This one is on my long list of not so guilty pleasures...Having had the rare opportunity
of meeting and talking to Beverly Garland about twenty years ago,all my viewings of
Her work subsequently have been colored. In person,she was a sharp,savvy business
woman,who,at the time, was running a hotel in downtown Hollywood. At the sameĀ 
time, her personality was that of an accomplished,secure,mature actress totally
Free of any neuroses. Comfortable in her skin,she told stories of her life and work
that were free of "if only" and "what might have been" regrets. Ever since then, when
I sit down to watch one of her performances, I find it difficult to separate the woman
I MET from her screen persona. One of my favorites is from an episode of the very
short run tv series,Stagecoach West(nominal star,Wayne Rogers,pre-MASH). It's
a tour-de-force one woman story where she's tending to the wounds of her
dying lover,Tom Drake. In a word, she's mesmerising to watch. But then, she was
never less than totally professional and committed.And when you're sharing screen
time with someone as entertaining as Macready,that just about says it.