by Lee Server
At Bloomsbury, I am very happy and very grateful to have an editor as wise and sympathetic as Alexandra Pringle, from the beginning offering all the support and freedom any author could desire.
I am beholden to two wonderful agents: To Roslyn Targ in New York City, my longtime friend and associate, always there with advice and care, keeping the light burning. And to Mary Clemmey in London, with her diligence and discernment and great ideas and instincts.
I send my love to Elizabeth Server, always and forever.
And to Terri, collaborator, spiritual adviser, press agent, femme fatale.
Blessings on Ava Gardner, where it all began.
Have I forgotten anybody? Well thank you, too.
Lee Server
[email protected]
INDEX
Abrams, Berdie, 57, 67
Alam, Shah Ran, 315
Albert, Eddie, 343
Aldon, Mari, 284
Allan, Rupert, 333
Allen, Angela, 195, 196, 197, 423
Allen, Frank Maurice “Bunny,” 253, 257, 260
Allenberg, Bert, 337
Altman, Al, 45–49
Altman, Diana, 46, 48
American International Pictures, 461–62
Anderson, Donna, 367
Angel Wore Red, The, 379–81
Annenberg, Walter, 477
Appointment with Death, 490
Arce, Jose, 390
Ardrey, Robert, 315
Astaire, Fred, 367, 475
Astor, Mary, 128
Attenborough, Dick, 212
Aubrey, James, 474
Autry, Gene, 42
Ayres, Lew, 97
Babes on Broadway, 51, 59, 71
Bacall, Lauren, 146, 287
Bacon, James, 230, 423
Bailey, Charles, II, 411
Baker, David (maternal grandfather), 15
Baker, Mary Elizabeth “Mollie” (mother), 15, 16, 22–24, 29–30, 32, 42–43, 49, 68, 75, 83–84, 87, 92
Baldwin, James, 392, 435
Banks, Polan, 165
Barbato, Nancy, 172
Barcelona, Spain, 194
Barefoot Contessa, The, 269–70, 277–80, 284–87, 318, 342, 477, 491 Ava’s promotional tours, 300–303, 309 premiere and critical reaction, 307–9
Barnett, Vince, 120
Barquette, Nelly, 422, 429–30
Barrymore, Lionel, 78, 97
Batts, Peninah, 13
Beacham, Stephanie, 455
Beatty, Lady Adele, 354
Beaudine, William, 89
Bennett, Joan, 128
Bergman, Ingrid, 184, 365
Bergryd, Ulla, 440
Berkeley, Busby, 51
Berle, Milton, 237
Berman, Pandro, 263, 321–22
Bernstein, Walter, 308
Bey, Turhan, 141, 150
Bhowani Junction, 310–22, 492 critical reviews, 336
Bible, The, 439–44
Birmingham, Nan, 433, 438, 441, 444–46
Birmingham, Stephen, 433–36, 444–46
Blake, Robert, 77
Blue Bird, The, 476–77
Blythe, Peter, 470–71
Boetticher, Budd, 215
Bogarde, Dirk, 380, 381, 476
Bogart, Humphrey, 7, 146, 284–85, 491
Bogle, Donald, 217
Borgnine, Ernest, 262
Bose, Lucia, 303, 336, 384
Bowman, Lee, 79
Boyd, Bill, 310
Boyd, Stephen, 440
Bradshaw, Rev. Francis, 4, 7, 499
Brahm, John, 149
Brazzi, Rossano, 280, 284
Bredell, Elwood, 120, 122–23, 125, 127
Bresson, Robert, 439
Breton, Andre, 192
Bribe, The, 157–59
Brogden, S.C., 17, 18–24
Bronston, Samuel, 393–400
Brooks, Jack, 124
Brooks, Leslie, 121
Brooks, Louise, 129
Brooks, Richard, 115
Brown, Phil, 125
Brute Force, 115
Bryan, John, 196, 208
Buck, Jules, 136
Bujold, Genevieve, 472
Bull, Clarence Sinclair, 57
Burgess, Alan, 494
Burns, Lillian, 54–56
Burton, Richard, 413–14, 419–21, 423, 425
Bushkin, Joe, 225, 226
Bussenius, Yvette, 376–77
Cabre, Mario, 202–4, 206–10, 231, 262
Callas, Maria, 474
