Tarzan.CC:
Hello! Thanks for joining us. First, I've got to compliment
you -- it's amazing how well you've kept yourself up! If I were
single, I'd be sending you flowers… but NO chocolates, right? How
the heck have you managed to stay looking so great?
Elaine Hollingsworth: (laughs) No, no chockies! The truth is, staving off old age is hard work -- lots of exercise, clean air, no drugs, the best food, mostly raw, avoiding stress as much as possible. It's not easy, and let me put it this way... I looked better 50 years ago. But I haven't decomposed the way so many people do by the time they get to 80. Well, I'm not 80 yet -- I'm 79. And by the way, so many sites on the Internet have my age wrong, older than I actually am, and who needs that? I was born in 1928. (TCC: We've since contacted IMDB.com and the appropriate corrections have been made.)
TCC: Aside from those you've acted out on the silver screen, your life has been a true series of adventures. You've done everything from go undercover to expose living conditions in a Mexican prison to taking on the infamous dictator Papa Doc in Haiti.
EH: Oh, yes! (laughing)
TCC: How do you get involved in these things, and are you ever worried for your safety?
EH: No, never, never. I would be now, because I've gotten a lot smarter. But no, I was fearless in those days. I think the word is "stupid", actually! (laughing)
TCC: I found it fascinating that you wrote articles critical of Papa Doc while living under his nose. Did you ever get backlash from that, or put yourself in danger?
EH: I did it so no one knew about it. I wouldn't have dreamt of doing it if I thought there was any possibility of getting caught.
TCC: But you saw some of his abuses first-hand?
EH: Oh, yes, I lived thru a couple of revolutions in Haiti, but I wasn't in the midst of them! (laughing) I saw what it was like there, the way people were terrified of doing anything that could get the attention of the government. They would have thrown me into jail, and I would have rotted there, if they'd known what I was up to. But I've taken on a bigger foe now, a much more dangerous foe -- Big Pharma.
TCC: I do want to visit both Africa and Haiti at some point in my life, but if I do so, I should probably pack some good mosquito repellant, right?
EH: Well, you should pack more than that, because there are so many illnesses. It's, umm... (pauses, then sighs) fascinating... utterly fascinating, but I can't recommend it today. Haiti is a disaster. I don't think people go there anymore, it's gotten so bad. It's a tragedy. It was such an interesting place, very like Africa, and I adored living there. But it isn't what it used to be, it's become dangerous now.
It was really safe when I lived there, because Papa Doc was a fascist dictator, and people were scared to death of him. There were 300 whites living in Haiti and 5 million blacks, yet I was never afraid to pick up hitchhikers. Never afraid of them, because they were gentle. I did it all the time! They wouldn't hurt me. We couldn't get a phone -- it was very primitive, in fact the electricity was often out. I lived up in the mountains, in Petionville, and I had to drive down to Port-au-Prince at night to make phone calls to the US. Often when I'd come out a bunch of guys would ask for a lift up the mountain. (laughs) And there I'd be in my car with 3 or 4 hulking guys, sweet as they could be... no problem!
TCC: Haha! You know, the reason I actually asked that question was because I'd read you'd caught fever from a mosquito bite in Haiti once.
EH: Yes, I got dengue fever and I don't recommend it to anyone! It's horrible...
TCC: I believe that's what Jock Mahoney caught while filming "Tarzan's Three Challenges". Amazing he managed to finish the film in spite of it!
EH: Ohhhh.... it's really awful. There was another film made in Africa (I don't think it was a Tarzan picture), where one of the actors got bilharzia, which is the most horrifying illness. I knew about it before I went to Africa, and I wasn't thrilled about the idea of getting wet in those rivers. Bilharzia lives in the east-west running rivers, and if you get wet, it goes into any open place on your body, and it will kill you.
TCC: Yuck... I think my hunger for adventure on the Dark Continent is starting to wane. You know, my brother-in-law just got back from a mission trip to Africa, and believes he contracted malaria there. He hasn't tested positive for it yet, but all the symptoms match.
EH: I knew lots of malaria victims, and it's terrible, because of the recurring fevers. There are too many illnesses in primitive countries and I wouldn't go to them again.
TCC: Let's talk about where you are now. You currently make your home in Australia. How did a St. Louis, Missouri girl find herself in the Land Down Under?
EH: Good question! We've been here almost 25 years now. It happened because my partner, Ron Bradley, and I were living in Los Angeles and it was terribly smoggy and crowded and crime-ridden. I'd lived in Europe and the UK for years, and I didn't want to go back there - it's too crowded now, as well. So, we looked at the map, and when you think about it, where was there to go? We wanted English-speaking, because it really is tough living in a country where you don't speak the language fluently. Of course, we could learn, but it's such a struggle!
So, there they were on the map -- Australia, New Zealand. The only possibilities. New Zealand wouldn't have me because I was too old by then. Australia wouldn't have me either! They accepted Ron, because he's heaps younger than I, but they turned me down, and the only reason that we got here was because I used some influence. I had a friend in high places, and I called him, and he called the Consul, and after a year of jerking me around, they telephoned me the very next day and said, "Come in and sign... your papers are ready."
TCC: That's funny!
EH: Yes, but it's not fair to others and I'd feel guilty about it, except that we have been good for this country. We've paid huge taxes, and employed lots of people. Ron founded the Hippocrates Health Centre on the Gold Coast, in Queensland. It's been a huge success, and is known all over Australia, as well as overseas. So I think they're... well they would be happy that they accepted us, except now they aren't crazy about me because my book blows the whistle on complicity between Big Food, Big Pharma, and Big Government. It tells the truth about what they are allowing in our food supply (no worse than America, of course), and what they are allowing the drug companies to do. So, I think I'm pretty unpopular now.
TCC: So tell us about your organization and its mission?
EH: I'm a Director of the Centre. It's not mine, it belongs to Ron. He started it, and he manages it. It's a big place and a huge job. Nine acres... beautiful! Lots of flowers, fruit trees, organic vegetables, that sort of thing. And people who are very, very sick come here to get well. He runs it and I have my offices here. I lecture and give consultations. But mainly, I research and run my company, which is called Empowerment Products. It's a mail order business for health products I endorse. Very few, I must add, as I don't approve of many. Also, we have been sending my book all over the world for the past seven years.
TCC: Yes! Your book, "Take Control of Your Health and Escape the Sickness Industry". You just completed the 10th edition, right?
EH: Just finished it! Yeah, it's been wonderful, very exciting! I wrote it really just to... well people were always asking me what to eat, what to do to be healthy, how to take care of themselves, and finally I got fed up (laughing), and said, "Ok, I'm going to write a book." So I did, and it took off like a rocket! We have distributors in lots of countries.
TCC: Excellent! Now, here's a health question for you. For a few years, I took shots for allergies, and still take over-the-counter medications to help control them. Is there something better and more effective I should be doing?
EH: Oh, yes, absolutely. If you have allergies, it means your adrenal glands are shot -- they are exhausted, otherwise you would not have allergies. You need adrenal help, not drugs to suppress the symptoms. No doctor is ever going to tell you that. See Chapter 2 of my book! Matter of fact, I should give you my American distributor's number.
TCC: Yes, please do!
EH: The phone number is 1-800-984-0064, and his website is www.vitalitybookstore.com -- he sells throughout America. He, and all our other distributors, are listed on our website.
TCC: Earlier, you mentioned taking on Big Pharma -- can you elaborate?
EH: I'm fighting tooth and nail, and I'm determined to bring down one of the big pharmaceutical companies in America, 3M. They falsified research on a drug called Aldara, and I have proof of this. And they pushed it thru the regulatory agencies with their false, so-called research, and people are dying all over the world because of it. It's a salve that you put on your skin to get rid of skin cancer. People think, oh, well how bad can it be? It's just a creme you put on skin cancer. The truth is, it's killing people. I've got the proof now. And we are in the midst of doing a movie about it, and about a safe creme that never hurt anybody. Oh, by the way, I do NOT sell this -- I'm not doing this to make money.
TCC: HAHA!
EH: It's my contribution to the world, let's put it that way. The world has been wonderful to me, and I've decided to give something back.
If you don't mind, let me give my website address so that people can learn about this cancer salve that is killing, I would say, hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. It destroys the immune system, and I explain it all on the website, and I also explain what to do if you get skin cancer -- how you can diagnose it yourself and get rid of it yourself with a salve that's been used since before the time of Christ. Are you ready for that? And again, I do not sell it -- I have no financial interest in it. My website is: www.doctorsaredangerous.com
TCC: Thanks for that, and here's hoping I never have to use it! Now, soy has a reputation here as a healthier alternative to milk, and can be found in everything from baby formula to a Starbucks latte. I know you aren't a fan... Is there something we aren't being told about soy?
