Prudence Bury has put her home in France up for sale. Prue says it’s time to downsize, but “Oh how I hate that expression.” Here is a link where you can see her property, which includes a separate guest/vacation house, called a gîte.
http://www.vendeehousesales.eu/index.html
What a lovely place! The farm house was restored by Prue, and she did all of the decorating, of course.
Prudence Bury-Fuchs with the Beatles band Los Brandys, November 2009
I had told Prudence Bury-Fuchs a while ago that she should be prepared to sign autographs at the Beatles Weekend in France. Prue thanked me for the thought, but she sincerely doubted that anybody would ask her!
Hi Doug,
You were right, I did not stop signing autographs. People were “thrilled” to meet me!!! So it was most enjoyable. You will have to organise a “Beatles Weekend” across the pond!
Of course I was right! Who wouldn’t be thrilled to meet her? In flawless French, Prue had no trouble charming the audience.
Prue must be the last person with a legitimate connection to the Beatles to make a first appearance at a fan event. I don’t have experience organizing shows, but now that Prue has come out of hiding from Beatles fandom, it is indeed time for her to make an appearance stateside, as well as in her native England, of course.
This is Prue with a gent named Yvon…
…and here she is with a fan named Jean-Claude. You lucky guys!
Here is another take of Prue Bury’s ex-husband, Terry Hooper, from the DVD of “A Hard Day’s Night.” There are a few seconds of the familiar scene with Prue, Pattie Boyd and Paul McCartney, along with a tantalizing, all-too-brief 5-second candid clip of Prue having her hair fussed over by Betty Glasow.
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As you can see, Prue’s name is misspelled, but at least it was done phonetically.
I pronounce it Berry! A curious name as my father was Belgien !!
A friend from Belgium tells me that “Bury” is indeed not a typical Belgian name. The spelling error occurs in two other places that I know of. First, elsewhere in the “Making of ‘A Hard Day’s Night'” documentary…
… and also in the book, “A Hard Day’s Night: The British Film Guide“.
I wonder if Prue’s name was originally penciled in as “Berry” when she gave it on the set back in ’64, and that’s why the error has been repeated? Today she is Prudence Bury-Fuchs, and she lives in France. Prue enjoys putting on stage shows, and in fact she did one called “Daisy Daisy” (if I have the date right) just this past week.
And here is lovely Prue, performing! As Prue’s fan Lia Pamina says, she’s “so cool!”
Prudence is tentatively scheduled to appear at a Beatles weekend in Ouistreham Normandie (Normandy), France, this coming November 5-8.
Prue was a model for designer Mary Quant, who popularized the miniskirt. I’d like to ask Prue what she thought of the way that the Sixties youth culture went from high fashion on Carnaby Street in Swinging London, to being grungy Hippies in torn jeans and t-shirts?
I am delighted to have found gorgeous and gracious Prudence Bury-Fuchs, and to get to know her a tiny bit. Here’s to you, Prue! (With a little luck I should soon be seeing you in that other movie you told me about.)
Prudence Bury attended the Royal Ballet School in London, and she would have continued as a dancer, if her breathtaking beauty had not led her to become a fashion model.
Prue’s Classical background is evident in every way in “A Hard Day’s Night”. Prue has beauty, poise, and refinement that set her apart from the other girls on the train — including, in my opinion, her friend Pattie Boyd.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2009/JUN/AHDN.flv 440 330]
It is Prue who leads Pattie when walking to their seats into the dining car. It is Prue who Paul McCartney refers to when he says, “Excuse me Madam” — gesturing to Pattie only when he says “two of us” — and it is Prue who is closest to the camera. Pattie had a word of dialog, but it seems to me that from the point of view of director Dick Lester, visually it is Prudence Bury who was his focus.
So how did Prue come to be in “A Hard Day’s Night”? Her former husband, Terry Hooper, tells his version of the story in this excerpt from a supplementary feature on the AHDN DVD.
[flv:http://www.dograt.com/Video/2008/OCT/TerryHooper.flv 440 330]
Prue takes exception with pretty much every point made by Hooper, and she would like to set the record straight. The following was taken from a message sent to me by Prudence Bury, and with Prue’s approval I put her comments in a ‘bullet’ list.
And there you have it, from the lady herself. I’ll have a more of Prue Bury, including a new photo, in my next post.
Sorry, this is another teaser. I’m still getting Prue Bury’s comments ready.
Prudence Bury will be here soon! Please be patient. I’m working out the details with her of exactly what she wants to say, and how it will be said. Don’t expect an extensive interview. It will be brief and to the point, allowing Prue to save her whole story for better, larger venues. She will be appearing at a Beatles weekend in November. More about that later.
If you’ve never known the name of Prue’s character in “A Hard Day’s Night,” it’s Rita. Pattie Boyd played Jean. Now you know!
