The two women in these pictures are Linda Marsh and her mother, Liska March. No, their last names are not the same, and in fact these aren't their given last names....these are their 'professional' names or 'stage names' if you will....But for as long as I have known Linda and her mother, Liska...these are the names I always knew them by.I first met Linda back in the mid '60's, here in Los Angeles. She was married at the time to an actor named Dick Sinatra (Who later changed his name to Forbes) and was having quite a successful career as a working actress, having appeared on Broadway playing 'Ophelia' in Richard Burton's "Hamlet", and also having had a very important part in Elia Kazen's film, "America, America"...She worked in television a great deal, too, as did most of the actors I knew in Hollywood.
Linda and Dick became very good friends and we spent a lot of time together....eventually I met Linda's parents. Her Mom, Liska was a very interesting woman. Very much involved with The Actors Studio and helping to keep it's doors open with Producing many fund raisers for The Studio...she was also a Producer in the theatre in New York. And Linda's Dad was a very well known ENT doctor in New York City. Linda was their only child and they would spend a great part of each summer in Los Angeles, to be close to her...I remember one year they rented a very lovely Garden Apartment in Brentwood, which was not terribly close to where Linda and Dick's house was, but still they were on the same coast in the same city.Parenthetically, one year Linda's folks rented a house on the beach in Malibu for the summer. And one Sunday, they had a lovely small party and I was there...I think there were only 10 or 12 people there at the most, and of course we were all in bathing suits down on the beach behind this house which was right on the ocean. As a child of nine I had a very serious illness that started with a Pneumonia that went undiagnosed. With this Pneumonia came Pleuresy and then, Empyema...I had never met anyone else who had had this very seriouis life threatening disease before, ever...That day, there were two other people there who had been visited with Empyema.
Linda's father...who I had known but never seen in a bathing suit before and the actor Mike Conrad, of "Hill Street Blues" fame--(which, btw, was quite a few years later...)
The scars that the three of us bore on our backs gave one a very clear picture of the progression of the cure-rate of this disease over the decades...the Dr. was of course the oldest and had the worst scar I had ever seen on his back...it was almost like a burn patient's scar--it covered a good three quarters of his whole back. Mike Conrad's scar was less than half the size of Dr. Cracovaner's and mine was almost nonexistant, in comparison. The severity of each of our cases was completely connected to the medicnes that were available at the time each of us had this very very dangerous illness. Dr. C's was the worst because his case had been at a time when almost everyone died from this illness. Mike Conrad's was not as horrific because almost a generation had passed when he had it. And mine was the least horrible because though there were no Anti-Biotics or even Penicillan when I had it, there were these then 'new' drugs called
The Sulpha Drugs---and they didn't even know which one to use because they were so very new at that time, but they experimented till they found the one that worked and that, along with the operation, saved my life and also saved me from having a much much worse scar. I always felt that Linda's Dad and I shared something quite special because of our medical history.Linda's mother was a fund of information for me in my quest to Produce a play in New York one year by a wonderful writer/casting director/teacher named Michael Shurtleff. She gave me advise and even led me to a few possible investors with her connections in the New York theatre world. Liska was a very very elegant looking woman. And her own early career as an actress gave her a demeanor and a sophistication that was very appealing to people. She was smart and very savvy, too. Linda certainly inherited all those qualities big-time.
I've always admired Linda as an actress and as a writer, too. At a certain point in her career, she felt that her time to have a 'starring' career as an actress was probably limited if not over...oh, of course she would always work but I think she felt not in parts that would challange her...so she began writing and became a very very successful writer in television...She wrote for many situation comedy's and the one which eventually earned her writer/producer credits was "The Facts Of Life".
Linda's father died in 1985 and her mother, at the age of 97, in 2003. Liska never talked about age. None of us knew what her age was until her obituary appeared in The New York Times. She was a pretty amazing woman in every way as is her lovely daughter Linda. Linda lives in New York now and I don't see her as often as I would like, but we are in touch by phone and each year at Christmas she sends me my Daily Astrological Cancer Calender for the year. A tradition begun around twenty-five years ago...Linda is also my "Mercury Retrogrades" connection. This was a fascinating family and again this is a friendship that has deeply enriched my life and I am very very grateful for that.
- had this to say:
Happy Weekend! It looks to be another lovely day in SoCal. I could say I'm here from Michele's but I love the mother/daughter things you talk about. I also really love those cactus flowers. I used to grow cactus as a hobby during the summers when I was home from college. Now I grow kids.
