Love & Misery

When faced with death, this Byzantine emperor was a cowardly figure. The same could not be said of his wife, during a revolt in Constantinople in the year 532, he was ready to make a run for it, but the audacious empress implored him to stay to save his reign. She arose from her throne and uttered the phrase “If you wish to save yourself, my lord, there is no difficulty… As for me, I agree with the saying that royal purple is the noblest shroud”. But she had not always been so majestic. Born in the hippodrome to a bear keeper and actress, she came from the lowest rung of society. Nonetheless, her involvement with politics began at an early age. Her family were members of the Green faction, supporters of the corresponding Green hippodrome team, whose followers from the working classes possessed a degree of political influence. Their rivals were the “Blues”, a team backed by the upper and ruling classes, who also held considerable political everage. If you heard our last podcast or read the title of this episode, then you know our couple this week is Justinian & Theodora.

In my ninety-plus years I've lived a multitude of lives. In the course of all these lives, I had a front- row seat at the birth of television; wrote, produced, created or developed more than a hundred shows; had nine on the air at the same time; founded the 300,000-member liberal advocacy group (People for the American Way); was labeled the “No. 1 enemy of the American family” by Jerry Falwell; made it onto Richard Nixon's “Enemies List”; was presented with the National Medal of the Arts by President Clinton; purchased an original copy of the Declaration of Independence and toured it for ten years in all fifty states; blew a fortune in a series of bad investments in failing businesses; and reached a point where I was informed we might even have to sell our home. Having heard that we'd fallen into such dire straits, my son-in-law phoned me and asked how I was feeling. My answer was, “Terrible, of course,” but then I added, “but I must be crazy, because despite all that's happened, I keep hearing this inner voice saying, ‘Even this I get to experience.'” He is currently 99 years old…and he is the very fascinating character Norman Lear.

She was an actress during MGM's "Golden Age." The daughter of a prosperous Viennese banker, she was privately tutored from age 4; by the time she was 10, she was a proficient pianist and dancer and could speak four languages. At age 16 she was enrolled in Max Reinhardt's Berlin-based dramatic school, and within a year she made her motion picture debut in Geld auf der Strasse (1930; Money on the Street). She achieved both stardom and notoriety in the Czech film Extase (1932; Ecstasy). She then made her way to Hollywood in 1937, where she appeared in her first English-language film, the classic romantic drama Algiers (1938). She became a U.S. citizen in 1953. And if you heard our podcast last time or if you read the name of this podcast episode, then you know this podcast is about Hedy Lamarr.

On the morning of March 2, 1964, a 19-year-girl flagged down a taxi to Paddington Station. She'd been instructed by her modelling agency to meet three other models under the station's clock at eight AM sharp. From there, they'd join a train halfway down platform one and meet the film crew—that's where the instructions ended. She had been working non-stop modelling jobs for few years after moving from her parent's home in Hurlington Court to South Kensington. A few weeks later, when her agent Cherry Marshall called to tell her was booked for an appointment with a casting agency, she wasn't expecting much from it. She assumed it would be just another ad casting, one where she'd be modelling clothes or products. However, as she strolled up to the Park Lane Hilton at one o'clock, she was surprised to see director Richard Lester. He couldn't disclose any information about the project to her; it was top secret. She only found out later that day when she got a call from her agent congratulating her for landing the part. This wasn't just any old shoot; she was going to be in “A Hard Day's Night”, the first-ever Beatles film. The movie was to capture a scripted 36-hour day in the boys' lives as they prepared for a big television appearance. As filming ended for the day and the train neared London, he turned to her and said. “Will you marry me?”. She laughed, unsure if he was being serious or not… If you listened to our last podcast, then you know our couple this week is George Harrison & Pattie Boyd.

She first met him in 1904 at a ball in Crewe House, home of the Earl and Countess of Crewe. In March 1908, they met again when seated side by side at a dinner party hosted by Lady St. Helier, a distant relative of her. On their first brief encounter, Winston had recognized her beauty and distinction; now, after an evening spent in her company, he realized she was a girl of lively intelligence and great character. After five months of meeting each other at social events, as well as frequent correspondence, he proposed to her during a house party at Blenheim Palace on August 11, 1908, in a small summer house known as the Temple of Diana. If you heard our podcast last time, then you know that we are speaking about Winston Churchill & Clementine Spencer.

