2013-05-19T06:56:35-04:00 Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/author/index.php?author=liz-smith Copyright 2008, HuffingtonPost.com, Inc. HuffingtonPost Blogger Feed for Liz Smith Good old fashioned elbow grease. tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3292398 2013-05-17T09:38:31-04:00 2013-05-17T09:48:03-04:00

Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-smith/
In this particular case, charity is home!

• I went to a fundraiser last week for The Neighborhood Coalition where they had a "live auction' and guests began offering up huge sums of money just to get it to end! They raised a considerable sum with this uncomfortable "blackmail."

It's one thing to have a quick five minute auction. But 40 minutes is beyond the pale. However, many needy adults and children find homes and shelter as a result. So it's hard to quibble with that when so many of the needy haven't a roof over their heads.

This event was in The Boathouse where the food is excellent, and one overlooks the Central Park Lake with gondola rides. My fellow honorees were the charming maestro Cathy Blaney of Bloomberg Philanthropies. She also heads the WTC Museum. She was honored along with Dr. Mary White, a veritable saint and care provider/researcher/HIV fighter.

]These women practically have wings so I hid my little horns and pretended I was in their class, accepting accolades along with them.

Loved seeing the producer Fran Weissler who now has Pippin hot on Broadway. And my obstreperous pal Mickey Ateyeh who admired the beautiful Angela Cummings earrings I was wearing. (She gave them to me!) And I had fun with photographer Patrick McMullan.

I was asked to this event by Samuel Peabody, an old-fashioned gentleman, and he was with his health activist daughter Elizabeth and our friend from the Landmarks Conservancy, Scott Leurquin. I had a very good time helping in the fight to bring shelter to those who need it.

I congratulated the Shelter gang for their magnificent work and I tried not to bring down the tone.

I did tell a story that I love. Many years ago when the Rothschilds were momentarily driven out of France and had to operate their banks from NYC for awhile, I was seated next to the elegant Baron Guy de Rothschild at a charity dinner. The vaunted elegant Baron asked as the main course was served? "Miss Smith, explain why we are here? What is this event?"

I explained that the dinner was a fundraiser and people paid a great deal for tickets to benefit a charity. I told him that the U.S. government had more or less gotten out of charity business and it had landed on the private sector.

The Baron was amazed. He exclaimed: "The French would never do a thing like that!

So I congratulated the nights' elegant and very nice and generous crowd that they were not French and they had worked hard and made sacrifices of time and money to fill the gap. And this is a process that I thoroughly approve of and support. And you should too, once you choose the charity of your choice or one that means something to you.

And believe me, The Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter is a good choice.

Or are you just living for yourself?

• I was sitting around on a recent Sunday and happened on a festival of Reese Witherspoon movies.

I looked first at Walk the Line where she plays June Carter and I didn't intend to stay with it, but I did, to the very end. Then that segued into Sweet Home Alabama which somehow, I had never seen or didn't remember.

Reese just got better and better. Finally, I treated myself once more to the often-seen Legally Blonde, which I have never forgotten because my pal actress Holland Taylor has an important role in it.

But the orgy of gorging on Reese had its effect. She is a wonderfully compelling actress. She paid her dues, suffering a great deal of embarrassment because of the recent incident, and deserves to be "forgiven" by a public that has probably had a much messier life than the usually circumspect Reese.

As for her acting métier -- seldom has the Southern girl been played more convincingly or with more spirit than by Reese Witherspoon. And she wasn't a bad Becky Sharpe in Vanity Fair, either. (I interviewed Reese for that one, and came away impressed by her composure and no-nonsense attitude.)

She has a movie out now called Mud, which remains to be seen and four more on the way. A major movie talent!

• I got quite a kick this week because the two New York tabloids landed at my door. (Yes, I still pick up newspapers to read them!) The New York Daily News critic Joe Neumaier had a headline "It's a 'Star Trek' into greatness!" And following this rave, which was encouraging when it comes to the brand new "Star Trek Into Darkness," came The New York Post's Lou Lumenick with his totally opposite headine "Lost In Space." He didn't like the movie one bit. He wrote "What the 'Trek'! The limp plot of this silly new sequel has its phasers set to dumb."

