Ah, yes, said Fitzgerald to Hemingway. "The very rich are different from you and me." "Yes," said Hemingway. "They have more money." And if you follow the prime-time soaps Dynasty and Dynasty II: The Colbys, you'll know the rich also have a fatal attraction for bitches. That famous chronicle of Western civilization, People, caught on to the main attraction of The Colbys almost immediately: "With her icy beauty, withering stare and the British accent she wields like a poison dart, Stephanie Beacham might just be the one to show Joan Collins the real meaning of she-deviltry." Welcome to another class of Playboy's Celebrity Archaeology 101. We uncovered these 1972 shots of Miss Beacham in our files. Back then, Stephanie was living "as a happy hippie," doing theater in London. She played lead roles for two of England's most important repertory companies, the Bristol Old Vic and the Oxford Playhouse. She played Mary, Queen of Scots, in a BBC production of The Queen's Traitor. She played opposite Donald Pleasance in Harold Pinter's double bill The Basement and Tea Party. She posed for Canadian artist André Durand and was voted by one organization as "the most sedate nude of the year." In 1972, we asked Doug Kirkland and Patrick Lichfield (that's Lord Lichfield to those of you who follow the real-life dynasty) to take a few photos of Stephanie. Our Photo Editor gave them the following assignment: The shots should be "beautiful, sexy, ethereal, fun, erotic, provocative, sensitive, interesting. Not asking for much. I'll settle for any three of the above."
Lichfield shot Stephanie as a blonde, natural child of the counterculture. Kirkland saw her as a brunette and asked her to pose in one of the Mod wigs of the day.
It was an important time in Stephanie's life. She had just landed a role opposite Marlon Brando in The Nightcomers. She told a reporter back then, "I am not a film star. I never will be. It's not me. I'm stubborn and definite about my acting and I am only satisfied when I'm playing the part perfectly."