EH: It's one of the worst things in the food supply. And it's all about Monsanto Chemical Co. (one of the most evil companies in the entire world) making billions. Here's the story... For thousands of years soy was never eaten in Asian countries, because they knew it was poison. They used it only as a rotation crop to fix nitrogen in the soil. Eventually, after a great deal of experimentation, they discovered that if they fermented the soy beans for five years, they were able to remove most of the poisons. "Most" is the operative word, because one poison remained, and that is the chemical in soy that leeches B12 from the body. So, in Asian countries, it is fermented, and they mix it with meat, fish, or chicken to put the B12 back in the body. Clever.
Now the American or Western soy is never fermented because it's too expensive, and it's just unleashed upon the public, and it is causing tremendous problems. There are so many dangers, but as a man I think you will relate to this -- soy is full of plant estrogens, so if you ingest it you will be getting female hormones!
TCC: HAHAHA!!!
EH: Do you want that? You see so many men developing breasts these days. You see little boys never developing their nether-regions, and growing breasts, because of the female hormones. It's a disaster. Women who drink lots of soy milk when pregnant, then feed their babies soy formula, guarantee their babies serious health problems.
TCC: Yikes! I think I'm going back to putting skim milk in my Starbucks... :)
EH: (laughs) When you get my book, read the chapter on soy. Or, go to our website where there is a long essay on soy, free for anyone who wants it.
TCC: About your website's name, I agree that some doctors can be dangerous. I had a friend who was addicted to painkillers and Xanax, and had injured himself multiple times while taking them. Yet his physician continued to prescribe them to him despite several pleas from his family. What the heck is wrong with some of these guys?
EH: Big Pharma has taken over. They own the medical schools, and they teach the doctors to use their drugs. When you tell a doctor you're feeling unwell, he will probably write a prescription, hand it to you, and give you the bum's rush. Most doctors are in a big hurry to prescribe a drug that may give you a fatal illness down the line. They rarely take the time to ask what you are eating, or if you get any exercise, or do tests that don't require taking blood. Doctors used to look at patients closely. They'd look into eyes, check reflexes and check over their patients thoroughly. They don't touch patients anymore. You're in and out in just a few minutes. It's a big money-making industry; it's not a caring profession, the way it used to be. During my childhood I never knew of one child who was seriously ill. Now it's commonplace.
TCC: In America, our pop-culture promotes the ideal that it's cool to get high and stay drunk. Are we just stupid, or has the human experience become so intolerable that people need that kind of escape?
EH: Oh, I think it's pretty intolerable. Take a look around you at what's going on in the world. I can understand people wanting to get away from it. The only reason I can cope is because I'm doing something about it. Helping people, educating them. Otherwise, I think I'd find the world impossible, as well.
TCC: I think I need an aspirin… haha! Seriously, I could talk all day about these topics, but alas, it's time to lighten things up and jump back in time to your acting years. You started your career as Elaine Sterling, but at some point changed your name to Sara Shane. Tell us how that came about.
EH: It was done by a P.R. man named Russell Birdwell -- he came up with the idea. The movie "Shane" had just come out, so he used it. I never liked the name, I always felt uncomfortable with it. But I was young and stupid and I let him do it.
TCC: Russell Birdwell also did something unique to help generate publicity for you, dividing a picture of you in two, and printing the upper half in "The Hollywood Reporter" and the lower half in "Variety". Tell us about this.
EH: Well, that was his idea of a way to make me known, and it worked! It was talked about all over town, and there were people putting the two pictures together, hanging them up. Looking back on it, it's embarrassing, but I got a contract out of it.
TCC: But on the downside, I've read that you felt the focus on building the name recognition ahead of acting skills ultimately hurt your career.
EH: Oh, yes, that was really dumb. I shouldn't have done that. I should have gone to New York and put myself in the hands of one of those great schools.
TCC: You know, these days, it appears that the shortcut for many aspiring starlets is to achieve tabloid notoriety and use it as a springboard for an acting career.
EH: It doesn't really work, though, because it makes them look like sluts, and then they don't have the talent to back up the publicity. Well, I guess some of them become successful, but the actors who are really good, and who stay in for the long haul are the serious ones. Not these little sluts. In my time, the actresses were ladies, and the really great ones now are still ladies. But some of these girls that you see in and out of rehab are such terrible role models for young women. I expect it makes me seem like a curmudgeon -- but I wouldn't go to a movie to see those girls.
TCC: Last year, TIME Magazine quoted Paris Hilton as saying, "Every decade has an iconic blond like Marilyn Monroe or Princess Diana, and right now I'm that icon." Any thoughts?
EH: I think that girl needs to be put away somewhere. She is absolutely emblematic of what's wrong with America. That people could pay any attention to her... How dare she compare herself to Marilyn Monroe, who was enchanting, adorable, talented? I'm not saying Marilyn was the nicest person on earth -- she wasn't, but she really had it. That girl had movie star potential. Paris Hilton looks like she should be behind the counter at Woolworth's.
TCC: HAHA!!!
EH: That's not a nice thing to say, because lots of girls behind the counter at Woolworth's are lovely, but she looks cheap. Quote me, I don't care. I think she's a dreadful girl, and they should have kept her in jail!
TCC: Agreed... Now when you look at the Hollywood of your era vs. the Hollywood of today, how much has changed, and has anything remained the same?
EH: Oh, it's a disaster now. I arrived in Hollywood in 1947, when I was just a child, a teenager. I was a silly little girl with no education, nothing at all. And... (sighs) I really got lucky. I was taken up by really nice people, and invited to Hollywood parties at famous peoples' homes. And I cannot begin to tell you how incredible it was. You'd drive down the street in Beverly Hills where all those enormous houses are, and there you'd see the huge house you were going to. You'd hear the band playing out on the street, and you'd see all the windows open -- anybody could look in, anybody could break in. The doors were open, you just walked in. You could crash if you wanted to... I never did, but it would certainly be easy. My first party in Hollywood was like that, and my eyes were as big as saucers. We walked in the front door, and nobody was there to say, "Who are you, where is your invitation?", and who's there, leaning up against a wall, but Errol Flynn, drunk as a lord!
This was the kind of life we led in those days. Completely open... no fear. Now celebrities hide behind huge walls with giant dogs running around, and guards with guns. It's a dreadful change in such a short time. (TCC: Yeah, and some of them don't treat their dogs too well, either, according to recent news reports!)
TCC: What do you consider the best and the worst of your experiences in the Hollywood scene?
EH: Well, the best was the fact that they even bothered with me. I was incredibly lucky. I fell into it. The worst, well I don't know. I didn't really have any terrible experiences. The only experience I had that I would say was pretty bad was working for the director, Raoul Walsh. He was really unpleasant and mean to people who couldn't fight back. But Clark Gable loved him and often used him for his pictures. The rest of us couldn't stand him. (laughing) He was very mean.
TCC: I've been rereading the Tarzan novels, and just finished "Tarzan and the Lion Man", which deals with a movie company's attempts to film a Tarzan-like jungle epic. In the last chapter, Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote the following scene as Tarzan visits Hollywood:
The Brown Derby was crowded -- well groomed men, beautifully gowned girls. There was something odd in the apparel, the ornaments, or the hair dressing of each, as though each was trying to out-do the others in attracting attention to himself. There was a great deal of chattering and calling back and forth between tables: "How ah you?" "How mahvel-lous you look!" "How ah you?" "See you at the Chinese tonight?" "How ah you?"
Reece pointed out the celebrities to Clayton (Tarzan). One or two of the names were familiar to the stranger, but they all looked so much alike and talked so much alike, and said nothing when they did talk, that Clayton was soon bored.
Did Burroughs' parody resemble the actual scene in Tinseltown?
EH: Probably most Hollywood restaurants were a bit like that, with the usual insincere comments and gorgeous starlets on the make, but by then I was used to it and probably thought it was normal. I adored the Brown Derby. It was great fun, it was casual, and they had the world's best salad, called the Cobb Salad -- I've never had such a good salad, and that was what I always ate when I went there. They had celebrity drawings on the walls. They were caricatures, and you knew you had made it when they put yours up. But my favourite restaurant was the original Romanoff's. Oh, boy, did I ever love it. It was the best place to meet people. That was where I started my friendship with Orson Welles, one of the most interesting and brilliant men on Earth.
It was so much fun in those days! It was casual, it was glamorous, and you could park anywhere in Beverly Hills. There weren't any of those ruinous high-rises that wrecked Beverly Hills -- just cute little buildings, and no smog. I can't tell you how wonderful it was. There I was in this glamorous, exciting town, and people accepted me, and invited me to their parties. It was really a remarkable thing to have happen to a dopey girl from a little town outside St. Louis!