Calling Dr. Gillespie, 78
Campbell, Judy, 408
Capra, Frank, 116
Capucine (starlet), 402
Carbine Williams, 19
Cardiff, Jack, 193, 196, 201, 203, 211, 213, 280, 297
Cardiff, Julie, 211
Cardinale, Claudia, 401
Caruso, Paul, 489
Cassandra Crossing, The, 479
Cass Timberlane, 153
Castro, Fidel, 377
Chagall, Marc, 194
Champion, Marge, 217, 219, 220, 475
Chaplin, Charles, 439
Chapman, Edward, 319
Charisse, Cyd, 475
Chenel (matador), 292
Chertok, Jack, 79
Chevalier, Anne, 279
Chiari, Walter, 335–36, 337, 340, 347, 348, 356, 360, 372, 373–74, 402–3
Christmas Holiday, 119
Citizen Kane, 116
Civil War, 13
Clemens, Paul, 164, 256
Clift, Montgomery, 262
Clooney, Rosemary, 232, 240
Cohen, Mickey, 143, 179
Cohn, Harry, 256–57, 262
Cohn, Joan, 256
Cole, Art, 379
Cole, Ben, 247–48
Collison, Wilson, 250
Comden, Betty, 295
Comfort, Maddy, 164
Confidential magazine, 305–7
Connolly, Cyril, 322
Connolly, Peggy, 334
Conrad, William, 120
Conway, Jack, 148
Conway, Tom, 107
Cooke, Alistair, 471
Cooney, Alberta, 30–33, 35, 42, 482
Cooper, Jackie, 475
Corey, Jeff, 121
Cortese, Valentina, 284
Corwin, Norman, 353
Courtship of Andy Hardy, The, 78
Cowan, Lester, 154
Coward, Noel, 212, 213
Craft, Hy, 108
Craig, James, 105
Crawford, Broderick, 227–28
Crawford, Joan, 22, 44, 46
Cregar, Laird, 149
Crosby, Bing, 22, 172, 205
Crowther, Bosley, 129
Cuba, Ava’s visits to, 237, 377–78
Cukor, George, 285, 311, 314, 315–16, 321–22, 337, 392, 476–77, 481
Culver City studio, 50–51, 338–39
Curtis, Tony, 435
Cusack, Cyril, 455
Cusack, Sinead, 455
Dagmar, 226–27
Dali, Salvador, 194, 435
Damone, Vic, 145
Dandridge, Dorothy, 163, 217
Daniels, Bebe, 211
Darnell, Linda, 88, 142, 279
Darwin, Francis, 11 On.
Davies, Marion, 22
Davis, Bette, 86, 166, 352, 413
Davis, Miles, 378
Davis, Sammy, Jr., 303–7
Dead End, 89
De Carlo, Yvonne, 152, 241, 270
Dekker, Albert, 120
De Laurentiis, Dino, 439
Delevanti, Cyril, 425 de Moraes, Vinicius, 151
Deneuve, Catherine, 450
Devane, William, 485
Dewhurst, Colleen, 440, 446
Dietrich, Marlene, 173
Dilda, Mary (grandmother), 13
Dillinger, John, 61
Domergue, Faith, 93–95, 99
Dominguin, Luis Miguel, 262, 265–66, 281–83, 284, 288–92, 296–97, 303, 336, 384–85
Dorsey, Tommy, 137, 138, 171
Dostoyevsky, Fyodor, 159
Douglas, Kirk, 151, 355, 410–12
Dove, Billie, 86
Duff, Howard, 151–53, 156, 178, 485
Duhan, Barney, 40–41
Dunleavy, Steve, 372–73
Dunne, Irene, 35
Earthquake, 471–74
East Side, West Side, 158
Ebbins, Milton, 271
Eccles, William, 230
Ed Sullivan Show, 409
Edwards, Blake, 401–2
Ekberg, Anita, 362
Eldridge, Roy, 103, 104–5
Elizabeth Forbes (grandmother), 13, 15
Ennismore Gardens, London home, 468, 500
Entratter, Jack, 180
Erskine, Norm, 372
Esponosa de la Peni, Agustin, 348
Etting, Ruth, 292–93
Evans, George, 180–81, 182, 198
Evans, Peter, 494, 496
Farouk, King, 332, 361
Farrow, John, 243, 447, 481
Farrow, Mia, 447–48, 451
Faulk, Maxine, 418
Feld, Rudi, 107
Feldman, Charles, 131, 137–38, 141, 151, 402
Fellini, Federico, 359, 362
Fenton, Frank, 243
Ferber, Edna, 216
Fernandez, Emilio “El Indio,” 415–16
Ferrer, Mel, 263
Fidler, Jimmie, 66
55 Days at Peking, 151, 393–400