So more than ever, you have to go and make your own judgment. I am predicting a big hit no matter what critics say. After all, in real life we have the actual spacecraft "Kepler" going crippled and probably delaying more examinations of outer space.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3285608 2013-05-16T10:25:31-04:00 2013-05-17T14:59:02-04:00

Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-smith/ Dark Passage, Elizabeth Taylor in Ash Wednesday. And now, in HBO's Behind the Candelabra, Michael Douglas playing Liberace, the swishy but closeted Las Vegas piano player. Matt Damon, bleached blond for his role, costars as Liberace's stoned and rhinestoned boyfriend, Scott Thorson, who was almost 40 years younger."

This is Joan Kron, the Allure magazine expert on face lifts international and you can read her two-part takeout on the movie, which bows on HBO May 26. Joan's expert view on these guys who felt they were forced to say they weren't gay when they were leading romantic and not so romantic flamboyant private lives together, may strike a younger generation as absurd. But Liberace always seemed to me to be a warm prince at heart. And I met Scott as well when the couple was still new together. I never got over visiting their house in Las Vegas with its multi-dogs, a Michelangelo fake painting on the ceiling and candelabra hanging only 12 inches over the coffee table.

Oh yes, tune into Joan Kron here.


• I can't wait to see the domestic struggles of Lee and Scott. But I already know that the winner will be my friend Rob Lowe, playing the Liberace doctor Jack Startz, wearing tons of makeup and a high-camp wig.


• Two big and worthy stars made plenty of high-powered news this week!

Angelina Jolie announced the shocking news of her brave double mastectomy and filled the world's breast cancer organizations with questions, answers and participation deluxe. Catapulted by her own beauty and dynamic talent away from her earlier sexual preoccupations and juvenile "showing off" into adoptive and personal motherhood and steady companionship with Brad Pitt, this glamorous star has vaulted herself into medical history. She has grown adult before our very eyes.

Angelina and Brad have worked tirelessly of late to help solve world problems. They were so active at Davos that the organizers had to ask them not to appear personally at meetings in Switzerland because they caused so much reaction. They went right on giving money and time to many international causes. Now, Angelia has made her medical history a part of history! Admiration abounds.

At the same time as he is being feted, ignored, castigated and examined as F. Scott Fitzgerald's Gatsby, Leo DiCaprio continues his own sweet way, not socking paparazzi and silently seldom defending himself from criticism. Think on this, the great actor's Foundation to fight global warming came about with an auction at Christie's the other night, that coincided with front page warnings from scientists about the earth's carbon dioxide emissions being at dangerous levels. And thus, Leo's fronting for solutions to global warming raised an
astounding $38 million.

In this rock'n'roll downturn of Internet celebrities and young foolish narcissistic VIP's, here are two major and talented and thoughtful "fame victims" who have turned their stardom to good will and good works! More power to both of them.


• If you want to know what's going on with your TV viewing these days, you have to embrace the inside stuff from The Hollywood Reporter. Their headline is "Fox banks on male comedy.. .NBC likes big stars and ABC tries to avoid fourth place. CBS still sis in first place!" But everything is changing and there are no static situations. Slow growth and dwindling dominance in regular TV, the Reporter predicts.


• I am sorry if you missed On Your Toes at the Encore series in City Center. This big cast would never make it today. Nobody could afford them, even for a long run hit. But I do want to say that ballet star Irina Dvorovenko and Christine Baranski were two of the most adorable, able and delightful actresses I've ever seen onstage. Downright sexy and glamorous. The audience for this approximately $25 a ticket revival went absolutely crazy. Rodgers & Hart & Balanchine at their best!

Coming Encore revivals include "The Giacomo Variations," starring John Malkovich, "The Cradle Will Rock," "Violet," and "I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road." Call 212-581- 1212.


