Nancy Olson Livingston has written a book about her life and career in New York and California. In the book she is a sort of modern day Zelig. She knew, or crossed paths, with a Who’s Who of Broadway and Hollywood.
Ms. Livingston was married to Alan Jay Lerner during the writing of ‘My Fair Lady’. She was invited to the opening night performance in London of ‘Sunset Blvd’, she was Betty Schaefer in the 1950 film.
Ms. Livingston writes of her single encounter with Arthur Laurents. She and Laurents were among those who attended a Gala premier of ‘The Turning Point’ in Monaco. There was a dinner afterwards and Livingston and Laurents were seated at the same table. Before the guests were seated she was in a small circle of people where one of them mentioned that he had learned the Heimlich Maneuver. During the dinner, Mr. Laurents began to choke. Ms. Livingston scanned the room looking for the man she’d met earlier. The man reached the table and successfully performed the maneuver on Laurents.
The dislodged food, salmon with heavy cream, landed on Ms. Livingston’s dress. She writes that Laurents thanked the man who saved his life but never apologized to her.
This was a book that I so wanted to like. Ms. Livingston takes shots at people who aren’t central to the story and spends a great deal of time settling old scores. |
