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Joan Hodges Interview
(Sinatra's
Corner )
In May 1998, one of the greatest singers of
the Twentieth Century Frank Sinatra passed away. In tribute to
Frank Sinatra we thought it would be fitting to offer up
remembrance of the singer by some of the people who either knew
or worked with him. Joan Hodges is one such person. She was
working in the London Playboy Club when Frank Sinatra walked in.
He asked her to appear in his 1966 film “The Naked Runner”.
Q – Joan, were you a
fan of Frank Sinatra before you met him?
A – No. In fact, if I’m going to be completely honest I was more
of a fan of his acting than his singing. I’m a Rock ‘n’ Roller
at heart. I love Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent, Larry Williams.
They’re what I love. They’re my passion. I think it probably did
me a favour because there were a lot of girls swooning – ‘Frank
Sinatra’s in’. I thought it’s just another singer really.
(Laughs). I wasn’t that over-excited. But, when I did meet him,
I thought he was just such a nice man. He really was. He was
polite to everyone. I remember when he came in there was some
cleaners on the side. They’d been cleaning the club. They just
stood back. He went over and said hello to them. He was just a
really nice, regular bloke. I liked him.
Q – And that was what
year?
A – ’66. He was filming ‘The Naked Runner’ there. It came out in
’67.
Q – When he approached
you to be in the film, you had never done any acting before had
you?
A – I’d done one T.V. commercial which had been done through a
friend. We had a really popular washing powder years and years
ago. This director friend who knew my dad needed someone. He
said, ‘Would Joan like to do this’? But, no acting, nothing.
Q – Did he ask you if
you had ever acted before?
A – No. We were all standing around. The director, if I remember
correctly, a chap called Sidney J. Fury said, ‘We need some
girls’. I think it was decoration more than anything. It was
Frank who chose. I was the brunette. And he said, ‘I’ll have the
brunette and the blonde’ and a couple of other girls. It was 4
of us I think.
Q – Did you have a role
in the movie?
A – We were literally, serving drinks. We were in the club that
he’d come in. Not quite know the story line, but, I think he was
an ex C.I.A. and he had retired and I don’t think he wanted to
come back, but, I think they’d kidnapped his son or something
like that. So, he came over to England to come back into doing
something he didn’t want to do. So, this scene was in the
Playboy Club.
Q – So, that was one
scene you had with him in the movie?
A – Yeah.
Q – How long did it
take to shoot that scene?
A – Well, I think it took most of the afternoon. I think it was
around lunch time he came in and it took the afternoon by the
time they’d done different shots. He was a nice guy to work
with. I just couldn’t believe how ordinary he was, which was
nice.
Q – He was a guy who
didn’t like to do many takes.
A – No. He didn’t. I’d heard that from someone else. He’d just
do it and that was it. That was what you were gonna get from
him. If anything the time was taken by setting up the scene. He
wasn’t actually shooting it with you.
Q – After the shooting,
did he offer to buy you a drink, or offer to take you to dinner?
A – No. None of that. He went out with Mia (Farrow) and Trini
Lopez and Dolly (another Playboy Bunny). They all went out.
Short and sweet. (Laughs).
Q – What do you
remember most about Frank Sinatra?
A – The one memory I’ve got of him and it really is a strong
memory: there was a certain, how can you say it, some people
walk into a room and they’ve got a magnetism.
Q – An aura we call it.
A – Yes.
Q – Have you any idea
how many people I’ve talked to who’ve said that same thing about
Frank Sinatra?
A – Really. I thought he was a very nice man. You speak as you
find. He was very polite and nice to me, therefore, that was
fine with me. That’s my memory.
Official website:
www.joanhodges.com
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