ENFANTS TERRIBLE: 31 HATEFUL MOVIE/TV CHILDREN

One of the many reasons that I never wanted kids (I can no longer get pregnant…THANK GOD) is that you can’t possibly predict how those little whippersnappers will turn out.

Ever.

Case in point is this dandy picture gallery from our awesome friends over at good old EW, which features some very, very nasty little boys and girls – 31 of them in all.

Here are the ones that I love to hate:

REGINA GEORGE (RACHEL McADAMS) – MEAN GIRLS

STEFF (JAMES SPADER) – PRETTY IN PINK

THE HEATHERS (SHANNEN DOHERTY, LISANNE FALK & KIM WALKER) – HEATHERS

BRIONY TALLIS (SAOIRSE RONAN) – ATONEMENT

For the whole damn thing, please go here

SERENA WINS WIMBLEDON…AGAIN

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

I am thrilled to bits.

I LOVE the Williams sisters. SERENA is, of course, my favourite.

Well done, you goddess…

SERENA WILLIAMS kept telling herself she was facing just another foe in the WIMBLEDON final earlier today.

Just another woman who hits the ball quite hard. Just another player trying to deny her a GRAND SLAM title…

She wasn’t facing just anyone, of course. She was playing her older sister VENUS.

And when the latest all Williams final finished, when SERENA wrapped up a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory for a third WIMBLEDON championship and 11th major title overall, she jogged to the net with her arm extended for a handshake.

VENUS pulled her close for a warm embrace instead.

“I didn’t think about VENUS at all today. I just saw her as an opponent,” remarked SERENA, who also beat her sister in the 2002 and 2003 finals at the ALL ENGLAND CLUB.

“At one point, after the first set, I looked on the side of the court at the stats and it was like WILLIAMS/WILLIAMS. I couldn’t figure out which was which.”

That also might have been because she was facing the only other woman who can equal her power and court coverage on grass courts. Monday’s rankings will say SERENA is #2, and VENUS #3 behind #1 DINARA SAFINA, a 6-1, 6-0 loser to the elder Williams in the semifinals.

But it is startlingly clear who the best woman in the world is at the moment.

SERENA has won three of the past four GRAND SLAM titles and even poked a little fun at Ms. Safina, who is 0-3 in major finals.

“If you hold three GRAND SLAM titles, maybe you should be #1, but not on the WTA Tour, obviously,” SERENA commented. Then, alluding sarcastically to two less than major events won by Ms. Safina, SERENA doubled over in laughter.

“I see myself as #2. That’s where I am. I think DINARA did a great job to get to #1. She won ROME and MADRID.”

At this point, SERENA leads in GRAND SLAM titles (11-7), in head to head matches (11-10) and in all Williams major finals (6-2).

It was the 14th GRAND SLAM final for each Williams; no other active woman has participated in more than four. SERENA is 11-3 in such matches. VENUS fell to 7-7, with all but one defeat coming against her sister.

Asked if it’s easier or harder losing to a sibling, five time WIMBLEDON champion VENUS said: “There’s no easy to losing, especially when it’s so close to the crown.”

She was the two time defending champion and had won 20 matches in a row at WIMBLEDON, the last 17 in straight sets. But VENUS appeared a step slow, perhaps bothered by the left knee that’s been heavily bandaged since the second round – although she refused to place blame there.

“She played so well, really lifted her game,” VENUS said. “I had an error here and there. Today, I couldn’t make errors.”

SERENA had more winners, 25-14, more aces, 12-2, and fewer unforced errors, 12-18.

About 3 1/2 hours after their match ended, SERENA and VENUS returned to Centre Court and capped their domination of the tournament by winning a second consecutive WIMBLEDON doubles championship. The sisters beat AUSTRALIANS SAMANTHA STOSUR and RENNAE STUBBS 7-6 (4), 6-4 to collect their ninth womens’ doubles GRAND SLAM title, fourth at WIMBLEDON.

“Nothing like winning a title with your sister,” SERENA affirmed.

That’s right: a quick turnaround from opponents to teammates. But they’re used to this routine. They’re still coached by their parents, who began teaching them the game 20 something years ago in Compton, California. They still share a house during WIMBLEDON. They still practice together.

During the singles final, the Centre Court crowd of about 15,000 was not all together sure for whom to cheer, going stretches without supporting either sister.

