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orbemnews · 3 years

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Michael Collins’ candid Apollo 11 Moon landing admission: ‘Don't want it over my head' Apollo 11: Michael Collins reveals in 2019 why he went to space The legendary astronaut passed away peacefully yesterday, aged 90, following a “valiant battle with cancer”. He played a pivotal role in the first manned mission to the Moon, Apollo 11, in 1969. Collins, who dubbed himself “the loneliest man in the universe” stayed in lunar orbit for 21 hours alone as his colleagues Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the lunar surface. But in an interview with NPR 50 years on, Collins said he was not resentful for missing out on the chance to walk on the extraterrestrial body. Asked if he would have liked the opportunity, he said in 2019: “Absolutely, yes, but am I dissatisfied with the part that I played? Absolutely not. “I had it both ways really. “Sometimes I’ll be walking down, shuffling down the sidewalk after dark and all of a sudden I’ll look up and go ‘woah – I went there one time’. Michael Collins candidly reflected on his role (Image: GETTY) Collins dubbed himself ‘the loneliest man in the universe’ (Image: GETTY) “It takes me by surprise.” Despite this, the former test pilot said the entire experience changed his perspective on Earth, and life as we know it. He added: “I usually get asked what the Moon looked like up close and that’s an interesting question with a lot of good answers, but to me, even though I was sitting on its front doorstep, it was nothing compared to Earth. “The Earth was the whole show, even though it was only the size of your thumbnail, you could move your thumb out of the way, but it kept inching its way back into your presence as if it wanted to be looked at and seen. “The first thing is that it was just tiny, tiny against the black velvet background that makes it look more prominent, it’s just a glorious thing, you could sit and watch it all day long. READ MORE: Moon landing: Apollo 11 legend Michael Collins ‘doesn’t want’ NASA to make lunar return The astronaut passed away, aged 90 (Image: GETTY) “I could have spent day after day looking at the tiny little Earth.” In a touching moment, Collins explained why he wanted space agencies like NASA to press on and explore more of the cosmos. He continued: “When someone asks me why we should go into space, I desert the world of facts and figures and come down to the world of emotions. “When I was a kid, I used to lay on my back on the grass at night and see what I could see – most of it I couldn’t understand – that made it all the more intriguing. “But to have all that around me, I guess I could say I don’t want to live with the lid over my head. DON’T MISSBlack hole shock: Scientist’s dire warning to humans [VIDEO]Asteroid apocalypse: Scientist warns of ‘city-destroying’ space rock [OPINION]Why ‘Trillion tonne rock hurtling towards Earth’ was ‘bad news’ [EXPLAINED] The Apollo 11 crew in 1969 (Image: GETTY) “I want to have that lid removed and have the possibilities that live there in that third dimension – that we have the possibility of visiting – explored. “That’s why we should go into space.” Aldrin, 91, is now the only surviving member of the mission after Armstrong passed away in 2012. Paying tribute to his colleague, Aldrin wrote in a tweet: “Dear Mike, Wherever you have been or will be, you will always have the fire to carry us deftly to new heights and to the future. “We will miss you. May you Rest In Peace.” The Collins family remembered the hero, too. Apollo 11 Moon landing timeline (Image: GETTY/DX) Their statement read: “Mike always faced the challenges of life with grace and humility, and faced this, his final challenge, the same way”. “We will miss him terribly. Yet we also know how lucky Mike felt to have lived the life he did. “We will honour his wish for us to celebrate, not mourn, that life.” On 16 July 1969, Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins were strapped into their Apollo spacecraft on top of the vast Saturn V rocket and were propelled into orbit in just over 11 minutes. Four days later, Armstrong and Aldrin touched down at Tranquility Base. Armstrong stepped off the lunar lander and delivered his “one small step” speech before Aldrin joined him 20 minutes later and helped bury the US flag into the surface. The crew splashed down in the Pacific (Image: GETTY) As a trio, they brought an end to the Space Race – a bitter chapter in the Cold War that would propel the US and Soviet Union to new technological heights. Collins would later admit they “felt the weight of the world on their shoulders,” adding that there would be “international repercussions” if he returned to Earth without Aldrin and Armstrong. He stated: “I was going to come home and I would not have been a happy returnee, I’d be a marked man for the rest of my life.” But they did make it back, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24 – precisely 195 hours and 18 minutes after blasting off from Florida. The astronauts would then embark on a 38-day world tour that saw them treated like royalty in 22 foreign countries. But Collins would later admit he never really enjoyed the spotlight. Speaking in 2009, he said: “Some things about current society irritate me, such as the adulation of celebrities and the inflation of heroism. “Heroes abound, and should be revered as such, but don’t count astronauts among them. “We work very hard, we did our jobs to near perfection, but that was what we had hired on to do. “In no way did we meet the criterion of the Congressional Medal of Honour: ‘above and beyond the call of duty.’ “Celebrities? What nonsense, what an empty concept for a person to be, as my friend the great historian Daniel Boorstin put it, ‘known for his well-known-ness.’” if(typeof utag_data.ads.fb_pixel!=="undefined"&&utag_data.ads.fb_pixel==!0)!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments);if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window,document,'script','https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js');fbq('init','568781449942811');fbq('track','PageView') Source link Orbem News #admission #Apollo #candid #Collins #Dont #landing #MICHAEL #Moon

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general-du-vallon · 7 years

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Okie dokie, a long post about Commodities. This is not rigorous scholarship, history is not my field, I knew nothing about this subject before, really. It’s just a quick google. So, without further ado.

“Well, there was this one time I dropped anchor near a small island called Gorée…”

Gorée Island is a small island off the coast of Senegal which played a part in the transatlantic slave trade. The House of Slaves and the Door of No Return, now a museum and UNESCO World Heritage Site, was built in the 18th century. There are so many different estimations of how many people passed through Gorée and different analyses on how important it was to the trade. However, it is important now, and now is when the series was made. It’s a name that carries connotations of not only the lives directly affected by the slave trade then but the continuing repercussions that we’re still seeing and still understanding. There’s an annual festival, “a way to use art and culture to remember [the sad page in history] and to unite the island's diaspora… it is not enough to remember the past, but that it must be used to build a better future in which communities can grow closer to eliminate all forms of discrimination”, (Augustin Senghor, the mayor of Gorée Island, speaking in 2010 about the festival). The Facebook page for the festival says

“Le Gorée Diaspora Festival est un ciment fédérateur entre la Communauté Sénégalaise à travers Gorée et l’ensemble des visages et voix de la diaspora Africaine s’engageant à « rectifier voire inverser les conséquences négatives de l’esclavage et du lourd tribu payé par le continent noir et ses enfants sous le vocable de Renaissance Africaine qui englobe la notion de Développement que l’Afrique n’a pu connaître du fait, justement, de l’esclavage”

I don’t speak French but I can translate a little… the Gorée Diaspora festival is… something about unifying the Senegalese communities through different voices…. Something about reversing and counteracting the consequences of the slave trade, something about a heavy tribute (price?) paid by the ‘children’ of the continent and the diaspora, and includes ideas about the development that Africa could not know because of the slave trade. My dudes, je ne parle pas Francais, so do correct me or translate better.

