Subject
Shelley Winters on reading LOLITA, meeting the Nabokovs,
and oysters Rockefeller
and oysters Rockefeller
From
Date
Body
[EDNOTE. This is the first of several tidbits gleaned from Shelley
Winters' second autobiography, SHELLEY II: THE MIDDLE OF MY CENTURY (New
York: Simon and Schuster, 1989). Winters, who died on January 14, 2006,
considered the part of Charlotte Haze the best film role she ever had.]
Shelley Winters (from SHELLEY II: THE MIDDLE OF MY CENTURY) on reading
LOLITA, meeting the Nabokovs, and oysters Rockefeller (pp. 337-339):
In late October, I received a letter from Stanley Kubrick, who was in
England, telling me that he was preparing a film script from the novel
LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov, and he wanted me to meet Mr. Nabokov in New
York to discuss the role of Charlotte, so would I read the book?
Nabokov wanted my impressions of his novel. I was very busy with the
election [Winters was an ardent Democrat who volunteered for Kennedy's
1960 presidential campaign], but I managed to squeeze in time on planes
and platforms to read LOLITA. I was thunderstruck by Nabokov's genius
and dazzling stylistic literary acrobatics.
Somewhere John Kennedy saw me reading LOLITA and broke into laughter.
He sent Pierre Salinger over to tell me I should get a brown paper cover
for the book if I had to read it in such public places. In those days,
LOLITA was considered a literary scandal, although critics such as F. W.
Dupee had acclaimed it a masterpiece. But I managed, as per Mr.
Kubrick's request, to read the book and meet Vladimir Nabokov at
Rumpelmayer's in between my campaigning.
I was greatly in awe of Nabokov, but he made me relax and had me
discussing the pseudointellectual suburbanite Charlotte (my role) at
great length. He had me meet his wife at dinner at the Sherry
Netherland, and obviously she had to approve of me, which she must have,
becaue the next time I returned to New York after campaigning, the film
script of LOLITA was waiting for me. I had many fights with my agent
about signing this contract. I insisted that they had to wait to begin
shooting until after the inauguration of John Kennedy so I could attend
inaugural ball.
"Shelley!" he shouted back. "Number one, what makes you so sure he'll
be elected? Number two, they have Peter Sellers in this given time
period to make the picture, and number three, after a worldwide search,
they've got a kid named Sue Lyon under contract. They're shooting it in
England and making England look like America."
Kubrick could not shoot the picture in the U.S. because of the
censorship that existed in America before the sexual revolution of the
late sixties and seventies.
"For God's sakes," my agent continued, "this is a chance to work with
the great director Stanley Kubrick! Get off your damn campaign trail
and get back to being an actress!"
After much screaming, we finally settled on the contract as follows: I
would leave immediately after the presidential election, and Kubrick
signed in blood that I could come back to America from London and attend
the inauguration and the inaugrual ball. He would so arrange his
shooting schedule that it would be possible. [Winters later reveals
that a snowstorm and related film complications prevented her from
attending the inauguration; instead, she was invited to serve as
mistress of ceremonies at the White House Press Photographers' Ball
after the inaugural festivities.]
I forget how much money I got for this film, but at Rumpelmayer's with
Nabokov, during the final discussions, I had a tuna-fish sandwich and a
chocolate milkshake, my standard tranquilizer, and at the Sherry
Netherland with Mr. and Mrs. Nabokov, it was the only time I ever had
oysters Rockefeller (they're awful--raw caviar on raw oysters).
Winters' second autobiography, SHELLEY II: THE MIDDLE OF MY CENTURY (New
York: Simon and Schuster, 1989). Winters, who died on January 14, 2006,
considered the part of Charlotte Haze the best film role she ever had.]
Shelley Winters (from SHELLEY II: THE MIDDLE OF MY CENTURY) on reading
LOLITA, meeting the Nabokovs, and oysters Rockefeller (pp. 337-339):
In late October, I received a letter from Stanley Kubrick, who was in
England, telling me that he was preparing a film script from the novel
LOLITA by Vladimir Nabokov, and he wanted me to meet Mr. Nabokov in New
York to discuss the role of Charlotte, so would I read the book?
Nabokov wanted my impressions of his novel. I was very busy with the
election [Winters was an ardent Democrat who volunteered for Kennedy's
1960 presidential campaign], but I managed to squeeze in time on planes
and platforms to read LOLITA. I was thunderstruck by Nabokov's genius
and dazzling stylistic literary acrobatics.
Somewhere John Kennedy saw me reading LOLITA and broke into laughter.
He sent Pierre Salinger over to tell me I should get a brown paper cover
for the book if I had to read it in such public places. In those days,
LOLITA was considered a literary scandal, although critics such as F. W.
Dupee had acclaimed it a masterpiece. But I managed, as per Mr.
Kubrick's request, to read the book and meet Vladimir Nabokov at
Rumpelmayer's in between my campaigning.
I was greatly in awe of Nabokov, but he made me relax and had me
discussing the pseudointellectual suburbanite Charlotte (my role) at
great length. He had me meet his wife at dinner at the Sherry
Netherland, and obviously she had to approve of me, which she must have,
becaue the next time I returned to New York after campaigning, the film
script of LOLITA was waiting for me. I had many fights with my agent
about signing this contract. I insisted that they had to wait to begin
shooting until after the inauguration of John Kennedy so I could attend
inaugural ball.
"Shelley!" he shouted back. "Number one, what makes you so sure he'll
be elected? Number two, they have Peter Sellers in this given time
period to make the picture, and number three, after a worldwide search,
they've got a kid named Sue Lyon under contract. They're shooting it in
England and making England look like America."
Kubrick could not shoot the picture in the U.S. because of the
censorship that existed in America before the sexual revolution of the
late sixties and seventies.
"For God's sakes," my agent continued, "this is a chance to work with
the great director Stanley Kubrick! Get off your damn campaign trail
and get back to being an actress!"
After much screaming, we finally settled on the contract as follows: I
would leave immediately after the presidential election, and Kubrick
signed in blood that I could come back to America from London and attend
the inauguration and the inaugrual ball. He would so arrange his
shooting schedule that it would be possible. [Winters later reveals
that a snowstorm and related film complications prevented her from
attending the inauguration; instead, she was invited to serve as
mistress of ceremonies at the White House Press Photographers' Ball
after the inaugural festivities.]
I forget how much money I got for this film, but at Rumpelmayer's with
Nabokov, during the final discussions, I had a tuna-fish sandwich and a
chocolate milkshake, my standard tranquilizer, and at the Sherry
Netherland with Mr. and Mrs. Nabokov, it was the only time I ever had
oysters Rockefeller (they're awful--raw caviar on raw oysters).