BETWEEN THE COVERS : STEPHANIE'S MANY LIVES FEATURE JOAN!

This week's excerpt comes from the brand new autobiography 'Many Lives' by the sensational Stephanie Beacham.. The book published by Hay House is in bookstores on Monday..


'I had gone to stay in Somerset with my two girls, Phoebe and Chloe. It was summer 1985 and 'Connie' was in the can. We'd gone down to the sea the same day we'd arrived at my parents house. I was standing on the deck in front of the beach hut. Suddenly a vision - I could see red-tiled roofs and a palm tree. And the thought - 'God's going to send me to California, how extraordinary.' Just like that, the vision and the thought, together. I didn't connect it to anything. Later the phone rang, it was my agent Maureen.. 'Something's come up, you may be interested. Can you be back in London the day after tomorrow?' she asked. The producers of 'Dynasty' were auditioning for a role in another series they were producing. Funny - I'd used the programme as inspiration to inject a bit of glamour into 'Connie'.  I really wasn't that keen. I thought they were probably after some American star. I agreed and Maureen couriered the audition piece to me and I took it to the beach. Before I'd had the chance to have a proper look, the wind grabbed it. It landed in the sea. I laughed. I wasn't particularly bothered, but I went up to London. When I arrived at the studio where they were taping the auditions, I noticed a sharp tang of adrenaline and perspiration hanging in the air. People had been nervous. This was a big deal, people wanted this desperately. I picked up a script someone had left behind. 'I'm going for this', I thought. A couple of days later, back in Somerset, the phone rang. It was Maureen. The producers wanted to see me in Los Angeles. I was going to Hollywood!

STEPHANIE & JOAN WITH GORDON THOMPSON AND TRACY SCOGGINS IN  THE FINAL EPISODE OF DYNASTY

Getting the part of Sable Colby depended on an interview with Aaron Spelling, the executive producer of 'Dynasty'. I was shown into his office. It was very large and there was an ocean of thick shag carpet I had to wade through, very difficult to accomplish elegantly, before reaching an enormous desk behind which was a small, slim, suntanned Texan with white hair and a sweet smile. 'You're younger than I thought you'd be', he said. 'But much more experienced', I countered. I wanted this. You can't pay school fees for two daughters on the wages from the National Theatre. Aaron's voice a soft Texan twang and then he lifted a large white telephone and said.. 'I'm sending her to wardrobe'. It was straight out of the movies. Within minutes I was being measured by the great designer Nolan Miller and Sable was being brought to life. I was back in Hollywood after a 15 year gap. 

STEPHANIE WITH JOHN AND LINDA

In the television series 'The Colbys', my character was married to Charlton Heston's and Barbara Stanwyck for a sister-in-law and a sister played by Katharine Ross. First day on the set I wasn't nervous until I thought.. 'That's Barbara Stanwyck and this is Hollywood'. Later that day I had a scene with Linda Evans. I'm completely deaf in my right ear. The shot had been blocked with Linda standing on my right. I couldn't hear my cue. I swapped sides. Linda was very gracious about it. I had to take a glass of Champagne from a tray a waiter was carrying with my left hand. I was really nervous. My hand was trembling so I thought it seemed wiser to take the glass with my right. I had to re-orchestrate the whole scene. I thought, 'Don't start justifying this, Stephanie, just do what you have to do to survive, be your best'. 

My first real contact with Hollywood was through Ava Gardner. I co-starred with her and Ian McShane in the film 'Tam Lin' in 1969. We had taken over the Peebles Hydro in Scotland. The place was crawling with crew, equipment and a cast that included Cyril Cusack who was playing my father, Cyril's real life daughter, Sinead  Cusack, Joanna Lumley, Richard Wattis and our director, Roddy McDowall. All we lacked was our star. Ava arrived chauffeured like royalty, with her corgis, a gramophone player and a box of Frank Sinatra records. He'd been her third and last husband and though divorced, their love never died. I stayed in my room when she arrived. I thought she'd have more important people to meet. It was a mistake, she felt snubbed. She wanted to meet her young co-star. We made up, though, and became friends. She was a lovely person to work with, she mentored me and I was hungry to learn from her. She'd get me to stand on a box during scenes in which we had dialogue. I asked her why. 'The lights are far kinder to the older face when it's looking up rather than down, bags under the eyes - gone!' She knew all the tricks.

STEPHANIE WITH  JOAN AND MICHAEL NADER

I remembered this trick when on the set of 'Dynasty' one day, when we were doing close-ups. Just as we were about to go for a take, Joan in full regalia, as her character Alexis Colby, kicked her shoes off. 'Oh my feet, they're so sore', she said, with a huge sigh. Without her heels my eye-line was going to be considerably lower. 'Oh gosh', I said, 'I so know what you mean'. I looked at her discarded shoes and measured up the heel in my mind. 'Could we have a four-and-a-half-inch pancake- techie speak for what's essentially a box- for Miss Collins, please?' I asked the chippies... I was also in Jackie Collin's 'Lucky Chances'.When we met, Jackie said..'I don't know if I should be talking to you!'.. I'd played a writer called Vicki Sprantz in 'Troop Beverly Hills'. It was obvious I'd based her on Jackie. I wore every sort of animal print I could!
(c) 2011  STEPHANIE BEACHAM ..