I first got the idea in 2001 when I was watching a television biography of Edith Head. I literally did a double take when I watched; my physical resemblance to Edith Head seemed uncanny! And what's even more bizarre, we are the same height and both born in October fifty years apart. The more I watched, the more I knew there was a great story to be told. Edith’s estate was managed by The Motion Picture & Television Fund. I read anything I could find when I came upon Paddy Calistro’s book Edith Head’s Hollywood. I decided to attempt to locate its author. I then called telephone information, where I thought Paddy lived, and "voila," she was listed. I placed the phone call and it was kismet.
At our first meeting in Los Angeles, we knew the connection was right and we agreed to collaborate. Paddy had not only written the book but had inherited 13 hours of taped interviews with Edith Head - it was truly a gift from heaven. We can honestly say that A CONVER- SATION WITH EDITH HEAD is based upon the words and thoughts of Edith Head - the “Edith-isms.”
Our research led us to The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Margaret Herrick Library in Beverly Hills where Edith Head
left most of her papers, sketches, photos and eight Acad- emy Awards® . Through Paddy’s connections, meetings were also set with Bob Mackie, who was once a sketch artist for Edith Head; Edie Wasserman, wife of the late Lew
Wasserman, famed agent and head of Universal Studios; and Art Linkletter, host of the long -running TV magazine show "House Party" (on which she regularly appeared). These extremely generous people provided first-hand insights into a world I had only read about.
It is such a privilege to keep this amazing woman’s legacy alive. From Tbilisi to Edinburgh 2007 (where we were so fortunate to be one of only 200 official “Sell-Out Shows") to Chicago - audiences have been touched by Edith's story. What they take with them after having seen the performance is truly dependent on what they bring to it. Film buffs get immersed in hearing stories
11
SHE SAW THE WORLD THROUGH BLUE-COLORED GLASSES
Edith Head's famouse "sun- glasses" were not sunglasses at all, but rather blue tinted glasses which allowed her to preview what any costume would look like on black and white film.