Kannada actor Shivarajkumar’s wife Geetha Shivarajkumar is fighting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Shimoga constituency. Earlier this week, the actor was spotted campaigning for her.

Lok Sabha elections 2024: The Karnataka unit of the BJP has filed for a ban on the films, advertisements and billboards of Canada actor Shivarajkumar till the end of the Lok Sabha polls as his wife, Geetha Shivarajkumardisputed on a Congress card of the Shimoga seat and the actor is reportedly campaigning for the old party.

On Friday, the BJP wrote a letter to the Electoral Commissionurging the poll panel to ban the screening of Shivarajkumar’s films, advertisements and billboards as the actor was reportedly campaigning for the Congress in the run-up to the elections. Lok Sabha polls.

In the letter, Karnataka State President of BJP OBC Morcha Wing and senior BJP leader R Raghu stated that Shivarajkumar, a prominent figure in the state and currently involved in a “statewide election campaign for the Congress Party”, has significant influence over the population. through his cinematic work and ‘public persona’.

“While we respect his right to participate in the democratic process, it is imperative to maintain a level playing field and avoid any unnecessary advantage or influence during the election period,” Raghu said.

The BJP leader urged the EC to ban the screening of Shivarajkumar’s films, advertisements and billboards till the end of the general elections as his “significant influence and popularity” could be used to benefit the electorate of the rival party.

Raghu requested the poll authority to take immediate action by issuing an order to cinema halls, TV channels, social media platforms and local organizations to refrain from showing films, advertisements or billboards featuring Shivrajkumar till the end of polls.

Manoj Kumar Meena, Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka, said the poll body is investigating the letter.

Shivarajkumar’s wife Geetha Shivarajkumar is fighting the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from Shimoga constituency. Earlier this week, the actor was spotted campaigning for her.

Lok Sabha Elections to the 28 seats in Karnataka will be held in two phases on April 26 and May 7.

(With PTI inputs)

Hollywood actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas wants to collaborate with famous Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The duo previously worked together in Bajirao Mastani. Read through.

Mumbai: Hollywood actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas has been making headlines ever since she visited India with her husband Nick Jonas and daughter Maltie Marie. Now, according to several media reports, director and producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali plans to collaborate with the Baywatch actress, after meeting the diva, the Heeramandi director wants to involve Priyanka Chopra Jonas in one of his projects. Read more.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas to collaborate with Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Will Priyanka Chopra make a comeback in Indian cinema?

A news report published by The Hindustan Times confirmed that Priyanka’s visit to India is purely work-based. The report revealed: “For Priyanka, the trip to India is purely for work. Besides attending the event in Mumbai, she has several things planned. She has back to back meetings in different capacities (sic).” The information further revealed, “She (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) also has a production house and she has decided to put some emphasis on it. She is meeting people to complete three or four of the next projects under her banner (sic).”

Priyanka Chopra Jonas to collaborate in a Hindi project?

The Hollywood diva plans to collaborate on a Hindi project soon. However, it is clear that Priyanka has not made any official announcements. The news agency revealed, “She knows there is a lot of curiosity about her next Hindi project and wants to wrap up a project soon. She goes through different scripts and meets with different creators to arrive at the same decision. In fact, she also meets Sanjay Leela Bhansali for an action project set in a different period. She liked the project and is now meeting Bhansali to decide on the timeline, schedule and costumes (sic)”.

Priyanka Chopra visits Ayodhya Ram Mandir

On March 20, Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas along with their daughter Maltie Marie visited Ayodhya to seek blessings from Ram Lalla. Another video showed Priyanka and her family heading to Ayodhya airport. Priyanka took to Instagram where she shared pictures of Ayodhya. The diva wore a yellow saree, Nick wore a white printed kurta and their daughter Malti wore a peach colored outfit.

Take a look at Priyanka Chopra Jonas’ Instagram post:

Are you excited to see Priyanka Chopra Jonas make a comeback in Indian cinemas? Stay tuned for the latest updates on Priyanka’s upcoming project!

By Adam S. Levy for Dailymail.com

Published: 5:40 PM EDT, March 20, 2024 | Updated: 6:05 PM EDT, March 20, 2024

The actor who played Willy Wonka in the failed ‘immersive’ experience in Glasgow has said he was embarrassed by the performance, adding he hasn’t had as many opportunities as the viral Oompa Loompas.

Parents were furious when the event in Glasgow ended early and left children in tears last month when they were given a lollipop instead of a river of chocolate.

