She’s probably the greatest vocalist of our generation…
And she’s 50 years old today….
Happy Birthday, KD!
Category Archives: Entertainment
Happy Birthday, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”
The film version of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” opened 50 years ago today, October 5, 1961.
I’ve always loved this movie….
I had to go to Tiffany’s on my first trip to New York just to pay homage to this film and it’s star Audrey Hepburn. I even had to have my picture take where she stood.
I’m much more blase’ and world-weary now, but I always think of this film whenever I’m on Fifth Avenue and go by Tiffany’s. It was one of the films that formed my childhood image of New York.
I’m still looking for the New York of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
And I always will be….
And the original trailer:
And here’s a great blog entry about the film from Gary Susman at Moviefone:
http://blog.moviefone.com/2011/10/05/25-things-breakfast-at-tiffanys-anniversary/
Filed under Entertainment, Movies, Uncategorized
Why Absolutely Fabulous Now Looks Absolutely Prescient
I loved “Absolutely Fabulous” back in the 1990’s and am so glad to hear they are making three new episodes for this season on BBC.
But I never considered it a cultural milestone or a predictor of future societal behavior. I guess I thought it was a fairly honest depiction of my friends and I as we dealt with our 3o’s and the last gasp of our shallow, out-of-control youth.
It was our “thirtysomething”.
Guess I was wrong, again!
Great article on AbFab from the Guardian in the UK
Edina, the hard-boiled, label-hungry PR guru, and Patsy, her addiction-fuelled magazine editor sidekick, now look like prescient visions of the future. When they first emerged on screen they endeared through preposterousness. With their minute-long obsessions and faux-ethical bandwagons, the pair cascaded from one catastrophe to the next. Yet what was once recognisably absurd has become absurdly recognisable.
A preponderance of Ab Fab-type figures now clog the cultural landscape. It is almost as if there is nothing left to ironise. Simon Cowell, Mary Portas, the Beckhams, Gok Wan, Nigella Lawson and any number of Premier League footballers all come replete with their own free-floating relationship with comic cliche.
We are treated to tales that sound as if they were plucked straight from an Absolutely Fabulous storyboarding meeting. There’s Alex James, the former coke-addled rock star who opened a cheese farm in his countryside pile. Here’s Angelina Jolie, displaying her global awareness one adopted baby at a time.
There’s Gwyneth Paltrow’s commercial repositioning with a holistic self-help website. Sex and the City has built an entire franchise out of repeating Patsy’s mantra: that nothing cannot be solved by the purchase of a fancy pair of shoes. The Financial Times’s How To Spend It magazine has become a latter-day Ab Fab manual.
What started as a sly poke at ridiculous figures of fun has become a new aspirational model. Patsy’s cries of “Bolly!” and “Lacroix!” in response to any impending crisis predated the late 90s snowballing of branding culture, from smart phones to handbags.
MORE: Why Absolutely Fabulous now looks absolutely prescient | Paul Flynn | Comment is free | The Guardian.
Filed under Entertainment, Television, Uncategorized
NO Wire Hangers!!!! Christina Crawford To Reveal Mother Joan Crawford’s Naked Home Videos
Never have children….
Never adopt children….
Never even talk to children…..
They will get their revenge eventually….
And it’s also a really good idea to avoid making nudie movies….
From The Huffington Post:
Broadway, hide your wire coat hangers. Joan Crawford’s daughter, Christina Crawford, is developing a one-woman show where she not only plans to reveal new secrets about her life with Mommie Dearest, Joan Crawford, but also show never before seen home movies of the screen legend in the nude.
“I began my career as an actress and I’ve always loved the theater,” Crawford tells me. “The Play is based on two of my books, the 30th Anniversary Edition of Mommie Dearest and my third book, Survivor — both of which were best sellers. It covers a long period of time and a much more complete story.”
Additionally, Christina reveals that she has discovered Joan’s (she never refers to her as her “mother”) blue movies — naked home videos that she cannot believe the controlling star never destroyed.
“I never knew that they existed before a year ago and never saw them before a month ago,” Crawford says. “I remembered her telling me about her married lover, Charles McCabe; however I never saw photos of him, till the home movies, when they were hunting, fishing, and canoeing in The Poconos.”
Christina says the most shocking thing she discovered during her research was Joan’s quiet desperation in her later years. But she still cannot forgive her mother for the childhood she had to survive, which included being beaten by wire hangers.
“Forgiveness is a two-way street and she never took responsibility for her behavior,” Christina tells me. Which is why she has chosen to call her show that she hopes to take on the road before Broadway, “Surviving Mommie Dearest.”
via Christina Crawford To Reveal Mother Joan Crawford’s Naked Home Videos.
Filed under Broadway, Entertainment, Movies, Television
Broadway and ‘Glee’s’ Cheyenne Jackson Weds Longtime Partner
Cheyenne Jackson is one of my favorite Broadway performers. He is not only immensely talented and gorgeous, he also does a lot of good work for AIDS and Gay causes.
I’ll always remember when Steve and I saw him and his partner walking up 8th Avenue with their dog just after we saw him in “Finian’s Rainbow”. They looked so nice and normal.
Congratulations to Cheyenne and Monte!
