BIFF
In 1965, I got a call from Biff asking me if I wanted to see some trash, the reference being to the film "Harlow" starring Carol Baker. I agreed and we met at the theatre and had a wonderful day.
And how did this all begin? And who is "Biff?"
Biff was the nickname for Elizabeth Hartman who had worked in summer stock at the Kenley Players in Ohio with my friend, Dan. (She even screamed off stage for Mia Farrow in one production because the director didn't care for Ms Farrow's scream.)
She and Dan remained friends when she moved to New York and ultimately I got to meet her. And we became, not friends but fond acquaintances. Many laughs, many good times.
On the morning of the call, I was fully aware that she had just completed her first film (as yet, unreleased) called "A Patch of Blue" wherein she played a blind girl who fell in love with Sidney Poitier much to the dismay of her mother played by Shelly Winters.
When the film was released later that same year, Biff was nominated for an Oscar (the youngest ever at that time to garner a Best Actress nod at age 22) and she also receive a Golden Globe as Best Newcomer.....her career was on the rise. (Later films included "The Group," with Candace Bergan, "You're a Big Boy, Now" directed by Coppola and "The Beguiled" with Clint Eastwood and Geraldine Page).
It was a thrill to watch her career ascend...….Then suddenly, it was all gone.
In 1987 at the age of 43, she jumped out of the window of her 5th floor apartment in Pittsburg and fell to her death, after suffering from bouts of depression for many years. Years that none of her "acquaintances" new about. A tragic loss. But aren't they all?
The earlier suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain reminded me of dear Biff and how we never know what demons are out there and haunting our friends, family and even acquaintances.
Be on guard. Be helpful when you can. Do some "trash" if that's what they need. It may make a difference. It may, at least, give the demon pause. I hope so. She was a lovely young woman and would have gone far.
And how did this all begin? And who is "Biff?"
Biff was the nickname for Elizabeth Hartman who had worked in summer stock at the Kenley Players in Ohio with my friend, Dan. (She even screamed off stage for Mia Farrow in one production because the director didn't care for Ms Farrow's scream.)
She and Dan remained friends when she moved to New York and ultimately I got to meet her. And we became, not friends but fond acquaintances. Many laughs, many good times.
On the morning of the call, I was fully aware that she had just completed her first film (as yet, unreleased) called "A Patch of Blue" wherein she played a blind girl who fell in love with Sidney Poitier much to the dismay of her mother played by Shelly Winters.
When the film was released later that same year, Biff was nominated for an Oscar (the youngest ever at that time to garner a Best Actress nod at age 22) and she also receive a Golden Globe as Best Newcomer.....her career was on the rise. (Later films included "The Group," with Candace Bergan, "You're a Big Boy, Now" directed by Coppola and "The Beguiled" with Clint Eastwood and Geraldine Page).
It was a thrill to watch her career ascend...….Then suddenly, it was all gone.
In 1987 at the age of 43, she jumped out of the window of her 5th floor apartment in Pittsburg and fell to her death, after suffering from bouts of depression for many years. Years that none of her "acquaintances" new about. A tragic loss. But aren't they all?
The earlier suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain reminded me of dear Biff and how we never know what demons are out there and haunting our friends, family and even acquaintances.
Be on guard. Be helpful when you can. Do some "trash" if that's what they need. It may make a difference. It may, at least, give the demon pause. I hope so. She was a lovely young woman and would have gone far.
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