Dyan Cannon

Dyan Cannon's two cats, Puppy and Kitty, were snoozing in cushy chairs while we sat on her living room floor, talking, laughing and snacking on fruit. The actress, whose latest movie, "Out to Sea," with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, opens next week, slowly peeled the skin from a tangerine. "Look at that," Cannon, 60, observed. The tangerine spray had caught inside a sunbeam and that made her smile. * Question: You're really enjoying life, aren't you?

Actress-director Dyan Cannon recalls in her memoir, "Dear Cary: My Life With Cary Grant," that she and Grant were over the moon with joy at the birth of their daughter, Jennifer, in February 1966. But when she brought the baby home, Cannon realized that her beloved Yorkie, Bangs, was nowhere to be found. Grant matter-of-factly told her that he had given Bangs away. "Infants and dogs aren't a good mix, Dyan," she quotes him as saying. "Animals can experience extreme jealousy around newborns.

If it's true that the Lord works in mysterious ways, then ExhibitA might be inside the CBS commissary in Studio City. There, dressed in a glittering rhinestone choker, clingy black blouse and indigo slacks, Dyan Cannon stands in the glow of a spotlight, a clutch of bodies lying at her feet. It's almost midnight, and things are winding down at her latest God's Party, a kaleidoscope of gospel and pop music, prayer, dancing, storytelling and Pentecostal-style faith healing.

MOVIES Woman With Flowers One of five unfinished experimental works left behind when filmmaker Chick Strand died in 2009, "Woman With Flowers" (Senora Con Flores) was recently completed under the supervision of the Academy Film Archive. The movie will screen as part of a program of Strand's work, including "Waterfall," "Mosori Monika" and "Kristallnacht. " REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., L.A. 8:30 p.m. $10. (213) 237-2800. Redcat.org. BOOKS Charles C. Mann The bestselling science writer and historian discusses his newest book with journalist Richard Rodriguez.

"I love the light in this house," Dyan Cannon said dramatically. "I spent so many hours in the editing room that's one of the reasons I bought the house. I love the bright." The former Malibu resident recently moved east to the Hollywood Hills into a white, airy, antique-ladened home complete with prerequisite swimming pool and gym and a 360-degree view that takes in Beverly Hills on one side and the San Fernando Valley on the other.

Dyan Cannon has never done things the typical way. In her 20s, the Oscar-nominated actress shocked Hollywood by marrying 61-year-old matinee idol Cary Grant--a man older than her own father and one dogged by rumors of homosexuality to boot. When Cannon was in her 50s, she founded a Christian revival group--a novel choice for someone who had been raised Jewish.

Once again, Magic Johnson just cannot keep that mouth of his shut. In the last 10 days or so, Magic has been busy campaigning for the Knicks' GM position, and lo and behold, it was Magic, not Jerry West, who lured Shaq to the Lakers. Now, our once-proud son wants to be the mayor of Los Angeles and lead the city to the promised land. Maybe someone should remind him that his name is Magic and not Moses. Magic, you failed miserably in 1994 when you couldn't lead a dozen or so Lakers during your brief coaching experience.

Back in 1976, when actress Dyan Cannon got an Oscar nomination for directing the short "Number One," she seemed poised to direct features. There were some studio development deals, but no directing jobs panned out--until now. Local filming began quietly three weeks ago on "One Point of View," with Cannon as writer, director and star. The movie, which the actress financed independently, centers on a woman (Cannon) in drug rehab, examining her life and psychological problems in a rap session.

You've seen her on the sidelines, now see her on the court. Dyan Cannon has been a fixture at Laker games "since before Jerry West," she says, but Saturday, the actress will suit up and play in a benefit game for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for which she is a spokeswoman. "Last year I scored four points and had four rebounds," Cannon says gleefully. She had such a good time that she has coaxed two friends into joining the team this year, actress Linda Gray and singer Brenda Russell.

