Inger in Family Weekly (1970)

I knew that an article about Inger appeared in the March 8, 1970 issue of Family Weekly, an insert published in newspapers across the country, and have even shared some quotes from it here before; however, I did not realize that Inger was the insert's cover girl until I saw the cover for the first time this week. 

In one of her final interviews—possibly the final one—Inger tells Peer J. Oppenheimer, "I have achieved a wonderful balance in my life now." She also reflects on what led to her 1959 suicide attempt:

At that moment, it seemed the only thing left to do with my life. I'd taken a good look at the people around me and at myself. And all I saw was emptiness. I sat in my little apartment and stared at the walls. How desperately I wanted to talk to someone! Only there was no one.

Inger discusses how she found new meaning in helping others and taking the focus off herself. When asked if being a star is important to her, Inger replies, "I don't even know what the word means and I could care less." She did, however, care about others and helping them in a meaningful way. The writer relates how Inger supported a stunt man when he was due to lose wages. As filming was taking place in Mexico (both Mask of Sheba and Five Card Stud were filmed in Mexico), the stuntman had to return to the U.S. where his wife and baby were in a hospital. Inger made sure that the man had money to travel home and that he would be paid a salary while he was away from the set.  

What work gave Inger the most pride and fulfillment? Not a certain movie role or piece of art or romantic relationship. No, it is her work on the Neuropsychiatric Institute of UCLA Medical Center's advisory board and her role as active chairman of the California Council for Mentally Retarded Children that fills Inger with pride in March 1970. She spends any free time she has at Kedren Community Health Center, "founded October 22, 1965 by the late Dr. James L. Jones, MD, a child psychiatrist...after the Los Angeles Watts uprising in response to economic disenfranchisement, education deprivation, and minimal or no access to healthcare."

When the writer praises her for the commitment she's made to underserved, developmentally delayed children, Inger's face lights up and she responds, "It is nothing compared to what they have given me! I am happy doing for others. I wake up every day to see it."

Sources:

Oppenheimer, Peer J. "Inger Stevens Says: 'I Can't Live Only for Myself.'" Family Weekly. March 8, 1970.

"Our History." Kedren Health. https://www.kedren.org/about/our-history/

Inger at Home

If you've read William Patterson's book on Inger, you already know that Inger possessed a flair for decorating and that her hobbies included collecting art and antiques and creating her own artwork and decorative pieces. Just six months before her death, Inger was interviewed about her Hollywood Hills home and provided a tour to journalist Barbara Bradford. The home was on Woodrow Wilson Drive and is where Inger's final moments took place on April 30, 1970. In the article, Inger also mentions making changes to her Malibu beach house, which was where her estranged husband Ike Jones was living—when not traveling—during their separation.

I've decided to transcribe the entire article here instead of merely highlighting sections of it. I place a high a value on any article or captured moment that shows us the real Inger and the aspects of her life that bring her joy. In this, Inger's passion for decorating and her enthusiasm shine through. As we get a detailed description of her home, we also see that Inger seems to be eagerly planning for future projects and embracing the comforts of home in the last six months of her life. It's difficult to accept that this gorgeous, witty and creative being would be gone shortly after this was published. 

(If you'd like a better look at the above photo, I noticed there is currently a reprint of it on eBay. It's better quality and you can see more details. Click here for that listing.)

"Designing Woman: Inger Stevens Uses Original Decorating Ideas" Published December 7, 1969

Take a melange of gentle colors, a unique art collection, hundreds of books, lots of enveloping comfort, then add a dash of witty decorating flair and you have the basic ingredients of Inger Stevens' home.

It nestles in the Hollywood Hills above Los Angeles, in a secluded area surrounded by trees and natural, almost growing-wild countryside. It is here that the movie and TV star finds peace and tranquility after a busy day at the studio—in the charming house that Inger built herself.

