“Rudy was on the phone; he had rented his home in the Hollywood Hills to a married couple
“Rudy was on the phone; he had rented his home in the Hollywood Hills to a married couple and was making final arrangements with one of the two. Handing the receiver to me, he said, "Olivia, I want you to say hello to a lovely woman who’s looking forward to meeting you. Her husband is the director Roman Polanski. Her name is Sharon Tate.” Sharon Tate sounded warm and friendly. She told me that she adored me in Romeo & Juliet and that I must come out to LA so I could meet her, Roman, and their new baby, who was expected any day. I said to Sharon, ‘Rudy said we’re going to be best friends,’ She told me, ‘I’m so looking forward to meeting you, my baby is coming soon.’ She was so sweet. Taormina, Italy: At the reception that followed the gala dinner honoring the year’s best cinema, I stood holding my Donatello Award and not really knowing what to do with myself. Through a throng of men in tuxedos and women in long gowns, Rudy pushed his way up to me. I think of Rudy as always pushing past people. In his wake was a small, dapper Eastern European-looking man whose bow tie was as big as his head. “Roman, I would like you to meet Olivia,” Rudy said. Roman Polanski, whose film Rosemary’s Baby had come out earlier that year, was enjoying success as a young director and was at the festival to receive his own award. He was charming. He talked about Sharon and moving to Los Angeles, he talked about how beautiful Rudy’s home was and how I must come and see it if I ever found myself in L.A. As I left that night, I thought how nice it would be to spend time with this couple. Five weeks before I moved in the house and grounds had been the scene of one of the most notorious crimes in American history. I was going to stay there and I’d get to help Sharon with the baby. Then Rudi got the call. I didn’t know Sharon, having only spoken to her on the phone that one time. I did know Rudy, and I saw how much it affected him: He had known Sharon. All I felt was Sharon’s vibration. And it was lovely. She’d left an orange scarf and I kept it on my prayer table for years.“—Olivia Hussy, 2018. https://www.instagram.com/p/CKmiS66HuUl/?igshid=14b2j7g3rm0e6 -- source link