The Gorée Institute promotes culture and arts in Africa and in 2015 (I think) they ran a poetry residency on the island that aimed “to reignite a literary tradition that has begun to fade, and to help promote arts, culture, and freedom of expression as intrinsically effective methods of fostering open societies in the region”

How to Fall in Love with an African City

by Gbenga Adesina, a 24-year-old poet from Nigeria

In time, you too will come to learn dear friend, the soft rustle,

Soft whoosh of affection for a city like a lover like a love song: Nairobi, Abuja, Dakar

throbbing in your ribs: Accra, Harare, Port Novo, carving a place for themselves, to nestle

In spite of yourself in the jar

of things you call loved.

I know eyes have their own memories and fears

and you come here seeking only the darkness you’ve been

promised. But come again to Abidjan friend, come to Yamoussoukro, come

to Kigali, to Luanda, to Lagos, where the city vowels sing to you, sing to you.

Sidewalks that are nations on their own. Yellow buses that write you into a story

Wi-Fi spots and shopping malls and smiles that warm your arms and strangers that become

friends in an instant. Grilled meats that introduce your tongue to you.

In time, you too will come to learn dear friend, the soft rustle, soft

Whoosh of affection for a city like a lover like a love song: Nairobi, Abuja, Kigali,

Dakar throbbing in your ribs. What it means for a city to hold you by the hands

and love you and lead you to places you’ve never been inside yourself

again and again at the junction of laughter.

Ok. So, these are a few facts I’ve come up with after a quick Google around, and a few things that are coming out of Gorée today. Back to the series, Bonnaire name drops an island that would have already been involved in the slave trade in the 17th century. The thing about the transatlantic trade was that even when not trading people, trade was deeply involved in slaving. The transatlantic triangle meant that cargo was being shipped to pay for slaves and nurture ties in Africa and supply the colonial settlements, a cargo of people was then shipped to the Americas, then the produce of the Americas was shipped to Europe. Paul Munier, as a trader, was as implicated in the trade as Bonnaire, just a different side of the triangle. His cargo might not have been people, but it would have been from the Americas and in all probability produced by the people taken on Bonnaire’s slave ships. The name-drop, then, is suggestive of the slave trade and brings up a whole host of connotations and connections.

I suppose it was probably put in to suggest to an audience that Bonnaire is a slaver, as a ‘clue’. I think it works beyond that, though. It is also, because of what the island is now, suggestive of a diaspora, and the series brings in Samara, and Porthos, people who are perhaps part of a diaspora (I am not naming Sylvie because her story never brushes on her… what is it Bonnaire calls it? Ah. Here we go: “ancestry”). I don’t know what else is within that allusion, probably many things, but I just wanted to pick up the casual reference and think about it.

http://www.aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/goree-island-home-door-no-return (basic info about the island from an American site. I looked at a lot of sources but this seems the most straightforward)

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/world/africa/19ndiaye.html (an article about Boubacar Joseph Ndiaye, curator of the House of Slaves, from 2009 after he died)

https://www.voanews.com/a/goree-island-festival-celebrates-african-diversity-107230813/130315.html (quote from Augustin Senghor)

https://www.facebook.com/pg/GoreeDiasporaFestival/about/?ref=page_internal (facebook ‘about’ page)

www.goreeinstitut.org (Gorée Institure’s page, in French)

https://afrolegends.com/2016/07/27/reclaiming-african-history-goree-and-the-slave-trade-in-senegal/ (another page about Gorée and reclamation)

“A calabash. Grows all over West Africa.”

I just want to quickly pick up on this allusion, mostly because it is used to make musical instruments and you know, I like music. So. I’m just gonna share a couple of things I found. The first is a page from RCIP-CHIN [a Canadian… it’s in French again, CHIN stands for Canadian Heritage Information Network, it’s a heritage site basically I think], a teaching page aimed at children about traditional calabash objects from Senegal, so stuff made from calabash, from a region that we know Bonnaire visited.

http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitLo.do?method=preview&lang=EN&id=10659

The Kora is an instrument made from the calabash, so here are two videos of kora music,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEoMz79NT60 I don’t know this one I got it by googling, it’s called ‘KORA TRIO SENEGAL Konzert Rote Fabrik Zürich’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ig91Z0-rBfo this one is Sona Jobarteh and band, it says it’s music from West Africa.

Also just a thing from a quick google, A Drunken Ode on an Ashanti Calabash, based on Keats’ Ode to a Grecian Urn, because, you know, how awesome is that?

You bald head crackpot of an unworshipped gourd

Owner of sweet whine, lined with alternate this chord

What incense wafts incessant on your inside

What merry joys accompany your company.

What brave brow, what bold curve

Hairless rim-head, competitor of shaved eggshells

Afraid to touch the earth but on your belly.

Glass wine is sweet, but gourd wine is sweeter

Funeral wine, party wine, you hold them better

What a roll you make on your underbelly

When rocking here this way and that

What browned fare, what fair brow

What endless, gaping gap on your inside

Forever open to wine and air.

Pour me a drink, pour me two

Which are sipped ‘pon suppers supped

Momentous joy for a dugout unleaked

What thin wall, what thick skin

What strong ethers of spirits reek

Shanty half body of insipid taste.

Sleeping is truth, and truth sleeping

Let me now lie and tomorrow waste

https://afrilingual.wordpress.com/2013/11/28/drunken-ode-on-an-ashanti-calabash/

“A bottle of rumbullion. The colonists make it out of sugar molasses, so potent they call it kill devil”

Last allusion I’m picking up, I swear, and again I’ll be quick about it. John J. McCusker says that “rum and molasses early became strategic items in the vital trade with the West Indies, being readily available and readily acceptable returns for colonial goods shipped there. The distilling of rum from molasses created a substantial colonial industry, employing local capital, management skills, and labor[sic]”. Bonnaire’s rum is again just an indication of both his trade and the deeper implications. Rum is a ‘commodity’ (a word McCusker uses over and over that I can’t hear without wincing anymore) that was used substantially in the transantlantic trade. Again, the commodities and luxuries that Bonnaire is shipping, his cargo, is all implicated in the slave trade and, again, I want to point out Paul Munier as a trader who might not actively be a slaver but is still part of the slave trade.

