The Balancing Act on Lifetime with Linda Evans
The Balancing Act
The following segment aired on “The Balancing Act” on Lifetime Television. Joining the show was Linda Evans to discuss her new book.
The Balancing Act: Our next guest on “The Balancing Act” is a Golden Globe Award winning actress who has personified beauty and grace on screen and, of course, on stage from her role as Audra Barkley on the Big Valley—you remember that show—to the glamorous Krystle Carrington on Dynasty. Who could forget that show? She has starred on Broadway and has even won British TV’s competition “Hell’s Kitchen” and along the way she has met and dined with some of the biggest names in Hollywood history. She’s turned all of this into her latest book, “Recipes for Life, My Memories.” Linda Evans joins us on “The Balancing Act” this morning to talk about it. Good morning to you, Linda.
Evans: Good morning, nice to be with you.
The Balancing Act: I’m so glad that you’re here on “The Balancing Act” because we have so much to dish about, pun intended there. Where did the idea to write this book about your memories kind of combined with recipes come from?
Evans: Well, actually, it came from a friend. I had turned sixty-five and I was wondering what I’m going to do with the rest of my life, since we’re living such long lives now, and I think the idea of re-inventing ourselves in the sixties and seventies is a great idea. So, I love cooking, I have a passion for food, and I’ve been asked to do my memoirs. I thought memoirs seem too serious and long and I thought what if I just take the most exciting stories I’ve got, mix them in with the people that I knew and loved and the food that I’ve collected over the years—in terms of the recipes that I’ve painstakingly collected—that I could present that to people and that they would get the best of everything I loved.
The Balancing Act: Umm, you know, one of the things everybody loves, the Dynasty years—I want to ask you about that. What kind of recipes would come out of that? I mean, we’re talking about the cat fights, the big hair, the glamorous lifestyle; I can only imagine those recipes.
Evans: Well, firstly, umm, a very memorable moment to people is the cat fights and especially the lily pond. The day we shot the lily pond was actually in Pasadena and we had to film all day and the lily pond was only like three feet deep so it was not a big deal. We pretended and got on our knees that it was life threatening, and during lunchtime, like drowned rats, Joan and I went to our motor homes and sort of sat there and I ask someone to get me lunch from the caterer and they came back and there was this incredible corn pudding on it that I ate, and, I said, my god, I’d like some more of that. The third time I asked them to go back, I asked for the recipe and I’ve got it right in the book. It’s the Dynasty Corn Pudding and it’s really good.
The Balancing Act: I saw that recipe in the book and I also saw in the book—having breakfast with Richard Burton who offered his guests a vodka, you guys are thinking he’s going offer some grapefruit juice or some orange juice but he offers you tumblers of vodka for breakfast, although I didn’t see any vodka inspired recipes in the book. Maybe there are but, you know, you’ve dined with celebrities and with kings and queens and presidents, can you name me one favorite memory/recipe that made it into the book that really is very memorable for you that stands out?
Evans: Well, I would say John Wayne’s Crab Dip. My god, it was the first recipe I ever asked for. I didn’t learn to cook ’til I was in my early twenties and my first husband, John Derek, and I used to go to John Wayne’s house in Newport beach and go out with him on his boat and his wife, pillar, was a great cook and they had this crab dip that I just loved and he said go and ask him. I asked him and he said sure you can have the crab dip. I’m like “great!”
The Balancing Act: Now, I am not one to gossip, Linda, but I have to ask you about a few things. Now, you actually wrote this in the book yourself and I know our viewers here on “The Balancing Act” want to know. I know you talk in the book about your husband, actor/film maker husband, John Derek, and you were married to him. When he left for a then fifteen year old, Bo Derek, now you and Bo and all of the exes are friends—come on, Linda, now how did you come full circle on that one?
Evans: That we’re all friends? Well, firstly, I like to say and I’ve explained this all in the book very clearly how it happened. I was not so thrilled with Bo when this first happened, but, my god, I wanted to die and kill her at the same time. But, you know, I knew Bo, I trained Bo for the movie she was doing with John, I helped her with it, I liked her, I really liked her. See, I would not be friends with his wife preceding or that replaced me if I didn’t like them. It’s a question of me letting go of the fact that, you know, she’s with him now, get over it and get on with your life and the truth is, if I had stayed married to John—and I’m a very loyal, faithful person—I never would have done Dynasty because he didn’t want me working with anyone but him. So, in a way, Bo did me a favor.
The Balancing Act: I guess she did. What is your life like today? You know, when I was reading the book and looking through everything I was so impressed with all the things that you’ve seen and all the things that you’ve done in your life. What is your life like for you today?
Evans: Actually, it’s very exciting and that’s what I was speaking of earlier. I’m sixty-nine, I’m going to go to seventy and go, “okay, what can we do?” I mean, we live long lives and women have to start re-inventing how they’re going to be when they’re older. We, with medical science we can do a lot of things. This book I hope is just the beginning of another whole era of my life that I’m going to someday write a book about.
The Balancing Act: And that would be the third one and we can’t wait for it. Linda Evans, it was so good to see you this morning, thank you so much for joining “The Balancing Act”!
Evans: Thank you very much.
The Balancing Act: Thank you and enjoy the next chapter.
Evans: I will; thank you.
The Balancing Act: And again, the book is called “Recipes for Life, My Memories.” For more information on Linda or the book, please visit the website, lindaevansofficial.com.
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