•No one will ever take Robin Wright (the ex Mrs. Sean Penn) or Kevin Spacey, the multiple Oscar winner, for granted again. What magnificent actors! I wasn't in the crowd that first went crazy over the Netflix ongoing all-at-once movie House of Cards, but now I am rationing myself to two of these every Sunday afternoon and if this kind of inside Washington drama doesn't kill off reality non-acting TV, well, I'll be surprised. The networks should pay attention.


• The Stella by Starlight gala on June 10 is shaping up for Elaine Stritch. Now, Stephen Sondheim has been added and he will get The Marlon Brando Award. Added to the program -- Martin Sheen, Harry Belafonte, Liza Minnelli, Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, Mike Medavoy, and they are tying to raise dough like crazy for the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. Call 212-689-0087 ext. 27.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3272653 2013-05-14T10:07:55-04:00 2013-05-14T10:59:06-04:00

Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-smith/
A great quote from Lady Gaga, although she is too young to realize your career can wake up and tell you it doesn't love you anymore.

• There's a documentary making the rounds titled "The Girls in the Band." This tells the stories of women's dreams and the hard choices they made, back when those choices were really hard.

Right now, the film, directed by Judy Chaikin, is being offered by the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center at Lincoln Center. (It has won a number of prestigious film festival awards.)

This is a story about jazz and its aftermath -- rock, rap and whatever we have now. It is an extraordinary history lesson, about music, women, and how the latter -- Caucasian, African-American, Chinese and every other variety of woman -- were stigmatized and ruled against and kept out of the early history of jazz.

There is pride, but more than a touch of sadness in the stories told by old-timers and new-timers about how men have dominated the American musical venues, sidelining talented female musicians. Why? Because these women didn't want to get up in front of the band in a pretty dress and sing. They wanted to bang it out on the trumpet, the trombone, and drums. But piano -- genteel piano -- was maybe okay. Sexism and racism abounded except for a rare occasional success like Ina Ray Hutton.

"The Girls In the Band" examines how some of the women finally broke through. For many it was too late, rock and roll lessened the importance of the jazz scene as a whole. Some of the women who tell their tales are Geri Allen, Jane Ira Bloom, Clora Bryant, Viola Smith, Peggy Gilbert, Carline Ray, etc. They are, each one, impressive and important to the history of music. This is a hugely entertaining, and enlightening tale. We are treated finally to the recognized talents of Marian McPartland, age 95.

I sat with the gifted Tommy Tune for this premiere last week along with a gala crowd that included Hearst's Frank Bennack, Pam Fiori and Colt Givner, Paulette Washington, Gillian and Sylvester Miniter, Mike Greene, Nancy Kissock, Peter Gelb of the Met Opera, Del Bryant of BMI, Linda Moran, prexy of the songwriters Hall of Fame, Alan and Arlene Alda, Peter Brown, Chris Lowell, Adreianne Arsht and I'm sure a missed a few.

Tickets can be found here.

•I want to cite a longtime friend Ann Ziff, who is the chair at the Met. She is vice chair of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, on the board at Carnegie Hall and founder and patron of many worthy charities. It is Ann who made the Met's entire Wagner cycle possible. She also hosted this jazz for women party as well. And here I thought she was just another pretty face.

• "There's about this theater. I just love it. I'm surprised I've never played here before."

"You have."

"I have? When?"

"2006."

"Ha! Better than 1806!"

So went some banter between Liza Minnelli and her press guy, Scott Gorenstein, after Liza's terrific show at the State Theater in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Liza was performing at a special 25th annual benefit gala, which keeps the grand old theater up and running and attracting big names. (Twenty-five years ago, the State had become a run-down porn palace, on the verge of being demolished.) It now provides education and outreach programs along with all that entertainment.

