Life After 50 December 2015

LOS ANGELES METRO DECEMBER 2015

lifeafter50.com

southern california

JOHNNY

MATHIS

The man whose

MUSIC makes us merry

GREAT HOLIDAY

WINE

SUGGESTIONS

REMEMBERING

Nat King

Cole

The Multifaceted

Morgan

Fairchild The fascinating woman behind those piercing blue eyes

“THE GREATEST OF THE GREAT! IT MUST BE EXPERIENCED!” — Chrinstine Walevska, Goddess of Cello, watched Shen Yun 4 times

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here was a time when the world was full of magic and splendor, and all on Earth existed in harmony with Heaven. You could see it in the arts, feel it in the air, and hear it in the beat of a drum. This was a land of heroes and sages, dragons and phoenixes, emperors and immortals.

Known today as China, this place was once called “the Land of the Divine.”

What if you could journey back and visit this lost paradise?

Shen Yun brings the profound spirit of this lost civilization to life on stage with unrivaled artistic mastery. Every dance movement, every musical note, makes this a stunning visual and emotional experience you won’t find anywhere else.

Banned in communist China today, the non-profit Shen Yun is dedicated to reviving 5,000 years of civilization.

Experience the Arts connecting Heaven & Earth! Experience Shen Yun!

“ Mind-blowing! Go back and see six times!”

—Richard Connema, renowned Broadway critic

“Absolutely beautiful...

So inspiring; I think I may have found some new ideas for the next Avatar.”

“Absolutely the NO.1 show in the world, absolutely the best... No other company or of any style can match this!”

—Robert Stromberg, AcademyAward winning production designer for AVATAR

—Kenn Wells, former lead dancer of the English National Ballet

“It was a very spiritual experience and it moved me and I cried. I kept thinking, this is the highest and the best of what humans can produce.”

—Olevia Brown-Klahn, musician

MAR 19- APR 30, 2016 Claremont Long Beach Thousand Oaks Costa Mesa

Northridge Downtown LA

Bakersfield Santa Barbara

“Go see it to believe it, because otherwise, you are going to miss the most important thing in your life.”

—Joe Heard, former White House photographer, watched Shen Yun 5 times

Tickets: 800-880-0188 ShenYun.com Phoenix, AZ Las Vegas

Early Bird code: Early16 Get best seats & waive service fee by Dec.31

Scan for video

Contents

December 2015

10

20

26

30

Cover Profile

Departments

10 The Multifaceted Morgan Fairchild

6 50-Plus: What You Need to Know

There’s a fascinating woman behind those piercing blue eyes.

8 It’s The Law

Features 20 Don’t Be Alone For The Holidays Make finding that special someone the gift you give yourself this holiday season.

24 Wine-ing Through A Vino Wonderland Great suggestions for making the holidays merrier, brighter and jollier.

26 The Hallowed Hall Of Must-Knowtables – Nat King Cole Legendary notables that everyone, of every age, should know.

30 The Look Of Life After 50 – Johnny Mathis

A quick look at things 50-plusers should be aware of.

Mitchell A. Karasov on when the time has come to lawyer up and wrap it up.

34 Let’s Get Out

Looking to get out and about? Our December/January calendar has some great suggestions.

38 Rick Steves’ Travels

There’s no place like Rome for the holidays.

42 And Finally…The Bookworm’s Best, A Look Back and Just A Thought Before We Go

A book suggestion, memory, and a little something to leave you with.

The man whose music makes us merry.

Cover photo by Keith Munyan / www.keithmunyan.com All material published within this issue of Life After 50 and on www.lifeafte50.com is strictly for informational and educational purposes only. No individual, advice, product or service is in any way endorsed by Life After 50 or Southland Publishing, Inc. or provided as a substitute for the reader’s seeking of individualized professional advice or instruction. Readers should seek the advice of qualified professionals on any matter regarding an individual, advice, recommendations, services or products covered within this issue. All information and material is provided to readers with the understanding that it comes from various sources from which there is no warranty or responsibility by Life After 50 or Southland Publishing, Inc. as to its or their legality, completeness or technical accuracy.

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Editor’s Note...

Welcoming 2016 in a patchwork cloak of dreams

W

ith holiday preparations in full swing, I sit here in wonderment, putting the final touches on this issue. It is not a vision-of-sugar-plumtype wonderment that has anything to do with the sound of little hoofs prancing and pawing on rooftops, the messianic birth of a Bethlehem baby, or the ponderment of just how a one-day supply of oil could be miraculously stretched out for over a week. My state of wonderment stems from the far more basic realization that another year – one whose dawn seems like it should barely be reaching sunrise – is seeing its light descend into the horizon of history.

As the final days of each year blanket us in reflection, introspection, and thoughts of the future, I am finding myself duly blanketed; not with a pall of melancholia that we are on the eve of destruction, nor with a warm comforter of hope that 2016 will find us basking in peace and prosperity, but rather with a simple patchwork cloak of reality.

The patches that make up the cloak I am draped in seem to be one that has become a uniform of sorts for just about everyone I know and encounter. It is a cloak made up of patches of hope next to discouragement, optimism parallel to pessimism, joy, happiness and bliss beside sadness, anger and concern.

I think that cloak may just be the official uniform of our time – one that has us soldiering on in a world that affords us comforts and joy beyond historical compare intertwined with head-shaking bewilderment as to just what the hell has become of this crumbling ol’ world.

As we put out this last issue of 2015, we do so with the same message we incorporate in every issue: that no matter what befalls us in life, there are still things to enjoy, be grateful for, and ways to make a difference – in our personal lives and in the lives of others.

That is the Thoreauvian message actress Morgan Fairchild approaches every New Year’s Eve with, that “Every child begins the world again.” It is the message that Johnny Mathis sings in his popular Christmas song, “When a Child Is Born,” that was written by lyricist Fred Jay:

4 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

Publisher Valarie Anderson Editor-in-Chief David Laurell Associate Editors Steve Stoliar Claire Yezbak Fadden Art Director Michael Kraxenberger Editorial Assistant Max Andrews Controller Kacie Cobian Human Resources Andrea E. Baker Business Manager Linda Lam Billing Supervisor David Garcia VP Of Operations David Comden

To contact our editorial department: (818) 563-1007 davidl@LifeAfter50.com

A ray of hope flickers in the sky A tiny star lights up way up high All across the land, dawns a brand new morn This comes to pass when a child is born

A silent wish sails the seven seas The winds of change whisper in the trees And the walls of doubt crumble, tossed and torn This comes to pass when a child is born

As we close this chapter of our history that has been titled “2015,” it is my dream that on the morning of January 1, 2016, we will awaken with a renewed commitment to do whatever we can to make the next chapter one in which hope does more than just flicker, and doubt does, in fact, crumble, crash and burn – that each of us becomes like a newborn child, whose gift to the world is whatever we can offer – big or small – to bring about the dawn of a brand new morn.

Is that a dream adorned with a Pollyannaish bow and an oversized pair of rose-colored glasses that clashes with my patchwork cloak of reality? Perhaps. But, as that “imagining” mop-topped philosopher wrote: “You may say I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one.”

Account Executives: San Diego County/Orange County Phil Mendelson Phil@LifeAfter50.com Los Angeles/ Valley/Travel Beverly Sparks Beverly@LifeAfter50.com For advertising/distribution inquiries contact:

Valarie Anderson (310) 822-1629 x 121, Valarie@LifeAfter50.com 5301 Beethoven St., Suite 183 LA CA 90066 Valarie Anderson Valarie@LifeAfter50.com 310 822-1629 x 121 Follow us on facebook @Life_After50 ©2015 Southland Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved

David Laurell, Editor-in-Chief

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50

Rekindling Kaye

D

Plus

What You Need To Know

By Claire Yezbak Fadden and Max Andrews

Holiday Travel: When (And When Not) To Go

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ith fuel prices and airfares lower than in past years, this holiday season is looking to be a busy one. In fact, 33 percent of Americans listed long airport lines as something they are dreading this year, compared to just 13 percent in 2014. That makes sense when, according to www.Orbitz.com data, some 66 percent of Americans plan to travel by air during December. If you are the ultimate procrastinator and haven’t booked your travel plans yet, here are the days you should consider to avoid total bedlam: Christmas The busiest day for Christmas travel is December 23. Avoid it at all cost! As for the best day to travel, you’ll find airports least hectic on December 27.

New Year’s The busiest day for New Year’s travel is December 30, the day before New Year’s Eve. But if you want to avoid the craziest of crowds and are able to get up and moving on New Year’s Day, you will find air travel the least crazy on the first day of 2016.

Fifty Candles

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ifty years ago this month, the World Food Programme was made a permanent United Nations agency; the Beatles released “Rubber Soul;” the United States joined the British government’s oil embargo against Rhodesia; Ferdinand Marcos became the Philippine president; the Soviet Union acknowledged shipping rockets to North Vietnam; “Doctor Zhivago,” starring Julie Christie and Omar Sharif, was playing at U.S. theaters, and British playwright and novelist W. Somerset Maugham died at the age of 91. Notable personalities born in December1965, who are celebrating their 50th birthday this month, include novelist Nicholas Sparks, actors Steve Harris, Clive Robertson and David Harewood, actresses Nancy Valen and Jessica Steen, figure skater Katarina Witt, comedian Andy Dick, rockers John Rzeznik and Bryan Dexter Holland, screenwriter David S. Goyer and Hollywood’s notorious “Madame of the Stars” Heidi Fleiss.

6 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

uring its four-year run from 1963 to 1967, “The Danny Kaye Show” welcomed some of the greatest performers in the history of entertainment. Now you can relive those great moments in a new DVD, “Danny Kaye: Legends,” which presents six classic and complete episodes of the show featuring guest stars Louis Armstrong, Lucille Ball, Tony Bennett, George Burns, Imogene Coca, Shirley Jones and Liberace. The collection also features performances

by The Righteous Brothers, Vikki Carr, John Gary and series regulars Harvey Korman, Joyce Van Patten and orchestra leader Paul Weston. “Danny Kaye: Legends” is a two-disc set available by clicking on www.dannykaye.com.

The Best Of Brain-Boosting Bubbly

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or those who imbibe in the bubbly, the news that scientists believe drinking three glasses of Champagne every week may help prevent the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s is truly something to toast. This past month, researchers at Reading University in Berkshire, United Kingdom, put out findings that pinot noir and pinot meunier, two ingredients used to make Champagne, contain compounds that may have the potential to ward off brain disease and boost cognitive functioning and memory. For those who make it a tradition to ring in the New Year by uncorking a bottle of bubbly, excellent choices are available in all price ranges. However, if you are in possession of a highly discriminating palate and only the best will do, you may want to opt for something a bit more special to welcome in 2016. If a top-shelf beverage is what you demand, may we recommend a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal Medallion Orfevres Limited Edition Brut Millesime, which comes in a collectible bottle encased in gold lattice that sells for $20,000 a bottle. If that won’t do, may we then suggest Armand de Birgnac Ace of Spades Midas Brut, a 30-litre bottle encased in gold-plate and produced

by Champagne Cattier that retails for $58,413 a bottle. If that still doesn’t measure up to your standards, allow us to propose you pop the cork on a bottle of Goût de Diamants Taste of Diamonds. Encased inside a receptacle created by Nigerian designer Alexander Amosu with a label made from pewter that bears a Swarovski crystal and a price tag of $2.07 million per bottle, the three-grape blend is the ultimate beverage to celebrate the New Year while warding off brain issues.

A Little More You Need To Know

Where You Need To Go

The Most Important Thing To Know This Month

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Year-End Tax Tips

SoCal Skating

o get a real feel for the season, bundle up for a bit of winter fun at various iceskating rinks that bring the chill of winter to Southern California, so grab your muffler, strap on your skates and get gliding.

Skating by the Sea: Glide along the seaside with the Hotel Del Coronado’s iconic Victorian Building, adorned with thousands of white lights, providing a magical backdrop. Hotel del Coronado, 1500 Orange Ave., Coronado. Through January 7. A portion of the skating proceeds benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of San Diego. $25, includes skate rental. (619)522-8490, www.hoteldel.com.

Holiday Ice Rink In Pershing Square: Los Angeles’ biggest outdoor community skating rink includes a holiday concert series, the Snoopy Showcase, deejay nights, a Winter Holiday Festival, championship skating exhibitions and broomball games.

Pershing Square, 532 S. Olive, Los Angeles. Through January 18. $9/one-hour skate session. Admission-$9; skate rental-$4. (213) 624-4289, www.holidayicerinkdowntownla.com.

Fantasy On Ice: Make sure to dress warm and bring a pair of mittens or gloves to enjoy this outdoor rink in the heart of San Diego. During the daytime, the ice can be a little wet, so tuck an extra pair of socks in your bag. Proceeds benefit the Peckham Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego. NTC at Liberty Station, 2640 Historic Decatur Road, San Diego. Skating through January 3. $12-$14. (619) 222-1970, www.fantasyonicesd.com.

OC Chill: Located at the popular outdoor shopping destination, this is the only outdoor ice-skating rink in Orange County. Guests can skate during the venue’s 75-minute open-skate sessions. Irvine Spectrum, 71 Fortune Drive, Irvine. The skating season extends through February 15. $19 includes skate rental, or bring your own skates and save $4. (949) 753-5180, www.shopirvinespectrumcenter.com/skate.

ICE At Santa Monica: This 8,000-square-foot ice-skating rink in downtown Santa Monica hosts a variety of events including Rock ‘n’ Skate on Friday nights, Sunday Costume Skate, Lil’ Tot Time and Los Angeles Kings Hockey Clinics. 1324 5th St., Santa Monica. Skating through January 18. $15 skate rental.

(805) 701-7248, www.iceatsantamonica.com.

Festival Of Lights Ice Skating Rink: Downtown Riverside boasts Inland Empire’s first outdoor skating rink with a variety of family-friendly holiday activities. Main Street between University and Mission Inn Ave., 3649 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside. Skating through January 3. $15 skate rental. (951) 7840300, www.riversideca.gov.

Woodland Hills Ice: Glide around the only outdoor openair ice rink in the San Fernando Valley. The 7,000-square-foot rink is open through January 24.

Westfield Promenade Mall, 6100 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills. $15 including skate rental.

(818) 854-4151, www.woodlandhillsice.com.

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iling taxes at the last minute means you might miss out on opportunities for a better return. Advance planning allows you to get organized, complete your tax forms accurately and potentially lower the amount of taxes you may owe the IRS, the state or your local municipality.

Consider these tips to help you prepare: 1. Get your receipts and paperwork compiled and organized Round up all receipts and cancelled checks, including those from charities; check your latest brokerage statement for year-to-date gains or losses; make a checklist of accounts to keep track of and 1099 forms, if any, when they arrive. Get your medical receipts and insurance reimbursement forms in order.

2. Review life changes that happened within the last year Getting married, having children, buying a house or going back to college may affect your tax status as well as your eligibility for certain tax credits/deductions.

3. Figure out which tax credits you could be eligible for Tax deductions and tax credits are not the same thing. Unlike tax deductions, tax credits can directly reduce the dollar amount of taxes you may owe to the IRS, so it is important to figure out these numbers in advance. Some of the most commonly used include: • • • • •

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), American Opportunity Tax Credit Lifetime Learning Credit The Child and Dependent Care Credit The Savers Tax Credit

4. If you’re planning to donate to charity, do it now Consider making a few extra donations before December 31.

Remember that charitable contributions must be made to qualified organizations. Don’t forget to get a receipt.

New Words

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ou might not find them in a dictionary yet, but they’re a part of the everyday American vocabulary.

Here’s what they mean.

GOAT: An acronym for “Greatest Of All Time.” Today’s teens will often refer to anything they find to be exceptional, from a concert to a burger, a television show to an electronic device, as being “GOAT.” Netizen: A person actively involved in online communities. A citizen of the Internet.

Zarf: The cardboard sleeve used on a handle-free disposable coffee cup.

December 2015 LIFEAFTER50.COM 7

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8 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

The time has come to lawyer up and wrap it up

Q

My mother passed away two years ago without a will or trust. She purposely didn’t do a will or trust because she felt that would ensure her four children would equally inherit her estate. While my mother may have been smart in doing this, we weren’t so smart. Since my siblings and I thought it was all so simple and straightforward, we filed the court paperwork on our own to save on any lawyer’s fees. We made so many mistakes, our paperwork wasn’t getting approved. Then we finally hired an attorney that agreed to handle our case for a reduced rate. That didn’t work either, because he didn’t have the necessary experience. We have now been to court many times, trying to explain why we haven’t filed the proper paperwork. The last time, the judge told me and my attorney I was going to be removed from serving as the administrator of the estate if I didn’t do my job correctly and get this estate wrapped up. This has now become a very difficult situation between how we are to handle the sale of her house and the lawyer now wanting his full fee, because it has become so complicated. What should we do?

A

You and your siblings are not unlike other heirs that try to increase their inheritance by avoiding the one potentially avoidable expense – the lawyer’s fees. Probate laws were designed to protect heirs and creditors and provide for an orderly and timely distribution to heirs, but they can also be complicated. In certain cases, heirs are able to comply with the laws and still avoid hiring a lawyer. However, in most cases, it usually makes more sense to hire a lawyer to ensure the case gets handled efficiently and expeditiously. As a result of doing this on your own and then with an inexperienced lawyer, you may or may not have missed the opportunity to sell the real estate and possibly other investments when the market was stronger.

If losses due to market fluctuations can be proven, you could also be facing the possibility that the court may levy a financial penalty on you for these losses. Moreover, the very expense you tried to avoid is going to be one you are going to have to pay anyway. From the sound of it, when you filed to be the administrator, things weren’t getting approved because you needed a bond to protect the estate. A bond is basically like an insurance policy to protect your mom’s estate in case the administrator mismanages the funds.

The bond company generally requires that the administrator be represented by a lawyer to improve the likelihood that the estate will be managed properly. As the administrator, you could now have problems selling the family home for a variety of reasons. Some of the common problems are that the property has not been properly appraised, the appraisal was not properly filed, or the appraisal is deemed to be too high by the court. Overall, you and your siblings need to pull together, put the past behind you, and hire an experienced probate attorney right away so that he can get this estate closed.

At this point, if you as the administrator hire an experienced attorney, they can provide the court with a status report and put a proper plan into effect that will close the estate. That could avoid your removal as the administrator and ensure the estate will be closed in the quickest possible time frame.

A Special Wellness Report New Medicine Based On An 88-Year Old Theory By Albert Einstein Can Help Almost Everyone Who Is Sick Or Injured!

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hat you are about to read may be the most important information you’ve ever read. Here is why. Albert Einstein was, quite possibly, the most intelligent person who ever lived. His theories and ideas were so far ahead of his time, that even now, the smartest scientists alive are still discovering his value.

One of his theories published in 1917, worked out the theory of how lasers function. However, it was not until May 16, 1960 (43 years later) that the first actual laser was developed by an American scientist. Since then, scientists and inventors have developed many types of lasers and all kinds of uses for them. They can be used as a scalpel that is so delicate, it can be used on the eyes of human beings. Lasers are used to read price codes at your local supermarkets. And they’re used to play music and video on your CD’s and DVD’s.

But now, there is a new type of laser so effective against human disease and injury that it is rapidly changing the practice of medicine. This is a new type of low-level laser which produces an unfocused light that has been...

Registered With The FDA To Be 100% Safe!

Low-level lasers use less than one watt of power and they produce what can best be described as a “Healing Light”. Here is a somewhat un-scientific description of how this “Healing Light” can potentially help reverse the damage done by human sickness and disease.

As you probably know, our entire bodies are made up of cells. The health of all human cells is based on energy. If your cells don’t receive enough energy, they will weaken and the body will become sick.

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That’s what a low-level laser device does. It reenergizes the cells in your body with the right kind and proper amount of healing energy. It may surprise you to learn that low level lasers are ...

Used By Doctors To Heal Their Patients In The Fastest Way Possible!

Could you guess what kind of doctors use the highest percent of low-level lasers on their patients? It’s doctors involved in sports medicine. Why? The answer is simple. You see, doctors involved in sports medicine often have to get their patients better in the fastest way humanly possible because every day he remains

“unhealthy” can cost the sports organization millions of dollars. But here’s something exciting! You don’t actually need to go to a doctor to get laser therapy.

If you want to you can buy one of these devices and use it on yourself. The best ones come with simple, easy-to-follow instructions and can be used by almost any person with average intelligence. Perhaps the best low-level lasers in the world have been invented by doctors who have studied lasers and human health for years and have discovered how they can be used...

To Help Almost Every Health Problem Ever Experienced

By A Human Being!

Laser experts believe low-level laser therapy will become the medicine of the future. If you hold a lowlevel laser device against the skin of your body and turn it on, you will be able to see the laser light... but... you will not be able to feel it. There probably won’t even be a sensation of warmth. Laser light is as gentle as the kiss of a butterfly. But, from a healing point of view, it is quite possible it is more effective than drugs or surgery.

Low-level laser therapy is not just the medicine of the future. For many people who know about it, it is the “medicine” they use now. The problem of trying to explain the healing powers of low-level laser therapy is...

Professional Results In a Small, Easy to Use Package! Call 1-800-303-3586, Code 6529 For Your FREE Information Report.

For some people, a free report and information like this can mark the beginning of an entirely new life... pain-free and full of energy. For others, it can make the difference of living a healthy life compared to a lowenergy life of sickness and disease. And, for those who live with enormous pain every day ... this free report could truly guide them to a miracle! But even if you are not sick, not injured, or not in pain, you should still order this report. After all, it is 100% free. And almost nobody lives out their life without having at least some kind of sickness or injury.

Wouldn’t it be nice to know that, if you do become sick or injured, you will at least know where to go to find some sort of answer to your problems that don’t involve dangerous drugs!

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It Works So Well On So Many Different Problems, It Seems Like It Couldn’t Possibly Be True!

But it is true! As mentioned earlier, all injury and illness creates an interruption of energy to the cells of the human body. The body will never recover until the proper amount and type of energy is restored to these cells. But once that energy is restored...

The Body Can Recover From Almost Anything!

With the correct equipment, properly used, low level lasers have been clinically shown to reduce pain, reduce inflammation, increase cellular energy, increase cell permeability (so that the nutrients the cell needs to heal can get into the cell) and even help correct faulty DNA!* What you have just read is a very simplistic (almost childish) explanation of low-level laser therapy, of how it works, and what it can do for you. But this is something that needs to be explained to you much more accurately by a real expert. This is information which just might help relieve you of any disease and might possibly save your life and the life of your loved ones. And best of all, you can...

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Cover Profile

The Multifaceted

Morgan

Fairchild

Harboring an eclectic range of knowledge and interests, the actress best-known for her roles as a stunning vixen proves there is a truly fascinating woman behind those piercing blue eyes

By David Laurell * Photos by Keith Munyan / www.keithmunyan.com 10 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

E

lizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Ingrid Bergman and Vivien Leigh. Rare is the baby boomer who couldn’t recognize any one of them simply by seeing a photograph of their iconic eyes. The same would be true of another possessor of unparalleled peepers, Morgan Fairchild, whose piercing blue eyes first opened to the world on February 3, 1950 when she was born Patsy Ann McClenny in Dallas, Texas.