As they walked to the sideline at the first changeover, crossing paths, the sisters avoided any eye contact whatsoever. SERENA looked down at her racket, fiddling with the strings, the way she does against anyone else.

Surnames usually suffice when chair umpires announce the score, but that wouldn’t work for Saturday’s official, ALISON LANG, who needed to use first names, as in: “Ms. VENUS WILLIAMS leads, 2 games to 1, first set.”

The wind swirled, the sun was bright as it peeked out from behind scattered clouds and VENUS kept catching her tosses on serves. That was the part of her game that was most dominant this fortnight and the thing that let her down the most against SERENA.

VENUS wound up with more double faults (three) than aces, and she was broken twice. SERENA, meanwhile, saved the only two break points she faced.

Both came while SERENA trailed 4-3 in the opening set, serving at 15-40. On the first, SERENA hit a 94 mph serve to the backhand side that VENUS returned wide. On the second, SERENA charged forward and VENUS had a wide open court. But she pushed a forehand passing try long.

“Went for a little too much,” VENUS said.

From deuce, SERENA hit two aces, at 105 mph and 116 mph, to pull out the game.

They went to a tiebreaker and SERENA closed it with a lob that curled like a rainbow over her sister and landed in, no easy task when you consider VENUS is 6 foot 1.

SERENA wheeled around, her back to the court and quickly celebrated with a pump of a fist, although no yells of “Yes!” or “Come on!” – one tiny indication that she couldn’t completely banish from her mind the thought that VENUS was on the other side of that net.

Then SERENA walked to the sideline, her left fist clenched and her face blank.

The second set wasn’t nearly as competitive, with SERENA breaking to a 4-2 lead when VENUS double faulted. That was part of an eight point run for SERENA, whose only real trouble came when she tried to seal the victory.

She wasted her first three match points, before VENUS dropped a backhand into the net on the fourth. SERENA closed her eyes, rolled her head back and dropped to her knees.

She lost WIMBLEDON finals to MARIA SHARAPOVA in 2004, and to her sister last year – and really wanted to end her six year gap without a title from this tournament.

Her trophy in tow (it’s called, coincidentally, the VENUS ROSEWATER DISH) SERENA went to check out the board that lists WIMBLEDON’S champions. She ran her fingers over all of those references to S. WILLIAMS and V. WILLIAMS in gold type on a green background.

In eight of the past 10 years, one or the other appears.

“Actually, I felt like my name should have been there at least once more,” SERENA stated. “At least I got in another one.”

She almost didn’t. In the semifinals Friday, SERENA was one point from losing to #4 ELENA DEMENTIEVA before coming back. She’s only the second woman in the 41 year OPEN era to rally from match point down on the way to winning WIMBLEDON.

The other? VENUS in 2005.

SERENA is making a habit of such escapes. She also saved match points en route to AUSTRALIAN OPEN championships in 2003 and 2005.

“The match is never over,” SERENA noted, “until you shake the opponent’s hand.”

Or, as was the case today, until you hug her.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND

Believe me. I’m never early.

I’m an actor. Gotta make those conspicuous entrances, you know. Timing is everything.

So this may be a bit premature but…

If you’re American, Happy Independence Day. If not, enjoy your lovely summer weekend.

As my gift to y’all, here’s the opening scene of WOODY ALLEN’S masterpiece MANHATTAN – with fireworks and everything.

Live it up while you can…

15 TIMELESS COMING OF AGE FILM SOUNDTRACKS

Our fabulous friends from EW have a splendid compilation on tap. They have showcased a number of notable soundtracks from some terrific films about growing up and finally finding out what you’re made of.

Here are my favourites. Check these out…

THE GRADUATE
MUSIC BY SIMON & GARFUNKEL
MRS. ROBINSON
THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE
SCARBOROUGH FAIR

ALMOST FAMOUS
TINY DANCER – ELTON JOHN
SPARKS – THE WHO
EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY – ROD STEWART
IT WOULDN’T HAVE MADE ANY DIFFERENCE – TODD RUNDGREN

REALITY BITES
ALL I WANT IS YOU – U2
TEMPTED – SQUEEZE
MY SHARONA – THE KNACK

JUNO
SEA OF LOVE – CAT POWER
WELL RESPECTED MAN – THE KINKS
ALL THE YOUNG DUDES – MOTT THE HOOPLE
EXPECTATIONS – BELLE & SEBASTIAN

For the whole damn thing, please go here

SMOOTH SAILING FOR WILCO

From THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

When it’s remarked to JEFF TWEEDY while walking backstage at the recent Bonnaroo Music Festival that it’s a shame he won’t have time to catch most of the festival’s other acts, he turns and smiles.

