Tuning in…
Tuning in…
Castaway
1 appearance
Actress and dancer from Hollywood's golden age, best known for films such as Gigi and An American in Paris.
On the island
Eight records
When I was a little girl… my brother and I we lived in a little villa mansion… we had firm orders never to enter… But we loved going there because there was the butt club… His name was Albon and he played the accordion… And to me it was absolutely magic… Furthermore, I love that record of Edith Kof… The most marvellous thing in the world would be to be able to sing like she did.
Si Mi Chiamano Mimi (from La Bohème)Favourite
Maria Carlos. I think she's the greatest that ever lived… It just moves me every time I hear it.
It is a very profound song, very touching, moving. It's courageous too, because very few people will admit, please don't leave me.
I always was very touched by that song. It's all about the lynching of black people. And Ella Fitzgerald sings it fabulously well.
One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)
Well, Frederica was simply adorable… And one day he said You step on my foot. I said, No, friend, you stepped on my foot.
Vienna Singverein Choir, Vienna Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan
The Requiem from Mozart, which to me is perhaps the most beautiful piece ever written. Hearing a Requiem in a Church You can't stop crying. It's so beautiful.
And he wrote one song about pollution. It's called Burn On. And it's about a river that's so polluted that it burns on… the song is absolutely wonderful.
Not only is it a great song, But I knew the two people Involved. I knew Jacques Prevert quite well… So this Les Faux Mortes is very dear to me.
In conversation
Presenter asks
2:49So, Leslie, tell me, where does this work ethic of yours come from, do you think? And is it still as strong as ever?
Oh, no, no, no, no. I've learned to be almost retired. I do my exercise every day. Discipline is everything in life, I think, if you want to live a long life, which I'm trying to do.
Presenter asks
10:36Leslie, when war broke out, what was life like for you during the war years?
On the third of September, nineteen thirty nine, my grandfather took me on his knee and cried, and said, My poor children, the war is declared. I remember the fear mustn't do this, mustn't do that, be careful. Don't talk about your mother being American. I mean they're men with machine guns which they can point to you if they want to. And Paris changed so much. All those s bags of sand and all those German signs everywhere. It wasn't Paris any more. It just was written in Gothic black and white letters you couldn't recognise where you were. It's it destroys the soul as well.
Presenter asks
13:29I want to ask you about dancing. You started taking ballet lessons during the war. It was something your mother had insisted on. Why do you think she was so determined for you to dance? And how did you feel about it?
The keepsakes
The book
Maurice Burton
It is called The Sixth Sense of Animals, and it's written by Maurice Burton. It's a whole book about stories of animals who have given their lives to save humans. And if ever I'm in a dark mood, that's the book I will read.
The thing is, she never enjoyed talking about anything else but ballet. So I automatically, in order to get the attention of my mother and perhaps her admiration, I thought ballet is the way.
Presenter asks
21:21So Leslie, you got married at 19… You fell completely in love with Peter and became pregnant with your son Christopher. You said about that time that it was a matter of survival to have this child and live with this remarkable man. Why did you feel so strongly about where your future lay?
Oh, I think it's important to follow your heart. Don't follow plans that's deadly. No, you have to follow your heart wh wherever it leads you. And I was so in love with Peter. And I succeeded in having two Remarkable children. So we started a good thing there.
Presenter asks
23:22Leslie, I want to take you on a few years. Your marriage to Peter Hall was under strain. You'd separated and you then had a two year affair with the actor Warren Beatty. You became Hollywood's it couple. How do you look back at that time in your life?
Well, what distressed me was that Peter didn't want Me to work? and didn't want to work with me. I was to stay home. So I walked out. And Warren happened to be there. And what was life with him like? Well, Warren was real Hollywood. He understood the workings of Hollywood, what you have to do to keep your status and so on. Always be in front of the press. And for me that was exhausting, and I didn't like that. I thought this was artificial. So our affair lasted two years, that was it.
Presenter asks
30:09I'm about to cast you away to our desert island… What will you miss most, do you think?
Friends, friends, family. Dogs. I am more and more impressed by animals and their companionship, their kindness, their solicitude for us humans.
“Discipline is everything in life, I think, if you want to live a long life, which I'm trying to do.”
“My grandparents did not quite approve. Because she had been a dancer, meaning she'd shown her legs on the stage. Furthermore, her hair was bleached, and furthermore, she smoked.”
“I thought ballet is the way.”
“You don't cope. You you survive, but you don't cope.”
“I do believe in looking for happiness. So You get there if you want to.”
“I used to think, oh, I've done nothing, I have never succeeded in anything. I used to be very negative about my career. I'm now, I think, I've done pretty well.”