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| Ali MacGraw, date unkown. |
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| Ali MacGraw |
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| Forecourt Ceremony held on Thursday, December 14, 1972 |
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Born: Elizabeth Alice MacGraw, April 1, 1939, in Pound Ridge, New York
Age at the time of the ceremony: 33 |
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Ali MacGraw is a legendary figure in American films. Brought to mega-stardom very early and very fast, she became married to two very well-known men, and became the favorite of the most notorious wild-man directors of the 1970s — Sam Peckinpah.
MacGraw's parents were both commecial artists, who married rather late in life. Her mother Francis was over 40-years-old when she and her husband Richard had Elizabeth, who was sent to the best schools; Rosemary Hall in Connecticut, and Wellesley College in Massachusetts. MacGraw described her father as a tragic figure; handsome, but angry over his having been abandoned by his birth parents.
After graduation from Wellesley in 1960, MacGraw served as assistant to Harper's Bazaar fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who took the young girl with her when she became editor of Vogue in 1962. Attracted to photography, MacGraw drifted into modeling. She was placed in television commercials before long including a pitch for the Poloroid Swinger cameras.
MacGraw was given a walk-on in
A Lovely Way to Die (released in May 1968), with Kirk Douglas, which led to her being cast in the lead role of the film of Philip Roth's novel Goodbye, Columbus (released in April 1969), with Richard Benjamin. The film's producer, Stanley R. Jaffe, was so impressed with MacGraw's work that he suggested to his pal, Parmount Pictures production head Robert Evans, to put her in a film he had coming up. MacGraw and Evans married in October, 1969.
Love Story (released in December 1970), with Ryan O'Neal, became a huge success, with MacGraw receiving much attention in the media for her portrayal of a young woman falling in love. She gave birth to a son, Josh Evans, in January 1971.
Love got to Ali MacGraw during her next picture, The Getaway (released in December 1972), with Steve McQueen, and directed by Hollywood outlaw Sam Peckinpah; MacGraw fell in love with McQueen, who she would marry in August 1973. They would divorce in 1978. MacGraw and McQueen are the only two (so far) people in the Forecourt to have their blocks oriented toward Hollywood Boulevard, rather than facing the theatre.
After The Getaway, MacGraw took a long hiatus from films, returning to work for Sam Peckinpah again in Convoy (released in June 1978), with Kris Kristofferson, which proved an unexpected hit — even if it was taken away from Peckinpah and edited down and with the director disowning it. Convoy was a hit.
Returning to work with Robert Evans, MacGraw starred in
Players (which played the Chinese in June 1979), with Dean Paul Martin, which bombed horribly. It didn't matter; she was working on Just Tell Me What You Want (released in January 1980), with Alan King, which would become the last time MacGraw would headline in a theatrical release.
MacGraw undertook her first television movie,
The Winds of War, with Robert Mitchum, aired over ABC, in February 1983, which became one of their most successful, leading her to star in China Rose, with George C. Scott, aired over CBS, in October 1983. MacGraw took a role as Lady Ashley Mitchell in the primetime soap Dynasty with John Forsythe and Linda Evans, aired over ABC in 1985 for 13 episodes — her character was killed off at a wedding massacre, poor thing.
The slim horror flick
Murder Elite (released direct-to-video in August 1987) with Billie Whitelaw, saw little action. She spent the next years reflecting on her life, publishing her autobiography, Moving Pictures, in 1991. More television work followed: Survive the Savage Sea, with Robert Ulrich, aired over ABC, in January 1992, and appeared as Uncle Jane Merkel in Gunsmoke: The Long Ride, with James Arness, aired over CBS in May 1993.
After
Natural Causes (released in March 1994) with Janis Paige, went direct-to-video, MacGraw produced her own fitness video: Ali MacGraw: Yoga Mind & Body (released in 1994). It was not followed by others. She took a small role in Glam (released in May 1998), with William McNamara, directed by her son Josh.
Now living in New Mexico, MacGraw appears fairly frequently before the cameras in documentaries: she shared the stage with
Willie Nelson & Friends: Live and Kickin' aired over he USA Network, in May 2003, Passion & Poetry: The Ballad of Sam Peckinpah (released in June 2005), Do You Sleep in the Nude? (released in October 2007), I Am Steve McQueen aired over Spike TV in June 2014), and Passion & Poetry: Peckinpah Anecdotes completed in October 2017, but awaiting release.
Ali MacGraw has a line of clothing and accessories in conjunction with ibumovement.com, called ail4ibu.
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| Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, California. Ali MacGraw Forecourt block. Executed by John Tartaglia, Thursday, December 14, 1972. 38 x 43 inches. |
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| Grauman's Chinese Theatre, Hollywood, California. Ali MacGrawForecourt ceremony, Thursday, December 14, 1972. Cement artist John Tartaglia helps steady Ali MacGraw as does an unidentified man. |
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