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April 6, 2005
TT: Bonus almanac
"Many years ago, I was told the following story: Broadway producer Leland Hayward was about to put Maxwell Anderson's Anne of the Thousand Days onto the stage. He asked the author whom he envisaged as the ideal actor to portray Henry the Eighth. The playwright thought about it, then mentioned a good, safe, workmanlike actor of very little panache. ‘No, no,' said Hayward. ‘Suppose there were absolutely no problems in getting anyone in the world you wanted--who would you name?'"Anderson immediately said, ‘Rex Harrison, but you'll never be able to get him.'
"Whereupon the producer grinned and said, ‘Why not ask him?' Then he made the necessary calls and, indeed, procured Rex Harrison's services.
"‘There's a lesson in this, Max,' said the legendary Mr. Hayward. ‘Never start out asking for someone you would eventually settle for.'"
André Previn, No Minor Chords: My Days in Hollywood (courtesy of Marla Carew)
Posted April 6, 2005 3:51 AM