From The Hollywood Reporter:
The thespian, who stars as the coach of rival singing group Vocal Adrenaline on “Glee” and is a frequent guest star on “30 Rock,” married his longtime boyfriend over the weekend.
Cheyenne Jackson married his longtime partner physicist Monte Lapka, in the Hamptons on Saturday.
“It’s official, after 11 years together, Zora’s no longer a bastard,” Jackson tweeted, referring to the couple’s dog. “Married the best man I’ve ever known.”
The actor-singer is perhaps best known for his role on Fox’s Glee, as the coach of rival singing group Vocal Adrenaline, and his frequent guest stints on NBC’s 30 Rock
via ‘Glee’s’ Cheyenne Jackson: 5 Things to Know – The Hollywood Reporter.
Filed under Broadway, Entertainment, Gay, Uncategorized
Don’t Mess with Erica Kane!
Not too bright behavior from a certain ABC Executive…..
Doesn’t he know Erica has outlasted more husbands, careers – and ABC Executives- than we can count?
With only three weeks of ‘All My Children’ left to go in the soap opera’s legendary 41-year run, the show’s stars are finally starting to speak out. Susan Lucci blasts ABC daytime exec Brian Frons in an epilogue to the upcoming paperback edition of her book, ‘All My Life,’ saying “I watched Brian Frons’ decisions destroy the production of our show and the lives of people on both sides of the country.”
According to the New York Post, which obtained text from the epilogue, Lucci’s criticisms weren’t limited to Frons’ business decisions — she also says that Frons appeared “self-congratulatory” when he informed the ‘AMC’ cast of the decision to cancel the long-running soap, and that he “has what, for me, is that fatal combination of ignorance and arrogance. I cannot fathom any network executive choosing to alienate millions of loyal viewers in these economic times.”
Don’t think that this is the first time Frons will hear of Lucci’s discontent. The star says she personally told him, “I think our being in this position is the result of some very bad decisions by you,” including the hiring of Chuck Pratt as head writer in 2008, moving the show to Los Angeles from new York, and getting rid of creator Agnes Nixon.
Speaking of Nixon, the ‘AMC’ creator promises that there will not be any lack of drama in the series’ broadcast finale, especially since she’ll continue with the show as a consultant when it moves online. She told the Chicago Tribune, “We’re going to have a hiatus, you know, for three months. And the head of Prospect Park [the production company taking over the shows] said, ‘We’ve got to have a big cliffhanger for that three months.’ And so I came up with one which I can’t tell you. But they loved it.”
via ‘All My Children’ Drama: Susan Lucci Blasts ABC Exec for Cancellation.
Filed under Entertainment, Television, Uncategorized
A Few Scenes from My Favorite Labor Day Musical…
People seem to forget “The Pajama Game” that it was a Musical about Unions vs Management.
In the movie, Doris Day represented the Union and John Raitt was management.
Shows how far we’ve come in the depiction of Unions from what it was in their 1950’s heyday…
Anyway. Love the Movie. Saw it on Broadway a few years ago with Harry Connick, Jr and Kelli O’Hara. Loved it on stage.
Here’s the big Labor Day Picnic scene from the movie:
And, of course, the unforgettable Carol Haney doing Bob Fosse’s choreography to “Steam Heat” in the film.
And a little Harry Connick, Jr and Kelli O’Hara from the 2008 Broadway revival:
Filed under Broadway, Entertainment, Movies
A Little Labor Day Levity….
Brought to you by the American Dope Growers’ Union and the classic original cast from Saturday Night Live in 1977…
Filed under Entertainment, Television
I Have Forgiven You Jesus….
I love Morrissey.
The man is a true poet who isn’t afraid to be controversial or a little crazy.
He’s an artist and I’ve loved his work for more years than I can count….
Seems like the perfect antidote to all the Michele Bachmann posts today…
Filed under Entertainment, Politics, Religion
Here’s Why People Hate Gwyneth Paltrow…
“Elle Decor” magazine asked her for a list of things she could not live without….
Here it is:
1. De Gournay Hand-Painted Wallpaper
I indulged with one wall in my London living room covered in a gorgeous pattern.2. Seasonal Flowers
I like single-variety arrangements—peonies, hydrangeas, and white lilies—casually arranged.3. Darren Almond’s Photography
His arresting, large-scale artwork brings a sense of majesty to a room.4. Charles Edwards Star Lanterns
I hung three of these at different levels in the stair hall so that we could pass them on our way up to bed at night.5. Antonio Lupi Baia Tub
It’s in the middle of my bedroom—perfect for a relaxing wind-down and for bathing the kids.6. Juxtaposed: Religion Shelf
Built-in slots hold holy books—including the Qur’an, Bible, and Tao Te Ching—all at the same level (which is how I like to think about religion).7. Clothbound Penguin Classics
These gorgeous editions make the books so tempting to pick up, again and again. The ultimate cure for sore muscles.8. YUBZ Retro Handset
A handset cuts down on cellphone radiation. I use this one for my BlackBerry calls.
Here’s the link to the full story if you can take more of this: http://www.elledecor.com/celebrity-homes/articles/shortlist-gwyneth-paltrow
Filed under Broadway, Entertainment, Movies
Lost in the 21st Century 