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Our 165th Year
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S AT U R DAY, M AY 8 , 2 021
The legacy of Anne Douglas City continues Kirk Douglas’ partner in marriage, business, philanthropy until her death at 102
budget hearings SB City Council prioritizes self-insurance fund, the arts, engagement By GRAYCE MCCORMICK NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Friday morning marked the third special budget work session and public hearing of the Santa Barbara City Council and city staff for Fiscal Year 2022-23. From 9 a.m. to noon, the council heard presentations from the City Administrator’s Office, the mayor and the City Council, and from the Human Resources and Finance departments. The City Administrator’s Office shared its proposed budget of about $4.1 million for FY 2022, down about $170,000 from a year ago. A key component of the expenditures include funding a new bilingual community outreach officer position with the city, which would cost $168,139. “I think the city is doing so much that isn’t fully appreciated because we don’t have that community engagement officer,” said Councilwoman Kristen
Sneddon. “I’m thinking of some of our big issues like communication with Ortega Park and the community about what is happening with the arts and wanting to support that … I can’t think of anything more important than us being able to communicate and engage and feed information.” The City Administrator’s Office is focusing its work efforts on: completing the electoral redistricting program following the 2020 Census results; developing the Downtown State Street Master Plan; assisting downtown organizations and expanding improvement districts; supporting the reuse and redevelopment of the Macy’s and Nordstrom’s buildings; and providing guidance for events and parades in the city, among others. The City Clerk cited workload issues and emphasized the strong need for upgrading Please see BUDGET on A3
COURTESY PHOTOS
The Douglas family announced the passing of their matriarch, Anne Douglas, peacefully at home in Beverly Hills at the age of 102 on April 29.
By MARCIA NEWBERGER
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SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-PRESS
With great sadness, the Douglas family announced the passing of their matriarch, Anne Douglas, peacefully at home in Beverly Hills at the age of 102 on April 29. As half of a couple considered Hollywood royalty, Anne Buydens first met the famous movie star, Kirk Douglas, in 1953 when he offered her a job as his publicist while in Paris to film “Act of Love.” She said no in flawless English. She also refused his phoned invitation to dinner a few hours later, opting for scrambled eggs at home instead. Unused to turndowns by women, but really needing her skills, he campaigned to change her mind — at least about the short-term job. And so began a working arrangement that turned into mutual respect and love, in part fostered by her wicked sense of humor and his ability to appreciate it. When “Act of Love” wrapped, Miss Buydens was off to the sixth Cannes International Film Festival for the first of her three-year contract to handle protocol and publicity. Mr. Douglas followed her there, studying the script for his next film, “Ulysses,” on the beach. Miss Buydens had already been hired to be its unit publicist, so their romance would continue in Italy. It survived — primarily by correspondence — after Mr. Douglas started filming “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” on locations in the Caribbean and then at the Disney Studio. With an ocean between them, Mr. Douglas urged her to come to Beverly Hills as soon as she finished working with the Cannes Film Festival of 1954. She arrived in Los Angeles on April 24. Six weeks later, seeing her pack to return to Paris, he proposed. The couple flew to Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon, May 29, 1954, after Mr. Douglas left the studio. It wasn’t romantic, but it was legal, and her new husband vowed that someday he would marry her again in a big celebration. He kept that promise for their
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Our Marilyn McMahon shares her memories of Kirk and Anne Douglas, who had a home in Montecito. - A6
Over the years, Anne Douglas received countless recognitions of appreciation. One of the most meaningful was the Jefferson Award for Greatest Public Service of a Private Citizen, which she received at the Kennedy Center in Washington in 2003.
50th anniversary on May 29, 2004. They were married for 66 years and had two sons together, Peter and Eric, who joined Michael and Joel from Mr. Douglas’s marriage to Diana Dill (whom Mrs. Douglas called “our ex-wife”) as one united family. “My father could never keep a secret. Anne was just the opposite,” said Michael Douglas. “That’s why I was so moved when I read their co-authored book, ‘Kirk and Anne,’ in which she talked about her early life in Germany, her war years in occupied Paris and her career before she met my father. She also included their private correspondence, which gave me new insights into their courtship and marriage.