TCC: Burroughs' scene painted a very superficial, or shallow image of the Hollywood crowd, but the people you knew seemed quite the opposite -- very genuine and caring.
EH: Well, of course there were always the predatory men and the silly little twits -- the girls who are trying to sleep their way around. But overall, no, I don't have any criticisms of them. I loved them.
TCC: Now you've mentioned that much of the information found about you on the Internet is false. We'd love to help you set the record straight...
EH: (big laugh) I did NOT date Harry Karl! Oh, it's so infuriating! I don't know how these things happen. I think the press agents of these men sent out information to get publicity for these creepy guys.
TCC: HAHA!
EH: Oh, I was furious when I saw that! And it's still there, in print on the Internet, that I dated some of these incredibly sleazy men, that I hadn't even met. The truth is, I got married quickly to a prominent, handsome, wealthy businessman.
TCC: William Hollingsworth, right?
EH: Bill Hollingsworth, yes, and I was protected from all that. I didn't date those creepy guys! (laughs)
TCC: Anything else you'd like to debunk?
EH: Almost everything they've written about me is false. (laughing) It would take a book to try to tell you all about it.
TCC: In our past conversations, you've been so modest, even downplaying the significance of your acting career, though you've shared the screen with many Hollywood legends. Please tell us what you remember most about working with the following:
Rock Hudson in "Magnificent Obsession".
EH: Sweet as pie. A really, really nice guy. Fun, cute sense of humor, loved classical music, gentle. Everyone loved Rock. We all knew he was gay, but the press liked him a lot, and never "outed" him. Of course, once he had AIDS it was impossible to keep it quiet that he was gay.
TCC: That's amazing... Back then, you could keep a secret like that, but these days, the "stalkerazzi" and the scandal rags would be all over such a story.
EH: Yes, that's one of the things that's so wrong about what's going on. My God, these poor people having all these awful stories told about them. I'm not surprised that they lash out at the paparrazzi... I would do it, too!
TCC: And the press were generally more respectful at the time, right?
EH: Oh, absolutely. And of course, not of everybody, but when they liked them, they wouldn't dream of saying nasty things. Rock was really very protected.
TCC: Jack Palance in "Sign of the Pagan".
EH: Jack Palance... He was nice, I liked him. He was talented, and very obsessive about his work. Very involved in his acting focus. I didn't have any problem with him, but Ludmilla Tcherina, who was the star of the movie, wasn't crazy about him because in one of their scenes he grabbed her and shook her so hard that her arms were covered in black and blue marks. She showed it to me, and was very upset about it. I didn't have anything to do in that movie, and I doubt you would even notice me.
TCC: Clark Gable in "The King and Four Queens".
EH: Oh, Clark was absolutely adorable. I loved him to pieces. When they told me I was up for that part, I really wanted it, but I didn't think I had a chance. They tested four girls at the same time, and I was in the dressing room, shaking like a leaf, when it was my turn. So out I went, and sat down on a log on the set, while they lit me. Lights were glaring at me, and in minutes the most famous face in the world arrived and sat down and said, "Hello, Beautiful!" (laughing) and in about three minutes he was kissing me... it was part of the scene! And I was thinking to myself, here I am, kissing the most famous man in the world, and we had never even been introduced! But that's Hollywood!
TCC: Wow!
EH: Clark was a darling, all the way thru the movie. Oh, and I must tell you something Clark did, that indicates the kind of a man he was. I was very inexperienced, and when that happens most actors try to upstage. You know, they'll grab you if you have a scene where it's appropriate, and twist you so that the back of your head and his front are shot. But not Clark... We had this scene, where I was too stupid to get myself into the right position, and he put his hands on my upper arms, and so gently pulled me around so I'd be in the picture. It's very unusual, as so few actors do that, but he did it and it was very kind of him.
TCC: John Cassavetes in "Affair in Havana".
EH: Don't get me going on him (laughing)... We spent two months in Cuba filming and got to know each other pretty well. I was supposed to be married to Raymond Burr and hate him, and have an affair with John, and love him. This was not easy, because Ray was such a darling and John was not the nicest man on Earth. He didn't like me because we were the same height, and he felt insecure because he wasn't taller than I was.
TCC: I've read that in many films, a shorter actor will stand on a box or something to get around that...
EH: Well, that would have been difficult, because we had lots of long shots.
TCC: And I was surprised when I learned that for other actors, they actually built reduced-scale sets to create the illusion that they were taller.
EH: They did build a trench for Sophia Loren to walk in when she and Alan Ladd worked together. He was short, so they shot them at waist height, and you couldn't see the trench. (TCC: This was in 1957's "Boy On A Dolphin". Ladd also stood on a box in 1958's "Deep Six". Coincidentally, many consider this great actor's finest film to be "Shane", which was the inspiration for Elaine's stage name.)
TCC: And this leads us to an actor in our favorite of all your films -- Sean Connery in "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure"!
EH: Oh, he's absolutely adorable. You know how small a part he had in that movie, but he really stood out. I was living in London in those days, and when location was over and we returned to London, I called all of my friends who were in the picture business (laughing) -- well, practically everybody I knew was in the picture business -- and I said, "I've come across this actor who's going to be a HUGE star, and you've got to meet him!" So some of them did, but most didn't. And one of them actualy tested him for a part in a movie called "Malaga". (TCC: Released in 1960 as "Moment of Danger" -- "Malaga" was the U.S. title) He did not get the part... They gave it to Edmond Purdom, if you can imagine. So Sean didn't get the part, and guess what happened? If he had gotten that part, he wouldn't have been available for the Bond movie.
TCC: This was after "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure"?
EH: Right after. They tested him while we were still doing interiors in London.
TCC: So just getting that one part would have kept him from becoming Bond!
EH: Unless they had been willing to wait two months, which was unlikely.
TCC: As we have now come to the subject, tell us about "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure", which was your final feature film. How did you get the role, and were you excited about it?
EH: I love that movie. I loved doing it, and had a most wonderful time. It's kind of an interesting story. I was in London, and I met Robert Helpmann, a famous ballet star and director, and a marvelous man. He wanted to put me in a lead in a play he was directing on the West End. Nothing's bigger than that for an actress -- to be starring in a play on the West End of London. Number One. So I was really excited. He gave me the script, coached me in the part, and then had me audition in front of the people who were financing it. I got the part! I was going to star in London. It would have been incredible -- so exciting!
So, guess what? Actors' Equity turned me down. They threatened to start a strike if they didn't give the part to an English actress. I was heartbroken! One day later, I got a phone call, "Come in for an interview... We're interested in you for a Tarzan movie." And I thought, oh, crikey. A Tarzan movie? What a comedown from starring in the West End with one of the best theatre directors. But I went, and (laughing) the next thing you know, I was flying to Africa!
TCC: Were you a Tarzan fan before this, either of the books or the films?
EH: No, no. Not at all. I'd seen Lex Barker, who was a gorgeous Tarzan, and had a fantastic body. Really wonderful as Tarzan, and I think I'd seen him in one Tarzan movie.
TCC: You know, he later had quite a run making films in Germany. He made films in several countries, actually.
EH: Yes, he worked quite a lot in Europe. We were friends in Hollywood. We saw him a lot at parties and played tennis with him. He was a really good athlete. Then, we ran into each other frequently during the years I was racing around Europe, having a ball. I'd bump into him lots of places, film festivals and things, but we never worked together.
TCC: What was it like shooting on location in Africa? Do you have any special memories?
EH: Absolutely fabulous. I had never been to Africa, but I've been there four times since then, because I fell in love with it. On the way from the airport to our hotel, Anthony Quayle and I were sitting in the car together, with the two of us going, "Oh, look at that! Look at the giraffe! Look at this, look at that!" We were so excited! Then of course, we had a long drive to get to Thika, the place where we were actually shooting. And when we were there, in this very, very rough part of Africa, he and I just didn't think about safety. We wandered around, going, "Oh, let's go down here... let's look at this, look at that!" We had a ball together, because we were both complete tourists, I guess, having a wonderful time! After shooting, we'd even go down and swing from the trees! (laughing) They had it all set up, and it was so much fun!
TCC: I bet it was! Now, Gordon Scott was a larger-than-life hero to so many of his fans. What do you remember of working with Gordon, and do you have any special anecdotes for us?
EH: I have one heavenly anecdote! First of all, Gordon was so funny. He had the most wonderful sense of humor -- you'd never meet anybody funnier than Gordon. Now, to me that shows intelligence -- he could take anything and make it funny. You don't come across many people like that, so I know he was really bright.