- Saturday, June 10, 2006 at 10:36:00 AM PDT
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such beautiful empowered women! i so look forward to your mother/daughter posts because of the wonderful stories you tell about each of the ladies, naomi. at the end of your posts, we feel as if we know them personally, too. ;)
- Saturday, June 10, 2006 at 10:37:00 AM PDT
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Beautiful women! I like your b/w pictures. It's amazing how fast medicine has evolved over the past years, I remember reading about your illness before, but didn't realize it was that rare and dangerous... oh, dear. So happy there are scientists out there doing research for our well-being. Happy weekend!
- Saturday, June 10, 2006 at 11:08:00 AM PDT
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I am loving your mother/daughter series. Wonderful!
- Saturday, June 10, 2006 at 11:43:00 AM PDT
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Naomi, these images are wonderful. You always seem to capture these ladies so well- and, I agree, the stories really let us feel as if we know them a bit. Keep it up! I'm here because I was going to check in anyhow, but also here from Michele's. Hope your weekend is wonderful. Looks outside here we may lose some of the marine layer/June Gloom today. :)
- Saturday, June 10, 2006 at 12:23:00 PM PDT
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More gorgeous woman. I love these mother and daughter posts of yours.
It is amazing how fast medicine advances isn't it.
:)- Saturday, June 10, 2006 at 2:24:00 PM PDT
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Thanks for sharing!
Have I mentioned that I love your posts? Well, I do.- Saturday, June 10, 2006 at 2:59:00 PM PDT
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I visit here often, but this time Michele sent me. I'm still working on my P or C list. I'llle tyou knw when it's posted.
- Saturday, June 10, 2006 at 8:55:00 PM PDT
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What an interesting example of how medical advances have changed over the years. As always your photographs are lovely. These mother/daughter stories are really well done.
Here from Michele
Oh and I have to say that I loved the Facts of Life!!- Saturday, June 10, 2006 at 9:16:00 PM PDT
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They are both beautiful, Naomi! Guess who else had empyema? My daughter did, when she was 3 years old. She started with Hong King flu and then got an ear infection. It all progressed to pneumonia, which was undiagnosed and by the time I got the docs to take a look at her, she had full blown empyema (but only in one lung, thank God) and then her lung collapsed. She was in the hospital for the entire month of February. They told me that if she had it in both lungs they could probably not have saved her life. I was afraid that she would suffer long-lasting effects from that, but she is very healthy now (and about to be 35 in the fall).
- Saturday, June 10, 2006 at 9:28:00 PM PDT
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Michele sent me to say "Konnichi wa". But I'd like to say that I enjoyed your post very much and I learnt about a disease I'd never heard of before - empyema. And I also loved "The Facts of Life"!
- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 12:29:00 AM PDT
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I always enjoy your 'Mother-Daughter' pics. So interesting!
- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 5:07:00 AM PDT
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As usual.. fantatic story and outstanding photo's!! Ilove listening to your stories.
Funny you should post this one, I just met "Toodie" (Kim Fields) from Facts of Live while helping Kevin McCarthy at the last autograph show!.. I remember watching that show...
bogger is doing odd things again, I couldn't comment there in aol browser, but it's letting me in IE.- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 6:18:00 AM PDT
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As always Naomi - loved this post. Beautiful mother and daughter, wonderful reflection of your relationship with them. "Our" birthdays are rapidly approaching - much reflection on my part - how are you doing? Hugs coming your way across the miles.
- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 6:51:00 AM PDT
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As always, beautiful post and beautiful photos. It does feel good when you meet someone who has been through the same kind of thing you have hasn't it? It always helps me when I meet someone who has had the heart issues I've had...just knowing you're not alone.
- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 9:40:00 AM PDT
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Hello Naomi.
Thought I'd pop in and see what you are up to.
And I leave here delighted! As usual. I love the mom/daughter series. Who knows, maybe one day someone will write one about me and mine!- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 10:33:00 AM PDT
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hi naomi! michele sent me this time. ;)
glad you liked my answers to your letter tag. and don't think i see that countdown to your birthday! any special plans? always happy to trudge on up these hills of yours, ya know...;)- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 11:13:00 AM PDT
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Hi Naomi, wow - two such beautiful women! :-)
I'm always torn by your mother/daughter stuff because my mother and I aren't close. We're not estranged, exactly, but we're not close.