"I didn't really build it all myself," she said with a mischievous smile, as she led me into the large living room. "I sort of added on, made structural changes and rearranged rooms to get this final effect. But the nucleus of the house was already built when I moved in."

Even so it does bear the distinctive stamp of her personality, not only in the attractive decorating schemes but in the many architectural changes she has made. In effect, her redesigning has opened up the rooms for a spacious feeling and brought the outdoors inside for a perennial sunny feeling. And certainly this reflects her equally sunny nature.

"I love decorating," she said, as we settled into deep sofas for our chat. "In fact at the moment I am helping a friend decorate her apartment and I am also putting finishing touches to my beach house at Malibu."

Work on this latter project ceased for a while, since Inger has been on location making her latest movie, A Dream of Kings, which will be released later this month. "But now that I am back home I am working hard on the beach house, and it should be finished in the next few weeks."

Her artistic bent and interest in the decorative arts not only shows up in her choice of home furnishings but also in her own paintings which line some of the walls. She also likes to collect antiques, and many electric pieces from her world travels are incorporated into the whole with a great deal of skill and taste.

But she is highly practical in her approach to decorating. "I like beautiful things, but I don't like them to just sit around. As much as possible I try to make them part of the functioning household."

Certainly her house is full of great comfort and convenience, designed to suit her needs, her hobbies and her lifestyle. The rooms are planned for total relaxation and entertaining, with lots of well grouped seating arrangements, balanced scale in tables and good lighting. She also loves to spend time outdoors in the swimming pool, so this area has been designed to function the year round with a heated pool and all the correct furniture. She also has a sauna bath which she built into her home.

At the very core of the house is the living room. It is filled with those soft, almost hazy colors reminiscent of sand dunes and shady forests dappled with sunlight. The golden sand shade starts on the floor in the wall-to-wall carpeting, then sweeps up onto the main back wall covered with sand-vanilla tinted wood paneling. Natural burlap lines the small walls opposite, while the fireplace wall is a soaring raft of white brick which finds color unity with the white beamed ceiling.

Two pale yellow velvet loveseats and a lime velvet sofa form a semicircle of comfort in the center of the room. Their muted tones are perked up with cushions of yellow, green, orange and brick red silk and Mexican fabric. A glass coffee table and two antique end tables holding green marble lamps round out this main seating area.

"This is my favorite painting," Inger told me, indicating the huge painting of three trolls above the lime sofa, which introduces accent colors of green, red and yellow to the wall. She grinned and turned towards the bookcase at the other end of the room. "High up there you can see the three sister trolls," she explained. She has arranged the three tiny figurines under a spotlight, one of her witty decorative touches since it reiterates the mood of the painting.

Inger has given the white fireplace wall depth and dimension through the use of black and white drawings and colorful paintings. By using different sizes, shapes and frames she has introduced visual movement. A bowl of fir cones, a plant and a broom decorate the fireplace. Balancing the fireplace wall are an antique grandfather clock, and an antique desk and chair which creates a writing corner for the actress.

Two of Inger's structural changes add to the living room's spacious look, while providing additional self-contained room for specific activities. An archway has been cut into the wall facing the three sofas, and the room drops down three steps in a garden-like patio room. Once a tiny garden porch, Inger gave it walls and French doors so that it is now part of the actual house and serves as a second sitting room.

The brick floor is flashed with an area rug in acid greens and black, the walls are lined with natural burlap and the draperies are of oatmeal-colored linen. The main furniture grouping is composed of a yellow and white floral sofa and two French chairs upholstered in olive green linen.

To make the dining room an integral part of the living room it adjoins, Inger removed the doors and created an arch of bookshelves. These move up each side from storage cabinets and carry across the width of the wall below the ceiling, facing into the living room.

The dining room beyond is rich and cozy, the mood created by the wine colored fabric on the walls and the dark wood tones of the antiques. The table is an old Spanish piece, reminiscent of a tavern table, and instead of dining chairs the actress has used two long benches.

