Guest Stars: The Influence of Fleeting Friendship
What is the role of a guest star? In television, these characters, whose appearance usually lasts an episode or so, take major part in the plot, only to depart without a word and without return. Their role is typified in their performance, challenging the worldview of the protagonist. In any case, their influence is fleeting, but felt—they are never meant to last.
A summer fling, a postman, a mega celebrity—anyone can fill the role of guest star in your own story. Two starlets of a bygone era shared an episode in each other’s lives. We were lucky enough to stumble across it in a poignant interview. Here’s how the story goes:
She gently pushed the door open. A sweet fog of French perfume filled the dimly lit interior. Her own dressing room, located just down the hall, was smaller and not nearly as glamorous, but then she wouldn’t expect it to be. A blood-red dress, designed specially for the leading lady by Christian Dior, was resting on the chaise lounge, like a red flag. The star sat before a vanity mirror, carefully applying her make-up. The young actress stood motionless for a moment, observing the master at work. The papers always said Vivien Leigh was the most beautiful woman in the world; they were right.
Actress Claire Bloom rose to stardom after Charlie Chaplin chose her to be his leading lady in Limelight. Despite this, she was still seen as a relative newcomer, a fresh-faced ingénue to be cast opposite a string of much older male actors. Her sole purpose was to look lovely and gaze admiringly at her scene partners. But beneath her persona of a well-mannered English rose, Bloom concealed a much more complex, restless self, one which was still waiting to emerge. She had recently returned from Hollywood; her unique gifts left unrealised by the big studios of Tinseltown. She hoped appearing in Duel of Angels opposite Vivien Leigh might be the breakthrough she had been longing for.
Taking the role was like accepting a challenge in a real-life duel.
Bloom grew up with the myth of Vivien Leigh as a beautiful, goddess figure, the heroine of Gone with the Wind. Leigh was Blanche DuBois, she was Cleopatra, she was Lady Macbeth. There was no one who could rival her celebrity. The fact that she was one half of the most celebrated theatrical couple in the world only added to her mystique. Her husband, Laurence Olivier, was widely seen as the greatest actor of his generation. Even though their life appeared to be a fairytale the reality was darker.
Bloom did have an inkling there was trouble in paradise – she’d played her own part behind the scenes. While appearing in Richard III, she found herself under the spell of Olivier, who was both director and onscreen king of the film. Their romance was brief – Olivier belonged to Vivien. But nonetheless when two years later Bloom was cast in Duel of Angels, she felt more than a little anxious. Did Vivien know about the affair? Would she resent her? Or did she want to lure her to accept the part, only to destroy her? What made Bloom even more uneasy was the play itself – a story of a naïve, and innocent girl being driven to ruin by an older, duplicitous woman’s intrigue. Taking the role was like accepting a challenge in a real-life duel.
Vivien Leigh was not easy to read. Her manners were impeccable, her voice sweet and warm, her smile mesmerising. She moved like a cat, hypnotising all It was this feline quality that struck Bloom most; the unusual shade of her green-blue eyes, her slick movements, the way she was able to charm anyone to get her way. Although she was two decades older than Bloom, her beauty remained undimmed. She came to the first rehearsal with her part mapped out, her performance perfected. Leigh was a perfectionist, obsessed with, maintaining the beauty and symmetry of her carefully crafted world.
But life seldom adheres to order, especially in the theatre. As Bloom knew all too well, the existence of an actor was messy and unstable, driven by passions and impulsive desires. It was this sort of chaotic fervour that had seized both Leigh and Olivier two decades earlier – causing them to abandon their respective spouses and children. They had to be together at all costs. Now it was all over.
The public didn’t yet know that the curtain was falling on the greatest love affair of its day. But the cracks were beginning to show, even in Vivien’s composed façade. One evening Bloom found her co-star crying in her dressing room. She was stunned, not only by the fact that Leigh was showing such unguarded emotions but also because even Leigh’s misery was cinematic. No running mascara, just little diamond tears rolling down her cheeks onto her scarlet dress
All this time Bloom worried that Leigh resented her for the brief indiscretion she had committed with her husband years earlier, Bloom suddenly realised that she was only a tiny drop in a much larger ocean. She was not the cause of Leigh’s tears, and she suddenly felt very protective of this woman, who was about to step onto the stage and go on with her performance. At one point in the play, Bloom had to put her arm around Leigh, and that evening she noticed - for the first time - just how fragile she was. From that day on the dynamic changed..
After a few months of a successful run, Claire Bloom left the production to appear in a film. It wasn’t easy to leave the play, but what was really difficult was parting with Leigh. Bloom had an uneasy feeling about leaving her.
After that night, their paths never crossed again.
A few weeks after she had left the play, Bloom’s telephone rang. It was the middle of the night, and as she frantically tried to switch her bedside lamp on, she heard Leigh’s faint voice. ‘Darling, I’m sorry for calling you so late.’ She was distressed, and desperately alone, trying to drown herself in the bath. ‘Remember the lavender bath salts you gave me, darling? They make the water so gorgeously purple.’ Claire ran downstairs and hailed a cab which drove her to Leigh’s Eaton Square apartment.
The door opened, and to Bloom’s disbelief, far from being alone, Leigh was hosting a cocktail party. Her exquisitely decorated salon was filled with shady characters. A doctor was also present, patiently trying to convince Leigh that she needed a sedative. That night Bloom glimpsed Leigh’s dark and desperate world. Until that night, Claire hadn’t known of Leigh’s struggle with bipolar disorder (then treated as manic depression). When it became clear there was little she could do, she quietly slipped out. After that night, their paths never crossed again.
Who are your guest stars? Which individual has left a trace on your life? The unique camaraderie and intimacy that developed between these actors only lasted for the duration of a theatrical season. Brought together momentarily, the only remaining symbol of their affection was an enamelled box, gifted to Bloom after her last performance with Leigh.
Yet more than half a century later, Bloom still treasures this antique, along with memories of Leigh. ‘I was lucky enough to have been accepted as a friend,’ she reflects. ‘That was no small privilege.’