As for Miss Minnelli, she was at the very top of her current form, vibrant and soulful--vamping and camping and giving her usual 150 percent. Onstage, under the lights, watching her move, it's hard to believe she has ever heard the word hip replacement -- and more than once! -- along with a battery of other physical ailments that dancers are prone to. The Oscar/Emmy/Tony and Grammy winner did a lot of the old faves, along with some lesser known songs from her last album, "Confessions" plus several Charles Aznavour songs -- especially striking on "What Makes a Man a Man?" And her rendition of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," with vocal assist by Billy Stritch, was superb.

Liza banged out "Cabaret" and "New York, New York" with blistering, determined vigor. But those giant notes at the end can be elusive. Not that anybody cares, as Liza actually stopped her musicians at one point and said, "I'm just gonna do this on my own, okay?" And she did. After "New York, New York," she laughed and said, "That's it for all the songs with big notes!"

Liza still takes dancing and singing lessons. The former helps her remain nimble, the latter she has wisely used to work on the deep, husky middle and low range of her voice. And when she displays that voice, she is actually a better, more involved and involving singer than in her youth. It is an impressive, spine-tingly sound. She has not become a stagnant artist. She still looks for new material, she clearly prefers to stay within her range, but she knows fans would riot if she didn't sing certain songs. (Although being a benefit this was not quite a "Liza" crowd. They were enthusiastic, but not rabid. Sensing this, she joked, "You know, you can go out and have dinner, I won't be offended.")

• Backstage, she greeted fans such as TCM's Robert Osborne -- whom she encouraged to take a bow from the audience, lauding his contributions to film appreciation and preservation. She was relaxed, amusing, sharp, looked fresh, even after her rigors, and apparently pleased with the way everything had gone. There was none of that wild tension that can inhabit a dressing room when something has gone wrong and the star is unhappy. The staff is then unhappy. The bodyguards are unhappy. And well-intentioned visitors want to flee instantly!

Miss Minnelli continues her endless touring. Poughkeepsie is next. She remains relentlessly upbeat and determined, dammit, that she will never, ever "go like Elsie!"]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3266269 2013-05-13T10:12:33-04:00 2013-05-13T10:28:39-04:00

Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-smith/
• On the day the Drama Desk announced a nomination for Bette Midler's one-person show about the Hollywood super-agent, Sue Mengers, the audience at the Wednesday matinee last week exploded into applause and laughter again and again. This was my second time seeing I'll Eat
You Last and I enjoyed Bette's joie de vivre and her heartfelt sadness alternating with the character. She "becomes" Sue Mengers, dishing Hollywood to the last vivid drop.

The matinee audience was great -- lots of women, a good number of men and a few children kept interrupting the play with more and more applause. Bette almost wasn't able to close the show. The audience applauded over the last lines.

I have decided why Bette didn't get a Tony nomination. They opened the play too close to the end of Tony-voting time and a lot of voters had already made choices. It was just timing, not taking anything out on Bette who is Broadway's and the world's darling.

This thing is a sell-out, and you don't have to have known Sue Mengers to love it. If you like "dish" about the capital of dishing, this play, plus its great star, is your cup of bitter, hysterical tea.

• Neil Patrick Harris will host the Tony Awards for the fourth time, this year. He is the greatest. So funny and charming and totally with-it. He can sing and dance and make fun of himself and the proceedings. Let's just have him become the Bob Hope of the Tonys and allow him to head the event every year. It's not gonna get any better than Neil.

• One of the brightest and best writers of our times lives down in New Orleans. She is Julia Reed, who Vogue magazine let slip away in an odd quarrel over Hillary Clinton and a dress. (One can barely remember the details of things like that. They turn out to be so silly.)

Anyway, Julia is happily married to a master of the oil universe, and they bought a big house to renovate on Bourbon Street and Julia concentrated on writing about food and entertaining. This Southern-bred girl is famous partly because her mother is described as "the best cook-chef in all of Mississippi."

Now, Julia has a new book out titled But Mama Always Put Vodka in her Sangria, and it is so much fun, it will -- as they say in Mississippi -- "make you hit your grandma!"

I know this phrase to be high praise because my own ladylike-precious grandmother, Sally Ball McCall, often used this absurd expression as the highest praise.

