"The esteemed film-maker was licking his wounds: his most recent picture, Far from the Madding Crowd, which imbued its 19th-century rural characters with an anachronistic King's Road style and panache, had flopped stateside. Childers approached the date with mixed feelings. He adored Schlesinger's previous movie, the jazzy Darling, starring Julie Christie as a model on the make, and had seen it three times."
"I thought: This guy might be a total shit, recalls Childers, now 81, on the phone from Palm Springs. I told my friend, Two kicks under the table means we're out of here. One kick means you're out of here.' It didn't take long for that solitary kick to come. John was charming and witty, with these twinkling eyes. I knew I could handle this."
"I thought: This could be a really great life. And it was: the pair were together until the director's death in 2003 at the age of 77. To mark the centenary this month of Schlesinger's birth, Childers is hosting a programme of the director's work in Palm Springs, called My Husband Makes Movies. At the same time, the UK is getting its own touring season, The Consummate Professional: John Schlesinger at 100,, which aims to revive interest in the man behind the movies."
Michael Childers was a 22-year-old Los Angeles student when he met John Schlesinger, a visiting British director nearly two decades older. Schlesinger's recent Far from the Madding Crowd had flopped in the United States, while Childers admired Darling and approached the date with caution, bringing a friend as backup. After the friend left, encounters with Lee Remick and Frank Sinatra preceded a long partnership. Childers and Schlesinger remained together until Schlesinger's death in 2003 at 77. Centenary programmes in Palm Springs and the UK are reviving interest in Schlesinger's films, notably Midnight Cowboy.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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