Heart like a racer (Shirley Muldowney)

In the 1990s, I was the auto-racing writer at the Charleston (S.C.) Post & Courier, and drag-racing great Shirley Muldowney was supposed to race at a nearby track. The P.R. folks  set up a phone interview, and I called her from Charlotte Motor Speedway, where I was covering a race that weekend.

I don't remember a ton about the interview, but it was as much fun as I've had talking to a driver or athlete. Muldowney was a great talker, and she had a fun personality. Both of us laughed a lot.

We started talking about the movie "Heart Like a Wheel," which followed her career. I'd seen it and liked it, but it was obvious Muldowney didn't like it.

She had wanted another actress other than Bonnie Bedelia playing her. She admitted that Bedelia was pretty and a fine actress, but she had wanted Jamie Lee Curtis. Years after the 1983 movie had been made, it still bothered her.

"Anyone would want Jamie Lee Curtis," she insisted.

After I re-watched  another 1983 movie, "Trading Places," with Curtis as one of the stars, I realized why Muldowney would have thought that. Watch "Trading Places" again. You'll see.

 
EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  TWITTER: EDITORatWORK

More entries from TARJ

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

EDITOR@WORK blog entries 

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• What I do when I'm editing

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 12 years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!