• "Line up, you tramps!" That was the marvelous character actress Hope Emerson, as a sadistic prison matron getting her "girls" ready for the day, in the movie, Caged.

Caged remains the most harrowing, heartbreaking, women's prison movie ever. (The supporting cast, which includes Agnes Moorehead, Ellen Corby, Lee Patrick, Betty Garde, Gertrude Hoffman and Jan Sterling is also stellar -- every bitter, crazy, suggestive one liner, brilliantly uttered.) The star of that 1950 classic was Eleanor Parker. And how great that Turner Classic Movies is honoring Miss Parker as its "Star of the Month" for June.

Parker was one of Hollywood's most lustrous beauties and a fine, varied actress. Perhaps too varied. She never quite found a niche, an identifiable image. She always seemed about to explode into major stardom, but somehow remained second tier, despite three Oscar nominations. The year she was nominated for Caged, her competition was Bette Davis and Anne Baxter in All About Eve, Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard and Judy Holliday for Born Yesterday. (Miss Holliday won, much to Bette Davis' disapproval.)

So in June, we'll get to see all of Eleanor's most popular films, including Detective Story, Scaramouche, Interrupted Melody and the movie that she is perhaps, oddly, most remembered for -- The Sound of Music, in which she provided some much-needed acidity to the syrup. (She doesn't slap Julie Andrews, but you'd like her to!)

However, for heaven's sake, don't miss Caged. You'll be stunned at just how daring a film made in 1950 could be.


"His voice was like a Stradivarius violin: one of the greatest instruments ever made." That's Merle Haggard in Rolling Stone, writing about the passing and legacy of country legend George Jones.

And if you don't know George Jones or his music, download "He Stopped Loving Her Today." It will stop your heart.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3254385 2013-05-10T14:16:46-04:00 2013-05-10T14:29:19-04:00

Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-smith/
So snapped Elizabeth Taylor to Rex Harrison in "Cleopatra," a movie that pretended to chronicle the life of Egypt's ancient queen, but was really "All About Liz."

• "Cleopatra," directed in stately style by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, is the film that all but bankrupted 20th Century-Fox. (So hot was Fox to have Taylor, they mounted two productions of the film. After La Liz fell critically ill in London, they began all over again in Rome a year later, and even sold part of the studio's back lot.)

The movie cost a then-astronomical $40 million. (About $400 million today!) It is referred to always as a "bomb." But in fact, the public flocked to "Cleopatra" making it one of the top-grossers of 1963. It simply could never make back its then cost. In time, after being sold to TV, it inched into the black.

Now, a restored, pristine version of "Cleopatra" will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, partnering with one of Taylor's favorite jewelers, Bulgari. (Elizabeth's opulent Bulgari pieces will be on display at the reception following the screening.) Alas, the movie will probably never be fully restored. Mank shot at least six hours and wanted to break the film in two--the first part centering on Cleo and Caesar, the second on Cleo and Antony (Richard Burton) But Darryl Zanuck had had enough, and cut the movie to 243 minutes. (Which was then further cut during its road-show run.) Elizabeth said: "They cut the heart out of the movie--and so many of Richard's great scenes." It's possible the footage is still around, rotting in the Fox vaults, but unlikely at this point.

Still, it is fascinating to watch, because Mank was clearly writing his script to emulate the ups and downs of Elizabeth and Richard's romance -- doomed by too-much-passion, too-much-drink, egos and power-plays. "I want to be free of you, of wanting you!" Richard/Anthony announces at one point. And Liz/Cleo weeps, "I should have felt this when I was very young, to know what love is." It's romantic and tragic and shiver-inducing.

• I'm usually telling you about big Broadway shows, with major stars and (hopefully) long runs. But once in a while I like to promote something that seems special and is very "New York-ish." On Monday, May 20th, for one night only, The Gingold Theatrical Group presents Bernard Shaw's once-shocking play, "Mrs. Warren's Profession."

