Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Happy Birthday Lysette Anthony!














Without a Clue, the Whole Movie!

  
Photo Legend:

1. Ms Anthony
2. Lysette
3. Lysette again in another picture
4. "Krull"
5. In "Without a Clue"
6. With lecher Michael Caine in "Without a Clue"
7. As Angelique Bouchard in "Dark Shadows"
8. With Woody and Sydney Pollack in "Husbands and Wives"
9. With Leslie Nielsen in "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" A Mel Brooks Joint
10. "Beneath Loch Ness"
11. Lysette Again!

   It is my great pleasure to give a big happy birthday shout out for one of my favorite actresses, British beauty Lysette Anthony!
   Born Lysette Chodzko at a very early age in Fulham, London, which is in England, and is interestingly linked with debauchery and corruption, as it at one time served as a sort of "Las Vegas retreat" for the wealthy of London,. Sounds like my kind of town.
   Lysette comes from an acting family and is the only daughter of actors Michael Chodźko and Bernadette Milnes. Michael apparently changed his last name to Anthony at some point.
   She began her career when she was ten years old acting in parent's theater company. After starring in the play Pinocchio, mom and dad were so appalled at her precocious nature that they sent her to a convent school in Torquay, Devon, 215.6 driving miles from London.
  By age 14, she became the youngest member of the National Youth Theatre.
   When she was 16 Lysette was discovered by photographer David Bailey, and heralded as the "Face of the Eighties," probably due to her being so pretty and all... for a girl.
   From modeling she pursued a full time acting career, working on stage, screen, and television regularly ever since.
   Like myself she speaks fluent French and Dutch as well as English.
   She made her TV series debut in the long-running English drama "Crossroads," becoming a household name in England as an actress.
   Ms Anthony began in the American market in 1982, with small parts in the CBS television films "Ivanhoe," and "Oliver Twist," as Oliver’s mum. She moved on to films a year later by playing the supporting role of Kathy Chalmers in the comedy/thriller "Night Train to Murder," and got a co-starring role in the sci fi/fantasy "Krull," as Princess Lyssa in 1983.
   Lysette continued her television work with "Princess Daisy," and a recurring role on "Three Up, Two Down." She also occasionally made films such as "Étincelle, L" and the British comedy "Without a Clue," in 1988, which also starred Michael Caine and Ben Kingsley, after working with Caine in the TV movie "Jack the Ripper," that same year.
   That was when I first became aware of Lysette. "Without a Clue," is actually one of my favorite comedies. An interesting take on the Sherlock Holmes stories.
   As a matter of fact I wish I were watching it right now, and highly recommend it.
   Like many Mexicans, Lysette moved to the United States in 1990 to look for work. She posed nude for Playboy magazine in an attempt to shake off her "English Rose" typecast and make her more appealing to the Hollywood casting directors. She played one of my favorite witches, Angelique, in an NBC remake of the television soap opera "Dark Shadows," a role the lovely Eva Green took up recently in Tim Burton's film version with Johnny Depp.
   She made her Hollywood movie debut when director Blake Edwards had her play the supporting role of Liz in the comedy "Switch," in 1991, with the lovely Ellen Barkin.
   That year Lysette married Dutch actor Luc Leestermaker. They divorced in 1995.
   Ms Anthony gained critical acclaim after appearing in Woody Allen's drama " Husbands and Wives," the next year. She played aerobics instructor Sam, girlfriend to Sydney Pollack, a portion  of which can be seen in the first clip above. The film also starred Judy Davis, Liam Neeson and then Allen girlfriend, Mia Farrow.
   "Husbands and Wives," made Lysette very popular and a lot of producers wanted to work with her. She worked with Colin Firth, Ian Holm (Bilbo) and Nicole Williamson in the controversial,  black murder mystery/comedy "The Hour of the Pig," in 1993. She had starring roles in two television films "The Hard Truth," and "Target of Suspicion," and the very next year, she was cast in four different films, including "Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde," with Sean Young, and with Leslie Nielsen, in Mel Brook's "Dracula: Dead and Loving It." 
   In 1999 she married American producer/writer/director David F Price until they divorced in March of 2003, then five months later began a relationship with British film composer Simon Boswell, with whom she has one son, Jimi, born in 2004. In 2008 he was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis, and recovered after an operation a year later.
   Lysette continues to work, well... everywhere. Some of my favorite film and TV performances being; "Tale of the Mummy," "Misbegotten," and "Beneath Loch Ness," with Patrick Bergen. Just this year she appeared in one of my all time favorite films as Jilly, in "Strippers vs Werewolves," and "The Telemachy,"  inspired by Homer's Odyssey. You may have heard of it.
   Lysette now also raises funds to study and help cure juvenile arthritis.
   And all of us here at Joyce's Take wish her and her family continued good health and fortune, and a very happy birthday!
   Happy Birthday Lysette!

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