"These two cabinets are rather interesting," Inger said, as we moved around the dining room, "This is a Dutch cheese cabinet which was used to store cheese in the 16th century and I found it in Los Angeles. The other is a very old cabinet from a church in San Francisco, and I think they add character to the room."

Source:

"Designing Woman: Inger Stevens Uses Original Decorating Ideas." The El Paso Times. December 7, 1969.

Inger Stevens' Hollywood Hairdos by Leslie Blanchard

Inger Stevens was featured in a striking color cover of the November 1963 edition of Latest Hollywood and TV Hairdos. I hoped that the "five dazzling do's" promised within the magazine's pages would feature more Inger in full, glorious color. Instead, the hairstyles are in the form of sketches by Maning. The article is interesting in that it talks about the contrast of the simple styles worn as Katy Holstrum on The Farmer's Daughter in comparison to the "unbelievably lavish offstage coiffures ever created" that Inger donned offscreen. Those hairstyles and brilliant hair color were all the work of Inger's friend and hairstylist Leslie Blanchard, and were also highlighted on the Clairol ads the two worked on together during the run of the show. More on Leslie and Inger's friendship with quotes and photos after this photo break!

TV-Picture Life magazine highlighted Leslie and Inger's friendship and working relationship in February 1965. The cover of the magazine revealed that the article was titled, "Inger and the Bachelor: TV's Most Whispered-About Affair" and I expected it to be a teaser about Inger's fictional character Katy and Senator Morley on The Farmer's Daughter; I was pleasantly surprised to find it was an article on Leslie and Inger's friendship. The two met at a beauty salon on West 56th Street where Leslie was the color specialist. He recognized Inger immediately and recalled that they shared a common bond and were both discontent with their careers at that time:

We looked at each other and we both felt as if we had known each other for years. We had respect for each other, almost from the first moment...She told me I was strong enough to be on my own. She wasn’t even my client then, but she insisted I go with her, and she kept encouraging me. When I came back to New York, I did strike out on my own...I think she feels her troubles also provided a wonderful awakening for her. She did a lot of thinking and she realized that she didn’t have to be part of the Hollywood whirlwind and that she could succeed by hard work, talent, and just being herself. 

They were frequent travel companions, exploring Colombia, Jamaica, and Europe. Blanchard commented:

We did the tourist bit. We visited museums, went nightclubbing, went to the theatre, and just walked around. 

When the chance to star in The Farmer's Daughter came up, Inger was torn. She was concerned about being tied down to a weekly sitcom. Blanchard said:

I told her she’d have to do what she felt was best for herself. All a friend can do really is be a good sounding board and be a good listener and not a talker. When you listen, they make up their own decision. Well, Inger made up her mind to do the pilot. She is a very sensible, very logical, a very positive thinker, like I am. 

It was when Leslie took Inger to a Clairol press show that Clairol executives found her to be "wholesome and vivacious" and sponsored The Farmer's Daughter, making Inger their spokeswoman due to the fabulous impression made on them. When Inger was shooting a television documentary in Sweden, Leslie traveled with the crew and took care of Inger and her hair. He elaborated:

It’s remarkable because Inger has no Swedish-speaking close friends in America, yet she remembers the language she spoke up to the age of 13. We were together almost all the time. I’d see her at 5:30 am to do her hair, and then while it was drying, I’d fix her breakfast of soft boiled eggs, for her. I kidded her that I wanted more than hairdresser credit on the tv screen, and that I wanted credit as valet and cook. I colored it once, set it once, and combed it three or four times a day in Sweden.

Leslie Blanchard's career continued to rise long past Inger's untimely death and he was renowned the world over as a highly demanded and uniquely skilled hair stylist. 

Finally, here are the gorgeous Clairol ads featuring Inger and Leslie.

Sources: 

"Inger and the Bachelor: TV's Most Whispered About Affair." TV-Picture Life. February 1965. 

