8/8/2019 Sharon Tate Interview

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S H A R O N T g E :

" S w e e t ie , I 'm g o i n o t om a k e y o u a s t a r ! "

b y L L O Y D S H E A R E R

" LONDON.

ears ago when the film coni-

panics owned not only the Hol-

lywood studios but most of themajor theater chains throughout

hey could foist practically

young woman on the suffering

puhlic as a star, a starlet or a

of tomorrow.s ,

Owing to their monopoly position,

several studio chiefs at one .time or an-

other tried or succeeded in elevating to

stardom those ambitious hopefuls who

had demonstrated noacting talent but inwhom they were personally interested.

In Ae colorful, bygone days of Holly-

wood, producers could take untrained,uneducated, well-built sex boats like

Lana Turner, Rita Hayworth, Ava Gard-

ner, Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable

and, by constantly exposing them m a

series of C, B, and A films, reinforced

by countless publicity gimmicks, sail

them to stardom.The last no-talent to achieve rank via

the publicity method was Kim Novak, a

hefty Chicago model of Slovak descent,

who was "promoted" by the late movie

baron of Columbia Pictures, Monster

Harry Cohn. Since Kim,no new Ameri-

can screen siren has zoomed to the fore.

In an attempt to fill that void Martin

Ransohoff, a film and TV producer of

controversial achievement (Beverly Htll-billies, Petticoat Junction, The Ameri-

canization of Emily; The Sandpiper) is

presenting to the public an extremely

photogenic 23-year-old kook from Dal-

las, Tex., named Sharon Tate. Sup-

posedly she is the successor to Marilyn

Monroe as America's sex symbol.

An ash-blonde Army brat, 5 feet 5 Vz,

120 pounds, with large, soulful, hazel

eyes and a well-turned Freudian figure,

Sharon is a delightful child of prolongedadolescence kept under wraps by Ranso-

hoff for the past three years.

Having spent an estimated $50,000

grooming her, Ransohoff is now giving

Sharon the chance to prove her allure,

her acting talent, her animal magnetism

in three of his latest films, Eye of the

A blonde 23-year-old kook

Sharon Tate appears with Done of her latest films, Eye

Look what you can do withR e y n o l d s W r a p

I . > • - . ! lnli.inll.i'.li

14

8/8/2019 Sharon Tate Interview

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Tlie Vampire Killers and Don't

Wares.Ransohoff is a shrewd, intelligent,

razor-sharp cookie who does

believe in wasting loot. What he sees

Sharon Tate ispotential stardom. The

is that when first he cast eyes on the

three years ago, he was so struck

her promise that he imperiously de-

"Sweetie, I'm going to makeyou

star!"That at least is how Sharon tells the

of her rise.

She was born in the Methodist Hos-in Dallas 23 years ago. Her father,

J- Tate, in the Navy during World

liked service life so much that

the war he joined the Army as a

Like most soldiers, he was

froiA post to post, Ft. Lewis,

Bliss, El Paso, etc., etc. .When Sharon was 16 the Tate family

in Verona, Italy. "I hated

school," Sharon frankly admits. "I

it boring and dull. I just couldn't

S T U P I D O R B R I G H T ?Says a former classmate: "It's not that

xvas stupid. It's just that she wasn't

bright—not in the class-

oom, anyway."

Outside the classroom, Sharon fared

a great deal better. She met Eli Wallach,

Susan Strasberg and Richard Beymer,

who were shooting a flop film, The Ad-

ventures of A Young Man, in Verona.

Beymer and director Marty Ritt, two

kind men, told Sharon that if ever she

wanted to break into motion pictures,

a good Hollywood agent to get in touch

with was Hal Gefsky."When Daddy was transferred back

to the States and San Pedro, Calif.,"

Sharon narrates, "I convinced Daddy

that I'd be safe in Hollywood—you know

howArmy

men are, so terribly protec-

tive of their daughters—I've got two

younger sisters, 7 and 13—arid Daddy's

now in Vietnam, but he still worries

about us all. Anyway, I used to hitch-

hike in Los Angeles to all the studios

because I couldn't afford the cab fare.

The men were so generous, especially

the truck drivers; they all gave me lifts.

My first experience wa s doing TV com-

mercials."Then one day," Sharon continues,

"my agent sent me to audition for a bit

in.Petticoat Junction, the TV series.

Marty (Ransohoff) came on the set,

watched me, then called me over and

said, 'Sweetie, I'm going to make you a

star!'

"Marty's a wheeler dealer. No doubt

about that. But he's a man of his word.

He sent me to drama school. He let me

play bits in various TV shows. He saw

that I got the best instruction in speech,

singing, dancing, the whole works. He

groomed me slowly and carefully with-

out the slightest publicity. I was his

secret weapon."

Late last year Ransohoff decided to;

surface his new sex symbol by casting

her in Eye of the Devil, the story of a

French jinx. A few months ago he again

permitted Sharon before the cameras,this time in a London-made horror film

Th e Vampire Killers.

Promptly Sharon fell in love with,its

director, Roman Polanski, of Lodz, Po-

land, a young man who has the reputa-

tion in Paris of being "one of the greatest

lovers on the Left Bank, a guy who has

bowled over everything in sight."

Of her love affair with Polanski,

Sharon says: "I'm one .of those mad,

irrational characters who simply loves

men. I love them because they're men.

Women I can't stand. They're too cun-

ning. I don't like to compete against

them or play games. It's a waste of time.

"Roman is a fascinating, creative di-,

rector. When I first met him, it was acase of instant hate. He was so blunt.

But now it's all music.

"Before Roman I guess I was in love

with .Jay (Jay Sebring is a Hollywood

barber). It was a fine relationship. But

the truth is I was 110 good for Jay. I'm

not organized: I'm too flighty. Jay needs

a wiferAnd aU23 I'm not ready for

wifehood-1 still have to live, and Roman

is trying to show me how.

"I've learned so much from him. You-

see, I have a tendency not to live in

reality, whereas Roman is a true realist,

I used to read Yoga and Zen, but Roman

has stopped all that. Now I don't read

anything except'- 'Scripts. I haven't

touched a book in two and a half years.

I spot read. I never read a newspaper

through. I really dgn't know what's go-

ing on."I read that I'm supposed to be Hol-

lywood's new sex symbol?thatMarty has

groomed me as Marilyn Monroe's re-

placement. I think I'm the most unsexy

thing that ever was. I'm open for every-

thing, of course, but I'm certainly not

aware of being sexy.

"What I want out of life is happiness.

I don't want money. I get $350 a week.

I drive a Buick Riviera. I have all the

clothes I want.

"I like myself. I'm glad I'm me. I'd

like to have a baby, etc., etc., etc., etc."

Jay Sebring (I.) Hollywood'shighest-priced barber, $25 per

haircut and up, was

Sharon Tale's first greatlove. Her second is director

Roman Polanski (r.), born in

Paris o f Polish parents.

He is best known for-directing Knife in theWater and Repulsion.

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