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JACQUI (nat Jackie) CHAN
-don 9t ash
her about
Tony
By BETTY BEST, of our London staff
. Those who want to enjoy meet-
ing Jacqui Chan, if she visits Aus-
tralia in April as planned, should
keep off the question of her friend-
ship with Tony Armstrong-J ones. If
they do they will find that she is
charming. If they don't, they are
bound to be disappointed.
A T first glance the
name Jacqui Chan
does not look familiar. But
it sounds it. For the past
tei months it has featured
ip stories of the Royal
frmily in a subsidiary
role, misspelt Jackie Chan.
The misspelling is the key
to the mystery. For until now
Miss Chan has refused any#
pr vate interviews with repor-
ters and has avoided making
am correction in the spelling.
. hen she agreed to have
lunch to talk about her
planned trip to Australia in
Ajiril to star in the play "The
W rid of Suzie Wong," I was
w ned by- her agent that it
H on condition that I never
rr; ition the name of her old
fr 'nd who had married a
princess.
Fortunately, only a few days
bt ore we met, I had seen the
filn version of "The World
Of Suzie Wong," in which
Jacqui Chan, for me at any
rate, steals all her scenes.
She plays the featured part
of Gwennie, Suzie's friend,
who also is a prostitute in a
bar in sleazy-side Hongkong.
Such a performance could
only come from sound train-
ing, and after the compliments
I asked Miss Chan where she
got it. .
"I have been training ever
since my earliest teens," she
said, a slight tone of irrita-
tion in her voice. It was not
to be explained until later.
"I was born in Trinidad.
My mother is full Chinese and
my father half-Chinese, half
Russian. From as far back as
I can remember I wanted to
be a ballet dancer.
"I had lessons in Trinidad,
and when it was time for me
to go away to school (all chil-
dren in Trinidad do when they
are about 14), my parents let
me come to ballet school in
England.
"I went to Elmhurst in Sur-
rey, where dancing is a part
of the pupil's everyday life."
When she was 17 her
parents decided to let her go
to the Royal Academy of
Dancing in London for a
three-year teaching course.
But her own determination
and commonsense took over.
"After a year I knew that
I was far too impatient and
bad-tempered to teach anyone
else.
"And I wanted to be a per-
former myself."
Jacqui got a four-month
run with the Windsor reper-
tory "company in "Teahouse of
the August Moon,'' then in
the same show in London.
After a year she went
straight to principal dancer in
"The King and I."
From there on Jacqui's
career has been non-stop suc-
cess: Principal dancer in
Till now she's told everyone:
"Print whatever you like"
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" ballet,
one of the dancing Ababoos in
"Kismet," principal dancer
in "Simply Heavenly," and
finally a straight role in the
West Indian play "Moon on a
Rainbow Shawl."
When "Suzie Wong" came
to town, Jacqui was a natural
for the cast. She took a fea-
tured part and understudied
Suzie* which she got a chance
to play for three weeks, with
excellent notices from the
critics.
She had been approached
to play in the film when Tony
Armstrong-Jones' engagement
none Help
ACTRESS Jacqui Chan in a brocade jacket, the only Chinese gar-
ment she owns. It was a Christmas present. Jacqui is quarter
Russian, three-quarters Chinese, diminutive and enchanting.
to Princess Margaret was an-
nounced.
Her dressing-room at the
Prince of Wales Theatre was
besieged by reporters and pho-
tographers who knew she had
been a good friend of Tony's.
Her private life was haunted
for months by inquiring gossip
writers. She was adamantly
discreet, refusing all pleas to
"talk."
I was very conscious of this
as she reached this period in
her story, so I merely said:
"But I'm amazed you have
had such a successful stage
career for so many years, and
yet I've seen you described
only as a photographer's
model."
For nearly a minute she
looked at me in silence, seem-
ing to weigh up the possibili-
ties of once more being mis-
quoted. Then suddenly, and
almost with a pent-up sense
of relief, it all came out:
"That's what makes me so
sick. You see, I've been earn-
ing a good living by acting
and dancing for more than
four years. Yet when all this
business about Tony came up,
everyone forgot it.
"I have never actually
worked as a photographer's
fashion model in my life,
although everyone said I did
- just to link me with Tony,
I suppose.
"The fact is that I was pho-
tographed for glossy maga-
zines in model clothes like
any other actress or dancer is
in London.
"Then as soon as the en-
gagement was announced,
writers began to ask all sorts
of personal questions I had
no intention of answering.
"When I saw that in spite
of my saying nothing they
still printed stories about me,
which they made up, and that
they couldn't even bother to
get the spelling of my name
right, I got furious.
"So when they rang to ask
silly questions I just said,
'Look, don't bother to ring
me when you want a story.
Just say whatever you want
to say - because you will,
anyhow, and you never listen
to my answers.'
"I felt it was the only atti-
tude I could take. I was never
dying of a broken heart, no
matter how often they said
so. Do I look as if I am?
"The real truth is this. Tony
and I were good friends. But
there were many other friends
just as close to him as I was."
"May I say that?" I
asked.
"Yes, if you say it right.
And also if you make it clear
that I do not owe my career
to all that sort of publicity.
"The suggestion that I had
never been offered a job until
all this business is what makes
me so mád. It just isn't true.
"If you explain that I did
quite well without all that,
that in fact it has hindered,
not helped, people taking me
seriously as an actress, I think
it might be a good thing.
"I would also appreciate it
if you would warn reporters
in Australia that I don't
answer any questions on this
subject. It might not make
any difference, but at least
they have been warned and it
might save us all a lot of
time."
So there it is.
With photographer Alec
Murray I visited Jacqui's
Chelsea flat, went with her to
some local shops.
We chatted of her recent
television success in the lead
of a straight play, "Without
the Grail." We discussed her
recent cabaret act, which was
a wild success, and the record
she made of "But No One
Knows" and "Gentlemen,
Please."
Finally she said that she
longed to play Suzie in Aus-
tralia.
"Creating the role with a
new cast, I could give it the
interpretation which suits me,
and not have to fit in with
someone else's, as an under-
study always must do."
But never again did we dis-
cuss that old friendship or
refer to our previous conver-
sation, even obliquely.
none Help
# Sorting her ward-
robe. The doll is
"George," with
whom she danced
in "Kismet."
none Help
# Morning orange
juice at the restau-
rant owned by Aus-
tralian Peter
Bathurst.
none Help
# Marketing in
King's Road, near
her flat. Fruit is
sometimes from her
native Trinidad.
none Help
# In the doorway
of the Georgian
house in Chelsea,
where she has her
bachelor flat.
$