Today, 18-year-old Michael Archibald, who played the main character of ‘Willy McDuff’, went on Good Morning Britain and said he initially applied for the job because he needed money.

He said: ‘For me this started as a small job search.

‘I live on my own and am alienated [from my family] since I was 17.

“I’m currently 18. I said I was going to go there and get a job, make money and move there for the summer, and it went downhill from there.

Michael said he thought an acting job sounded like fun and he came across the Willy Wonka experience and was intrigued by the gig.

“There wasn’t even a chocolate bar in sight,” he added.

‘I was very ashamed. I was standing in front of all these people and a lot of people were like, ‘Wow, he’s so unenthusiastic,’ but that’s because I didn’t want to be there in the first place.”

The Oompa Loopmas went viral online for their unimpressed facial expressions at the event and their ‘cheap’ looking costumes.

Kirsty Paterson, 30, who played one of the orange characters, admitted that the attention from the failed event has given her more opportunities.

She said: ‘For me the media has been amazing, it opens doors for me that I never knew could be opened. It was my dream to always be a children’s presenter and work for charities.’

Jenny Fogarty, 25, who played another Oompa Loompa, said the response from the media attention was ‘hugely positive’.

“It’s wild, none of us could have expected this outcome,” she added.

The pair have racked up millions of views on TikTok since revealing they were in fact the two women behind the viral memes.

But Michael, who played the main character in the experience, said he hasn’t been given as many opportunities as other actors and actresses.

‘What really sucks is that I didn’t get many opportunities out of this for myself. The documentary and all that is because people were very late in releasing videos of me and no one really reached out,” he said.

The event was canceled halfway through as angry mothers, fathers and grandparents demanded refunds. Organizers have promised to give people their money back.

Kirsty previously said that all the actors went to the pub after their experience and returned to find four police vans at the location.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said officers were called to the canceled event and ‘advice was given’.

House of Illuminati, the event’s organizers, said they would refund families within a period of 10 business days.

But Jenny says she hasn’t seen many being processed.

Kirsty said: ‘Parents came to me that day and said this is what they got their child for Christmas and I just can’t get over it and they don’t have the money back.’

Michael added that the event’s organizer has “gone completely MIA” since it took place last month.

In a statement on the House of Illuminati Facebook page, they said: “Today has been a very stressful and frustrating day for many and we are truly sorry.

‘Unfortunately we were let down at the last minute in many areas of our event and we did our best to carry on and persevere, and now we realize that we probably should have canceled first thing this morning.

“We fully apologize for what happened and will provide full refunds to everyone who purchased tickets.

‘We had a fantastic event planned and it just didn’t take shape as planned and for that we are really sorry, we are devastated at how this has turned out and understand the anger and frustration that everyone has had, refunds have already been issued and the rest should be in the coming days, again we really are [sic] Sorry to everyone.”

David Tennant gives himself a good wash as he transforms into the next James Bond for an upcoming Comic Relief sketch airing on Friday.

The actor, 52, looked dapper as he donned a black button-up jacket with red trim and buttons.

The Doctor Who star paired the smart jacket with an all-black suit and enjoyed his martini, shaken and not stirred, as he fully embraced the character.

Balancing the martini on the roof of his Comic Relief Aston Martin, David made sure he would travel in style in the vehicle.

Viewers will get the chance to get their hands on the stylish ride for themselves as Chris Evans and CarFest have donated the vehicle for the event.

David will join a host of co-presenters for the charity evening, while Sir Lenny Henry will present the fundraising show for the final time this year, after 39 years of presenting the comedy telethon.

Also co-presenting are Joel Dommett, Maya Jama, Davina McCall, Paddy McGuinness, Rosie Ramsey and Romesh Ranganathan.

The evening guarantees lots of fun with hysterical sketches, including David’s role as Bond.

Some of the country’s favorite stars will provide an evening of music, entertainment and comedy to keep audiences laughing.

Ahead of Sir Lenny’s departure, the evening will also include a sketch about the search for his replacement, with famous faces and Sir Lenny performing I’m Just Len, his own version of the Oscar-nominated song I’m Just Ken from the Barbie blockbuster.

The Traitors also returns as a cast of award-winning actors and comedians have signed up to play some of the most iconic characters from series two in a parody film version of the hit BBC One show.

Featuring a star-studded celebrity cast, Suranne Jones transformed into Claudia Winkleman, The Traitors: The Movie will bring to life some of the series’ most iconic moments with some of the nation’s favorite contestants.