The Rum Trade and the Balance of Payments of the Thirteen Continental Colonies, 1650-1775

Author(s): John J. McCusker

Source: The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 30, No. 1, The Tasks of Economic History(Mar., 1970), pp. 244-247

Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Economic History Association

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2116737

Accessed: 26-10-2017 20:35 UTC

[sorry, I’m sure there are other more accessible sources on the rum trade and its parallels/uses in the slave trade, but I have google fatigue. The article is focussed on economy and is numbers and ledgers and is only really relevant to show how rum was used by the colonists in the slave trade]

https://www.thoughtco.com/triangle-trade-104592 [oh, here’s another source, and this one talks about the triangle as well]

FINALLY I want to just mention how confused I am by Louis and Richelieu and their conversation about the navy. I always read that as the French didn’t have a navy, and had a trade agreement with Spain about exploration/colonisation. I can’t find any evidence for this, however, and in fact Richelieu pretty much is the source of the modern French navy; he built the damn thing. And in terms of colonization, while it seems to be true that the French in 1630 were only just starting really, they WERE starting. Richelieu [historical type not Capaldi] went on to colonize the Antilles, and the French navy took Gorée from the Dutch in… 1677. David Gegus says that “for the little-studied seventeenth century, some data recently uncovered by Clarence Munford and others are combined with material from older works by Elizabeth Donnan, Abdoulaye Ly, and John Barbot. The compilers note, however, ‘much of the seventeenth century French traffic is missing.’ A large part of France's slave trading was then clandestine, conducted by interlopers challenging royal monopoly companies”. Which seems to fit in with Bonnaire’s position with the court. Richelieu actually set up a Company of San-Christophe with an explorer called Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc in approx. 1626 (“I found myself my own little utopia, a little piece of heaven called San Christophe”). [‘San-Christophe’ is ‘Saint Kitts’]. The company failed, d’Esnambuc died, Richelieu set up the Company of One Hundred Associates instead and they colonised Canada, the Antilles, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Belain_d%27Esnambuc

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Company_of_One_Hundred_Associates

And for those who like academical journalies and JSTOR:

Hausa Calabash Decoration

Author(s): Judith Perani

Source: African Arts, Vol. 19, No. 3 (May, 1986), pp. 45-47+82-83

Published by: UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3336411

In the Shadow of the Castle: (Trans)Nationalism, African American Tourism, and GoréeIsland

Author(s): Salamishah Tillet

Source: Research in African Literatures, Vol. 40, No. 4, Writing Slavery in(to) the AfricanDiaspora (Winter, 2009), pp. 122-141

Published by: Indiana University Press

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40468165

Accessed: 26-10-2017 18:30 UTC

The French Slave Trade: An Overview

Author(s): David Geggus

Source: The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 1, New Perspectives on theTransatlantic Slave Trade (Jan., 2001), pp. 119-138

Published by: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2674421

Mercantilism as a Factor in Richelieu's Policy of National Interests

Author(s): Franklin Charles Palm

Source: Political Science Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 4 (Dec., 1924), pp. 650-664

Published by: The Academy of Political Science

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2142344

The French Slave Trade: An Overview

Author(s): David Geggus

Source: The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 58, No. 1, New Perspectives on theTransatlantic Slave Trade (Jan., 2001), pp. 119-138

Published by: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2674421

Scientific travel in the Atlantic world: the French expedition to Gorée and the Antilles,1681-1683

Author(s): NICHOLAS DEW

Source: The British Journal for the History of Science, Vol. 43, No. 1 (March 2010), pp. 1-17

Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of The British Society for theHistory of Science

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40731001

#MuskiesReWatch

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nowaybutnorway · 7 years

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Wow, it’s hard to believe that season that I hold so near and dear to my heart is already a year old. About a year ago today I was in Norway, I had just started to expose myself to the Tumblr Survivor community and play some side seasons, but now it was time to try myself out in the big leagues of a main season, so I signed up for Season 39 and never looked back, and now as I look back about a year later from the time we started this season, I feel blessed to have gotten to be in a season with all of y’all, you are my og tumblr survivor fam, and I figured what better way to celebrate today than collect all my thoughts about my 19 fellow castaways and hosts. I’m in a starbucks right now so hopefully I don’t bust into tears, but then again that wouldn’t be new for this one, so let’s begin.

Laure-Now Laure was probably the only person that I had no interaction with over the course of the entire season, just because of how tribe divisions were set up and all, but learning that over time I was playing with a ts legend, it inspired my frail newbie heart to no end, so Laure, despite not knowing you, thanks a billion from this fanboy <3

Dani-OK so contrary to popular belief, Dani met her demise to due to EVERYTHING GOING WRONG FOR HER. Originally the plan was to vote out Eric, then Eric won immunity, then the plan was Danielle, but she went to Exile, so Dani became the next best option, and it was so awkward because I remember being in the HOS11 house on call when the tribal happened and people were talking about how they loved Dani, and as the votes kept coming in, I was just sitting there watching people’s jaws drop and then after I had to say....sorry about that. But it was clear you did not deserved what happened to you, you were sick and the Darian v Dylan fiasco was just a damn mess that culminated with your demise, but despite of what you may think of me, I feel your tribal where you left was crucial to how I play games now, so thanks babes.

Angela-WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS GIRL. Now people may think that my closest alliance mate was Brian or Stevie, but you guys never knew Angela like I did, we ironically made an alliance day 1 called the Trashy King and Queen, an alliance I would later replicate with Ting Ting in Myanmar, and it was honestly a god send because she was the one person on Lipari I could trust, and she was honestly the most fun to talk to because all the newbies were like cracked, while Angela and I just talked about arson and ate popcorn, it was great to have her in my life, and my snaps had never been more LIT. Then came swap and Angela peaced out like the boss she is, probably because Grace never gave her cheesecake, anyways I digress. Angela you were one of my favorite newbies to play with and its always a pleasure to see you pop up on snapchat, ily and nothing can ever change my first ts alliance with you, long live our trashy mess <3.

Eric-OK so prior to playing TS I had never gotten on call for a game before, so when Eric called me to talk game, I had NO idea how to do anything, it was 20 minutes of awkward talking, but it was clear to know that we weren’t gonna align anytime soon, but you know in my delusional manner I thought I had totally played him.......yeah I wasn't smart then and I’m not smart now. We later swapped with Brian onto the Alicuidi tribe, and while I had hoped newbies could be strong...he targeted me, but thanks to the lovely Stevie and his ability to connect with the First Boots, I was saved and Eric left. I’m not sure exactly what I did to mess up our relationship but I’m sorry, I’ll give you a hug if I’m ever in Mass....again.

