Joanne Woodward

Don't tell Joanne Woodward that agitprop is a dirty word. "It's a wonderful word," said the actress-director. "It's an honorable word. A lot of people don't know what it means. It means agitation and propaganda. Agitation and propaganda don't have to be negative; they can be a positive thing. Here it's a positive thing." Woodward was referring to her staging of Eve Ensler's "The Depot," a one-act dark comedy that has been touring the country for the last year.

It takes "a huge reason," said Joanne Woodward, to get her on a train west from her Westport, Conn., home of 36 years. (She hates to fly.) The Rowdy Ridge Gang Camp meets the requirement. And enthusiasm for the camp spread faster than poison ivy at a party Thursday in honor of Woodward, co-chairwoman with Sherry Lansing of the 3-year-old San Gabriel Mountains camp for women and their children who have been affected by drugs or violence in their homes.

She doesn't belong here. Not in this restaurant that's too garishly pink. Not among these diners who are too self-consciously trendy. Not on this terrace that's too dazzlingly bright. But then, Joanne Woodward is the first to recognize that she doesn't belong in Hollywood. Because, she says almost proudly, "I'm not a Hollywood star. "I don't think of myself as having been a star, particularly," she explains.

In Hollywood, the urge to publicly espouse a cause is resisted only as long as it takes the celebrity to get his or her hands on a microphone, as this year's Oscar telecast once again demonstrated. Joanne Woodward was just about to yield to that urge and evangelize on behalf of her newest cause, babies of drug-addicted mothers, when a miracle of good sense intervened and stopped her. She thought: I am an actress, not an orator, not a politician, not a debater.

Lionel Hampton, Ginger Rogers, Mstislav Rostropovich, Paul Taylor, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward will receive this year's Kennedy Center Honors, it was announced Thursday. Selected by the trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for their contributions to cultural life in America, they will be guests of President Bush at the White House and will attend a televised performance at the Kennedy Center in December.

In his 1987 film of one of Tennessee Williams' greatest plays, Paul Newman has succeeded almost totally with this rich and tender production, headed by Joanne Woodward--who gives us a transcendent Amanda Wingfield--with Karen Allen and John Malkovich, the triumph of the film (both pictured above). (TMC Monday at 5:30 a.m., Showtime Thursday at 1:30 p.m.)

Joanne Woodward was robbed of her passport and thousands of dollars in travelers checks on her way to the airport from the Cannes Film Festival on Thursday. Two men riding on a motorcycle grabbed Woodward's travel bag off her shoulder as she prepared to enter a car and sped off, authorities said. Woodward, who was planning to fly to New York, was quickly provided with paperwork to get her to London, where she can obtain a new passport.

Joanne Woodward says her superstar husband, Paul Newman, once toyed with the idea of running for political office but the roar of a race car got in the way. "He could have been a serious candidate. But then he got involved in racing," Woodward said in an interview with the couple in the January issue of McCall's magazine. Looking at Newman, she added: "A mind is a terrible thing to waste on a Trans Am motor."

Joanne Woodward says she regrets never becoming a superstar and at times has even resented husband Paul Newman because of his celebrity status. Despite great respect in her profession, Woodward told Lear's magazine: "I would have liked a bigger career. I would have liked to be a major star."

It takes "a huge reason," said Joanne Woodward, to get her on a train west from her Westport, Conn., home of 36 years. (She hates to fly.) The Rowdy Ridge Gang Camp meets the requirement. And enthusiasm for the camp spread faster than poison ivy at a party Thursday in honor of Woodward, co-chairwoman with Sherry Lansing of the 3-year-old San Gabriel Mountains camp for women and their children who have been affected by drugs or violence in their homes.

A pantheon of out-of-town celebrities flooded the capital over the weekend to witness the Kennedy Center Honors--the nation's highest tribute to performing artists. For two days, they subverted the city's proclivity for starchy dress and stuffy style as Washingtonians greeted their Hollywood guests to their stately digs.

Lionel Hampton, Ginger Rogers, Mstislav Rostropovich, Paul Taylor, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward will receive this year's Kennedy Center Honors, it was announced Thursday. Selected by the trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for their contributions to cultural life in America, they will be guests of President Bush at the White House and will attend a televised performance at the Kennedy Center in December.

Joanne Woodward says her superstar husband, Paul Newman, once toyed with the idea of running for political office but the roar of a race car got in the way. "He could have been a serious candidate. But then he got involved in racing," Woodward said in an interview with the couple in the January issue of McCall's magazine. Looking at Newman, she added: "A mind is a terrible thing to waste on a Trans Am motor."

She doesn't belong here. Not in this restaurant that's too garishly pink. Not among these diners who are too self-consciously trendy. Not on this terrace that's too dazzlingly bright. But then, Joanne Woodward is the first to recognize that she doesn't belong in Hollywood. Because, she says almost proudly, "I'm not a Hollywood star. "I don't think of myself as having been a star, particularly," she explains.

Ms. Woodward Goes to Washington: Joanne Woodward is in Washington for a conference titled "All Babies Count," where she will address the issue of infants born addicted to drugs or alcohol. The campaign brings together Jean Kennedy Smith's Very Special Arts organization and the Scott Newman Center, named in memory of her husband Paul Newman's son.

In his 1987 film of one of Tennessee Williams' greatest plays, Paul Newman has succeeded almost totally with this rich and tender production, headed by Joanne Woodward--who gives us a transcendent Amanda Wingfield--with Karen Allen and John Malkovich, the triumph of the film (both pictured above). (TMC Monday at 5:30 a.m., Showtime Thursday at 1:30 p.m.)

A pantheon of out-of-town celebrities flooded the capital over the weekend to witness the Kennedy Center Honors--the nation's highest tribute to performing artists. For two days, they subverted the city's proclivity for starchy dress and stuffy style as Washingtonians greeted their Hollywood guests to their stately digs.

Joanne Woodward says she regrets never becoming a superstar and at times has even resented husband Paul Newman because of his celebrity status. Despite great respect in her profession, Woodward told Lear's magazine: "I would have liked a bigger career. I would have liked to be a major star."

Don't tell Joanne Woodward that agitprop is a dirty word. "It's a wonderful word," said the actress-director. "It's an honorable word. A lot of people don't know what it means. It means agitation and propaganda. Agitation and propaganda don't have to be negative; they can be a positive thing. Here it's a positive thing." Woodward was referring to her staging of Eve Ensler's "The Depot," a one-act dark comedy that has been touring the country for the last year.