Explaining why Red Nose Day is worth watching, Lenny told the BBC: ‘Because it will be packed with content, all your favorite presenters and loads of special surprises.

“It will probably be the best night of my life because it’s my last year as host and I know there will be a lot of surprises.

‘So you have to adapt to that. Plus all the incredible films the brilliant team created and worked so hard on. It will be very nice.’

The money raised by Red Nose Day will go to organizations helping to tackle homelessness, poverty and mental health, along with other causes in Britain and around the world.

Speaking about the fact that this is his last year as presenter of the show, Sir Lenny told BBC News: ‘I think I’ll be incredibly proud because it’s been a huge part of my life and to see a new generation people it moves forward – we have I’ve got Maya Jama, David Tennant, Romesh Ranganathan – there are such huge numbers of people coming to it.

‘It will be fantastic to leave knowing that – I’m getting emotional now – there’s a new group of people taking over and treating it the same way we did.’

He also said: ‘This is a good time to part ways and give a new generation the opportunity to take over and kick things off a bit.’

By Jason Chester for MailOnline

Published: 08:05 EDT, March 13, 2024 | Updated: 08:57 EDT, March 13, 2024

Sharon Stone has finally revealed the identity of the producer who pressured her to have sex with a co-star for the first time — as well as the actor she had to get intimate with to improve on-screen chemistry.

The actress, 66, previously discussed the situation with her 2021 memoir – without revealing identities – but has now revealed the producer was Robert Evans, the actor Alec Baldwin‘s brother Billy, and the movie was Sliver in 1993.

Evans, who died in 2019, was also a producer on Chinatown and The Cotton Club, and led production at Paramount on The Godfather, The Italian Job, True Grit and The Great Gatsby.

Sliver was Sharon’s next film after achieving major success and megastardom in last year’s hit Basic Instinct.

Speaking Louis Theroux’s podcastshe said, “They expected me to take home another huge hit and they gave me casting approval and they gave me all these approvals, but when it came time for me to do it, they told me it was a vanity deal and I couldn’t get my approval.

“Then they started blaming me for their mistakes, and they made terrible mistakes in the way they hired and cast directors.”

She said former actor and producer Evans called her into his office from filming to ask her to sleep with lead actor William Baldwin – one of four acting brothers, and better known as Billy – as compensation.

She said: ‘He called me into his office. It had really low couches from the 70s and 80s, so I’m actually sitting on the floor when I should have been standing on the set.

“And he runs around his office in sunglasses explaining to me that he slept with Ava Gardner and that I should sleep with Billy Baldwin because if I slept with Billy Baldwin, Billy Baldwin’s performance would be better.

“And we needed Billy to get better in the movie because that was the problem.

“And if I could sleep with Billy, we’d have on-screen chemistry, and if I just had sex with him, that would save the movie, and the real problem with the movie was me, because I was so tense, and so not like a real actress who can just fuck him and get things back on track. The real problem was that I was so tight.’

Sharon said that when she heard his request, she simply thought that he had not listened to the list of actors she had suggested for Baldwin’s role of Zeke Hawkins, and was frustrated that the film’s bosses expected them not to be more would co-star with Michael Douglas. Baldwin’s basic instinct.

She added: “I didn’t have to fuck Michael Douglas. Michael could come to work and know how to hit those marks, and do that line, and rehearse and show up. Now suddenly I’m in the ‘I have to fuck people’ business.”

Sharon said that Sliver still took in a significant $280 million at the box office even though it fell short of expectations.

The original excerpt about the incident from her memoir, titled The Beauty of Living Twice, read: ‘I had a producer take me to his office, where he had malted milk balls in a small milk carton under his arm with the spout open.

“He was pacing back and forth in his office with balls falling out of the spout and rolling across the wooden floor as he explained to me why I had to fuck my costar so we could have on-screen chemistry,” she recalled.

‘Why did he make love to Ava Gardner on screen in his day and it was so sensational!

“Just the creepy thought of him in the same room with Ava Gardner gave me pause. Then I realized that she also had to put up with him and pretend that he was somehow interesting.”

Sharon said all she could think about was that the actor in question, who they insisted on hiring, “failed to pass one entire scene in the test.”

“Do you think if I fuck him he’ll make a great actor?” No one is that good in bed,” she noted. ‘I felt like they could have just hired a co-star with talent, someone who could deliver a scene and remember his lines. I also felt like they could fuck him themselves and leave me out of it. It was my job to act and I said so.

‘This was not a popular response. I was considered difficult.’

