Adieu, bella donna.

One of Britain's most fair of ladies has bid farewell. Deborah Kerr, classiest of classy leading ladies of a bye-gone era has passed away.

I remember watching her in "The King and I," every fiber of my being longing to dance as she did in the post-banquet ballroom scene. Many times as a young girl (and once, partnerless, as a young lady on a moonlight and foggy beach) I would gallivant around the living room, stopping only when my lungs and legs were screaming for mercy. I had the honor of dancing in that manner, quite unexpectedly, with a friend during an "Aloha" party, barefoot and carefree, complete with the pang that it wasn't as perfect as it should have been. The friend would never be my knight, as the King of Siam would never fully be hers. It is still a treasure I shall never ever forget, although I do long for the opportunity to dance as she did, complete with her beautiful ballgown. There is nothing like dancing resplendent as a princess, the feel of luxurious fabric twisting and swishing and splaying out at each turn. Ah heaven, the hope you instill in all our hearts.

I remember catching glimpses of "An Affair to Remember" in the movie "Sleepless in Seattle." Finally, years after that first viewing, I rented "An Affair" and bawled my eyes out at the very end. The tragedy, the heartbreak, the hope and despair, all leading up to the most wonderful of endings.

"The Prisoner of Zenda." Oh what a glorious sword fighting, dueling, steal-the-heart-of-the-damsel movie! One of my guilty pleasure movies in which Kerr plays the most enviable role of a honorable, noble, and dutiful princess. (and the dresses!)

Thank you Deborah Kerr, for the heartbreaking roles you played, the dreams you set in the soul of this girl, and for always being a lady.



Movie I need to see: The End of the Affair.