Dave Draper: I think
of Sharon often as pictures of her during our filming of "Don't Make Waves"
adorn the walls of my gym in Santa Cruz, California. The members are mesmerized.
She's a star in the eyes of my heart not only because of her physical and
internal beauty but also for her earthy courage and daring spontaneity. We
first met on location in Malibu when we were advised to practice a trampoline
dismount for the next film sequence to begin promptly. "Sharon, this is Dave.
Dave, this is Sharon. Sharon, I want you to bounce on the tramp high as you
can and jump into the arms of Dave standing right here. He's a sturdy fellow.
Good." The instructions of Sandy McKendrick, cogent director assuming magic.
We smiled, nodded, shook hands and she mounted the trampoline for the first
time in her life, both of us revealing our shyness and willingness to please.
Any fear or doubts the sweet girl had turned into resolve. Sharon bounced
with all her might and within five minutes was leaping through the air like
a gazelle. I didn't dare miss her. We were smiles and laughter. First take,
"Cut. That's a wrap." I miss her now. A star on Hollywood Boulevard bearing
Sharon's name would warm my heart. She has a special place there, indeed.
Kirk
Douglas: I knew Sharon Tate. Beautiful, naive young girl. I heard it
(Sharon's death) over the radio. The shocking story was the sort of thing
you read about in fiction, see in movies. It doesn't happen to people you
know. It was incomprehensible
Kirk Douglas - The Ragman's Son - Autobiography
David
Niven: Sharon is a great discovery. First of all, she's a fabulously
goodlooking bird and she's got all the fun and spark and go. She's a marvelous
girl. She's up on cloud nine, Sharon is. And I think she's a very, very good
actress. She's obviously going to make a big hit in this picture.
David Niven, Costar in Eye of the Devil -- Interviewed for: All eyes on Sharon
Tate.
Sonny West:
Please tell Debra that I was a fan of Sharon's and enjoyed
watching her in the movies, most notably, Don't Make Waves, and the Matt
Helm picture she did with Dean Martin, The Wrecking Crew. Elvis and all of
the guys were extremely upset over Sharon's death, along with her friends.
We knew Jay. He cut Elvis' hair in the mid-sixties and then a hair stylist
in his salon took over the up-keep. Please convey our thoughts to Debra,
even at such a late date, and anything I can do to help with the Star for
Sharon, I will be glad to do so. I salute her for doing everything she can
to keep Sharon's legacy alive.
(Sonny West was Elvis' Bodyguard)
Travilla:
"Sharon Tate is divine, a real find. Just wait and see what happens when
the critics and public see her in Valley of the Dolls. Sharon has everything
Marilyn Monroe had- and more. She has the fascinating, yet wholly feminine
strength of a Dietrich or a Garbo....a classically beautiful face, an exciting
figure, the kind of sex appeal and personality appeal to become as glittering
a star as Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner, Elizabeth
Taylor."
Travilla - Costume Designer Valley of the Dolls in Screen Stories 12/1967
Mark
Robson: She's not a sexpot. She's a very vulnerable girl. The biggest
surprise in the film (Valley of the Dolls) is Sharon.
(Director of Valley of the Dolls)
Leslie
Caron: I was really very fond of her. She used to come to my house when
my children started going to boarding school. She was such a dear, very lovely
girl, modest, sincere, with a profound warmth. Blinding beauty and irresistible
charm. She was very sharp, not a fool, and had a lot of insight into what
had happened to her.
Leslie Caron - From the book, Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders, by
Greg King
Jacqueline
Bisset: She would walk into a room, she used to wear little ballet slippers,
she had this, you know, lovely blond hair and she was just...angelic.
From A&E Biography Roman Polanski
Robert Viharo: Everybody was competitive with everybody(on the set of
the Valley of the Dolls). The only one that I felt was above it, was Sharon
Tate. The sweetest, purest, most open spirit.
Costar Valley of the Dolls on AMC's Backstory Valley of the Dolls
J.
Lee Thompson: Sharon was asked to play this very difficult role, of a
rather witch like person. It was asking a new comer to do a lot. She takes
direction beautifully. Very soon she began to realize that the camera was
a friend. "Could she do it?", that was in all our minds. We even agreed that
if after a first two weeks, Sharon was not quite making it, that we would
put her back in cold storage. We started work.The moment that Sharon appeared
on screen in her first rushes, we knew that this wonderful personality was
going to make out. We all realized that here was a girl who was tremendously
exciting. She had that thing that you can't really explain, Star projection.
I think this girl is going to be a big big star.
Director of Eye of the Devil, in All Eyes on Sharon Tate
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