So Gordon and Sean and Tony and I were inseparable. We were always together, and when we'd go places we'd see to it that we got in the same car. We had so many laughs, so much fun. This was not a rich production, and so we had to walk to the set. The cars would stop, and then off we'd go, and sometimes it would take 45 minutes to walk thru the jungle, or go wading thru streams, hopping from rock to rock, to get in to where we were shooting. Some of the scenery was really beautiful -- you know that, because you've seen the film. Well, that was fine, because I was in great shape, no problem. And then we'd work all day, we'd run around in the heat... (It was very hot, so it was hard work). And one day, by the end of the day, I was "knackered" as we say in Australia, and I think I swayed a little bit, and Gordon looked at me and said, "Are you ok?" I said, "I'm really tired," and the next thing you know, he picked me up, tossed me over his shoulder like a little sack of potatoes, and carried me out of the jungle! It was so cute...
TCC: Though your character in the film was named Angie, I've heard fans describe her as more closely resembling the Jane of the books than any of the actual Janes before. Not surprisingly, I later read you've also been voted "Best Non-Jane in a Tarzan Movie".
EH: (laughs) I thought Jane was a nice girl from a nice family who got stranded and then married Tarzan. I haven't read the books, so I don't know.
TCC: Well, from the Hollywood tradition, she was sort of this happy homemaker jungle wife, but in the books she actually became quite a capable woman -- quite a survivor. Was there any intention to make Angie a Jane-like character, or was it coincidence?
EH: Oh, not at all. They wanted her to be a good-time girl, a party girl.
TCC: I always found it strange that in my copy of "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure", one scene fades out as Tarzan pulls Angie down for a kiss, and the next time you see them, they're arguing as she prepares to leave him. I've heard that some footage (i.e., a "kissing scene") was cut from the theatrical release. If this is so, please describe what was removed.
EH: No, not true. That was it. That's all we shot. They didn't want to shock the little kiddies by bringing sex into the movie.
TCC: It gives the impression that there is something missing, because it goes instantly from a romantic prelude to a tiff between them. Maybe it's just that she was starting to care for him...
EH: She wants him to leave the jungle and come home with her, and he won't do it. And so she knows he's going to go off and try to kill Slade, and she doesn't want him to get killed.
TCC: Well, that's another long-time rumor that we get to debunk!
EH: Yes! And I think I'm the only one left alive who can tell you that! Not really, though, because John Guiillerman, the director, is still alive.
TCC: HAHA! We have an exclusive! Now, after the climactic battle with Slade, Tarzan looks down at Angie's boat as it continues down the river, and then he turns and heads off into the brush. I wasn't clear... did the scene infer that he had a change of heart and went to catch up with Angie, or that he gave her one last glance before continuing on alone?
EH: No, just one last look at the girl disappearing down the river. That's all it was.
TCC: From what I understand, many of the major players were invited back for Gordon's next film, "Tarzan the Magnificent" (though only Al Mulock returned).
EH: I wasn't invited back, and I don't think Tony Quayle was. Of course his character, Slade, was dead by then. You know they killed him. They killed Sean Connery in the movie and they killed Tony.
TCC: Again, there is a lot of false information out there, but I'd read that both Quayle and Connery had been invited to return -- not in the same roles of course, but as different characters. Also read that Sean Connery on turning them down offered to be in the next one. It seemed more normal back then to have actors reappear as different characters within a series. Jock Mahoney for instance played villains in two Tarzan films, before and after playing Tarzan himself.
EH: Well, frankly, I doubt that is true, I really do, because Tony Quayle was a big actor with a great deal of dignity, and he had a great part in that movie, and he wouldn't have done such a thing. And of course, Sean was working on the Bond movie. But Al Mulock... I'm interested, I didn't know that Al worked in another Tarzan.
TCC: Yes, he was back for "Tarzan the Magnificent" as another villain -- one of the Banton brothers. Back to Sean, my info came from the book "Tarzan Of The Movies" by Gabe Essoe, which seems to quote Sean after he'd been optioned for Bond, but before filming had begun. Of course he had no idea at the time how successful that movie would become, or what it would lead to.
EH: After starring as Bond, there was no way he would do that, a little low-budget Tarzan movie... no, no, no, no...
TCC: There is conflicting info on why Gordon left the Tarzan series. Some say he wanted to avoid typecasting and declined to continue in the role, and others say that producers wanted to take the character in a new direction, opting instead for a leaner representation of the ape-man (Jock Mahoney). Do you know the truth either way, or did Gordon ever discuss the topic?
EH: I have no idea. I totally lost track of Gordon, I'm sorry to say, because it's very sad when you lose track of people that you like. And that happens on almost all movies -- you meet people, and you enjoy being with them, and then you never see them again. It's really sad. Of course, I did see Tony again, because I was in New York when he was doing "Sleuth" on the stage. So we got together then. But I haven't seen any of the other people.
TCC: "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" was critically acclaimed, and is considered by many fans as one of the best, if not the best of the series, though I've read when it was released it performed very poorly at the box office. Is this true, and if so, was it just a case of bad timing?
EH: (laughs) I have no idea. I was in London when it was released, and I have a picture of myself at the theater where it opened, standing in front of the poster of Gordon carrying me. That's the last I ever heard of Tarzan. That was the end of it, nobody said a word to me about how it did, and then I moved to Paris. Oh, by the way, I saw it in Paris, dubbed into French. That really knocked me out, to see myself speaking French! But you have evidence that the Tarzan movie did not do well financially? I don't understand, because it was an excellent film with a good script, marvellous actors, and good direction. It probably got a bad release.
TCC: It should have been the "Batman Begins" or "Casino Royale" of its time -- a real "reboot" of the series (sans origin story). The challenge as with many major franchises was to overcome a waning audience caused by too many lackluster entries. In his book "Celluloid Adventures: Good Movies, Bad Timing", Nick Anez credits the excellence of the movie, but primarily blames the poor box office take on Paramount's horrendous marketing choices. In America, they decided to release it as the bottom half of a double-feature, paired with either a Jerry Lewis picture or a horror film, so the target audience was incorrect to begin with.
EH: I also think that the Tarzan movies became passe', and all sorts of other things became more popular.
TCC: Luckily with time, though, "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" survived and became the fan favorite it is today! Speaking of time... Wow! It goes by fast! We have just a few more questions. Looking back at your whole career, is there anything you would have chosen to do differently?
EH: Everything! (laughing) For one thing, I would not have gone into acting. I would have done something else with my life. Although I had an incredible amount of fun, and it opened up doors for me that were unattainable in other ways, I think I would have been better off developing my brains. On the other hand, I might not have gotten into what I'm doing now without that background. All the experience I had in television, radio, theater, stage and films gave me confidence in front of crowds. Because of that, I can talk to an audience of a thousand people without a moment's nervousness, and talk without a script for hours.
TCC: So it really prepared you as a public speaker?
EH: Oh, yes, it was a stepping stone. What I'm doing now is the best thing I've ever done in my life, both for pleasure and for helping people. And it's a marvelous feeling to be able to do that, because the days when I was in films, I was pretty empty-headed, trying to make a buck and keep my head above water, and support my family. But now there are some pretty important thoughts going around in my head, such as exposing Big Pharma and the corrupt governments that permit them to poison people.
TCC: Elaine, thanks again so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us, and before the curtain closes, is there anything you'd like to say to your fans?
EH: Well, who? My one fan out there? How can I have any fans? (laughing) It's weird that anyone is still interested in me... that was 50 years ago!
TCC: HAHA! Well, that's the thing about the Internet... it breeds new fans!
EH: Yes it really does! The Internet is astonishing, and it's our best weapon against the "bad guys."
All I can say to those few fans of mine out there, and the millions of Tarzan fans, is... take care of yourselves. Don't get into the clutches of the pharmaceutical industry. They want to kill you with their drugs, and I'm talking about legal drugs -- they are worse than the illegal ones! :-)
Elaine Hollingsworth: (laughs) No, no chockies! The truth is, staving off old age is hard work -- lots of exercise, clean air, no drugs, the best food, mostly raw, avoiding stress as much as possible. It's not easy, and let me put it this way... I looked better 50 years ago. But I haven't decomposed the way so many people do by the time they get to 80. Well, I'm not 80 yet -- I'm 79. And by the way, so many sites on the Internet have my age wrong, older than I actually am, and who needs that? I was born in 1928. (TCC: We've since contacted IMDB.com and the appropriate corrections have been made.)
TCC: Aside from those you've acted out on the silver screen, your life has been a true series of adventures. You've done everything from go undercover to expose living conditions in a Mexican prison to taking on the infamous dictator Papa Doc in Haiti.
EH: Oh, yes! (laughing)
TCC: How do you get involved in these things, and are you ever worried for your safety?