Cary Grant wanted a life away from the silver screen in 1966 after three decades of superstardom in such classics as "North by Northwest," "Gunga Din," "The Philadelphia Story" and "Bringing Up Baby. " So Grant, then 62, gave up his career for what he felt would be the greatest role of his life: doting father. "He retired to be with me," said his daughter, Jennifer Grant. "That is hard to believe in and of itself. He put all of his focus, really, on me. Most people don't have the luxury to retire; most people don't want until their 60s to have a child.' The tall, whippet-slim Grant, now 45, looks a lot like her mother, Oscar-nominated actress Dyan Cannon, but possesses her father's dark hair and dancing eyes.

For most of the 1960s, Hollywood was the last place you'd go to find the pulse of the pop culture. Movie attendance had reached all-time lows. The studios were crumbling -- most film lots were either up for sale, being rented out or looked like decaying junkyards.

Once again, Magic Johnson just cannot keep that mouth of his shut. In the last 10 days or so, Magic has been busy campaigning for the Knicks' GM position, and lo and behold, it was Magic, not Jerry West, who lured Shaq to the Lakers. Now, our once-proud son wants to be the mayor of Los Angeles and lead the city to the promised land. Maybe someone should remind him that his name is Magic and not Moses. Magic, you failed miserably in 1994 when you couldn't lead a dozen or so Lakers during your brief coaching experience.

If it's true that the Lord works in mysterious ways, then ExhibitA might be inside the CBS commissary in Studio City. There, dressed in a glittering rhinestone choker, clingy black blouse and indigo slacks, Dyan Cannon stands in the glow of a spotlight, a clutch of bodies lying at her feet. It's almost midnight, and things are winding down at her latest God's Party, a kaleidoscope of gospel and pop music, prayer, dancing, storytelling and Pentecostal-style faith healing.

Dyan Cannon has never done things the typical way. In her 20s, the Oscar-nominated actress shocked Hollywood by marrying 61-year-old matinee idol Cary Grant--a man older than her own father and one dogged by rumors of homosexuality to boot. When Cannon was in her 50s, she founded a Christian revival group--a novel choice for someone who had been raised Jewish.

Dyan Cannon's two cats, Puppy and Kitty, were snoozing in cushy chairs while we sat on her living room floor, talking, laughing and snacking on fruit. The actress, whose latest movie, "Out to Sea," with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, opens next week, slowly peeled the skin from a tangerine. "Look at that," Cannon, 60, observed. The tangerine spray had caught inside a sunbeam and that made her smile. * Question: You're really enjoying life, aren't you?

In 1976, Dyan Cannon won an Oscar nomination for her remarkable short film "Number One," which showed how in early childhood we are made to feel guilty and confused about natural functions, drives and needs. In a very real sense her new feature, "The End of Innocence" (AMC Century 14), expands on those concerns. It's as if Cannon--the film's writer, director and star--is playing one of those children now grown up.

Dyan Cannon said she sat around for two years writing music and lyrics, and then she made up her mind: "I want to be a rock 'n' roll star. I'd like to do that more than anything else." Amazingly, she got her chance: Sunday night she appears in the first installment of a two-part Disney movie called "Rock 'n' Roll Mom" (ABC), playing out her fantasy. "I was sitting here for two years, and when this movie came along, we just couldn't believe it." It's not that Cannon has no background in music.

You've seen her on the sidelines, now see her on the court. Dyan Cannon has been a fixture at Laker games "since before Jerry West," she says, but Saturday, the actress will suit up and play in a benefit game for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for which she is a spokeswoman. "Last year I scored four points and had four rebounds," Cannon says gleefully. She had such a good time that she has coaxed two friends into joining the team this year, actress Linda Gray and singer Brenda Russell.

"I love the light in this house," Dyan Cannon said dramatically. "I spent so many hours in the editing room that's one of the reasons I bought the house. I love the bright." The former Malibu resident recently moved east to the Hollywood Hills into a white, airy, antique-ladened home complete with prerequisite swimming pool and gym and a 360-degree view that takes in Beverly Hills on one side and the San Fernando Valley on the other.