Clearly I’m not referring to the real Anne Frank, although I did visit the real Anne Frank home in Amsterdam three years ago. I am of course talking about the young actress Millie Perkins who made her acting debut in the 1959 film The Diary of Anne Frank. Perkins, who at the time had no experience as an actress, was hand-picked by Oscar winning director (and former Hal Roach Studios cinematographer and director) George Stevens, who had only seen her on the cover of several magazines.
Young Millie had never sought a career as a model or as an actress, but after The Diary of Anne Frank, she was an overnight success. Unfortunately the critical success and popularity did not translate into a long career in acting. Although she continued to get minor roles all the way into the mid-2000’s, they were mostly supporting roles in either lesser-known theatrical or TV movies.
I wasn’t able to attend the Hollywood Show during the summer of 2010, when I heard that Millie Perkins was going to be there, I asked my friend Bob to grab me a signed photo. I don’t do that very often anymore, typically only buying autographs if they correspond to a meeting with the person.
Millie Perkins with Joseph Schildkraut, who played her father Oscar in the film
Luckily, I did in fact get the chance to meet her when she came to Chicago and visited the Hollywood Celebrities Show on Saturday, October 1, 2011. She said she was being forced by her handler to charge the extra $10 to get a picture, but by this point I was okay with that. Millie was as nice as could be and I was thrilled to be able to finally get the chance to meet her.
Celebrities of the Fall 2011 Hollywood Celebrities Show will continue…
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