30 of the top MMA fighters including: Randy Couture, George St. Pierre, Forrest Griffin, Urijah Faber and Gina Carano.

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Hollywood Actress Preserves African Legacy of Late Film Star

Listen to interview

Hollywood actress Stefanie Powers is keeping alive the African legacy of the late film star William Holden, who established a well known game ranch and sanctuary in Kenya. Powers is president of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, and she spoke with VOA's Mike O'Sullivan about her work on behalf of animal conservation in East Africa.

On the slopes of Mt. Kenya, thousands of schoolchildren arrive throughout the year at the William Holden Wildlife Education Center, where they learn about the animal and plant life of the region.

The center, which is adjacent to the Mt. Kenya Wildlife Conservancy, carries on the legacy of Hollywood actor William Holden. He fell in love with East Africa after going on safari there in the 1950s.

In 1959, he became co-owner of a famous resort, renaming it the Mt. Kenya Safari Club, and in the 1960s he and his partners set up the Mt. Kenya Game Ranch. Within a few years, it would house a sanctuary for orphaned animals.

After Holden's death in 1981, his partners and actress Stefanie Powers co-founded the William Holden Wildlife Foundation, which operates the educational center. She says it re-introduces African students to nature away from Kenya's bustling towns and cities.

"We do not allow boom boxes. We do not allow portable telephones. That all is left at the door," she says. "This is a natural experience. It is for students to come and understand nature, and to do so, you cannot have headphones on."

There are 37 species of wildlife on the preserve adjacent to the center, and the foundation offers programs on animal conservation and environmental protection. Powers says it also reaches out to youngsters through the schools.

"We combine our curricula, which is specifically adjusted to their level of education and understanding, as well as onsite programs, which we install, such as lessons on composting, what to do with biodegradable waste, how to create agro-forestry, where trees and crops can be grown harmoniously in a companion planting method where nitrogen-producing plants can actually enhance the soil." she said.

Powers divides her time between Hollywood and Kenya, and says her globe-trotting activism comes naturally. When she was a child, her family collected exotic birds and her stepfather bred racehorses. As a young woman, she owned dogs and acquired her own exotic animal, a Malaysian Sun Bear.

She recalls breaking the news to her boyfriend, who later became her husband.

"It was really not my most subtle moment," she says. "The little bear was in the kitchen playing with my Yorkshire Terrier. My boyfriend came home and I poured him a very stiff drink, and I said, 'You like bears, do not you?' I very subtly broke the ice."

Her fascination with animals outlasted her marriage. She was divorced in the early 1970s and found a new love in her life, one of Hollywood's top stars, William Holden. He had appeared in nearly 80 movies, including the classic war films Bridge on the River Kwai and Stalag 17, for which he won an Oscar. At this point in his life, he spent much of his time in Kenya.

Powers says that even before she met him, she loved to travel.

"I consumed every bit of free time I had by going off to some place, and I spent a lot of time in Central and South America, and Mexico," she says. "And I had traveled extensively through North Africa. But I had never been to sub-Saharan Africa, and certainly not to East Africa, which is where the game was. So Bill introduced me to his part of Africa, as he used to call it. And I was already in love with the man, so it was very easy to be in love with where he hung his hat."

Powers has appeared in films and on television since she was a teenager in the 1950s. She is best known for the popular series Hart to Hart, in which she costarred with Robert Wagner, playing husband and wife detectives, from 1979 to 1984.

But she has always spent time at her second home in Kenya, and has even been adopted by the local Kikuyu people. She says Africa is her passion, as it was for a British adventurer she once portrayed in a television movie.

"Oh, gosh, I guess I was bitten by the bug," she says. "And it is beyond me, now. I am helpless. It is part of my cells. You know, I think it was Beryl Markham who wrote, 'I will always remember Africa, but will Africa remember me?' I do not think Africa will remember me, but I will always remember Africa."

She says that whether working with preservation groups in Hollywood or with youngsters at Mt. Kenya, she is helping endangered species in a part of the world she loves.

Friday, May 30, 2008

George Hamilton's book party

It was a crush of crepey cleavage and vintage Hollywood royalty Thursday night at George Hamilton’s book party at Il Cielo in Beverly Hills. We nibbled on porcini ravioli and tiny lambchops from hand-grown, organically fed micro sheep. We swilled house Chianti and watched as vintage 1980s television superstars paraded, air-kissed and lined up for photo ops.

