Love, Kindness and Compassion | Anne Archer

INTERVIEW BY HEIDI MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY BY IRWIN MILLER

Actress and Activist, Anne Archer, along with her husband, Writer/Director/Producer, Terry Jastrow, open their doors to celebrate love and raise awareness for human rights.

“I first met Anne Archer in LA in an acting class in 1977,” says Terry in a smooth, Texan drawl, using his wife’s full name as he gazes lovingly at her from across the room. “It was the greatest moment of my life.” After 40 years of marriage, Terry Jastrow is clearly still Anne’s #1 biggest fan. A close family friend reveals that Terry often, in conversation, still refers to her as his girlfriend. No, there is no shortage of love in this house. No shortage of kindness, generosity and compassion either.

“We’ve hosted seven weddings here. All seven are still going strong.” Terry chuckles.

The couple bought the house shortly after the release of Anne’s box office smash, Fatal Attraction (1987), the classic psychological thriller for which she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Built in 1959, the house possesses a European feel. Its open-flow, indoor/outdoor style, combined with the lush gardens, gravel pathways, wisteria vines, and copious amounts of lavender is quite Italianesque in a loose perfection. The property boasts 6 different places to eat and four of them are outside. In the living room, the hue of the moss-green sofas draws one’s eye out through the glass windows into the yard beyond.

“The house is not defined by its walls, but rather by its outside fences.” Terry points out.

The property has gone through various renovations and expansions over the years. Recent upgrades include a much larger and brighter kitchen, all new floors and a complete overhaul of the family room.

Originally from Midland, Texas, Terry fell into show business at a young age when an unexpected opportunity landed him a job at ABC Sports. At age 22, he became the youngest producer in television history and has since been nominated for 17 Emmy Awards, winning 7. He produced and directed six Olympics Games and directed both the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. Terry is a published novelist, award winning playwright and produced screenwriter.

Opposite The kitchen was designed by Anne Morgan. The tile is Mediterranean 6 from Tabarka Studio.

When it came time to find an interior and landscape designer for the house, Anne looked no further than her closest friend of 25 years, Anne Morgan (who goes by Morgan). This fellow Academy Award nominee’s day job is as a full-time, on-set hairstylist to such A-listers as Jim Carrey, Anne Hathaway, Reese Witherspoon, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Connelly, Margo Robbie and, of course, Anne herself.

“I used to hate to cook in that little kitchen. Now I cook every night.” She says. “And Morgan did it all. She picked out the tile, she told me which appliances to buy and where to buy them… texting me photos day and night from the makeup trailers of one of the three movies she was working on at the time. She’s incredibly talented. I couldn’t have done this without her.”

“This has really been a beautiful, artistic endeavor by Anne and Morgan. It’s like a canvas for them and it’s been a constant, never-ending work of art,” adds Terry.

In the heart of the house sits the master bedroom, through which one must pass to reach the secluded, jasmine-lined courtyard equipped with both a Jacuzzi and outdoor shower.

“We were filming (the movie) Patriot Games in London and were supposed to meet Harrison Ford for lunch but he was running late. When he arrived, he explained that he was staying at the Savoy Hotel and was in love with the showerheads. The manager had sent him to Czech & Speake on Jermyn Street to get one. Several days later, we were down on Jermyn Street, found the shop and got one too,” says Terry.

In a city where location is everything, their home’s placement on the map is equally remarkable. Tucked into a sleepy neighborhood in Brentwood, full of cul-de-sacs, great hikes and winding horse trails, the neighborhood gets virtually no through traffic. There are also 5 golf courses within a 10-minute drive, which for Terry, who was a 7 time Emmy Award winning producer/director at ABC Sports for over 25 years, is a massive bonus.

“Where this house is situated has arguably the best weather in the world.” he explains. “It does so because there is a micro-climate here. The cooling air from the ocean makes its way inland at the same time the hot air from the desert makes its way here. There is about a quarter of a mile area, a rectangle, where those two masses meet each other so that, on hot days, it’s a little cooler here and on cool days it’s a little warmer.”

It is a combination of these elements that make it an ideal location for a ceremony or special event of any kind. A longtime friend married his bride here last year, under a canopy of olive trees in the side yard, timed perfectly to align with the setting sun.

In addition to nuptials, the couple frequently hosts salons for Anne’s non-profit organization, Artists for Human Rights (AFHR) Hope and Human Rights Speaker Series, whose purpose is to raise awareness of human rights and their abuses and create global solutions by utilizing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“It’s a document that everyone should know by heart, yet most people don’t even know what it is,” she says.

Past speakers have included Kerry Kennedy, President of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization, José Ramos-Horta, the former prime minister and later president of East Timor who earned a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in bringing independence to his country, and organizations such as John Prendergast’s The Enough Project whose mission is to support peace and put an end to mass atrocities in Africa’s deadliest conflict zones, and Voices4Freedom which frees villages in India from generational slavery.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a historic document that was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, consisting of 30 articles. What follows is an abridged version. The full text is available on the United Nations website at www.un.org.

By providing a platform for these rights to be shared, discussed, supported and defended, Anne and Terry are making the world a better place, one salon at a time.

For more information, please visit www.artistsforhumanrights.org.