Painting by Gez CoxNoel Coward weighs in:
Another famous man with a very ambiguous attitude towards Christmas was the playwright and composer, singer and actor, Sir Noel Coward. He seems to have had a love-hate relationship with the celebrations. He too hated the 'commercial orgy", but it didn't stop him from itemising presents he had received in his diary for Christmas 1955.
On Christmas Eve 1954 he wrote:
"how nice it would be to be a little boy of five again instead of an ageing playwright of fifty-five, and look forward to all the high jinks. However, it is no use repining."
And again, in 1960:
This is the day of goodwill to all men and the giving and receiving of presents which nobody particularly wants. . . . . . . a commercialised orgy of love without heart. I fear I am becoming cynical, but how nice it would be if it were an ordinary day on which I could get on with my work.
Christmas in Beverley Hills in 1955 was different. He wrote:
"In the middle of it all again. The house is really very nice and I have a dusky Jamaican lady to look after me who is lackadaisical and hums constantly. There have been a series of parties as usual, each one indistinguishable from the other, culminating last night in the Bogart's Christmas Eve revel which was great fun and highly glamorous to the eye.
I have acquired some nice Christmas loot. Exquisite gold and ebony monogrammed links from Frank Sinatra, and a lovely black dressing gown and pyjamas to match from Marlene Dietrich and hand-worked bedroom slippers from Merle Oberon which are charming. A lot of other gifts too. But I do wish Christmas hadn't co-incided with 'Blithe Spirit'. There is so much to be done and so little time to do it."
Posted over on Friko's Musings
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