I Hated to Do It: Stories of a Life by Donald C. Farber

Author:Donald C. Farber [Farber, Donald C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Biography & Autobiography, Literary, Nonfiction, Personal Memoirs, Retail
ISBN: 9780795345081
Google: 9l20rQEACAAJ
Amazon: B00Q5I7P1I
Publisher: RosettaBooks
Published: 2014-12-19T05:00:00+00:00

Someone did take the hint: the Old Vic engaged Zia to play Romeo opposite Dorothy Tutin as Juliet. What an opportunity for this unknown poor Pakistani actor to play opposite the most beautiful, classic actress in England at that time.

In order to be available to play the part, Zia had to go to his friend David Lean, who had cast Zia in the movie that he would be directing, Lawrence of Arabia. David Lean was very kind to Zia and said that he would move him to a shorter role, casting him as the person who teaches Peter Sellers how to ride a camel at the beginning of the film so that he could play Romeo. David Lean then recast the other part that Zia would have played.

Things did not go so well in the rehearsal of Romeo. Zia and the director, Peter Hall, had an argument, and Zia asked a question you never ask a director if you are a performer: he asked Peter Hall if he should quit. The answer was yes, and Brian Murray played the part of Romeo opposite Dorothy Tutin for the opening and that run of the play. Opening night, Zia was in Rome alone, or maybe not alone, but not very happy. Zia’s theatrical career at this time was not atypical. That’s showbiz!

Oh, yes, I didn’t tell you that the part Zia gave up in the movie Lawrence of Arabia went to another unknown, a guy by the name of Omar Sharif. That’s showbiz; no one or almost no one has heard of Zia Mohyeddin, and Omar Sharif became a huge star, all resulting from his playing the part that Zia gave up so that he could star as Romeo, which didn’t happen. Omar Sharif starred in Doctor Zhivago, Funny Girl, and a whole lot of other major roles during his lifetime. So we became friendly with Zia and his wife, Sherry. We played a lot of bridge with them, ate a lot of Pakistani food with them, helped them find places to live in New York City.

Zia and I were very close and he would just borrow or take my Gucci ties and leave me a Madras tie in its place. Then one day, as a special gift, he gave me the suede boots that he wore when he was making Lawrence of Arabia. The only problem was that Zia came back to visit us a couple of years later, went into my closet, and took the boots back.

Ironically, we became very friendly not only with Zia, but also with Harvey Breit, who wrote the play The Guide that Zia performed in at Oxford that so impressed Tynan.

Yolande Bavan

One night in October of 1961 we left Zia’s about seven in the evening, heading downtown to see the a preview of How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, which was starring this young actor Bobby Morse. The music was by Frank Loesser, whom I told you I had become acquainted with, and we were all keyed up.

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