Years later I spent approximately a week's wages to attend a function at the Dorchester Hotel in London to hear her speak. I approached her at an appropriate moment, then timidly said "Ms. Bacall, I don't mean to bother you ...", to which she retorted "Well, DON'T then!" before imperiously sweeping past me. Which sounds all rather grand in retrospect but I was in tears. (That said, I was younger than anyone there by about half a century and she had just bitched in her address about "the younger generation" AND it was just after that panel at Cannes where she objected to Nicole Kidman being deemed a legend, so maybe it was all just down to unfortunate timing!) But still, Lauren?!? Oh, how I loved you! You hurt me more than any man ever has!
Have you ever been dissed by someone you've adored from afar?
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What an interesting post.
My mom used to work at an Eddie Bauer (I think, but not positive) store in Chicago and apparently one time the store was having a contest to see which employee could sell the most of a certain jacket, or similar article of clothing. Well, apparently one day a woman walked into the store and people were acting as if they were in awe of her. My mom didn't recognize her and eventually went up and started talking to her, trying to sell her some of the clothing so she could win the contest. The woman was apparently rather rude, but my mom ended up helping her find a few things. Eventually my mom went to help other customers, leaving this woman.
My mom's boss couldn't believe what she had done, basically ditching this woman for other customers. My mom made a comment along the lines of, they are all going to be purchasing clothing here and they all deserve our attention.
The woman was Lauren Bacall. And apparently my mom was not impressed with the way she was treating people, as if she had a real "star complex."
Oh no! I was hoping mine was an isolated experience. But your mother sounds like a woman with her head on her shoulders. So many people pander to the well-known in a way they would never treat "civilians", as Liz Hurley described us mere mortals! Why can't people just be equally nice to everyone?
“Civilians” came about because of USO tours, I think, and either way, where’s the insult with that term? It’s a helpful distinction. It’s commonly used and not considered a sneer — like anything, it can be used that way, I guess. J.C.
Aw, c'mon, it sounds like you have a full understanding of the kind of person she was, so I'm not sure why you'd hang on to this as a personal insult. If you were 12, I would completely understand your response, but she was obviously...having a moment, and you clearly had NOTHING to do with it. You were just the person that was present. She had a legendary temper by all accounts, and it's certainly possible she'd had enough for that day (as you intimate). (The above comes off more gruff than I mean it to -- in sum, I wouldn't take what happened personally, even if it felt personal at the moment)
Sounds like you caught her at a bad time and both of you overreacted.
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