A studious and serious-minded child who also had a fascination with drama, little Patsy Ann first appeared before a television camera as a child in various local programs and commercials before landing her first real acting job in the 1967 Warner Bros. classic, “Bonnie and Clyde,” in which she was a double for Faye Dunaway.

Discarding her childhood desire of pursuing a career in medicine or science and getting serious about acting, young Patsy Ann, inspired by a British film, changed her name to Morgan Fairchild, moved to New York, and in 1973, began a four-year run as the maniacal Jennifer Pace in the daytime drama, “Search for Tomorrow.”

A mainstay on primetime television throughout the mid-1970s, Fairchild appeared on numerous hit programs of the era, including “Kojak,” “Happy Days,” “Police Woman,” “Dallas,” and as a recurring regular on “Mork & Mindy.”

Continuing to work in episodic television in the 1980s, Fairchild became best-known for her portrayal of rich, glamorous, temperamental and spoiled bitches. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role as Constance Weldon Carlyle on “Flamingo Road,” co-starred in “Paper Dolls,” in which she played modelling agency owner Racine, and joined the cast of the hit series “Falcon Crest” as the glamorous attorney Jordan Roberts. The mid1980s also saw her appear in the acclaimed miniseries “North and South.”

From her roles as a bisexual woman on “Roseanne,” Chandler Bing’s mother on “Friends,” and a cougar in “Two and a Half Men,” Fairchild has continued to appear in both television and feature-film productions, including “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, “Campus Man” and “Venus Rising.” She has also done various stage productions, most notably the role of Mrs. Robinson in “The Graduate.”

Today, Fairchild, who will turn 66 in February, lives in the hills above Los Angeles with her longtime companion, film executive Mark Seiler. She continues to work both as an actress and an advocate supporting a variety of issues that have been important to her for many years.

Life After 50 recently spent a day with Fairchild and, to answer the question seemingly everyone asks, yes, her eyes are as captivatingly stunning in person as they are on the screen. We began our chat by asking if there’s any truth to the story that her name was inspired by a working-class hero obsessed with Karl Marx and gorillas that appears in a 1966 British film.

Morgan Fairchild (MF): Yes, That is true [laughing]. I just never related to the name Patsy Ann McClenny, or to the Dallas obsession with football, which seemed to be everything when I was a kid. For me, there were two people who gave me a different spiritual awareness and hope – Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, whom I saw dance in “Romeo and Juliet.”

That opened the world of theater to me and one day, a friend of mine from the Dallas Theater Center came into our acting class and said she had just seen a film that I had to see, because it reminded her so much of me. She didn’t really know me that well, so I was sort of surprised that she would have such an insight as to what I was. But I was intrigued and went to see this movie called “Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment” in which the English actor, David Warner, plays a character named Morgan who is this lower-class Trotskyite who lives this fantasy in which he thinks he’s a gorilla.

It’s a comedy and Vanessa Redgrave plays his wife who is leaving him for this upper-crust guy. Anyway, Warner is brilliant in it and my friend was right:

I was like Morgan, living in my fantasies to survive high school. I was a very sensitive kid in a place that I didn’t feel valued what I had to offer, so that film was Kismet for me. I had gotten married when I was just 17, and when it didn’t work out, I was damned if I was going to become an actress and spend the rest of my life putting his name up in lights. I also didn’t want to go back to my maiden name, which I was never crazy about, so I decided I was going to name myself Morgan after Warner’s character. I was then trying to figure out what would be a good last name to go with Morgan that didn’t sound like I was a stripper, so one night I was having dinner with a friend and she suggested Fairchild. She said that she didn’t know of any other actresses named Fairchild and as soon as I heard those two names together – Morgan Fairchild – I said that’s it, that’s me! life After 50 (lA50): And, as your Kismet played out, the name Morgan fairchild was up in lights on television screens throughout the 1980s. Take us back to those days. of all the shows you appeared on, what are some of your fondest memories?

MF: I have fond memories of many of those shows for different reasons, but my favorite was “Paper Dolls.” I loved the writing and the cast and it was just a great time doing that show. I also loved doing “Flamingo Road.” Again, another great cast – a lovely group of people. And, of course, I loved doing “Falcon Crest.” I adored Jane Wyman. I was also playing a cutting-edge character. That was certainly something that

December 2015 LIFEAFTER50.COM 11

had never been explored before on television, something so off-limits – the repercussions that incest would have on someone as an adult. I’ve always liked doing things that are groundbreaking and that was certainly iffy and new.

LA50: Speaking of iffy and new, you got to work with one of the iffiest and newest performers to ever appear on television – robin Williams.

MF: That was so great. One of the first jobs I ever got when I came to Hollywood was a small role on “Happy Days.” That show had such a great cast of people and I loved doing it. Because of that, whenever I was on the Paramount lot, I would always stop by and say hi to them. One time I was there and Henry [Winkler] came up to me and he said: “You have to come in and watch this kid who is guest starring on the show this week.” It was Robin and he was just brilliant. So awhile later, I heard that Garry Marshall had me in mind for a show that was some big secret. My agent said that Garry didn’t want to pay much or give me a contract and that we should pass on it, so I asked what show it was and he said: “Mork & Mindy,” and I said: “Oh my!

That’s Robin Williams’ show.” My agent didn’t even know who he was. I told him this guy was a genius and that I would do it for free just to get to work with him – which, of course, we would never let Garry know [laughing]. Robin was so cutting-edge and brilliant. He would go off script during rehearsals and the writers would be furiously writing down everything he said and did that was working. When he was doing his thing, everyone on the set would just sit back and watch this genius at work. I think he wasn’t really sure about me at first, wondering who this white-bread woman was. But he and I had both studied theater, so he would throw something out at me and then I would do something back. I think that surprised him at first – that I could roll with him. We did that over and over and he finally came over and grabbed me and said: “Mama!

You’re one of me!” That began our relationship and we became great buddies.

That was an incredible opportunity, getting to work with him. As an actor, it’s rare that you get to be a part of something that is so new and cutting-edge. lA50: As the years went by, did you keep in touch with him?

MF: We would occasionally run into one another. After “Mork & Mindy,” Robin had moved into doing feature films and we ran in different circles. It was 12 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

always great to see him, but we never really kept up a close friendship like I wish we had. lA50: Did his death come as a shock to you?

MF: It did. I knew he had suffered from bouts of depression, but that is sort of typical with actors and creative types. And, of course, it wasn’t until after his death and the results of the autopsy that it was discovered he was suffering with other serious medical issues. From what I have gathered, even people who were very close to him were not aware of the depth of what he was dealing with.

LA50: When you think of him, what first comes to mind?

MF: His energy, that just came at you like a comet. Like no one else I have ever met. He was a fun person with a great intellect. I think that is what some people may have missed; that along with his zaniness he was also very smart.

To be that good at that kind of comedy – to be so fast – you have to have a great intellect. He had a great capacity to inhale and retain knowledge of all kinds. He was as esoteric as he was street smart. He was all over the intellectual landscape. One thing about Robin that I think very few people knew is that if you were with him just one-on-one, he would calm down and really talk. He was a nice guy. The niceness you saw in his characters was what he was like in real life. lA50: Although you are so indelibly thought of as the beautiful and glamorous super-bitch or vixen, would it be fair to say that, in a way, comedy has really been more of your forte?

MF: I was fortunate. When I was back in New York, in the early days of my career, there were not many, if any, actresses who looked like me who could do comedy. That gave me a big advantage on getting roles on all the sitcoms that were going at the time, and there were a lot of them. Whenever they needed a pretty girl or a glamour girl who could handle comedy, I would get the call. And when it comes to the bitches I’ve played, I always felt they were sort of funny bitches, in the way Larry Hagman played J.R. on “Dallas” or Joan [Collins] did on “Dynasty.” I ad-libbed a lot on “Flamingo Road” and “Falcon Crest” and “Paper Dolls,” which brought some comedic shadings to the roles by

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these crazy lines I was throwing out. I became a sort of Oscar Wilde-type of a bitch [laughing]. Then the writers would start picking up on my ad-libs – what I was bringing to the characters – and they began incorporating lines like that into the scripts. lA50: You are a great fan of Marilyn Monroe, who also had a far greater sense of comedy than she was ever given credit for.

MF: Marilyn’s magic was in her humor and the fact that she was extremely vulnerable. So many other actresses of that era tried to copy her style and they never got it. All the pouty and soft-voiced things she did were done with her natural vulnerability and a great sense of humor. That made them fun instead of tawdry. She had an incredible lightness about her. She made you see bubbles. In “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” she played a gold-digger who could have come off as very unlikable. But because of her lightness, she comes off as being adorable and you just adore her. She could turn little things into magic that made her so cute. She was a very different type of sex symbol than Jean Harlow and I think that was because of her sense of humor and vulnerability. lA50: We’ve been talking about robin Williams and Marilyn Monroe who, along with having a great sense of humor, were also extremely smart and articulate and serious. That is very much the same with you. Are people surprised when they find out you have this very serious side and intellect?

MF: I’ve always been a science nerd at heart. I wanted to be a doctor or a paleontologist when I was a kid. Those passions have always stayed with me.

Even when I became an established actress doing “Flamingo Road,” I was taking night courses in anthropology at UCLA. My memories of that time are of me sitting in a corner of the stage in a silk teddy and pink feather mules with all my books stacked up around me and working on my midterm. The crew always got a huge kick out of that. I’d get a grip come over and pick up one of my books and say: [adopting a deep-voiced, gruff New York accent] “What is dis? ‘Da

14 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015 PAL_003503_03_12_3_&_12_7_Sr_Print_ Life_After_50_4.625x11.5_r1_FINAL_2JPEG.indd 1

11/16/15 4:29 PM

Hemispheric Dysfunction of da Brain.’ What da hell is dat?” [laughing and returning to her natural voice] I have always loved to learn. I’ve always been a voracious reader. I have always loved archaeology, paleontology, anthropology and politics and foreign policy. lA50: Along with your eclectic interests, you have been a passionate advocate for a lot of serious causes – AiDS awareness and research, prochoice and environmental issues, animal welfare.

MF: I’ve always had a curious mind and that has led me to being aware of things and to lend my voice to things that are of concern to me. I became very interested in the psychology of terrorists and terrorist groups back in the 1970s.

I have always been fascinated with other cultures and governments – how they relate with one another and why some things work and others don’t. I have a lot of interests and one of them was emerging viruses and epidemiology. Back in the 1980s, I stared following these 11 cluster cases of what was thought to be Kaposi’s sarcoma in New York. That caught my attention, because it was very unusual. This was occurring in young men, who tuned out to be gay men.

Then there was a cluster of pneumonia cases in San Francisco that, again, was affecting gay men. When I heard they were all gay men, it was obvious that something new was out there. By the time Rock Hudson had gotten sick and we recognized this disease as AIDS, I had been researching it for years and had been warning my gay friends about it and to be careful. There were a lot of good doctors who stepped forward at that time, including C. Everett Koop who was the surgeon general. He was willing to talk about AIDS and helped give the disease a focus, which was not easy to do in a Republican administration, and it cost him in various ways. I understand that. I felt I had a moral obligation to step out on this issue, although my agent and manager both asked me not to, saying it was too controversial and that I would lose work over it, which I did. I even had friends who would no longer allow me to come to their house or be around their children, because I had been photographed hugging those who were suffering from AIDs. But I felt strongly that I could help get the word out and save some lives. It was one of the best things I have ever done in my life – putting a focus on the disease, taking away some of the stigma and getting funding for research. I am proud that I was one of the people talking about AIDS from the beginning – testifying before Congress when our government and most elected officials would not even acknowledge the existence of the disease – dealing with all the homophobia. lA50: You’re’ a self-proclaimed political junkie, so we have to ask: what do you think about the way the 2016 presidential campaign has been shaping up?

MF: Well, it’s been quite interesting. I think the debates have been good and informative, but it just seems like the entire country is at one another’s throat.

There is so much political division in a way that I haven’t seen since Viet Nam. I think we are at a turning point in this county – for America to decide what it wants to be – for Americans to care more about their country than their political party affiliation. I don’t force my political beliefs on anyone, but I think most people agree with me that our Congress is totally dysfunctional. A democratic republic cannot survive with people who are elected to govern and then refuse to govern. There is a total loss of civility in Congress. I hate the name-calling instead of them having a rational debate about issues. I think the media also has to do a better job in calling politicians and candidates for office out on their lies and steer Americans toward the facts, as opposed to the person with the most outrageous behavior and controversial comments. If we are going to be the premier country of the world, we can’t do that with outrageous leaders who just say crazy and controversial things to get on the news and to publicize and self-aggrandize themselves. lA50: let’s switch gears, because a lot of our female readers will be interested in your recommendations on hairstyles and the use of make-up as you get older.

MF: I tend to do my own make-up far more than most actresses do – always have. I use a lot of eye make-up – more than most professional make-up people would ever do for me. Make-up artists have always seen me as Grace Kelly and I wanted to be Sophia Loren – dark and dangerous. I always wanted to be blonde and dangerous [laughs]. So I created a look for myself. It is a look that December 2015 LIFEAFTER50.COM 15

“No matter what age you are, you can always do something to begin a new chapter of your life.”

is uniquely mine. But as you get older, you do have to simplify your wardrobe and hair and make-up. It is something you have to always keep working on. My hair is a bit shorter now than it has been in the past. I never wear red lipstick anymore. I’ve gone with a lavender pink that works better for my skin tone today. As you age, your skin tone changes, so something that may have worked for years doesn’t look right as you get older. Going a shade or two lighter and being less heavy-handed with your make-up is important, especially with iridescent eyeliner. It looks great on a 19-year-old on the cover of “Vogue,” but for an older woman, it gets into the lines and looks crinkly. I think women should look at everything that is available today – fillers, which are great for softening lines and acne scars. There are all sorts of injectables and things that can help you retain a fresh look without surgery. I talk about this subject a lot with women and what I always say is that you have to constantly be aware of the changes with your skin and hair and body, and then adapt to those changes.

What you did in your 20s or 30s can make you look like a drag queen today. So my simple advice is to find out what works best for you and then simplify it. lA50: With the holidays upon us, do you have anything special planned?

MF: It will be pretty low-key. My sister [Cathryn Hartt, who is also an actress] will be coming out from Texas and we’ll visit some friends and have a quiet Christmas at home just catching up with one another. lA50: Do you cook?

MF: Not if anyone who is around is lucky [laughs]. What I’m good at is heating things up. My sister and I would rather spend our time together than food shopping and cooking and cleaning up. lA50: Are you a New Year’s resolution-making person?

MF: I make resolutions throughout the entire year – to stay healthy, try to get to the gym, diet. But I do start off each year looking forward to doing something

16 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

that I feel will make a difference. Thoreau said: “Every child begins the world again,” and to me, I always view New Year’s Day as a time that gives each of us the chance to be a child who gets to start again – to create new and positive things. lA50: Just a month into the New Year, you’ll be celebrating a birthday. Do you have any thoughts about the passing of years – about getting older?

MF: I’m just so thankful for the life I have gotten to lead and the amazing people I have met and gotten to work with – Roddy McDowall, Natalie Wood, Bette Davis, Vincent Price, Jane Wyman. Hollywood was so much fun when I first came out here. I remember one night, I found myself at dinner seated between Olivia de Havilland and Stewart Granger and mingling with Jimmy Stewart, Robert Mitchum, Deborah Kerr – people who had such great stories.

I got to work with Fernando Lamas, who was such a great storyteller, and with people I watched as a kid – Eve Arden and Lucille Ball and Sammy Davis, Jr. People who are true icons. I really lucked out and have gotten a great deal in life. But I think as we get older, we have to remain engaged and continue to do new things and learn and meet new people. I’m busy all the time. I’m a news junkie and a social media junkie and an insomniac, so I’m always up at all hours of the night on the computer doing research on things I’m interested in. I also like having dinner with friends. I love to read. You have to keep connected to people and stay stimulated and continue to contribute to life. I always encourage people to volunteer, teach kids, work at a homeless shelter, donate your time to an animal rescue organization, share your experiences, do something that keeps you connected and involved and has a purpose. It’s like Thoreau said, never stop being that child. No matter what age you are, you can always do something to begin a new chapter of your life.

For more information on Morgan Fairchild, click on www.morganfairchild.com.

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Don’t Be Alone For The Holidays

Make finding that special someone the gift you give yourself this holiday season

I

By Sherri Murphy CEO and VIP matchmaker, Elite Connections International

t’s that time again. The holiday season is upon us and the final days of 2015 are trickling into history. While this is a fun and exciting time of year for many, for some, especially those who are over 50 and single, this season can be anything but. Being single during the holidays can be lonley, stressful and the cause of severe depression.

If you or someone you know is in that situation, take solace: you are not alone. And, somewhere out there, a special someone is patiently harboring the same feelings as you.

We all know it’s nice to spend the holidays enjoying comfortable times with the people that matter most – close friends and family. However, when you’re looking for love, it’s important to get out of your comfort zone, keep a positive and open mind, and act more spontaneous than usual.

That is how I met my husband, Bill. We had spent our second date skiing together and he wanted to extend the date into the evening (which happened to be New Year’s Eve). I already had other things planned for that evening, but I really liked Bill, so I spontaneously ran down to the lodge and cancelled my other date.

Now that Bill and I have been married for 18 years, I tell that story so men will understand the importance of asking women out with the proper amount of notice (not every woman would have canceled that date on such short notice), and also to women encouraging them to be open to more spontaneity in their search for the right person.

Everyone wants to be in a relationship with someone who makes them a priority, devotes time to

20 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

them, appreciates and loves them for who they are, and wants to spend time with them over anyone else. In order to find the right person to share your life with you need to make time for them to be in your life. I have met many people during my matchmaking career that say they want to meet someone and get married, and yet they ruin that from happening by not making time to build a proper relationship with anyone. If meeting your friends for cocktails is more important than getting to know someone you’re interested in, you will be single for a very long time.

As the founder and CEO of Elite Connections International, I’ve been a professional matchmaker for over 21 years. During that time I’ve watched people make the same mistakes I did when I was single. I had been divorced for seven years and was a working mother of two whose entire life consisted of work and taking care of my family.

Wanting to meet someone, I used the services of a matchmaker and Bill was my first date. He’s a handsome, genuine, caring and respectful man. He was very different from any other man I had been with before, so of course, I uttered those famous words to myself when we were first introduced: “He’s not my type.”

Luckily, a very intelligent friend of mine said: “Go out with him again. He sounds exactly like what you need. Your usual type is horrible.” And so I’m recommending that you do the same and venture out of dating your typical type.

If you are tired of spending time alone and keep wondering if that right person is really out there

for you, do yourself a big favor this holiday season and keep in mind some of the top tips I share with my clients:

STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE Get out there! Go to holiday events that you are invited to and meet new people. Don’t be scared to go alone. Spend some time going to events you typically wouldn’t. Try to go at the least one event a week. Take advantage of all the events going on during this season, whether it be through work, church, your community, family, friends, or even mutual friends. It’s a time when everybody comes together to celebrate, and that includes other single people.

STOP DATING YOUR TYPE In my years as a matchmaker, I have seen this as one of the biggest problems. If your type worked for you, you’d be married. Try something different and you may even surprise yourself by letting a person who is not your type take you through doors you didn’t think you were interested in. I always tell my clients to consider going for someone you typically wouldn’t take a second look at. Having differences can also give you more to talk about and learn from. And then go out with that person at least three times before you decide whether or not to continue.

LOSE THE RULES

It takes time to get to know someone so be smart about your new relationship and forget about the old rules of dating. Putting a time limit on when you should or shouldn’t sleep with someone is silly. Make sure you get to truly know the person before anything serious happens. As far as waiting three days to call back, that’s not a rule, it’s rude. If you have had a pleasant evening with someone you should call them the next day to let them know you really enjoyed your time with them. Let them know how you’re feeling, even if you don’t feel it will go on to be something serious.

UPDATE YOUR LOOK

You know the old saying: “New do, new you.”

Well, take that as advice and follow it. Invest in a new wardrobe and haircut. You may even want to hire a stylist to give you some professional style tips. If you need a referral, we at Elite Connections International can give you one. Don’t show up to a first date without looking your best. The better you look, the better you will feel and the more confident you will be, which leads to a better date.

DON’T LET AGE IN TERFERE

Both men and women typically pick a cutoff number they feel is either too old or young for them and most refuse to date anyone outside of that range. I’m not talking about 20 years of difference, that is quite an age gap and it typically doesn’t work. I’m saying that if you are a 51-year-old woman declining a man who is 60 just because of his age alone, that’s where it becomes an issue. If you limit who you will go on a date with just because they are a couple of years older or even younger than your cutoff number, you are limiting many potential candidates. This holiday season, try to forget about age and just try to find someone that has great qualities and whose company you enjoy and then see where it goes. You may surprise yourself.

MAKE OUT-OF-THE-BOX PLANS Try something other than the usual dinner and a movie. Put a few extra minutes into brainstorming a fun and festive first date. Some fun holiday date ideas may be to go shopping together, ice skating at sunset, or driving around looking at all the lights and decorations and then capping it off with a hot chocolate. The options are limitless so get creative.

GET INVOLVED WITH A CHARITY Not only will you feel good about helping others, but you will meet a lot of good-hearted people who like to “give back” during the holiday season and may care about the things you care about.

JUST RELAX! Dating does not have to be stressful. Try to let loose and just have some fun. Don’t go into

every first date trying to imagine what your life with that person might look like in five years. Just be friendly and get to know the person for who they are. Even if the person doesn’t spark your interest romantically, you may become friends or even meet someone wonderful through them. Try to keep the conversation positive at all times on your first few dates. Never talk about your problems or past relationships. If your date asks you about a sensitive subject, just be polite, give them a simple answer, and move on to another topic.

BE THE KIND OF PERSON YOU WANT TO MEET Be polite, respectful and employ etiquette. For you ladies, if a man takes the time to plan a nice date, you need to end the evening by saying thank you and in return think about something nice you could do for him. You may want to offer to plan date number two. You could then get tickets to the theater or one of his favorite sporting events, or even offer to make him a home-cooked meal. Believe me, he will appreciate it. Men, if you meet someone that you’re interested in, make sure to give her your full attention and make her a priority. Forget the old “three day” rule about calling. Call her the very next day, tell her what a nice time you had, and ask her out again.

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Wine-ing Through A Vino Wonderland Great suggestions for making the holidays merrier, brighter and jollier

By Alicia Bien

W

ith the holidays upon us, it’s time to be jolly, and nothing assists in our jolliness like a glass (or two) of wine. Here are some excellent vino suggestions for this festive time of year that are all available at a reasonable price within anyone’s budget:

Tree-Trimming ParTy Decking the halls is one of the joys of the season, especially while munching on holiday snacks. Pair these sweet and salty tidbits with a glass of Fino Sherry. Sherry is a fortified wine, which is sweeter and has a slightly higher alcohol content than table wines, which means it’s made for sipping before a meal or while nibbling on appetizers. The Fino variety of Sherry is especially pale and dry. If you like the taste of almonds, serve a bottle of the Valdespino Inocente Single Vineyard Fino Sherry.

Those wanting more cherry, plum and fruit flavors in their Sherry should get the 10-year-old Fino Sherry Porto Kopke.

24 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

CHrisTmas dinner Unlike Thanksgiving, Christmas dinners in America tend to be “anything goes,” with hosts serving beef, pork or Chinese kung-pao chicken.

