RIP James Garner

When I heard the news this morning about James Garner's passing, I was very sad because to me he was one of those people that I just always wanted around. Of course that isn't possible, but he was just so iconic and real and I just didn't want it to happen. 

He's been one of my favorite actors for a long time, even before I was really into classic films the way that I am now. The Thrill of It All I think is kind of what sold me on his talent and charm. His facial expressions were priceless and he just had that way of being so real with his characters whether they were funny, dramatic or romantic, you always were intrigued and interested in what he was doing. 36 Hours is one of the great performances from an underrated movie. I think that one is actually one of my favorites. 

Of course The Rockford Files is one of his best TV roles and I remember when I first watched it with my dad (he has the seasons on dvd) and I wanted to see it because I liked him and after I saw it, it made me like him even more than before because I saw how effortless he made it all look. It was almost like he was just playing himself, I mean essentially he was just with a different last name. I think it is probably one of the roles he is most proud of and for good reason. 

Even the movies he did in more recent years like The Notebook where the charm and talent was still there in his later years. Plus all the great actresses he worked with: Doris Day, Julie Andrews, Audrey Hepburn...the list goes on. He has a fine body of work that he left us and he had a big influence on my life. He will be greatly missed. 

17 years ago today...

17 years ago today, my favorite actress, Audrey Hepburn died at the age of 63. :( She will always be loved by her fans and for the person that she was. I'm going to say how much she means to me.

I guess I don't remember the exact year that I started liking her. I thought that I first saw her movies in 2008, but it looks like from posts i've made on other sites and stuff that it was in 2007. I think what it was was that I liked her in 2007, but I didn't really become a huge fan of her until 2008. :) Anyway, I rented like 5 of her movies and the first one that I watched was Roman Holiday. I thought it was really cute and I liked it a lot. Then I saw Sabrina, Funny Face, My Fair Lady and Breakfast at Tiffany's. I was kind of confused by that at first, but then I loved it after I saw it a few more times. After I saw those I went through this Audrey Hepburn/Julie Andrews movie phase where I was trying to see more of their films. So the summer of 2008 when we went to Hollywood I was really into Audrey and so I got a purse of her and saw her star on the Walk of Fame and yeah. She became my favorite actress. Then I got some books about her and everything. She was just such an amazing person and she was so genuine in her films. You could see so much of herself in her roles. Everyone that worked with her loved her.

I love what Robert Wagner said about her in his autobiography: "Audrey was sensational to work with: professional, relaxed, engaging, endearing-the most helpful, loving person you could imagine." "Audrey's essence as a human being shone through her acting and lifted her movies up by yards, not inches or feet. I have never known any woman other than Jill whose personality was so reflected in everything she did." "Audrey's spirit was embodied in her garden, her furniture, her paintings, her jewelry, her dogs, her linens. She absorbed everything she experienced and saw in her life, took it into her subconscious, her soul and then somehow contrived to radiate it outward onto everything she touched." I agree with him. She was so elegant and classy and I just love her so much. I love what she did for UNICEF and how good of a mother she was and everything. She was so cute and had a great sense of humor. She is my role model. She will always be loved and missed. RIP Audrey.
I am also making a video of Audrey, but it's probably not going to be uploaded until tomorrow cause I have been really busy and haven't been able to get it finished.