Darian-I feel what I have to say about you and Dylan are around the same lines so I may say look above for previous comment when I write something for Dylan, but DARIAN OH DARIAN, to say you made that first tribal interesting is an understatement. I feel you taught me what not to do in games, you made me realize it was probs a mistake to start an alliance on call or be the center of attention, but DANG you were entertaining to say the least and that was no understatement. You left me as fast as you came into my life and your rivalry with Dylan was funny as you both went out back to back after targeting each other so hard the first tribal, you definitely made my ts introduction a memorable one so thanks <3. And when we reconvened in Westeros, I will admit you had grown a little as a player despite what people think, not a lot, but a little. I’ll never know what happened on Salina but your exit was a quick one, who knows, maybe another Mass visit is in my future and I can see you and Ashley together cause she my Myanmar homegirl.

Dylan-(see comment above for jist) Now a special place Dylan has in my heart that separates him from Darian is the fact he was the first person in TS I was shady with, basically talking about what the heck Darian was doing and how in any world that would make sense. Sufficed to say much more shade would follow, but thanks.

Jason-OK we literally did not have more than a 30 minute conversation in the game, but we talked about CBB and tbh that was a quick way to my heart so thank you. While we never met up on a tribe, we connected ever so slightly, and you actually are the first person I got to give me ts memorabilia with Jenny, Hector and Jordan when you guys sent me a post card, it was nice and sweet and it’ll be on my TS wall for enternity. We also played The Amazing Race together twice....but there are certain things we don’t talk about like how I was a mess in TAR4 and y’all got eliminated 2nd in TAR AllStars. I love ya and miss ya <3

Dalton-I’m just going to start off and say my #favoriteDaltonMoment was when we just swapped onto alicuidi and we were just talking about the most random things, and I think it was with you how fvf3 was going to be like on Survivor when they’d bring back Baylor and Cirie and we’d jump into the fire at f4 with them just so they could win and all would be right with the world, it was random, but tbh randomness is one of my more favorite things and I love ya for it.

Nic W-NIC I GOT A FEW WORDS FOR YOU, FIRSTABLE, how are you, hope you’re partying somewhere or some junk, but wow, we spent a decent amount of time together pre-merge, but our time at merge certainly DID NOT LAST LONG. You went out in a unanimous style, and famously called out Brian, Stevie and I, all for being fake to your face, which is kinda funny cause I’m pretty sure you inadvertently called out our trio on accident, and the rest of merge was a nightmare trying to convince everyone we weren’t a trio when it was very clear we were.....so party. One of the last great callouts of the tag era, so thank you <3

Max-MY OG AUSTRALIAN BAE. It was a dream for my entire adult life to have a best friend from Australia, but as I couldn’t find one in Norway, I settled for the next best option and found one online in you <3. Now in memory I don’t think there was ever a point where we worked together and that was a mess in a hand basket, but you still were great in your own ways. My favorite thing was when you compared everyone to people from Eurovision of that year and it was amazing so thanks. You left a special place for Australia in my heart and every main season I played since then I had played with an Australian, and despite loving Jimmy with all my heart from All Stars, you will always be somewhere in my heart.

Danielle-Please call me out again for going on too much during my ftc speech because that has changed my performances quite a bit, I mean I’ve lost everytime I showed up in a ftc since this season....BUT STILL IT MEANT A LOT. Personally it sucked because as soon as we started working together at merge, those bums voted you out and that began me feeling worse and worse in the game. I still believe you had one of the best ftc moments of all time because you called every one out and I loved every moment. Congrats on winning Crusade, you deserved it <3

Stevie-Words cannot personally describe how I actually feel about you, and I feel you know that Baevie. You were the first connection I made on any Survivor season EVER. You took me into this community and showed me so much. You gave me my first idol, showed me my first alliance, and once I lost in Rakiura, you not only showed me Myanmar, which I won for myself and the draft for you (my faved loved one too btw), you also got me into this season. Now at the time I didn’t know we would be playing together again, but when I saw your beautiful bearded face pop up in the cast announcement, I kid you not I jumped for joy in my Norwegian room, because that meant I was going to be playing with my best friend in the community again and I was excited as all get out. You took me in under your wing on alicuidi and we wrecked havoc, we got some idols, and we did some idol plays at merge. You graciously gave me an idol when I asked and were always there to help me...until ftc where you didn’t vote for me to win, but lets be real, my performance was a train wreck, you made the right choice. Once the votes tied during the round we got the votes on JC, my heart dropped because that meant I would have to campaign against the person who mattered the most to me in the community and the pain I went through to muster up the strength to was unbearable but I did anyway, and I played my hardest as I knew you wanted me to do if you were there in my place. You not only gave me so much in the game but so much in life, I’m not sure if I can ever make it up to you for how things played out during the season but I will sure as hell try, I love you Stevie, never change. And thanks btw for letting me sleep with you, it was a great night ;)

Danny-DANNY OMG. K so firstable, I think you know when I say this I mean it, I GLUCKIN LOVE YOU. You’re so funny and I love when you just pop up out of nowhere with several puns and its great and ily, but god, you were a terrifying force in that game because you could gather SO many people at merge it was ridiculous. Your demise was also probably the move that I was proudest in my entire career and something I’m sure I could never replicate ever again, but dang was it fun. I may not be able to go to six flags with you but I’ll be there in spirit forever, love ya.

Jenny-Jenny you’re probably one of my best friends to come out of this season, and that’s why I will always feel awful for how I organized your demise, but in retrospect you have to admit it was clever, not managed well but clever. You sent me my first TS memorabilia, and I love it with all my heart, and whenever I come to you about my personal life, you’re always so happy to hear it and I lvoe you for it, and whenever I lose a season.......you’re kinda mean but to be fair I come to you crying about an online game, when its very clear MUCH worse has happened to more people so I’m sure that harshness is out of love so thank you. You were probably the person I never thought of working with at merge because you not only sold me out at the beginning but you also voted me out when Stevie and I were tied to leave......but you also helped me pull off the Danny blindside so thank you, ily, and I can’t wait to see you come home and hopefully I get to see you for my TS birthday party.

Nick-NICK WITH A K, you were the last newbie to go out before ftc, and to be fair you were one of the most level headed people playing this game, and it was great to have someone who despite being amongst some of the most cracked people, could stay calm and semi-reasonable. I look at your vote off as one of the biggest mistakes cause maybe had I voted off Van I would’ve won.....but at that point I had already pissed off most of the jury, plus I thought I could beat Van....OH HELL WAS I WRONG, but still, you made for a fun time and were a sound mind for me in the first tribal we went to as Lipari....cause god we didn’t need anymore crazy.

JC-next.....JUST KIDDING, you think I would dare forget about you, I could never. You hold many special places in my heart. You were the first to call me out during a challenge, but it was so entertaining in retrospect, you also tried organizing my demise at final 5, but watching your face and those of the other first boots drop when I won immunity after 1 question, thus ruining your predetermined plans, was PRICELESS, it was great to organize your demise after that because it almost felt like Karma, but after the season I could not love you more bae. You may not have voted for me, but you are the only person from Aeolian I played with ever again, because we All Stars baby <3, now while we didn’t get to play together, it was still a blast to be reunited with an Aeolian bae again, and I’m sure we could’ve take that game....ok maybe not taken it, but still we could’ve rented it and had a good time, but alas no, only in our dreams.

