Carol Lynley My Friend & Mentor RIP

I met Carol Lynley when I moved to NYC in 1978 & learned she was my downstairs neighbor. My family was a huge Carol Lynley fan ever since my mother had seen her perform on Broadway in “Blue Denim” in 1959. I use to be so star-struck when I would run into her on the stairs in our brownstone on Madison Avenue. She helped me through that & took me under her wing. Carol would never name drop but she knew so many legendary icons. She said that Fred Astaire was her mentor & I was so honored that she wanted to pass that knowledge on to me. My favorite Fred Astaire story was when she shared that she called Fred complaining about how she was going to pay a number of parking tickets she had accumulated in NYC. Fred’s answer was “I don’t know what your problem is. When I look in a mirror I see an 82 year old man.” Carol had a wit & understanding of the entertainment industry & life like no one else. She spent many Thanksgiving dinners at my home & had a way of bringing me gifts that money couldn’t buy in the 15 years I lived in NYC. An example was Thanksgiving 1987 when Carol asked if her friend Rip could join us. I said of course & then had the pleasure & thrill to realize that this man who was sitting on my mid century turquoise chair was the fabulous actor Rip Torn sharing amazing Hollywood stories. She also taught me survival techniques that I still use today. I tried to contact her over the years but was unsuccessful. Carol was best known for her performances in Return to Peyton Place, Under the Yum Yum Tree, Bunny Lake is Missing, The Pleasure Seekers, The Cardinal & The Poseidon Adventure. She had a speaking voice like an angel that I will never forget. Rest In Peace Carol.
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