People
By Guy D. Garcia
As she posed for the photo session in the drawing room at Sandringham, Queen Elizabeth was unusually open and relaxed. No wonder, since the man behind the camera was her shutterbug son Prince Andrew. The Queen was so pleased with the results that Andrew, 26, was chosen as the official photographer for his mother's 60th birthday, the celebration of which began last week with a service in St. George's Chapel at Windsor. After a walkabout in the town, the Queen repaired to Windsor Castle for lunch, then drove to Buckingham Palace to watch 6,000 schoolchildren sing "Happy Birthday" and wave some 120,000 daffodils. Then the birthday Queen changed into an evening gown and her favorite diamond tiara for a gala "Fanfare for Elizabeth" at Covent Garden, featuring the likes of Placido Domingo, Gelsey Kirkland and a special ballet, created by Sir Frederick Ashton and based on an incident from the Queen's childhood. A grand start to be sure, considering the "official" bash won't come until June.
No longer was it for laurels only. Last week, for the first time in the 90-year history of the Boston Marathon, cash as well as glory was waiting 26 miles and 385 yds. from the starting line. The winner of the $30,000 purse and new Mercedes was Australian Rob De Castella, who finished fifth in the 1984 Olympics and had not won a race since 1983. Reading split times scribbled on the back of his hand to pace himself during his first attack on the prestigious course, De Castella, 29, led the crowd of 4,750 runners for all but two miles, finishing at 2:07:51 and breaking the old Boston record by a full minute. The athletes were apparently not the only ones spurred on by the lure of loot. Some half a million spectators refused to let the gray, humid weather dampen their spirits. "The crowd support on this course, in this race, is something I've never experienced before anywhere in the world," said De Castella. "It's unbelievable."
Hailed at 17 as the "Chinese Elizabeth Taylor," she was the most popular actress in the People's Republic and the winner of the Oscar-like Hundred Flower award. Two years later, Joan Chen left her homeland ostensibly to study English literature at UCLA. But she stayed, married a Chinese American and pursued a U.S. career in a succession of lackluster television roles. Now Chen, 23, has finally got her big break, the part of the innocent yet scheming beauty, May-May, in the film adaptation of James Clavell's Tai-Pan. The movie just finished shooting on location in China, where the authorities were not delighted by Chen's return, feeling the role was a degrading one for a Chinese to play. "The homecoming hit me with mixed emotions," says Chen. "In some ways, I accepted that it was no longer possible for me to visit the people, for I could no longer be one of them." Her fans shared the mixed feeling. Many of them recognized her on the street, gawked but kept their distance.
The much imitated grins don't quite match, but they sure go together. Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas first paired up in I Walk Alone, the story of a convict who gets out of prison and discovers a changed world. In the 40 years since, they have been in a play, starred in three more features and done two cameos together. Now they are back in Tough Guys, which finished filming last week in California, and the more things change the more they play the same. The toothy twosome portray--you guessed it--jailbirds who get out of the slammer and decide to do one more job, on a train called the Golden Flyer. "It's a love story of affection between two men," explains Douglas. "The emphasis is on the importance of friendship." Speaking of friends, how did it feel to be reteamed with Lancaster? "We're still talking," says Douglas. "We're still fighting and arguing. We should have been married. When we're together, one and one make three." Is there such a thing as macho sweet? --By Guy D. Garcia