Ronald Neame was a distinguished English cinematographer who worked with David Lean on their earliest films–‘Great Expectations’, ‘The Happy Breed’, ‘Oliver Twist’ etc. He then moved into directing and had a relatively good–if perhaps a bit spotty–run, directing a diverse set of films which included ‘The Poseidon Adventure’ (which he called his favorite of his own films since it allowed him to retire comfortably), ‘Hopscotch’ with Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson and Judy Garland’s last film ‘I Could Go On Singing’. Above is a thirty minute clip of him discussing his exhausting collaboration with Judy, who was on her last legs more or less during the filming and certainly no director’s idea of a walk in the park. What a pain in the ass directing is! Neame is a wonderful story-teller and a polished, smooth gentleman who clearly prized professionalism over temperament and was able to hang on despite Garland’s many issues. Click here for Neame’s full Wikipedia bio. Neame lived to be 99, dying in 2010. When he was 95 he was interviewed and asked about his longevity. According to the Wiki article:

In an interview in 2006, he jokingly stated, “When people ask me about the secret to my longevity, I say the honest answer is two large vodkas at lunchtime and three large scotches in the evening. All my doctors have said to me, ‘Ronnie, if you would drink less, you’d live a lot longer.’ But, they’re all dead, and I’m still here at 95.”

How do they know he was joking?