Latest Hollywood and TV Hairdos. November 1963.

 

Inger Makes a Splash!

Inger appeared on Les Crane's late night show ABC's Nightlife on September 16, 1965. This episode was filmed for the first time poolside at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel—previously having been recorded from New York. According to a 1966 Silver Screen article and Patterson's book on Inger, Les Crane—known for pushing boundaries—had been asked to keep this first show filmed on the west coast clean and on the level. The guests selected for this show included Inger Stevens, singer Keely Smith, and comedians Bill Dana and Nipsey Russell. Gail Kennaston and Gloria Pall were also present. Although host Les Crane agreed that there would be no surprises, Inger, who possessed a wonderful sense of humor and fun, had other plans. According to everything I've read, Inger's stunt was conceived by her alone and she only shared her plan with a few others on the set. It was not in the script and Les Crane and the other guests reactions of surprise were completely genuine.

When she was introduced as a guest, Inger sat down with the other guests around the table. Wearing a "fur-trimmed, white jersey evening gown," Inger smiled and said hello, made some small talk before swiftly standing back up and removing her dress to reveal a two-piece swimsuit. Inger then jumped into the swimming pool and swam a lap before climbing out and giving host Les Crane a soppy hug and kiss.

Audiences and critics praised Inger for her spontaneity. Silver Screen magazine published the following:

At 31, this swinging Swede has been through a lot that isn't in the script. Her famous "cool," her sweetness and ladylike ways are evidence of sophistication, of the worldliness that comes with having lived a little—not, as some Hollywood acquaintances might have thought, of any lack of passion, fears about life or inhibitions. 

This is a very unconventional woman. A woman who's honest, warm and vibrantly alive—and always has been. So much so, in fact, that it's caused her a lot of trouble—even heartbreak—because Inger's always led with her heart. 

Bill Patterson wrote about this moment in his book. Intrigued, I set out to find a video clip but all my efforts proved unsuccessful. However, I do collect fan magazines on Inger and recently a January 1966 edition of Silver Screen came up for auction. I was astonished that inside a moment-by-moment pictorial account of this appearance was captured for posterity.

Sources:

"The Farmer's Daughter Was a Perfect Lady—Till She Took Her Clothes Off." Silver Screen. January 1966.

Patterson, William T. The Farmer's Daughter Remembered. Xlibris. 2000.

Photos are my own scans.

Christmastime for Inger

 

Handwritten holiday note from Inger.
Source: my collection.

Happy Holidays! Today's post is a collection of references I've found to Inger's Christmas celebrations. The photo above is of a Briggs, Ltd. gift card hand signed in red by Inger that is proudly displayed on my mantle at the moment. The signed card comes with an envelope and the gift attached was for friend Abe Lincoln, Jr., son of jazz trombonist Abram Lincoln. I'm not sure what the gift was, but I also have a photograph of Inger inscribed to Abe from the Lincoln estate.

Discovering the Magic of Performance in Sweden

Inger first got bit by the acting bug when she watched her father perform in a local Swedish production of "A Christmas Carol." In Patterson's biography, Inger is quoted as saying:

I watched my father play Scrooge. As Scrooge he was gray-haired and bent over. I couldn't imagine what happened to his lovely chestnut hair. He told me what I had seen on stage was part of the magic of the theatre. I was spellbound. Years later I found the wig he had worn, but then it was too late; I had already made up my mind to be an actress someday and participate in the magic of the theatre.

Patterson also reveals that Inger was thrilled to be selected as Saint Lucia as a young girl in Mora, Sweden. Saint Lucia Day (December 13) is large celebration and the tradition is based on a martyr who wore candles to light her path and secretly delivered food to persecuted Christians. Inger wore a crown of seven white candles, a long white dress with bold red sash and walked to local businesses and schools singing carols. This honor and the performative play it required strengthened Inger's wish to be an actress.

