It was the lustful look as Glenn Close’s character locked eyes with Michael Douglas at dinner in the clip from the unforgettable Fatal Attraction that was truly the show stopper at the 583 Park Avenue party space where The Museum of the Moving Image held their gala honoring Close’s extraordinary career on stage and screen this week. Everyone knows what follows, from the boiled rabbit to the bathtub in this game changer for cinema history, and if this were the only movie Close ever did, the only role she ever occupied, it would distinguish her legacy. Add to that her Cruella DeVille in 101 Dalmations, her Norma Desmond from Sunset Boulevard recently revived on Broadway, and her role opposite the formidable Jonathan Pryce in her current movie, The Wife. Her demeanor can morph in a moment, paced meticulously as you measure her emotion. You may even gasp, breathless.

In person, Glenn Close is kind, a consummate professional, and speaker after speaker from Ethan Hawke to Bob Balaban to Jim Dale to Christian Slater, to Kevin Kline skyped in for the occasion, spoke about working with her. When she got up to accept her award she told a story about Kline and the time they were making The Big Chill in 1983. Kline was a big deal at the time and he was to appear on Johnny Carson. The Big Chill cast asked him to say the word potato, and he gamely obliged, answering one of Johnny’s questions with, “Holy Potato.” When she played opposite Robert Redford in The Natural, she said, it was hard to kick him out of her apartment. Maybe blonds have more fun but Close has great chemistry with her leading men.

Now in its fourth decade, The Museum of the Moving Image celebrated its liaison with public schoolers, and will further create projects with The Ludwig Foundation of Cuba. Best wishes to David Schwartz who is stepping down as director.

Regina Weinreich

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