“Yeah, well…I don’t really like music.”

The WILCO songwriter and front person is, of course, an obsessive music listener. And on the band’s new CD, WILCO (THE ALBUM), JEFF exuberantly expresses his love of both rock music and its fans.

On the album’s tongue in cheek opener, WILCO (THE SONG), JEFF sings: Do you dabble in depression? Is someone twisting a knife in your back? Wilco will love you, baby.

The song – like the CD’S arch title – is a bit of a goof. But it’s also an earnest ode to WILCO fans and, more generally, to rock music aficionados.

JEFF said the song isn’t necessarily about WILCO loving you, but the feeling of connecting with any musician.

“Does music provide a consolation that you can’t find anywhere else in most people’s lives? I would say yes,” JEFF mused.

“I don’t see any reason not to acknowledge that in an exuberant kind of way.”

On WILCO’S seventh CD – and first to retain the same lineup – JEFF TWEEDY & COMPANY have seemingly arrived at a plateau in their career. They’re confident and exceptionally relaxed.

JEFF refers to the record as a “WHITMAN sampler of the different aspects and obsessions of WILCO.” He believes that that came out of a five night residency they held last year in their home town of Chicago that forced the band to lay “some claim of ownership” to the varied WILCO catalogue.

ROLLING STONE called the album “a thrilling triumph of determined simplicity by a band that has been running from the obvious for most of this decade.”

The WILCO mythology was forged on their 2002 CD YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT. It was hailed as an experimental classic and as exhibit A for the senselessness of the music industry. WILCO’S label REPRISE RECORDS didn’t like it and released them from their contract. NONESUCH RECORDS picked it up and it went on to sell more than 500,000 copies. Their next record, 2004’s A GHOST IS BORN, won a GRAMMY for BEST ALTERNATIVE MUSIC ALBUM.

Each WILCO CD has seemed like part of an ongoing narrative for the band – a new direction on each. JEFF, though, thinks their progressiveness has been overstated.

On each record, he sees the ramshackle, psychedelic alt/country associated with 1996’s BEING THERE, the impressionistic, chopped up approach of YANKEE HOTEL FOXTROT and the laid back folkiness of 2007’s SKY BLUE SKY.

“This record kind of illustrates that all these records that people have always looked at as being so wildly different from each other, aren’t really that different from each other.”

“They all contain a song that is sort of like JESUS ETC. All of them. Even A.M.(their 1994 debut). There’s always been a softer, pop, kind of folky tune. Every other record has a fair amount of dissonance.”

If JEFF and WILCO have in recent years seemingly moved lighter and more confidently, it hasn’t been easy to arrive at such a point.

The singer has suffered chronic migraines his entire life and ignored the problem until he had developed a dependence on painkillers. He entered rehab in 2004 and since has been able to keep the migraines in check. He also gave up smoking and drinking.

JEFF, who’s married and has children ages 13 and 9, says his creative life was always a functional, “relatively conflict free zone.” He thinks the idea of the tortured artist or drug abusing rock star is “such a thought distortion.”

“If anything, all the other stuff really inhibited it and made it harder. The problems and suffering grew out of an unwillingness to suffer, to face things that needed to be faced – an unwillingness to grow up.”

On May 24, JAY BENNETT, who left the band acrimoniously shortly before the release of YHF, died at the age of 45 of an overdose of a painkiller. Just weeks before, he had sued JEFF, claiming he was owed royalties.

“I don’t have any experience with any other type of loss in my life that compares. I haven’t talked to the guy in eight years and certainly a lot of ambivalence built up over time.”

“The bottom line is: It is tragic. He’s a brilliant musician and a smart guy and he should still be around.”

Like JEFF TWEEDY, drummer GLENN KOTCHE feels WILCO has finally arrived at a good place.

“It’s almost a bit unnerving that things are going so well,” joked GLENN.

“A lot of the issues in the past were because of membership changes or certain individuals or, obviously, personal issues with everyone and JEFF having to go into rehab.”

“Since all of those things are sorted out and we’ve got an ensemble now that we all like each other as people and respect as musicians and communicate on stage – it seems like things are really pretty smooth.”

