In, 2010, Friends of Banning Museum and The Garden Gloves volunteer group recreated a “Victorian Rose Garden” adjacent to an existing garden consisting of mostly 1960-1970s era modern roses.

My meeting and TV interview with

PV Legend Elin Vanderlip at Villa Narcissa

“You’d better come soon,” said the amazingly provocative voice on the phone, “Why’s that?” I instantly replied, “Well,” said the silver tongued Lady, “I’m going to be 90 in a few weeks and,” – dramatic pause - “I’m not sure how long I’ll be here.” The challenging, even tantalizing statements came from PV Icon – I’d go so far as to say - LEGEND, Elin Vanderlip.

There’s no place like Oz. For 120 years, countless readers have been enchanted by Lyman Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), as well as thirteen subsequent Oz tales, which concluded with the posthumously published Glinda of Oz in 1920. The 1939 film version is regarded as the most viewed cinematic work in history, and the immense popularity of the musical “Wicked” also speaks to Baum’s universal appeal.

When Elizabeth Taylor was first approached to play the title role in the remake of “Cleopatra” she is said to have replied “I’ll do it for a million dollars”. Twentieth Century Fox called her bluff and agreed. Her third husband producer Mike Todd taught her to drive a hard bargain. She also demanded and received a $3,000 per week living allowance, $50,000 per week if the film ran past the production schedule, 10% of the film’s profits and she wanted the epic filmed overseas. Taylor could back up her demands with results. She had been a top star at MGM, a major box office draw and took home her first Academy Award for the 1960 drama “Butterfield 8”.