KIM NOVAK INTERVIEW

I settled in for a nice relaxing evening with Turner Classics movies to watch the interview with Kim Novak. Remember her, in Vertigo, Bell, Book + Candle ? About halfway through, or towards the end she became very emotional and said "....there was mental illness in my family, on my father's side. Nobody talked about it back then. There were no medications. I liked the acting roles with conflict because that felt like home. "(I understand that from my play reading group - I'm very good with those dysfunctional family roles, angry, sad, depressed - I tell Bill "give me that role" and he does)

And then she said, "I am bi-polar and I am on medications ! I am a painter; I will be having an exhibition at some point and I will give all the profits to organizations for mental illness and the Arts."

What a shock ! She is 80 years old. She actually said that when she was young, it was never talked about and there weren't any medications. I do admire her courage after all these years for being so forthright in an interview with Robert Osborne in front of a live audience and on national television. The more people that speak out, the less the stigma will be. Hopefully more people will get the help they need.