Tallulah Bankhead

'Modern Family' Star On Gay Terminology, Gurl

Patricia Clarkson As Two Great Actresses?

That would add up to three great actresses, counting Clarkson herself. But let me explain. At the opening night party for Kinky Boots last night, I told the multi-award-nominated Clarkson that L.A. Times critic Charlie McNulty is writing a play about the late, great method mama Kim Stanley, and he ... More >>

Pia Zadora Is Coming To Our City!

She was the child star of Midgie Purvis, a 1961 Broadway comedy starring Tallulah Bankhead, and also appeared in 1964's immortal work of cinema Santa Claus Conquers The Martians. Later, she became the grownup vamp, married to the rich guy who freely bought gifts for press people. (I was sent a 10-sp ... More >>

Free Will Astrology: January 23-29, 2013

Misty Memories Part 500: The Time I Met Christine Jorgensen

"A lot of people who sing can't sing," Christine Jorgensen told me in 1981, "but at least I admit it!" The groundbreaking transsexual had come in from her home in Laguna Beach, California to make her New York cabaret debut. Her act consisted of saucy impersonations of Marlene Dietrich and Tallulah ... More >>

Am I An "Infantile" Or "Hysterical" Personality?

Probably both. I just read this analytical description in a book and it hit home a bit: "The infantile or hysterical personalities thrive on attention and unconditional approval and are hypersensitive to rejection.

Movie Stars Who Turned Down Legendary Roles

We all know about classic stuff like Cary Grant making sure they cast Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady instead of him, and Doris Day not tarnishing her image by doing The Graduate--a part that would have resulted in her still working today. But here are some other weird cinematic decisions, courtesy of ... More >>

Kathleen Turner Back On Broadway: My Review

​A feisty nun and a fidgety priest battle it out over a teen with sexual problems. Sound like the Pulitzer wining Doubt? You wish. High is more like a standard-issue play, with TV-style melodramatics cozying up to one-liners and some pretty banal religiosity. ("You've got to meet me halfw ... More >>

FOXY LADY

Elizabeth Marvel joins the greats

Another Part of the Forest and Can You Hear Their Voices? Receive Rare Revivals

Lillian Hellman looks back at the Gilded Age; Hallie Flanagan and Margaret Ellen Cliffort chart drought and the Depression

The Best Tallulah Bankhead Stories Ever!

​In honor of Valerie Harper's Tony nomination for Looped, in which she played the tanked diva of stage and life named Tallulah Bankhead, let's unearth as many outrageous stories as we can think of about the constantly ringing Southern belle's wildly riveting behavior. I'll start: *Tallulah w ... More >>

Mario Batali Accused of Labor Violations; The City's Best Restaurant Breads

​The final episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on ABC had mediocre ratings, earning less less than 4 million viewers and losing to Dateline and a repeat of Medium. [NY Post] Asian carp are reviled by fishermen in the North, but in the South, they're being rebranded as Kentucky tune: "a ... More >>

Will & Grace Star's Affair With George Clooney

Chattering with Emmy winner Leslie Jordan, plus sounding off on Broadway.

Next Fall and Book of Grace Seek Divinity; In Looped, Valerie Harper Is Divine

What's Up With Jeremy Renner's Sexuality?

You'll never guess who I saw on my latest outing.

GETTIN' LOOPY

Valerie Harper stars in Looped

Rhoda as Tallulah?

​What next--Georgette as Hepburn? But let's get real, dahlings. Valerie Harper is a likable lady who I always felt has a range she hasn't fully been allowed to explore. And now, the thought of her as divoon thesping diva Tallulah Bankhead is rather intriguing to me. Val is starring as Tallu ... More >>

Gwyneth Paltrow as Dietrich?

​What next--Valerie Harper as Tallulah Bankhead? I am so kidding. I just wrote about Harper's appeal, which some queens who've seen her as Tallu are kvelling about. And I do think Gwynnie Paltrow was astonishing in Shakespeare in Love and deserves a shot at a juicy role like pants-wearing, N ... More >>

YouTube Treasure: Tallulah in All About Eve

No, not All About Steve, the new Sandra Bullock vehicle that's not going to nab that many Oscars. I mean All About Eve, the classic 1950 movie starring Bette Davis as a brittle, aging diva whose entire life is supplanted by a young con artist with a smile and a psychological hatchet in her purse.

Celebrity Bathroom Stories

​Yes, even celebrities have to go to the toilet now and then, and proof of that is the fact that there are tons of famous stories about their wacky antics when they're in there. Well, two famous stories. And they're totally apocryphal.

The Best Lines Ever Spoken!

What are the wittiest remarks ever uttered--not on screen where they've been scripted and rehearsed, but in actual life? Among my personal faves are:

Li'l Dickens

Or: How I learned to stop worrying and make love to the vice president

Horoscope

Horoscope

Frank, Black: Film Noir's Hard-Boiled Cool as All-American Art

Horoscope

Downtown Dance and Performance Awards Celebrate 20 Years

Unwarranted Intrusion

A celebrity drops in on a budding playwright, but is that something to write plays about?

NY Mirror

NY Mirror

Theater

NY Mirror