Publicity-shy Jones will make Gest appearance by Robert Osborne
(The Hollywood Reporter, September 2, 1997)
Jennifer Jones hasn't made a film in 23 years - not since 1974's "The Towering Inferno" - but the announcement that she'll be one of the award recipients, along with Gregory Peck, Veronique Peck, Celine Dion, et. al., at David Gest's Sept. 28 International Achievement in Arts Awards gala has already turned that night into a Genuine Event. Jones, like Peck, will be receiving the Legend Award, specifically for lifetime achievement in film.
And attending awards shows is something she rarely ever does: hers or anyone else's. But his one is different: It benefits causes she admires (including the Motion Picture & Television Fund, the Michael Bolton Foundation, the Whitney Houston Foundation for Children and the IAIAA Scholarship Program. Certainly, her participation has helped further the stampede for tickets. Gest's gala was initially set for the Biltmore; it has since been moved to the Beverly Hilton's International Ballroom, where they're now expecting 1,400 guests. That may be the largest crowd that room has ever held.
So why does Jennifer Jones continue to intrigue so many of us? Well, for starters, she had a remarkable career as an actress. It began, big time, with winning an Oscar on her 25th birthday, for 1943's "The Song of Bernadette." Then came starring roles opposite Peck, Bogart, Olivier, Garfield, Clift, Robards, Gielgud, Astaire, Heston and others in a wide range of films directed by such kings of the business as Huston, Wyler, Lubitsch, DeSica, Minnelli and at least two Vidors (King and Charles). Many of her films were produced by David O. Selznick, and there never was a producer whose films displayed more class and style than Selznick. Many of the Jones films still are as genuine classics of their genres. Beside "Bernadette," there's also "Portrait of Jennie," "Beat the Devil," "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing" and "Since You Went Away." These several gems remain generally unseen and underrated (i.e. the 1946 comedy "Cluny Brown" and her 1957 remake of "The Barretts of Wimpole Street").
But besides all the cold, hard product, Jennifer J. has lived a fascinating life among some of the major players of the world, yet consistently kept mum about it - a revolutionary approach in this day and age. (That, in itself, makes her a great heroine in my book.) And it has always been her style. You will find very few Jones interviews in the files; no Jones autobiography sits on any library shelf. "I loved being an actress, and I guess I'm still an old ham," she admitted, "and occasionally I'll see something and think, 'Oh, wouldn't that be interesting to do?' But I'm so busy with other things now." She's the president and CEO of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, which was founded by and named for her late husband; she's also active spearheading cancer workshops at UCLA and doing studies in psychology - everything but acting (which she loved) and making public appearances (which she doesn't). But to help the cause, she will be there Sept. 28, joining such pals as the Pecks - appropriately, too, since this year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of the Jones-Peck co-starrer "Duel In The Sun." "I do feel very fortunate," she told me. "I wanted to be an actress from the age of 4, and I got to do what I wanted to do. I'm very, very grateful for that."
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(The Hollywood Reporter, September 2, 1997)
Jennifer Jones hasn't made a film in 23 years - not since 1974's "The Towering Inferno" - but the announcement that she'll be one of the award recipients, along with Gregory Peck, Veronique Peck, Celine Dion, et. al., at David Gest's Sept. 28 International Achievement in Arts Awards gala has already turned that night into a Genuine Event. Jones, like Peck, will be receiving the Legend Award, specifically for lifetime achievement in film.
And attending awards shows is something she rarely ever does: hers or anyone else's. But his one is different: It benefits causes she admires (including the Motion Picture & Television Fund, the Michael Bolton Foundation, the Whitney Houston Foundation for Children and the IAIAA Scholarship Program. Certainly, her participation has helped further the stampede for tickets. Gest's gala was initially set for the Biltmore; it has since been moved to the Beverly Hilton's International Ballroom, where they're now expecting 1,400 guests. That may be the largest crowd that room has ever held.
So why does Jennifer Jones continue to intrigue so many of us? Well, for starters, she had a remarkable career as an actress. It began, big time, with winning an Oscar on her 25th birthday, for 1943's "The Song of Bernadette." Then came starring roles opposite Peck, Bogart, Olivier, Garfield, Clift, Robards, Gielgud, Astaire, Heston and others in a wide range of films directed by such kings of the business as Huston, Wyler, Lubitsch, DeSica, Minnelli and at least two Vidors (King and Charles). Many of her films were produced by David O. Selznick, and there never was a producer whose films displayed more class and style than Selznick. Many of the Jones films still are as genuine classics of their genres. Beside "Bernadette," there's also "Portrait of Jennie," "Beat the Devil," "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing" and "Since You Went Away." These several gems remain generally unseen and underrated (i.e. the 1946 comedy "Cluny Brown" and her 1957 remake of "The Barretts of Wimpole Street").
But besides all the cold, hard product, Jennifer J. has lived a fascinating life among some of the major players of the world, yet consistently kept mum about it - a revolutionary approach in this day and age. (That, in itself, makes her a great heroine in my book.) And it has always been her style. You will find very few Jones interviews in the files; no Jones autobiography sits on any library shelf. "I loved being an actress, and I guess I'm still an old ham," she admitted, "and occasionally I'll see something and think, 'Oh, wouldn't that be interesting to do?' But I'm so busy with other things now." She's the president and CEO of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, which was founded by and named for her late husband; she's also active spearheading cancer workshops at UCLA and doing studies in psychology - everything but acting (which she loved) and making public appearances (which she doesn't). But to help the cause, she will be there Sept. 28, joining such pals as the Pecks - appropriately, too, since this year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of the Jones-Peck co-starrer "Duel In The Sun." "I do feel very fortunate," she told me. "I wanted to be an actress from the age of 4, and I got to do what I wanted to do. I'm very, very grateful for that."
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