Penelope Cruz Article Reminds One of Sharon Tate & More Links on Polanski Case

I got in the new Vanity Fair this past weekend and the article had some quotes and information in it that reminded of Sharon.  There was an article on the beautiful, talented actress Penelope Cruz who also appears on the cover.

The article in the magazine says one director said that many in Hollywood "didn't know what to do with her."  Talking about Penelope Cruz.  This reminded me of what agent Hal Gefsky confessed about Sharon: "she was so young and beautiful that I didn't know what to do with her."

Speaking of her Cruz's beauty, Woody Allen says: "I don't like to look at Penelope directly.  It is too overwhelming."  That could equally be said of Sharon.

Cruz, who had some great roles in Europe, found that her first films in Hollywood were not doing anything for her career.  Italian director Pedro Almodovar says: "It was bad luck for Penelope, because some of the movies were very ambitious, but this happens.  They only saw her as a beautiful girl.  It is a problem with the market, the agents, the studios, the film industry as a whole that labels actors in a way that is not subtle at all."  The problem, he continued, is that Hollywood put her in about 10-12 movies like this but luckily, it did not ruin her career.  She continued to make more European films and with Almodovar until the great roles began to come her way.

That part of the article made me think of Sharon since Hollywood treated her much the same way.  And, even though many of her films had ambitions behind them as well, Hollywood failed to realize she could be much more than just another pretty face.  Perhaps Sharon would have had a period like Cruz's, when she didn't get the roles she should have.  We can only wonder what would have happened in her career in the years to come.

The article also discusses how Allen found her comedic talent.  "She has a natural sense of humor," he says. Vanity Fair's author Ingrid Sischy writes: "Because of Cruz's looks and the fact that the camera loves her as much as it does, her comedic flair has often been left untapped.  But she could just be the great 21st century screwball talent, the Jean Harlow or Carole Lombard of our time."

Sharon had a great comedic talent.  Some critics recognized this in Sharon's performances especially in the likes of "The Wrecking Crew."  Sharon also loved the comedy style of Carole Lombard stating that she wanted to be a light comedian in that same vein.

Apparently, Almodovar pushes Cruz for great performances much like Polanski pushed Sharon.  No telling what would have happened if Polanski and Sharon had continued to make films together.  Surely, he would have saved her career like Almodovar did Cruzs. 

It is a shame we can only now speculate what may have happened.  In my opinion, I think Sharon would have continued her career and would have made it big like Farrah Fawcett or Goldie Hawn or possibly a combination of the two. 

Just for fun, I put together a mock up issue of Vanity Fair with Sharon on it's cover.  I only changed the faces with Sharon as I do remember Sharon used to wear many different wigs for photo shoots.  So I just wrote here that Sharon was wearing a wig for our photo op.  I also put the photos of Cruz on so you can compare those.  These women are certainly two of cinema's most beautiful women!

I am not the best graphic artist as you can see but I did what I could and I sincerely hope you all enjoy the pretend photographs.

If you can't get enough of all the media hype over Polanski here are a few more noteworthy articles:

If you have not seen 'Wanted & Desired' that is a documentary on the case, you would want to read this:

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/oct2009/pola-o05.shtml

The Los Angeles Times has a few articles on Polanski, one of the most interesting ones discusses his film "The Piano." :

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/la-et-polanskifilm5-2009oct05,0,3211525.story

This site talks about how Samantha Geimer now views the case:

http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/39787386.html

And this site takes a look back at Polanski's "Chinatown." :

http://fandangogroovers.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/forget-it-jake-its-chinatown/

Please feel free to leave a comment.

Sharon Tate and Farrah Fawcett

I just got the new Vanity Fair for this month and it has a great article on Farrah Fawcett. Some of the things said in the article remind me so much of Sharon that I thought I would put them here:

"She was beautiful and likable, which is a hard combination to find," says Leonard Goldberg, co-producer of Charlies Angels. I've often heard celebrities and friends say the same about Sharon.

Goldberg continues: "I had never seen anyone have an impact like Farrah did." This reminded me of Hal Gefsky when he said he had never seen anything before or since Sharon. They would go to a restaurant and the manager would offer to pay for it. She would have "come home with a stack of cards from all the guys in town."

Goldberg goes on to say: "Cameron Diaz once said to me, 'There are two kinds of beautiful girls--the ones you can be friends with and the ones you think will try to steal your boyfriend. Farrah was the first kind." The first kind is like Sharon as well.

Fawcett's former agent Sue Mengers recalls: "When she walked into the room, she was breathtaking. She was the most beautiful woman even in a room full of other beautiful women." I bet that could have been said of Sharon.

Cheryl Ladd, who replaced Fawcett on Charlies Angels says: "There was a vulnerability about her that Marilyn Monroe had. She was sexy, but she was giggly and kind of child-like, and, I believe, unthreatening." Ransohoff compared her to Marilyn almost right away. And Mia Farrow said Sharon was childlike. Two more things she has in common with Farrah.

Ryan O'Neal says: "She was provincial in many ways, and I think she would love to have had a picket-fence kind of life, cooking and doing her art." Sharon was often said to just want a nice family life, to be a good wife, cook and mother.

Tatum O'Neal says of Fawcett: "I truly thought Farrah was inspirational and beautiful and kind." I think it goes without saying that Sharon was like that to.

Patrick O'Neal said something that can be said of both women although, he only meant it for Farrah, of course: "I have never met anybody more sweet or kind than Farrah," and, he adds, "I loved her."

More similarities between Fawcett and Tate:

Both Farrah and Sharon were born in the 1940s.

Both were born in Texas and came from families with 3 girls in them; Sharon was the first born, while Farrah was the youngest.

Both have Native American ancestory and were Roman Catholic.

Both modeled when they were young.

While both were young girls, they decided to "try their luck" in Hollywood.

Both appeared in TV shows and Motions Pictures and even in early tv commercials.

Both appeared on countless magazines around the world.

Both posed nude for Playboy.

Both were nominated for Golden Globe Awards.

Fawcett was jealous of O'Neal's skirt chasing ways as was Sharon of Romans'.

Fawcett's hairstyle was copied by millions. Sharon's hairstyle has been copied and has continued to be with shows like Gossip Girl.

Both were known as sex symbols and "the most beautiful girl in the world."

They both had sons; Farrah was able to give birth to hers but, unfortunately, not Sharon.

Both had cancer in the immediate family: Farrah had anal and her sister had lung cancer while, Sharon's sister and mother had cancer, Patti had breast cancer and Mother Doris had brain.

Both died from different but tragic deaths.

Ryan O'Neal has had a very difficult time dealing with Farrah's death as did Roman with Sharon's murder.

Ryan O'Neal and Polanski share the idea that their is no heaven but I know Farrah thought there was one and I think Sharon did to.

Both have been described by many as "Angels."

Two more quotes that speak volumes about both women are from Hugh Hefner and from Kate Jackson.

Hefner said of her: "Farrah was one of the iconic beauties of our time. Her girl-next-door charm combined with stunning looks made her a star on film, TV and the printed page."

Jackson said: "She was a selfless person who loved her family and friends with all her heart, and what a big heart it was. I will remember her kindness, her cutting dry wit and, of course, her beautiful smile...when you think of Farrah, remember her smiling because that is exactly how she wanted to be remembered: smiling."

So I'll end this with a photo of both great women wearing red bathing suits and smiling...