Ok, I know I have a lot of nerve picking Shirley instead of Lucille Ball who is “America’s Favorite Redhead”, or even Carol Burnett who is everybody’s favorite funny lady. But I have my reasons, and it’s not because I’m a “New Age” nut or anything like that. Miss MacLaine is a great actress and dancer as well as a big movie star. She’s proved it by winning an Oscar, an Emmy, and seven Golden Globes, accomplishments not equaled by Miss Ball or Miss Burnett.  Shirley has made over 50 films so far, and I’m pleased to tell you that the library owns about half of them.

She won the Academy Award for her captivating portrayal of Aurora Greenway in the perennial tearjerker Terms of Endearment. She was nominated for Best Actress in four other great flicks—Some Came Running, The Apartment, Irma la Douce, and The Turning Point. Partnering with legend Jack Lemmon in “Apartment” and “Irma”, Shirley Maclaine created two of the most loveable, scatterbrain ingénues in film history.

I remember seeing “The Apartment”,  My Geisha, Two Mules for Sister Sara, and Sweet Charity when I was a kid. After seeing those movies, Shirley became the “It Girl” for me, and she’s continued to prove me right all through her forty years in show business. She’s not a bad writer either, although sometimes she does tend to go Out on a Limb. (See my blog in Books/Biography for more information about her numerous memoirs.) 

Her character Aurora Greenway went toward grandmother hood kicking and screaming. But Shirley the actress went on to create many wonderful movie grandmothers. Most recently, In Her Shoes has her playing a pragmatic and enchanting Grandma to sisters Cameron Diez and Toni Collette.  She also plays an imperious but talented piano teacher in “Madame Sousatzka” with Twiggy. Shirley entertains as wacky but wise Grandmas in “Waiting for the Light” with Teri Garr and “The Dress Code” (aka “Bruno”) with Gary Sinise. Our library doesn’t have those three films, but you can request them from the Interlibrary Loan (ILL) department.

In my opinion, Shirley’s best Grandma character is Millicent Mirabeau in the movie Carolina with Julia Stiles and Randy Quaid. Loathe to rest on her laurels, septuagenarian Shirley has a new TV mini-series coming out soon. She will star as the legendary businesswoman in “Coco Chanel”, a role that Audrey Hepburn said would be perfect for her because “the spirit of the woman matches your spirit”. Shirley wasn’t sure that was a compliment!  She compared herself to Chanel, saying “I think we are both colorful, we are both rude, and we are both spontaneous. We can't hold what we feel to be the honest opinion in. And I think we are both probably dead."

            No, Shirley, never say die! I’ll never tire of My Favorite Redhead!