There was leonine Loni Anderson, newly remarried and glowing behind her majestic cheekbones. She spooned chicly shagged and laid-back Stefanie Powers, who cocked a knee beside Linda Gray, still radiant nearly 20 years post-“Dallas.” Plumped lips curled into super-pro camera smiles all around. New York publishing lackeys watched in awe; this is why it’s good to hold Book Expo America in L.A.: star power, baby.

Suddenly the crowd parted and there was Hamilton himself, radiant in a bespoke suit and his signature 500-watt smile. His hair was shellacked to perfection, his teeth adazzle, skin burnished to the sheen of a fine, old wallet. The man, on the brink of 70, is still a total chick magnet. Women of all ages flocked to him, pulling wee cameras from tiny evening bags and jockeying for a photo, letting their hands linger in his as he smiled down at them.

It was an anticipatory party for his October book, “Don’t Mind If I Do,” an intimate look at behind-the-scenes Hollywood, and if his ghostwriter (William Stadiem) did his job right, it should be a pip. Hamilton was at the "Cleopatra" wrap party where Richard Burton declared his love for Elizabeth Taylor in front of Eddie Fisher; he witnessed one of Judy Garland’s suicide attempts and, apparently, skinny-dipped with JFK (giving new meaning to the phrase “I knew John F. Kennedy and you’re no John F. Kennedy").

“I came on the scene in the '50s, and I didn’t want to be stuck in that plastic era,” Hamilton told me as I tried to stay focused on his words and not be hypnotized by his animal magnetism. “I wanted to write about what really happened.” He was inspired by David Niven’s books “The Moon’s a Balloon” and “Bring on the Empty Horses,” which brought the insider Hollywood memoir to a giddy new level in the 1970s.

There’s hope for similar fun from "Don't Mind If I Do" because Hamilton clearly knows everyone -- and is in on the joke about himself. The promotional goody bag was an assemblage of personalized M&Ms, sunglasses and exotic tanning products. The book's cover photo has him posed in a leopard-skin chair, in ascot, nonchalantly gesturing toward the camera. He has a reality show in the works, also called “Don’t Mind if I Do,” in which he freeloads his way around the world on his charm and good looks without ever having to touch money.

In this new age of the stubbled, rude and tattooed, Hamilton is old guard Hollywood. Back in the 1950s, Hamilton told me, his idols were Rudolph Valentino and the Duke of Windsor. “I was 30 years out of date back then!”

Friday, May 23, 2008

Stefanie Powers Honored

Warren Cowan PR presented a Hollywood Salute to Veterans on Armed Forces Day, as Wayne Newton and Hollywood’s USO Entertainers are honored at the launch of Step Up 4 Vets, a non-profit organization benefiting Veterans. The Peace One Earth Medallion, designed by Step Up 4 Vets founder Patricia Kennedy, was unveiled.

Los Angeles, CA, May 23, 2008 -- The stars came out on Armed Forces Day to attend a benefit promoted by Warren Cowan PR at the Beverly Hills home of Patricia Kennedy, founder of Step Up 4 Vets and the designer of the Peace One Earth Medallion. Wayne Newton received the first Peace One Earth Medallion, and Stefanie Powers and Kate Linder were honored for their years of service to the USO. Brigadier General Michael R..S. Teilman, Executive Director of the USO of the Greater Los Angeles Area, served as Master of Ceremonies for the evening. In addition, legendary Astronaut Buzz Aldrin and World War II veteran and actor Hugh O’Brian (who at age 17 was the youngest Drill Sergeant in Marine Corps history) were honored.

The visual highlight was an aviation presentation from The Condor Squad of six vintage World War II planes flying over the home in the lost man formation. Other highlights included speeches from Congressman Bob Tilner, Chairman of the House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs, and Shad Meshad, founder of the National Veterans Foundation.

Special presentations were made to the many Veterans in attendance, including four who recently returned from Iraq: SSgt. Paul McQuigg (Marines), HM1 Aaron Q. Seibert (Navy), HN Phillip A. Mishaga (Navy) and Cameron White. A special presentation was made on behalf of Mark Metherell, the former Navy Seal who was recently killed in Iraq. Accepting for the Metherell family were his parents Alex and Pamela Metherell, sister Alison Metherell, and former Navy Seal and friend of Mark Metherell, Tony Duchi.