These dinners typically include several generations of cousins, parents and grandparents, some of whom don’t drink wine often, if at all. For this special, dinner choose a wine that will please many and offend none, such as the fruit-forward Raymond Bouland Morgon Vielles Vignes 2013.

Another crowd pleaser is the Alto Moncayo/ Veraton 2012. This bold red is made of 100 percent Grenache grapes and has dark cherry and lavender flavors.

HanukkaH Wine What could be a better way to enjoy the Festival of Lights than with a kosher bottle of wine from an Israeli vineyard? Israel’s wine-producing market is thriving, so it’s time to get to know this new/old

wine country. Hanukkah’s brisket and potato latkes will pair well with a Dalton 2012 Estate Petite Sirah from the Samson region. You can also try a Recanati 2011 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from the Galilee area. Thankfully, you won’t have to choose between the two, since there are eight nights of Hanukkah to enjoy these wines.

Holiday gifTs A sassy 65 year-old Southerner I know has a philosophy about receiving gifts: “If I can’t drink it, I don’t want it.” For those sassy folks in your life who feel the same way, here are some wine gift suggestions just for them: If you’re giving red wines, try something unexpected, such as an Amarone. This Italian wine is famous for being made, in part, with harvested grapes that have dried on racks – similar to raisins – which makes for a sweeter, bigger, moreconcentrated wine with a slightly higher alcohol content. Go for Conte di Bregonzo Amarone della Valpolicella or the more expensive Le Salette La

Marega Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Italia 2010. Both will make great gifts. Oh, and don’t forget to get a bottle for yourself. If giving white, a bottle of Ice Wine will warm anyone’s heart. Ice Wine is produced in colder climates where the grapes must freeze on the vine before harvesting.

Although the water in the grapes freezes, the sugar does not, so when the grapes are pressed, just the sugars remain, making Ice Wine a sweeter, moreconcentrated dessert wine. Consume Ice Wines solo as a dessert or paired with cheese and fruit. Try Jacob Gerhardt Dienheimer Tafelstein Sylvaner Eiswein 2002. Since Ice Wines tend to be pricy, you will get a similar effect from a French Sauternes dessert wine like Chateau Doisy-Vedrines. When in doubt as to whether you should go for red or white, you can never go wrong with Champagne. A bottle of bubbly always makes an excellent gift, because you don’t have to know the palate likes and dislikes of the gift receiver. More importantly, drinking liquid bubbles turns any event into a celebration. A bottle of Moet & Chandon Impérial Brut Champagne is always welcome. This French company has been making quality bubbly since the 18th century and is the official Champagne of England’s Queen Elizabeth II. And remember… no matter what wine you drink or give this season, your evenings will be merrier, brighter and jollier by sharing a bottle with someone special.

For The Vino Lover On Your List

Do you like wine but don’t know anything about it except that it’s alcoholic and wet? Alicia Bien is here to remedy that. Bien is the author of “Evolution of a Wine Drinker” (Bien Entertainment, Inc., 2013) a funny collection of self-deprecating wine stories depicting the highs – and lows – of her own evolution as a wine drinker, from novice to (many bottles later) an expert. Her book is a “must-have” for anyone who loves vino and it makes for a great stocking stuffer.

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The Hallowed Hall of Must-Knowtables

By David Laurell Illustration by Mark Hammermeister

Nat

King

Cole

A jazz pianist best known for his soft, baritone voice, Nat King Cole was a major force in popular music for three decades. The first African-American performer to host a network television series, he is remembered for a string of hit singles including “The Christmas Song,” “Mona Lisa” and “Nature Boy.”

B

orn on March 17, 1919, in Montgomery, Alabama, to a Baptist pastor and his wife, Nathaniel Adams Coles was taught to play the piano before he was five-years-old by his mother, who served as the choir director for her husband’s church.

By the time he was in his mid-teens, Nathaniel was a formally trained classical pianist, had dropped the “s” from his last name, and left school to pursue a career as a jazz musician along with his brother, Eddie.

Cole performed as a pianist in a national tour for the musical revue “Shuffle Along” in 1936, and the following year, he established The King Cole Trio. The group, whose name was inspired by the British nursery rhyme, began recording, toured extensively, and first hit the charts in 1943 with “That Ain’t Right.” The following year, the trio scored another hit with “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” a song that was inspired by one of Cole’s father’s sermons.

The trio continued its rise during the mid-1940s with such pop hits as “(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons” and a recording that would go on to become a holiday classic: “The Christmas Song.”

Written in 1945 by Bob Wells and Mel Tormé, “The Christmas Song” was first recorded by The Nat King Cole Trio in 1946. Not happy with the original recording, Cole waged a successful battle with Capitol Records to redo the song with a small string section. Cole would recorded the song a third time in 1953, using a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more

in 1961, in a stereophonic version with an orchestra led by Ralph Carmichael. It is the 1961 version that is generally regarded as the definitive recording of this legendary holiday song.

Cole, who had a short-lived marriage when he was only 17, divorced and then married jazz singer Maria Hawkins Ellington in 1948. Their nuptials were performed by U.S. Representative Adam Clayton Powell Jr. at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York and the couple went on to raise three biological children – Natalie, Casey and Timolin – and two adopted children – Carol and Nat Kelly.

By the mid-1950s, Cole had emerged from the trio as a solo performer, chalking up a string of hit songs that included “Nature Boy,” “Mona Lisa,” “Too Young,” and “Unforgettable.” The sales of his records proved to be instrumental in the success of Capitol Records and gave the company the financial wherewithal to finance the construction of the iconic Capitol Records building in Hollywood.

A circular structure that gives the appearance of a stack of records, the building was completed in 1956 and became known as “The House That Nat Built.”

In 1956, Cole was tapped by NBC to host ‘The Nat King Cole Show,” a 15-minute musical program that evolved into a 30-minute show. The first national television program to be hosted by an African-American, NBC was not able to lure sponsors due to the racial climate of the era. That fact, despite guest appearances by some of the biggest names in entertainment, including Count

This feature is intended for you to clip and give to your children or grandchildren because…they must-know!

26 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

Basie, Peggy Lee, Sammy Davis Jr. and Tony Bennett, saw the network pull the plug on the program before the end of 1957.

While still maintaining a presence on television as a guest star on other popular variety programs of the era, Cole’s career continued to be plagued by racism. This hit a crescendo in 1956 when, during a tour of the south, Cole was attacked by white supremacists during a performance in Alabama. In the wake of that attack and the cancellation of his NBC show, Cole struggled to find his place in the civil rights movement. While rebuked by some African-Americans for his less-than-demonstrative support of civil rights, Cole took the stance that he was an entertainer, not an activist.

By the dawn of the 1960s, with the advent of rock ‘n’ roll, the musical tastes of Americans were changing and Cole’s presence on the record charts declined. He did, however, experience a resurgence in 1962 when his recording of “Ramblin’ Rose” reached the number two spot on the Billboard pop charts followed up by “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer,” which was released in the spring of the following year.

As the rock era gained steam and the British Invasion infused the American music charts with artists from across the pond, Cole did manage to score two final hits with the ballads “I Don’t Want to Hurt Anymore” and “I Don’t Want to See Tomorrow.”

While he will always be remembered for his role in American music, Cole also had a brief film career. Beginning with small cameo roles in a few forgettable films of the 1940s, he turned in one lead performance, as “The Father of The Blues,” W.C. Handy, in the 1958 Paramount Pictures drama “St. Louis Blues,” which also starred Eartha Kitt, Cab Calloway and a very young Billy Preston. Cole made one final film appearance alongside Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin in Columbia Pictures’ “Cat Ballou.”

During the filming of “Cat Ballou,” Cole began to experience health problems that resulted in weight loss and severe back pain. While doing the film, he was also touring with a musical revue, “Sights and Sounds,” and it was revealed he had been having an extramarital relationship with a 19-year-old Swedish actress and singer, Gunilla Hutton.

The latter part of the summer of 1964 saw Cole’s health continue to deteriorate and in September, he collapsed following a performance at The Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. This episode led to the discovery that Cole had a cancerous tumor on his left lung that was in an advanced stage of growth and he was told he only had months to live. In spite of this devastating news, Cole did a final recording session in early December with an orchestra conducted by Ralph Carmichael that produced the album “L-O-V-E.” While Cole’s condition was considered terminal, he was admitted to St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica to begin cobalt therapy and have his cancerous lung removed. Although his doctors were frank in providing Cole with a dire prognosis, his publicists told the press that Cole’s illness was not very serious, that he was responding well to treatment, and would soon be returning to work.

Shortly after Cole was diagnosed with cancer, his wife, Maria, put aside her thoughts of divorce over her husband’s affair with Hutton and on Valentine’s Day of 1965, the couple took a drive out to the ocean. The following morning, Cole died in the early morning hours at the age of 45.

Following a day of public mourning, when thousands of fans were given the opportunity to pass his casket, Cole’s funeral was held on February 18 at St. James Episcopal Church in Los Angeles. Among the 400-plus who crowded into the church to hear comedian Jack Benny deliver the eulogy was a star-studded “who’s who” of politics and entertainment that included honorary pallbearers Robert F. Kennedy, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Johnny Mathis, George Burns, Danny Thomas, Jimmy Durante, Alan Livingston, Frankie Laine, Steve Allen and then-California Governor Pat Brown.

Following the service, Cole’s remains were entombed behind a white marble slab adorned with a gold-plated facsimile of his signature inside the Freedom Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Today, with Cole’s rendition of “The Christmas Song” secured in the top echelon of the holiday music canon, his legacy continues through his daughter, Natalie Cole, whose successful recording career reached its pinnacle in 1991 when she hit the charts with “Unforgettable,” mixing her vocal as a duet along with her father’s hit song.

LEARN MORE Along with Cole’s recordings, two of the best books about him are: • “Unforgettable: The Life and Mystique of Nat King Cole” (St. Martin’s Press, 191) by Leslie Gourse. This is an exhaustively researched biography that delves into Cole’s storied experience with racism and his influence on music.

• “Angel on My Shoulder: An Autobiography” (Central Publishing, 2000) by Natalie Cole. This tome offers up an intimate portrait of the entertainer as told by his daughter.

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Johnny

Mathis The man whose music makes us merry

Story by David Laurell · Photos by Andre’ B. Murray

I

f you’ll excuse the pun, “chances are” that since the late 1950s, Johnny Mathis has been as much a part of your holiday celebrations as your own family and traditions. During this time of year, it is impossible to go to a shopping center, turn on a radio station that broadcasts holiday music, or attend a party and not hear a Christmas standard being sung by the velvety smooth voice of the man who has been called the greatest romantic singer of all time.

For baby boomers, Mathis has been as responsible as a direct-to-the-heart hit from one of Cupid’s arrows for creating a magical world that warms the heart like glowing embers and conjures spells that have served as the soundtrack for innumerable first kisses, budding romances, wedding ceremonies and Christmas celebrations.

In fact, along with starry summer evenings, cold winter nights and electrical blackouts, those magical Mathis melodies have also played a significant role in the actual existence of a vast number of boomers.

If you were born sometime between the late-1950s and mid-1960s, there is an excellent possibility

30 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

that “Chances Are,” “Misty,” “The Twelfth of Never” or “It’s Not For Me To Say” may have been playing when – well, let’s just say when you became a conceived notion.

HOW IT BEGAN Born John Royce Mathis on September 30, 1935 in Gilmer, Texas, young Johnny showed an early interest in music and a talent for singing, and while he was serious about his singing, a career in music was not on his mind when he graduated from high school and matriculated to San Francisco State College.

An outstanding track and field star who had qualified for Olympic trials in Australia, his plans were to become a physical education and English teacher. Those plans were dashed when a San Francisco nightclub owner named Helen Noga became aware of Mathis and persuaded George Avakian, the head of jazz artists and repertoire at Columbia Records, to come and hear him sing. He did, and was so impressed by what he heard, he immediately sent a wire to Columbia that read:

HAVE FOUND PHENOMENAL 19-YEAR-OLD BOY WHO COULD GO ALL THE WAY. SEND BLANK CONTRACTS. In 1956, Mathis began performing in New York nightclubs and working with Columbia Record’s producer Mitch Miller. By the early 1960s, his soft, romantic ballads were topping the charts and he was well on his way to becoming an artist who, over the following decades, would record over 130 albums that would sell over 350 million copies, produce 20 Top 40 hits, be named one of the top five artists of all time by Billboard magazine, receive a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, become a two-time inductee into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and indelibly seal his status as a musical legend.

“My father was the first influence on me,” says Mathis. “When I listen to myself sing, I hear my dad. He was a good singer, and when I was about 12-years-old, he told me that if I was really serious about singing, I should study.”

Deciding that he was, in fact serious about singing, a search began for voice teachers in the San Francisco area. However, limited funds made

that search a difficult one, and nothing really sparked until he met a teacher named Connie Cox. “We didn’t have the money for regular singing lessons,” Mathis recalls. “So we worked out a deal whereby I would do errands for Connie in return for lessons. She always found something for me to do while she had other students in for their lessons.

She felt I could learn by listening to them. Then, between her regular lessons, she would work with me.”

Mathis goes on to say that without Cox’s training, he doubts he would ever have had a career as a singer. “I certainly would have never endured,” he adds. “Because she taught me how to produce tones so I wouldn’t injure my voice. She also taught me pronunciation, enunciation, and about lyrics. She was a godsend, and half of my career is owed to her.”

According to Mathis, his trademark ability – to sing softly in a high range – is directly attributable to Cox. “I didn’t feel that I could do it, but she insisted that I could,” he says. “My big excuse was that I was a man and she was a woman, so I felt we were going to hit a wall when it came to singing softly in a high range. But she believed that I had the ability to do it and she showed me how to do it and it became my trademark. Over the years, I’ve heard very knowledgeable people speak about my singing as a technique, and they’re right, it is a technique – a technique that Connie taught me.”

Along with Cox’s training, Noga, who guided his career for the first 15 years, and Mitch Miller, whom he credits with having been a great teacher, Mathis speaks highly of other singers who inspired him, including Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Ray Charles, Mabel Mercer and Sarah Vaughan. While he speaks of each of these individuals in glowing terms and with genuine heartfelt gratitude, that glowing gratitude evolves into downright reverence when he speaks of Nat King Cole.

“Nat Cole was the shining star in my life right from the beginning,” says Mathis. “He was the finest gentleman you would ever meet. He was a kind and gentle and dignified person who was very gracious to me. I have always tried to conduct myself in the manner that he did. We were in the same business – singing romantic music – and I was very young and in need of direction. He was of great help to me at the beginning of my career.

He was so much more than a great singer. He was one of the greatest jazz pianists of all times. To this day, Nat’s music is in my home all the time, as if he were very much alive.”

In 1961, Mathis was introduced to another man who would make a profound impact on his life – Henry Mancini. “I was very fortunate to have known him,” says Mathis. “Henry was one of my favorite people in the world. He was a great artist and he was also kind and gentle – a person who has made a great impact on my life. We first worked together at the Seattle World’s Fair, and from then on, we were inseparable. We were very similar in personality and shared the same ideas about where we wanted our careers to go.”

According to Mathis, Mancini was instrumental (so to speak) in helping him select the songs he would record and sing in concert. As Johnny talks about Mancini and other songwriters, it is apparent that he harbors a tremendous respect for their craft.

“I got my admiration for lyricists by trying to write myself,” he laughs. “I have no talent for it at all.”

Along with the recordings by the aforementioned, Mathis’ musical preferences include Mexican and Brazilian music and classical recordings. Prodded to reveal a shocker, he laughs when asked if there is any chance one might ever find him listening to Led Zeppelin.

“I’m not a snob musically,” he says with a shy smile. “There are just things that I listen to and things that I don’t. I like Elaine Paige, who was a Broadway singer that I worked with. I listen to Patti Austin, James Ingram, Roberta Flack, Michael McDonald and James Taylor. I love rhythm and blues, and music from films and musicals, especially ‘Kismet,’ which is my all-time favorite, and the soundtrack from ‘A Passage to India,’ which I love.”

HIS OTHER LOVE While Mathis harbors a love of music, there is another thing he admits to having a true passion for – golf.

A business associate once relayed a story of watching from the wings as Mathis performed at the Greek Theatre. As he walked off stage to a thunderous standing ovation, his friend asked him

how it felt to have thousands of people passionately showing their appreciation and admiration and knowing that it was all for him. Johnny reportedly stood quiet for a moment and then, with the slightest of smiles said: “It’s nothing like getting the little white ball into the hole.”

Asked to confirm that story, Mathis laughs and then dramatically fesses up. “It’s true! It’s true!” he admits. “I admit it. I am crazy for golf. I love to play. I think you can learn a lot about someone by playing a round of golf with them – how they react to things and how they handle themselves.”

Applying this theory, he is asked what one might learn about him by observing his performance on the links. He again laughs. “Oh, I don’t know – I’m very much the same with golf as I am in the way I react to life in general. I know I’ll never beat it, so I simply enjoy the experience. I used to be concerned about scoring, but now it’s a way to meet people outside of those I normally would.”

Among the other things Mathis enjoys is maintaining a routine that includes keeping active and connected with friends. “I enjoy staying busy and love my daily routine,” he reveals. “I get up every morning at 5 a.m. I go to the gym at 6 a.m. and then stop by the market at 7:30. When I get home, I prepare my food for the day, take care of some business, and then by noon, I’m off to the golf course. After golf, I will decide if I am in the mood to eat what I fixed that morning,” he says with a laugh. “If I’m not, I’ll pick up something else. I am finicky to the point that if it isn’t what I love to eat or what I’m in the mood for, I will pass on eating.

December 2015 LIFEAFTER50.COM 31

I never feel like I have to eat a full meal.At times, I will skip having a full meal and just have a little bit of something I really like.”

Having turned 80 this past September, Mathis, a prostate cancer survivor who has also had back surgery and both hips replaced, says he doesn’t give much thought to aging and has no real advice to offer on growing older other than to encourage people to stay active and focused on doing things they enjoy.

“Along with golf, I spend a lot of time exercising,” says Mathis. “I am very much in the habit of exercising. I go to a gym in Century City and exercise five days a week for an hour-and-a-half. I had no problem rehabbing from my back and hip surgeries, because I was very diligent about doing what I was told to do as far as exercising. As for my diet, I eat what I want, but if a week goes by and I feel I have not eaten enough healthy foods, I will prepare something that is good for me,” he says.

“... it is very rewarding to fin that my Christmas music ha d meant so much to many peops le.”

THE VOICE OF CHRISTMAS When asked to reflect on his incredible career, Mathis says that perhaps more than anything else, he finds his greatest personal satisfaction in having people love his renowned Christmas recordings.

“It’s the most humbling and gratifying feeling in the world, because it reminds me of my mom and my dad,” he says emotionally. “When I think of the happiness I have in my life, it is because of them.

When I recorded my first Christmas album, I did it for my mom and dad, and for that album to still have such life so many years later is the greatest thing that has happened to me. Every time I hear it in a department store or on the radio, I get tears in my eyes, because I think of my mom and my dad.

It’s a way of having them with me.”

Having moved from Texas to California when he was very young, Mathis says he harbors wonderful holiday memories from his youth.

“When I was young, living in San Francisco, I loved Christmas,” he says. “Coming from a large family with seven children, we would start celebrating the minute Thanksgiving was over.

My mother was a wonderful cook, and she would prepare special family meals while my brothers and sisters and I would drag out all of our special Christmas stuff and put horrible decorations up all over the house,” he recalls with a laugh. “We didn’t have the proper kind of Christmas stockings, so we used nylon stockings for the oranges and apples and what have you. But more than anything, it was the music that made the season come alive for me.

I sang with choirs at school and church and even with the ROTC choir when I was a reserve officer.

Christmas always meant singing to me. So, years later, when I started recording, my first instinct was to record Christmas music.”

32 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

Since releasing his first Christmas album in the early 1960s, Mathis has recorded numerous yuletide offerings that continue to be some of the best-selling and most-loved Christmas music ever produced.

“At this point in my life, it is very rewarding to find that my Christmas music has meant so much to so many people,” says Mathis. “It’s just the most incredible thing when people come up to me and say that it just wouldn’t be Christmas without my music. I truly believe it’s the nicest thing that could happen to anyone – to have your music selected for people’s Christmas celebrations.

I feel like I get to celebrate with millions of people. I have had people tell me they even play my Christmas music all year long, because it puts them in a good mood,” he says with a laugh.

WELCOME TO HIS WORLD Today, with over 60 years of recording and performing behind him, Mathis still regularly performs in concert. “I do find great enjoyment in taking my orchestra on the road and singing to people in person,” he says. “I really don’t enjoy recording as much as I did when I was younger, but I do love doing concerts, because I think that people like to come and see me and reminisce a bit. I have always cared so much about the people who have come to see me. For years, I was so nervous when I walked out on stage that it affected my performance. I wanted to always do my best, and it’s just not possible to be 100 percent night

after night. But, as the years went by, I came to terms with the fact that some nights were going to be better than others and the best I could do was to constantly strive to maintain a level of consistency that was acceptable.”

Asked if he is aware of the aura of magic, memories and romantic reverence that fills a venue when he sings, Mathis says he is conscious of the feeling by the response he receives from the audience. “That’s why I don’t move much on stage. I try not to take anything away from what I’m singing. I got knocked for that in the beginning – that I didn’t really entertain. But I did that on purpose. Simply standing behind a microphone and making the song the star is what best suits my personality. I’m not really an outgoing person.

In fact, I have always been a little hesitant about appearing at functions that don’t have anything to do with music. So if I jumped around and joked with the audience, it would be unnatural and people would sense that it was not really me. I put my heart and soul into performing. I once had a teacher tell me that when I sing, I am not there to impress but to express. I feel I am also like that in the way I live my life and interact with people. I don’t try to impress anyone but rather express myself through good manners and showing respect to people. I like to bring people into my world.”

For more information on Johnny Mathis’ touring schedule and recordings, click on www.johnnymathis.com.

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Let’s Get OUt A Preview of Upcoming Events for December/January By Claire Yezbak Fadden

eNteRtAINMeNt TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15 L.A. ZOO LIGHTS While zoo animals themselves are asleep, L.A. Zoo Lights depicts them in displays made of millions of lights that beckon you to stroll through a section of the zoo and be surrounded by dazzling sights and colors.

The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Griffith Park, 5333 Zoo Dr., Los Angeles.

Dates vary through Jan. 3. Prices vary.

(323) 644-6042. lazoo.org.

THE CHRISTIANS After 20 years of growing his congregation into the thousands, Pastor Paul does some soul searching and reaches a conclusion that shakes the church’s very foundation with a message that challenges one of the basic tenets of his ministry. As Pastor Paul summons the courage to lead his flock in a new direction, he faces questions about his motivations, and his personal and professional relationships begin to fray. Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum at the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. Dates vary through Jan. 10. $25-$85. (213) 628-2772. centertheatregroup.org.