STUDIOS IGNORING SPECIALTY FILMS

FROM VARIETY

The HEATH LEDGER movie THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS, which premiered at the CANNES FILM FESTIVAL, has yet to find a domestic distributor.

With the first half of the year in film festivals behind us, it’s hard not to notice the nearly complete lack of specialty film pickups by studios. Even
FOX SEARCHLIGHT, one of the few remaining studio specialty divisions, has been somewhat quiet.

Since picking up THE WRESTLER in TORONTO last fall, the label has made just one film fest purchase: ADAM, a small indie drama that played in SUNDANCE’S competition in January.

The consolidation of the indie and specialty division landscape is alarming to filmmakers and sales agents, but FOX SEARCHLIGHT isn’t exactly wild about it either.

“We don’t want to be the last person standing with the entire burden of specialized cinema resting on our shoulders,” SEARCHLIGHT’S acquisitions head TONY SAFFORD confided as he headed out for his late June vacation.

“Without NEW LINE and PARAMOUNT VANTAGE really being in the game, and without WARNER INDEPENDENT, suddenly there are 20 – 30 films that aren’t being distributed. Maybe half shouldn’t have been distributed. But half should have.”

JOHN SLOSS, who is representing domestic sales on two CANNES entries still looking for homes – TERRY GILLIAM’S THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS and ALEJANDRO AMENABAR’S AGORA – said the specialty business may be facing a sea change.

“I’ve been an optimist and a defender of the core elements of indie distribution. But it’s hard to explain the lack of presence of specialized distributors in the market.”

The indie divisions need movies to feed their pipelines. Yet, at every fest this year, they seemed to be sitting on their hands while SONY PCITURES CLASSICS, IFC FILMS and MAGNOLIA basically just back up the truck.

At CANNES, about a half dozen deals were inked by smaller stateside distributors and a few more pickups from the fest are likely to close in the coming months. But these deals barely cross the six figure mark and rarely go into multimillion dollar advances.

When it comes to the studio arms, these days it’s all about inhouse production, prebuys or, most typically, doing nothing.

“Unless we have control and can take the world on a film, we’re not going to go out on a huge limb,” remarked one studio buyer.

But even on prebuys, it’s not the studios stepping up to grab the more obvious titles.

BOB BERNEY and BILL POHLAD acquired JANE CAMPION’S CANNES competitor BRIGHT STAR well before the festival’s start. When BOB BERNEY was in LOS ANGELES this week, taking meetings with investors, he said prebuys may be the emphasis of his still to be named distribution company. But it’s not a new tactic for him.

At PICTUREHOUSE, he grabbed films like LA VIE EN ROSE and PAN’S LABYRINTH well before they were completed.

Sales agents and producers seem to be waiting for the right offers from the right distributors. But finding those has become appreciably trickier.

“There are always too few good films,” TONY SAFFORD stated.

“But now we’re in a place where there may be too few distributors.”

The distribution pool is being replenished – to some degree. But not at the major studios. Aside from BERNEY/POHLAD and mainstream aspirants such as SUMMIT and OVERTURE, a few indie newbies have entered or ramped up in the arena recently.

OSCILLOSCOPE, headed by Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, is now handling 10+ theatrical releases a year.

And home video company IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT has broadened its scope to theatrical releasing.

But, as many films remain unsold, producers will have to look to other options. These days that means short or no theatrical windows and video on demand plays through smaller distributors.

AUTHENTIC PARISIAN CHOCOLATES: LA MAISON DU CHOCOLAT

FROM THE HUFFINGTON POST

I couldn’t help myself. This post contains two of my favourite things in the entire world: chocolate and NEW YORK.

We do have some incredible chocolate shops in my west coast home town.

Having never tried them, I have no idea what LA MAISON DU CHOCOLAT’S products are like. But they do seem irresistibly tempting.

This article is authored by ELIZABETH O’NEILL.

I wasn’t sure quite what to expect but this certainly wasn’t it.

When I pushed open the large glass door into what appeared to be an expensive MADISON AVENUE jewelry store, I paused…fearing I had the wrong address. Two pairs of people stood scratching their chins, eyes locked to items in the large glass cases lining this elegant room. Classical music played softly in the background. Chandeliers glistened above.

When NORA HOVANESIAN MANN, the director of LA MAISON DU CHOCOLAT USA, welcomed me with a smile and led me up several steps to a back café area, I knew this was no ordinary chocolate shop.

