All Saint's Day

​I had no idea, but on the Fourth of July, Oscar-winning actress Eva Marie Saint celebrated her 100th birthday.  That explains why Turner Classic Movies not only made her the "Featured Star of the Month" and on the Fourth ran several of his classic movies along with an hourlong interview that she did with then-host Robert Osborne back in 2014.  According to math, that would have made her 90 at the time, though during the interview at one point she mentions being 88.  (It’s possible that although this was broadcast in 2014, it might have taken place the year before, and though 88 at the time, she was about to turn 89, but hadn’t yet, still before it aired.)
 
The interview is wonderful.  She was bright, sharp, funny, honest, open and charming.  And told wonderful stories, not just anecdotally, but also with thought intent.  It was seriously impressive for (let’s say) 89.
 
I thought it only proper to post the entire interview below.  It’s very enjoyable.  Some of the clips are gems, most notably from her early days doing live TV.  There's a wonderful early-TV scene with her and Jack Lemmon, but I think the standout is a scene from the live TV production she did of The Trip to Bountiful, opposite -- Lilian Gish!

She won her Oscar for her very first movie, On the Waterfront, which isn't shabby, working with a lot of her now-legendary Actors Studio compatriots, but for me, my standout favorite will always be North by Northwest.  (From the reaction of the audience in attendance, every time it's mentioned, that seems to be their favorite, as well.)  But the list of gems (and  range of genres) is long -- from Exodus to Raintree County, Grand Prix, The Sandpiper and, from what she briefly says, a favorite of hers, The Russians are Coming The Russians are Coming.   Not to mention that she kept doing theater.
 
A slight digression. 
 
Hearing some of these stories in the show about Old Hollywood reminded me of a tale of my own that has a slight overlap that’s worth adding here.
 
Maybe 30 years ago, a good friend of mine David Rintels – a former president of the Writer Guild who wrote some classic, award-winning mini-series like WWII: When Lions Roared (with Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins and John Lithgow), Andersonville and Nuremberg (that won an Emmy for Brian Cox), as well as the Broadway one-man play Clarence Darrow with Henry Fonda – had written a made-for-TV movie and invited a group of friends to a watch party.  I was lucky enough to be invited, because David has some good friends.  (A couple months back, I was discussing politics with David – who now lives on the East Coast – and he mentioned that he’d talked about the matter at hand with one of his recent house guest…Laurence Tribe.  Because what he said Tribe told him contradicted my point, I gave David the win on that one.)
 
I’m pretty shy at parties and tend to hang out at the buffet table, and then eventually make way with my plate to a sofa where I could eat.  At one point, an elderly lady came over, asked if she could sit, and we had an enjoyable conversation.  Actually, it was more like an interview, because she asked most of the question, interested in me and what I was doing.  I got a few questions in, but she was very nice and really was simply more inquisitive.  We were nearing the end of our conversation, perhaps five to 10 minutes, and as she was about to get up and leave, a thought hit me like a crescendo.  “Oh, my God,” I thought to myself.  “That’s Eva Marie Saint!!!!”  And before I could say anything else, we’d said goodbye, and she wandered off.
 
She was really extremely nice.  And it was year later when I read something about her and how her reputation was that she was really extremely nice.  I didn’t need the confirmation, but it was good to read.
 
So, that’s my “slight overlap.”  And yes, I was an idiot.  Of course, she didn't look exactly like she did in North by Northwest 30 years earlier.  And I've always had a low-level case of "face blindless," not great at remembering faces.  But still.  It was Eva Marie Saint on the sofa, four feet away.  I was an idiot.  My one saving grace is knowing how nice she was and asking questions about me that I'd like to think she was glad to have a nice, normal conversation and not have the person just gushing over her.  Not that I tend to gush.  But...well, that's my "saving grace" hope.  Whether it has any bearing in reality, I don't know.  But she didn't evince the slightest sense of being put off that I didn't recognize her.  But then, in fairness, and happily, I did ​recognize her!  Just...well, far, far too late.
 
And here’s the TCM interview.  You’ll see for yourself how really extremely nice she comes across.  It’s not an acclaimed actress putting on a show.  That’s her.
 
Now, 100.