Anne Bancroft: FAnne Tributes
Light a candle for Anne anytime at this link. (Note: this is a new group.)
A
lovely tribute from Lucie in the Czech Republic:
Hedy B. made this treasured bracelet ~ isn't it remarkable?
Anne's monument was just placed (November '07), and her family was kind enough to send these photos, with permission to share them here.
A sweet song you can download for yourself by clicking below (listen to the snippet and I think you'll agree). Thanks to Jody for finding this one!
I always love musical
tributes to Anne. Here is an mp3 that my dear pal Jody H. found from New
York singer/songwriter Mike Skliar, simply entitled "Anna Marie
Italiano." I can't find a CD for it, but here
is his website. Thanks, Mike, this is cute!
Listen
From Rosie O'Donnell's blog from last year (link):
on a plane from ny 2 la i sat next to mel brooks who was so scared 2 fly he held my hand for 5 hours straight
he was a young comic doing stand up on a tv show anne was a guest too love at first sight he said smiling
41 years together 2 celebs no less that’s something
she did my show once with no audience per her request she was kind loving smart and so beautiful
the turning point is my favorite the miracle worker still astounding
i was so sad to hear she died made me feel for the first time old
life is short live it up
A very nice tribute from Paul on this page caught my eye:
Hard to say why the passing of some people we never met is so hard, but her passing was a blow. She was a living example of what it meant to be hundred percent woman and a hundred percent human. A beauty and a force until the end. And always with a sly smirk that says everything else that the script or her face can't say, which wasn't much given her astonishing power as an actor, except there always is a remainder -- the ineffable -- she had the spirit to be amused by and wink at.
I too loved 84 Charing Cross Rd -- the book and especially the movie -- quintessential Bancroft. I also loved her in Great Expectations, admiring her daring yet again to play "old", and the infinite set of possibilities she gave each character we never guessed existed for them or for us. Have an affair with a graduate? -- learn to talk and write when you are blind and deaf -- correspond with an English book merchant from Brooklyn -- WHY NOT she seemed to say -- what have you got to lose that you ain't gonna lose anyway? Some day. And that some day came and today is so much poorer.
God bless you in your next adventure Anne Bancroft. Why not?
In writing to ask Paul's permission to include it here, I received the following response from him, which is every bit as eloquent:
Great site. I would be honored to contribute. Great of you to make it. I will have to look over more of it when I can.
I still miss Anne Bancroft -- but a year later she seems a part of the pure pantheon of human possibility and therefore something we will always have, even if we don't know where this freedom came from. Like whoever invented the alphabet or threw yeast in barley water. I am afraid I can't explain this more.
And certainly, if there is anything like a heaven, Anne is there. And smoking. Telling a story. And watching something in the distance.
I don't know if you ever met her, but she always seemed to me different than the usual "star" -- I always imagined that if I ran into her on the subway (I'll bet she still took the subway at times) that if I had something amusing or interesting to say I could just talk to her. She didn't suffer fools I would guess, but she didn't keep herself apart either on principle. She had such intelligence in her eyes. She seemed so alive. And quick.
I associate her with a certain quality of feeling which is where I wrote from. I mention that, because a similar quality of feeling is in the works of Leonard Cohen. And luckily, I got to see him last weekend at the LA Film Festival. Do you know his work? If you don't, I am guessing you would appreciate it, given your understanding of Bancroft. Smart with heart.
Good luck.
"An acoustic song dedicated to the late Anne Bancroft, who was best known for her role as the seductive Mrs. Robinson in the movie The Graduate."
"Elegy
for Anne Bancroft"
written and produced by The Tonics created 07-27-05
Listen
(at the next page, click on arrow to
play song)
Buy
the CD
Who is that standing round
Who is that giving sense
To a blind and deaf and angry lonely girl
Wondering
"Ooh what is love?" you washed her hands
And saw her lips remain untouched
Love is two in one
Goodbye Annie Sullivan
Who was that standing round
While he was growing up
And who seduced a world that's looking for
A passion
Swept down those icy clouds above
Showed us the way to stay corrupt
Like a loaded gun
Goodbye Mrs. Robinson
These are the things you've given us
Red visions of that sensual trust
You made us dangerous
Goodbye from your graduate
I created this hazy pic because to me, it represents so beautifully the way that I perceived Anne Bancroft's relationship with Mel Brooks. It's so sweet, they so completely and thoroughly enjoyed each other's presence. I like to think of them together this way. -- LF
From Jerry Gaffney:
Anne Bancroft touched this preacher forever. And I will always be grateful for the impact she had on my life. It was not her role in The Graduate that touched me. It was not her role in The Miracle Worker that touched my soul. Anne Bancroft will always be branded in my life because of one line she spoke when she played Mary Magdalene in Zeffirelli's film, Jesus of Nazareth.
This old preacher has been blessed to speak in over 5,000 services to almost 20,000,000 in the last 11 years. But it was Anne Bancroft's line to the apostles that touched me so much. I have used it many times because it was so real to me.
Anne I pray I will see you in heaven, I will pray for your husband Mel almost everyday. Thank you for being part of my life.
She was born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano to Italian immigrant parents in the Bronx district of New York on September 17, 1931. While still at primary school, she decided that she wanted to act, having starred as Mama Bear in a production of Goldilocks. After high school, she attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and moonlighted for a local television station. As Anne Marno, she made her television debut in The Goldbergs in 1950. Anne Bancroft won an Oscar in 1962 for her powerfully moving portrayal of Annie Sullivan, the inspiring teacher of the young Helen Keller in the film The Miracle Worker.
She died June 6, 2005 of cancer. Will you please post a prayer for her and her family.
I was so moved by the moment when she knelt at the apostles' feet and almost begged them to believe her that Jesus was alive. How true this is even today. Even if you saw Jesus yourself so few would believe what you saw.
Thank you, Anne, for touching so many.
To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty;
to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better
whether by a healthy child,
a garden patch,
or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
(Thanks, AB. -- from LF)
Would you like to contribute something to this section -- a poem, a sketch, a song, etc.? Send it to sysop @ fannetastic.com.
"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away."