EH: No, never, never. I would be now, because I've gotten a lot smarter. But no, I was fearless in those days. I think the word is "stupid", actually! (laughing)
TCC: I found it fascinating that you wrote articles critical of Papa Doc while living under his nose. Did you ever get backlash from that, or put yourself in danger?
EH: I did it so no one knew about it. I wouldn't have dreamt of doing it if I thought there was any possibility of getting caught.
TCC: But you saw some of his abuses first-hand?
EH: Oh, yes, I lived thru a couple of revolutions in Haiti, but I wasn't in the midst of them! (laughing) I saw what it was like there, the way people were terrified of doing anything that could get the attention of the government. They would have thrown me into jail, and I would have rotted there, if they'd known what I was up to. But I've taken on a bigger foe now, a much more dangerous foe -- Big Pharma.
TCC: I do want to visit both Africa and Haiti at some point in my life, but if I do so, I should probably pack some good mosquito repellant, right?
EH: Well, you should pack more than that, because there are so many illnesses. It's, umm... (pauses, then sighs) fascinating... utterly fascinating, but I can't recommend it today. Haiti is a disaster. I don't think people go there anymore, it's gotten so bad. It's a tragedy. It was such an interesting place, very like Africa, and I adored living there. But it isn't what it used to be, it's become dangerous now.
It was really safe when I lived there, because Papa Doc was a fascist dictator, and people were scared to death of him. There were 300 whites living in Haiti and 5 million blacks, yet I was never afraid to pick up hitchhikers. Never afraid of them, because they were gentle. I did it all the time! They wouldn't hurt me. We couldn't get a phone -- it was very primitive, in fact the electricity was often out. I lived up in the mountains, in Petionville, and I had to drive down to Port-au-Prince at night to make phone calls to the US. Often when I'd come out a bunch of guys would ask for a lift up the mountain. (laughs) And there I'd be in my car with 3 or 4 hulking guys, sweet as they could be... no problem!
TCC: Haha! You know, the reason I actually asked that question was because I'd read you'd caught fever from a mosquito bite in Haiti once.
EH: Yes, I got dengue fever and I don't recommend it to anyone! It's horrible...
TCC: I believe that's what Jock Mahoney caught while filming "Tarzan's Three Challenges". Amazing he managed to finish the film in spite of it!
EH: Ohhhh.... it's really awful. There was another film made in Africa (I don't think it was a Tarzan picture), where one of the actors got bilharzia, which is the most horrifying illness. I knew about it before I went to Africa, and I wasn't thrilled about the idea of getting wet in those rivers. Bilharzia lives in the east-west running rivers, and if you get wet, it goes into any open place on your body, and it will kill you.
TCC: Yuck... I think my hunger for adventure on the Dark Continent is starting to wane. You know, my brother-in-law just got back from a mission trip to Africa, and believes he contracted malaria there. He hasn't tested positive for it yet, but all the symptoms match.
EH: I knew lots of malaria victims, and it's terrible, because of the recurring fevers. There are too many illnesses in primitive countries and I wouldn't go to them again.
TCC: Let's talk about where you are now. You currently make your home in Australia. How did a St. Louis, Missouri girl find herself in the Land Down Under?
EH: Good question! We've been here almost 25 years now. It happened because my partner, Ron Bradley, and I were living in Los Angeles and it was terribly smoggy and crowded and crime-ridden. I'd lived in Europe and the UK for years, and I didn't want to go back there - it's too crowded now, as well. So, we looked at the map, and when you think about it, where was there to go? We wanted English-speaking, because it really is tough living in a country where you don't speak the language fluently. Of course, we could learn, but it's such a struggle!
So, there they were on the map -- Australia, New Zealand. The only possibilities. New Zealand wouldn't have me because I was too old by then. Australia wouldn't have me either! They accepted Ron, because he's heaps younger than I, but they turned me down, and the only reason that we got here was because I used some influence. I had a friend in high places, and I called him, and he called the Consul, and after a year of jerking me around, they telephoned me the very next day and said, "Come in and sign... your papers are ready."
TCC: That's funny!
EH: Yes, but it's not fair to others and I'd feel guilty about it, except that we have been good for this country. We've paid huge taxes, and employed lots of people. Ron founded the Hippocrates Health Centre on the Gold Coast, in Queensland. It's been a huge success, and is known all over Australia, as well as overseas. So I think they're... well they would be happy that they accepted us, except now they aren't crazy about me because my book blows the whistle on complicity between Big Food, Big Pharma, and Big Government. It tells the truth about what they are allowing in our food supply (no worse than America, of course), and what they are allowing the drug companies to do. So, I think I'm pretty unpopular now.
TCC: So tell us about your organization and its mission?
EH: I'm a Director of the Centre. It's not mine, it belongs to Ron. He started it, and he manages it. It's a big place and a huge job. Nine acres... beautiful! Lots of flowers, fruit trees, organic vegetables, that sort of thing. And people who are very, very sick come here to get well. He runs it and I have my offices here. I lecture and give consultations. But mainly, I research and run my company, which is called Empowerment Products. It's a mail order business for health products I endorse. Very few, I must add, as I don't approve of many. Also, we have been sending my book all over the world for the past seven years.
TCC: Yes! Your book, "Take Control of Your Health and Escape the Sickness Industry". You just completed the 10th edition, right?
EH: Just finished it! Yeah, it's been wonderful, very exciting! I wrote it really just to... well people were always asking me what to eat, what to do to be healthy, how to take care of themselves, and finally I got fed up (laughing), and said, "Ok, I'm going to write a book." So I did, and it took off like a rocket! We have distributors in lots of countries.
TCC: Excellent! Now, here's a health question for you. For a few years, I took shots for allergies, and still take over-the-counter medications to help control them. Is there something better and more effective I should be doing?
EH: Oh, yes, absolutely. If you have allergies, it means your adrenal glands are shot -- they are exhausted, otherwise you would not have allergies. You need adrenal help, not drugs to suppress the symptoms. No doctor is ever going to tell you that. See Chapter 2 of my book! Matter of fact, I should give you my American distributor's number.
TCC: Yes, please do!
EH: The phone number is 1-800-984-0064, and his website is www.vitalitybookstore.com -- he sells throughout America. He, and all our other distributors, are listed on our website.
TCC: Earlier, you mentioned taking on Big Pharma -- can you elaborate?
EH: I'm fighting tooth and nail, and I'm determined to bring down one of the big pharmaceutical companies in America, 3M. They falsified research on a drug called Aldara, and I have proof of this. And they pushed it thru the regulatory agencies with their false, so-called research, and people are dying all over the world because of it. It's a salve that you put on your skin to get rid of skin cancer. People think, oh, well how bad can it be? It's just a creme you put on skin cancer. The truth is, it's killing people. I've got the proof now. And we are in the midst of doing a movie about it, and about a safe creme that never hurt anybody. Oh, by the way, I do NOT sell this -- I'm not doing this to make money.
TCC: HAHA!
EH: It's my contribution to the world, let's put it that way. The world has been wonderful to me, and I've decided to give something back.
If you don't mind, let me give my website address so that people can learn about this cancer salve that is killing, I would say, hundreds of thousands of people all over the world. It destroys the immune system, and I explain it all on the website, and I also explain what to do if you get skin cancer -- how you can diagnose it yourself and get rid of it yourself with a salve that's been used since before the time of Christ. Are you ready for that? And again, I do not sell it -- I have no financial interest in it. My website is: www.doctorsaredangerous.com
TCC: Thanks for that, and here's hoping I never have to use it! Now, soy has a reputation here as a healthier alternative to milk, and can be found in everything from baby formula to a Starbucks latte. I know you aren't a fan... Is there something we aren't being told about soy?
EH: It's one of the worst things in the food supply. And it's all about Monsanto Chemical Co. (one of the most evil companies in the entire world) making billions. Here's the story... For thousands of years soy was never eaten in Asian countries, because they knew it was poison. They used it only as a rotation crop to fix nitrogen in the soil. Eventually, after a great deal of experimentation, they discovered that if they fermented the soy beans for five years, they were able to remove most of the poisons. "Most" is the operative word, because one poison remained, and that is the chemical in soy that leeches B12 from the body. So, in Asian countries, it is fermented, and they mix it with meat, fish, or chicken to put the B12 back in the body. Clever.
Now the American or Western soy is never fermented because it's too expensive, and it's just unleashed upon the public, and it is causing tremendous problems. There are so many dangers, but as a man I think you will relate to this -- soy is full of plant estrogens, so if you ingest it you will be getting female hormones!
TCC: HAHAHA!!!
