The Art of Men [I Prefer Mine al Dente] by Alley Kirstie

Author:Alley, Kirstie [Alley, Kirstie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Published: 2012-11-06T05:00:00+00:00

It would take too long to explain the intimate alliance of contradictions in human nature which makes love itself wear at times the desperate shape of betrayal, and perhaps there is no possible explanation.

—JOSEPH CONRAD

The Art of

Temptation

THIS ONE is a tough one to speak about.

I was in love with him while we were both married. I had never fallen in love with a married man, nor had I ever had a crush on a married man or a date with one. I considered it taboo, and I still do.

This man and I never had sex or did sexual things, but I consider what we did more dangerous and more of a betrayal to our spouses. I got used to not being with him, but I never stopped loving him.

We had all been summoned for a huge cast table reading in 1984. The cast truly was enormous, as we were about to embark on a six-month journey through a miniseries called North and South. It was as comparable in magnitude as its predecessor miniseries, Roots. So in the first reading, there we were, actors, actresses, producers, directors, writers, and TV execs all gathered around an endless conference table.

Maybe I was dreaming, but I felt something pulling me to look to my left, just a “look over here” kind of pull. I looked to my left but didn’t see anyone looking at me. Then I leaned in to see my script, and there it was again, someone wanted my attention. I looked to my left again, and there he was, Patrick, just sort of grinning at me. He was at the opposite end of the table, so it was clear he had a powerful ability to pull one’s attention. I turned back for a brief moment, but quickly looked away. I didn’t peer at him again throughout the lengthy script reading.

When we were finished and everyone was getting up to leave, Patrick walked by me and said, “I admire your work. I look forward to filming with you.” This is the standard line most actors say to most actors when they embark on a project together. But the way he said it, in his low-slurred-mumbly kind of James Dean/Elvis–speak . . . Ooh la la.

Whoa, Kirstie, make a note. Do not get silly about this one, this one is dangerous. This one is married. This one’s trouble, stay clear of this one.

And that’s how Patrick Swayze and I began our relationship.

• • •

North and South and later, North and South, Book II, was the saga of the Civil War and its relationship to two families. I played Virgilia Hazard, of the Philadelphia Hazard Ironworks family. I was dying to play this character. She was not only from an affluent Northern family, she was an abolitionist. She also denounced her family, ran away, and married a black slave. Hot stuff for TV back in 1986! Patrick played the son of a Southern plantation family. He became besties with my brother George Hazard. Their North-South relationship as friends worked beautifully until the Civil War began.

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