embroiderings:

Favourite People | Tallulah Bankhead

The Canadian artist Charles Redfern was visiting Windows on the day that Tallulah was interviewing Sylvester Oglesby in regard to the job (as a cook), and he subsequently wrote a letter to Tallulah from abroad; in it, his mimicry of her is to the life: ” I picture you every day at Windows and often wonder how Sylvester the butler worked out. That interview I’ll never forget. It began with his asking what the hours would be, and your reply (and this is considerably shortened) was, ‘Well, darling, I live a very quiet life in the country and I can’t say it’s any different from any other country place, except that people do come and go and never get up early so that part of the day, darling, isn’t difficult. What are you drinking, bourbon? Dinner is different, naturally we do sit down unless of course the Giants are playing and no one can move if there’s a game on but it never last forever and we’re never more than six for dinner because you see my table is oval and won’t seat any more unless of course we have a buffet which is generally on Sunday and then any number of people can eat which, of course, they never do if it’s hot because the pool is cooler d’you know, darling, and if supper is cold it doesn’t matter anyway and I have a bird that says who are you and laughs just like me and Gaylord my parakeet who drinks champagne, don’t you, darling, and I like a hot bath in the morning around three in the afternoon and breakfast on a tray, does your wife know how to make vichyssoise?’”

Tallulah, by Brendan Gill