EH: Do you want that? You see so many men developing breasts these days. You see little boys never developing their nether-regions, and growing breasts, because of the female hormones. It's a disaster. Women who drink lots of soy milk when pregnant, then feed their babies soy formula, guarantee their babies serious health problems.
TCC: Yikes! I think I'm going back to putting skim milk in my Starbucks... :)
EH: (laughs) When you get my book, read the chapter on soy. Or, go to our website where there is a long essay on soy, free for anyone who wants it.
TCC: About your website's name, I agree that some doctors can be dangerous. I had a friend who was addicted to painkillers and Xanax, and had injured himself multiple times while taking them. Yet his physician continued to prescribe them to him despite several pleas from his family. What the heck is wrong with some of these guys?
EH: Big Pharma has taken over. They own the medical schools, and they teach the doctors to use their drugs. When you tell a doctor you're feeling unwell, he will probably write a prescription, hand it to you, and give you the bum's rush. Most doctors are in a big hurry to prescribe a drug that may give you a fatal illness down the line. They rarely take the time to ask what you are eating, or if you get any exercise, or do tests that don't require taking blood. Doctors used to look at patients closely. They'd look into eyes, check reflexes and check over their patients thoroughly. They don't touch patients anymore. You're in and out in just a few minutes. It's a big money-making industry; it's not a caring profession, the way it used to be. During my childhood I never knew of one child who was seriously ill. Now it's commonplace.
TCC: In America, our pop-culture promotes the ideal that it's cool to get high and stay drunk. Are we just stupid, or has the human experience become so intolerable that people need that kind of escape?
EH: Oh, I think it's pretty intolerable. Take a look around you at what's going on in the world. I can understand people wanting to get away from it. The only reason I can cope is because I'm doing something about it. Helping people, educating them. Otherwise, I think I'd find the world impossible, as well.
TCC: I think I need an aspirin… haha! Seriously, I could talk all day about these topics, but alas, it's time to lighten things up and jump back in time to your acting years. You started your career as Elaine Sterling, but at some point changed your name to Sara Shane. Tell us how that came about.
EH: It was done by a P.R. man named Russell Birdwell -- he came up with the idea. The movie "Shane" had just come out, so he used it. I never liked the name, I always felt uncomfortable with it. But I was young and stupid and I let him do it.
TCC: Russell Birdwell also did something unique to help generate publicity for you, dividing a picture of you in two, and printing the upper half in "The Hollywood Reporter" and the lower half in "Variety". Tell us about this.
EH: Well, that was his idea of a way to make me known, and it worked! It was talked about all over town, and there were people putting the two pictures together, hanging them up. Looking back on it, it's embarrassing, but I got a contract out of it.
TCC: But on the downside, I've read that you felt the focus on building the name recognition ahead of acting skills ultimately hurt your career.
EH: Oh, yes, that was really dumb. I shouldn't have done that. I should have gone to New York and put myself in the hands of one of those great schools.
TCC: You know, these days, it appears that the shortcut for many aspiring starlets is to achieve tabloid notoriety and use it as a springboard for an acting career.
EH: It doesn't really work, though, because it makes them look like sluts, and then they don't have the talent to back up the publicity. Well, I guess some of them become successful, but the actors who are really good, and who stay in for the long haul are the serious ones. Not these little sluts. In my time, the actresses were ladies, and the really great ones now are still ladies. But some of these girls that you see in and out of rehab are such terrible role models for young women. I expect it makes me seem like a curmudgeon -- but I wouldn't go to a movie to see those girls.
TCC: Last year, TIME Magazine quoted Paris Hilton as saying, "Every decade has an iconic blond like Marilyn Monroe or Princess Diana, and right now I'm that icon." Any thoughts?
EH: I think that girl needs to be put away somewhere. She is absolutely emblematic of what's wrong with America. That people could pay any attention to her... How dare she compare herself to Marilyn Monroe, who was enchanting, adorable, talented? I'm not saying Marilyn was the nicest person on earth -- she wasn't, but she really had it. That girl had movie star potential. Paris Hilton looks like she should be behind the counter at Woolworth's.
TCC: HAHA!!!
EH: That's not a nice thing to say, because lots of girls behind the counter at Woolworth's are lovely, but she looks cheap. Quote me, I don't care. I think she's a dreadful girl, and they should have kept her in jail!
TCC: Agreed... Now when you look at the Hollywood of your era vs. the Hollywood of today, how much has changed, and has anything remained the same?
EH: Oh, it's a disaster now. I arrived in Hollywood in 1947, when I was just a child, a teenager. I was a silly little girl with no education, nothing at all. And... (sighs) I really got lucky. I was taken up by really nice people, and invited to Hollywood parties at famous peoples' homes. And I cannot begin to tell you how incredible it was. You'd drive down the street in Beverly Hills where all those enormous houses are, and there you'd see the huge house you were going to. You'd hear the band playing out on the street, and you'd see all the windows open -- anybody could look in, anybody could break in. The doors were open, you just walked in. You could crash if you wanted to... I never did, but it would certainly be easy. My first party in Hollywood was like that, and my eyes were as big as saucers. We walked in the front door, and nobody was there to say, "Who are you, where is your invitation?", and who's there, leaning up against a wall, but Errol Flynn, drunk as a lord!
This was the kind of life we led in those days. Completely open... no fear. Now celebrities hide behind huge walls with giant dogs running around, and guards with guns. It's a dreadful change in such a short time. (TCC: Yeah, and some of them don't treat their dogs too well, either, according to recent news reports!)
TCC: What do you consider the best and the worst of your experiences in the Hollywood scene?
EH: Well, the best was the fact that they even bothered with me. I was incredibly lucky. I fell into it. The worst, well I don't know. I didn't really have any terrible experiences. The only experience I had that I would say was pretty bad was working for the director, Raoul Walsh. He was really unpleasant and mean to people who couldn't fight back. But Clark Gable loved him and often used him for his pictures. The rest of us couldn't stand him. (laughing) He was very mean.
TCC: I've been rereading the Tarzan novels, and just finished "Tarzan and the Lion Man", which deals with a movie company's attempts to film a Tarzan-like jungle epic. In the last chapter, Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote the following scene as Tarzan visits Hollywood:
The Brown Derby was crowded -- well groomed men, beautifully gowned girls. There was something odd in the apparel, the ornaments, or the hair dressing of each, as though each was trying to out-do the others in attracting attention to himself. There was a great deal of chattering and calling back and forth between tables: "How ah you?" "How mahvel-lous you look!" "How ah you?" "See you at the Chinese tonight?" "How ah you?"
Reece pointed out the celebrities to Clayton (Tarzan). One or two of the names were familiar to the stranger, but they all looked so much alike and talked so much alike, and said nothing when they did talk, that Clayton was soon bored.
Did Burroughs' parody resemble the actual scene in Tinseltown?
EH: Probably most Hollywood restaurants were a bit like that, with the usual insincere comments and gorgeous starlets on the make, but by then I was used to it and probably thought it was normal. I adored the Brown Derby. It was great fun, it was casual, and they had the world's best salad, called the Cobb Salad -- I've never had such a good salad, and that was what I always ate when I went there. They had celebrity drawings on the walls. They were caricatures, and you knew you had made it when they put yours up. But my favourite restaurant was the original Romanoff's. Oh, boy, did I ever love it. It was the best place to meet people. That was where I started my friendship with Orson Welles, one of the most interesting and brilliant men on Earth.
It was so much fun in those days! It was casual, it was glamorous, and you could park anywhere in Beverly Hills. There weren't any of those ruinous high-rises that wrecked Beverly Hills -- just cute little buildings, and no smog. I can't tell you how wonderful it was. There I was in this glamorous, exciting town, and people accepted me, and invited me to their parties. It was really a remarkable thing to have happen to a dopey girl from a little town outside St. Louis!
TCC: Burroughs' scene painted a very superficial, or shallow image of the Hollywood crowd, but the people you knew seemed quite the opposite -- very genuine and caring.
EH: Well, of course there were always the predatory men and the silly little twits -- the girls who are trying to sleep their way around. But overall, no, I don't have any criticisms of them. I loved them.
TCC: Now you've mentioned that much of the information found about you on the Internet is false. We'd love to help you set the record straight...
EH: (big laugh) I did NOT date Harry Karl! Oh, it's so infuriating! I don't know how these things happen. I think the press agents of these men sent out information to get publicity for these creepy guys.
TCC: HAHA!
EH: Oh, I was furious when I saw that! And it's still there, in print on the Internet, that I dated some of these incredibly sleazy men, that I hadn't even met. The truth is, I got married quickly to a prominent, handsome, wealthy businessman.
TCC: William Hollingsworth, right?
EH: Bill Hollingsworth, yes, and I was protected from all that. I didn't date those creepy guys! (laughs)
TCC: Anything else you'd like to debunk?
