December 21, 2007
A Surprising Phone Call
by Vanessa Mathewson
Last May I wrote and directed a revised
version of the musical Oliver. I decided to do
this because Shani Wallis who played Nancy in
the 1968 film version of Oliver had inspired me.
I decided to write to Shani Wallis to see whether
she was alive or dead. I wanted to tell her that I
was doing Oliver at my school. So I sent the
letter. A couple of days later the phone rang.
My mom picked it up and a man said,
“Hello, may I please speak to Vanessa
Mathewson?”
My mom replied, “Who is this?”
The voice on the phone answered, “I am
sorry I’m not allowed to tell you. This is a surprise
call for Miss Vanessa Mathewson.”
“Well, if I don’t know who you are then
you may not talk to my daughter,” said my Mom
and then she hung up.
About a minute or so later the phone
rang again and my Mom answered it again and a
very English voice said, “Hello, this is Shani
Wallis. Is this Vanessa’s Mother?”
My Mom was very embarrassed and she
said, “Shani Wallis, you are a good woman!”
At that moment I walked into the kitchen
about to tell my mom something (I don’t remember
what) and she said, “Oh, Vanessa, the
phone is for you.”
“Who is it?” I asked. And my mother
replied, “I am not going to tell you.”
So I picked up the phone with some
anxiety and said, “Hello?”
A strangely accented voice said, “Hello,
is this Vanessa Mathewson?”
I was very confused and began to get
suspicious. I had no idea who I was talking to,
but I replied, “Yes, it is!” I was not prepared for
what happened next. I was still trying to figure
out who it was when the voice said, “Oh, hello,
Vanessa, this is Shani Wallis.”
I was so shocked that I almost dropped
the phone. I couldn’t believe it. My hero, whom
I had thought was dead, had gotten my letter
and was calling me!! Thankfully, I recovered
from my shock and talked to her for about five
or ten minutes. We talked about the play and
how my script was different. We also talked a
little about her experiences in the movie. She
told me that she was sorry that she could not
come to see my production of the play but that
she wanted me to write to her and tell her all
about it. When I hung up the phone I thought
that I had been dreaming. I no longer could
remember what I had been about to say to my
Mom when I had first walked into the kitchen!
This was an amazing experience and I
will never forget it because I still can’t believe
that it actually happened. She called me on
May 11th, 2007 at about 5:30 pm.
Shani Wallis was born in Tottenham,
London on April 14th, 1933. She is now 74
years old and lives in the United States.
P.S. We think that perhaps the man who
first called was either her husband or her agent.