A life of endearment: Shirley MacLaine brings 80 years of memories to Segerstrom Center
With her career spanning more than 50 feature films in more than 60 years in show business, Shirley MacLaine has dazzled audiences, met prime ministers, presidents and politicians, hung out with the Rat Pack and talked with His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
It’s those memories that MacLaine, who is billed as an Academy Award-winner, singer, dancer, writer, director, political and environmental activist, bestselling author and believer in reincarnation, will discuss during her appearance Saturday at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
During “An Evening with Shirley MacLaine,” the Oscar-winner will share stories, photos and film clips from her Hollywood career and personal life. The audience is invited to submit questions for a question-and-answer session at the end.
Ask her anything.
She says she loves nothing to be planned, though she has noticed from past shows that “the 90-year-olds ask about the Rat Pack and the directors, and the young people ask about my books.”
“I love the interaction with the audience,” said MacLaine, 80, from her home in Santa Fe, N. Mex. “I have a wonderful compendium of books and travels they can ask me about.”
Aaron Egigian, senior director of music programming at Segerstrom Center, wanted MacLaine to appear on the center’s stage for some time. But because the actress was busy with “Downton Abbey” tapings, he had to find a time she was available.
Having her long-awaited debut at Segerstrom this year, said Egigian, will be a thrill for fans.
“She is a very distinctive and unique actress,” Egigian said. “I think, in many ways, she is an American original in all areas of her career.”
Born Shirley MacLean Beaty in Richmond, Va., the vivacious redhead began performing once she enrolled in her fast ballet class at the age of 3. She had weak ankles as a toddler, and her mother thought the class would strengthen the girl’s muscles.
Her mother, a drama teacher, set aside her dreams of being an actress to raise her family. MacLean’s father was a psychology professor.
After her junior year in high school, she studied in New York City and made her professional debut dancing in a Broadway revival of “Oklahoma!” in the 1950s. After graduating from high school, she returned to New York and within a year was named understudy to actress Carol Haney in “The Pajama Game.” She replaced Haney and excelled in the role, and film producer Hal B. Wallis signed her to work for Paramount Pictures.
She’s been working since.
Her film debut in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 “The Trouble with Harry” earned her a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year — Actress. In 1956, she had roles in “Hot Spell” and “Around the World in 80 Days.” That same year, her performance in “Some Came Running” gave her her first Academy Award nomination and an additional Golden Globe nomination.
Two years later, her second Oscar nomination came with “The Apartment,” starring Jack Lemmon and directed by Billy Wilder. Her reunion with Lemmon and Wilder for “Irma la Douce” in 1963 earned her another Academy Award nomination.
In 1975, MacLaine’s turn as producer in “The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir” earned her a fourth Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature. Two years later, she was nominated for her starring role in “The Turning Point.” In 1983, she took home an Oscar for her work in “Terms of Endearment.”
Her other major films include “Steel Magnolias” with Julia Roberts, “Postcards from the Edge” with Meryl Streep and “Rumor Has It...” with Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Costner. She starred as cosmetics businesswoman Mary Kay Ash in the CBS miniseries “Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay.” She played the outspoken mother of Elizabeth McGovern in the Emmy Award-winning PBS series “Downton Abbey.”
In 2012, when MacLaine received the American Film Institute’s Life Achievement Award at Sony Pictures, AFI chief Bob Gazzale told the Times that MacLaine’s talent “runs so deep it’s almost indescribable. Nobody on-screen can smile through the tears like Shirley MacLaine.”
In addition to her Hollywood career, MacLaine has addressed her faith in reincarnation, angels and meditation in her books, including “I’m Over All That: And Other Confessions” and “Out on a Limb,” an autobiography detailing her journey through New Age spirituality.
Her chronicling of her personal quest for spiritual understanding became a international bestseller in “The Camino: A Journey of the Spirit.” In the book, MacLaine made a pilgrimage along the Santiago de Compostela Camino in Spain, walked for thousands of years by saints, sinners, kings and queens.
“It was a real lesson in self-knowledge,” she said of the spiritual and physical challenge. MacLaine walked for 30 days, alone, and begged for food. She said one of the hardest parts was facing the loneliness. “I’m glad I got through it,” she said.
MacLaine is in the process of writing another book after having authored 10 international bestsellers.
What’s currently on her nightstand? “History of Atlantis.”
What book would she recommend to her readers? “A reread of the Old Testament.”
What drew her to living in Santa Fe? “Nature, its extraordinary beauty, UFOs and hikes.”
Add the high altitude of 8,000 feet to her list of reasons. “I love to breathe,” she said.
But she won’t answer how she would like to be remembered — for now.
“I’m not ready for that question,” she said. “Ask me in 10 years.”
IF YOU GO
What: “An Evening with Shirley MacLaine”
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Where: Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, 615 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
Cost: $39 to $100
Information: (714) 556-2787 or scfta.org