LA/Ventura

December 2015/January 2016

REINDEER ROMP See real reindeer in Los Angeles, and enjoy a flurry of seasonal festivities and yuletide flourishes, plus an occasional visit by Santa Claus. All activities, except Santa photos, free with paid admission. The Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, Griffith Park, 5333 Zoo Dr., Los Angeles. Dates vary through Jan. 3. Prices vary. (323) 644-6042. lazoo.org.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16 OUTSIDE MULLINGAR Family farms, feuds and fences have separated neighbors Rosemary and Anthony since childhood. But as the heather blooms in the Irish countryside, unexpected charms are unearthed. Gil Cates Theater, 10886 Le Conte Ave. Los Angeles. Dates vary through Dec 20. $32-$76. (310) 208-5454. geffenplayhouse.com.

begins. El Capitan Theatre, 6838 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Through Feb. 7. $15-$31.

(800) 347-6396. elcapitantickets.com CHRISTMAS ROCKS! TOUR Guitarist, songwriter and vocalist Brian Setzer, along with his 18-piece Brian Setzer Orchestra, perform. Concert includes “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” “Yabba-Dabba

THE PAINTED ROCKS AT REVOLVER CREEK Aging farm laborer Nukain has spent his life transforming the rocks at Revolver Creek into a vibrant garden of painted flowers.

Now, the final unpainted rock, as well as his young companion Bokkie, has forced Nukain to confront his legacy as a painter, a person and a black man in 1980s South Africa. The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles. Through Dec. 19. $15–$35. (323) 663-1525. fountaintheatre.com.

GLENDALE NOON CONCERTS Oboe recital. Sanctuary of Glendale City Church, 610 E. California Ave., Glendale, Glendale. Free. (818) 242-2113. glendalenoonconcerts.blogspot.com.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 HOLIDAY ICE RINK IN PERSHING SQUARE Los Angeles’s biggest outdoor community skating rink includes a holiday concert series, the Snoopy Showcase, deejay nights, a Winter Holiday Festival, championship skating exhibitions and broomball games.

Pershing Square, 532 S. Olive, Los Angeles.

Through Jan. 18. $9/one-hour skate session.

Admission-$9; skate rental-$4. (213) 6244289. holidayicerinkdowntownla.com.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17

KURIOS – A CABINET OF CURIOSITIES

In this Cirque du Soleil show, a Seeker discovers that in order to glimpse the marvels that lie just below the surface, we must first learn to close our eyes. In his larger-than-life curio cabinet, the Seeker is convinced that there exists a hidden, invisible world – a place where the craziest ideas and the grandest dreams lie waiting. Dodger Stadium, 1000 Elysian Park Ave., Los Angeles. Through Feb. 7. cirquedusoleil.com/kurios.

34 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

Yuletide,” and “Rockabilly Rudolph,” among other Christmas classic tunes. Microsoft Theater, 777 Chick Hearn Court, Los Angeles.

Ticket prices vary. briansetzer.com/tour.

SOMETHING’S AFOOT This musical murder mystery spoofs detective stories. The play involves a group of standard British mystery characters who are invited to the lake estate of Lord Dudley Rancour.

When the wealthy lord is found dead, it’s a comical race against the clock and some outrageous booby traps to find out whodunit.

Westchester Playhouse, 8301 Hindry Ave., Los Angeles. Also Dec. 19. $25. (310) 645-5156. kentwoodplayers.org

SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN’ TO MOTOWN Telling the tale of Kris Kringle’s (aka Santa Claus) origin, The Troubies take the jolly old man himself and send him to the land of Smokey Miracles and Supreme Temptations.

Falcon Theatre, 4252 Riverside Dr., Burbank. $32-$44. Dates vary through Jan. 17. (818) 955-8101. falcontheatre.com.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18 STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Enjoy a laser lightsaber curtain show and explore an exclusive display of costumes and props from the movie before the screening

JOHNNY MATHIS The legendary crooner spreads holiday cheer with Yuletide tunes and his classic hits, including “Chances Are,” “It’s Not for Me to Say” and “Misty.” Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. Prices vary. (562) 467-8818. cerritoscenter.com.

CALeNDAR

December 2015/January 2016 LA/Ventura

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19 PETER PAN AND TINKERBELL: A PIRATE CHRISTMAS Tinkerbell, Wendy and Peter Pan embark on a wild quest to foil the pirates’ plot to kidnap Peter for Captain Hook’s Christmas present in this flying, singing, swashbuckling adventure.

The Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave. Pasadena. Through Jan. 3. $25-$125. (626) 356-7529.

JEFF GOLDBLUM AND THE MILDRED SNITZER ORCHESTRA Goldblum and his jazz band, perform. Lovelace Studio Theater, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. $50-$75. (310)746-4000. thewallis.org.

BOOGIE KNIGHTS The Canyon, 28912 Roadside Dr., Agoura Hills. $20. (818) 879-5016. canyonclub.net.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20 WESTERN MUSIC ASSOCIATION SHOWCASE Musicians and cowboy poets perform stories and songs of the romantic days of the Old West, contemporary music of the American West and songs of the open range and the American cowboy. The Autry National Center, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park, Los Angeles. $6-$10. (323) 667-2000. theautry.org.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 WOODLAND HILLS ICE Glide around the only outdoor open-air ice rink in the San Fernando Valley. Westfield Promenade Mall, 6100 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills. Through Jan. 24. $15 including skate rental. (818) 854-4151. woodlandhillsice.com.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23 SPAZMATICS The Canyon, 28912 Roadside Dr., Agoura Hills. $20. (818) 879-5016. canyonclub.net.

VENTURA BLUEGRASS JAMS Milano’s Italian Restaurant, Patio, Ventura Harbor Village, 1559 Spinnaker Dr., Ventura.

(805) 658-0388. milanositalianrestaurant.com.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24 ICE AT SANTA MONICA This 8,000-square-foot ice skating rink in downtown Santa Monica hosts a variety of events including Rock ‘n’ Skate on Friday nights, Sunday Costume Skate, Lil’ Tot Time and Los Angeles Kings Hockey Clinics.

1324 5th St., Santa Monica. Through Jan. 18. $15 skate rental. (805) 701-7248. iceatsantamonica.com.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26 VIEWING STONES SHOW Practiced in Asia for centuries and gaining popularity around the world, the art of viewing stones invites contemplation of the subtle, often fanciful forms that have been shaped by nature, the elements and time. This

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY

The unforgettable story of Iowa housewife Francesca Johnson and her life-changing, four-day whirlwind romance with traveling photographer Robert Kincaid. Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre at the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles.

Dates vary through Jan. 17. $25-$130. (213) 628-2772. centertheatregroup.org.

show featuring more than 100 outstanding examples of suiseki and other viewing stones.

The Huntington, Brody Botanical Center, 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino. Dates vary through Jan. 3. $19-$25. huntington.org.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 27 JAY LENO One of the country’s premier comedians, Leno brings his popular brand of humor and everyman style and personality to this show.

Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Fred Kavli Theatre, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. $64-$134. civicartsplaza.com.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30 LOUIS AND KEELY: LIVE AT THE SAHARA Louis Prima and Keely Smith shared a largerthan-life marriage and groundbreaking Las Vegas act featuring unforgettable songs like “That Ol’ Black Magic,” “Pennies from Heaven” and “Embraceable You.” This

performance features Tony Award-winner Anthony Crivello as Louis Prima and Vanessa Claire Stewart as Keely Smith. Gil Cates Theater, 10886 Le Conte Ave. Los Angeles.

Dates vary through Jan. 17. $43-$129. (310) 208-5454. geffenplayhouse.com.

JANUARY

TODD RUNDGREN Saban Theatre, 8440 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. $48-$68. (888) 645-5006. sabantheatre.org.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 8

SUNDAY, JANUARY 3 FREE FIRST SUNDAY Free admission to the Museum of Ventura County including its galleries and any special events. Museum of Ventura County, 100 East Main St., Ventura. First Sunday of each month.

(805) 653-0323. venturamuseum.org.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6 GLENDALE NOON CONCERTS Violin recital. Sanctuary of Glendale City Church, 610 E. California Ave., Glendale, Glendale. Free. (818) 242-2113. glendalenoonconcerts.blogspot.com.

DAVID FINCKEL AND WU HAN Husband-and-wife classical musicians, cellist David Finckel and pianist Wu Han perform. Bram Goldsmith Theater, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd. Beverly Hills. $39-$99.

(310)746-4000. thewallis.org.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9 DONNY OSMOND Since his teen-heartthrob years, Osmond has delighted fans with the hits “Go Away Little Girl” and “Puppy Love.” Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. $55-$85. (562) 467-8818. cerritoscenter.com.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10 SECOND SUNDAY CONCERT Pasadena Central Library, 285 E Walnut, Pasadena. Free. (626) 398-0658.

December 2015 LIFEAFTER50.COM 35

December 2015/January 2016 LA/Ventura TUESDAY, JANUARY 12 ANDREA MCARDLE Andrea McArdle rocketed to stardom as the title character in Broadway’s original “Annie,” becoming the youngest performer ever nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Pepperdine University, Smothers Theatre, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu. $20-$40. arts.pepperdine.edu.

VENTURA BLUEGRASS JAMS Milano’s Italian Restaurant, Patio, Ventura Harbor Village, 1559 Spinnaker Dr., Ventura.

(805) 658-0388. milanositalianrestaurant.com.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 14 FLASHDANCE THE MUSICAL With electrifying dance at its core, this musical tells the inspiring and unforgettable story of Alex Owens, a Pittsburgh steel mill welder by day and a club dancer by night with dreams of one day becoming a professional performer.

When romance with her steel mill boss threatens to complicate her ambitions, Alex learns the meaning of love and its power to fuel the pursuit of her dream. Features a score including the title song “Flashdance-What a Feeling,” “Maniac,” “Gloria,” “Manhunt” and “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.” Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, Fred Kavli Theatre, 2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd., Thousand Oaks. Through Jan. 17. Prices vary. civicartsplaza.com.

36 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES ART WALK This self-guided, public art walk brings art lovers and community friends together in downtown Los Angeles. 411 S. Main St., between Second and Ninth Streets, Los Angeles. Free. downtownartwalk.org.

eXHIBItION TUESDAY, JANUARY 12 FAREWELL, EDEN: NATURE IN A PORST-WILD WORLD This exhibit features works of art by contemporary artists who are seeking to divine and define the emerging new relationships between nature and the city, between nature and humankind.

Descanso Gardens, Sturt Haaga Gallery’s, 1418 Descanso Dr., La Cañada Flintridge.

Tues.-Sun. through April 3. (818) 949-4200. descansogardens.org.

Get the Word Out. E-mail your announcements to Claire Fadden, cfadden@lifeafter50.com 60 days prior (or even earlier) to your event. Include a brief description, location, date, time, cost, phone and website. Submission does not guarantee publication.

See our digital issue at

.com

December 2015 LIFEAFTER50.COM 37

Rick Steves’ Travels There’s no place like Rome for the holidays Rick St eveS’ t RavelS

By Rick Steves

I

find the holiday season in Rome a joy: crisp air, stylish big city Italians cupping hot cappuccino in corner cafés, and hurried shoppers bundled up with panache, thoughtfully pausing at grand manger scenes. The season here stretches for over a month – not to maximize shopping days, but to fit in the season’s many holy days.

As home to Vatican City, the headquarters of the Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church, Rome is rich with Christmas’ most sacred traditions. Manger scenes, called presepi, originated just a little north of Rome in Assisi some 800 years ago when St. Francis taught the story of Jesus’ birth with props. For a bit of manger history, visit the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. There you can see five wooden planks, said to be from the original Christmas manger.

Creative crèches are on display all over town, ranging from old and traditional to avant-garde.

Dip into any church in town from early December through Epiphany (January 6) to see one, or visit Piazza del Popolo’s annual exhibition, with 100 unique presepi made by artists and schoolchildren.

One of the most important relics in Rome is at the Church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. The Santo Bambino, a statue of the holy child, is clothed in rich fabrics and covered with jewels. He’s believed to have miraculous healing powers, and it’s said that the bambino’s lips turn red if a prayer is about to be answered and pale if there is no hope. Children especially love the bambino, writing him letters and reciting poems to him on Christmas Day. The bam-

38 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

bino figure is usually kept in a glass case in a chapel, but at the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, he’s presented to the church’s eager and expectant congregation.

The Vatican’s Nativity scene has always been the premier decoration on St. Peter’s Square. But Pope John Paul II, who grew up in Poland and became the first non-Italian pope in a very long time, missed having a Christmas tree. So, in 1982, he added a lighted evergreen to the celebrations, standing tall near the central obelisk. Each year on Christmas Eve, the pope celebrates midnight Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. (Though the church holds 15,000 people, you must book far in advance to attend the Mass.)

For many Roman families, Epiphany, not Christmas, is the big gift-giving day, when kids open presents delivered by the broom-riding witch, La Befana. On the eve of Epiphany, Befana ( ala Santa) flies over the rooftops of Rome on her broom and brings gifts to the good children or coal for the bad ones – although, these days the “coal” is a crunchy black confection sold at street-corner carts.

Some Roman parents threaten naughty kids by saying: “Lo dico alla Befana!” (I’ll tell the Befana!), or the ever-popular: “Viene la Befana e ti porta via!” (The Befana will come and take you away!), which is very bad news indeed, because Befana has an ogre of a husband who devours children. According to legend, the Biblical magi stopped to ask Befana for directions to Bethlehem and the Christ child, but she was too busy to help. As time passed, Befana kept thinking about the strange visitors and

their quest. Bearing a sack filled with bread, she set out to find baby Jesus, too. Whenever she saw a baby boy, she gave him a piece of bread, hoping he might be the Christ child. Befana still wanders through Italy each Christmas season looking for the baby and leaving goodies for the children. Her name means “gift-bringer.”

Lively Piazza Navona hosts a holiday market – known locally as the “Befana Market” – that bustles with street performers and vendors from early December until Epiphany. Here you can shop for decorations, toys, and other gift items.

Or pop into one of the city’s many fine bakeries for their Christmas confections. These vary, but you’ll find one constant – fruitcakes. In Italy, fruitcake is disguised as bread (pane). There’s big bread (panettone), golden bread (pandoro), sweet bread (pandolce), and strong bread (panforte), which is a dense mixture of honey, candied fruit, nuts, and spices.

Whether spiritual or secular, at this time of year, Romans are wishing their families, friends, and everyone they encounter the same thing I’m wishing you and every Life After 50 reader: Merry Christmas! Or, as you would say when in Rome: Buon Natale!

Rick Steves writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and radio. You can e-mail him at rick@ricksteves.com and visit his website at www.ricksteves.com.

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And Finally...

The Bookworm’s Best A Life After 50 book review

by Terri “The Bookworm” Schlichenmeyer

Frank & Ava: In Love and War

By John Brady

W

hat did Ava Gardner see in Frank Sinatra that so captivated her? What was it about him that she liked and what didn’t she care for?

If you are hoping for answers to those questions in the new book, “Frank & Ava” by John Brady, you may find some, but you may also just be dreaming the impossible dream.

When the 18-year-old Gardner stepped off the Manhattan-to-Los-Angeles train on a summer day in 1941, she was green as spring grass with a knowledge of Hollywood that had come entirely from fan magazines. She didn’t smoke or drink and was a “good girl” from North Carolina, a beauty whose new career was launched by a portrait in a photography-studio window.

Before she left for Hollywood, Gardner had “playfully” told friends she was going off to Tinseltown to marry the “biggest movie star in the world” and, unbelievably, six months later, she did so by becoming Mrs. Mickey Rooney. That marriage lasted less than a year, as did her second marriage to bandleader Artie Shaw.

When Sinatra arrived in Hollywood in 1943, his star had been shining for quite some time. He was the highest-paid concert performer in the country, having become famous with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and then as a solo performer.

He’d also acted in some modestly successful films, but that summer, Hollywood beckoned, so he moved his wife and family west.

While Sinatra’s initial work in Hollywood was at RKO, he and Gardner first crossed paths on the MGM lot. Then, as time went by, their paths continued to cross and, by early 1947, a spark had been kindled and they were “dating.” Their relationship was clandestine and complex. He was still married and she openly dated other people, as did he, while he worked to gain a divorce so he and Gardner could marry, which they did in late 1951.

The couple had a rocky relationship, right from the start. They fought on the way to the altar and the battle continued after they said their “I dos.” Still, when his career briefly faltered, she supported him and paid the bills. Years later, long after a semi-amicable split, he returned the favor by paying for her funeral.

“Can’t live with him; can’t live without him.” No doubt, you’ve heard that phrase before, so keep it in mind as you read “Frank & Ava,” because nothing has ever been more apt.

This is a love story – but not always. It is also a tale of scandal. Brady allows just enough cattiness to make this story a compelling page-turner, although there is also plenty of resigned sadness within the book’s pages, and that was a surprise.

The other eyebrow-raiser, even in these “tell-all” times, was the overly-long list of sleep-around partners both Sinatra and Gardner chalked up, which, instead of being scandalous, tends to read like the same old story, told over and over, just with different names. While that made me lose focus at times, Brady’s oftoccurring gossipy tidbits kept me engrossed and flipping every page for more.

I learned a lot by reading “Frank & Ava” and did find it to be entertaining, but I think the book will resonate best with diehard fans and those who actually lived through the era. If that’s you and you can overlook the author’s tendency to be repetitive, this is an interesting glimpse of one of Hollywood’s most stunning actresses and the man – who was born 100 years ago this month – that lived life his way.

“Frank & Ava: In Love and War” by John Brady, c.2015, Thomas Dunne Books, $26.99, 292 pages.

The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer who lives on a hill with two dogs and more than 12,000 books. You can read more of her book reviews at www.lifeafter50.com. Just click on “Entertainment” and then “Book Reviews.”

A Look Back

Just A Thought Before We Go

F

ifty holiday seasons have passed since Americans first saw “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” starring the characters of Charles Schulz’s comic strip “Peanuts.” First airing on CBS on December 9, 1965, the special touches on the commercialization and secularism of the season, and serves to remind viewers of the true meaning of Christmas. Commissioned and sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company, it was produced on a shoestring budget and included a very unorthodox soundtrack for a holiday program – a jazz score by pianist Vince Guaraldi. Following its debut, the special received high ratings and critical acclaim and has become an annual tradition. Honored with Emmy and Peabody Awards, the special’s soundtrack also hit successful heights by going triple platinum in the U.S., being voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007, and added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry in 2012.

The popularity of the special also played a significant role in American popular culture. It eliminated the popularity of the aluminum Christmas tree, which was a fad from 1958 to 1965. After the special portrayed it negatively, they fell out of favor and, by 1967, were no longer being manufactured. The straggly little “Charlie Brown Christmas Tree” has also become a part of the American lexicon, representing cheapness and frugality in holiday decorations.

42 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

“Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us.”

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lifeafter50.com

southern california

JOHNNY

MATHIS

The man whose

MUSIC makes us merry

GREAT HOLIDAY

WINE

SUGGESTIONS

REMEMBERING

Nat King

Cole

The Multifaceted

Morgan

Fairchild The fascinating woman behind those piercing blue eyes

“THE GREATEST OF THE GREAT! IT MUST BE EXPERIENCED!” — Chrinstine Walevska, Goddess of Cello, watched Shen Yun 4 times

T

here was a time when the world was full of magic and splendor, and all on Earth existed in harmony with Heaven. You could see it in the arts, feel it in the air, and hear it in the beat of a drum. This was a land of heroes and sages, dragons and phoenixes, emperors and immortals.

Known today as China, this place was once called “the Land of the Divine.”

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Shen Yun brings the profound spirit of this lost civilization to life on stage with unrivaled artistic mastery. Every dance movement, every musical note, makes this a stunning visual and emotional experience you won’t find anywhere else.

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Experience the Arts connecting Heaven & Earth! Experience Shen Yun!

“ Mind-blowing! Go back and see six times!”

—Richard Connema, renowned Broadway critic

“Absolutely beautiful...

So inspiring; I think I may have found some new ideas for the next Avatar.”

“Absolutely the NO.1 show in the world, absolutely the best... No other company or of any style can match this!”

—Robert Stromberg, AcademyAward winning production designer for AVATAR

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Early Bird code: Early16 Get best seats & waive service fee by Dec.31

Scan for video

Contents

December 2015

10

20

26

30

Cover Profile

Departments

10 The Multifaceted Morgan Fairchild

6 50-Plus: What You Need to Know

There’s a fascinating woman behind those piercing blue eyes.

8 It’s The Law

Features

A quick look at things 50-plusers should be aware of.

20 Don’t Be Alone For The Holidays

Mitchell A. Karasov on when the time has come to lawyer up and wrap it up.

Make finding that special someone the gift you give yourself this holiday season.

The best in December television viewing.

24 Wine-ing Through A Vino Wonderland Great suggestions for making the holidays merrier, brighter and jollier.

26 The Hallowed Hall Of Must-Knowtables – Nat King Cole Legendary notables that everyone, of every age, should know.

30 The Look Of Life After 50 – Johnny Mathis The man whose music makes us merry.

Cover photo by Keith Munyan / www.keithmunyan.com

29 Tuned In To What’s On

34 Let’s Get Out

Looking to get out and about? Our December/January calendar has some great suggestions.

38 Rick Steves’ Travels

There’s no place like Rome for the holidays.

42 And Finally…The Bookworm’s Best, A Look Back and Just A Thought Before We Go

A book suggestion, memory, and a little something to leave you with.

All material published within this issue of Life After 50 and on www.lifeafte50.com is strictly for informational and educational purposes only. No individual, advice, product or service is in any way endorsed by Life After 50 or Southland Publishing, Inc. or provided as a substitute for the reader’s seeking of individualized professional advice or instruction. Readers should seek the advice of qualified professionals on any matter regarding an individual, advice, recommendations, services or products covered within this issue. All information and material is provided to readers with the understanding that it comes from various sources from which there is no warranty or responsibility by Life After 50 or Southland Publishing, Inc. as to its or their legality, completeness or technical accuracy.

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Editor’s Note...

Welcoming 2016 in a patchwork cloak of dreams

W

ith holiday preparations in full swing, I sit here in wonderment, putting the final touches on this issue. It is not a vision-of-sugar-plumtype wonderment that has anything to do with the sound of little hoofs prancing and pawing on rooftops, the messianic birth of a Bethlehem baby, or the ponderment of just how a one-day supply of oil could be miraculously stretched out for over a week. My state of wonderment stems from the far more basic realization that another year – one whose dawn seems like it should barely be reaching sunrise – is seeing its light descend into the horizon of history.

As the final days of each year blanket us in reflection, introspection, and thoughts of the future, I am finding myself duly blanketed; not with a pall of melancholia that we are on the eve of destruction, nor with a warm comforter of hope that 2016 will find us basking in peace and prosperity, but rather with a simple patchwork cloak of reality.

The patches that make up the cloak I am draped in seem to be one that has become a uniform of sorts for just about everyone I know and encounter. It is a cloak made up of patches of hope next to discouragement, optimism parallel to pessimism, joy, happiness and bliss beside sadness, anger and concern.

I think that cloak may just be the official uniform of our time – one that has us soldiering on in a world that affords us comforts and joy beyond historical compare intertwined with head-shaking bewilderment as to just what the hell has become of this crumbling ol’ world.

As we put out this last issue of 2015, we do so with the same message we incorporate in every issue: that no matter what befalls us in life, there are still things to enjoy, be grateful for, and ways to make a difference – in our personal lives and in the lives of others.

