Deborah Kerr has died at 86.
Somehow that doesn't seem so old these days.
How terribly sad this news is.
Deborah Kerr was one of my earliest favorite actresses, mostly by virtue of having seen her in "Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison" on Saturday Night at the Movies (on NBC) and, later, "The Journey". (My first fave was Susan Hayward).
I was thinking strongly about her last month and did some Googling to find out how she has been doing. I vividly recall her appearance at the Academy Awards..ohh, a decade ago?....for her career achievement Oscar. She was thrilled but seemed "out of it" to a degree. I did not know at that time that she had been suffering from Parkinson's Disease for many years.
Monday evening, during his intro for the TCM airing of "Young Bess," Osborne informed me that the movie project was initially intended for Deborah Kerr to star but that things intervened, delaying the filming. By the time MGM gave the project the go-ahead, Kerr was thought to be too mature for the young Elizabeth and was cast, instead, as Catherine. Jean Simmons won the lead.
It's just as well, because Kerr made a very mature splash around that time in "From Here to Eternity."
Kerr very much resembled my maternal (step) grandmother...complexion, facial features/structure and hair.
Another star has gone nova.