EH: Almost everything they've written about me is false. (laughing) It would take a book to try to tell you all about it.
TCC: In our past conversations, you've been so modest, even downplaying the significance of your acting career, though you've shared the screen with many Hollywood legends. Please tell us what you remember most about working with the following:
Rock Hudson in "Magnificent Obsession".
EH: Sweet as pie. A really, really nice guy. Fun, cute sense of humor, loved classical music, gentle. Everyone loved Rock. We all knew he was gay, but the press liked him a lot, and never "outed" him. Of course, once he had AIDS it was impossible to keep it quiet that he was gay.
TCC: That's amazing... Back then, you could keep a secret like that, but these days, the "stalkerazzi" and the scandal rags would be all over such a story.
EH: Yes, that's one of the things that's so wrong about what's going on. My God, these poor people having all these awful stories told about them. I'm not surprised that they lash out at the paparrazzi... I would do it, too!
TCC: And the press were generally more respectful at the time, right?
EH: Oh, absolutely. And of course, not of everybody, but when they liked them, they wouldn't dream of saying nasty things. Rock was really very protected.
TCC: Jack Palance in "Sign of the Pagan".
EH: Jack Palance... He was nice, I liked him. He was talented, and very obsessive about his work. Very involved in his acting focus. I didn't have any problem with him, but Ludmilla Tcherina, who was the star of the movie, wasn't crazy about him because in one of their scenes he grabbed her and shook her so hard that her arms were covered in black and blue marks. She showed it to me, and was very upset about it. I didn't have anything to do in that movie, and I doubt you would even notice me.
TCC: Clark Gable in "The King and Four Queens".
EH: Oh, Clark was absolutely adorable. I loved him to pieces. When they told me I was up for that part, I really wanted it, but I didn't think I had a chance. They tested four girls at the same time, and I was in the dressing room, shaking like a leaf, when it was my turn. So out I went, and sat down on a log on the set, while they lit me. Lights were glaring at me, and in minutes the most famous face in the world arrived and sat down and said, "Hello, Beautiful!" (laughing) and in about three minutes he was kissing me... it was part of the scene! And I was thinking to myself, here I am, kissing the most famous man in the world, and we had never even been introduced! But that's Hollywood!
TCC: Wow!
EH: Clark was a darling, all the way thru the movie. Oh, and I must tell you something Clark did, that indicates the kind of a man he was. I was very inexperienced, and when that happens most actors try to upstage. You know, they'll grab you if you have a scene where it's appropriate, and twist you so that the back of your head and his front are shot. But not Clark... We had this scene, where I was too stupid to get myself into the right position, and he put his hands on my upper arms, and so gently pulled me around so I'd be in the picture. It's very unusual, as so few actors do that, but he did it and it was very kind of him.
TCC: John Cassavetes in "Affair in Havana".
EH: Don't get me going on him (laughing)... We spent two months in Cuba filming and got to know each other pretty well. I was supposed to be married to Raymond Burr and hate him, and have an affair with John, and love him. This was not easy, because Ray was such a darling and John was not the nicest man on Earth. He didn't like me because we were the same height, and he felt insecure because he wasn't taller than I was.
TCC: I've read that in many films, a shorter actor will stand on a box or something to get around that...
EH: Well, that would have been difficult, because we had lots of long shots.
TCC: And I was surprised when I learned that for other actors, they actually built reduced-scale sets to create the illusion that they were taller.
EH: They did build a trench for Sophia Loren to walk in when she and Alan Ladd worked together. He was short, so they shot them at waist height, and you couldn't see the trench. (TCC: This was in 1957's "Boy On A Dolphin". Ladd also stood on a box in 1958's "Deep Six". Coincidentally, many consider this great actor's finest film to be "Shane", which was the inspiration for Elaine's stage name.)
TCC: And this leads us to an actor in our favorite of all your films -- Sean Connery in "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure"!
EH: Oh, he's absolutely adorable. You know how small a part he had in that movie, but he really stood out. I was living in London in those days, and when location was over and we returned to London, I called all of my friends who were in the picture business (laughing) -- well, practically everybody I knew was in the picture business -- and I said, "I've come across this actor who's going to be a HUGE star, and you've got to meet him!" So some of them did, but most didn't. And one of them actualy tested him for a part in a movie called "Malaga". (TCC: Released in 1960 as "Moment of Danger" -- "Malaga" was the U.S. title) He did not get the part... They gave it to Edmond Purdom, if you can imagine. So Sean didn't get the part, and guess what happened? If he had gotten that part, he wouldn't have been available for the Bond movie.
TCC: This was after "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure"?
EH: Right after. They tested him while we were still doing interiors in London.
TCC: So just getting that one part would have kept him from becoming Bond!
EH: Unless they had been willing to wait two months, which was unlikely.
TCC: As we have now come to the subject, tell us about "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure", which was your final feature film. How did you get the role, and were you excited about it?
EH: I love that movie. I loved doing it, and had a most wonderful time. It's kind of an interesting story. I was in London, and I met Robert Helpmann, a famous ballet star and director, and a marvelous man. He wanted to put me in a lead in a play he was directing on the West End. Nothing's bigger than that for an actress -- to be starring in a play on the West End of London. Number One. So I was really excited. He gave me the script, coached me in the part, and then had me audition in front of the people who were financing it. I got the part! I was going to star in London. It would have been incredible -- so exciting!
So, guess what? Actors' Equity turned me down. They threatened to start a strike if they didn't give the part to an English actress. I was heartbroken! One day later, I got a phone call, "Come in for an interview... We're interested in you for a Tarzan movie." And I thought, oh, crikey. A Tarzan movie? What a comedown from starring in the West End with one of the best theatre directors. But I went, and (laughing) the next thing you know, I was flying to Africa!
TCC: Were you a Tarzan fan before this, either of the books or the films?
EH: No, no. Not at all. I'd seen Lex Barker, who was a gorgeous Tarzan, and had a fantastic body. Really wonderful as Tarzan, and I think I'd seen him in one Tarzan movie.
TCC: You know, he later had quite a run making films in Germany. He made films in several countries, actually.
EH: Yes, he worked quite a lot in Europe. We were friends in Hollywood. We saw him a lot at parties and played tennis with him. He was a really good athlete. Then, we ran into each other frequently during the years I was racing around Europe, having a ball. I'd bump into him lots of places, film festivals and things, but we never worked together.
TCC: What was it like shooting on location in Africa? Do you have any special memories?
EH: Absolutely fabulous. I had never been to Africa, but I've been there four times since then, because I fell in love with it. On the way from the airport to our hotel, Anthony Quayle and I were sitting in the car together, with the two of us going, "Oh, look at that! Look at the giraffe! Look at this, look at that!" We were so excited! Then of course, we had a long drive to get to Thika, the place where we were actually shooting. And when we were there, in this very, very rough part of Africa, he and I just didn't think about safety. We wandered around, going, "Oh, let's go down here... let's look at this, look at that!" We had a ball together, because we were both complete tourists, I guess, having a wonderful time! After shooting, we'd even go down and swing from the trees! (laughing) They had it all set up, and it was so much fun!
TCC: I bet it was! Now, Gordon Scott was a larger-than-life hero to so many of his fans. What do you remember of working with Gordon, and do you have any special anecdotes for us?
EH: I have one heavenly anecdote! First of all, Gordon was so funny. He had the most wonderful sense of humor -- you'd never meet anybody funnier than Gordon. Now, to me that shows intelligence -- he could take anything and make it funny. You don't come across many people like that, so I know he was really bright.
So Gordon and Sean and Tony and I were inseparable. We were always together, and when we'd go places we'd see to it that we got in the same car. We had so many laughs, so much fun. This was not a rich production, and so we had to walk to the set. The cars would stop, and then off we'd go, and sometimes it would take 45 minutes to walk thru the jungle, or go wading thru streams, hopping from rock to rock, to get in to where we were shooting. Some of the scenery was really beautiful -- you know that, because you've seen the film. Well, that was fine, because I was in great shape, no problem. And then we'd work all day, we'd run around in the heat... (It was very hot, so it was hard work). And one day, by the end of the day, I was "knackered" as we say in Australia, and I think I swayed a little bit, and Gordon looked at me and said, "Are you ok?" I said, "I'm really tired," and the next thing you know, he picked me up, tossed me over his shoulder like a little sack of potatoes, and carried me out of the jungle! It was so cute...
TCC: Though your character in the film was named Angie, I've heard fans describe her as more closely resembling the Jane of the books than any of the actual Janes before. Not surprisingly, I later read you've also been voted "Best Non-Jane in a Tarzan Movie".
