After Bill Collins’ sadly passed away on Thursday night aged 84, we remember his beautiful relationship with wife Joan. In an interview with Woman’s Day in 2010, Bill and Joan reflected on their romance that rivalled any great Hollywood love affair.
He’s seen every great romance ever screened, but Bill Collins reveals that, for half a century, he thought he’d never find his one true love.
“As a total workaholic, wedding bells just weren’t on the radar. They’d rung hundreds of times in my favourite movies, but I never imagined myself starring as a giddy groom in real life,” confides Bill, 75, lovingly squeezing the hand of his wife, Joan, during our chat at their retreat at Berry, on the NSW south coast.
“I’d resigned myself to being the eternal bachelor, and so our love story seems straight out of a classic Hollywood romance movie.
And it goes to show, you’re never too old to find a beautiful love,” smiles Bill, who’s been a welcome fixture on TV since 1963.
A workaholic, Bill never thought he’d find true love – until he met Joan.
(Image: Bauer syndication)Amazingly, before they met, Joan had never seen Mr Movies on the screen.
“Our love initially blossomed out of grief. It was the late 70s, Bill had lost his cherished mother, Rita, and I’d lost my husband, Roy. By chance, we’d bought houses diagonally opposite one another in Vincentia, on the NSW south coast,” explains Joan, 79, a retired businesswoman.
“A friend of mine spotted Bill and got very excited. She introduced herself, and Bill kindly invited us in to his home to watch a movie,” recalls Joan, remembering Bill as a charming, kind, generous and incredibly knowledgeable, but shy man.
Bill explains he’d lived with his beloved mother until her death in 1977 because he’d been so busy with work – first as a school teacher, then moving into television, and writing magazine movie columns and books.
“The night of her passing I’d been hosting an Academy Awards special on TV, and when I came home I found Mum dead on the bathroom floor. The television was on, so she’d been watching,” says Bill wistfully.
“When I met Joan, our initial bond was the shared sadness of our losses, then we discovered we both loved movies! And so, after several get-togethers, the sparks of love began to fly. It was rapturously wonderful and still is. Joan is my soul mate, I love her dearly,” says Bill.
Bill and Joan tied the knot in Hollywood in 1983.
(Image: Bauer syndication)After several years of dinners, movies and romance, Joan and Bill tied the knot in Hollywood in 1983.
“Bill was in Los Angeles interviewing celebrities and, on the spur of the moment, we decided to get married,” says Joan, adding that Bill was thrilled because the church was just down the road from where movie great Dorothy Lamour lived.
The couple honeymooned in Hawaii and, Joan says, the honeymoon has never ended.
“Twenty-seven years on, Bill is as wonderful as ever. He’s kind, considerate and generous.
Every morning he treats me to a cup of tea in bed. He makes the best cuppa,” smiles Joan.
So do they ever fight over which movies to watch?
“We both enjoy many of the same movies. I’m continually in awe of Bill’s encyclopaedic knowledge, so I’m happy for Bill to make the suggestions, even if it’s his favourite, Gone With The Wind, which he’s seen well over 30 times. With Bill, there’s always something new to see, even in an old favourite,” says Joan.
Joan described Bill as “kind, considerate and generous”.
(Image: Supplied)Logie winner Bill has been a television institution for nearly half a century, but his roots as a teacher still shine through.
“When I moved into television and talking about the movies 47 years ago, it was all about imparting knowledge and entertaining.
“In all of those years, I’ve never used scripts or an autocue for my movie presentations. What I say comes from the heart and from my head. I’m a voracious reader,” says Bill whose library of books and movies is thought to be the largest private collection in the southern hemisphere.
Bill has rubbed shoulders with the biggest names in showbiz, and while he enthuses over the likes of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis, not all stars have been a joy.
“I found Sylvester Stallone to be plain rude, and Danny Kaye was simply unpleasant. But the greats like Clint Eastwood, Cyd Charisse, Anne Baxter, June Allyson and Esther Williams have been darlings to me and my wife,” says Bill, who for the past 15 years has presented his Golden Years Of Hollywood movies on Foxtel’s Fox Classics.
Away from showbiz, Bill and Joan help a charity that saves dogs on death row, and both admit to being real softies around animals.
“We love our Shih tzu, Gigi – yes, named after the movie – she’s like our child,” says Joan.
Vale Bill Collins.
(Image: Supplied)