Turner Headlines Nonprofit Cinema Benefit

AMHERST - A down-to-earth Kathleen Turner regaled a packed house of Amherst Cinema and Pleasant Street Theater supporters Saturday with tales of the stage and screen, her observations on the value of hard work and of being an older woman in a country that prizes youth.

The husky-voiced actress was the guest of honor at a fundraiser for Amherst Cinema Arts Inc. The event - held at the Robert Crown Center at Hampshire College, where her daughter, Rachel Weiss, is a third-year student - included a gala dinner, auction and question-and-answer session with Turner.

More than 250 participants enjoyed effervescent Bellini cocktails of strawberry puree and champagne, ate chocolate mousse decorated with cinema tickets made of chocolate and heard candid talk from Turner, who freely posed for photographs and signed programs.

A "Behind the Scenes: Studio Tour with Ken Burns" went for $1,100 during the live auction and state Rep. Ellen Story parted with several hundred dollars for a pair of Red Sox tickets in the silent auction.

The 54-year-old star of "Body Heat," "The War of the Roses," "Peggy Sue Got Married" and "Prizzi's Honor," as well as stage productions of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," Turner is currently starring in "The Third Story" Off Broadway.

She has suffered for years from rheumatoid arthritis which is currently in remission, and she was wearing a knee brace, having recently fractured her kneecap. Doctors had told her some years ago that she likely would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life, but she's an "incredibly ... stubborn," person, she said unabashedly. Luckily, she had always been athletic, so her muscular structure helped support her afflicted joints. "You know what? You just get used to it like everyone does," she said. "What the hell is the alternative?"

Following an introduction by Carol Johnson, executive director of the cinema center, and a locally made montage of some of her roles which she lavishly praised, Turner said she would rather answer questions than give prepared remarks.

"I am one of the luckiest people because I got the talent to do the job I want to do," she said, quickly adding, "Am I sounding awfully pompous? I'm not that good, guys."

Known for her sex appeal, Turner said she didn't used to think of herself that way.

"I didn't think I was sexy at all. I thought I was a great actress," she said.

She teaches a course at New York University when her schedule allows, called "Practical Acting: Shut Up and Do It," and she advises young actresses not to rely too much on their looks.

"Our beauty is fleeting," she said. "And this country unfortunately does not appreciate experience the way other countries do."

Turner said she would bet anyone $10 that they could go up to a Frenchman and say "(Catherine) Deneuve has had it," and he would disagree. Not so in the United States, she said. "Hopefully, we'll try to change that."

What she hates the most? "People walking up to me and saying, #Oh, you look good.'"

Turner returned several times to the value of hard work.

Even her signature voice is one of its products, although she was born with a deep voice and was the only girl baritone in high school. "It's training, I think," she said. "Muscles can be stretched. You can achieve more resonance through exercise. You really can just do it." The best part about her unforgettable voice is getting a restaurant reservation, she said. "I call up and I say, #This is Kathleen Turner,' and they say, #Yes, it is.'"

She prefers theater to the movies.

"For an actor, give me stage, babes," she said. But it's grueling work. Everything a stage actor does on a day she is to perform is about the play. "It's all about 8 p.m. What you eat, how much do you work out. This is a severe and important discipline."

It's important, because the theater is not just about the performance, she said. "Theater is one of the last places left when people have a communal experience," she said. "You sit closer than you sit with people in your own home. If the play is good, you start to breathe together, you laugh at the same time, you become part of something bigger. I truly believe that my job of doing theater is important and essential to our community."

She also considers the volunteer work she has done - with People for the American Way, Citymeals-on-Wheels, Childhelp USA and Planned Parenthood Federation of America - a full-time job, she said, noting that her daughter Rachel, who was in the audience, had heard her yelling in her sleep, "No, but I have to save the world."

Weiss, for her part, responded that she had heard her mother say that "many times, actually."

In an interview afterwards, Weiss attested to how hard her mother works and her involvement in the community. Turner had helped to raise $80,000 for the New York City meals-on-wheels program recently, Weiss said. "Honestly I'm really proud of my mom at all times, especially recently. She has so much going on."

At Hampshire, Weiss is studying jazz guitar and philosophy, and she has her own jazz band, Bubonic Souls, which plays at the college about eight times a year and recently performed at Pearl Street. Her band members - Wills Kinsley, Maxwell Pollock and Ben Nazzara - accompanied her to the gala.

Audience members said they found Turner genuine and inspiring.

"I love what she said about Americans' view of aging actresses. That was great," said Julia Biederman, 15, a volunteer at the gala.

"She's very real and down to earth," Andrew Jones said.

"I like what she said about disability," said Donna Cohn, a Hampshire professor. "She's just adapting like anyone has to adapt."