Nevertheless, Billy, now 61, has since built up an extensive resume of film and TV credits of his own, including Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Gossip Girl.

And just two years after Sliver, in 1995, the actor married Chynna Phillips – daughter of Mamas & the Papas bandmates John and Michelle Phillips.

The couple, who have since welcomed three children together, had recently laid bare their marital problems in a series of candid YouTube clips.

The couple opened up about a serious “rift” in their relationship after Chynna converted to Christianity.

Elsewhere during the interview, Sharon shed light on working with Total Recall star Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Speaking about her co-star, she shared how the hunk helped her “lift weights” and build muscle for the film ahead of their on-screen fight scene as husband and wife.

She also described him as a “brilliant man” as she delved into her time together with Schwarzenegger.

Moving on to Sharon’s love life, the two discussed Sharon’s use of the dating app Bumble after Louis pointed out that she was “kicked off for pretending to be herself.”

Furthermore, she also reveals that she “ended up undergoing all kinds of different kinds of experiments.”

While on the app during the pandemic, she found herself “Facetiming people and chatting for long periods of time,” describing the dates she was on as an “emergency.”

Best photo

American fiction

Anatomy of a fall

Barbie

The survivors

Killers of the Flower Moon

Master

Oppenheimer – WINNER

Past lives

Poor things

The zone of interest

Best director

Justine Triet, Anatomy of a fall

Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon

Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer – WINNER

Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor things

Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest

Actress in a leading role

Annette Bening, Nyad

Lily Gladstone, Killers of the Flower Moon

Sandra Huller, Anatomy of a Fall

Carey Mulligan, master

Emma Stone, Poor Things – WINNER

Actor in a leading role

Bradley Cooper, master

Colman Domingo, Rustin

Paul Giamatti, The Remains

Cillian Murphy, Oppenheimer – WINNER

Jeffrey Wright, American Fiction

Actress in a supporting role

Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer

Danielle Brooks, The Color Purple

America Ferrera, Barbie

Jodie Foster, Nyad

Da’Vine Joy Randolph, The Holdovers – WINER

Actor in a supporting role

Sterling K. Brown, American Fiction

Robert De Niro, Killers of the Flower Moon

Robert Downey Jr., Oppenheimer – WINNER

Ryan Gosling, Barbie

Mark Ruffalo, Poor Things

Animation film

The Boy and the Heron – WINNER

Elementary

Nimona

Robot dreams

Spider-Man: About the Spider-Verse

Cinematography

El Conde

Killers of the Flower Moon

Master

Oppenheimer, Hoyte van Hoytema – WINNER

Poor things

Original screenplay

Anatomy of a Fall, Justine Triet and Arthur Harari – WINNER

The Remains, David Hemingson

Maestro, Bradley Cooper and Josh Singer

May December, Samy Burch (Story b Samy Burch & Alex Mechanik)

Past Lives, Celine Song

Adapted scenario

American Fiction, Cord Jefferson – WINNER

Barbie, Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach

Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan

Poor things, Tony McNamara

The Zone of Interest, Jonathan Glazer

Achievement in production design

Barbie

Killers of the Flower Moon

Napoleon

Oppenheimer

Poor Things, Production Design: James Price and Shona Heath; Set decoration: Zsuzsa Mihalek – WINNER

HIS onscreen swagger — and those unforgettable belted cardigans — made Paul Michael Glaser the epitome of 1970s cool. Starring alongside David Soul in the iconic detective show Starsky & Hutch, Paul, who played the streetwise Starsky, was all action, all wisecracks.

So indelibly is he linked to his most famous macho cop character, it’s something of a ­surprise to be faced with such a thoughtful, introspective man.

Part of that introspection may lie in the fact that this is his first interview since David Soul — aka the more cerebral Hutch — died in January at the age of 80.

For women of a certain vintage, when David passed away, part of our girlhood went with him.

But Paul lost a ‘brother, a friend, a caring man’. Despite the fact the series — in which the pair tore around the streets of the ­fictional Bay City, California, in the distinctive red and white Ford Gran Torino — ended in 1979, the actors remained close for the next 40 years.

In the immediate aftermath of Soul’s death, Paul admitted he found it ‘difficult to comprehend David’s passing . . . It just takes time, I tell myself; saying goodbye to such a dear friend and important part of my life I suspect that I will let myself feel his loss, our loss, only gradually. We shall never see his like again’.

These were feelings clearly reciprocated by David Soul: he described Paul on Twitter late last year as someone who ‘is and will always be my best friend, my brother’.

