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Who said that the heart and soul of Dixie lies within the Deep South? It's really here in New York City, personified by Ms. Dixie Carter, Brandy Henderson on The Edge of Night. Dixie comes from Tennessee and brings with her all the loveliness, charm, and talent of a true Southern belle.
Much has been written about Dixie and her private life -- the waiting limousines, the fantastic Fifth Avenue apartment and her many comforts -- but these are not Dixie's number one priorities. "I'm so glad that I'm past thirty," she declared to our surprise. "What a great relief not to try so hard to be pleasing in one's life. At one time it used to matter to me if I were attractive to people. I tried to be pretty and tried all those products on the commercials, and all the magazine beauty hints."
Dixie won lavish praise for her role in the revival of Pal Joey last summer, but the experieince gained her more than rave reviews.
"I guess that I'm still growing up," she said. "The production had its problems, which were highly publicized. On opening night, the two understudies went on as the stars of the show! There were many days and nights when I cried about the unsatisfying experiences I had in this production. But for the first time, this summer, I discovered viscerally that I was responsible for who I was, where I was and what I was. I would have no one to share in the blame for my unhappiness but myself. We are always in complete control of everything we do. And I finally learned that I wasn't going to run home to Mama anymore."
Lately, more and more people have been attending various self-awareness training sessions and the most popular among actors is the Erhard Seminar Training program, known simply as EST. We asked Dixie if she had discovered any of her changes through this type of experience.
"No, not at all," she replied. "I was signed to take one of the seminars last year, but then I was offered the role of Desiree in A Little Night Music in Pittsburgh. I called the EST office, asking if I could postpone my training for a later period since I was going to do A Little Night Music. They seemed very annoyed and angry and practically told me not to take the role to fulfill my commitment with them. I couldn't believe it. Can you imagine?" The temperature of her intonation dropped from two hundred and twenty degrees farenheit to about two hundred degrees less as she continued. "I told them to keep the deposit and that was the end of EST."
Here is a lady who is certainly in charge of herself and she seems to love this feeling of finally getting herself together. A favorite subject is her two darling "little girls" as she refers to her young daughters.
"My children are like my arms and legs. They are part of me and they are with me all the time. I am their mother and they know it. I don't have to go down on my hands and knees to play with them. They have their friends to play with them. They just want me to be physically present. It was a little difficult for us when I was in Pal Joey, but I would be home at four and spend four hours with them until I left for my performance at the Circle In The Square Theatre at eight."
Suddenly, Dixie paused for a moment and her face began to glow as she said, "I've just become aware of what it means to be the mother of these two little girls. I had a similar feeling, or a suddden insight, one or two other times. It's a very strange feeling, isn't it?
"We spent our summer weekends in Stephen Landings, which is on the Hudson. I wanted to teach them how to swim and I sat by the pool just watching them play."
Dixie seemed to be remembering the sweet times of her own childhood, the days she spent playing with her older brother and sister. "My brother would set up tents and build tree houses for us and Grandmother lived next door. How I loved to be pushed on the swing! My parents read stories to us. Oh, how I loved to hear those stories. I loved it when people would read us stories." Dixie's voice became still softer, as if trying to recapture all the feelings of those wonderful days. "There was so much loving, so much touching. And there was so much feeling."
Do you feel that you are giving your two children in New York City the kind of childhood you had growing up? we asked. "New York is such a selfish place to live in for a child. The best places are the pastoral settings. But if children are loved, they can be happy anywhere!"
We asked if she saw little traits or gestures of herself in her children. "I can't believe the things I see," she responded. "The little gestures, the inflections of a relative who is no longer around. It's certainly a testimony to heredity. The mannerisms, the smiles -- it's beautiful." Surely as beautiful as Dixie herself, we thought, as she left to return to The Edge of Night studio. The memory of her smile lingered pleasantly all day long.
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