Movie star George Hamilton is coming to Broadway/San Diego to star in the sparkling musical “Chicago” Sept. 4 through 9 at Civic Theatre. The gracious and amusing star took time out to talk to me about his life.
Downtown News: Have you previously been to La Jolla?
George Hamilton: Sure, I’ve been many times. It’s beautiful. For some reason, La Jolla seems to be terra firma. People are settled in and have a lifestyle that has a certain tradition to it. There’s a certain style to La Jolla that’s great. It’s very old in the sense that it’s grounded.
DN: What were your early film days like?
GH: I came out of a school that was MGM. The directors were incredible, and they would sit there until they got it right. The hardest part is to be uncompromising on yourself. You have to have a certain work ethic and be professional. The best compliment in the theater or films is when someone calls you a professional.
DN: Did your days at MGM set you on the right path with all their training?
GH: We had all of that, Jimmy. At that time, I didn’t know anything about it. It seemed like a lot of work was going on, but I didn’t know why they were doing it! I wanted to chase some girls and have some fun. I was 17.
DN: Did MGM set you up with any pretty actresses?
GH: It was great. It was like a candy store. Every girl they had under contract they asked me to take out at night. They would make us go to premieres. A limousine would arrive to pick me up and a new girl from the studio would be in it. We’d hold hands at the premiere, say good night, and that would be it!
DN: You worked with the beautiful Lana Turner.
GH: Lana was strong as steel. She knew where her ‘light’ was, she hit her mark, and she delivered her lines. MGM had created a whole mystique about her. I worked with her in two films and one TV series. Lana did not like the TV series because the lighting wasn’t as good, the lines weren’t as clever and the time was too rushed.
DN: Elizabeth Taylor?
GH: Elizabeth Taylor could put her make-up on and learn her lines at the same time. She was as professional as anybody I’ve ever known, possibly more so. Since she was a child star, she didn’t know about the money or about the fame, and all she wanted was to get a little gift every day on the set.
DN: You worked with the infamous Mae West in “Sextette.”
GH: I was playing her husband! I asked how old Mae West was. “About 86!” She picked out my clothes. It was a pinstriped suit with spats. I said, “This is a little out of date!” She wanted the look from the 1920s when (gangster) Owney Madden dressed like that.
DN: Anything funny happen with Miss West?
GH: I hadn’t even met her before I started my scene with her. I heard my lines coming out of her ear! She had a microphone in her ear, and the director was telling her my lines and hers. I had a lot of fun with her.
DN: You also worked with La Jolla’s own Raquel Welch in “Sextette.”
GH: I saw Raquel about three weeks ago. She looks great. She’s got it together. That girl is amazing. She has always been a person who survives and works hard. I’ve always had respect for her. She wasn’t just a beauty. She was a hard worker.
DN: Do you miss those glamorous MGM days?
GH: Jimmy, my life has been more glamorous offscreen than anywhere in Hollywood. Hollywood to me has always been full of interesting people. But I saw it coming to the end of what was really exciting. I’ve run the full gamut. I’ve stood talking to Cary Grant about the best movies ever made and I’ve sat having a drink with Frank Sinatra. It was a different world than it is today.
DN: Rumor has it you are writing a memoir.
GH: Yeah! I’m writing a book. I don’t know what to compare it to, maybe David Niven’s “The Moon is a Balloon.” It’s anecdotes about famous people from the 1940s up until now. It’s not about me; it’s me being there in their lives. But, boy, did they have style in the ’40s and ’50s! I don’t have a title yet.
DN: And now you are coming to do the musical “Chicago.”
GH: There’s a huge marketplace of people who grew up with you and know your work and are comfortable with you. My “homies” are in the old ladies’ homes in Beverly Hills and Palm Beach! They come out to have an evening of fun with me.
DN: How did you get into “Chicago” in New York?
GH: Anne Reinking got me into the show. As you know, she was (choreographer) Bob Fosse’s girlfriend. She knew where Fosse’s steps came from. For this kind of musical comedy, you can walk through it or make it look like you’re having the best time of your life. And the only way to make it look like that is to work really hard at it and then go out there and razzle-dazzle them.