While Soul had to overcome demons in his private life — married five times, he battled issues with alcohol — his friendship with his former co-star remained constant.

Glaser was even pictured carefully ­pushing his friend in a wheelchair in 2017 at an event they attended together — a hip replacement that went wrong had seen Soul spend 72 days in intensive care.

Though the cause of David’s death has not been disclosed, he was known to have ­previously battled cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease — a life-shortening lung condition he attributed to having been a heavy smoker at one time.

‘We spoke about a week and a half before he died,’ says Paul, now 80, ‘and even though I knew he hadn’t been doing well for a while, because he and I would talk about it a lot, I just didn’t know how fast it was happening’.

For all his success, loss has, sadly, been an all-too-prominent feature of Paul’s life. In 1988, his daughter, Ariel, died, not long after celebrating her seventh birthday. Six years later, in 1994, his wife of 14 years, Elizabeth, also died, aged 47.

Both mother and daughter lost their lives due to complications from Aids — a terrible disease that carried a huge stigma for ­sufferers back then, even those living in the glossy world of Hollywood. As Elizabeth said, before tragedy struck, they had been ‘the picture-perfect family’.

Nevertheless, the Glaser ­family’s devastating experience was turned into something positive. Elizabeth created a foundation to fund research into Aids/HIV, and it was hearing her story that helped inspire Princess Diana’s work in this field, with the two women becoming friends.

In 1994 Diana visited the Glasers at their holiday home in Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

‘I really liked her — she was fun, available and very approachable,’ says Paul.

‘And she came to see Elizabeth — not me,’ he adds. ‘I was just Elizabeth’s husband.’

Paul and Elizabeth, a teacher, had met in 1975 after he spotted her in an LA traffic jam. He ­signalled to her to pull over and then jokingly asked to see her driver’s licence and registration. Starsky & Hutch had yet to air, but his charm clearly worked.

They married after five years together and the births of their two children followed.

But in 1985, they sought medical advice after becoming worried about the persistent and severe stomach aches from which four-year-old Ariel had been suffering.

After numerous tests, the couple — Paul was then 42 and Elizabeth 38 — were devastated to learn their little girl had tested positive for HIV.

This was, after all, a time when Aids was an almost certain death sentence, and ignorance meant those who carried HIV were often shunned by their communities, something the Glasers would experience themselves.

It transpired that Elizabeth had contracted the virus directly after giving birth to Ariel in 1981 — from a contaminated blood transfusion she needed after she had suffered a haemorrhage.

This was at a time early on in the Aids epidemic when blood ­donations were not routinely screened for HIV — indeed, a test for the virus became available only in 1985.

Unaware she had been infected, Elizabeth began breastfeeding Ariel and, in doing so, is believed to have passed the virus on to her baby daughter.

In 1984, still unaware of her HIV status, Elizabeth gave birth to the couple’s second child, Jake. ­Following Ariel’s diagnosis, it was later discovered that he, too, had been infected with HIV — having contracted it in the womb.

Paul, however, escaped infection — the virus can be passed on ­during intercourse — because he is a carrier of a rare gene now known to resist the HIV virus.

It later emerged that Jake had inherited that gene from his father, which gave him some resistance to Aids.

Eight years ago, Jake crossed paths with Prince Harry during the International Aids Conference in Durban, and ‘he never had anything bad to say about [him],’ says Paul.

But then Harry and Jake’s ­mothers turned out to be kindred spirits, having been introduced by a mutual friend who felt they would get on.

In an interview with People ­magazine, Jake recalled the bond that formed between the two women.

‘They really hit it off from moment one,’ he said. ‘It was the love to support and protect their children that brought them together. She [Diana] was there for her as a friend and a ­supportive voice.’

Jake added that ‘Diana called my Mom often in the last year of her life’. Even when Elizabeth was no longer able to speak, someone would hold the phone to her ear so that she could hear the ­Princess’s voice.

Now 39, Jake has been honest about his own struggles, ­admitting to having experienced ‘survivor’s guilt’, and explaining how, as a grief-stricken teenager, he would secretly dispose of his daily HIV medications, which were still ­necessary despite his genetic resistance to the disease.

Then, aged 27, Jake had what Paul termed a ‘come-to-Jesus moment’ and started taking his prescribed drugs after his doctor warned that failure to do so would be fatal.

‘His health is holding, it’s fine,’ says Paul. ‘And he’s doing fine and finding his own way.

‘I’m proud of him for the ­struggle he’s gone through, the journey he’s on and his willingness to embrace it and learn from it.’

