Thought Of The Day

"You gotta have swine

 to show you where the truffles are."

Edward Albee

Normal

"Very few people are completely normal really, deep down in their private lives. It all depends on a combination of circumstances. If all the various cosmic thingummys fuse at the same moment, & the right spark is struck, there's no knowing what one mightn't do."

Amanda
From Private Lives
By Noel Coward
1930

Born On This Day- September 30th... Truman Capote

"I don't care what anybody says about me as long as it isn't true."

My mother is a very accomplished, intelligent, & serious woman, but she always has had a sly interest in show biz & celebrity gossip. She told me the details & intricate ins & outs of the Elizabeth Taylor + Eddie Fisher + Debbie Reynolds divorces & marriages when I was just 5 years old. I appreciated that she explained that one to me. I remember well, being 12 years old & my mother giving me the low down on the infamous “party of the century”- Truman Capote's Black & White Ball.


The now legendary Black & White Masked Ball was a bash that Truman Capote threw at Manhattan's Plaza Hotel on Nov. 28, 1966. The guest of honor was Katharine Graham, president of the Washington Post Co., but no one had any illusions: The purpose of this gala was to celebrate the host, a serious writer, but also a serious celebrity. There had never been much doubt about the celebrity part, from the moment that he styled himself as a male nymphet for his 1st novel's jacket photo; Capote had shown a rare talent for self promotion. What had been in doubt were his literary accomplishments. As he entered his forties, the once promising young writer had produced only a few slim volumes of exquisitely written fiction & journalism. But recently In Cold Blood, a masterpiece in a new genre- the non-fiction novel & a milestone in popular culture, had buried his skeptics, & it was time to celebrate. Capote's plan was to mix & match people: titled aristocrats with intellectuals with ordinary folk from the rural Kansas county where the In Cold Blood murders had occurred. But in this respect, the party seems to have failed. "I've never seen such ghettoizing in all my life," complained Capote's lover- Jack Dunphy. "No group mixed with another group." As for the excluded, on the cover of the next Esquire, under the title "We wouldn't have come even if you had invited us, Truman Capote" was a photo of a surly looking group comprising Kim Novak, Tony Curtis, Pat Brown, Ed Sullivan, Pierre Salinger, Lynn Redgrave & Casey Stengel.

From the moment my mother told me about the Black & White Ball, I became fascinated by Truman Capote (at 5’3’’ he was dubbed the Tiny Terror) & I went on to read everything by & about him. I was fascinated by his distinctive, high-pitched voice & odd vocal mannerisms, his offbeat manner of dress & his fabulous stories when he would appear on TV talk shows. I have everything he has written, plus biographies, diaries & books of letters. He is a member of a handful of authors that make up the club: Stephen’s Favorite Writers. He had a long standing rivalry with another of my favorites- Gore Vidal. Their rivalry prompted another member of my club- Tennessee Williams to complain: "You would think they were running neck &neck for some fabulous gold prize." I own a first edition paperback of Breakfast At Tiffany’s. I love all his work, but my very favorite is A Christmas Memory. During the holidays I always re-read it, & I set a copy out, as part of a Christmas tableau, on a table as a holiday ritual.

"All literature is gossip."

Born On This Day- September 28th... Icon Greta Garbo

She was born Greta Lovisa Gustafson in Stockholm on this day in 1905. She was lured to Hollywood by Louis B Mayer, who was impressed with her work in the Swedish film- Gösta Berlings Saga, which was directed by her mentor, the flambouantly gay- Mauritz Stiller, who gave her the name Greta Garbo. She knew how to make an exit. After 20 years in films & one of the world’s biggest stars ever, she walked away from acting & public life when she was just 36. She lived in New York City in virtual seclusion for 50 years, refusing all interviews & photographs, & emerging from her apartment only when protected from public view by big hats & sunglasses.
She made 14 silent films, with a face that was perfect for the expressions of the style of acting & for black & white films (she never made a color film). She made the transition to talkies, a move that ruined many screen careers, with no problem at all. Garbo’s beautiful husky, accented voice was a compliment to her unworldly beauty & she gave more complex performances in her talking films. She played a world weary, washed-up ballerina in Grand Hotel at 26 years old. She gave what I think is her best performance, charming, funny & full of self parody, in Ninotchka. She had an affair with co-star John Gilbert, but left him at the alter on their wedding day. Garbo had affairs with women also, including well-known liasons with actress Louise Brooks, writer Mercedes de Acosta, & with Marlene Dietrich. She was very close friends with 2 gay men- Cecil Beaton & George Cukor.