critical reviews, 400
Figaro, Inc., 277
film noir, 115, 119, 128
flamenco music, 330, 389
Flynn, Errol, 167, 343, 344–45, 346
Fogler, Gertrude, 53–54
Folsey, George, 160
Fonda, Henry, 39, 46
Fonda, Jane, 476
Fontana sisters, 278, 286, 287, 362
Fonteyn, Margot, 213
Ford, John, 251, 254–55, 261
Fordham, J. M. “Ace,” 38–40, 42, 43
Forever Amber, 110, 140
Fort Bragg, N.C., 75
Fox, George, 472
Fox Movietone News, 46–47
Franciosa, Tony, 355, 357, 358–59, 363–64
Franco, Francisco, 329, 390, 448
Frankenheimer, John, 411
Frank Sinatra Show, The, 221
Freed, Arthur, 58, 71, 214, 216
From Here to Eternity, 256, 262, 263, 295
Fry, Christopher, 439
Fuller, Samuel, 342
Gable, Clark, 22, 56, 146–48, 227–28, 250–56, 258, 261, 265, 337, 339
Garbo, Greta, 22, 192, 346
Garcia, Raul “Chupetas,” 229
Gardner, Ava Lavinia
(1922) birth (December 24), 11, 17
(1922–1934) childhood in rural North Carolina, 20–24
(1939) high school graduation, 35–40
(1940–1941) first visits to New York City, 34–37, 39–40, 43
(1940–1941) secretarial studies, 37–38, 42
(1941) screen test in New York, 45–49
(1941) train trip to Hollywood, 49–59
(1941) Hollywood screen test, 52–53
(1941) first short, 65–66
(1941) wooed by Mickey Rooney, 68
(1942) Christmas visit home to N.C., 83–84
(1942) first speaking part, 78–79
(1942) marriage to Rooney, 71–76, 80–82
(1943) divorce from Rooney, 84, 92, 96–97
(1943) and Howard Hughes, 85–88, 92–96
(1943) at Monogram studio, 88–89
(1945) marriage to Artie Shaw, 107–12
(1949) first date with Sinatra, 174–77
(1950) public outrage over Sinatra affair, 183–89
(1950) retreats to Europe, and filming, 185–86, 189, 190, 192–93, 194–98, 201–16
(1951) marriage with Sinatra, 224–50
(1951) popular forgiveness of, after Show Boat, 1B-14
(1953) overseas assignments, 262–64, 270–73, 277–87
(1953) troubled marriage with Sinatra, 264, 266–69, 283–84
(1954) prepares to divorce Sinatra, 293–99
(1954) scandal re Sammy Davis Jr., 305–7
(1954) tours Latin America, 300–303
(1955) moves to Spain, 322–26
(1956) at Grace Kelly wedding, 332–34
(1956) visit from Sinatra, 334–35
(1957) bullring injury to face, 348–50
(1957) finalizes divorce from Sinatra, 348
(1958) returns Sinatra’s ring, 355–56
(1959) drifting period and dissolute life, 376–79, 383–91
(1959) filming in Australia, 368–76
(1959) meets Fidel Castro, 377–78
(1959) visits family in N.C., 378
(1960) moves to Madrid, 383–84
(1964) filming in Mexico, 414–29
(1966) hysterectomy, 448
(1966) leaves Spain, 448–49
(1966) move to London, 449, 452–54, 462–64
(1970s) London houses, 467–71
(1976) visits family in N.C., 481–82
(1980s) television acting, 485
(1982) last movie, 484–85
(1984) last trip to Spain, 486–87
(1986–1989) final illnesses, 487–91, 492–93, 494–98
(1989) jewels sold at auction, 495
(1990) death of, 498
(1990) funeral, 3–4, 7, 499
(1990) obituaries and remembrances, 498–99
acting ability, 5–7, 55, 79–80, 97, 112–13, 128, 147, 149, 160–61, 197, 217–19, 285–86, 320, 352, 358, 370, 394, 399, 411, 438, 450, 459, 473
acting coaches at MGM, 53–56
acting on stage not allowed by studio, 160–61
ancestry, 11–16, 162n.