John-John....I love you, you and I were like baes for the longest time now, and tbh I was about to vote you out in Myanmar because I was sketched out by you, but then Aeolian started and you and I were in a season together, and so that plan had to be re-routed to voting out Kylie, but YA KNOW. I could never not be blessed to have you in my life CoffeyCakes, you’re that important, you came to see me in Massachusetts and it was honestly a blast, partially cause you got to see me get voted out in All Stars but still. Sitting next to you in FTC in Myanmar was one of my most favorite memories ever, and you’ll always be near and dear to me <3

Brian-Literally what can I say about you besides being the best purchase I ever made on ebay tbh (that one’s for you JC <3) but in all seriousness at the beginning of the season, I never thought I could ever meet someone like you, you seemed to always be there for me and we became brothers in a sense, we went through the entire season, we played our way from the bottom, every move that I made during Aeolian, you were there, by my side throughout all of it, almost not the Danny move, but that told me I had to play the idol so thanks bae. You not only were my confidant this season, but through so much of my life afterwards, we still stay in contact even after a year has passed, and I could not be happier to be honest. Yes you maybe messy, but you’re my mess and I wouldn’t have you any other way babes. I’m happy you won Lazio, and if anyone tells you otherwise they’re lying. You were my rock and I hope you stay in my life for many years to come babes, I hope everything goes your way.

Van-Now to one of the most important people in the season tbh. Now when we first met, I never thought in a million years I would lose to you.....and I was honestly pissed when I found out that hey, that was gonna happen, but that was in the moment and I feel we were both heated at that moment, but you know what, I’ve learned the value of your game and that is one of the most impressive that I’ve ever witnessed to be honest. Your game reminded me of Michelle from Kaoh Rong, and if you were Michelle, I was Aubrey I think.....I could also be dreaming, but your social game was that on point and it was bloody impressive and I love it. You earned your win and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, because it was amazing. I one day hope to achieve your level of sociability and unlock my innerVan as you say to me whenever I begin to play a new season...that I later flop in but that’s besides the point, you’re an inspiration, a lovely person and iconic and I love you so much <3

And finally our hosts for the season Grace, Ryan and Intern turned mom Emma, y’all took a chance on me that Bora Bora never gave me and gave me a random chance to shine and I could not be more grateful, through this season I met such an important family, but I was also able to accomplish moves that I don’t think I could ever do again. You introduced me into a community that holds such a close place in my heart and I could not thank you guys enough for it.

So in the end thank you Aeolian Islands, though you were hell to get through, you gave me a family, and a community, and I’m forever grateful. Thanks for making me a favorite in Myanmar and an All Stars, you mean the world <3 Happy Anniversary, and Gratulerer Med Dagen

-Fra Steffen Reals

#milliondollardecision

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notinthehistorybooks · 8 years

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Ingrid Bergman in Stromboli

On a spring day in the late 1940s, Ingrid Bergman walked into a Los Angeles movie theater. At that moment, she was on top of the acting world. Her fame across the world was at an all-time high. Casablanca, Notorious and Gaslight (for which she won a Best Actress Academy Award in 1944), all released in the 1940s, cemented her status as a Hollywood star. Despite becoming successful and enjoying a career doing what she loved, Bergman noted an emptiness in her life. “Something was missing. I didn’t feel fulfilled,” she told biographer Charlotte Chandler.

Born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1915, Ingrid Bergman’s career started in Swedish films. Throughout the 1930s, her roles varied in the world of Swedish cinema. In 1939, Bergman made her Hollywood debut in Intermezzo, a remake of a Swedish film she acted in three years earlier. Three years after her Hollywood debut, Bergman starred in Casablanca, her most memorable role to date. Due to the film’s popularity and her performance, Bergman’s fame skyrocketed to incredible heights.

With this newfound fame, going to the movies was a chance for Bergman to escape the hustle of living a celebrity life. On that spring day, accompanied by her husband Dr. Petter Lindstrom, the couple hoped for a little freedom and to be entertained by an afternoon at the movies. Their choice: Italian director Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City.

For Ingrid Bergman, seeing the film was a life changing event, forever altering her career and personal life.

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Rossellini’s film emotionally moved Bergman. “The realism and simplicity of Open City was heart-shocking,” wrote Bergman in her biography My Story, “It was as if you were there, involved in what was going on, and you wept and bled for them.” That realism style of filmmaking was Roberto Rossellini’s specialty. At the time, the director achieved fame in Europe’s world of cinema because his films brought incredible realism to the screen. For this brand of filmmaking, Rossellini was deemed a “neorealist” director.

This fresh take of filmmaking captured Bergman’s imagination. After the film ended, Bergman walked out of the theater bubbling with excitement. She believed she left the theater that afternoon a new person. She made a mental note to remember the director’s name, hoping to meet him in the near future.

Ingrid Bergman in 1948

A few months later, Bergman was in New York City. She was booked to be on a local radio show. During her time in New York City, she came across a small theater on Broadway. The theater advertised its showing of the film Paisan. Underneath the title, the theater noted the film was directed by Roberto Rossellini. Seeing the name again excited Bergman; she instantly bought a ticket. Inside, the theater was practically empty; yet, she was “riveted to [her] seat”, she wrote later.

Bergman loved Paisan. On top of her excitement for Paisan, Bergman could not help but worry. She believed Rossellini was one of the most talented contemporary filmmakers. Owning that belief, she became concerned that his films did not draw large crowds. When she saw Paisan, only a handful of people were in the audience-- and one of them slept through the entire film. After seeing Paisan, Bergman hatched the idea that Rossellini needed a big name to attract attention to his films--especially in the United States. Bergman thought she would be a perfect fit. After some hesitation, and some egging on from a friend, she wrote Rossellini a letter.

Dear Mr. Rossellini,

I saw your films ‘Open City’ and ‘Paisan’, and enjoyed them very much. If you need a Swedish actress who speaks English very well, who has not forgotten her German, who is not very understandable in French, and who, in Italian knows only “ti amo” I am ready to come and make a film with you.

Ingrid Bergman

She showed Petter the letter. Her husband thought the letter was fine, but did not see the importance of his wife working with Rossellini. Bergman hoped the letter would read “funny, not too eager”, she wrote later. The only Italian phrase she knew--ti amo--came from her experience playing an Italian girl in Arch of Triumph. It translates to “I love you”. Already nervous asking for Rossellini to cast her in a film, Bergman had no idea where to mail the letter. She did not know Rossellini or anyone who had an idea of where to send the letter. Without an address, the letter sat for weeks.