Nora ordered me a chilled frappe – a kind of gourmet version of a milkshake – from a marble bar which I sipped while sitting down with her and GEOFFROY D’ANGLEJAN, the CEO of the company and the person responsible for expanding this PARIS based chocolatier to such locations as NEW YORK and LONDON.

This is his fifteenth year as head of LA MAISON DU CHOCOLAT and his enthusiasm is as thriving as it could possibly be. Not only does he seem a happy person by nature, but he is genuinely and unabashedly in love with his job.

“I love that when I sit at a dinner table with other CEOs of finance companies or energy companies, people nod impartially. But when they hear about my company, everyone becomes genuinely fascinated and wants to hear all about it.”

This natural love affair we have with chocolate is exactly what ROBERT LINXE, the founder and creative genius behind LA MAISON DU CHOCOLAT sought to capitalize on.

In 1955, when he opened his first chocolate workshop in an old wine cellar in PARIS, it was considered very daring to devote all of one’s time and energy purely to chocolate. Back then, PARISIANS only ate chocolate during EASTER and CHRISTMAS – and so this first LA MAISON DU CHOCOLAT boutique on 225 RUE DU FAUBORG seemed doomed for failure.

But Monsieur Linxe’s devotion to excellence and to creating one of the first and finest luxury chocolate shops in the world proved profitable beyond anyone’s expectations.

“There is absolutely no one like Robert,” Geoffroy D’Anglejan said sincerely, slicing a hand through the air.

“He is not just a pastry chef. He is a philosopher.”

And by looking around this NEW YORK boutique, anyone can see that Robert Linxe’s philosophy is rooted in the details.

“Everything is recorded,” Nora declares. Each day the temperatures from every USA store are taken, recorded and collected for review.

“The chocolate must be kept at a temperature of exactly 20 degrees centigrade to ensure the best quality.”

In order to guarantee freshness, there is also a carefully selected tasting committee with refined pallets who gather every ten days to evaluate the chocolate.

As Nora was explaining this process, I noticed a chef in a white hat walked in front of our table and enter a back room. Ah, I thought. There must be a kitchen in the back where all of the chocolate is made and all of these details affecting it controlled. But when I shared this thought, Geoffroy and Nora shook their heads vehemently.

“All of our chocolate is hand made in FRANCE,” Geoffroy assured me.

“While chocolate can be made anywhere, the ingredients in the chocolate, the factors responsible for flavor, taste differently depending on the country they are from. The cream in FRANCE tastes differently from the cream in the United States – and the rosemary and the saffron. To make sure that we are selling the same product everywhere, it all needs to be made in the same place.”

I was amazed.

Not only was the chocolate stored in perfect condition once it arrived in this boutique, it was shipped over here in perfect condition across the ocean. When asked how such a feat is possible, Nora laughed.

“The chocolate travels better than we do! First class.”

When asked what Monsieur Linxe’s secret was for success, Geoffroy says it all has to do with not only the perfect balance between the chocolate and the flavour, but, more importantly, the blend between different chocolates – Robert Linxe’s luxury chocolate has many different origins.

“There has to be a perfect balance and Robert is a genius for that. The chocolate cannot be too overwhelming and the flavour cannot be too overwhelming. Robert always said that when a product is good, it’s not good enough. It has to be exceptional.”

With the amount this CEO knows about the chocolate making process, anyone might confuse him with one of the pastry chefs. He has a keen awareness for Monsieur Linxe’s vision and, even though renowned pastry chef GILLES MARCHAL has taken over as creative director of the company, Geoffroy always keeps Robert’s vision at heart as he improves and expands the company. He even offers some creative input.

“It’s very important that we are not sacrificing quality for quantity. It gets difficult with our now twenty shops across the globes so we are going to perfect the process with this current number, and then we can think about growing.”

And when every single chocolate is hand made by highly trained pastry chefs in FRANCE, perfecting the process can take some time. But Geoffroy is hopeful for expansion and is the first CEO to capitalize on the internet as a marketing tool which, he says, has been extremely useful.

With three shops in NEW YORK CITY (one on MADISON AVENUE, one in ROCKEFELLER CENTER and one on WALL STREET), there are plenty of opportunities for NEW YORKERS to experience these mouth watering delicacies in an environment and with people who truly appreciate this most sacred dessert – and treat it with the respect we all know it deserves.

JUDE LAW’S HAMLET COMING TO BROADWAY

FROM PEOPLE

Ah, just when I remarked over at LIVING IN CINEMA that I wouldn’t mind being stuck here all summer…

God, I LOVE JUDE…

I would kill to see him do HAMLET.