Father and son are heavily involved in the Elizabeth ­Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation, which funds research into the disease. Paul is its honorary chairman and Jake works for it.

Such have been the medical advances made since his mother’s death that Jake has even expressed a desire to have ­children one day — something that would have been unimaginable at the time he was born.

HIV medication has transformed what was once a death ­sentence, and millions of ­people now live with Aids/HIV.

‘He’s in a relationship and, of course, I’d love to be a grand-father,’ says Paul. ‘But I don’t have any control over that!’

It’s impossible to comprehend the depths of grief Paul has ­experienced in his life, but what is obvious today is that his inner strength is truly inspiring.

‘I went through everything you could imagine,’ he says. ‘You feel every emotion from helplessness and rage to guilt and fear.

‘And you also ask: “Why me?” until eventually, if you’re lucky, you learn: “Well, why not me?”

‘But in truth, I was just in shock for a long, long time. You go into ­survival mode when you ­experience something like that. Then you have to deal with the ­reverberations of everything you felt then and are feeling now.’

He adds: ‘But at the time, sure . . . I felt destroyed.’

The grief of seeing one’s family decimated might have felled a lesser man, ‘but I don’t think I ever thought of ending it,’

says Paul. ‘On the one hand, I don’t think I had the courage

to take my own life and on the other, [I knew that] life is such a precious thing.

‘When I was in my 20s and 30s, I may have thought I was doing OK in life, but then you go through something like this and it will either teach you a lot or it’ll destroy you.’

Speaking from his home in ­California, Paul remains ­determined to channel his ­experiences into helping others.

To that end, he has been holding motivational Zoom talks for the past two years entitled Power of Awareness. ‘I usually talk for about 30 minutes and then answer questions,’ he says.

‘I primarily concentrate on the presence of fear in our lives and our inability to acknowledge it and do something with it. But fear is a natural state. Without it, you wouldn’t have love.’

Of his own experience he says: ‘Obviously, it was painful; ­obviously, I was fearful.

‘What I’ve learned is that you can utilise a painful, difficult ­experience and choose to focus on the part of you that is not ­suffering from it.’

Paul’s admirable lack of self-pity was echoed by his late wife, who co-wrote the book In The Absence Of Angels, a moving account of her experience which acutely captures the culture of fear ­surrounding HIV and Aids in the 1980s.

The family had managed to keep their situation private for more than three years, when it became known some Los Angeles schools had refused to admit Ariel.

As Elizabeth described at the time: ‘Some friends refused to let my kids come to their homes at all. Some said their children could continue to play with mine, but only at the park. Some dropped out of our lives.’

Paul admits today: ‘That felt ­isolating, particularly when you add the celebrity aspect to it.’

Elizabeth also described how she had to learn how to forgive:

‘I had to forgive the blood donor. I had to forgive the doctors, the hospitals, the schools, and I had to forgive fate.’

Though proud of everything Elizabeth achieved, Paul baulks at how ‘her life and her story have now kind of entered the pantheon of mythology’.

He adds: ‘People wanted to make her into a saint, but she did the best she could with what she had. And she did it very well.’

Paul’s matter-of-fact attitude extends to his fame, too.

‘Well, I look at acting as something I can do and as a way I find of communicating with people,’ he says. ‘But I’m a better actor than I am a celebrity. I was never comfortable with the fame.’

As well as his most memorable turn as Starsky — which ran for four seasons — he also starred in films such as Fiddler On The Roof and the Jack Nicholson-Diane Keaton rom-com Something’s Gotta Give. He also directed ­several movies and TV shows.

In 2004, he and David Soul teamed up again for cameo roles in the comedy film version of ­Starsky & Hutch, opposite Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson.

Two years after Elizabeth died, Paul married producer Tracy ­Barone, with whom he had a daughter, Zoe, now 26. The marriage ended in 2007 after 11 years. He now lives alone and focuses on his work as a painter and artist.

Of Ariel and Elizabeth he says: ‘I speak to them still, to that part of them inside me.’

Despite the obvious pain he has endured, he made a conscious decision to ‘not be a victim’ of ­circumstances beyond the ­comprehension of most of us.

‘You can choose to acknowledge your willingness to carry on and your desire to hope,’ he says. ‘You can find a way to love yourself and love the journey and the battle — and be proud when you do.’

• For more information on Paul’s upcoming Power of Awareness Zoom talks, email info@pmglaserart.com. For Paul’s artwork, see pmglaserart.com.