Alone at Christmas

While I'm sure Inger had other fond holiday memories with family and friends throughout the years, many of Inger's Christmases seem to have been spent alone in hotels on film shoots or rehearsals. For example, in 1962, when Inger was rehearsing for her Christmas Eve opening of the play "Mary, Mary", she wrote to her aunt about how depressed she felt being alone and working over the holiday. Inger made sure to mix work with festive cheer during the years she worked on The Farmer's Daughter (1963-66). Inger helped plan the annual Christmas party for the cast and crew. 

Tragically, Patterson writes that on Inger's final Christmas, she phoned her father but he would not interrupt his dinner to talk to her and never returned her call. Due to a lot of childhood and adolescent trauma, Inger had complicated relationships with both her father and mother. Despite this, Inger always reached out, making a big effort to regularly visit her mother in Sweden (whom she viewed more as a friend) and to phone and write her father. Although they abandoned her as a child and again at various times in her life, Inger never abandoned the hope that her familial relationships would grow stronger. 

Source: Manhattan Mercury. December 17, 1958.

In December 1958, Inger was on a whirlwind multi-city publicity tour for the film The Buccaneer. At a stop in St. Louis, Inger posed smiling beside a Christmas tree with a large sign that read "Merry Christmas to ALL my friends of MANHATTAN. Inger Stevens." This generous gesture was made for friends back in Manhattan, Kansas, where Inger spent her formative, teenage years. The smile and work ethic that Inger displayed on that publicity tour belied the fragility and depression she was facing. Less than a month after this happy photo was taken, Inger attempted to take her own life and required a lengthy recovery.

Re-gifting Cleverness

Inger was hurt when lover Bing Crosby gifted her an impersonal certificate in lieu of a gift on Christmas. When it was time for Inger to send Bing a wedding present a mere 10 months later, she made use of it. She said:

After he married Kathy, I sent it back as a wedding present.

Thoughts on the Commercialism and Rush of Christmas

As related in Patterson's biography, in a personal letter dated 1955, Inger wrote to a friend:

I can never understand why everyone rushes Christmas. Thanksgiving isn't here yet and already stores are decked out in their finery and the Yule bells are pealing and thank God I haven't seen a Santa Claus yet. Why must everything be so prepared and rushed? It makes me ill. And that reminds me, I have to make out the Christmas card list and start shopping. See? We all get caught up in it.

Inger Stevens, handy with a needle,
makes gifts for friends.
Source: Photoplay. December 1957.

How ironic that the acting life that was made magical through the holiday performances of her childhood led to so many lonely Christmases as an adult. I hope that Inger had more personal, happier Christmases during her years than have been reported. She was such a generous, open-hearted person that I envision her embracing Christmas day with meaningful gifts, preparing a warm, delicious meal and engaging in long conversations and fits of laughter with her close friends. I like to believe that there were years in which she experienced the magic of Christmas and the love she dearly deserved from others.

Thank you all for reading. Merry Christmas!

Sources:

Patterson, William T. The Farmer's Daughter Remembered. Xlibris. 2000.

"Young Ideas: Needle News. Photoplay. December 1957.

"Greetings from Inger." Manhattan Mercury. December 17, 1958.

Crusader: The Girl Across the Hall (1956)

CBS aired the dramatic series Crusader starring Brian Keith in 1955 and 1956. In the first season, Matt Anders travels all around the world to combat Communism and oppression and as each episode's title card suggests:

Crusader records the struggle of democratic people against the enemies of freedom and justice at home and abroad. These are the stories of the people who have been helped by the many great organisations which are dedicated to bringing truth to those who are fed lies, light to those who live in darkness, protection to those who live in fear.

In its second season, Matt involves himself more in criminal stories that take place in America.  There are still international intrigue episodes, but Inger's episode is an example of how the show turned to more domestic issues, such as murder and organized crime.

