Shaw Fest Gets “Fair Lady” Bequest
Emma Thompson, who is adapting the new movie version of “My Fair Lady,” has been slagging off on the original movie’s star, Audrey Hepburn. So it’s only right that Miss Emma’s project has to benefit something on a more positive note: The Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., has announced an unusual bequest under which it will receive part of the proceeds from the musical and film rights of “My Fair Lady,” the beloved (by some) adaptation of one of Bernard Shaw‘s plays. On Monday, the festival announced establishment of the Gabriel Pascal Memorial Fund in honour of the man who convinced Shaw to allow film and musical adaptations of his works. Gabriel Pascal produced film versions of Shaw’s Major Barbara and Pygmalion in 1938 and 1941. He also bought an option for the musical My Fair Lady in 1954. Pascal died that year at age 60, and the option, at that time without value, passed to his wife.
