LOS ANGELES 鈥 Lesley Ann Warren knows a little something about geniuses.
She worked with filmmakers Walt Disney and Blake Edwards during her career and saw first-hand why they got the moniker.
Both, she says, were 鈥渁bsolutely wonderful to me.鈥
Disney, who cast聽her in her first movie, 鈥淭he Happiest Millionaire,鈥 鈥渨as protective and like a granddad. He invited me and the other actors to his home for dinners. I felt very taken care of.鈥
And Edwards, who directed her to an Oscar nomination in 鈥淰ictor/Victoria,鈥 had the capacity 鈥渢o envision what someone was capable of without ever having seen it before.鈥
Grabbing 'Victor'
Although Warren had played a number of leading ladies in film and on television, she never had a character part like Norma Cassidy in Edwards鈥 film.
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鈥淢y agent, Ron Meyer, called me and said, 鈥榊ou need to go meet Blake.鈥 And I said I couldn鈥檛 go because my hair was in braids and I had a baseball cap on. He said, 鈥楴o, no. He鈥檚 leaving for London tomorrow; you鈥檝e got to meet him.鈥欌
An Academy Award nominee for "Victor/Victoria," Lesley Ann Warren poses for a photograph after her interview for "Blake Edwards: A Love Story in 24 Frames."
Warren went and 鈥渨e didn鈥檛 really discuss the part very much. We just kind of laughed and talked about Cinderella that both (wife Julie Andrews) and I had done. He knew that I danced and had this kind of character in me. And then he said, 鈥楧o you want to do this part?鈥 I hadn鈥檛 read it, but I was such a gigantic Blake Edwards fan I said, 鈥業鈥檇 do anything you want me to do.鈥欌
When she got home and pored over the script, Warren realized Norma was static and needed a little something 鈥 a backstory. Quickly, she created a character, worked with Edwards鈥 wig maker and costume designer and came up with this brassy chorine. 鈥淲hen I went to England for the hair and makeup tests, I was sure he would either love it or I would get fired.鈥
A great audience
Edwards, of course,聽loved it and gave Warren ample opportunity to improvise. 鈥淗e was a great audience for an actor,鈥 Warren says. 鈥淗e would fall off his chair laughing, and you would hear his laugh through the take, and we鈥檇 have to do it again.鈥
Writer/director Blake Edwards received an honorary Oscar for his body of work. Now, he's being honored with a television special celebrating his genius.聽
Andrews was not comfortable improvising. 鈥淪he wanted to stick to the script鈥ut he found I was comfortable (improvising) so he would keep the camera rolling endlessly on my takes, which was fun for me. He was not critical of her, but he was supportive of me, allowing us both to engage聽in聽our process in a way that served him and our own talent.鈥
In 鈥淏lake Edwards: A Love Story聽in 24 Frames,鈥 Warren, Andrews, Bo Derek and others who worked with the director talk about his methods, his creativity and his genius. From 鈥淏reakfast at Tiffany鈥檚鈥 to 鈥淭he Pink Panther鈥 to 鈥10鈥 to 鈥淒ays of Wine and Roses鈥 and 鈥淰ictor/Victoria,鈥 Edwards delivered films that delighted audiences.
When Edwards adapted 鈥淰ictor/Victoria鈥 for the stage, he asked Warren if she鈥檇 like to reprise the character.
鈥淚 felt that I had done her the best way I possibly could and I didn鈥檛 want to diminish that,鈥 Warren explains. She was already committed to another show, so she had an out.
The character, however, is one that stands out in a career filled with highlights.
A crowning achievement
One of her first 鈥 Cinderella in the television version of the musical 鈥 brought her considerable attention and a place in the business.
鈥淭he things that I鈥檝e done that have become iconic 鈥 like Cinderella and 鈥榁ictor/Victoria鈥 鈥 are my legacy. I don鈥檛 feel like I have to create something new. But I still want to learn and try different things," Warren says.
Lesley Ann Warren stars as Nora, the dizzy girlfriend in Blake Edwards' "Victor/Victoria." For her work, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.聽
To commemorate 鈥淐inderella,鈥 Warren鈥檚 husband searched for the crown she wore in the 1965 production. He found it in an antique store. The owner let girls who came into the store try it on. When she was very ill, the owner said she wanted the crown to find its original home. 鈥淎nd my husband, without my聽knowing it, got in touch with her.鈥 With the help of a relative, he presented it to her in a glass dome with a photograph of her wearing it. 鈥淚t was in perfect condition.鈥 And it holds a place of honor 鈥 along with Norma鈥檚 cigarette holder from 鈥淰ictor/Victoria.鈥
While Warren says she has worked with other directing geniuses 鈥 like Alan Rudolph, Stephen Gyllenhaal, Steven Soderbergh 鈥 the opportunities Edwards and Disney afforded her allowed her to do smaller, more independent things like 鈥淐hoose Me.鈥
Choices, she says, is often what a career is about. 鈥淥f course I have a few things that I would have done differently. At times I think I did things out of financial fear. But when I look back on my career, I鈥檓 really proud of what I鈥檝e done, 100,000 percent.鈥
鈥淏lake Edwards: A Love Story in 24 Frames鈥 airs as part of the 鈥淎merican Masters鈥 series. It will premiere Aug. 27 on PBS.