Martin Kroll is murdered as he enters a residence. Two men, assumed to be in the mob, quickly flee the scene. After the murder is featured in the newspaper, the sole eyewitness comes forward. She is a young dancer named Alicia Devar (Inger) and her picture and personal details are splashed on the front page of the newspaper. For Alicia's protection, Matt and the local police post themselves in the boarding house where Alicia lives with a grouchy old landlord and a middle-aged diner cook. Matt is perplexed that Alicia has come forward as the witness and subjected herself to the media, but has yet to agree to be a witness in the trial.

The police have asked the landlord and other tenant to leave, but they refuse. The landlord refuses because he "wanna see what happens. It's part of being old. You don't get scared anymore." The old man is not fond of Alicia at all because she's three weeks late on her rent and he feels:

She coulda got a job waitressing but, oh, no, she's gotta be this high and mighty dancer!

Fred, the other tenant in the house, feels differently. He brings Alicia nightly dinners from the diner and coddles her. It is clear he's smitten.

Alicia seems amused by the attention but not as frightened as you would expect a woman in danger to be. She stays up late sharing her life story with Matt over a cup of coffee. She tells him she's from Iowa and that she's been struggling in the city but does not want to return home a failure. When Matt talks to another officer in the house about it, the officer says the story is slightly different than the one she was told. She chalks it up to a crush Alicia may have for Matt and remarks:

She's a kid...It's all part of the game.

Matt replies that it is impossible not to like Alicia because "she's like a lost kitten." He interviews Fred about his housemate and Fred mentions that he finds it strange Alicia didn't mention that she witnessed the murder while they were watching television on the night in question. In fact, Alicia never mentioned anything about the murder at all until she went to the police. Instantly suspicious, Matt questions Alicia about what she saw. Alicia recalls that she was walking when she saw the car go by and she remembers the elm trees. But when Matt asks Alicia the color of the car, she cannot answer. Elm trees were mentioned in the newspaper article. Car color was not. 

It's obvious that Alicia lied about witnessing the murder. She took information from the article and used it in order to gain publicity. The trick works. Publicity agents call Alicia after seeing her photo in the paper wanting to represent and audition her. She is elated.

Matt accuses Alicia:

You were gonna go before the grand jury in court to swear a lie for what you could get out of it!

Desperate to be a famous dancer, Alicia says:

Why shouldn't I? I'm tired of being a nobody! And, anyway, what difference would it make? Everybody knows they did it.

Outraged, Matt counters:

And you picked yourself to sit in judgement, eh? I hope the judge and jury you get are less prejudiced.

Alicia's publicity stunt has dire consequences.  Innocent people are murdered as the killers hunt for her. And yet, Alicia has no feeling whatsoever over the madness she causes. She only thinks of herself. When confronted with all the damage she has caused, Alicia's only response to Matt is:

You don't care for me at all, do you?

Inger typically played what she wrote to her brother were "good girl" roles so it is a departure to see her ultimately play an unsympathetic character here. Inger manages to balance the part so that you see Alicia is acting out of ignorance, adolescence and the desperation to succeed. Most of Inger's characters seemed wiser than their age (to me) yet Alicia is too immature to see the predicament she's created. In less than a half hour, Inger's character switches from a lovely, down-on-her-luck dancer to a selfish, manipulative young woman. Alicia is a character so completely wrapped up in her own needs and wants that she is unable to understand or feel guilty for the damage her actions have. 

Inger Stevens Models Designs by Dominique

Inger modeled dresses by California designer Dominique in the May 25, 1963 issue of TV Guide. It is not surprising that Inger would be drawn to a designer whose clothes had "a simple, uncluttered look with a touch of newness" as Inger defined her fashion choices as simple and timeless over the years. According to the article, Dominique was inclined to use a lot of crepe and jersey in her designs, fabrics that led to a more flowing feel and led Inger to say that the dresses "happily reflect the carefree life of California."

Source:

My scans from TV Guide dated May 25, 1963.