Weeks later, back in Hollywood, Bergman enjoyed lunch at a restaurant when an autograph seeker approached her. Out of the blue, the man mentioned he was Italian. Bergman perked up. She later recalled the conversation in her biography,

“Are you? Then, do you know someone called Roberto Rossellini?”

“Of course, yes, he’s our great film director.”

“Have you any idea how I could find him in Italy. Where he works?” “Of course. Minerva Films, Roma, Italy, that’ll find him for sure.”

That was enough for Ingrid Bergman. She went home, changed the date in the heading, wrote “Minerva Films, Roma, Italy” as the address and mailed the letter. Bergman hoped for good news. Unknown to Bergman, fate intervened.

Rossellini no longer worked at Minerva Films. The two were at ends about a myriad of topics; lawsuits were taking place. Bergman’s successfully made its way to Minerva Films. Days later the building burnt to the ground. After the fire was put out, many sifted through the ashes and rubble. Nothing seemed in-tact. Miraculously, amongst the debris Bergman’s letter laid singed but intact. Those at Minerva Films opened and read the letter. They believed it was only right to contact Rossellini. They called Rossellini four times, each call ended up with the director hanging up. The people at Minerva Films could not get two words in with Rossellini.

Fate intervened again.

The people at Minerva Films could have easily left the matter alone. They chose otherwise and mailed the letter to Rossellini. When the letter was in Rossellini’s hands, the director was unimpressed. He turned it over to one of his assistants (Rossellini did not speak English). The assistant, reading aloud, translated the letter for him. He sat listening with a blank stare on his face. Once the letter was read and Rossellini was given time to think over its contents, the director sat with the same, blank expression.

“Well?” asked the assistant.

“Well, who is Ingrid Bergman?” the director asked.

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Throughout his career, an actor’s star quality or the popularity of a film never compelled Roberto Rossellini. He was grounded, just like the realistic qualities of his films. He regularly used common citizens in his films, which often depicted their daily life and routines. (In his film Stromboli, scenes showcasing the local fishing trade are used throughout the film). Rossellini was not a huge “film goer”. He did not like going to the theater, though living in Europe with the rise of fascism and war did not help.

Upon receiving Bergman’s letter, and being helped by his assistant to spruce his memory, the director remembered a film he very much enjoyed: the Swedish version of Intermezzo. Rossellini saw the film amidst the fear of war in Europe, where bombing was an everyday occurrence. “Ingrid was so natural. She brought with her a great deal of Ingrid to any part she played,” the director told Charlotte Chandler.

Roberto Rossellini

In May of 1948, Rossellini sent a telegram to Ingrid Bergman informing her of his wish to work with the actress. Bergman was excited; her husband was indifferent. A longer letter from Rossellini came shortly after, detailing ideas he wished to film. That summer, Bergman and her husband traveled to England, where she filmed Under Capricorn. On her mind, however, was Rossellini’s proposed film. She wanted to know more: “where was the script? how long would it take to shoot? what language would I speak?”, Bergman wrote later. In September, to calm her worries, she traveled Paris, with her husband, and met with Roberto Rossellini.

Rossellini, at the time, was in a relationship with actress Anna Magnani. He was also married to Marcella de Marchis. A favorite anecdote of film history details the event of when Magnani learned of Bergman and Rossellini working together. Upon learning of the potential working relationship, the Italian actress grew jealous. One night, while eating spaghetti, a telegram came for Rossellini from England--where Bergman was at the time. Magnani noticed, quietly fuming inside.

“Is this all right--eh, Roberto?” she said, fixing her plate of pasta.

“Ah, si, si, grazie.”

“Good. Here you can have it,” she said, dumping the plate onto his head.

Bergman knew nothing of the incident, or of Rossellini’s personal life. All Bergman knew about the director was that he was brilliant at his craft. “At the time I knew practically nothing about him. I didn’t know if he was married,” Bergman wrote.

Bergman and her husband met Rossellini at the Hotel George V in Paris. Bergman went right to business, grilling Rossellini with questions about the logistics of making a film. Rossellini answered the questions with the realism that possessed his films. When Bergman asked how long the filming would last, Rossellini answered four to five weeks.

“How is that possible? Every Hollywood movie is three months,” Bergman wondered.

“Well, if you want me to, I can try and prolong the picture and make it last that long,” Rossellini replied.

Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini

Bergman thought the answer amusing. Rossellini was not strikingly handsome, but his intelligence and out-of-the-box spirit won many over. Bergman liked Rossellini from the first words out of his mouth. “And more than anything else I liked what he said: those words and the images he inspired were so different from the words of anybody else,” Bergman wrote later. Bergman believed Rossellini could give her a fresh direction in her career. He was the answer to her emptiness.

The trio left in good terms.

Months later, while in New York City accepting an award for Paisan, Rossellini decided to fly to Hollywood. Financing his next film needed to be completed. Plus, the trip would give him a chance to, again, meet with Bergman. “When I met her, she was more beautiful than I could have imagined. She glowed. The camera could never fully capture that glow,” he told Chandler.

Without easy access to his money, Rossellini could not afford a hotel. Bergman offered the director the guest house at her and her husband’s home.

To try to secure funds for his next film, Rossellini met with famed Hollywood producer Sam Goldwyn. At first the partnership went swimmingly. Goldwyn liked Rossellini and announced he would produce Rossellini’s next film. Shortly after the deal was done, the executive asked the director to see another film of his (Goldwyn had only seen Rome, Open City). Rossellini showed Goldwyn his film Germany Year Zero. Goldwyn hated it; the deal was off.

Sam Goldwyn

Goldwyn’s backfired deal made funding hard to come by for Rossellini. With no clear funder in sight, Bergman’s husband decided to step in. He suggested going to famed millionaire Howard Hughes. Bergman was never a fan of Howard Hughes. “You know I am afraid of that man,” Bergman told Petter. But, with Goldwyn’s deal going south, Bergman called Hughes. The millionaire loved Ingrid Bergman. The eccentric millionaire recently bought the studio RKO, saying the purchase was a gift for Bergman. The actress told Hughes she had no idea what to do with a film studio; Hughes said he would fund any film she wanted to do.

Hughes, Bergman and Rossellini all met to discuss funding. Hughes agreed to fund the film, on the condition that Bergman would return to RKO to make a “marvelous picture”. When Bergman insisted Hughes listen to the story of Rossellini’s film, Hughes wanted no part in listening. He asked what clothes she was going to wear in the film. Bergman said they would be cheap clothes, nothing fancy.

“Too bad. The next picture you’re going to do, you’ll look great,” Bergman remembers. Bergman never did a film with Hughes and RKO.

