On September 11, 2001, when I was driving, I received a message from my friend, Heather Mac Rae: “Sorry to hear about Berry Berenson, but she was in one of the planes that crashed into the trade towers.”
Stunned, I pulled the car off the road and thought about what a good person Berry was and what a good friend she had been to many.
She had suffered bravely through her husband, Tony Perkins, whom she had loved dearly and had given birth to his two strapping sons, Osgood and Elvis.
After they had grown up, she had moved to Jamaica to begin a new life. She had met a new man who made her feel good about herself and for this I am grateful.
To me, Berry was pure sunshine. Her smile lit up a room. She could comfort like no other. She loved many even those who to me seemed unlovable. She was my friend. And I miss her. Despite her lineage, she was down to earth.
To the world, Berry Berenson was the daughter of Countess Maria Luisa Yvonne Radha de Wendt de Kerlor, or better known as Gogo Schiaparielli, the granddaughter of Elsa Schiarparelli and the great grand-niece of the famed art historian Bernard Berenson.
In the late '60s, Berry and I were introduced in Wyn Handman’s acting class.
He was the director of the American Place Theatre. Wyn assigned me to do Blanche in "Streetcar" and Berry was to play Stella.
Berry was pregnant, and when we changed into our costumes in the prop room, I asked if I could touch her belly.
“Of course,” she said smiling, then she laughed, and I knew I had not offended her.
Offending Berry Berenson was close to impossible. I had never touched a pregnant woman’s tummy before, and she afforded me this opportunity. I had never had the good fortune to be pregnant and did not believe in doing this to force a man to marry me.
Berry and I rehearsed our roles in Tony and Berry’s townhouse in Chelsea where Tony, who was always kind, offered us his directorial guidance.
Heather Mac Rae, who was starring in "Hair" on Broadway, was in our class as were: Richard Gere, Brad Davis (who triumphed in "Midnight Express"), Phillip Anglim (who played the "Elephant Man" on Broadway,) Penny Milford (who later was nominated for an Oscar for "Coming Home"), Marisa Berenson (who was Berry’s sister and who later starred in "Barry Lyndon") and the list goes on.
In 1975, when I was jilted by Claude Picasso and flew back to our apartment in New York with our tiny poodle, Tutu, it was Berry who was one of my friends who comforted me.
She invited me to dinner at their townhouse where we used to play card and board games. Tony liked to play games and we all laughed, which was what I (and we all) needed.