That is the Thoreauvian message actress Morgan Fairchild approaches every New Year’s Eve with, that “Every child begins the world again.” It is the message that Johnny Mathis sings in his popular Christmas song, “When a Child Is Born,” that was written by lyricist Fred Jay:

4 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

Publisher Valarie Anderson Editor-in-Chief David Laurell Associate Editors Steve Stoliar Claire Yezbak Fadden Art Director Michael Kraxenberger Editorial Assistant Max Andrews Controller Kacie Cobian Human Resources Andrea E. Baker Business Manager Linda Lam Billing Supervisor David Garcia VP Of Operations David Comden

To contact our editorial department: (818) 563-1007 davidl@LifeAfter50.com

A ray of hope flickers in the sky A tiny star lights up way up high All across the land, dawns a brand new morn This comes to pass when a child is born

A silent wish sails the seven seas The winds of change whisper in the trees And the walls of doubt crumble, tossed and torn This comes to pass when a child is born

As we close this chapter of our history that has been titled “2015,” it is my dream that on the morning of January 1, 2016, we will awaken with a renewed commitment to do whatever we can to make the next chapter one in which hope does more than just flicker, and doubt does, in fact, crumble, crash and burn – that each of us becomes like a newborn child, whose gift to the world is whatever we can offer – big or small – to bring about the dawn of a brand new morn.

Is that a dream adorned with a Pollyannaish bow and an oversized pair of rose-colored glasses that clashes with my patchwork cloak of reality? Perhaps. But, as that “imagining” mop-topped philosopher wrote: “You may say I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one.”

Account Executives: San Diego County/Orange County Phil Mendelson Phil@LifeAfter50.com Los Angeles/ Valley/Travel Beverly Sparks Beverly@LifeAfter50.com For advertising/distribution inquiries contact:

Valarie Anderson (310) 822-1629 x 121, Valarie@LifeAfter50.com 5301 Beethoven St., Suite 183 LA CA 90066 Valarie Anderson Valarie@LifeAfter50.com 310 822-1629 x 121 Follow us on facebook @Life_After50 ©2015 Southland Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved

David Laurell, Editor-in-Chief

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50

Rekindling Kaye

D

Plus

What You Need To Know

By Claire Yezbak Fadden and Max Andrews

Holiday Travel: When (And When Not) To Go

W

ith fuel prices and airfares lower than in past years, this holiday season is looking to be a busy one. In fact, 33 percent of Americans listed long airport lines as something they are dreading this year, compared to just 13 percent in 2014. That makes sense when, according to www.Orbitz.com data, some 66 percent of Americans plan to travel by air during December. If you are the ultimate procrastinator and haven’t booked your travel plans yet, here are the days you should consider to avoid total bedlam: Christmas The busiest day for Christmas travel is December 23. Avoid it at all cost! As for the best day to travel, you’ll find airports least hectic on December 27.

New Year’s The busiest day for New Year’s travel is December 30, the day before New Year’s Eve. But if you want to avoid the craziest of crowds and are able to get up and moving on New Year’s Day, you will find air travel the least crazy on the first day of 2016.

Fifty Candles

F

ifty years ago this month, the World Food Programme was made a permanent United Nations agency; the Beatles released “Rubber Soul;” the United States joined the British government’s oil embargo against Rhodesia; Ferdinand Marcos became the Philippine president; the Soviet Union acknowledged shipping rockets to North Vietnam; “Doctor Zhivago,” starring Julie Christie and Omar Sharif, was playing at U.S. theaters, and British playwright and novelist W. Somerset Maugham died at the age of 91. Notable personalities born in December1965, who are celebrating their 50th birthday this month, include novelist Nicholas Sparks, actors Steve Harris, Clive Robertson and David Harewood, actresses Nancy Valen and Jessica Steen, figure skater Katarina Witt, comedian Andy Dick, rockers John Rzeznik and Bryan Dexter Holland, screenwriter David S. Goyer and Hollywood’s notorious “Madame of the Stars” Heidi Fleiss.

6 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

uring its four-year run from 1963 to 1967, “The Danny Kaye Show” welcomed some of the greatest performers in the history of entertainment. Now you can relive those great moments in a new DVD, “Danny Kaye: Legends,” which presents six classic and complete episodes of the show featuring guest stars Louis Armstrong, Lucille Ball, Tony Bennett, George Burns, Imogene Coca, Shirley Jones and Liberace. The collection also features performances

by The Righteous Brothers, Vikki Carr, John Gary and series regulars Harvey Korman, Joyce Van Patten and orchestra leader Paul Weston. “Danny Kaye: Legends” is a two-disc set available by clicking on www.dannykaye.com.

The Best Of Brain-Boosting Bubbly

F

or those who imbibe in the bubbly, the news that scientists believe drinking three glasses of Champagne every week may help prevent the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s is truly something to toast. This past month, researchers at Reading University in Berkshire, United Kingdom, put out findings that pinot noir and pinot meunier, two ingredients used to make Champagne, contain compounds that may have the potential to ward off brain disease and boost cognitive functioning and memory. For those who make it a tradition to ring in the New Year by uncorking a bottle of bubbly, excellent choices are available in all price ranges. However, if you are in possession of a highly discriminating palate and only the best will do, you may want to opt for something a bit more special to welcome in 2016. If a top-shelf beverage is what you demand, may we recommend a bottle of Louis Roederer Cristal Medallion Orfevres Limited Edition Brut Millesime, which comes in a collectible bottle encased in gold lattice that sells for $20,000 a bottle. If that won’t do, may we then suggest Armand de Birgnac Ace of Spades Midas Brut, a 30-litre bottle encased in gold-plate and produced

by Champagne Cattier that retails for $58,413 a bottle. If that still doesn’t measure up to your standards, allow us to propose you pop the cork on a bottle of Goût de Diamants Taste of Diamonds. Encased inside a receptacle created by Nigerian designer Alexander Amosu with a label made from pewter that bears a Swarovski crystal and a price tag of $2.07 million per bottle, the three-grape blend is the ultimate beverage to celebrate the New Year while warding off brain issues.

A Little More You Need To Know

Where You Need To Go

The Most Important Thing To Know This Month

T

Year-End Tax Tips

SoCal Skating

o get a real feel for the season, bundle up for a bit of winter fun at various iceskating rinks that bring the chill of winter to Southern California, so grab your muffler, strap on your skates and get gliding.

Skating by the Sea: Glide along the seaside with the Hotel Del Coronado’s iconic Victorian Building, adorned with thousands of white lights, providing a magical backdrop. Hotel del Coronado, 1500 Orange Ave., Coronado. Through January 7. A portion of the skating proceeds benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of San Diego. $25, includes skate rental. (619)522-8490, www.hoteldel.com.

Holiday Ice Rink In Pershing Square: Los Angeles’ biggest outdoor community skating rink includes a holiday concert series, the Snoopy Showcase, deejay nights, a Winter Holiday Festival, championship skating exhibitions and broomball games.

Pershing Square, 532 S. Olive, Los Angeles. Through January 18. $9/one-hour skate session. Admission-$9; skate rental-$4. (213) 624-4289, www.holidayicerinkdowntownla.com.

Fantasy On Ice: Make sure to dress warm and bring a pair of mittens or gloves to enjoy this outdoor rink in the heart of San Diego. During the daytime, the ice can be a little wet, so tuck an extra pair of socks in your bag. Proceeds benefit the Peckham Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego. NTC at Liberty Station, 2640 Historic Decatur Road, San Diego. Skating through January 3. $12-$14. (619) 222-1970, www.fantasyonicesd.com.

OC Chill: Located at the popular outdoor shopping destination, this is the only outdoor ice-skating rink in Orange County. Guests can skate during the venue’s 75-minute open-skate sessions. Irvine Spectrum, 71 Fortune Drive, Irvine. The skating season extends through February 15. $19 includes skate rental, or bring your own skates and save $4. (949) 753-5180, www.shopirvinespectrumcenter.com/skate.

ICE At Santa Monica: This 8,000-square-foot ice-skating rink in downtown Santa Monica hosts a variety of events including Rock ‘n’ Skate on Friday nights, Sunday Costume Skate, Lil’ Tot Time and Los Angeles Kings Hockey Clinics. 1324 5th St., Santa Monica. Skating through January 18. $15 skate rental.

(805) 701-7248, www.iceatsantamonica.com.

Festival Of Lights Ice Skating Rink: Downtown Riverside boasts Inland Empire’s first outdoor skating rink with a variety of family-friendly holiday activities. Main Street between University and Mission Inn Ave., 3649 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside. Skating through January 3. $15 skate rental. (951) 7840300, www.riversideca.gov.

Woodland Hills Ice: Glide around the only outdoor openair ice rink in the San Fernando Valley. The 7,000-square-foot rink is open through January 24.

Westfield Promenade Mall, 6100 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills. $15 including skate rental.

(818) 854-4151, www.woodlandhillsice.com.

F

iling taxes at the last minute means you might miss out on opportunities for a better return. Advance planning allows you to get organized, complete your tax forms accurately and potentially lower the amount of taxes you may owe the IRS, the state or your local municipality.

Consider these tips to help you prepare: 1. Get your receipts and paperwork compiled and organized Round up all receipts and cancelled checks, including those from charities; check your latest brokerage statement for year-to-date gains or losses; make a checklist of accounts to keep track of and 1099 forms, if any, when they arrive. Get your medical receipts and insurance reimbursement forms in order.

2. Review life changes that happened within the last year Getting married, having children, buying a house or going back to college may affect your tax status as well as your eligibility for certain tax credits/deductions.

3. Figure out which tax credits you could be eligible for Tax deductions and tax credits are not the same thing. Unlike tax deductions, tax credits can directly reduce the dollar amount of taxes you may owe to the IRS, so it is important to figure out these numbers in advance. Some of the most commonly used include: • • • • •

Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), American Opportunity Tax Credit Lifetime Learning Credit The Child and Dependent Care Credit The Savers Tax Credit

4. If you’re planning to donate to charity, do it now Consider making a few extra donations before December 31.

Remember that charitable contributions must be made to qualified organizations. Don’t forget to get a receipt.

New Words

Y

ou might not find them in a dictionary yet, but they’re a part of the everyday American vocabulary.

Here’s what they mean.

GOAT: An acronym for “Greatest Of All Time.” Today’s teens will often refer to anything they find to be exceptional, from a concert to a burger, a television show to an electronic device, as being “GOAT.” Netizen: A person actively involved in online communities. A citizen of the Internet.

Zarf: The cardboard sleeve used on a handle-free disposable coffee cup.

December 2015 LIFEAFTER50.COM 7

It’s The Law Mitchell A. Karasov

Mitchell A. Karasov, Esq. covers Los Angeles, Ventura County and the Coachella Valley. His focus is in elder law with emphasis in estate planning, Medi-Cal eligibility, trust administration, probate, conservatorships of person or estate, estate and trust litigation and financial abuse litigation. For more information click on www.karasovelderlaw.com or call (818) 508-7192.

The time has come to lawyer up and wrap it up

Q

My mother passed away two years ago without a will or trust. She purposely didn’t do a will or trust because she felt that would ensure her four children would equally inherit her estate. While my mother may have been smart in doing this, we weren’t so smart. Since my siblings and I thought it was all so simple and straightforward, we filed the court paperwork on our own to save on any lawyer’s fees. We made so many mistakes, our paperwork wasn’t getting approved. Then we finally hired an attorney that agreed to handle our case for a reduced rate. That didn’t work either, because he didn’t have the necessary experience. We have now been to court many times, trying to explain why we haven’t filed the proper paperwork. The last time, the judge told me and my attorney I was going to be removed from serving as the administrator of the estate if I didn’t do my job correctly and get this estate wrapped up. This has now become a very difficult situation between how we are to handle the sale of her house and the lawyer now wanting his full fee, because it has become so complicated. What should we do?

A

You and your siblings are not unlike other heirs that try to increase their inheritance by avoiding the one potentially avoidable expense – the lawyer’s fees. Probate laws were designed to protect heirs and creditors and provide for an orderly and timely distribution to heirs, but they can also be complicated. In certain cases, heirs are able to comply with the laws and still avoid hiring a lawyer. However, in most cases, it usually makes more sense to hire a lawyer to ensure the case gets handled efficiently and expeditiously. As a result of doing this on your own and then with an inexperienced lawyer, you may or may not have missed the opportunity to sell the real estate and possibly other investments when the market was stronger.

If losses due to market fluctuations can be proven, you could also be facing the possibility that the court may levy a financial penalty on you for these losses. Moreover, the very expense you tried to avoid is going to be one you are going to have to pay anyway. From the sound of it, when you filed to be the administrator, things weren’t getting approved because you needed a bond to protect the estate. A bond is basically like an insurance policy to protect your mom’s estate in case the administrator mismanages the funds.

The bond company generally requires that the administrator be represented by a lawyer to improve the likelihood that the estate will be managed properly. As the administrator, you could now have problems selling the family home for a variety of reasons. Some of the common problems are that the property has not been properly appraised, the appraisal was not properly filed, or the appraisal is deemed to be too high by the court. Overall, you and your siblings need to pull together, put the past behind you, and hire an experienced probate attorney right away so that he can get this estate closed.

At this point, if you as the administrator hire an experienced attorney, they can provide the court with a status report and put a proper plan into effect that will close the estate. That could avoid your removal as the administrator and ensure the estate will be closed in the quickest possible time frame.

8 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

A Special Wellness Report New Medicine Based On An 88-Year Old Theory By Albert Einstein Can Help Almost Everyone Who Is Sick Or Injured!

W

hat you are about to read may be the most important information you’ve ever read. Here is why. Albert Einstein was, quite possibly, the most intelligent person who ever lived. His theories and ideas were so far ahead of his time, that even now, the smartest scientists alive are still discovering his value.

One of his theories published in 1917, worked out the theory of how lasers function. However, it was not until May 16, 1960 (43 years later) that the first actual laser was developed by an American scientist. Since then, scientists and inventors have developed many types of lasers and all kinds of uses for them. They can be used as a scalpel that is so delicate, it can be used on the eyes of human beings. Lasers are used to read price codes at your local supermarkets. And they’re used to play music and video on your CD’s and DVD’s.

But now, there is a new type of laser so effective against human disease and injury that it is rapidly changing the practice of medicine. This is a new type of low-level laser which produces an unfocused light that has been...

Registered With The FDA To Be 100% Safe!

Low-level lasers use less than one watt of power and they produce what can best be described as a “Healing Light”. Here is a somewhat un-scientific description of how this “Healing Light” can potentially help reverse the damage done by human sickness and disease.

As you probably know, our entire bodies are made up of cells. The health of all human cells is based on energy. If your cells don’t receive enough energy, they will weaken and the body will become sick.

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Be One Of The First 200 To Call & Receive A Free Seminar Ticket!

For you to be healthy, what your cells need is exactly the right kind and the right amount of energy. Every time you get injured or become sick, the energy flow to your cells is disrupted. Until the proper type and amount of energy is restored, you will remain sick or injured.

That’s what a low-level laser device does. It reenergizes the cells in your body with the right kind and proper amount of healing energy. It may surprise you to learn that low level lasers are ...

Used By Doctors To Heal Their Patients In The Fastest Way Possible!

Could you guess what kind of doctors use the highest percent of low-level lasers on their patients? It’s doctors involved in sports medicine. Why? The answer is simple. You see, doctors involved in sports medicine often have to get their patients better in the fastest way humanly possible because every day he remains

“unhealthy” can cost the sports organization millions of dollars. But here’s something exciting! You don’t actually need to go to a doctor to get laser therapy.

If you want to you can buy one of these devices and use it on yourself. The best ones come with simple, easy-to-follow instructions and can be used by almost any person with average intelligence. Perhaps the best low-level lasers in the world have been invented by doctors who have studied lasers and human health for years and have discovered how they can be used...

To Help Almost Every Health Problem Ever Experienced

By A Human Being!

Laser experts believe low-level laser therapy will become the medicine of the future. If you hold a lowlevel laser device against the skin of your body and turn it on, you will be able to see the laser light... but... you will not be able to feel it. There probably won’t even be a sensation of warmth. Laser light is as gentle as the kiss of a butterfly. But, from a healing point of view, it is quite possible it is more effective than drugs or surgery.

Low-level laser therapy is not just the medicine of the future. For many people who know about it, it is the “medicine” they use now. The problem of trying to explain the healing powers of low-level laser therapy is...

Professional Results In a Small, Easy to Use Package! Call 1-800-303-3586, Code 6529 For Your FREE Information Report.

For some people, a free report and information like this can mark the beginning of an entirely new life... pain-free and full of energy. For others, it can make the difference of living a healthy life compared to a lowenergy life of sickness and disease. And, for those who live with enormous pain every day ... this free report could truly guide them to a miracle! But even if you are not sick, not injured, or not in pain, you should still order this report. After all, it is 100% free. And almost nobody lives out their life without having at least some kind of sickness or injury.

Wouldn’t it be nice to know that, if you do become sick or injured, you will at least know where to go to find some sort of answer to your problems that don’t involve dangerous drugs!

Call 1-800-303-3586

It Works So Well On So Many Different Problems, It Seems Like It Couldn’t Possibly Be True!

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Cover Profile

The Multifaceted

Morgan

Fairchild

Harboring an eclectic range of knowledge and interests, the actress best-known for her roles as a stunning vixen proves there is a truly fascinating woman behind those piercing blue eyes

By David Laurell * Photos by Keith Munyan / www.keithmunyan.com 10 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

E

lizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, Ingrid Bergman and Vivien Leigh. Rare is the baby boomer who couldn’t recognize any one of them simply by seeing a photograph of their iconic eyes. The same would be true of another possessor of unparalleled peepers, Morgan Fairchild, whose piercing blue eyes first opened to the world on February 3, 1950 when she was born Patsy Ann McClenny in Dallas, Texas.

A studious and serious-minded child who also had a fascination with drama, little Patsy Ann first appeared before a television camera as a child in various local programs and commercials before landing her first real acting job in the 1967 Warner Bros. classic, “Bonnie and Clyde,” in which she was a double for Faye Dunaway.

Discarding her childhood desire of pursuing a career in medicine or science and getting serious about acting, young Patsy Ann, inspired by a British film, changed her name to Morgan Fairchild, moved to New York, and in 1973, began a four-year run as the maniacal Jennifer Pace in the daytime drama, “Search for Tomorrow.”

A mainstay on primetime television throughout the mid-1970s, Fairchild appeared on numerous hit programs of the era, including “Kojak,” “Happy Days,” “Police Woman,” “Dallas,” and as a recurring regular on “Mork & Mindy.”

Continuing to work in episodic television in the 1980s, Fairchild became best-known for her portrayal of rich, glamorous, temperamental and spoiled bitches. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role as Constance Weldon Carlyle on “Flamingo Road,” co-starred in “Paper Dolls,” in which she played modelling agency owner Racine, and joined the cast of the hit series “Falcon Crest” as the glamorous attorney Jordan Roberts. The mid1980s also saw her appear in the acclaimed miniseries “North and South.”

From her roles as a bisexual woman on “Roseanne,” Chandler Bing’s mother on “Friends,” and a cougar in “Two and a Half Men,” Fairchild has continued to appear in both television and feature-film productions, including “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, “Campus Man” and “Venus Rising.” She has also done various stage productions, most notably the role of Mrs. Robinson in “The Graduate.”

Today, Fairchild, who will turn 66 in February, lives in the hills above Los Angeles with her longtime companion, film executive Mark Seiler. She continues to work both as an actress and an advocate supporting a variety of issues that have been important to her for many years.

Life After 50 recently spent a day with Fairchild and, to answer the question seemingly everyone asks, yes, her eyes are as captivatingly stunning in person as they are on the screen. We began our chat by asking if there’s any truth to the story that her name was inspired by a working-class hero obsessed with Karl Marx and gorillas that appears in a 1966 British film.

Morgan Fairchild (MF): Yes, That is true [laughing]. I just never related to the name Patsy Ann McClenny, or to the Dallas obsession with football, which seemed to be everything when I was a kid. For me, there were two people who gave me a different spiritual awareness and hope – Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn, whom I saw dance in “Romeo and Juliet.”

That opened the world of theater to me and one day, a friend of mine from the Dallas Theater Center came into our acting class and said she had just seen a film that I had to see, because it reminded her so much of me. She didn’t really know me that well, so I was sort of surprised that she would have such an insight as to what I was. But I was intrigued and went to see this movie called “Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment” in which the English actor, David Warner, plays a character named Morgan who is this lower-class Trotskyite who lives this fantasy in which he thinks he’s a gorilla.

It’s a comedy and Vanessa Redgrave plays his wife who is leaving him for this upper-crust guy. Anyway, Warner is brilliant in it and my friend was right:

I was like Morgan, living in my fantasies to survive high school. I was a very sensitive kid in a place that I didn’t feel valued what I had to offer, so that film was Kismet for me. I had gotten married when I was just 17, and when it didn’t work out, I was damned if I was going to become an actress and spend the rest of my life putting his name up in lights. I also didn’t want to go back to my maiden name, which I was never crazy about, so I decided I was going to name myself Morgan after Warner’s character. I was then trying to figure out what would be a good last name to go with Morgan that didn’t sound like I was a stripper, so one night I was having dinner with a friend and she suggested Fairchild. She said that she didn’t know of any other actresses named Fairchild and as soon as I heard those two names together – Morgan Fairchild – I said that’s it, that’s me! life After 50 (lA50): And, as your Kismet played out, the name Morgan fairchild was up in lights on television screens throughout the 1980s. Take us back to those days. of all the shows you appeared on, what are some of your fondest memories?

MF: I have fond memories of many of those shows for different reasons, but my favorite was “Paper Dolls.” I loved the writing and the cast and it was just a great time doing that show. I also loved doing “Flamingo Road.” Again, another great cast – a lovely group of people. And, of course, I loved doing “Falcon Crest.” I adored Jane Wyman. I was also playing a cutting-edge character. That was certainly something that

December 2015 LIFEAFTER50.COM 11

had never been explored before on television, something so off-limits – the repercussions that incest would have on someone as an adult. I’ve always liked doing things that are groundbreaking and that was certainly iffy and new.

LA50: Speaking of iffy and new, you got to work with one of the iffiest and newest performers to ever appear on television – robin Williams.

MF: That was so great. One of the first jobs I ever got when I came to Hollywood was a small role on “Happy Days.” That show had such a great cast of people and I loved doing it. Because of that, whenever I was on the Paramount lot, I would always stop by and say hi to them. One time I was there and Henry [Winkler] came up to me and he said: “You have to come in and watch this kid who is guest starring on the show this week.” It was Robin and he was just brilliant. So awhile later, I heard that Garry Marshall had me in mind for a show that was some big secret. My agent said that Garry didn’t want to pay much or give me a contract and that we should pass on it, so I asked what show it was and he said: “Mork & Mindy,” and I said: “Oh my!

That’s Robin Williams’ show.” My agent didn’t even know who he was. I told him this guy was a genius and that I would do it for free just to get to work with him – which, of course, we would never let Garry know [laughing]. Robin was so cutting-edge and brilliant. He would go off script during rehearsals and the writers would be furiously writing down everything he said and did that was working. When he was doing his thing, everyone on the set would just sit back and watch this genius at work. I think he wasn’t really sure about me at first, wondering who this white-bread woman was. But he and I had both studied theater, so he would throw something out at me and then I would do something back. I think that surprised him at first – that I could roll with him. We did that over and over and he finally came over and grabbed me and said: “Mama!

