Ashley Judd: Feelin' De-Lovely
We may not realize it, but some of the most distinctive and clever musical lyrics and melodies we catch ourselves humming today were written by musical genius Cole Porter in the 1920's and '30's. (Hey, his songs are witty and cool.. go "Google" him and check out the lyrics).
Porter was gay (in an era that was very closed-mouthed about it) but was married for 38 years quite happily to his socialite wife Linda. Theirs was an unconventional but very loving relationship. Many have said that she was his muse.
Actress Ashley Judd comes from a musical family (mom Naomi and sis Wynonna) but she'd never considered herself a singer. Playing Linda Porter in the musical drama De-Lovely, was a "coming out" experience for Ashley as she unveiled her singing voice to warble a couple of tunes and it wasn't easy for her to accept the challenge. Ashley did enjoy the costume drama, having fun playing dress-up in great designer clothes and jewelry.
When we spoke with the actress at Beverly Hills' Four Seasons hotel, it was like having coffee with a girlfriend on Sunday morning; a girlfriend you are very jealous of because she looks great without any make-up. Ashley was very casual in green hoodie and pink tank top. Her sunglasses were tossed atop her head. The busy actress admitted she'd just climbed out of the tub where she needed to relax and have a "Calgon moment" but we perked her up with our questions.
TeenHollywood: How did you research the part? Were you able to speak to anyone who actually knew Linda Porter?
Ashley: I wish, I really wish. We even contacted the Cole Porter estate to see if there was any moving picture documentation, if there was something from a premiere, and according to the Porter estate, there wasn't. I'm still hoping to do a little more research. All I know is that she was born into a very well regarded family of considerable social standing, but they didn't have a lot of money. She and her sister swapped dresses at debutant season, between them apparently. And everything that I know from her days with Cole came from lots of photos by important photographers, really pretty pictures, very artful. I always wanted to play somebody rich, I really did. They were RICH rich! I mean I own my home, have a car and have health insurance, and have children and can send them to school, but we're talking rich rich.
TeenHollywood: Linda's clothes and jewelry in this film are so gorgeous too.
Ashley: Yes. 
We were certainly aided and abetted by Armani and Verdura (classy jeweler) and Cartier, etc. but there was an expression of the day,very "Linda Porterish" and that was to describe someone who, like Linda, was beautifully turned out in impeccably cut clothes, really simple, highest quality, and a lot of jewelry.
TeenHollywood: Why is Cole Porter so immortal?
Ashley: He's a genius, definitely a genius. In our contemporary pop culture, people are really fascinated by people's life stories and Cole's lyrics were so explicit. They were incredibly witty, extremely intelligent, they at times were of the highest order of poetry, but all the while they were extremely personal, and really are on the razor's edge of what he was experiencing of life at that given moment. They described both internally and externally what was happening in his life and that's part of why I think they were so wonderful and still timely.
TeenHollywood: Did you learn anything interesting from reading biographies on Cole and Linda?
Ashley: Cole always revered his mother and she was always a strong person in his life, to the point that I think the father figure receded significantly, and Linda was seven years older than Cole and without a doubt he looked to her for approval. He never considered a song finished until Linda approved of it. His songs filled over 800 trunks and at one point he wrote "You're the Top" from the time it took him to ride from the ground floor to his apartment at the Waldorf Astoria. He couldn't help but being prolific, but after his legs were amputated, he never wrote again.
TeenHollywood: Can you talk about the apprehension you had about singing the songs?
Ashley: (laughs) I wasn't smart enough to have an apprehension about it at first. I had a healthy enough ego to think that I could have done a very reasonable if not good job and on the day it ended up being a real crisis of confidence for me. My knees were knocking. I should have (gone to my sister). The movie was really well underway by the time I was cast, the sets were chosen, they were doing pre-production. I didn't spend a lot of time at home preparing maybe in the way I should have. I did work on it with a really talented young friend who's a producer, and when I was singing scales with him to warm up he was going like this (laughter as she moves her hands down an octave on an imaginary piano). I have such a low voice but did a higher register for the film. I just was not comfortable with anything but it turned out amazingly in the movie but it was tricky.
TeenHollywood: Did you have confidence that you could pull it off?
Ashley: Music arranger and producer Stephen Endelman had to leave to go fetch his son and that was the day I was doing "In the Still of the Night" and so there was nobody there for me. At the last minute Kevin Kline wanted to sing it live and I went for that because I am nothing if not supportive of the creative people in my life. He wanted to do it live and by golly I wanted to do it live for him. But that was going to be harder on me.
TeenHollywood: What was it like working with Kevin?
Ashley: It was great. You know how funny Kevin is, he is so funny. I would look pretty and flirty and he'd (go into Cole Porter mode), "I'm gay" and he was just a delight to be around. He's meticulous in his craft, he's a worrywart for all the right reasons, for all the good noble reasons. He works his tail off.
TeenHollywood: I could understand what Porter saw in Linda, but what did Linda see in him?
Ashley: I don't know but I think he loved her authentically for who she was, and as important as sex is, it doesn't have to be the cornerstone of every enduring human relationship.
TeenHollywood: Linda really knew how to entertain and throw parties. Do you have any special entertaining secrets?
Ashley: Our house has become sort of the go-to house for holidays. My mother and sister will ask to have a party there even when we're (she and cute racing star hubby Dario Franchetti) out of town. Something I've learned so that I can enjoy a special party or evening is to really have the party settled in advance so that when my company arrives, I can be relaxed. I will set my table at 10:30 in the morning and get everything done and taken care of and I'm enough of a newlywed that I'm still turned on by all the silver and china and crystal and get all that out and look at it. That's something I really enjoy, is getting the house ready.
TeenHollywood: Were you a racing fan before you married Dario?
Ashley: I thought it was really silly. Literally as a child I'd be waiting for the basketball teams to get on (rather than watching racing on TV).
TeenHollywood: Linda and Cole lived in some great houses. Any you envy?
Ashley: I wouldn't say no to the little house on Rue Monsieur, it was a French townhouse, and from everything I have read, it was the most beautiful. Her house before she met Cole was like on a bachelorette scale and then the one that she and Cole shared was just a few doors down, it sounded so amazing. She had the first minimalist room with red lacquered Chinese furniture. She was an Egyptologist, she had been to Egypt many times before she had even met Cole.
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Lynn Barker is a Hollywood-based entertainment journalist and produced screenwriter.