EH: (laughs) I thought Jane was a nice girl from a nice family who got stranded and then married Tarzan. I haven't read the books, so I don't know.
TCC: Well, from the Hollywood tradition, she was sort of this happy homemaker jungle wife, but in the books she actually became quite a capable woman -- quite a survivor. Was there any intention to make Angie a Jane-like character, or was it coincidence?
EH: Oh, not at all. They wanted her to be a good-time girl, a party girl.
TCC: I always found it strange that in my copy of "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure", one scene fades out as Tarzan pulls Angie down for a kiss, and the next time you see them, they're arguing as she prepares to leave him. I've heard that some footage (i.e., a "kissing scene") was cut from the theatrical release. If this is so, please describe what was removed.
EH: No, not true. That was it. That's all we shot. They didn't want to shock the little kiddies by bringing sex into the movie.
TCC: It gives the impression that there is something missing, because it goes instantly from a romantic prelude to a tiff between them. Maybe it's just that she was starting to care for him...
EH: She wants him to leave the jungle and come home with her, and he won't do it. And so she knows he's going to go off and try to kill Slade, and she doesn't want him to get killed.
TCC: Well, that's another long-time rumor that we get to debunk!
EH: Yes! And I think I'm the only one left alive who can tell you that! Not really, though, because John Guiillerman, the director, is still alive.
TCC: HAHA! We have an exclusive! Now, after the climactic battle with Slade, Tarzan looks down at Angie's boat as it continues down the river, and then he turns and heads off into the brush. I wasn't clear... did the scene infer that he had a change of heart and went to catch up with Angie, or that he gave her one last glance before continuing on alone?
EH: No, just one last look at the girl disappearing down the river. That's all it was.
TCC: From what I understand, many of the major players were invited back for Gordon's next film, "Tarzan the Magnificent" (though only Al Mulock returned).
EH: I wasn't invited back, and I don't think Tony Quayle was. Of course his character, Slade, was dead by then. You know they killed him. They killed Sean Connery in the movie and they killed Tony.
TCC: Again, there is a lot of false information out there, but I'd read that both Quayle and Connery had been invited to return -- not in the same roles of course, but as different characters. Also read that Sean Connery on turning them down offered to be in the next one. It seemed more normal back then to have actors reappear as different characters within a series. Jock Mahoney for instance played villains in two Tarzan films, before and after playing Tarzan himself.
EH: Well, frankly, I doubt that is true, I really do, because Tony Quayle was a big actor with a great deal of dignity, and he had a great part in that movie, and he wouldn't have done such a thing. And of course, Sean was working on the Bond movie. But Al Mulock... I'm interested, I didn't know that Al worked in another Tarzan.
TCC: Yes, he was back for "Tarzan the Magnificent" as another villain -- one of the Banton brothers. Back to Sean, my info came from the book "Tarzan Of The Movies" by Gabe Essoe, which seems to quote Sean after he'd been optioned for Bond, but before filming had begun. Of course he had no idea at the time how successful that movie would become, or what it would lead to.
EH: After starring as Bond, there was no way he would do that, a little low-budget Tarzan movie... no, no, no, no...
TCC: There is conflicting info on why Gordon left the Tarzan series. Some say he wanted to avoid typecasting and declined to continue in the role, and others say that producers wanted to take the character in a new direction, opting instead for a leaner representation of the ape-man (Jock Mahoney). Do you know the truth either way, or did Gordon ever discuss the topic?
EH: I have no idea. I totally lost track of Gordon, I'm sorry to say, because it's very sad when you lose track of people that you like. And that happens on almost all movies -- you meet people, and you enjoy being with them, and then you never see them again. It's really sad. Of course, I did see Tony again, because I was in New York when he was doing "Sleuth" on the stage. So we got together then. But I haven't seen any of the other people.
TCC: "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" was critically acclaimed, and is considered by many fans as one of the best, if not the best of the series, though I've read when it was released it performed very poorly at the box office. Is this true, and if so, was it just a case of bad timing?
EH: (laughs) I have no idea. I was in London when it was released, and I have a picture of myself at the theater where it opened, standing in front of the poster of Gordon carrying me. That's the last I ever heard of Tarzan. That was the end of it, nobody said a word to me about how it did, and then I moved to Paris. Oh, by the way, I saw it in Paris, dubbed into French. That really knocked me out, to see myself speaking French! But you have evidence that the Tarzan movie did not do well financially? I don't understand, because it was an excellent film with a good script, marvellous actors, and good direction. It probably got a bad release.
TCC: It should have been the "Batman Begins" or "Casino Royale" of its time -- a real "reboot" of the series (sans origin story). The challenge as with many major franchises was to overcome a waning audience caused by too many lackluster entries. In his book "Celluloid Adventures: Good Movies, Bad Timing", Nick Anez credits the excellence of the movie, but primarily blames the poor box office take on Paramount's horrendous marketing choices. In America, they decided to release it as the bottom half of a double-feature, paired with either a Jerry Lewis picture or a horror film, so the target audience was incorrect to begin with.
EH: I also think that the Tarzan movies became passe', and all sorts of other things became more popular.
TCC: Luckily with time, though, "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure" survived and became the fan favorite it is today! Speaking of time... Wow! It goes by fast! We have just a few more questions. Looking back at your whole career, is there anything you would have chosen to do differently?
EH: Everything! (laughing) For one thing, I would not have gone into acting. I would have done something else with my life. Although I had an incredible amount of fun, and it opened up doors for me that were unattainable in other ways, I think I would have been better off developing my brains. On the other hand, I might not have gotten into what I'm doing now without that background. All the experience I had in television, radio, theater, stage and films gave me confidence in front of crowds. Because of that, I can talk to an audience of a thousand people without a moment's nervousness, and talk without a script for hours.
TCC: So it really prepared you as a public speaker?
EH: Oh, yes, it was a stepping stone. What I'm doing now is the best thing I've ever done in my life, both for pleasure and for helping people. And it's a marvelous feeling to be able to do that, because the days when I was in films, I was pretty empty-headed, trying to make a buck and keep my head above water, and support my family. But now there are some pretty important thoughts going around in my head, such as exposing Big Pharma and the corrupt governments that permit them to poison people.
TCC: Elaine, thanks again so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us, and before the curtain closes, is there anything you'd like to say to your fans?
EH: Well, who? My one fan out there? How can I have any fans? (laughing) It's weird that anyone is still interested in me... that was 50 years ago!
TCC: HAHA! Well, that's the thing about the Internet... it breeds new fans!
EH: Yes it really does! The Internet is astonishing, and it's our best weapon against the "bad guys."
All I can say to those few fans of mine out there, and the millions of Tarzan fans, is... take care of yourselves. Don't get into the clutches of the pharmaceutical industry. They want to kill you with their drugs, and I'm talking about legal drugs -- they are worse than the illegal ones! :-)
Copyright © 2007 by Sky Brower and Elaine Hollingsworth
Text may not be duplicated in any form without express
permission from the authors.
Text may not be duplicated in any form without express
permission from the authors.
This interview was conducted via phone on July 9, 2007, and is the second in our Gordon Scott Tribute Series.
Many think of Elaine Hollingsworth as a health advocate and author of several books, but might ask what connection she has to the world of Tarzan. Well, classic film buffs might know her better as Sara Shane, one of the hottest new starlets of the 1950s, who lists among her many acting credits a starring role as Angie opposite Gordon Scott in "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure"!
And speaking of adventures, the ones she's lived in real life rival anything seen on screen! From Hollywood, to Haiti, to Africa, to her current home of Australia, join Tarzan.CC as Elaine shares with us about her travels, her book, "Take Control of Your Health and Escape the Sickness Industry", her experiences in Tinseltown, and of course, her memories of working with Gordon Scott!
Many think of Elaine Hollingsworth as a health advocate and author of several books, but might ask what connection she has to the world of Tarzan. Well, classic film buffs might know her better as Sara Shane, one of the hottest new starlets of the 1950s, who lists among her many acting credits a starring role as Angie opposite Gordon Scott in "Tarzan's Greatest Adventure"!
And speaking of adventures, the ones she's lived in real life rival anything seen on screen! From Hollywood, to Haiti, to Africa, to her current home of Australia, join Tarzan.CC as Elaine shares with us about her travels, her book, "Take Control of Your Health and Escape the Sickness Industry", her experiences in Tinseltown, and of course, her memories of working with Gordon Scott!
I'll always remember Gordon Scott
the way he was when we were running around in Kenya -- young,
strong and incredibly healthy. I'll never forget the hot, steamy
day when I was knackered and he tossed me over his shoulder and carried
me out of the jungle. Great fun, and a real iron man. Elaine Hollingsworth, April, 2007
