Marilyn Chris and Lee Wallace: Stars who want to give back Have you recognized two people in the Arcade lately, but you are not sure where you saw them before? Did it seem strange seeing Wanda the Waitress near the Towers restaurant? Or, eying the mayor of “Batman’s” Gotham in the lobby of Building Three? We at North Shore Towers have two new residents who have appeared on countless television and movie screens, as well as the stage. Marilyn Chris was an important character in the ongoing television drama “One Life to Live” for 20 years, playing the character Wanda. Lee Wallace, her husband in real life, appeared with Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton in the film, “Batman,” among others. They still have their apartment in Manhattan and think of the Towers as their “summer home.” But this will change when they sell in the city. They love it here, because of all the amenities. Their son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter came for a visit and gave it their seal of approval. Both Marilyn and Lee are native New Yorkers. Marilyn went to the High School for Performing Arts and City College, while Lee graduated from Seward Park H.S. and went on to NYU. They are professionally trained performers – Marilyn at the Gene Frankel Studio and Lee with Michael Howard. Their paths crossed when they appeared on stage together. “But there was no romantic chemistry until we played opposite each other – as Jan Peerce’s immigrant children – in a musical called ‘Laugh a Little, Cry A Little.’ It had been adapted from Leo Rosten’s book Joys of Yiddish. When the curtain fell each night, Peerce came out and sang his signature song, ‘Bluebird of happiness’ to the delight of the audience. The whole thing was a wonderful experience.” They fell in love and married shortly thereafter. Their lives were exciting and hectic, especially when Lee was working on “Batman” in London and Marilyn was taping “One Life to Live” in New York. There was an incident when she went to London on a short break from taping to travel to Lee. A fancy Mercedes picked her up at Heathrow and, at the end of their time together, the Mercedes took her back to Heathrow to fly to New York. They left her at the wrong terminal. With just a few minutes to spare, she commandeered an airport Traditional Values Exceptional Care RNs, LPNs, Home Health Aides Hospital and Nursing Home Companions Hospice Care, PT, OT, Speech and Nutrition Servicing all 5 boros Your language and special needs are our priority bus and begged (ordered) him to take her to the correct terminal. He obliged and all was well. In their semi-retirement, this dramatic duo developed an interest in short films. This is a recognized genre of moviemaking in which the entire film, including credits, must be under 20 minutes. There are short film festivals all over the country each year where these films compete for prizes – Telluride in Colorado and the one in Tribeca are among the most famous. Lee and Marilyn have produced two such films, “Lucky” and “Comfortable Distance.” They have been shown widely and garnered prizes. Now, in their desire to give back to their loyal audiences, they, together with our Publicity Committee, are going to make such a film experience available to our NST Country Club members. In September, we are going to have our own Short Film Festival at North Shore Towers, or SFF@NST. Our members will be invited to a showing of five or six short films on a single evening. At the conclusion of the showing, a producer, director or actor of one of the short films will talk and take questions. The audience will then vote on their favorite film on paper ballots, and a winner will be chosen. The lucky filmmaker will then be able to advertise his film all over the country as “winner of the SSF@NST Award in 2013.” Our audience will then enjoy light refreshments and an opportunity to discuss the films right here in the VIP Room. No admission, no traffic, no hassle. Thank you, in advance, Marilyn and Lee. By FRED CHERNOW Marilyn Chris Lee Wallace 24 North Shore Towers Courier n May 2013
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