GLENDA JACKSON BLOWS OFF HER OSCAR

"If there was a winner it was the people who voted for me." So said Glenda Jackson recently by way of explaining why she was a no-show for her two Oscar wins, for 'A Touch Of Class' and 'Women In Love'. It's an interesting comment. At first it might be mistaken for the customary 'I couldn't have done it without youse' show-biz bromide. But in fact what she seems to be saying is that good sense prevailed and the Academy voters were tasteful and correct in their assessment of her performance being 'better' than Marsha Masons or Barbara Streisand or the other nominees for Best Actress at the 1974 Oscars. No matter. She still blew off the ceremony. Good for her.

 If you scroll down you'll see that I've been posting  Oscar blow-offs and this one's pretty good. The general air in the audience when it becomes known that Ms. Jackson is AWOL is an uneasy one at best; Streisand stares off away from camera (already divining defeat?) and Marsha Mason looks profoundly uncomfortable. The presenters are Susan Hayward and Charlton Heston and the award is accepted by the co-writer, producer and director of 'A Touch Of Class' Melvin Frank. As always with these moments, it's neither pleasant nor necessary. Frank tries to make a joke about how Ms. Jackson would surely thank the director, producer and co-writer...and nobody laughs. He gets off stage with a modicum of decorum (or should that be decorum of modicum?) and the evening stumbles onward...

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