By Phyllis D. Huguenin
Contributing Writer
Sigourney Weaver at Gulfstream Park
Lite FM 101.5’s ebullient and sassy Ellen Jaffe provided a rousing introduction to the featured speaker of the Gulfstream Park’s Women’s Club Luncheon Series on January 17 – Sigourney
Weaver. They “pulled out all the stops… gave us royalty,” she enthused and went on to laud Sigourney for having grace, intelligence and courage. Jaffe noted that when you think Sigourney
Weaver, you think “please don’t hurt me,” describing her as the first female to kick ass in the movies. Sigourney herself admitted she was a little nervous and confessed she was excited
and had been looking forward to meeting so many women since her greatest inspiration is women. She affirmed that “women are strong,” whether they are running a household or a company. They
have to be – there is “no knight on a white horse” that is going to come to the rescue. In her estimation “women are the heroes.” She describes the sisterhood as complicated, fascinating
and idiosyncratic, confessing, “you really take my breath away.” Sigourney views herself as a storyteller and acknowledges it is not easy at her age to find a good story with a compelling,
complicated female role. In an industry that shuns women over 40, at 53 she continues to find roles. In her latest project, The Guys, a film starring Anthony LaPaglia, she plays a
journalist working with a fire captain to eulogize his fallen men after 9/11. The movie, which is a family affair (her daughter and husband were both involved in it) opens sometime in
March and touches on the essence of what it is to be a New Yorker. When choosing her projects she gets out of her head and chooses from the gut level. Her philosophy is simple, “if the
idea is sound [it] will take you where you need to go.” During the discourse she delved into her life history: she was born and raised in New York City. Her dad was the legendary “Pat”
Weaver who died this past year at 93. Her mother was an English actress who attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art along with Vivien Leigh. Pat Weaver, former president of NBC, created
the Today Show and was the first person to put ballet and opera on live TV. While it was her father who was an inspiration and made it all work, it was the women in her life who had a
lasting impact on her. Shy and gawky, about 5’11” at 11 years old, she used comic relief to deflect attention from herself. In her words, she was “trying to make fun of myself before
everyone else could.” Florence Hunt, her high school English teacher was a mentor and encouraged her love of theatre, taking her to plays in Hartford. As a result Sigourney became an
English major and was accepted to the Yale School of Drama master’s program. She dreamed of a career in repertory theatre, but, as she describes it, life and luck don’t often proceed the
way we envision. Midway through her studies she was told by her professors that she had no talent and would go nowhere. She decided to quit but her father encouraged her to at least get
her degree. She left Yale with damaged self-esteem, thinking she couldn’t excel at anything. She went to New York City with no great expectations. She was able to get a lot of Broadway
showcases that didn’t pay. Nevertheless she worked and had a great time. Meryl Streep, who was a year behind her at Yale, came to New York and in her first year got a huge job. A
comparison to her own career was inevitable. Sigourney adopted the philosophy of famed New York director and playwright George Wolf who said, “the greatest creative tool you have within
yourself is failure... ”. He likened life to a casino: all around you hear bells going off, people hitting the jackpot and you just want to run over to another machine. The key, Sigourney
explained, “is to stick with your own machine.” Looking back on her career highs and lows she feels it was more beneficial than the instant success of Ms. Streep. For her the
disappointments led her down paths she ordinarily would not have chosen. Many times she was led to other projects that were much better for her. Such was the case with Alien. She
wasn’t initially interested in the role, was given the wrong address for the interview and wanted to cancel. She arrived dressed in huge hooker/pirate type boots. When she met with
director Ridley Scott and he asked her what she thought of the script, she told him it was a “bleak picture of human relationships.” Then he brought out these magnificent artist depictions
of the alien creature and Sigourney says she was blown away. She credits women with getting her the part because it was the secretaries invited to the screen test who gave the thumbs up.
In her conclusion, she told a little anecdote about her name. Her birth name is Susan, which was shortened to Sue. She felt way too big to be called such a tiny name and renamed herself
based on a character in The Great Gatsby. Now both Sigourney and her name are indelibly stamped on our consciousness.
Armed and Dangerous
Three unidentified “white Latin males” accosted and robbed an Aventura man at knifepoint in the JC Penny parking garage on December 27 at approx. 1:30 p.m. The 65 year old, who was
threatened, will remain anonymous for the purposes of this report. The assailants took his driver’s license and other documents with his home address. They promised to find and beat him if
he went to the police. Also stolen were credit cards, currency, a gold bracelet and an antique watch. He fought with his attackers over his wallet and as a result suffered bruises on both
forearms. Because of the threats made against him he waited until January 8 to go to the police.
Williams Island Woes
There was trouble at the 4000 Building of Williams Island. Attorney Martin Heinfling, 55, who resides there, was being harassed on the telephone by none other than his son, Barry, 28.
According to a police incident report, Mr. Heinfling accused his son of calling him 9 times in 2 hours on the afternoon of January 8. Barry reportedly screamed demands for money along with
threats. He was caught in the act when an Aventura police officer investigating the complaint asked for the phone during one of his tirades and listened in. He was advised to cease his
actions immediately. His father promised to obtain a restraining order against him the following day.
