David Hemmings 1941 - 2003
I was saddened to learn this morning that actor David Hemmings passed away while shooting a film. He had taken a long break from acting and had recently started working on camera again. With Terrence “Billy Budd” Stamp, Michael “Alfie” Caine, John “Danger:Diabolik” Philip Law, and other actors who epitomized the swinging London of the sixties finding revived interest, appreciation, and popularity, his death is particularly untimely. Antonioni's Blow-Up, of course, is one of my favorite films. David Hemmings played a photographer based on that chronicler of cool David Bailey, who gets mixed up in some questionable business with Vanessa Redgrave. Jane Birkin also makes her film debut in Blow-Up, playing one of models humiliated by David Bailey's manipulative and cold photographer. He was also in Barbarella.
Several years ago I read that he was in the Philippines for some reason. I really wanted to use my connections to meet with the legend. I was a bit saddened because movie stars and musicians usually wind up in Manila when they are completely washed up. Or they are strictly B-List. Like Jean-Claude Van Damme who hit on my friend Giselle Tongi in a hotel lobby and caused great scandal. It was fun to tease her about that. There is a (false) rumor that Mark Almond was living in the hills of Baguio. Many former celebrities settle in the Philippines because the women and boys are beautiful and available and it is also relatively inexpensive to live there. Many faded rockers also tour and even moved there because they still have an audience - Filipinos are very sentimental about the classics. Gary Lewis, son of Jerry Lewis, of Gary & the Pacemakers (they were bigger than the Beatles when they played at the Araneta Coliseum), married a Filipina (actually my friend, Manila's "It" Girl of the sixties, Gemma’s sister). I believe some of the Platters, or some permuation of the group, are still decaying in the Philippines - had one crazy Christmas night at the Residence when they were scheduled to perform, arrived way late, drunk out of their minds, and sang "The Great Pretender" and the "The Great Bartender."
But I digress... I wanted to meet David Hemmings but he had already left the country. Smart move on his part.
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