MANILA, Philippines?Recently, I read a rather extensive biography of Ava Gardner, one of Hollywood?s greatest beauties ever. The Kentucky native was even more breathtaking in person. She was a shapely woman who had high cheekbones, green eyes, alabaster skin and auburn hair.

It?s no wonder why she was the favorite of Hollywood?s photographers and cinematographers. It is said that she had no bad side, unless she got off on the wrong side of the bed (then, she?d let the world know that she was in no mood to mess around with anyone). She could swear like a sailor, but walked with innate grace and confidence.

Thirst for knowledge

However, despite Gardner?s legendary beauty, she always felt inferior. Artie Shaw, her second husband, made her feel intellectually inadequate, despite her thirst for knowledge. Gardner was a backwoods girl, and she never forgot it!

As a result, she felt that her stellar sheen was only invented by Hollywood and thought she didn?t really know how to act. After many years in the business, though, she learned the trade and was looked up to by directors. Nevertheless, she underestimated herself as an actress and turned down roles she thought were beyond her capability.

For example, she turned down ?Love Me or Leave Me? because she suspected her voice would be dubbed (again) by a better singer. After all, her voice was dubbed in ?Show Boat? after she was made to believe that MGM would utilize her own voice.

So, Ava passed up the musical biography of Ruth Etting because she was afraid the studio would again ?insult? her by using someone else?s singing voice. The role went to Doris Day, who was in the process of transforming herself from an All-American beauty into a sexy dramatic actress. Day reaped great critical acclaim for her performance in the Etting film bio.

Screen life

One wonders how much more exciting the nightclub performer?s screen life would have been in the hands of the exciting and fiery Ava, who had already received a well-deserved Best Actress nomination for ?Mogambo.?

She was also offered the role of an aging, alcoholic star in Tennessee Williams? ?Sweet Bird of Youth,? but the great beauty thought that her reputation as a heavy drinker was too close to the role of a promiscuous, drug-dependent star, so she turned it down as well. Later, she expressed regret because Geraldine Page ?inherited? the role that cast her opposite Paul Newman and earned her a Best Actress Oscar nomination.

In the late ?60s, Ava was offered the role of Mrs. Robinson, an erotic matron who seduces her daughter?s young boyfriend, portrayed by newcomer Dustin Hoffman in ?The Graduate.? Again, she felt that the sexy but aging character was too close to home, so she also turned down the role that went to Anne Bancroft.