Towards the end of the evening, all guests were presented with Peace One Earth Medallions, which were designed by Patricia Kennedy and which will be available to the public via the www.peaceoneearth.com website. A portion of the proceeds of these medallions, which the public is encouraged to purchase and inscribe to honor Veterans they may wish to recognize, will go towards Step Up 4 Vets (www.stepup4vets.org), a non-profit organization aiding returning vets as the readjust, redirect and rebuild their civilian lives.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Hollywood Star Joins Panto at The Mayflower

HART TO HART star Stefanie Powers is joining Matthew Kelly and starring alongside Christopher Biggins in Cinderella, The Musical Pantomime at The Mayflower this Christmas.

Christopher Biggins was crowned king of the jungle 2007 in ITV's I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! Biggins has had a long and varied career in television, film and theatre having appeared in numerous pantomimes across the country; he also appeared in the West End as Baron Bomburst in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He will be playing Buttons at The Mayflower.

Matthew Kelly returns following his critically acclaimed performance as the wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz at The Mayflower last Christmas. Donning a dress once more, and accompanied by his son Matthew Rixon, they will be playing the ugly sisters.

Stefanie Powers is a veteran of over 200 television and film appearances as well as the star of massive 1980s TV hit Hart to Hart and will be making wishes come true as the fairy godmother. She recently played Anna in The King and I on tour throughout America.

Cinderella, The Musical Pantomime will be a brand new production specifically designed for The Mayflower theatre featuring spectacular sets and costumes. Unlike other Christmas shows and pantomimes across the country Cinderella will have a full orchestra in the pit.

The Mayflower has again teamed up with Michael Rose and Chris Moreno, the producers of The Wizard of Oz, last year's box office record-breaking Mayflower Christmas show, and White Christmas, to present a delightful star studded new production for all the family.

This magical tale of rags to riches will be brought to life before your eyes in a dazzling musical feast of a show. Cinderella must battle against sinister stepsisters and a murderous stepmother with a little help from Buttons and her fairy godmother. When the clocks chime midnight, will all her dreams come true?

n Cinderella, The Musical Pantomime runs from December 5 to January 17.

Box office: 023 8071 1811 or online at mayflower.org.uk.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Attn: British H2H Fans

Hi Meredy,

I'm Dave - I work for So television in London. We're making the Graham Norton show and we're looking for Hart to Hart fans to come and join our audience for the programme. Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers will be Graham's guests on Wednesday the 30th of April in London. If anyone is interested in being in our audience we would love them to e mail me at davec@sotelevision.co.uk or call me on 02079602046.

Would you be able to advise me where would be a good place to find fans of the show in Britain?

Thanks,
Dave

Dave Coulson | Researcher
The Graham Norton Show
t: 02079602046
e: DaveC@sotelevision.co.uk
So Television, 18 Hatfields, London, SE1 8GN

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

APLA Blames It On Bacharach

Wow! Here's another fabulous event for you music lovers to go to.

Blame It On Bacharach! - The 24th Annual S.T.A.G.E. Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event on March 8th and 9th at the Wilshire Theatre in Beverly Hills.

The longest continuously running AIDS benefit in the world, the Southland Theatre Artists Goodwill Event (S.T.A.G.E.), has raised more than $5 million for HIV/AIDS services throughout Southern California. This year, enjoy two exciting performances of song and dance saluting legendary pianist and composer Burt Bacharach and benefiting APLA programs and services.

Scheduled to appear: Catte Adams, Carole Cook, Rita Coolidge, Nancy Dussault, Betty Garrett, Daniel Gurwin, Vicki Lewis, Pat Marshall, Marilyn Maye, Maureen McGovern, Donna McKechnie, Linda Michele, Adam Pascal, Valarie Pettiford, The Plaids, Stefanie Powers, Gene Reed and Jai Rodriguez. David Galligan directs.

Guests can also bid on a range of offerings including priceless musical memorabilia during the event’s silent auction.

To purchase tickets online or learn more, please click HERE. Or for more information, call (866) 679-0958.