But thank you, honey, for showing us such wonderful lives.
cq- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 12:03:00 PM PDT
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Two beautiful women! Your mother/daughter posts are wonderful! I love to read them...I seriously think you should still do that book!!
Always a pleasure to visit you my dear friend!! (Hubby will be in LA this week, I wish I could tag along! One of these days I am going too!!)- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 1:40:00 PM PDT
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I love your Mother and Daughter series! Beautiful photos and interesting history, too.
- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 3:09:00 PM PDT
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My first time to read one of your mother/daughter posts. Must say you really brought these peoples lives right off the written page to me. Look forward to continued visits here periodically.
Am still mourning "West Wing" especially since life happened for me and I missed the final episode. Only now even thinking about it. Hope it will be on DVD.- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 5:40:00 PM PDT
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had this to say:
As always, wonderful post. I love coming here!
Visiting this evening from Michele's.- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 6:00:00 PM PDT
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You are the absolute master of combining tack-sharp b&w photos with amazing stories of family and community.
I still content that your series would look great in a museum. The stories of their lives are powerful and captivating.- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 6:37:00 PM PDT
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As a relative newcomer to your blog, would you mind explaining the significance of the "16 days 'til my birthday" which appears on every post's header? I took it literally until I visited an old Nov. 2005 post and began wondering how you could be having a birthday in June 2006 while in 2005 it was in November?? I've heard the terms rebirth, born again, etc., but this seems to be going to a new level.
- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 7:03:00 PM PDT
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Great, great, great post Naomi, as all your posts are. Lovely women and great pictures. You certainly do take great photographs and you write well too. I love reading all these. So very interesting!! Thank you for sharing.
I'm glad medicine has advanced enough now to be more helpful than it used to be.- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 7:36:00 PM PDT
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Joared--if you should come back...that post where you read about my Birthday was my trip to England and our visit to the Cotswolds on JUNE 27th, where we celabrated my birthday on that very day, that year, in 1993....So, what you were reading about did not take place in November of any year...it was just written about in November of 2005. Make sense now?
And...
Lianne--I know your step-moms name...but I'm not even sure what from...But I have definatelty seen her 'back in the day'...
And to everyone else...I thank you so very much for your lovely responses to this series...If I knew any publishers I would certainly try to do something about this project...Your encouragement means a great GREAT deal to me...And I thank you with all my heart!- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 9:40:00 PM PDT
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I really look forward to your posts because it tells a very touching story about people you know or have known and this makes me feel closer to you through them.
You must have a collection of pictures of all your dear friends. Cheers!!!- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 9:56:00 PM PDT
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Naomi, another lovely post with beautiful photos and wonderful stories. Thanks for stopping by today.
- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 10:29:00 PM PDT
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Dropping by to see these lovely pictures again. Michele sent me this morning, but I know the way to your charming blog.
- Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 11:22:00 PM PDT
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Naomi, did you love the Tony Awards last night? Beth Leavell is from this area. We enjoyed all the performances. My daughter has been to see the History Boys and said it is very good.
- Monday, June 12, 2006 at 7:13:00 AM PDT
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Such beautiful pics as always
I took your advice and took a whole bunch of pics on my recent trip.
Don't you just love taking pictures of people and capturing a total moment of joy that might otherwise go unnoticed? :)- Monday, June 12, 2006 at 9:49:00 AM PDT
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Those little connections we make with other people are so interesting. Alot of times it's easy to think no one else has been through what we've been through...
And even though the sum of our experiences are unique to us, each individual thing someone else has shared with us.
Fantastic Naomi!- Monday, June 12, 2006 at 9:51:00 AM PDT
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The mother daughter bond is a special one. I enjoyed this post & will be looking forward to visiting your blog again.
Rose
http://rosedesrochers.todays-woman.net/- Monday, June 12, 2006 at 3:03:00 PM PDT
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Thank you Old Old Lady in the Hills for explaining. Had I been regularly following your posts I would have understood (but I wasn't wired then.)
Didn't intend for the possible terseness of my comment to imply I was questioning your veracity which I should have made more clear. Thought there must be some explanation.
Sure hope new readers are visiting your Smoking post as I just did.
Sure hope your breathing as easily as can be.- Wednesday, June 14, 2006 at 12:58:00 AM PDT
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