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Things We Saw Today: Richard E. Grant Got a Response to His Barbara Streisand Teen Fan Letter Almost 50 Years Later

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Vivian Kane
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Published: Jan 30, 2019 06:00 pm

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Every awards season has its issues, but this year, being mired in celebrations of alleged sexual predators and white savior nonsense, seems especially bleak. Of course, there are bright spots, too. For example:

Personally, the brightest ray of sunshine I’m finding this awards season is in Richard E. Grant, who’s getting a lot of much-deserved love for his role in Can You Ever Forgive Me? Grant is a three-decade-plus veteran of the acting industry, and this is his first Oscar nomination. And I absolutely love that he is in no way trying to play it cool.

Since Grant isn’t one to play it cool in the face of fame, he also totally geeked out in front of Barbara Streisand’s house yesterday, sharing a picture and writing “Asked Security for permission & he replied ‘It’s a public road, but thanks for asking.’ Wrote her this letter when I was 14. My wife is very understanding!”

The letter he mentions was an invitation to Streisand from 14-year-old Grant to stay at their family’s estate in South Africa. Grant had “read in the paper you were feeling very tired and pressurized by your fame and failed romance with Mr. Ryan O’Neal” and wanted to offer her a secluded vacation. Like any good teenage theatre geek, he ends with a Shakespeare quote. It’s all just too adorable.

But then, amazingly, Barabara Streisand replied.

And Grant’s reaction was beautiful.

It took 48 years, but his reaction is worth the wait.

  • Black Panther is coming back to theaters for free screenings in February, in honor of Black History Month. (via Polygon)
  • Congresswomen are being encouraged to wear suffragette white to the State of the Union Address next week as “a respectful message of solidarity with women across the country, and a declaration that we will not go back on our hard-earned rights.” (via The Slot)
  • This is a great article on “the unique harm we cause when we dissect a powerful woman’s love life,” in regard to the attacks on Kamala Harris’ past relationship with Willie Brown. (via Washington Post)
  • Amazon’s Hanna series has a trailer and the first episode will air this weekend after the Super Bowl! (via Collider)

What did you all see out there on this unbelievably freezing day?

(via , image: Larry Busacca/Getty Images)

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Image of Vivian Kane
Vivian Kane
Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.
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