Hollywood men & women

From Sunday, Sunday to Pebble Mill, Gloria’s shows were filled with legends from stage and screen including Audrey Hepburn , Bette Davis and Julio Inglesias…

DORIS DAY

‘A lot of people were in films as I was growing up and, being able to sing, one of the stars I loved was Doris Day. I loved her clothes. I loved the men she played opposite. If I could have been like anyone, it was Doris. I was offered an interview with her in 1993.

‘ When they called me, I said “don’t be ridiculous” – but it was true. Her son had found a “lost record”. They just said, “We want it on TV and radio, we are only giving two interviews and you can do both.”’ Gloria didn’t have to be asked twice and flew to a hotel in Pebble Beach, California, immediately.

‘ When I watch it back, an hour of laughing together and great conversation, it’s hard to believe. It was a special moment,’ she recalls. ‘She had a grandson she adored and, later on, lost her son to cancer. So we had a lot of connections.’

LESLEY CARON

Long before she was given a chat show, Gloria had chosen to name her daughter after the actress Lesley Caron.

‘I was only 17 when I first saw Gigi. It was astonishing. I’d never left Ireland but as I crossed to Canada there was a cinema onboard. Lesley Caron was everything I wanted to be.

‘I didn’t actually meet her in person until the late Nineties. I agreed to do a charity performance and on my dressing room door at the theatre it also said “Lesley Caron”. I was sharing a dressing room with her! And there she was sitting in a vest. I never thought she’d be in a vest.

‘I remember blurting out, “I called my Caron after you!”

‘She was still so gorgeous and kindly said I was very flattering.’

BETTE DAVIS

To this day, Gloria can’t quite believe the silver screen legend agreed to publicise her second memoir This ’N That in 1987. ‘I was told I could meet her, and put my arm out in case she wanted to lean on it (Bette was 79 by then), but I was not allowed to touch her unless invited to do so. Her assistant had set the stage with a silver cigarette holder and ashtray, a lace hanky over her handbag and a silver goblet of water. At any time, Bette could get whatever she needed – I found that fascinating.’ Gloria adds, with a laugh, ‘In the middle of the interview she said: “When are you going to ask me about the god damn book? It’s the only reason I’m here.”’

NEIL DIAMOND

The singer first appeared on Gloria’s Radio 2 show in 1982.

‘ We got on well and he agreed to come on every time he was in London doing a concert. Once he invited me to LA, where he got me a roadie jacket. So I asked him, “Will you give me your shirt for charity?”’ Gloria went on to explain about Children in Need.

‘It became a running joke,’ she recalls. ‘Every time he was in London, he would give me “the shirt off his back” for charity and over the years, we became good friends.’

AUDREY HEPBURN

If Gloria could invite anyone to dinner, Breakfast at Tiffany’s star Audrey Hepburn would be among her top three guests. She agreed to be interviewed in 1988, just a few years before her death. ‘I loved the way she talked,’ says Gloria, ‘ her swan-like neck. She was mesmerising, one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. The world seemed to stop as she came in.’

CHARLTON HESTON

Possibly best known for playing Moses in The Ten Commandments, Hollywood star Heston appeared in nine of the 10 series of Sunday, Sunday.

‘I remember asking him in one interview what the secret to a lasting marriage was (his lasted 64 years) and if he had ever considered divorce.’

The star replied, ‘My wife was once asked this question and she replied: “Divorce? Never. Murder? Often.”’

JULIO IGLESIAS

Gloria first met Julio in 1982, when Begin the Beguine was a big hit in the UK.

‘He didn’t speak good English,’ she recalls. ‘So it was difficult to get an interview with him but eventually he agreed.’

Their first meeting involved a mink coat. ‘I had never seen a man in fur – never mind one in a floor-length one. He had 14 people with him – a proper entourage. But when he dropped the coat on the floor, not one of the 14 people picked it up!

‘I was newly arrived from Ireland and I remember thinking, “This is not the life of a star I imagined.”

‘Between records, we got to know each other. I met his soon-to-be wife Miranda in Vegas, when he invited me to Caesar’s Palace. At an after-party, he introduced me to a beautiful girl, who reminded me of my daughter Caron. Miranda is Scandinavian, straight-talking and exactly what he needs. We are all still in touch.’