Maureen Stapleton

But for every night that Libby got to make out like a teenager with one of the most desirable men in movies, for every night that the two of them sunk into her silky bed in opiate-aided bliss, there were a couple of nights when Libby seemed totally alienated from the scene at her own home.

Maureen Stapleton, who made her film debut opposite Monty in the 1958 Lonely Hearts, went to a dinner party where Libby drank a lot and ate nothing.

She didn't know most of the dinner guests, and she didn't care to know them.

She was almost like a female Jay Gatsby, surrounded by her own wealth, maids, butlers, yet uninvolved.

I called her from Spain.

She came and did the test, but of course Maureen Stapleton quite rightly played it because, um, uh, Emma Goldman and John Reed in Reds never had a sexual relationship even if they lived together.

If you put this woman with Warren Beatty in one room, you know that it's impossible that they never had sex.

They were too much of a sensual presence, and Maureen Staple was, uh, Maureen Stapleton was absolutely amazing as Emma Goldman.

Um, I went through a tangent.

Jealousy.

Okay.

hell yeah writing co-writing the script and this stars of course maureen stapleton fresh from her appearance and reds for which she would win an oscar a few months after this airs so they caught her just in time before she would say hell no to electric grandmother i'm a little busy guys thanks though

I don't know.

That roll after being hit by a car looked like the roll of an Oscar winner.

But, but what's interesting about that, when I was doing the research, was the four acting Oscars that year were all senior citizens.

It was Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn for Golden Pond, it was John Gielgud for Arthur, and it was Maureen Stapleton for Reds.

Oh.

So that is an interesting singular Oscar year.

You've tended to dismiss over the years a childhood acting career by saying it's just how you paid for music school.

But you were working with people like Jackie Gleason and John Cassavetes on television and Eli Wallach and Maureen Stapleton on stage.

Were you really that detached from a career in acting at that point?

I loved it.

Uh, and I, I love Robert Ryan, so that's, that pairing is very, uh, exciting to me.

I'm also noticing on the poster, uh, "And introducing Maureen Stapleton." Uh-

For sure.

[laughs]

Yeah.

So in both cases, Maureen Stapleton kept them warm-

[laughs]

... on stage-