Garbo pointed out that character in Grand Hotel never uttered the famous- “I want to be alone”, but rather- “I want to be let alone”… a big difference & seemingly true for her life off screen as well.

"The story of my life is about back entrances, side doors, secret elevators & other ways of getting in and out of places so that people won't bother me”

Born On This Day- August 22nd... American Wit- Dorothy Parker

"One more drink and I'd have been under the host."
Long ago, in a galaxy far away (Spokane), I played a wonderful character named- Banjo (based on Harpo Marx) in a play – The Man Who Came To Dinner, that was based on a real life incident in the life of Algonquin Round Table regular- Alexander Woollcott. As I tended to over research my character work as an actor, I was sent into an Algonquin Round table jag that lasted for decades. I read everything I could by & about these interesting, talented & witty friends & colleagues during one of NYC’s richest periods. I have books about & by Woollcott, Edna Ferber, Robert Benchley, Ira Gershwin, George S. Kauffman, Herbert Ross & S.J. Perelman, but Dorothy Parker was the personality that engaged me the most. I believe I read everything by her by the time I was 21."You can't teach an old dogma new tricks."

When I lived in NYC in the 1970s, my handsome, sexy, neurotic, born in NYC boyfriend- Stephen Rosenblatt (he looked like young Frank Langellla. I wonder if he now looks like present day Langella?) took me on a Dorothy Parker NYC tour one autumn day, with stops at her girlhood home on the Upper West Side, the Algonquin Hotel (of course), Woollcott’s home- Wits End, the Waldorf- Astoria, the old offices of the New Yorker, & “21”. She led an interesting & difficult life with a troubled childhood, 3 marriages ( 2 to the same man & one to a homosexual), & several suicide attempts, but her her caustic wit, talent, wisecracks & sharp eye for urban sophisticates & their foibles endure. She has been portrayed on film and television by Dolores Sutton in F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood (1976), Rosemary Murphy in Julia (1977), Bebe Neuwirth in Dash and Lilly (1999) & most interstingly by Jennifer Jason Leigh in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994). Neuwirth was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance & Leigh received a number of awards & nominations, including a Golden Globe nomination. Parker was an early defender of human & civil rights. She left here estate to the NAACP, where her ashes are buried at that organization’s Baltimore Headquarters. She had suggested that her epitaph read- “Excuse my dust”."You can lead a horticulture, but you can't make her think."

Words To Live By

"Don't pay any attention to what they write about you. Just measure it in inches."

Andy Warhol

David Bowie is Andy Warhol in the 1996 Julian Schnabel & Jeffrey Wright film "Basquiat"

"I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done."

Lucille Ball

Quote Of The Day

"A wise girl kisses but doesn't love, listens but doesn't believe, & leaves before she is left."

Marilyn Monroe

 

 

Quote Of The Day

"It's all right letting yourself go as long as you can let yourself back."

Mick Jagger

Quote Of The Day

"Acting is like roller skating.

 Once you know how to do it, it is neither stimulating nor exciting."

 George Sanders

Words To Live By

Buster Crabbe, Johnny Weissmuller, Herman Brix & Glenn Morris

"The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for the rest of your life. & the most important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do.”

Henry Moore

Words To Live By

“A dress makes no sense unless it inspires men to take it off of you.”

Coco Chanel

Quote Of The Day

Margaret "Maggie the Cat" Pollitt: "You can be young without money, but you can't be old without it."

It's Not Enough That She Is Smart & Pretty & Openly Bisexual...

