5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
For Two Octogenarians, First Came Romance, Then a Dream Home
When Kathryn Leigh Scott met Patrick Ralph Oster for the first time for lunch in February 2019, she was immediately drawn in by his eyes.
'They're just alive and sparkly,' she said. 'I thought, oh, this will be fun.'
Ms. Scott, 82, hadn't been romantically interested in anyone since her husband had died from degenerative nerve disease in 2011, but she agreed to meet Mr. Oster at her friend Linda Yellin's suggestion. On the surface, the purpose of the lunch at Mozzarella & Vino in Midtown Manhattan was for Mr. Oster and Ms. Scott to exchange notes on each other's manuscripts. At the time, Ms. Scott was writing her novel, 'September Girl,' and Mr. Oster was working on 'The Obituary Writer: A Murder Novel.' But Ms. Scott knew Ms. Yellin had ulterior motives.
'Linda is quite the matchmaker,' Ms. Scott said.
Mr. Oster, 80, had also been reluctant to date after the death of his wife in 2017 from cancer; however, after some background research, he became intrigued by Ms. Scott, who has worked as an actress for more than 60 years, beginning with a role as Maggie Evans and Josette DuPres on the cult TV series, 'Dark Shadows,' which aired from 1966 to 1971.
'I wasn't crawling around the bars looking for love,' Mr. Oster said. 'But I saw what Kathryn's life story was and I thought, wait a minute, this could be more interesting than, 'What do you think of Chapter 1?''
Ms. Scott was born in Robbinsdale, Minn., and spent a few years after World War II living in Vikebukt, Norway, where her family was from. She graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in 1964 and worked as a bunny at the Playboy Club in New York City starting in 1963 at age 19, an experience she wrote about in her 1998 book, 'The Bunny Years,' for which she interviewed more than 200 other former Bunnies.
She has acted in 'Star Trek,' 'Magnum P.I.,' 'Police Squad!' and 'Dynasty' and many other TV shows and films, and written several books. She currently stars on a fiction podcast called 'What Friends Do,' about members of the entertainment industry living in a retirement home.
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