It's about a genial brothel owner who becomes acquainted with her daughter, fresh from college. This one has it all -- sex, women's rights, religion, the relationships between parent and child. David Staller directs, and the play stars Matt Doyle...Richard Easton..Harriet Harris...Amelia Pedlow..Tony Sheldon..Lenny Wolpe..and Roma Torre. Call 212-352-3101 for tickets. Come, on, get yourself some culture on a Monday night.

• Playwright, author and activist Larry Kramer will receive The Isabelle Stevenson Award at this year's Tony Awards on Sunday June 9.

Kramer has been one of the most controversial and remarkably persistent (and prescient) figures in the arts. His great play, "The Normal Heart" about the early days of the AIDS crisis, still rings true, and breaks your heart. (The 2011 version of this wrenching work received a Tony for Best Revival of a play.) In the face of extreme criticism, he was one of the few who stood up to suggest that perhaps the gay community should begin to take some measures to save themselves from unprotected sex. (I can only imagine his thoughts and remarks these days as AIDS statistics rise again, and a new generation shrugs off the disease as something "manageable" with the proper "cocktail" of medication.)

Larry, he of the eternal farmer's over-alls, will be the subject of a cable documentary. This coincides with "The Normal Heart" finally making its way to the screen next year. In the time honored manner of Hollywood, it will not come to the big screen, but rather HBO.

Look, HBO is as big as any studio these days. (The years-long saga of attempting to film "The Normal Heart" would make a movie in itself!)

Anyway, Julia Roberts, Matt Bomer, Jim Parsons, Taylor Kitsch, Mark Ruffalo, Joe Mantello are on board, as well as my old pal, Alec Baldwin.

• Our less-than-positive review of Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby caused us to receive quite a bit of mail, with most people saying, "Thanks, Liz, I knew it wouldn't be good."

Well, as I mentioned several times in my "Gatsby" remarks, my opinion was my opinion only. Many might love it, as they did "Les Miserables"--another movie with which I was less-than-enthralled. I'm no film critic. I write what I feel in the moment. I think people should make up their own minds and not take the word of anybody else. (Unless it's a slasher movie or "torture porn," I don't wish failure on any film, certainly not one as ambitious as "Gatsby.")

You know, a few years back, I went to see Sofia Coppola's "Marie Antoinette." I didn't care for it. But recently it has been on cable a great deal, and I've come to appreciate what Ms. Coppola was trying to do with her tale of the tragic Queen of France. I still have some issues with the movie, but I like it much more than I did when I first saw it. (Perhaps the lush old black-and-white version with Norma Shearer and Tyrone Power is still rattling around in my head.)

So, maybe in a few years, I'll understand what Mr. Luhrmann was up to with "Gatsby?" And if I do, I'll be the first to say so!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3245040 2013-05-09T09:43:35-04:00 2013-05-09T10:17:44-04:00

Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-smith/
I found this in a quote file attributed to one Liz Smith. I can't believe I wrote that. Perhaps whoever did, will communicate and take credit. I adored my mother. Here's what I wrote about her for a recent program for the T. J. Martell Foundation which fights cancer in a big big way. I was recently honored by them and they asked for a remembrance of my mother for their program. Here it is:

My mother used to say if we did good in life there'd "be a lot of stars in your crown in heaven." We three children were convinced since she died at 95 that she was shining bright in heaven. My mother was a country girl born in Mississippi to a circuit horse-riding doctor father and a teacher for a mother. Dr. McCall died when she was 13 and he left a drawerful of medical bills, $150,000 unpaid to him.

Elizabeth McCall was a good Southern Baptist Christian. She always did the right thing and expected us to. I am still trying to be more like her. My father always said, "After I met your mother I never looked at another woman again!" So, I guess they were ideal.

I wrote her some kind of letter or note every single day after I left Texas. I still miss my mother, although I am now almost her age when she died suddenly, watching "As The World Turns" and playing solitaire in her chair. My brother assured me when he called, "It's OK, she had just had her hair done and she looks beautiful."