appearance deterioration and loss of selfconfidence, 193, 345–46, 349–52, 354, 356, 365–66, 382, 399, 400, 426–27, 458–59, 472–73, 490
automobile accident, 341
barefootedness of, 4–5, 20, 31, 277, 362, 377, 406
barred from clubs and hotels, 385, 387
beauty of, 4, 19, 26, 27, 32–33, 36–39, 41, 46, 57, 138, 153, 197, 214, 243, 309, 328, 388–89, 411, 424
brothel-hopping, 194, 261, 318, 347
chess prowess, 160
dancing, love of, 32, 38, 286, 323, 330, 358, 389
dating, in teenage years, 27–28, 37–40
disliked being alone, 257–58
dog pets of, 222, 325, 452, 464, 470, 482–83, 500
drinking habit, 4, 80–81, 113, 144–45, 152, 175, 231, 347, 371, 372–73, 376, 384–86, 389, 394–99, 411, 416–17, 426–27, 434–35, 438, 442, 453–54, 459, 460–61, 481, 494
drugs, dislike of, 144, 167, 340
early personality, 21–22
early schooling, 19–20
facial bruise from bullring episode, 348–52, 354, 365–66
feelings of inferiority, 5–7, 19–20, 24–25, 26, 55, 57, 79–80, 97, 101, 109–11, 112–13, 130–31, 147, 149, 160–61, 192–93, 197, 217–19, 285, 351–52, 354, 371, 392, 394, 399, 411, 438, 450, 459, 473
film set prima donna behavior, 239, 242, 252, 258, 292–93, 338–39, 344, 365, 369–70, 394–400, 401, 411–12, 426–27
first sex, with Mickey on honeymoon, 73–74
foul mouth of, 4, 21, 144, 164, 249, 290, 373, 401, 411, 448, 487
friendships with writers, 391–92
homosexual friendships, 131, 194, 246, 453
illnesses, 77, 289, 448, 487–98
Jeckyll-and-Hyde syndrome, 81, 137, 152, 181, 347, 369–70, 375–76, 394–96, 404–7, 411–12, 434–35
libido and sexual prowess, 5, 26, 73–74, 76–77, 97–98, 141–42, 150–51, 177, 201–2, 216, 267, 340–41, 422–23
loneliness of, 374, 376, 389, 395–400,
462–63, 486, 491
love of animals, 4, 86, 452, 469, 470, 482–83 memoir (Ava: My Story), 40, 77–78, 494
music in life of, 4, 21–22, 39–40, 101, 102, 138, 139, 217–19, 292, 330, 389
>
nakedness in public, 138, 220, 300, 314
night-owl metabolism of, 4, 39, 105, 138–39, 143–44, 167, 177, 194, 201, 211, 286, 323, 328, 332, 358–59, 365, 376, 384–88, 389, 401, 404–7, 413, 416–17
paranoia of, 354, 361, 368–69, 375–76, 416
pregnancies and abortions, possible, 244–45, 258–60, 364
press and photographers, bad relations with, 181–83, 212, 224, 227, 228, 229–30, 233–34, 237, 251, 318–19, 327, 345, 361–62, 368, 411–12, 425–26, 486
progressive politics of, 163–64, 249, 329, 357
quotes about, 134–35, 168, 499
racial prejudice lacking in, 20, 22, 162–64, 417
rebelliousness and contrariness, 6, 20, 158, 164, 219–20, 225, 258, 380, 396
religious indifference of, 496
restlessness, 4, 17, 137, 139, 150, 211, 300, 376, 386–88, 404–7, 416–17
self-destructive behaviors, 7, 80–81, 145, 164, 257–58, 354, 384–88, 433–34, 442–47, 453, 469, 487–90
sexual allure of, 4–6, 26–27, 38, 39, 48, 53, 57, 121, 129, 140–41, 214, 357, 404–5, 413–14
sexuality muted in AG’s early years, 25–28, 32, 37–40
shy nature of, 24–25, 28, 144, 327, 365, 371, 469, 481, 483
star quality, MGM’s first awareness of, 44–46, 48
temper tantrums, 81, 90, 91, 152, 181, 186–88, 225, 231, 232, 246–49, 256, 266–67, 268, 296–97, 354, 376, 387, 394–96, 397–99, 411, 415–17, 426–27, 442, 446
tomboy nature, 20–21, 31, 473
a virgin until marriage, 67, 73–74
wealth of, in later years, 471, 493–94
Gardner, Ava Virginia (aunt), 13–14
Gardner, Beatrice Elizabeth (Bappie) (sister), 15, 33–37, 41, 43, 49–50, 56, 63, 67–68, 72, 74, 75, 81, 83–84, 90–91, 92, 95, 108, 137, 151, 161, 189, 192, 201, 215, 233, 234, 247, 271, 284, 288, 325, 328–29, 347, 352, 353, 368, 379, 403, 410, 447, 463, 472, 481, 493, 497, 497n.
Gardner, Benjamin (uncle), 13
Gardner, Charles (uncle), 13
Gardner, Cynthia (aunt), 13
Gardner, Edith Inez (sister), 15
Gardner, Elsie Mae (sister), 15, 26
Gardner, Inez (sister), 26, 49, 75, 83–84
Gardner, James Bailey (grandfather), 13–14
Gardner, Jonas Bailey (father), 13, 14–16, 17, 20, 23, 29, 30
Gardner, Jonas “Jack” (brother), 16, 17, 21, 27, 37, 348, 482
Gardner, Myra (sister), 4, 16, 22
Gardner, Raymond (brother, died young), 16
Gardner, Warren (uncle), 13
Gardner family, 23–24, 378
Garland, Judy, 58, 65, 71–72, 217
Garrett, Murray, 228, 249
Garson, Greer, 146
Ghosts on the Loose, 88–89
Giancana, Momo Salvatore (“Sam”), 408–10
