Showing posts with label Jane Birkin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jane Birkin. Show all posts

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Polanski connected to attempted murder? And one new article on Sharon and one old one...

Apparently, Roman Polanski is in the news again...

http://www.thefrisky.com/post/246-10-playboy-playmates-who-got-in-trouble-with-the-law/

Playboy Playmates are known for being bastions of class and social distinction, but sometimes something in them snaps and they go bad. This was apparently the case with1968 Playmate Angela Dorian, who tried to kill her husband in October, using a gun given to her by Roman Polanski 40 years ago. Dorian was besties with Polanski’s wife, Sharon Tate, who was murdered by Charles Manson. Polanski apparently gave her the gun to protect herself. But now the Playmate could face life in prison, after shooting her husband during an argument.

Some sites have been bringing up Polanski's tainted past and accusing him of being responsible.  Actually, if Dorian were Sharon and Roman's good friend, I can see why he would given her a gun to protect herself.  After the Manson murders everyone in Hollywood was terrified that it could be them next.  However, I am sorry to hear about what happened recently, Roman, by no means, really had anything to do with it. 

For more positive news...

Here is a recent article on Sharon...

http://www.anothermag.com/current/view/589/Sharon_Tate

Vintage Style: Sharon Tate - November 3, 2010

When referencing iconographic 60s style, Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton and Jane Birkin are arguably the most name-checked people, but there is one often-missed celebutante whose characteristic style typifies not just the mood of the decade but the unique psychedelic microcosm of California where she lived. Actress Sharon Tate is rarely mentioned in style retrospectives, press romanticism of the swinging era perhaps not sitting so comfortably with the horrific murder of the starlet at the hands of the Manson “family” in 1969.

Whilst in Britain the 60s aesthetic came to be typified by the bird-like Twiggy in jarring monochrome geometric prints, Hollywood’s poster 60s chick was actress Sharon Tate, made famous by her role in cult 1967 film The Valley of The Dolls. Instead of an elfin frame and sleek boyish hair, Tate’s look was notably more feminine and whimsical with bell sleeve, chemise-inspired mini dresses and heavily printed fabrics, which provided an altogether more ethereal feel than the London-centric cool Brit girl look of the day. Speaking to American news program Inside Edition, Deborah Tate described her sister's style as, “very eclectic, very free-spirited, and a combination of sexy and child-like innocence.” The archetypal Californian hippy-boheme, Sharon routinely weaved leather strings around her feet mimicking sandals so that she could go barefoot into restaurants and shops in Beverly Hills.

The allure of Tate’s beauty was hypnotic. The New York Sunday News described her poetically in a 1966 article: “Wearing an abbreviated miniskirt, she seems to enjoy the commotion she causes wherever she goes. Sharon also affects thick, black, false eyelashes, brown eye shadow around her lips, and long ash-blonde hair that falls freely about her shoulders. Her presence in a crowd is as insignificant as a floodlight in a blackout.” (New York Sunday News December 18, 1966)

The distinctive style of the 1960s bombshell has lingered around the catwalks for several seasons. Miu Miu’s A/W10 collection boasted a pretty take on retro 60s trends melding mod-like shift dresses with girly moulded fills, and metallic floral adornments nodding towards the free-loving flower-children of the era. Next season, Sharon Tate’s spectre is a tangible presence in fashion with Julien Macdonald citing her as the influence for the beauty looks in his S/S11 presentation. The revival of trends trailblazed by Tate, such as the heavy taupe eyes under sky-high hair, bohemian prints on feather-light fabrics, and the fact her name, not just her style, is being referenced by designers, is the biggest indicator that fashion at least has come to view Roman Polanski’s late wife as a reference point for inspiration, and no longer as just a tragic heroine.

Text by Laura Havlin


Thanks so much to Laura Havlin for writing such a positive and great article about Sharon!  And yes, Amen to the idea of Sharon being no longer thought of as just a tragic heroine!

And here is an older article submitted by our contributor Andrea!  Thanks, Andrea!
Career Girl Magazine 1966:

Sharon Tate comes from Dallas, Texas and is the eldest of three daughters.  She made her film debut with Deborah Kerr and David Niven in "13" and follows with the female starring role in MGM's satirical horror-drama, "The Vampire Killers."  Oddly enough, Sharon was discovered in Italy where she met Eli Wallach, Susan Strasberg and Richard Beymer who were shooting "The Adventures of a Young Man" in Verona.  Impressed by potential as an actress, director Marty Ritt advised her to get in touch with agent Hal Gefsky in California with a view to breaking into pictures.  She took his advice and went to Los Angeles.  Her "break" was just around the corner.  While auditioning for a small part in Filmway's tv series, "Petticoat Junction," she was seen by producer Martin Ransohoff, Filmways chief.  He signed her to an exclusive seven-year contract the same day.

And, may I add, it is easy to see why!

Friday, April 16, 2010

For Friday April 16, Photo of the Week, More New Books, New Vintage Translated Article: Sharon Tate and the "Hollywood Star System", A Dedication Video to Sharon and her baby, A Look Back at the Year 1969, End Game For Roman Polanski?

Sorry I got back a little late tonight...

Here is our lovely photo of the week:

From Photoplay magazine.

Here are some items contributed by Sharon fan Micaela:


Two new Spanish books that mention Sharon:

Polanski: Un Genio Maldito (This one is translated: Polanski: An Evil Genius).

Sangre en el Paraiso by Manuel Penella (Title translated: Blood in Paradise).

If anyone has read these please let us know what you think?

And a new vintage translated article:
King Magazine Italy 1966

$500,000 for Sharon Tate

Now look at her, this is Sharon Tate, incredibly lovely, delightfully blonde and sure of herself.  Ready to front the paths of the glory of celluloid.

Well, we must reveal to ourselves the secret: she is the classic product of the rigid "Hollywood Star System."

Sharon was, two years before, a simple lovely girl but no more.

Its luck is due to one man alone: of the noted Martin Ranshohoff, director of Filmways, a mass-producer of TV series. 

Immediately Ransohoff put the young Tate under contract for seven years and spent $500,000 (that is 300 millions of lira--Italian money).  For such a young lady Sharon began very hard work: lessons of song, dance, diction and performance.

When the $500,000 had been spent, from their ashes was born Sharon Tate, the star of tomorrow.


This is a Sharon that is beautiful everywhere and not afraid to show herself undressed.
In little time, we will see her in a film with Tony Curtis and Claudia Cardinale called "Don't Make Waves," a film tease of the crazy life in Southern California.

Many the shots here, all of our Sharon, show her in a small, colored bikini. 
If you were to ask the young lady Tate today what was the thing that makes her laugh about her life, the sculptural girl answers without hesitation:  "It was when, after seeing he had spent the $500,000, that Mr. Ransohoff had me do parts in five or six different series on TV with a black wig on."  *Even though he had spent so much money on her she was still starring incognito.

After "Don't Make Waves", Sharon Tate is ready for the big producers.


At present, she just finished filming "The Fearless Vampire Killers," directed by the teacher of fear, Roman Polanski.

In the latest issue of Playboy and from the set of the film, Sharon Tate appears nude.
Thanks so much for these two items, Micaela!

Here is a lovely dedication to Sharon and her baby Paul:

http://inewmovie.com/11986/in-loving-memory-of-sharon-paul-richard/

Serge Gainsbourgh and Jane Birkin: One of the great 1960s couples.

A nice article on looking back at 1969:

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/1969-the-year-everything-changed-1752220.html

And an interesting new article on Roman Polanski:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/apr/15/roman-polanski-exile-ghost