You’re one of me!” That began our relationship and we became great buddies.

That was an incredible opportunity, getting to work with him. As an actor, it’s rare that you get to be a part of something that is so new and cutting-edge. lA50: As the years went by, did you keep in touch with him?

MF: We would occasionally run into one another. After “Mork & Mindy,” Robin had moved into doing feature films and we ran in different circles. It was 12 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

always great to see him, but we never really kept up a close friendship like I wish we had. lA50: Did his death come as a shock to you?

MF: It did. I knew he had suffered from bouts of depression, but that is sort of typical with actors and creative types. And, of course, it wasn’t until after his death and the results of the autopsy that it was discovered he was suffering with other serious medical issues. From what I have gathered, even people who were very close to him were not aware of the depth of what he was dealing with.

LA50: When you think of him, what first comes to mind?

MF: His energy, that just came at you like a comet. Like no one else I have ever met. He was a fun person with a great intellect. I think that is what some people may have missed; that along with his zaniness he was also very smart.

To be that good at that kind of comedy – to be so fast – you have to have a great intellect. He had a great capacity to inhale and retain knowledge of all kinds. He was as esoteric as he was street smart. He was all over the intellectual landscape. One thing about Robin that I think very few people knew is that if you were with him just one-on-one, he would calm down and really talk. He was a nice guy. The niceness you saw in his characters was what he was like in real life. lA50: Although you are so indelibly thought of as the beautiful and glamorous super-bitch or vixen, would it be fair to say that, in a way, comedy has really been more of your forte?

MF: I was fortunate. When I was back in New York, in the early days of my career, there were not many, if any, actresses who looked like me who could do comedy. That gave me a big advantage on getting roles on all the sitcoms that were going at the time, and there were a lot of them. Whenever they needed a pretty girl or a glamour girl who could handle comedy, I would get the call. And when it comes to the bitches I’ve played, I always felt they were sort of funny bitches, in the way Larry Hagman played J.R. on “Dallas” or Joan [Collins] did on “Dynasty.” I ad-libbed a lot on “Flamingo Road” and “Falcon Crest” and “Paper Dolls,” which brought some comedic shadings to the roles by

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G9545 09/15 December 2015 LIFEAFTER50.COM 13

COMPOSED BY

PRODUCED BY

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BILL WHELAN

MOYA DOHERTY

JOHN McCOLGAN

these crazy lines I was throwing out. I became a sort of Oscar Wilde-type of a bitch [laughing]. Then the writers would start picking up on my ad-libs – what I was bringing to the characters – and they began incorporating lines like that into the scripts. lA50: You are a great fan of Marilyn Monroe, who also had a far greater sense of comedy than she was ever given credit for.

MF: Marilyn’s magic was in her humor and the fact that she was extremely vulnerable. So many other actresses of that era tried to copy her style and they never got it. All the pouty and soft-voiced things she did were done with her natural vulnerability and a great sense of humor. That made them fun instead of tawdry. She had an incredible lightness about her. She made you see bubbles. In “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” she played a gold-digger who could have come off as very unlikable. But because of her lightness, she comes off as being adorable and you just adore her. She could turn little things into magic that made her so cute. She was a very different type of sex symbol than Jean Harlow and I think that was because of her sense of humor and vulnerability. lA50: We’ve been talking about robin Williams and Marilyn Monroe who, along with having a great sense of humor, were also extremely smart and articulate and serious. That is very much the same with you. Are people surprised when they find out you have this very serious side and intellect?

MF: I’ve always been a science nerd at heart. I wanted to be a doctor or a paleontologist when I was a kid. Those passions have always stayed with me.

Even when I became an established actress doing “Flamingo Road,” I was taking night courses in anthropology at UCLA. My memories of that time are of me sitting in a corner of the stage in a silk teddy and pink feather mules with all my books stacked up around me and working on my midterm. The crew always got a huge kick out of that. I’d get a grip come over and pick up one of my books and say: [adopting a deep-voiced, gruff New York accent] “What is dis? ‘Da

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Hemispheric Dysfunction of da Brain.’ What da hell is dat?” [laughing and returning to her natural voice] I have always loved to learn. I’ve always been a voracious reader. I have always loved archaeology, paleontology, anthropology and politics and foreign policy. lA50: Along with your eclectic interests, you have been a passionate advocate for a lot of serious causes – AiDS awareness and research, prochoice and environmental issues, animal welfare.

MF: I’ve always had a curious mind and that has led me to being aware of things and to lend my voice to things that are of concern to me. I became very interested in the psychology of terrorists and terrorist groups back in the 1970s.

I have always been fascinated with other cultures and governments – how they relate with one another and why some things work and others don’t. I have a lot of interests and one of them was emerging viruses and epidemiology. Back in the 1980s, I stared following these 11 cluster cases of what was thought to be Kaposi’s sarcoma in New York. That caught my attention, because it was very unusual. This was occurring in young men, who tuned out to be gay men.

Then there was a cluster of pneumonia cases in San Francisco that, again, was affecting gay men. When I heard they were all gay men, it was obvious that something new was out there. By the time Rock Hudson had gotten sick and we recognized this disease as AIDS, I had been researching it for years and had been warning my gay friends about it and to be careful. There were a lot of good doctors who stepped forward at that time, including C. Everett Koop who was the surgeon general. He was willing to talk about AIDS and helped give the disease a focus, which was not easy to do in a Republican administration, and it cost him in various ways. I understand that. I felt I had a moral obligation to step out on this issue, although my agent and manager both asked me not to, saying it was too controversial and that I would lose work over it, which I did. I even had friends who would no longer allow me to come to their house or be around their children, because I had been photographed hugging those who were suffering from AIDs. But I felt strongly that I could help get the word out and save some lives. It was one of the best things I have ever done in my life – putting a focus on the disease, taking away some of the stigma and getting funding for research. I am proud that I was one of the people talking about AIDS from the beginning – testifying before Congress when our government and most elected officials would not even acknowledge the existence of the disease – dealing with all the homophobia. lA50: You’re’ a self-proclaimed political junkie, so we have to ask: what do you think about the way the 2016 presidential campaign has been shaping up?

MF: Well, it’s been quite interesting. I think the debates have been good and informative, but it just seems like the entire country is at one another’s throat.

There is so much political division in a way that I haven’t seen since Viet Nam. I think we are at a turning point in this county – for America to decide what it wants to be – for Americans to care more about their country than their political party affiliation. I don’t force my political beliefs on anyone, but I think most people agree with me that our Congress is totally dysfunctional. A democratic republic cannot survive with people who are elected to govern and then refuse to govern. There is a total loss of civility in Congress. I hate the name-calling instead of them having a rational debate about issues. I think the media also has to do a better job in calling politicians and candidates for office out on their lies and steer Americans toward the facts, as opposed to the person with the most outrageous behavior and controversial comments. If we are going to be the premier country of the world, we can’t do that with outrageous leaders who just say crazy and controversial things to get on the news and to publicize and self-aggrandize themselves. lA50: let’s switch gears, because a lot of our female readers will be interested in your recommendations on hairstyles and the use of make-up as you get older.

MF: I tend to do my own make-up far more than most actresses do – always have. I use a lot of eye make-up – more than most professional make-up people would ever do for me. Make-up artists have always seen me as Grace Kelly and I wanted to be Sophia Loren – dark and dangerous. I always wanted to be blonde and dangerous [laughs]. So I created a look for myself. It is a look that December 2015 LIFEAFTER50.COM 15

“No matter what age you are, you can always do something to begin a new chapter of your life.”

is uniquely mine. But as you get older, you do have to simplify your wardrobe and hair and make-up. It is something you have to always keep working on. My hair is a bit shorter now than it has been in the past. I never wear red lipstick anymore. I’ve gone with a lavender pink that works better for my skin tone today. As you age, your skin tone changes, so something that may have worked for years doesn’t look right as you get older. Going a shade or two lighter and being less heavy-handed with your make-up is important, especially with iridescent eyeliner. It looks great on a 19-year-old on the cover of “Vogue,” but for an older woman, it gets into the lines and looks crinkly. I think women should look at everything that is available today – fillers, which are great for softening lines and acne scars. There are all sorts of injectables and things that can help you retain a fresh look without surgery. I talk about this subject a lot with women and what I always say is that you have to constantly be aware of the changes with your skin and hair and body, and then adapt to those changes.

What you did in your 20s or 30s can make you look like a drag queen today. So my simple advice is to find out what works best for you and then simplify it. lA50: With the holidays upon us, do you have anything special planned?

MF: It will be pretty low-key. My sister [Cathryn Hartt, who is also an actress] will be coming out from Texas and we’ll visit some friends and have a quiet Christmas at home just catching up with one another. lA50: Do you cook?

MF: Not if anyone who is around is lucky [laughs]. What I’m good at is heating things up. My sister and I would rather spend our time together than food shopping and cooking and cleaning up. lA50: Are you a New Year’s resolution-making person?

MF: I make resolutions throughout the entire year – to stay healthy, try to get to the gym, diet. But I do start off each year looking forward to doing something

16 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

that I feel will make a difference. Thoreau said: “Every child begins the world again,” and to me, I always view New Year’s Day as a time that gives each of us the chance to be a child who gets to start again – to create new and positive things. lA50: Just a month into the New Year, you’ll be celebrating a birthday. Do you have any thoughts about the passing of years – about getting older?

MF: I’m just so thankful for the life I have gotten to lead and the amazing people I have met and gotten to work with – Roddy McDowall, Natalie Wood, Bette Davis, Vincent Price, Jane Wyman. Hollywood was so much fun when I first came out here. I remember one night, I found myself at dinner seated between Olivia de Havilland and Stewart Granger and mingling with Jimmy Stewart, Robert Mitchum, Deborah Kerr – people who had such great stories.

I got to work with Fernando Lamas, who was such a great storyteller, and with people I watched as a kid – Eve Arden and Lucille Ball and Sammy Davis, Jr. People who are true icons. I really lucked out and have gotten a great deal in life. But I think as we get older, we have to remain engaged and continue to do new things and learn and meet new people. I’m busy all the time. I’m a news junkie and a social media junkie and an insomniac, so I’m always up at all hours of the night on the computer doing research on things I’m interested in. I also like having dinner with friends. I love to read. You have to keep connected to people and stay stimulated and continue to contribute to life. I always encourage people to volunteer, teach kids, work at a homeless shelter, donate your time to an animal rescue organization, share your experiences, do something that keeps you connected and involved and has a purpose. It’s like Thoreau said, never stop being that child. No matter what age you are, you can always do something to begin a new chapter of your life.

For more information on Morgan Fairchild, click on www.morganfairchild.com.

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Don’t Be Alone For The Holidays

Make finding that special someone the gift you give yourself this holiday season

By Sherri Murphy CEO and VIP matchmaker, Elite Connections International

I

t’s that time again. The holiday season is upon us and the final days of 2015 are trickling into history. While this is a fun and exciting time of year for many, for some, especially those who are over 50 and single, this season can be anything but. Being single during the holidays can be lonley, stressful and the cause of severe depression.

If you or someone you know is in that situation, take solace: you are not alone. And, somewhere out there, a special someone is patiently harboring the same feelings as you.

We all know it’s nice to spend the holidays enjoying comfortable times with the people that matter most – close friends and family. However, when you’re looking for love, it’s important to get out of your comfort zone, keep a positive and open mind, and act more spontaneous than usual.

That is how I met my husband, Bill. We had spent our second date skiing together and he wanted to extend the date into the evening (which happened to be New Year’s Eve). I already had other things planned for that evening, but I really liked Bill, so I spontaneously ran down to the lodge and cancelled my other date.

Now that Bill and I have been married for 18 years, I tell that story so men will understand the importance of asking women out with the proper amount of notice (not every woman would have canceled that date on such short notice), and also to women encouraging them to be open to more spontaneity in their search for the right person.

20 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

Everyone wants to be in a relationship with someone who makes them a priority, devotes time to them, appreciates and loves them for who they are, and wants to spend time with them over anyone else. In order to find the right person to share your life with you need to make time for them to be in your life. I have met many people during my matchmaking career that say they want to meet someone and get married, and yet they ruin that from happening by not making time to build a proper relationship with anyone. If meeting your friends for cocktails is more important than getting to know someone you’re interested in, you will be single for a very long time.

As the founder and CEO of Elite Connections International, I’ve been a professional matchmaker for over 21 years. During that time I’ve watched people make the same mistakes I did when I was single. I had been divorced for seven years and was a working mother of two whose entire life consisted of work and taking care of my family.

Wanting to meet someone, I used the services of a matchmaker and Bill was my first date. He’s a handsome, genuine, caring and respectful man. He was very different from any other man I had been with before, so of course, I uttered those famous words to myself when we were first introduced: “He’s not my type.”

Luckily, a very intelligent friend of mine said: “Go out with him again. He sounds exactly like what you need. Your usual type is horrible.” And

so I’m recommending that you do the same and venture out of dating your typical type.

If you are tired of spending time alone and keep wondering if that right person is really out there for you, do yourself a big favor this holiday season and keep in mind some of the top tips I share with my clients:

STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE Get out there! Go to holiday events that you are invited to and meet new people. Don’t be scared to go alone. Spend some time going to events you typically wouldn’t. Try to go at the least one event a week. Take advantage of all the events going on during this season, whether it be through work, church, your community, family, friends, or even mutual friends. It’s a time when everybody comes together to celebrate, and that includes other single people.

STOP DATING YOUR TYPE In my years as a matchmaker, I have seen this as one of the biggest problems. If your type worked for you, you’d be married. Try something different and you may even surprise yourself by letting a person who is not your type take you through doors you didn’t think you were interested in. I always tell my clients to consider going for someone you

typically wouldn’t take a second look at. Having differences can also give you more to talk about and learn from. And then go out with that person at least three times before you decide whether or not to continue.

LOSE THE RULES It takes time to get to know someone so be smart about your new relationship and forget about the old rules of dating. Putting a time limit on when you should or shouldn’t sleep with someone is silly. Make sure you get to truly know the person before anything serious happens. As far as waiting three days to call back, that’s not a rule, it’s rude.

If you have had a pleasant evening with someone you should call them the next day to let them know you really enjoyed your time with them. Let them know how you’re feeling, even if you don’t feel it will go on to be something serious.

UPDATE YOUR LOOK You know the old saying: “New do, new you.”

Well, take that as advice and follow it. Invest in a new wardrobe and haircut. You may even want to hire a stylist to give you some professional style tips. If you need a referral, we at Elite Connections International can give you one. Don’t show up to a first date without looking your best. The better you look, the better you will feel and the more confident you will be, which leads to a better date.

DON’T LET AGE INTERFERE Both men and women typically pick a cutoff number they feel is either too old or young for them and most refuse to date anyone outside of that range. I’m not talking about 20 years of difference, that is quite an age gap and it typically doesn’t work. I’m saying that if you are a 51-yearold woman declining a man who is 60 just because of his age alone, that’s where it becomes an issue.

If you limit who you will go on a date with just because they are a couple of years older or even younger than your cutoff number, you are limiting many potential candidates. This holiday season, try to forget about age and just try to find someone that has great qualities and whose company you enjoy and then see where it goes. You may surprise yourself.

MAKE OUT-OF-THE-BOX PLANS Try something other than the usual dinner and a movie. Put a few extra minutes into brainstorming a fun and festive first date. Some fun holiday date ideas may be to go shopping together, ice skating at sunset, or driving around looking at all the lights and decorations and then capping it off with a hot chocolate. The options are limitless so get creative.

GET INVOLVED WITH A CHARITY Not only will you feel good about helping others, but you will meet a lot of good-hearted people who like to “give back” during the holiday season and may care about the things you care about.

JUST RELAX! Dating does not have to be stressful. Try to let loose and just have some fun. Don’t go into every first date trying to imagine what your life with that person might look like in five years.

Just be friendly and get to know the person for who they are. Even if the person doesn’t spark your interest romantically, you may become friends or even meet someone wonderful through them. Try to keep the conversation positive at all times on your first few dates. Never talk about your problems or past relationships.

If your date asks you about a sensitive subject, just be polite, give them a simple answer, and move on to another topic.

BE THE KIND OF PERSON YOU WANT TO MEET Be polite, respectful and employ etiquette.

For you ladies, if a man takes the time to plan a nice date, you need to end the evening by saying thank you and in return think about something nice you could do for him. You may want to offer to plan date number two. You could then get tickets to the theater or one of his favorite sporting events, or even offer to make him a home-cooked meal. Believe me, he will appreciate it. Men, if you meet someone that you’re interested in, make sure to give her your full attention and make her a priority. Forget the old “three day” rule about calling. Call her the very next day, tell her what a nice time you had, and ask her out again.

MAKE DATING YOUR PRIORITY The older we get, the more set in our ways we become. Life is busy and it gets even busier around the holidays. Having a busy life is fine, but unfortunately, when it comes to dating, it doesn’t leave you much room for someone new to join in and become a part of your life. In 2016, make it a resolution that you will set time aside to find someone special. That just may make the New Year a very special time for you and your new special someone!

MEET MURPHY THE MATCHMAKER

Clients who use Sherri Murphy’s service at Elite Connections International are committed to finding their right match and establishing a serious relationship.

The majority of their clientele consists of successful, hard-working professionals that are private and prefer not to date online with their photo being out there for everyone to see. If you are looking to find that right person contact Murphy and her matchmakers at (800) 923-4200 or by clicking on www.EliteConnections.com.

December 2015 LIFEAFTER50.COM 21

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Living Wills • Insurance Benefits • Investments Military Records • Retiree Benefits• Trusts Created with thought-provoking sections, tables and fill-in-the-blanks on everything from your professional advisor’s contact information to the passwords on your computer to what you would like to be remembered for, the Family Love Letter is an indispensable planning tool.

Order The Family Love Letter Booklet & Digital Drive at our website

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Wine-ing Through A Vino Wonderland Great suggestions for making the holidays merrier, brighter and jollier

By Alicia Bien

W

ith the holidays upon us, it’s time to be jolly, and nothing assists in our jolliness like a glass (or two) of wine. Here are some excellent vino suggestions for this festive time of year that are all available at a reasonable price within anyone’s budget:

Tree-Trimming ParTy Decking the halls is one of the joys of the season, especially while munching on holiday snacks. Pair these sweet and salty tidbits with a glass of Fino Sherry. Sherry is a fortified wine, which is sweeter and has a slightly higher alcohol content than table wines, which means it’s made for sipping before a meal or while nibbling on appetizers. The Fino variety of Sherry is especially pale and dry. If you like the taste of almonds, serve a bottle of the Valdespino Inocente Single Vineyard Fino Sherry.

Those wanting more cherry, plum and fruit flavors in their Sherry should get the 10-year-old Fino Sherry Porto Kopke.

24 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

CHrisTmas dinner Unlike Thanksgiving, Christmas dinners in America tend to be “anything goes,” with hosts serving beef, pork or Chinese kung-pao chicken.

These dinners typically include several generations of cousins, parents and grandparents, some of whom don’t drink wine often, if at all. For this special, dinner choose a wine that will please many and offend none, such as the fruit-forward Raymond Bouland Morgon Vielles Vignes 2013.

Another crowd pleaser is the Alto Moncayo/ Veraton 2012. This bold red is made of 100 percent Grenache grapes and has dark cherry and lavender flavors.

HanukkaH Wine What could be a better way to enjoy the Festival of Lights than with a kosher bottle of wine from an Israeli vineyard? Israel’s wine-producing market is thriving, so it’s time to get to know this new/old

wine country. Hanukkah’s brisket and potato latkes will pair well with a Dalton 2012 Estate Petite Sirah from the Samson region. You can also try a Recanati 2011 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon from the Galilee area. Thankfully, you won’t have to choose between the two, since there are eight nights of Hanukkah to enjoy these wines.

Holiday gifTs A sassy 65 year-old Southerner I know has a philosophy about receiving gifts: “If I can’t drink it, I don’t want it.” For those sassy folks in your life who feel the same way, here are some wine gift suggestions just for them: If you’re giving red wines, try something unexpected, such as an Amarone. This Italian wine is famous for being made, in part, with harvested grapes that have dried on racks – similar to raisins – which makes for a sweeter, bigger, moreconcentrated wine with a slightly higher alcohol content. Go for Conte di Bregonzo Amarone della Valpolicella or the more expensive Le Salette La

Marega Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Italia 2010. Both will make great gifts. Oh, and don’t forget to get a bottle for yourself. If giving white, a bottle of Ice Wine will warm anyone’s heart. Ice Wine is produced in colder climates where the grapes must freeze on the vine before harvesting.

Although the water in the grapes freezes, the sugar does not, so when the grapes are pressed, just the sugars remain, making Ice Wine a sweeter, moreconcentrated dessert wine. Consume Ice Wines solo as a dessert or paired with cheese and fruit. Try Jacob Gerhardt Dienheimer Tafelstein Sylvaner Eiswein 2002. Since Ice Wines tend to be pricy, you will get a similar effect from a French Sauternes dessert wine like Chateau Doisy-Vedrines. When in doubt as to whether you should go for red or white, you can never go wrong with Champagne. A bottle of bubbly always makes an excellent gift, because you don’t have to know the palate likes and dislikes of the gift receiver. More importantly, drinking liquid bubbles turns any event into a celebration. A bottle of Moet & Chandon Impérial Brut Champagne is always welcome. This French company has been making quality bubbly since the 18th century and is the official Champagne of England’s Queen Elizabeth II. And remember… no matter what wine you drink or give this season, your evenings will be merrier, brighter and jollier by sharing a bottle with someone special.

For The Vino Lover On Your List

Do you like wine but don’t know anything about it except that it’s alcoholic and wet? Alicia Bien is here to remedy that. Bien is the author of “Evolution of a Wine Drinker” (Bien Entertainment, Inc., 2013) a funny collection of self-deprecating wine stories depicting the highs – and lows – of her own evolution as a wine drinker, from novice to (many bottles later) an expert. Her book is a “must-have” for anyone who loves vino and it makes for a great stocking stuffer.

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December 2015 LIFEAFTER50.COM 25

The Hallowed Hall of Must-Knowtables

By David Laurell Illustration by Mark Hammermeister

Nat

King

Cole

A jazz pianist best known for his soft, baritone voice, Nat King Cole was a major force in popular music for three decades. The first African-American performer to host a network television series, he is remembered for a string of hit singles including “The Christmas Song,” “Mona Lisa” and “Nature Boy.”

B

orn on March 17, 1919, in Montgomery, Alabama, to a Baptist pastor and his wife, Nathaniel Adams Coles was taught to play the piano before he was five-years-old by his mother, who served as the choir director for her husband’s church.

By the time he was in his mid-teens, Nathaniel was a formally trained classical pianist, had dropped the “s” from his last name, and left school to pursue a career as a jazz musician along with his brother, Eddie.

Cole performed as a pianist in a national tour for the musical revue “Shuffle Along” in 1936, and the following year, he established The King Cole Trio. The group, whose name was inspired by the British nursery rhyme, began recording, toured extensively, and first hit the charts in 1943 with “That Ain’t Right.” The following year, the trio scored another hit with “Straighten Up and Fly Right,” a song that was inspired by one of Cole’s father’s sermons.

