Love & Misery

Possibly the most infamous and most romanticized criminals in American history, this couple were two

young Texans whose early 1930s crime spree forever imprinted them upon the national consciousness.

Their names have become synonymous with an image of Depression-era chic, a world where women

chomped on cigars and brandished automatic rifles, men robbed banks and drove away in squealing

automobiles, and life was lived fast because it would be so short. They would later immortalized on the

big screen by Warren Beatty & Fay Dunaway…of course, I’m speaking of Bonnie Parker

& Clyde Barrow…better known as Bonnie & Clyde.

Our couple this week was supposed to be John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, but we decided to not pursue this story…maybe because this family has been through too much or maybe because these wounds are still too fresh…either way, this week we are talking about another couple. This new duo is a couple of artists that got together during the early 1900’s and both made a splash in the art world. One was famous for painting murals and dabbled in cubism, the other was known for surrealism or “magical realism” and was portrayed by Selma Hayek in the movie Frida. So, this time our podcast is a look into the relationship of Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo.

Our couple this week is a historical couple or should I say historical couple plus one. He ruled England

For 36 years in the 16th Century. She was a queen of England for 3 years…and her sister was a lady in the

Queen of France’s court and a lady appointed to the court of Catherine of Aragon in England. If you

Listened to our podcast last week then you already know our story this week is about King Henry VIII, Anne

Boleyn, & Mary Boleyn.

This love relationship was as complicated as it was devoted, the bond between these two greats big

Screen stars stretched across three decades and lasted through nine films (where they both shared

billing). Two of the biggest movies that they made during this time include:  “Woman of the Year” and

“Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (ranked #99 of the American Film Institute’s top 100 films of all time).

But, their offscreen romance would remain publicly unacknowledged throughout his life as the couple

maintained separate residences and never wed. If you heard our last podcast then you know we are

talking about Katherine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy

The relationship was the most talked about in Rock n Roll in the 1990’s. In September of 1992, Lynn Hirschberg wrote a piece for Vanity Fair where she set out to find out if this new pair were the grunge version Of John and Yoko or the next Sid and Nancy (eg. The next peace couple or the next horror show)?  These two first met on Friday, January 12th, 1990 (some people say it was February 12th, so there is a bit of a discrepancy) at the Satyricon (a small and dimly light nightclub in Portland Oregon). Observers said that they were locking eyes that night and allegedly, within 30 minutes were literally tussling on the floor (not sure if that was like fighting but it feels more like this was a flirtation thing). He was there to play a set with his band and as he passed her table she told him that he looked like the lead singer of another local band “Soul Asylum” (which he didn’t look anything like). He then grabbed her and playfully threw her on the floor. The moment was over in a few seconds and he gave her a peace offering of a sticker of Chim Chim, the monkey from the cartoon “Speed Racer”. He had made this symbol his mascot…people my age will remember this cartoon…I remember watching it religiously along with “Kimba the White Lion”. All that aside, our couple this week is (and if you listening last time) none other than Kurt Cobain & Courtney Love.

She first met him in 1904 at a ball in Crewe House, home of the Earl and Countess of Crewe. In March 1908, they met again when seated side by side at a dinner party hosted by Lady St. Helier, a distant relative of her.  On their first brief encounter, Winston had recognized her beauty and distinction; now, after an evening spent in her company, he realized she was a girl of lively intelligence and great character.  After five months of meeting each other at social events, as well as frequent correspondence, he proposed to her during a house party at Blenheim Palace on August 11, 1908, in a small summer house known as the Temple of Diana. If you heard our podcast last time, then you know that we are speaking about Winston Churchill & Clementine Spencer.

On the morning of March 2, 1964, a 19-year-girl flagged down a taxi to Paddington Station. She’d been instructed by her modelling agency to meet three other models under the station’s clock at eight AM sharp. From there, they’d join a train halfway down platform one and meet the film crew—that’s where the instructions ended. She had been working non-stop modelling jobs for few years after moving from her parent’s home in Hurlington Court to South Kensington.  A few weeks later, when her agent Cherry Marshall called to tell her was booked for an appointment with a casting agency, she wasn’t expecting much from it. She assumed it would be just another ad casting, one where she’d be modelling clothes or products. However, as she strolled up to the Park Lane Hilton at one o’clock, she was surprised to see director Richard Lester.  He couldn’t disclose any information about the project to her; it was top secret. She only found out later that day when she got a call from her agent congratulating her for landing the part. This wasn’t just any old shoot; she was going to be in “A Hard Day’s Night”, the first-ever Beatles film. The movie was to capture a scripted 36-hour day in the boys’ lives as they prepared for a big television appearance. As filming ended for the day and the train neared London, he turned to her and said. “Will you marry me?”. She laughed, unsure if he was being serious or not…  If you listened to our last podcast, then you know our couple this week is George Harrison & Pattie Boyd.

She was an actress during MGM's "Golden Age." The daughter of a prosperous Viennese banker, she was privately tutored from age 4; by the time she was 10, she was a proficient pianist and dancer and could speak four languages. At age 16 she was enrolled in Max Reinhardt’s Berlin-based dramatic school, and within a year she made her motion picture debut in Geld auf der Strasse (1930; Money on the Street). She achieved both stardom and notoriety in the Czech film Extase (1932; Ecstasy). She then made her way to Hollywood in 1937, where she appeared in her first English-language film, the classic romantic drama Algiers (1938). She became a U.S. citizen in 1953. And if you heard our podcast last time or if you read the name of this podcast episode, then you know this podcast is about Hedy Lamarr.

In my ninety-plus years I’ve lived a multitude of lives. In the course of all these lives, I had a front- row seat at the birth of television; wrote, produced, created or developed more than a hundred shows; had nine on the air at the same time; founded the 300,000-member liberal advocacy group (People for the American Way); was labeled the “No. 1 enemy of the American family” by Jerry Falwell; made it onto Richard Nixon’s “Enemies List”; was presented with the National Medal of the Arts by President Clinton; purchased an original copy of the Declaration of Independence and toured it for ten years in all fifty states; blew a fortune in a series of bad investments in failing businesses; and reached a point where I was informed we might even have to sell our home. Having heard that we’d fallen into such dire straits, my son-in-law phoned me and asked how I was feeling. My answer was, “Terrible, of course,” but then I added, “but I must be crazy, because despite all that’s happened, I keep hearing this inner voice saying, ‘Even this I get to experience.'” He is currently 99 years old…and he is the very fascinating character Norman Lear.

When faced with death, this Byzantine emperor was a cowardly figure. The same could not be said of his wife, during a revolt in Constantinople in the year 532, he was ready to make a run for it, but the audacious empress implored him to stay to save his reign. She arose from her throne and uttered the phrase “If you wish to save yourself, my lord, there is no difficulty… As for me, I agree with the saying that royal purple is the noblest shroud”. But she had not always been so majestic. Born in the hippodrome to a bear keeper and actress, she came from the lowest rung of society. Nonetheless, her involvement with politics began at an early age. Her family were members of the Green faction, supporters of the corresponding Green hippodrome team, whose followers from the working classes possessed a degree of political influence. Their rivals were the “Blues”, a team backed by the upper and ruling classes, who also held considerable political everage. If you heard our last podcast or read the title of this episode, then you know our couple this week is Justinian & Theodora.