JUDE LAW is about to vacillate – in front of everybody.

The actor, who’s currently starring in a DONMAR WAREHOUSE production of HAMLET, will bring the show to BROADWAY in SEPTEMBER, THE NEW YORK TIMES reports.

His HAMLET will play a 12 week run at the BROADHURST THEATER, with previews beginning SEPTEMBER 12, said the paper.

Reviews of JUDE’S performance have been particularly positive.

“He joins the modern pantheon of spellbinding sweet princes with a performance of rare vulnerability and emotional openness,” CHARLES SPENCER wrote in THE TELEGRAPH.

TIMES OF LONDON critic BENEDICT NIGHTINGALE called the actor “robust and tough.”

JUDE previously appeared on BROADWAY (nude…) in the 1995 play INDISCRETIONS with KATHLEEN TURNER.

Tickets go on sale JULY 18.

JOHNNY DEPP: 12 PROVOCATIVE QUOTES

Our fabulous friends at EW have a fascinating slideshow.

It has gorgeous pictures of the thoroughly awesome JOHNNY DEPP.

But it’s also packed with a variety of different quotes where he discusses (among other things) his career, his family, his views on cinema, the offbeat projects he chooses…

For the whole damn thing, please go here

THE PRIVATE FARRAH FAWCETT

FROM PEOPLE

FARRAH is scheduled to be laid to rest today.

I loved this article so I’m putting it up.

She seems exactly the way I imagined her: full of life, gutsy, great fun…

FARRAH was an extraordinary woman and artist. She will be never be forgotten.

To most of the world, she was the sex symbol with the flowing hair and dazzling smile. But Joan Dangerfield remembers FARRAH FAWCETT as the daredevil friend who took her out for a night of breaking and entering.

A few years ago, after the death of Joan’s husband, comedian Rodney Dangerfield, FARRAH stopped by her house in the LOS ANGELES hills with a bottle of tequila.

“We stayed up all night long, talking and laughing and making plans,” recalled Ms. Dangerfield.

“FARRAH decided that she wanted a house up here too.” They set out to investigate homes for sale.

“We rang the doorbell, but it was clear that nobody was home. The next thing I know, FARRAH climbed the gate – a big iron gate with spikes on top. I remember thinking she must have done her own stunts on CHARLIE’S ANGELS.”

“Within minutes she was waving at me from inside the house. Finally, she came bouncing back down the driveway and she said, ‘No, not for me. They have green toilets.’ ”

FARRAH, who died on June 25 at age 62 and will be honoured with a private funeral in LOS ANGELES today, was “genuinely funny and genuinely caring, the kind of friend who would show up with a German chocolate cake she baked from scratch and tell stories all night, acting out every part.”

Another long time friend, David Pinsky, recalls her competitive spirit.

“When I first moved to L.A., she bet me that she could easily outrace me. So up Mulholland Drive we went, at speeds I should never disclose, and guess who got there first?”

Yes, FARRAH – who, David Pinsky adds, never took herself or her fame too seriously. She would head out for Mexican food at her favorite dive restaurant in SHERMAN OAKS and graciously sign autographs.

“She would joke that she didn’t think her fan base extended to the Valley.”

When she returned to the LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN for the first time after her notoriously incoherent 1997 appearance, “her PR team ran around stressing,” David Pinsky remarked.

“All FARRAH seemed to care about was finding a great pair of shoes to wear on the show. She never had a great concern about what others thought of her. She simply wanted to have a good time, laugh and entertain.”

Even her 2½ year battle with cancer didn’t dim her personality.

“She remained kind and strong and funny even in the face of this vicious enemy,” commented Joan Dangerfield.

“When she would go in to get chemo or radiation and she’d see the other people suffering, she would talk to them. She’d want to know all their stories. And she was willing to share her story with others to lend them her strength.”

About a week before FARRAH died, Ms. Dangerfield visited her in the hospital. FARRAH had been weak, but that day, she sat up in bed and demanded a steak dinner. Ms. Dangerfield rushed to a restaurant for takeout, which FARRAH devoured.

“We sat on the bed and talked about fashion, Obama, just letting the conversation flow without a care. She said, ‘Shouldn’t we have music?’ The nurse pushed a button and on came a song with the line calling all angels. ”

“She was laughing. FARRAH breathed a different air. She was such a joy to be around.”