SHORT TAKES : MacLaine Hails Knee Surgery
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PITTSBURGH — Oscar-winning actress Shirley MacLaine says her recent knee operation probably added 15 years to her dancing career.
“I had a video taken of the operation. The doctor said it was the best movie I ever made,” said MacLaine, who is in town preparing for Tuesday’s opening of a national performance tour.
The surgery to repair torn ligaments and a dislocated kneecap came after she was hurt while rehearsing a dance number earlier this spring.
MacLaine, 56, says she lifted weights and exercised the knee underwater to rebuild her strength.
“It was my first operation ever, and I could have seen it as a tragedy,” she said. “But it slowed me down to reflect, so I’ve almost finished another book. I think it has given me another 15 years of dancing.”
The veteran actress won best actress honors for the 1982 film “Terms of Endearment.”
The actress-singer-dancer and best-selling author has written several metaphysical books, including “Out on a Limb” and “Dancing in Light.”
Her next movie project is to play silent movie star Louise Brooks in a biographical film.