The trio continued its rise during the mid-1940s with such pop hits as “(I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons” and a recording that would go on to become a holiday classic: “The Christmas Song.”

Written in 1945 by Bob Wells and Mel Tormé, “The Christmas Song” was first recorded by The Nat King Cole Trio in 1946. Not happy with the original recording, Cole waged a successful battle with Capitol Records to redo the song with a small string section. Cole would recorded the song a third time in 1953, using a full orchestra arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle, and once more

in 1961, in a stereophonic version with an orchestra led by Ralph Carmichael. It is the 1961 version that is generally regarded as the definitive recording of this legendary holiday song.

Cole, who had a short-lived marriage when he was only 17, divorced and then married jazz singer Maria Hawkins Ellington in 1948. Their nuptials were performed by U.S. Representative Adam Clayton Powell Jr. at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, New York and the couple went on to raise three biological children – Natalie, Casey and Timolin – and two adopted children – Carol and Nat Kelly.

By the mid-1950s, Cole had emerged from the trio as a solo performer, chalking up a string of hit songs that included “Nature Boy,” “Mona Lisa,” “Too Young,” and “Unforgettable.” The sales of his records proved to be instrumental in the success of Capitol Records and gave the company the financial wherewithal to finance the construction of the iconic Capitol Records building in Hollywood.

A circular structure that gives the appearance of a stack of records, the building was completed in 1956 and became known as “The House That Nat Built.”

In 1956, Cole was tapped by NBC to host ‘The Nat King Cole Show,” a 15-minute musical program that evolved into a 30-minute show. The first national television program to be hosted by an African-American, NBC was not able to lure sponsors due to the racial climate of the era. That fact, despite guest appearances by some of the biggest names in entertainment, including Count

This feature is intended for you to clip and give to your children or grandchildren because…they must-know!

26 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

Basie, Peggy Lee, Sammy Davis Jr. and Tony Bennett, saw the network pull the plug on the program before the end of 1957.

While still maintaining a presence on television as a guest star on other popular variety programs of the era, Cole’s career continued to be plagued by racism. This hit a crescendo in 1956 when, during a tour of the south, Cole was attacked by white supremacists during a performance in Alabama. In the wake of that attack and the cancellation of his NBC show, Cole struggled to find his place in the civil rights movement. While rebuked by some African-Americans for his less-than-demonstrative support of civil rights, Cole took the stance that he was an entertainer, not an activist.

By the dawn of the 1960s, with the advent of rock ‘n’ roll, the musical tastes of Americans were changing and Cole’s presence on the record charts declined. He did, however, experience a resurgence in 1962 when his recording of “Ramblin’ Rose” reached the number two spot on the Billboard pop charts followed up by “Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer,” which was released in the spring of the following year.

As the rock era gained steam and the British Invasion infused the American music charts with artists from across the pond, Cole did manage to score two final hits with the ballads “I Don’t Want to Hurt Anymore” and “I Don’t Want to See Tomorrow.”

While he will always be remembered for his role in American music, Cole also had a brief film career. Beginning with small cameo roles in a few forgettable films of the 1940s, he turned in one lead performance, as “The Father of The Blues,” W.C. Handy, in the 1958 Paramount Pictures drama “St. Louis Blues,” which also starred Eartha Kitt, Cab Calloway and a very young Billy Preston. Cole made one final film appearance alongside Jane Fonda and Lee Marvin in Columbia Pictures’ “Cat Ballou.”

During the filming of “Cat Ballou,” Cole began to experience health problems that resulted in weight loss and severe back pain. While doing the film, he was also touring with a musical revue, “Sights and Sounds,” and it was revealed he had been having an extramarital relationship with a 19-year-old Swedish actress and singer, Gunilla Hutton.

The latter part of the summer of 1964 saw Cole’s health continue to deteriorate and in September, he collapsed following a performance at The Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. This episode led to the discovery that Cole had a cancerous tumor on his left lung that was in an advanced stage of growth and he was told he only had months to live. In spite of this devastating news, Cole did a final recording session in early December with an orchestra conducted by Ralph Carmichael that produced the album “L-O-V-E.” While Cole’s condition was considered terminal, he was admitted to St. John’s Hospital in Santa Monica to begin cobalt therapy and have his cancerous lung removed. Although his doctors were frank in providing Cole with a dire prognosis, his publicists told the press that Cole’s illness was not very serious, that he was responding well to treatment, and would soon be returning to work.

Shortly after Cole was diagnosed with cancer, his wife, Maria, put aside her thoughts of divorce over her husband’s affair with Hutton and on Valentine’s Day of 1965, the couple took a drive out to the ocean. The following morning, Cole died in the early morning hours at the age of 45.

Following a day of public mourning, when thousands of fans were given the opportunity to pass his casket, Cole’s funeral was held on February 18 at St. James Episcopal Church in Los Angeles. Among the 400-plus who crowded into the church to hear comedian Jack Benny deliver the eulogy was a star-studded “who’s who” of politics and entertainment that included honorary pallbearers Robert F. Kennedy, Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Johnny Mathis, George Burns, Danny Thomas, Jimmy Durante, Alan Livingston, Frankie Laine, Steve Allen and then-California Governor Pat Brown.

Following the service, Cole’s remains were entombed behind a white marble slab adorned with a gold-plated facsimile of his signature inside the Freedom Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

Today, with Cole’s rendition of “The Christmas Song” secured in the top echelon of the holiday music canon, his legacy continues through his daughter, Natalie Cole, whose successful recording career reached its pinnacle in 1991 when she hit the charts with “Unforgettable,” mixing her vocal as a duet along with her father’s hit song.

LEARN MORE Along with Cole’s recordings, two of the best books about him are: • “Unforgettable: The Life and Mystique of Nat King Cole” (St. Martin’s Press, 191) by Leslie Gourse. This is an exhaustively researched biography that delves into Cole’s storied experience with racism and his influence on music.

• “Angel on My Shoulder: An Autobiography” (Central Publishing, 2000) by Natalie Cole. This tome offers up an intimate portrait of the entertainer as told by his daughter.

Mark Hammermeister is an award-winning artist. His work is available for purchase at www.markdraws.com December 2015 LIFEAFTER50.COM 27

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Lifetime’s Very Merry Christmas Movie Lineup – Begins Saturday December 5 at 8 p.m.

(new movie every Saturday and Sunday).

Lifetime will be airing a stocking-full of Christmas movies throughout the holiday season, beginning with “The Flight Before Christmas.”

Excited to take the next step in their relationship and move in with her boyfriend, Stephanie is crushed when he drops the bombshell that he wants to break up. Faced with spending the holidays heartbroken and homeless, she decides to fly home to Connecticut. On a red-eye the day before Christmas, Stephanie finds herself seated next to Michael, who is planning to propose to his college girlfriend. The two get off to a rocky start and things get even worse when the pilot announces that a huge, unexpected snowstorm is crossing the country. Stars Mayim Bialik of “The Big Bang Theory,” Ryan McPartlin, Reginald VelJohnson and Jo Marie Payton. Other films include “Last Chance Christmas” on December 6 at 9 p.m. starring Hilary Burton, Gabriel Hogan, and Tim Matheson, and “Becoming Santa” starring Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross on December 12 at 8 p.m.

Hallmark Channel’s Countdown To Christmas –

New original holiday movies – Every Saturday and Sunday evenings in December

Hallmark Channel’s annual Countdown to Christmas event returns with 55 continuous days of holiday-themed entertainment for the whole family, featuring more than 1,300 hours of content and an allstar line-up of 17 original movie premieres. Some of the highlights include Mariah Carey’s directorial debut of “A Christmas Melody” (in which she also stars) on December 19 at 9 p.m. Other offering include “Northpole: Open for Christmas” starring Lori Loughlin, Dermot Mulroney and Bailee Madison, “Charming Christmas” with Julie Benz and David Sutcliffe, “I’m Not Ready for Christmas” starring Alicia Witt and George Stults, and “A Christmas Detour”starring Hallmark favorite Candace Cameron Bure.

Everything You Love About Christmas – Seven

The Best In DecemBer Television Viewing

By Sandi Berg

new original holiday movies, UP Network – Begins Sunday December 6 at 9 p.m. (movies repeat throughout the month)

UP Network presents a season filled with seven new original movies including “Beverly Hills Christmas” starring Dean Cain and Donna Spangler. With help from a guardian angel, a spoiled, rich, materialistic teenage girl learns that the best gift is assisting others and not in material possessions. It is never too late to appreciate the joy of family and friends, even when it takes an angel to lead the way. Also slotted are “My One Christmas Wish” with Amber Riley of “Glee,” and “Angels in the Snow” with Kristy Swanson.

The 84th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade – The CW – Airs Friday December 11 at 8 p.m.

Considered to be the largest Christmas celebration in America, Penn and Teller serve as grand marshalls for the 84th Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade. Co-hosted by Erik Estrada, Laura McKenzie, Dean Cain and Montel Williams, the parade down Hollywood Boulevard will include live musical performances that will take place on two stages. A true Hollywood tradition, the parade features character balloons and celebrity-filled cars making the heralded trek down the parade route.

Christmas Truce – New Movie, ION Network – Premieres Saturday December 12 at 9 p.m.

During a shaky 24-hour holiday truce amid World War II’s Battle of the Bulge, American Captain John Myers and a Belgian farm girl, Alina, fall in love. Forced to separate when fighting resumes, the couple vows to reunite, under a bell tower, the first Christmas Eve after the war ends, if each is alive and eager.

Tuned In To What’s On

Johnny

Mathis The man whose music makes us merry

Story by David Laurell · Photos by Andre’ B. Murray

I

f you’ll excuse the pun, “chances are” that since the late 1950s, Johnny Mathis has been as much a part of your holiday celebrations as your own family and traditions. During this time of year, it is impossible to go to a shopping center, turn on a radio station that broadcasts holiday music, or attend a party and not hear a Christmas standard being sung by the velvety smooth voice of the man who has been called the greatest romantic singer of all time.

For baby boomers, Mathis has been as responsible as a direct-to-the-heart hit from one of Cupid’s arrows for creating a magical world that warms the heart like glowing embers and conjures spells that have served as the soundtrack for innumerable first kisses, budding romances, wedding ceremonies and Christmas celebrations.

In fact, along with starry summer evenings, cold winter nights and electrical blackouts, those magical Mathis melodies have also played a significant role in the actual existence of a vast number of boomers.

If you were born sometime between the late-1950s and mid-1960s, there is an excellent possibility

30 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

that “Chances Are,” “Misty,” “The Twelfth of Never” or “It’s Not For Me To Say” may have been playing when – well, let’s just say when you became a conceived notion.

HOW IT BEGAN Born John Royce Mathis on September 30, 1935 in Gilmer, Texas, young Johnny showed an early interest in music and a talent for singing, and while he was serious about his singing, a career in music was not on his mind when he graduated from high school and matriculated to San Francisco State College.

An outstanding track and field star who had qualified for Olympic trials in Australia, his plans were to become a physical education and English teacher. Those plans were dashed when a San Francisco nightclub owner named Helen Noga became aware of Mathis and persuaded George Avakian, the head of jazz artists and repertoire at Columbia Records, to come and hear him sing. He did, and was so impressed by what he heard, he immediately sent a wire to Columbia that read:

HAVE FOUND PHENOMENAL 19-YEAR-OLD BOY WHO COULD GO ALL THE WAY. SEND BLANK CONTRACTS. In 1956, Mathis began performing in New York nightclubs and working with Columbia Record’s producer Mitch Miller. By the early 1960s, his soft, romantic ballads were topping the charts and he was well on his way to becoming an artist who, over the following decades, would record over 130 albums that would sell over 350 million copies, produce 20 Top 40 hits, be named one of the top five artists of all time by Billboard magazine, receive a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, become a two-time inductee into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and indelibly seal his status as a musical legend.

“My father was the first influence on me,” says Mathis. “When I listen to myself sing, I hear my dad. He was a good singer, and when I was about 12-years-old, he told me that if I was really serious about singing, I should study.”

Deciding that he was, in fact serious about singing, a search began for voice teachers in the San Francisco area. However, limited funds made

that search a difficult one, and nothing really sparked until he met a teacher named Connie Cox. “We didn’t have the money for regular singing lessons,” Mathis recalls. “So we worked out a deal whereby I would do errands for Connie in return for lessons. She always found something for me to do while she had other students in for their lessons.

She felt I could learn by listening to them. Then, between her regular lessons, she would work with me.”

Mathis goes on to say that without Cox’s training, he doubts he would ever have had a career as a singer. “I certainly would have never endured,” he adds. “Because she taught me how to produce tones so I wouldn’t injure my voice. She also taught me pronunciation, enunciation, and about lyrics. She was a godsend, and half of my career is owed to her.”

According to Mathis, his trademark ability – to sing softly in a high range – is directly attributable to Cox. “I didn’t feel that I could do it, but she insisted that I could,” he says. “My big excuse was that I was a man and she was a woman, so I felt we were going to hit a wall when it came to singing softly in a high range. But she believed that I had the ability to do it and she showed me how to do it and it became my trademark. Over the years, I’ve heard very knowledgeable people speak about my singing as a technique, and they’re right, it is a technique – a technique that Connie taught me.”

Along with Cox’s training, Noga, who guided his career for the first 15 years, and Mitch Miller, whom he credits with having been a great teacher, Mathis speaks highly of other singers who inspired him, including Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Ray Charles, Mabel Mercer and Sarah Vaughan. While he speaks of each of these individuals in glowing terms and with genuine heartfelt gratitude, that glowing gratitude evolves into downright reverence when he speaks of Nat King Cole.

“Nat Cole was the shining star in my life right from the beginning,” says Mathis. “He was the finest gentleman you would ever meet. He was a kind and gentle and dignified person who was very gracious to me. I have always tried to conduct myself in the manner that he did. We were in the same business – singing romantic music – and I was very young and in need of direction. He was of great help to me at the beginning of my career.

He was so much more than a great singer. He was one of the greatest jazz pianists of all times. To this day, Nat’s music is in my home all the time, as if he were very much alive.”

In 1961, Mathis was introduced to another man who would make a profound impact on his life – Henry Mancini. “I was very fortunate to have known him,” says Mathis. “Henry was one of my favorite people in the world. He was a great artist and he was also kind and gentle – a person who has made a great impact on my life. We first worked together at the Seattle World’s Fair, and from then on, we were inseparable. We were very similar in personality and shared the same ideas about where we wanted our careers to go.”

According to Mathis, Mancini was instrumental (so to speak) in helping him select the songs he would record and sing in concert. As Johnny talks about Mancini and other songwriters, it is apparent that he harbors a tremendous respect for their craft.

“I got my admiration for lyricists by trying to write myself,” he laughs. “I have no talent for it at all.”

Along with the recordings by the aforementioned, Mathis’ musical preferences include Mexican and Brazilian music and classical recordings. Prodded to reveal a shocker, he laughs when asked if there is any chance one might ever find him listening to Led Zeppelin.

“I’m not a snob musically,” he says with a shy smile. “There are just things that I listen to and things that I don’t. I like Elaine Paige, who was a Broadway singer that I worked with. I listen to Patti Austin, James Ingram, Roberta Flack, Michael McDonald and James Taylor. I love rhythm and blues, and music from films and musicals, especially ‘Kismet,’ which is my all-time favorite, and the soundtrack from ‘A Passage to India,’ which I love.”

HIS OTHER LOVE While Mathis harbors a love of music, there is another thing he admits to having a true passion for – golf.

A business associate once relayed a story of watching from the wings as Mathis performed at the Greek Theatre. As he walked off stage to a thunderous standing ovation, his friend asked him

how it felt to have thousands of people passionately showing their appreciation and admiration and knowing that it was all for him. Johnny reportedly stood quiet for a moment and then, with the slightest of smiles said: “It’s nothing like getting the little white ball into the hole.”

Asked to confirm that story, Mathis laughs and then dramatically fesses up. “It’s true! It’s true!” he admits. “I admit it. I am crazy for golf. I love to play. I think you can learn a lot about someone by playing a round of golf with them – how they react to things and how they handle themselves.”

Applying this theory, he is asked what one might learn about him by observing his performance on the links. He again laughs. “Oh, I don’t know – I’m very much the same with golf as I am in the way I react to life in general. I know I’ll never beat it, so I simply enjoy the experience. I used to be concerned about scoring, but now it’s a way to meet people outside of those I normally would.”

Among the other things Mathis enjoys is maintaining a routine that includes keeping active and connected with friends. “I enjoy staying busy and love my daily routine,” he reveals. “I get up every morning at 5 a.m. I go to the gym at 6 a.m. and then stop by the market at 7:30. When I get home, I prepare my food for the day, take care of some business, and then by noon, I’m off to the golf course. After golf, I will decide if I am in the mood to eat what I fixed that morning,” he says with a laugh. “If I’m not, I’ll pick up something else. I am finicky to the point that if it isn’t what I love to eat or what I’m in the mood for, I will pass on eating.

December 2015 LIFEAFTER50.COM 31

I never feel like I have to eat a full meal.At times, I will skip having a full meal and just have a little bit of something I really like.”

Having turned 80 this past September, Mathis, a prostate cancer survivor who has also had back surgery and both hips replaced, says he doesn’t give much thought to aging and has no real advice to offer on growing older other than to encourage people to stay active and focused on doing things they enjoy.

“Along with golf, I spend a lot of time exercising,” says Mathis. “I am very much in the habit of exercising. I go to a gym in Century City and exercise five days a week for an hour-and-a-half. I had no problem rehabbing from my back and hip surgeries, because I was very diligent about doing what I was told to do as far as exercising. As for my diet, I eat what I want, but if a week goes by and I feel I have not eaten enough healthy foods, I will prepare something that is good for me,” he says.

“... it is very rewarding to fin that my Christmas music ha d meant so much to many peops le.”

THE VOICE OF CHRISTMAS When asked to reflect on his incredible career, Mathis says that perhaps more than anything else, he finds his greatest personal satisfaction in having people love his renowned Christmas recordings.

“It’s the most humbling and gratifying feeling in the world, because it reminds me of my mom and my dad,” he says emotionally. “When I think of the happiness I have in my life, it is because of them.

When I recorded my first Christmas album, I did it for my mom and dad, and for that album to still have such life so many years later is the greatest thing that has happened to me. Every time I hear it in a department store or on the radio, I get tears in my eyes, because I think of my mom and my dad.

It’s a way of having them with me.”

Having moved from Texas to California when he was very young, Mathis says he harbors wonderful holiday memories from his youth.

“When I was young, living in San Francisco, I loved Christmas,” he says. “Coming from a large family with seven children, we would start celebrating the minute Thanksgiving was over.

My mother was a wonderful cook, and she would prepare special family meals while my brothers and sisters and I would drag out all of our special Christmas stuff and put horrible decorations up all over the house,” he recalls with a laugh. “We didn’t have the proper kind of Christmas stockings, so we used nylon stockings for the oranges and apples and what have you. But more than anything, it was the music that made the season come alive for me.

I sang with choirs at school and church and even with the ROTC choir when I was a reserve officer.

Christmas always meant singing to me. So, years later, when I started recording, my first instinct was to record Christmas music.”

32 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

Since releasing his first Christmas album in the early 1960s, Mathis has recorded numerous yuletide offerings that continue to be some of the best-selling and most-loved Christmas music ever produced.

“At this point in my life, it is very rewarding to find that my Christmas music has meant so much to so many people,” says Mathis. “It’s just the most incredible thing when people come up to me and say that it just wouldn’t be Christmas without my music. I truly believe it’s the nicest thing that could happen to anyone – to have your music selected for people’s Christmas celebrations.

I feel like I get to celebrate with millions of people. I have had people tell me they even play my Christmas music all year long, because it puts them in a good mood,” he says with a laugh.

WELCOME TO HIS WORLD Today, with over 60 years of recording and performing behind him, Mathis still regularly performs in concert. “I do find great enjoyment in taking my orchestra on the road and singing to people in person,” he says. “I really don’t enjoy recording as much as I did when I was younger, but I do love doing concerts, because I think that people like to come and see me and reminisce a bit. I have always cared so much about the people who have come to see me. For years, I was so nervous when I walked out on stage that it affected my performance. I wanted to always do my best, and it’s just not possible to be 100 percent night

after night. But, as the years went by, I came to terms with the fact that some nights were going to be better than others and the best I could do was to constantly strive to maintain a level of consistency that was acceptable.”

Asked if he is aware of the aura of magic, memories and romantic reverence that fills a venue when he sings, Mathis says he is conscious of the feeling by the response he receives from the audience. “That’s why I don’t move much on stage. I try not to take anything away from what I’m singing. I got knocked for that in the beginning – that I didn’t really entertain. But I did that on purpose. Simply standing behind a microphone and making the song the star is what best suits my personality. I’m not really an outgoing person.

In fact, I have always been a little hesitant about appearing at functions that don’t have anything to do with music. So if I jumped around and joked with the audience, it would be unnatural and people would sense that it was not really me. I put my heart and soul into performing. I once had a teacher tell me that when I sing, I am not there to impress but to express. I feel I am also like that in the way I live my life and interact with people. I don’t try to impress anyone but rather express myself through good manners and showing respect to people. I like to bring people into my world.”

For more information on Johnny Mathis’ touring schedule and recordings, click on www.johnnymathis.com.

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Let’s Get OUt

San Diego/Orange County/Inland Empire

December 2015/January 2016

A Preview of Upcoming Events for December/January By Claire Yezbak Fadden

eNteRtAINMeNt TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15 FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS More than 400 animated angels, elves and carolers come alive in a cascade of color featuring nearly four million lights decorating the facade of the historic Mission Inn. Horse-drawn carriage rides, ice skating, live entertainment including Dickens’ carolers, an elaborately decorated Christmas tree, and of course, Santa Claus. Mission Inn, 3649 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside. Through Jan. 6.

(800) 843-7755. missioninn.com.

NIGHTLY SNOWFALL Ho. Ho. Ho. Watch it snow in Chula Vista.

The event features caroling groups and nightly snowfall. Village Walk at Eastlake, 878 Eastlake Parkway, Chula Vista.

Through Dec. 24. Free. (800) 214-3020. shopvillagewalk.com.

SKATING BY THE SEA Outdoor ice skating overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The Hotel Del Coronado’s oceanfront Windsor Lawn is transformed into a spectacular ice rink with skating sessions offered daily. Hotel del Coronado, 1500 Orange Ave., Coronado. $25. Through Jan. 3. hoteldel.com.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16

DR. SEUSS’ HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! This whimsical musical, based upon the classic Dr. Seuss book, transforms the Old Globe into the snow-covered Whoville, right down to the last can of Who-hash. The family favorite musical features “This Time of Year,” “Santa for a Day” and “Fah Who Doraze.”

The Old Globe Theatre, Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage, Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park, San Diego. $37-plus. Through Dec. 26. (619) 234-5623. theoldglobe.org.

GARDEN OF LIGHTS After the sun goes down, some 100,000 sparkling lights illuminate the garden transforming it into a dazzling winter wonderland. Join in the fun that includes horse-drawn wagon rides, holiday crafts, marshmallow roasting, visits with Santa and live music. Members $10. San Diego Botanic Garden, 230 Quail Gardens Dr., Encinitas. Through Dec. 23, also Dec. 26-30.

