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| The beauty of detachment |
Born 1934. At first it she was Nina Magdelena Møller. From
Denmark. Then, after marrying Frederik Jan Gustav Floris, Baron van Pallandt,
she became Nina, Baroness van Pallandt… or just Nina Van Pallandt. They
formed an unlikely singing duo, Nina & Frederik. Sang folk music, including
calypso (!?). Had chart success. Divorced. Nina became a film star. Frederick was
murdered in a drug deal.
The future is calling me...
With Nina van Pallandt, the ciphers don’t line up, but still
the lock opens. A mystery. We have an attractive woman who is way too European
for the 1960s—and the 1960s loved all things European—or thought it did. Somehow,
with that elegant poise, Teutonic mannerisms, and a royal title, maybe we understand
the cultural confusion. But her awkwardness bespeaks knowledge, not nativity.
It’s odd, but there’s an American vibe coming from her attitude, from the
way she half-regards a threat; a rebellious nature not found down the cold
corridors of the Danish Queens. Her spirit was not indolent.
Nina, a free spirit on a windy beach, the Pacific Ocean frames her figure. And that’s why Robert Altman chose her for The Long Goodbye, for the character Eileen Wade, because of her organic, outsider status. That slight, indeterminate accent that lets you know she’s a survivor. 'Yes', we feel,' she belongs in Malibu much more than Barbie'. A 1960s beach bunny wouldn’t have worked. Beauty isn’t symmetrical; it’s the appearance of symmetry. Meet Nina.
Eileen Wade. It’s her greatest role unless you count the
earlier one—as a Danish folk singer married to a royal soon-to-be drug
smuggler. Nina Van Pallandt proves that detachment is just another way of belonging.
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#raymondchandler #cliffordirving #howardhughes #ibizia