The relationship was the most talked about in Rock n Roll in the 1990’s. In September of 1992, Lynn Hirschberg wrote a piece for Vanity Fair where she set out to find out if this new pair were the grunge version Of John and Yoko or the next Sid and Nancy (eg. The next peace couple or the next horror show)? These two first met on Friday, January 12th, 1990 (some people say it was February 12th, so there is a bit of a discrepancy) at the Satyricon (a small and dimly light nightclub in Portland Oregon). Observers said that they were locking eyes that night and allegedly, within 30 minutes were literally tussling on the floor (not sure if that was like fighting but it feels more like this was a flirtation thing). He was there to play a set with his band and as he passed her table she told him that he looked like the lead singer of another local band “Soul Asylum” (which he didn’t look anything like). He then grabbed her and playfully threw her on the floor. The moment was over in a few seconds and he gave her a peace offering of a sticker of Chim Chim, the monkey from the cartoon “Speed Racer”. He had made this symbol his mascot…people my age will remember this cartoon…I remember watching it religiously along with “Kimba the White Lion”. All that aside, our couple this week is (and if you listening last time) none other than Kurt Cobain & Courtney Love.

This love relationship was as complicated as it was devoted, the bond between these two greats big Screen stars stretched across three decades and lasted through nine films (where they both shared billing). Two of the biggest movies that they made during this time include: “Woman of the Year” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (ranked #99 of the American Film Institute’s top 100 films of all time). But, their offscreen romance would remain publicly unacknowledged throughout his life as the couple maintained separate residences and never wed. If you heard our last podcast then you know we are talking about Katherine Hepburn & Spencer Tracy

His marriage to her was one of pop’s great love stories for almost 30 years. These 2 met at a night club Located in a basement in Soho, London. This was the late sixties and the two were watching a performer that went by the name Georgie Fame (with his backup band the Blue Flames). At the time, she was a photographer for a small rock magazine and happened to be at the club with the group “The Animals”, who she had photographed earlier that year in New York. And at the time, he was a singer/songwriter/basses/piano player/etc… of arguably the biggest rock band in the whole world. And if you heard our podcast last time or saw our Facebook post/poll, then you know that this week we are talking about Sir Paul McCartney & Linda Eastman.

There is a saying that behind every great man there’s a great woman. Today we present one of the truest examples of that. This is the story of a brilliant Surrealist painter & his wife, without whom he would have never become an icon of modern art. She was 10 years older than him and when they met in 1929 she was also married to someone else and was a mother of a little girl. She also had a lover, who painted her in a number of portraits. But, it was a love at first sight. In his book “Secret Life”, he wrote: “She was destined to be my Gradiva, the one who moves forward, my victory, my wife”. The name Gradiva comes from the title of a novel by W. Jensen, the main character of which was Sigmund Freud. Gradiva was the book’s heroine and it was her who brought psychological healing to him, the main character. If you hear our last podcast, then you know we are talking about Salvador Dali & his wife Gala.

To mention these two is to invoke the 1920s, the Jazz Age, romance, and their outrageous early success, with all its attendant pitfalls. Their names can summon images of taxis at dusk, they conjure images of gleaming hotel lobbies and smoky speakeasies, flappers, yellow phaetons, white suits, large tips, expatriates, and nostalgia for the Lost Generation. They also remind us of what the effect of alcoholism and mental health can have on a marriage. These two were reckless and abandoned. So, if you heard our last podcast, then you know we are talking about F. Scott Fitzgerald & Zelda Sayre.

This man is known around the world as one of the most powerful emperors that ever lived, but his first wife, was an amazing leader in her own right, and the story of her life is one of the best things you'll hear about today. She was 17 and he was 16 when they got married. She was a skilled archer, mother of nine, her husband's most trusted adviser, and loved by her people. While he was out there conquering the world and creating one of the largest empires in history, she stayed closed to home, ruling with the wisdom of a true empress. If you listened to our podcast last time then you know that we are talking about Genghis Khan & Borte Ujin.

Easily the most iconic country music romance of all time, these two had a love story that transcended time, addiction, and the highs and lows of fame. From performing hit crossover songs ("Jackson"), to inspiring an Oscar-caliber movie about their relationship, these two remain to this day one of the most famous and celebrated relationships of the 20th century. But it wasn't always smooth sailing—both of these two overcame personal hurtles and industry obstacles that could have prevented their being together. So, if you listened to our last podcast, then you know our couple this week is Johnny Cash & June Carter.

