Is it true that very few knew about Jackie Collins’ terminal breast cancer. That she refused chemotheraphy treatment, after having undergone a lumpectomy. That’s the word out there.
The sudden and shocking news of her death shook up the entertainment community.
“Not even her closest friends knew … Joanna Poitier, Shakira Caine, Anne Kopelson.” So claims a loyal pal, although her business manager Laura Lizer knew, having traveled to London weeks before with Jackie while she publicized her current novel, The Santangelos. Her longtime publicist Melody Korenbrot only knew four weeks ago. Insiders lay claim that daughters Tracy, Tiffany, Rory were aware, her devastated sister Joan Collins only recently. Companion Barry Krost…?
Apparently, Jackie was doctorphobic, but did take medications. Living secretly with this tragic diagnosis had to have been hell. One courageous and noble lady.
People magazine published a cover stor this week, having initially broken the news the afternoon of her death. That Jackie was suffering from stage four breast cancer, discovered six-and-a-half years ago, and yet Jackie went on to write five books afterward.
Only a month prior, we visited with Jackie at length on the phone about The Santangelos, also to ask for her wine-and-dine hangouts in Beverly Hills for our column’s readership.
Jackie loved good food. Gifted with an excellent palate, she became an adventurous diner, seeking the best from local restaurants and cafes.
Two days after our telephone interview, we published a full column about Jackie’s hot spots (BH Courier 8-14-15). The Ivy and the lobster stuffed with crab, the crab cakes. Craig’s on Melrose Avenue for its fist-sized meatball and fried chicken, along with a dozen more spots.
Two or three times a week, she dined at Craig’s, often with big sister Joan Collins. Both London-born and both seated in full view in a front corner booth, where the coming and going admirers were seduced by their gorgeous smiles and joyful personalities. Glamour girls to the max: flawless complections, perfect maquillage, impeccable attire, sparkle-plenty jewels, notably from Cartier for Jackie. Cynosures on the town, indeed. Their talent agent dad Joe Collins would have been proud.
After her first novel, The World Is Full Of Married Men, topped the bestseller lists, Jackie published The World Is Full Of Divorced Women. All told, she wrote 32 bestselling novels in her distinctive penmanship in schoolgirl composition books that are dutifully preserved, sold more than 500 million copies translated in 70 languages, her net worth listed by Forbes as $180 million.
The novel, Hollywood Wives, paid for the handsome modernist residence she designed for her and the family in the heart of Beverly Hills.
She cooked, too. Shepherd’s pie and die-for English roasted potatoes. Cheesecake was a weakness. (As were leopard prints, often said she wished to return to this life as a leopard.)
Soft-spoken, kind-hearted, with a quick-wink sense of humor, Jackie was innately generous. Days after our column appeared in the Courier, she mailed us an autographed copy of The Santangelos, published by St. Martin’s Press. A follow-up story about the “dangerously beautiful” Lucky Santagelo, the charismatic powerful daughter of gunman Gino, who warns “never cross a Santangelo.”
A high school dropout, Jackie was now writing her autobiography, Reform School Or Hollywood, noting that the first thing she does upon getting up at 7 A.M. is go straight to her desk and write a sentence. “That’s the secret.”
Honored with the Order of the British Empire, Jackie was eminently quotable:
“I write about real people in disguise. If anything, my characters are toned down – the truth is much more bizarre.”
“I have this theory that people in Hollywood don’t read. They read Vanity Fair and then consider themselves terribly well-read. I think I can basically write about anybody without getting caught.”
“I’m a born storyteller …the biggest critics of my books are people who never read them.”
“Who is ready to settle for five minutes when three hours does nicely.”
“We hear that there is only one life to live, but I believe in the afterlife.”
Some time ago, Jackie decided her tombstone should read: “She Gave a Lot of People a Lot of Pleasure.”