Grease legend Stockard Channing, 82, has revealed she is content being a recluse as she continues to cope with the loss of her long-time partner, producer Dan Gillham, who died in 2014. The actress, famed for playing Rizzo in the iconic musical film alongside John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, relocated from the US to London seven years ago following his death.
Life as a recluse
Once a regular at showbiz parties, Channing now admits she keeps to herself. Speaking about her life in her eighties and her decision not to have children, she said: "I’m happy being a recluse. Children were thought about and, yeah, I think about them now because it’d be great to have someone taking care of me. But hey, children can be just as selfish as everybody else out there."
In an interview with The Sunday Times Magazine, the star also confessed that Dan's death had a delayed emotional impact. "It was more devastating than I realised; it had a lag effect. The pattern of my life shifted, so I shifted my life from Maine [to London]," she explained.
Marriages and career
Channing has been married and divorced four times. Her first marriage was to wood sculptor Walter Channing Jr in 1963, ending in 1967. She then married professor Paul Schmidt in 1970, divorcing after six years. Her third marriage was to writer and producer David Deblin from 1976 to 1980, followed by businessman David Rawle in 1980, which ended eight years later. She met cinematographer and producer Daniel Gillham in 1990 and remained with him until his death.
Beyond Grease, Channing appeared in sitcoms and won a Tony for A Day in the Death of Joe Egg. More recently, she starred in The Good Wife. Later this year, she will reprise her role as Aunt Frances Owens in the anticipated film Practical Magic 2.
New ventures
Channing is also venturing into directing with her debut at the Edinburgh Festival, helming a production of Samuel Beckett's Dr Krapp's Last Tape. The play stars actor David Westhead as 69-year-old Krapp, who reflects on his life while listening to emotional tape recordings.
