{"id":41973,"date":"2020-08-06T22:55:00","date_gmt":"2020-08-06T19:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/nancy-olson-celebrates-sunset-boulevard-as-it-turns-70\/"},"modified":"2020-08-06T22:55:00","modified_gmt":"2020-08-06T19:55:00","slug":"nancy-olson-celebrates-sunset-boulevard-as-it-turns-70","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/nancy-olson-celebrates-sunset-boulevard-as-it-turns-70\/","title":{"rendered":"#Nancy Olson celebrates \u2018Sunset Boulevard\u2019 as it turns 70"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Nancy Olson celebrates \u2018Sunset Boulevard\u2019 as it turns 70<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n The stars are ageless \u2014 and so is \u201cSunset Boulevard.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday, the classic film is turning 70. With its scathing take on Hollywood mores and a comeback performance from silent-era silver screen star Gloria Swanson (\u201cAll right, Mr. DeMille, I\u2019m ready for my close-up\u201d), the masterpiece earned 11 Oscar nominations, including a nod for ing\u00e9nue Nancy Olson, who played an ambitious studio script<\/a> editor.<\/p>\n

She had just turned 22 when \u201cSunset Boulevard\u201d opened in 1950.<\/p>\n

The Milwaukee native moved to Hollywood to attend UCLA, where she studied theater. \u201cSunset Boulevard\u201d was only her second film, after appearing in the 1949 Western \u201cCanadian Pacific.\u201d Olson nabbed a role in the noir as Betty Schaefer, who\u2019s engaged to assistant director Artie Green (\u201cDragnet\u201d star Jack Webb) but falls for struggling, cynical screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden). He\u2019s living a gigolo-type existence in a neglected Sunset Boulevard mansion, owned by delusional former star Norma Desmond (Swanson) \u2014 while, at night, sneaking out to work with Betty on his screenplay.<\/p>\n

\"Nancy<\/img>
Nancy Olson (left)<\/span>Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cBill Holden had done several films that were huge successes like \u2018Our Town\u2019 before he left for the Army, but when he came back [from World War II] he almost had to start from the beginning,\u201d Olson, 92, told The Post.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was not as confident as he might have been, and he was also in a marriage that was very rocky,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd he was starting to drink too much. Bill and I got along very well, and we began to really enjoy each other. Not romantically, although there was a moment when he somehow went over that line a little bit \u2014but it was clear that I was not available, so that was that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olson, a movie buff, said that nevertheless, when she was hired for \u201cSunset Boulevard,\u201d she had never heard of Swanson \u2014 \u201cI asked my mother who she was,\u201d she said \u2014 but had interacted with \u2018Boulevard\u2019 director and co-writer Billy Wilder on the Paramount Pictures lot (where several scenes in \u201cBoulevard\u201d were shot).<\/p>\n

\"Gloria<\/img>
Gloria Swanson<\/span>Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI had seen all his films and was a great admirer and in awe, and he would try to catch up with me and have a conversation as I was walking to the commissary,\u201d she said of Wilder, who was known for his razor-sharp noir \u201cDouble Indemnity\u201d (1944) and had won two Oscars (Best Screenplay, Best Director) for \u201cThe Lost Weekend\u201d (1945). \u201cIt was all about what I was doing at UCLA, what it was like growing up in the Midwest, \u2018I understand your father\u2019s a doctor,\u2019 that kind of thing. He was persistent. I never discussed this with Billy, but I think, all those talks we had, he wanted to know how I spoke, [like] did I sound like someone who could be an aspiring writer. That\u2019s what I believe Billy was looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olson says that Wilder, in his search for authenticity in Betty Schaefer, did not approve of how the studio initially dressed her for the part.<\/p>\n

\"Nancy<\/img>
Nancy Olson<\/span>Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201c[Costume designer] Edith Head, who became a great friend of mine, would do all the dressing-up stuff and put costumes on me, and Billy would look at it and say, \u2018No, I don\u2019t think so. I liked the way Nancy looked yesterday when she was visiting the set,\u2019 \u201d she said. \u201cSo I ended up wearing my own clothes [in the movie] and I did not have a great wardrobe. I came from Milwaukee, and I didn\u2019t even know where to shop.<\/p>\n

\u201cBilly wanted me to simply be me .\u2009.\u2009. so I understood why I was in the film.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olson said the cast and crew of \u201cSunset Boulevard\u201d trusted in Wilder\u2019s vision, and had an inkling during filming that it was bound to be something special.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we began to shoot, there began to be a buzz on the lot,\u201d she says. \u201cThey showed dailies each night \u2014 they were making many films at once, with directors like Cecile B. DeMille [who\u2019s in \u201cSunset Boulevard\u201d] and William Wyler. Everybody would go at 6\u2009p.m. to see yesterday\u2019s dailies and suddenly, when we began \u2018Sunset Boulevard,\u2019 no one would leave until the dailies were shown. Everybody came to watch them. We knew that what was happening was something rare, but we didn\u2019t realize to what extent.\u201d<\/p>\n

That question was answered, somewhat, when \u201cSunset Boulevard\u201d was pre-screened for Hollywood big shots, some of whom took exception to its dark depiction of life in Tinseltown \u2014 and specifically, the movie business.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a small screening, and [MGM co-founder] Louie B. Mayer was there,\u201d Olson said. \u201cI heard that after the film he came over to Billy and said, \u2018How dare you do this to us?\u2019 And Billy said, \u2018Eff you\u2019 and walked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Olson made three more films with Holden \u2014 \u201cthere was such a demand for us to work together again,\u201d she says \u2014 but wasn\u2019t enthralled with Hollywood and scaled back her big-screen work, working regularly on television for the next 40 years (including a 2010 appearance on HBO\u2019s \u201cBig Love\u201d).<\/p>\n

She married legendary lyricist Alan Jay Lerner (\u201cMy Fair Lady,\u201d \u201cGigi\u201d) in 1950 \u2014 she was the third of his eight wives \u2014 and, following their divorce in 1957, got remarried to Capitol Records executive Alan Livingston in 1962 \u2014 a union that lasted until his death in 2009.<\/p>\n

She and Holden remained friends \u2014 bound together forever by the magic of \u201cSunset Boulevard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYears ago, when I was married to Alan Livingston, we were in JFK Airport on our way to London,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd Bill was coming in from Europe. We hadn\u2019t seen each other in a couple of years and we were rushing to get to the plane, and I heard \u2018Nancy! Nancy!\u2019 and I turn around and at the end of the hall is Bill Holden.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe turned and ran toward each other and embraced,\u201d she said. \u201cA man walked by and, I\u2019ll never forget this, he tapped us on the shoulder and said, \u2018This is better than watching an old movie.\u2019\u2009\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n

\n

If you want to read more Entertainment News<\/a> articles, you can visit our General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#Nancy Olson celebrates \u2018Sunset Boulevard\u2019 as it turns 70” The stars are ageless \u2014 and so is \u201cSunset Boulevard.\u201d On Monday, the classic film is turning 70. With its scathing take on Hollywood mores and a comeback performance from silent-era silver screen star Gloria Swanson (\u201cAll right, Mr. DeMille, I\u2019m ready for my close-up\u201d), the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41974,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[49878],"class_list":["post-41973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-nancy-olson-celebrates-sunset-boulevard-as-it-turns-70"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41973"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41973\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}