Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life

26. Divorce

327 26 Divorce I done my time with one cold-blooded bastard. I’m not looking for another. —Alma, Hud (1963) The filming of Ghost Story not only got Patricia in front of the camera again; it also put an ocean between her and her husband. In England, Roald told newspaper writer Nancy Mills, “When Pat’s away, I love to stay here and mind my own business,” which consisted of taking care of Ophelia and Lucy. Roald also spent time in London’s gambling casinos. “I go more often when Pat’s away. I love it. Pat doesn’t like gambling, so I can’t enjoy myself when she’s at my elbow,” Roald said.1 Her relationship with Roald was very shaky, but Patricia was finally able to effect a reconciliation on another front. While she was in New England filming Ghost Story, Patricia read in the papers about the death of Dr. John Converse, husband of Veronica Cooper Converse. Patricia sent a letter of condolence, which read in part: Dear Rocky, Time passes so quickly and we endure many crises—life, death, and great, great pain. I have for many years wanted to write you and to express my deepest regret for your loss of Gary. . . . Do, please do, accept my sympathy and know that I have respected you. . . . Again, my compassion and my sincere love, As I am, Patricia Neal2 Facing page: Patricia Neal, circa 1990s. Photograph by Bill Donovan, from the Patricia Neal Collection. Shearer฀book.indb฀฀฀327 3/16/2006฀฀฀12:17:53฀PM 328 Patricia Neal: An Unquiet Life Within a few weeks, Patricia received a reply: Pat Dear, . . . [Y]ou surely have carried your cross as I have. A priest here told me that that act lets us bypass Purgatory. Let’s hope he’s right. Do, dear Pat, let me know when next you are in this city. The three of us [Rocky, Patricia, and Maria] can have lunch up here and perhaps you can buck me up if anyone can. Life is surely full of surprises. . . . Affectionately, Rocky3 Tessa and James Kelly married on February 28, 1981, at the Little Missenden church, the same church where the Dahl children were baptized, and where Olivia was buried. The Kellys took up residence in Boston. Tessa was still a surrogate mother–figure for her younger siblings, and according to Dahl biographer Jeremy Treglown, Lucy was a troubled teenager. With Theo’s help, Tessa found an excellent school for the sixteen-year-old, the Cambridge School at Weston, Massachusetts, a progressive academy. Said Tessa, “If all goes well, Lucy will stay there until she’s 18.”4 During his brief visit to the States that summer, Roald told Boston Globe writer Susan Slavetin, “People get tired of being with each other for years—day in, day out. They need some time away from each other.” After he’d wandered off, Patricia shrugged off his comment by telling the reporter , “‘Men are such conceited asses. But I love being here on the Vineyard. Tomorrow we’ll have a gorgeous party. Cagney will be here. Hellman, too.’ She smiles broadly. Somehow, the smile does not synch with what seems to be a great well of sadness in her eyes.” The Dahls’ marriage had become a charade.5 On June 7, 1981, Patricia was a presenter at the Thirty-Fifth Annual Tony Awards, held at the Mark Hellinger Theatre in New York and broadcast over CBS. She then returned to her Edgartown home on the Vineyard for the summer, leaving from time to time to go on the lecture circuit. In July, while at the Vineyard, she received word that NiNi had suffered a stroke that paralyzed her left side. Eura Neal went to her older daughter’s side in Atlanta, and Patricia stayed in constant touch by telephone. Fortunately, NiNi’s recovery was quicker than Patricia’s had been. Shortly after that crisis, Patricia once more journeyed to the Abbey of Regina Laudis in Connecticut. While there, she announced that she was goShearer ฀book.indb฀฀฀328 3/16/2006฀฀฀12:17:53฀PM Divorce 329 ing to become a Catholic. Roald declined to take instruction with Patricia, and she began her instruction alone. In October Patricia traveled to Dallas, where she was honored at the USA Film Festival’s Great Actress/Actor retrospective—the first woman to receive the retrospective...