Describing the relationship and marriage of these too people as on-again, off-again, on-again, would be a massive understatement. Across 12 years, the pair dated, split, became engaged to another, dated again and then decided rather than split they should wed. After the marriage ended they continued to date for another 10 years. She was a three-time Emmy-nominated and Grammy-winning actress and author and he was a 16-time Grammy-winning musician. If you listened to our podcast last time, then you know our couple this week is Paul Simon & Carrie Fisher.

We were originally going to do this podcast on King Mohammed VI & Princess Lalla Salma…as proposed to us from our friend Ms. Marci. But, we didn’t find enough material about the “ghost princess”…we found too much information about her being alive and we found a lot of sensationalized journalism trying to make this a bigger item than it was. So, instead, this episode will be on another couple. this couple had a romance that captivated the world, a marriage that kept us entranced. They were two incredibly powerful people coming together to lead a country into the future. She was a world-famous actor who rose from up from the suburbs. He was the playboy prince of a tiny European principality who always knew what a luxurious life looked like. They met in France, courted for a short while, & got engaged in Philadelphia. This couple is none other than Princess Grace Kelly & Prince Rainer III of Monaco.

These two would be 25 years apart in age. He ended up with a string of marriages. In fact, this woman didn’t even like this man when they met at first, but they eventually married. She was 19 years old and very impressionable and he was 44 and very experienced. They starred in 4 major released movies together from 1944-1948 and eventually fell madly in love. If you listened to our last podcast last time, then you know that we are speaking about Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall, Also known as Bogie & Bacall (also known as Bogie & Bacall).

These two represent a premier song writer & social activist and an Avant guard multimedia artist & social activist. He was once a front person in the biggest rock band in the world and some say the reason that this band broke up was because of her. I personally don’t think so, and feel that she got a bad rap…These two met each other at one of her art exhibitions in the United Kingdom and got married 3 years later. If you listened to our podcast last week, then you know that our couple this week is John Lennon & Yoko Ono.

Our story this week deals with a girl who was the last queen of France before the French revolution. And the man who was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. These two lived a life of excess in the Palace of Versailles while their people were literally starving in the streets. She is famous for using the phrase, “Let them eat cake”, but I found out that she never used it…but we’ll get into it in our episode. So, obviously I’m speaking of Marie Antoinette & Louis XVI!

Possibly the most infamous and most romanticized criminals in American history, this couple were two young Texans whose early 1930s crime spree forever imprinted them upon the national consciousness. Their names have become synonymous with an image of Depression-era chic, a world where women chomped on cigars and brandished automatic rifles, men robbed banks and drove away in squealing automobiles, and life was lived fast because it would be so short. They would later immortalized on the big screen by Warren Beatty & Fay Dunaway…of course, I’m speaking of Bonnie Parker & Clyde Barrow…better known as Bonnie & Clyde.

Our couple this week was supposed to be John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette, but we decided to not pursue this story…maybe because this family has been through too much or maybe because these wounds are still too fresh…either way, this week we are talking about another couple. This new duo is a couple of artists that got together during the early 1900’s and both made a splash in the art world. One was famous for painting murals and dabbled in cubism, the other was known for surrealism or “magical realism” and was portrayed by Selma Hayek in the movie Frida. So, this time our podcast is a look into the relationship of Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo.

Our couple this week is a historical couple or should I say historical couple plus one. He ruled England For 36 years in the 16th Century. She was a queen of England for 3 years…and her sister was a lady in the Queen of France’s court and a lady appointed to the court of Catherine of Aragon in England. If you Listened to our podcast last week then you already know our story this week is about King Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, & Mary Boleyn.

Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton has quite a run in the 60's & 70's. Hear all about their highs and lows in this weeks episode of Love & Misery.

Our first couple is one of the most famous in history and is still being discuss over 2000 years after their deaths. I’m speaking of Antony & Cleopatra. We are going to do a dive into these two lives and debunk some myths about their lives and relationship together. I think that a lot of people are familiar with these two because of the Shakespeare play (one of my favorite playwrights and wordsmiths) and more than 10 English speaking movies that have been made over the years, let alone any foreign films that have been made. One movie, titled “Cleopatra” starred a couple that we plan to talk about later in an upcoming podcast…Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton (we’re they married what 2 or 3 times)…anyway we’ll get into that down the line.