from Cocktails with George and Martha: Movies, Marriage, and the Making of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Philip Gefter:
When Warner, who was in New York, learned what Nichols had done, he ordered McEwen to fire Nichols. When McEwen summoned Nichols to his office and gave him the news, Mike was quick on his feet, offering an ingenious—and, ultimately, helpful—quid pro quo. If Warner gave him until the end of the week to edit the last reels, he would invite his friend Jacqueline Kennedy to the all-important Catholic Legion screening. By then, Warner was aware of Nichols’s friendship with the former first lady, as paparazzi shots had been published of the two of them dancing together at Arthur, the popular nightclub on the former site of El Morocco in midtown Manhattan opened by Sybil Burton (Richard’s ex-wife). Nichols knew that Mrs. Kennedy loved Albee’s play. As a Catholic, as a universally sympathetic figure after the assassination of her husband, and as the other most famous woman in the world, her opinion would likely hold sway with the monsignor. Warner was persuaded enough to grant Mike this final wish, and indignant enough to order Lehman to rehire North immediately.
No comments:
Post a Comment