(760) 436-3036. sdbgarden.org.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17 THE NUTCRACKER This holiday favorite tells the story of Clara who receives a magical nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve. She has a fantastic dream complete with battling mice, dancing snowflakes, waltzing flowers and the delightful Sugar Plum Fairy. Inland Pacific Ballet, Lewis Family Playhouse, 12505 Cultural Center Dr., Rancho Cucamonga, Through Dec. 20. $38-plus. ipballet.org.

JAZZ AT THE MERC Old Town Temecula Community Theater, The Merc, 42051 Main St., Temecula. $15. (866) 653-8696. temeculatheater.org.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18

THIS WONDERFUL LIFE In an amazing display of physical and verbal virtuosity, James Leaming brings to life some 32 familiar people. His Jimmy Stewart-inspired George Bailey leads a cast of characters from Bedford Falls. North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Suite D, Solana Beach. Through Dec. 27. Prices vary. (858) 481-1055. northcoastrep.org.

NEWPORT BEACH CHRISTMAS BOAT PARADE Watch beautifully decorated yachts, boats, kayaks and canoes sail along the harbor.

This year’s theme: “Seas the Holidays.”

Newport Harbor. Through Dec. 20. (949) 7294400. christmasboatparade.com.

34 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET New York City is turned upside down at Christmas when a department store Santa claims to be the real Saint Nick. Faith itself goes on trial as authorities grapple with the true spirit of the season. Is Kris Kringle who he says he is? LifeHouse Theater, 1135 N. Church St., Redlands. Thurs.-Sun. through Dec. 30. $14-$18. (909) 335-3037 ext. 21. lifehousetheater.com.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL Recapture the spirit of an old-fashioned Christmas with this timeless Dickens classic featuring Tiny Tim and the Cratchit family, the Fezziwigs, the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Features Hal Landon Jr. as Ebenezer Scrooge. South Coast Repertory, Segerstrom Stage, 655 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa. Dates vary through Dec. 27. $21-plus.

(714) 708-5555. scr.org.

A SNOW WHITE CHRISTMAS This British holiday tradition dating to the 1700s mixes classic fairy tales, family-friendly magic and modern pop songs. Laguna

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17

A CHRISTMAS CAROL

Step into a Victorian Christmas card for a unique storytelling of the holiday classic adapted from Charles Dickens’s timeless tale of hope and redemption. This reimagined, fully staged production features original new music, creative stagecraft and puppetry and live sound effects. Cygnet Theatre, 4040 Twiggs St., San Diego.

Dates vary through Dec. 27. $34. (619) 337-1525. cygnettheatre.com.

Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Rd., Laguna Beach. Dates vary through Dec. 27. Prices vary. (949) 497-2787. lagunaplayhouse.com.

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES The Cuthberts expect to adopt a boy, but receive, instead, a red-haired, wide-eyed orphan girl. Though clever young Anne Shirley has a penchant for getting into trouble, she works her way into the hearts of her adoptive parents as well as the residents of rural Prince Edward Island.

Chance Theater, 5522 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim. Weekends through Dec. 27. $40.

(714) 777-3033. chancetheater.com.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19 HERSHEY FELDER AS IRVING BERLIN From the depths of anti-Semitism in Czarist Russia, to New York’s Lower East Side, Irving Berlin’s story epitomizes capturing the American Dream. Features popular and enduring songs, like “Alexander’s Ragtime Band,” “Always,” “Blue Skies,” “God Bless America,” “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” “There’s

No Business Like Show Business,” and “White Christmas.” La Jolla Playhouse, UCSD Campus, Sheila and Hughes Potiker Theatre, Mandell Weiss Theatre, 2910 La Jolla Village Dr., La Jolla. Dates vary through Jan. 3. Prices vary. (858) 550-1010. lajollaplayhouse.org.

FESTIVAL OF CHRISTMAS This year’s tale is set in San Diego’s “Little Italy” district. The year is 1949 and the sleepy little town is going through big changes. This memorable holiday show is filled with song,

CALeNDAR dance, laughter, love and great music of the season. Lamb’s Players Theatre, 1142 Orange Ave., Coronado. Through Dec. 27. Prices vary.

(619) 437-6000. lambsplayers.org.

COUNTRY LIVE! AT THE MERC Old Town Temecula Community Theater, The Merc, 42051 Main St., Temecula. Sundays. $12. (866) 653-8696. temeculatheater.org.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20 CANDLELIGHT CLASSICS Ring in the holidays with a Temecula tradition.

Old Town Temecula Community Theater, The Merc, 42051 Main St., Temecula. $25. (866) 653-8696. temeculatheater.org.

SAN DIEGO BAY PARADE OF LIGHTS Watch some 80 boats decorated for the holidays sail from Shelter Island past Harbor Island, the Embarcadero, Seaport Village and Ferry Landing in Coronado. (619) 224-2240. sdparadeoflights.org.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 21 BOB BOSS QUARTET This outstanding guitarist has performed with jazz greats both nationally and internationally, including Marshall Hawkins, Hollis Gentry, AJ Croce and Arlo Guthrie. North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Suite D, Solana Beach. Prices vary.

(858) 481-1055. northcoastrep.org.

December 2015/January 2016 San Diego/Orange County/Inland Empire SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26

SUNDAY, JANUARY 3

FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS ICE SKATING RINK Downtown Riverside boasts Inland Empire’s first outdoor skating rink with a variety of family friendly holiday activities. Main Street between University and Mission Inn Ave., 3649 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside. Through Jan. 3. $15 skate rental. (951) 784-0300. riversideca.gov.

THE MADWOMAN IN THE VOLVO In ancient times, tribal women went alone to caves during menopause. Today, the 50 million menopausal women in America turn to cheery self-help books. As for Loh and her friends, they are determined not to go quietly into their sixth decade but instead opt for a desert festival of debauchery and half-nude stoners. South Coast Repertory, Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa. Through Jan. 24. Dark Mondays. $22plus. (714) 708-5555. scr.org.

SKATING BY THE SEA Glide along the seaside with the Hotel Del Coronado’s iconic Victorian Building, adorned with thousands of white lights, providing a magical backdrop. Hotel del Coronado, 1500 Orange Ave., Coronado. Through Jan. 7. $25, includes skate rental. (619)5228490. hoteldel.com.

JANUARY FRIDAY, JANUARY 1 RIVERDANCE This 20th anniversary world tour features new costumes, new lighting, new projections and the addition of a brand new number, “Anna Livia,” featuring the female members of the Irish dance troupe in an acapella hard-shoe number. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Segerstrom Hall, 600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa. Also Jan. 2-3. $29-plus. (714) 556-2787. scfta.org.

COMPOSTING WORKSHOP Learn how to use your yard clippings as a resource, naturally achieve a beautiful, health yard and garden and reduce your use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Living Coast Discovery Center, 100, Gunpowder

Point Dr., Chula Vista. Shuttle to entrance from parking lot. $9-$14. Sundays. (619) 409-5900. thelivingcoast.org.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 9 TWELVE ANGRY MEN What begins as an open and shut case of murder erupts into a fiery clash of character. Each of the jurors’ prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused and each other fill debate as a guilty verdict means an automatic death sentence.

LifeHouse Theater, 1135 N. Church St., Redlands. Thurs.-Sun. through Jan. 31. $14-$18. (909) 335-3037 ext. 21. lifehousetheater.com.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10 MICHELLE CANN Cann’s mastery of the piano has been recognized nationally and internationally. Her repertoire includes emotional interpretations of Bach, Chopin and Beethoven more. California Center for the Arts, Escondido, Concert Hall, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. Prices vary. (800) 988-4253. artcenter.org.

MAGIC OF MOZART Guest conductor and violinist Cho-Liang Lin leads this exploration of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 4 and his grand and festive “Haffner” Symphony. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa. $25plus. (714) 556-2787. scfta.org.

FANTASY ON ICE Make sure to dress warm and bring a pair of mittens or gloves to enjoy this outdoor rink in the heart of San Diego. NTC at Liberty Station, 2640 Historic Decatur Road, San Diego.

Through Jan. 3. $12-$14. (619) 222-1970 fantasyonicesd.com.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22 OC CHILL Located at the popular outdoor shopping destination, this only outdoor ice skating rink in Orange County. Irvine Spectrum, 71 Fortune Drive, Irvine. Through Feb. 15. $19 includes skate rental or bring your own skates and save $4. (949) 753-5180. shopirvinespectrumcenter.com/skate.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23 MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS Life is wonderful for the Smith family: the World’s Fair is about to begin and love is in the air. This happy world crumbles when Mr. Smith runs into financial trouble and announces that the family will have to move to New York. The family packs their belongings and is set to leave, but at the last minute, Mr. Smith realizes how much his family loves their home and relents. To the joy of everyone, Mr. Smith announces that the family will not leave St. Louis after all. Packed with great songs like “The Trolley Song,” “The Boy Next Door” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” Welk Resorts Theatre, 8860 Lawrence Welk Dr., Escondido.

Through Jan. 31. $48-$75. (888) 802-7469. welktheatre.com.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 5

IF/THEN

This contemporary musical follows two distinct storylines in the life of Elizabeth, a city planner who moves back to New York to restart her life in this city of infinite possibilities. When her carefully designed plans collide with the whims of fate, Elizabeth’s life splits into two parallel paths. The play follows both stories simultaneously as this modern woman faces the intersection of choice and chance. San Diego Civic Theatre, Third and B St., 1100 Third Ave., downtown San Diego. Through Jan 10. Prices vary.

(619) 570-1100. broadwaysd.com.

December 2015 LIFEAFTER50.COM 35

December 2015/January 2016 San Diego/Orange County/Inland Empire

CALeNDAR

THURSDAY, JANUARY 14 LIVE AT THE MUSEUM Third Wheel Trio Laguna Beach Live All Stars. Laguna Beach Live, The Ranch at Laguna Beach, 31106 S. Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach. Prices vary. (949) 715-9713. lagunabeachlive.org.

DILIJAN CHAMBER PLAYERS The evening features works by four of Russia’s great composers from the 19th and early 20th centuries performed by Movses Pogossian, violin; Varty Manouelian, violin; Guillaume Sutre, viola; Armen Ksajikian, cello and Armen Guzelimian, piano. Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Samueli Theater, 600 Town Center Dr., Costa Mesa. $29-plus. (714) 5562787. scfta.org FRIDAY, JANUARY 15 SAN DIEGO PIANO FESTIVAL The San Diego Symphony presents Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony and Piano Concerto featuring pianist - Jeremy Denk, conductor - Cristian Macelaru. Poway Center for the Performing Arts Foundation, 15498 Espola Rd., Poway. $44-$74. (858) 668-4798. powayarts.org.

eXHIBItIONs

THE RED THAT COLORED THE WORLD

This exhibition tells the extraordinary story of the cochineal bug, which had been in use for centuries in the Americas before it was discovered in 16th century Mexico by Hernán Cortés and other Spanish conquistadores. The bug’s juice was found to create a red dye unparalleled by any other in nature, thus changing art, science, fashion and history forever. Bowers Museum, Mary Muth Wing 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana. Through March 20. $10-$15. (714) 567-3679. bowers.org.

Cultural Center, 4355 Bonita Rd., Bonita.

Wed.-Sat. through Jan. 6. (619) 267-5141. bonitahistoricalsociety.org.

PAINTINGS FROM THE COLLECTION Comprised of pieces from the Festival of Arts Permanent Art Collection, this display features both traditional and contemporary works in a variety of mediums such as painting, watercolor and mixed media. Artworks include “Bowman” by Hal Akins, “Laguna” by Ken Auster, “Pigeon Man” by Scott Moore, “On the Road to Laguna” by Thomas Nash, “Mardi Gras” by Gloria Parry Walter, “Mrs. Rothchild Goes Bananas” by Helen Weld, “Madam Butterfly” by Dagmar Chapman and “Iron Jungle” by David Rosen. FOA South, 1006 S. Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach. Through Jan. 9.

(949) 494-1145. lagunafestivalofarts.com.

DAVID LIGARE: CALIFORNIA CLASSICIST A self-proclaimed classicist, Ligare’s perfectly ordered still life, landscape, architectural and figurative paintings occupy their own poetic world, and the perfection of his unblemished subjects and hyper-purity of his paint application seem more unearthly than real.

Consisting of approximately 80 oil paintings, watercolors, and drawings, this will be the largest retrospective of Ligare’s work to date.

Laguna Art Museum, 307 Cliff Dr., Laguna Beach. Through Jan. 17. Closed Wednesdays. $5-$7. (949) 494-8971. lagunaartmuseum. org.

MAGIC OF THE MAGI Explore hundreds of magi figurines from around the world. Bonita Museum and

MADE IN AMERICA: CRAFT ICONS OF THE 50 STATES This exhibition, over two years in the making, features traditional and contemporary iconic craft icons that represent each of the 50 states. These objects highlight distinctive materials, excellence of workmanship, and makers’ imaginations. Exploring regional and national craft traditions while expressing each state’s unique contribution to the richness of the American experience, this exhibition celebrates the variety of craft found in America. Mingei International Museum, Balboa Park, 1439 El Prado, San Diego. Through Feb. 21. $7-$10. (619) 239-0003. mingei.org.

36 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

R. LUKE DUBOIS — NOW New York-based DuBois has produced a prodigious body of work ranging from musical composition and collaborative performance to large-scale public installations, film and generative computer works. This survey demonstrates that he operates at the intersections of the visual, the performative and the time-based. Orange County Museum of Art, 850 San Clemente Dr., Newport Beach.

Wed.-Sun. through Feb. 28. $10. (949) 75911122. ocma.net.

MAYA: HIDDEN WORLDS REVEALED The ruined cities of the ancient Maya have captured imaginations since news of their discovery in the jungles of Central America was published in the 1840s. This exhibition tells the story through the eyes of Maya rulers and their loyal subjects. On display are more than 200 authentic artifacts, including spectacular examples of Maya artistry made by masters of their craft, along with objects from everyday life. San Diego Natural History Museum, 1788 El Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego. $15-$27. Through Jan 3. (619) 2323821. sdnhm.org.

MODERN TWIST Contemporary Japanese Bamboo Art. This exhibition explores the innovative shape bamboo art has taken since the mid-20th century. The display features a stunning selection of works from the Clark Center for

Japanese Art and Culture. With rare wallhung installations and pieces never before seen in the United States, this exhibition both engages and educates audiences about a vibrant cultural art form. Bowers Museum, Mary Muth Wing 2002 N. Main St., Santa Ana. Through Jan. 3. $10-$15. (714) 567-3679. bowers.org INGENIOUS! THE WORLD OF DR. SEUSS The lively and whimsical exhibition features rare early works, ephemera, illustration and editorial cartoons, as well as two newly released Geisel illustrations. The Seuss-land gallery features giant bronze Seuss character sculptures, anchoring interactive family activities that emphasize the important themes and innovative nature of Seuss books. San Diego History Center, Casa De Balboa, Balboa Park, 1649 El Prado, San Diego. Through Dec. 31. $6-$8.

(619) 232- 6203. sandiegohistory.org.

Get the Word Out. E-mail your announcements to Claire Fadden, cfadden@lifeafter50.com 60 days prior (or even earlier) to your event.

Include a brief description, location, date, time, cost, phone and website. Submission does not guarantee publication.

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Rick Steves’ Travels There’s no place like Rome for the holidays Rick St eveS’ t RavelS

By Rick Steves

I

find the holiday season in Rome a joy: crisp air, stylish big city Italians cupping hot cappuccino in corner cafés, and hurried shoppers bundled up with panache, thoughtfully pausing at grand manger scenes. The season here stretches for over a month – not to maximize shopping days, but to fit in the season’s many holy days.

As home to Vatican City, the headquarters of the Holy See of the Roman Catholic Church, Rome is rich with Christmas’ most sacred traditions. Manger scenes, called presepi, originated just a little north of Rome in Assisi some 800 years ago when St. Francis taught the story of Jesus’ birth with props. For a bit of manger history, visit the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. There you can see five wooden planks, said to be from the original Christmas manger.

Creative crèches are on display all over town, ranging from old and traditional to avant-garde.

Dip into any church in town from early December through Epiphany (January 6) to see one, or visit Piazza del Popolo’s annual exhibition, with 100 unique presepi made by artists and schoolchildren.

One of the most important relics in Rome is at the Church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli. The Santo Bambino, a statue of the holy child, is clothed in rich fabrics and covered with jewels. He’s believed to have miraculous healing powers, and it’s said that the bambino’s lips turn red if a prayer is about to be answered and pale if there is no hope. Children especially love the bambino, writing him letters and reciting poems to him on Christmas Day. The bam-

38 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

bino figure is usually kept in a glass case in a chapel, but at the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, he’s presented to the church’s eager and expectant congregation.

The Vatican’s Nativity scene has always been the premier decoration on St. Peter’s Square. But Pope John Paul II, who grew up in Poland and became the first non-Italian pope in a very long time, missed having a Christmas tree. So, in 1982, he added a lighted evergreen to the celebrations, standing tall near the central obelisk. Each year on Christmas Eve, the pope celebrates midnight Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. (Though the church holds 15,000 people, you must book far in advance to attend the Mass.)

For many Roman families, Epiphany, not Christmas, is the big gift-giving day, when kids open presents delivered by the broom-riding witch, La Befana. On the eve of Epiphany, Befana ( ala Santa) flies over the rooftops of Rome on her broom and brings gifts to the good children or coal for the bad ones – although, these days the “coal” is a crunchy black confection sold at street-corner carts.

Some Roman parents threaten naughty kids by saying: “Lo dico alla Befana!” (I’ll tell the Befana!), or the ever-popular: “Viene la Befana e ti porta via!” (The Befana will come and take you away!), which is very bad news indeed, because Befana has an ogre of a husband who devours children. According to legend, the Biblical magi stopped to ask Befana for directions to Bethlehem and the Christ child, but she was too busy to help. As time passed, Befana kept thinking about the strange visitors and

their quest. Bearing a sack filled with bread, she set out to find baby Jesus, too. Whenever she saw a baby boy, she gave him a piece of bread, hoping he might be the Christ child. Befana still wanders through Italy each Christmas season looking for the baby and leaving goodies for the children. Her name means “gift-bringer.”

Lively Piazza Navona hosts a holiday market – known locally as the “Befana Market” – that bustles with street performers and vendors from early December until Epiphany. Here you can shop for decorations, toys, and other gift items.

Or pop into one of the city’s many fine bakeries for their Christmas confections. These vary, but you’ll find one constant – fruitcakes. In Italy, fruitcake is disguised as bread (pane). There’s big bread (panettone), golden bread (pandoro), sweet bread (pandolce), and strong bread (panforte), which is a dense mixture of honey, candied fruit, nuts, and spices.

Whether spiritual or secular, at this time of year, Romans are wishing their families, friends, and everyone they encounter the same thing I’m wishing you and every Life After 50 reader: Merry Christmas! Or, as you would say when in Rome: Buon Natale!

Rick Steves writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and radio. You can e-mail him at rick@ricksteves.com and visit his website at www.ricksteves.com.

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And Finally...

The Bookworm’s Best A Life After 50 book review

by Terri “The Bookworm” Schlichenmeyer

Frank & Ava: In Love and War

By John Brady

W

hat did Ava Gardner see in Frank Sinatra that so captivated her? What was it about him that she liked and what didn’t she care for?

If you are hoping for answers to those questions in the new book, “Frank & Ava” by John Brady, you may find some, but you may also just be dreaming the impossible dream.

When the 18-year-old Gardner stepped off the Manhattan-to-Los-Angeles train on a summer day in 1941, she was green as spring grass with a knowledge of Hollywood that had come entirely from fan magazines. She didn’t smoke or drink and was a “good girl” from North Carolina, a beauty whose new career was launched by a portrait in a photography-studio window.

Before she left for Hollywood, Gardner had “playfully” told friends she was going off to Tinseltown to marry the “biggest movie star in the world” and, unbelievably, six months later, she did so by becoming Mrs. Mickey Rooney. That marriage lasted less than a year, as did her second marriage to bandleader Artie Shaw.

When Sinatra arrived in Hollywood in 1943, his star had been shining for quite some time. He was the highest-paid concert performer in the country, having become famous with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, and then as a solo performer.

He’d also acted in some modestly successful films, but that summer, Hollywood beckoned, so he moved his wife and family west.

While Sinatra’s initial work in Hollywood was at RKO, he and Gardner first crossed paths on the MGM lot. Then, as time went by, their paths continued to cross and, by early 1947, a spark had been kindled and they were “dating.” Their relationship was clandestine and complex. He was still married and she openly dated other people, as did he, while he worked to gain a divorce so he and Gardner could marry, which they did in late 1951.

The couple had a rocky relationship, right from the start. They fought on the way to the altar and the battle continued after they said their “I dos.” Still, when his career briefly faltered, she supported him and paid the bills. Years later, long after a semi-amicable split, he returned the favor by paying for her funeral.

“Can’t live with him; can’t live without him.” No doubt, you’ve heard that phrase before, so keep it in mind as you read “Frank & Ava,” because nothing has ever been more apt.

This is a love story – but not always. It is also a tale of scandal. Brady allows just enough cattiness to make this story a compelling page-turner, although there is also plenty of resigned sadness within the book’s pages, and that was a surprise.

The other eyebrow-raiser, even in these “tell-all” times, was the overly-long list of sleep-around partners both Sinatra and Gardner chalked up, which, instead of being scandalous, tends to read like the same old story, told over and over, just with different names. While that made me lose focus at times, Brady’s oftoccurring gossipy tidbits kept me engrossed and flipping every page for more.

I learned a lot by reading “Frank & Ava” and did find it to be entertaining, but I think the book will resonate best with diehard fans and those who actually lived through the era. If that’s you and you can overlook the author’s tendency to be repetitive, this is an interesting glimpse of one of Hollywood’s most stunning actresses and the man – who was born 100 years ago this month – that lived life his way.

“Frank & Ava: In Love and War” by John Brady, c.2015, Thomas Dunne Books, $26.99, 292 pages.

The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer who lives on a hill with two dogs and more than 12,000 books. You can read more of her book reviews at www.lifeafter50.com. Just click on “Entertainment” and then “Book Reviews.”

A Look Back

Just A Thought Before We Go

F

ifty holiday seasons have passed since Americans first saw “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” starring the characters of Charles Schulz’s comic strip “Peanuts.” First airing on CBS on December 9, 1965, the special touches on the commercialization and secularism of the season, and serves to remind viewers of the true meaning of Christmas. Commissioned and sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company, it was produced on a shoestring budget and included a very unorthodox soundtrack for a holiday program – a jazz score by pianist Vince Guaraldi. Following its debut, the special received high ratings and critical acclaim and has become an annual tradition. Honored with Emmy and Peabody Awards, the special’s soundtrack also hit successful heights by going triple platinum in the U.S., being voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007, and added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry in 2012.

The popularity of the special also played a significant role in American popular culture. It eliminated the popularity of the aluminum Christmas tree, which was a fad from 1958 to 1965. After the special portrayed it negatively, they fell out of favor and, by 1967, were no longer being manufactured. The straggly little “Charlie Brown Christmas Tree” has also become a part of the American lexicon, representing cheapness and frugality in holiday decorations.

42 LIFEAFTER50.COM December 2015

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