An Aging Actress
Gardner’s biggest part in the 1970s was in the catastrophe picture Earthquake, and while it isn’t one of her best films, she gave it her all, insisting on doing her own stunts. This was impressive, but for many, her star power appeared to be fading. Many said she was too old for her co-star, Charlton Heston. This was particularly disrespectful given that they were nearly the same age. Aging had an impact not only on her career, but also on her physical health. She decided to have a hysterectomy in 1968 because she didn’t want to develop uterine cancer like her mother. She had no idea that she would have a plethora of other health issues. She was a heavy smoker, had lupus, and contracted pneumonia. Things took a turn for the worse in 1986, when she suffered a stroke that left her largely disabled.
An Aging Actress
Telling Her Story
Gardner was in a bad place after her stroke, and she even admitted to Mickey Rooney that she was considering suicide. During this period, she decided to recount her life story and recruited Peter Evans as a ghostwriter for her memoir. Gardner abandoned the project after learning that Evans claimed Frank Sinatra had mafia ties. However, following Gardner’s death, Evans’ notes were disclosed, and they contained many juicy anecdotes. One such narrative concerned her marriage to Sinatra. When they were married, she awoke in the middle of the night to hear a gunshot in the living room. She suspected her husband of committing suicide, as he had previously warned. When she entered the room, she discovered that her husband had just fired through a pillow and was now sitting there smiling.
Telling Her Story