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VNA Health honors outstanding mothers during special luncheon By MADISON HIRNEISEN NEWS-PRESS CORRESPONDENT
VNA Health celebrated the 20th anniversary of its annual Mother’s Day Luncheon Friday, honoring 40 women and one couple in a video tribute. This is the second year in a row VNA Health went virtual to celebrate the Mother’s Day Luncheon, an annual event that honors distinguished mothers for their impact on their children’s lives and their community. With the pandemic barring large in-person events, planning staff at VNA Health opted to recognize past honorees through a broadcasted video Friday. During a typical year, VNA Health selects one “Honored Mother” and one “Remembered Mother” to recognize at the nonprofit’s yearly in-person luncheon. But because this year was the 20th anniversary of the
event, the organization decided to recognize all of the previous honorees from 2002 and on without recognizing new honorees for 2021. VNA Health posted the video on its website at 11 a.m. Friday for the public to view. It also plans to broadcast the video on KEYT-TV, Channel 3, at 3 p.m. Sunday and on KEYT-Now Channel 13 at 3 p.m. Saturday and May 16. Throughout the video, family members and friends of the past Honored and Remembered Mothers reminisce on fond memories and moments with the honorees. The program also features various speakers talking about the impact of VNA Health in their lives and the lives of their loved ones. “(The luncheon) really brings these women to life for many of us that wouldn’t have known them otherwise,” Rick Keith, the Please see MOTHERS on A2
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i nsi d e Classified.............. B4 Life..................... B1-2 Obituaries............. A6
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“Anne was more than a stepmother, and never ‘wicked.’ She brought out the best in all of us, especially our father. Dad would never have had the career he did without Anne’s support and partnership. Catherine and I and the children adored her; she will always be in our hearts.” Peter Douglas said, “My mother was extraordinary right until the end. She considered herself a ‘working girl’ and handled the tasks she undertook with joy and competence, whether it was the living legacy of the Douglas Foundation or Bryna, the company she presided over for most of her marriage. But most of all, I will miss her fierce devotion to us all, her joy in being Oma to her grandchildren, her lively conversations and her unforgettable wit.” The future Anne Douglas was born Hannelore Marx in Hannover, Germany. Her father owned a textile factory and multiple retail shops; her mother was a socialite. After their divorce, Anne stayed with her father who fostered her interest in his business operations before sending her to boarding school in Switzerland. Unwilling to return to Hitler’s Germany, she went to Belgium to continue her studies, which were interrupted when the Nazis bombed Brussels in 1940. She escaped by car with some friends, heading for freedom and France. But traveling with German papers was a liability for them all. For safety’s sake, the friends decided she should marry Albert Buydens to become a Belgian national. She was now Anne Laure Buydens, but the safety was short-lived. The Germans occupied Paris just months after their arrival. When the conquerors decreed that movies Please see DOUGLAS on A6
MADISON HIRNEISEN / NEWS-PRESS
From left, Easter Moorman, the director of marketing at VNA Health; Maggie Mabuchi, donor services and database coordinator, and Lailan McGrath, special events manager, helped to plan and create the video for this year’s 20th anniversary of the Mother’s Day Luncheon.
Sudoku................. B3 Sports ................... A4 Weather................ A6
Wednesday’s SUPER LOTTO: 6-11-17-27-39 Mega: 19
Friday’s DAILY 4: 5-5-8-6
Friday’s MEGA MILLIONS: 5-10-19-21-50 Mega: 10
Friday’s FANTASY 5: 7-9-15-21-27
Friday’s DAILY DERBY: 03-06-04 Time: 1:48.08
Wednesday’s POWERBALL: 16-23-28-43-63 Meganumber: 1
Friday’s DAILY 3: 4-8-7 / Midday 5-1-3