What can I say…I just love her! She is & she will always be:



*A bitchin’ stand-up woman of Rock n’ Roll


*A friend of the environment & the animals & plants of our planet


*A spokesperson for PETA (love her nude anti-fur ad)

* Levi Johnston's Spiritual Advisor


*Vogue Cover Girl


*An outspoken advocate for women, minorities & Gays


*Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year


*A well spoken egghead from Wassila Junior College with M.A. in Foreign Affairs & World Geography & a PHD in Government Affairs


*Special Guest Judge on American Idol, RuPauls’ Drag Race & Biggest Looser


*Spokesperson & Model for M-A-C Cosmetics


* Grand Marshal of this year’s Mardi Gras Parade


*Flea Bag & Tea Bag

*An almost certain finalist for the Pulitzer & Nobel Prize for Literature for her scathingly funny satirical novel- Going Rogue , soon to be a major motion picture starring Sandra Bullock & Dennis Quade as the Palins & Mickey Rooney & Ann-Margret as the John & Cindy McCain.

*2008's American Sportswoman of the Year for her important work of controlling wildlife by hunting from an airplane or helicopter.

So…How’s that Whole Hopey-Changey Thing Working for Ya?

Sarah Palin to our President

Happy Birthday to the next President of this great country- Sarah Palin!

"All of 'em, any of 'em that have been in front of me over all these years."
Sarah Palin, unable to name a single newspaper or magazine she reads, interview with Katie Couric, CBS News, Oct. 1, 2008

Quote Of The Day From Miss Dolly Parton

"You'd be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap!"

Born On This Day... Winston Churchill

"It will be long, hard & there will be no withdrawal."

Winston Churchill

Quote Of The Day

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
Dr. Seuss

Top 10 Karen Walker Quotes

There are so many, but here are some favorites:

"Honey, when you were born, you were born in a gay tree. & then you fell out & hit every gay branch on the way down. & then you fell on top of a gay guy. & then you did him."

“Oh honey, I would, but... I don't want to.”

"Honey, you’re simple, you’re shallow, & you’re a common whore, that’s why we are soul mates”.

"You're sleazy & shameless. I like that, but we're through."

"I had to put him in his place...well...my place."


"Yeah? Well now my drink's talking, & it's saying 'Drink me! I make life more fun! Everyone from a high school kid to a bum on the street knows that.'"


“Honey, I would suck the alcohol out of a deoderant stick..."

“It's not something you can just run away from like a hotel bill or a crying baby”


“How did you hurt your back? Running away from good taste?”


“Well don't let it get to your head, your hair is already such a disaster that the Red Cross wouldn't give it coffee.”

Happy Birthday, Carrie Fisher!

I have loved her since I saw her in Shampoo with Warren Beatty, Julie Christy, Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant & Jack Warden in 1975. As a blogger, I only have profound admiration for her outrageous blog: http://carriefisher.com/?cat=1


Carrie Fisher usually kicks off her one-woman show- Wishful Drinking with a delightful story about finding a dead guy in her bed. Then she asks the audience if they have any questions. Among some of the queries she's been asked: "How did you know he was dead?" "Have you ever seen a dead body?" she'll answer. "They're blue & yellow… which are the international colors of death… & they're really bad conversationalists." Little is off limits: She discusses the scandal of her superstar parents, Debbie Reynolds & Eddie Fisher, when he ran off with Elizabeth Taylor; her brief marriage to singer Paul Simon; the act that the father of her daughter left her for a man; & the day she woke up next to the dead body of a platonic friend who had overdosed in her bed.

" I do believe you're only as sick as your secrets. If that's true, I'm just really healthy."

Actor, novelist, screenwriter, playwright & creator of the best quips:

"I do believe you're only as sick as your secrets. If that's true, I'm just really healthy."

"I'm a product of Hollywood inbreeding. When two celebrities mate, something like me is the result" 

 "I don't have a problem with drugs so much as I have a problem with sobriety."

“As you get older, the pickings get slimmer, but the people don't.”


“Drugs made me feel more normal.”


“ I think of my body as a side effect of my mind.”


“I was street smart, but unfortunately the street was Rodeo Drive.”


Her tweet yesterday on Twitter: “If you don't like me please suck my big bovine tiny dancer cock”.

Trivia: She lives in a house that was once the carriage house of the master house of Errol Flynn. She collects 19th century paintings of cows.

Quote Of The Day

"I don't know what makes a person more conservative- to know nothing of the present, or nothing but the past."
John Maynard Keys

Quote Of The Day... Lily Tomlin

"Reality is a crutch for people who can't handle drugs."
Lily Tomlin