During Rossellini’s time in Hollywood, Bergman’s husband spent an incredible amount of hours at the hospital in which he worked. To fill in the day, Bergman gave Rossellini tours of southern California. She introduced Rossellini to Hollywood elites, inviting the director to dinners and other social occasions. Petter’s large confidence and trust with his wife made him unconcerned about her activities.

In February of 1949, Rossellini returned to Rome. Bergman and her husband vacationed in Aspen, Colorado. While on their vacation, Bergman wanted to leave for Italy as soon as possible. Petter, who wanted a clear distinction between her personal life and her work life, did not want her to go so early. Cracks in the marriage began to grow. Regardless of what it looked like to her husband, Bergman believed her relationship with Rossellini was professional. She expected to be in Italy only for the duration of the film. “A romantic relationship with Roberto was the last thing I had in mind,” she told Chandler.

Two days after returning to Hollywood in March of 1949, Bergman left to film Rossellini’s new film. Bergman expected to be gone for a couple of months; she was gone for seven years.

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Italy greeted Ingrid Bergman with great fanfare. Huge crowds followed her around Rome. Rossellini guided her way around the city, just how Bergman guided him through California. The day Bergman arrived, Rossellini’s apartment became the site of a welcoming party. Pictures of the filming locations for their movie hung on the wall. “Roberto had put little gifts everywhere. I was simply overwhelmed,” Bergman later wrote.

Rossellini took Bergman to various historical sites around Italy: Naples, Capri and Amalfi. At one site, the pair stopped at a place where locals went to dance. Rossellini asked Bergman for a dance. “I think it must be the only time I ever danced with Roberto, because he’s just not a dancer. But that evening he danced. I think he was doing everything to win me over,” Bergman later wrote. The director showcased his incredibly energy and passion for life. Ingrid Bergman fell in love with Rossellini and Italy.

Bergman on set of ‘Stromboli’

Realizing what was happening, Bergman wrote to Petter explaining her feelings. She apologized and asked for his forgiveness, though she conceded that forgiveness “seems ridiculous”. She understood that her new feelings for Rossellini were hurtful and--in the context of their marriage--wrong. Nonetheless, Bergman had fallen deeply in love with Rossellini. She was not going to deny that fact. “Probably, subconsciously, he offered a way out from both my problems: my marriage and my life in Hollywood,” Bergman wrote later.

She had asked her husband for a divorce three years prior to her leaving for Italy; her husband refused. The fact she did not leave Petter at that time was because “there was no other person I wanted to marry”. Three years later, that person was Rossellini. Without a doubt, Ingrid Bergman was in love with Roberto Rossellini. But, she was also in love with a change of lifestyle, and Rossellini gave her that opportunity. Bergman believed no one would care about her new relationship. Ultimately, she underestimated the reaction of fans across the world and the power of the press.

Bergman and Rossellini reached Stromboli--the location of their film--in April. With wind of a possible illicit romance, the press followed. Questions about the personal lives of the two were all that the English, Italian and American journalists asked. Cut off from phones and the world on Stromboli, Bergman did not know of her husband’s suffering on the other side of the world. The news of his wife’s romance hit him hard. He wrote to her that “he had been sick to his soul, but he was hoping to come out of this a better man”, Alan Burgess includes in Bergman’s biography.

Upon her romance with Rossellini, Petter respected his wife’s wishes of wanting a divorce. But, there was a catch: she had to come to the United States to get one. Bergman insisted she was not leaving Italy. Petter degraded Rossellini in letters to Bergman, trying to convince her that he corrupted her. Bergman cried reading the messages from her husband, but she did not expect him to understand. She was no longer in love with him and wished the marriage was over. She wrote letters to Petter explaining her change of heart. She wanted to be supportive of Petter in future, telling him “I don’t hate you”. She did not want to take their kid away from him. Bergman hoped a resolution could be had without scandal. On top of receiving Bergman’s letters, Petter received a letter from Rossellini. The director explained that he meant Petter no harm in the actions taking place. However, according to Alan Burgess, Petter is “sure he did not receive this letter”.

Bergman wrote to her daughter Pia. She told Pia that her life was about to change. She explained to her daughter the feelings for Rossellini were much deeper than they were for her father. Regardless of these new feelings, Bergman wrote, “I love Papa and I love you and I always will be with you. But sometimes people like to live with somebody else that is not their proper family. It is not unusual but it is rather sad.” Facing the reaction from Petter and Pia, Bergman realized she let many down. Though wildly in love with Rossellini, her confidence dwindled.

Rossellini and Bergman on Stromboli

Ingrid Bergman left the United States for Italy as the number one star in the country. Half a year later, with filming of Rossellini’s film completed, Bergman’s star had fallen. Many in the United States alienated Bergman. She received letters from the Lutheran Church in Sweden and the Roman Catholic Church saying she should be burned at the stake. The hate mail never ceased. “Some said I was an agent of the devil. People wrote to me addressing me as ‘whore’ and ‘slut’,” Bergman told Chandler. Bergman did not understand why people cared about her private life. She had not done anything to harm anyone, besides her husband and daughter. Why would normal people care?

In December of 1949, Ingrid Bergman revealed she was seven months pregnant with Rossellini’s child. Both were still legally married to their respective spouses. The sensational news story turned to a Hollywood scandal.

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Ingrid Bergman’s divorce and custody battle became highly publicized. In February of 1950, Bergman gave berth to a son: Renato Rossellini. Three months later, she married Roberto Rossellini. Her scandalous affair caused immense uproar within the United States. The public vilified Ingrid Bergman, as did politicians. The affair was degraded on the floor of the United States Senate. After a long rant about Stromboli and the events that went on behind the scenes, the Honorable Edwin C. Johnson of Colorado concluded his speech, “If out of degradation associated with Stromboli, decency and common sense can be established in Hollywood, Ingrid Bergman will not have destroyed her career for naught. Out of her ashes may come a better Hollywood.”

In November of 1950, Bergman and Petter’s divorce was finalized. Petter said he felt no bitterness between the two, but felt sorry for the “awkward predicament” Bergman created. Petter told reporters he wished Pia could see her mother, but made it clear they were not going to Italy. Bergman felt guilty about the situation she had created for daughter. The two wrote letters to one another, but a healthy relationship took time to form. “Pia” grew angry at her mother. She was upset that her mother would create a horrible scandal on the family. She told her mother in 1953 that she should leave herself and her father alone.

Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini made five films between 1949 and 1955. Stromboli, Europe ‘51 and Journey To Italy are among the most well-known. In 1952, Bergman and Rossellini welcomed twin daughters to their family: Isabella and Isotta Rossellini. Though the family grew, the love between Bergman and Rossellini began to fade. The films they made together did not reach the level of expectations set by Bergman. She wanted to make films that were successful critically and with audiences. Rossellini wanted to make “realistic” films. The communication between the two began to cease.

Bergman in ‘Anastasia’

Bergman began hoping to work with other directors. Time began to heal the wounds of her messy divorce. In 1956, she starred in Anastasia-- a huge success in the United States. Despite the hit, backlash to her scandal was still prevalent. Notably, Bergman’s appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was cancelled, due to audience resistance. However, for her work in Anastasia, Bergman received positive recognition for her performance. She was called back to the United States to do press for the role. Bergman stalled. She knew Rossellini hated the United States. He made his wishes known: he wanted her to never go back. Bergman did the opposite: she returned to the United States and was greeted with more fanfare than expected.

Despite her internal battle of returning to the United States or not, her performance in Anastasia continued to be celebrated. Ingrid Bergman was onstage in Paris when the 26th Academy Awards took place in Hollywood. When Bergman’s name was called out as the winner of the Best Actress award, Cary Grant ran onstage and readily accepted the award on her behalf. Bergman was clueless of her win. She went to bed following her performance, awakened the next morning by Twentieth Century-Fox men exclaiming on the phone “You’ve won!”

Bergman poured herself a glass of champagne to celebrate and took a bath. Broadcasted over French radio that morning was the previous evening’s Academy Award ceremony. Bergman’s son carried a portable radio into the bathroom, as he heard his mother’s name shouted from the radio. “Mama, they’re talking about you!” he exclaimed.

Bergman sat in her bath, crying with joy, as her name, followed by applause, came from the radio. Carey Grant’s voice was heard once the applause died down, “Dear Ingrid, if you can hear me now...”

“I’m in my bathtub!” the actress happily shouted.

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Ingrid Bergman’s star began to shine brighter. She was successfully performing in Paris onstage, as Rossellini’s career sent him to India. He began filming a new film, leaving Bergman and the kids in Europe. Bergman and Rossellini’s marriage spiraled out of control. Disputes over money--Rossellini was a spender; Bergman was not--and their careers caused friction between the two. Rossellini wanted to live life a grand style. Bergman wanted simplicity. When Rossellini told her they could not have a life of simplicity, Bergman believed the love between the two dead In 1956, life threw Bergman one of the cruelest ironies.

One evening, Bergman received a call from India. It was Rossellini. He pleaded for her to discredit any rumors of him having an affair while in India. Bergman agreed. But, as she hung up the phone, she knew her life was about to change. “I knew that when he rang me up to tell me a thing like that, he did have another woman,” Bergman wrote later. A few nights later, the producer of the film in India called Bergman. Rossellini was causing problems on and off set, but did not go into full detail. Bergman later learned that Rossellini was having an affair with the producer’s wife.

When Rossellini returned from India, Bergman wanted the truth. Publicly, they played down the rumors. Bergman met Rossellini at the airport, sharing a public hug and kiss. Privately, the couple was cold to one another. Bergman decided that prolonging their marriage was outrageous. She told Rossellini that she had met with Sonali Das Gupta, the woman he was accused of having an affair with. Bergman saw a lot of herself in Sonali. The Indian screenwriter had left a kid in India and, when she met with Bergman, carried a small baby in her arms. Sonali assured that the baby was not Rossellini’s. Regardless if the baby was Rossellini’s or not, Bergman realized life’s irony. “And my thought was, Poor woman. Isn’t it strange? She has left a child behind exactly as I did,” Bergman later wrote of their meeting.

Back with Rossellini, Bergman asked point blank if he wanted a divorce. Rossellini did not answer. She asked again. Rossellini sat silently. Bergman resorted to waiting; she had no problem waiting. After a great deal of time passed sitting silently, Rossellini provided Bergman with an answer, “Yes, I am tired of being Mr. Bergman.”

Bergman understood, “We’ll get a divorce.”

The two “resolved all those difficult years”, Bergman described their conversation. In the end, the couple parted mutually. Bergman wished Rossellini luck. Rossellini told Bergman the children belonged to her. But, he asked her to keep her word on two promises: the children are to never go to the United States and Bergman was to never marry again. Aghast, Bergman argued both those promises. At the end of their discussion, Bergman began to laugh. “I couldn't help laughing,” Bergman later wrote, “That was Roberto.”

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Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini divorced in 1957. Bergman did marry again. For nearly two decades, she was married to Lars Schmidt, a Swedish theatrical entrepreneur. Bergman reunited with Pia in 1957.

Despite her personal life troubles and sidetracked career, Bergman’s star shines bright today. The period in which her and Rossellini made films was her least successful. Following her relationship with Rossellini, Bergman enjoyed another wave of success in her career. In the twilight of her career, she made her only film with the other great cinematic Bergman (who was also Swedish): starring in Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata.

Bergman in ‘Autumn Sonata’

On August 29th, 1982, her 67th birthday, Ingrid Bergman died of breast cancer. She was cremated. Most of her ashes were scattered in an inlet in Sweden, where she spent most of her summers after her divorce from Rossellini. The rest of her ashes were buried next to her parents in Stockholm, Sweden.

Roberto Rossellini eloped with Sonali and adopted her children. In 1958, the couple had a daughter. In 1973, Rossellini left Sonali for another woman. He died of a heart attack in 1977.

Petter remarried and became a professor at the University of Utah. From 1955 to 1964, he served as the chief of neurosurgery at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Salt Lake City. He died in 2000, at the age of 93.

“I believe that I was greatly influenced by the romance of my parents,” Bergman told Chandler, “I believe I spent my life in search of that romance.” Like many of us, Ingrid Bergman looked for personal happiness within her career and her romantic life. She loved acting, enjoying the challenges of the many roles she claimed over her career. Like Rossellini's films, Bergman was a grounded, realistic thinker. However, when it came to romance, Bergman was easily swept off her feet. For Bergman, those intense feelings came at a price.

“If I had any regret in life, it would be if I hurt anyone else. I never wanted to hurt anyone, especially those most dear to me,” she told Chandler.

Years after Ingrid Bergman died, Diet Coke used Casablanca in one of their commercials. Coca-Cola sent $25,000 to the studio that owned the film’s rights and to each of Bergman's kids. Isabella Rossellini, one of the twin girls born in 1952, was moved by the gesture. She wanted to do something special with the money. In spirit of her “Mama”, she sent the money to Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Connecticut, which houses Ingrid Bergman’s archives. Isabella knew of her mother’s love with memory. “My mother kept everything,” she told Charlotte Chandler.

“The death of memories is the saddest thing I know,” Ingrid Bergman told Chandler, “I am so lucky to have these memories to pass on, that my memories are waned. It’s a privilege.”

Written by: Alex Bauer

#history #ingrid bergman #roberto rossellini #film #hollywood #scandal #petter lindstrom #divorce #marriage #love #italy #united states #stromboli #europe 51 #journey to italy #my writing

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