• The T. J. Martell Foundation is made up of numbers of ladies who were all gorgeous at lunch in their hats. (This was at the Riverpark on the East River. The honorees were Marcie Allen of Mac Presents where she is large as a music industry VIP...JoAnn Camuti of American Airlines, Lori Stokes of ABC's Eyewitness News and Dr. Margaret I. Cuomo who has written "A World Without Cancer." (Her famous parents, Matilde and Mario Cuomo, once residents of the governor's mansion in Albany made it very special indeed and the onetime Gov. of New York told me a story about his 12 grand-daughters and his one grandson)... and also with us was the Martell CEO Laura Heatherly of Nashville, Dallas and points elsewhere where big beautiful ladies hats abound (best teeth I've ever seen!). We had entertainment by Grammy nominee Elle Varner who actually played guitar and sang a song I could understand.

Everybody saluted the excellent Dr. James Holland who shapes great research for this important organization. But my own speech was mostly about another Dr. Jimmie Holland (his wife) and a famous psychiatrist in her own right.

It isn't unusual in Texas, where she hails from, for girls to be given boy's names. Dr. Jimmie, research notwithstanding, is the best chicken fried steak maker in the entire world! Maybe I brought down the tone of the T. J. Martell Foundation, but we all had a very good time!

• Oh yes, Jenna Wolfe was an exuberant emcee in the same way she scores mornings on The Today Show. She worked against holding her stomach in, as she says she does all the time professionally on NBC, because she is expecting a baby girl in a few months. I've seldom seen a better, funnier, wittier emcee in such a "serious" fundraiser. Jenna speaks French, Spanish and Creole. She developed her savoir faire from covering sports before The Today Show found her. I wish I could recruit her to enliven some of my charities.

• The comeback girls! You haters or dislikers of Anne Hathaway and Gwyneth Paltrow might have to re-think. Both of these actresses have paid the price in public "dissing" for their having won the Academy Award. But I thought Anne was the most fascinating, most interesting looking of all the women we saw photos of at the Metropolitan Museum's Anna Wintour fashion bash of
the year! Her new cropped blonde locks were an antidote to all that has been said about her. (And she remains one of the best actresses I've seen in a lifetime of movies. Both in The Devil Wears Prada and Jenny Lumet's Rachel Getting Married.)

As for Gwyneth -- she just goes gravely on, ignoring her critics and now she is part and parcel of a large comeback team with Robert Downey, Jr. in Iron Man 3. Association with this success will go a long way for the public's forgiving her for People magazine naming her the most beautiful woman in the world.

Neither of these women has made the "fashion" impact of Sarah Jessica Parker that same Museum night. Sarah was more for just plain show and I can't believe anybody would seriously wear such a get-up twice. But as the brilliant Anna Wintour has said in the past about the ultra fashion of Vogue, "These clothes are not for people to buy. They are aspirational!"

• Here's the New York Times yesterday under the headline "Rap, Both Good and Bad for Business." They examine the current fad, or whatever it is. "Three times in recent weeks large companies ... have ... learned the hard way, severing ties with rappers they had previously happily paid to endorse their products..." (They were talking Reebok's dropping Rick Ross over objectionable lyrics, and PepsiCo's MountainDew is doing the same to Lil Wayne. This is a
neon-bright sign of corporate retrenchment in the face of protest, bad press and flashes of moral rectitude..."

But the real sum up to this is the Times statement: "These reactions are a signal of how expendable hip-hop culture... and, by extension, black culture and youth culture -- is to mainstream, predominantly white-owner corporations..." Reporter Jon Caramanica goes on to examine the hypocrisy and usefulness of these attitudes. (May 8 The Arts edition of the Times.)

Maybe it is just the out-size publicity granted success stories like Beyonce and Jay-Z and Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, who are choice morsels for the tabloids and the Internet gossip press to seize on. They are the new noveau riche and they more than act like it!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3236248 2013-05-08T07:35:43-04:00 2013-05-09T09:54:42-04:00

Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-smith/
• Liza Minnelli is the latest big star to step forward and support the NOH8 Campaign. This is a photographic protest created in response to the passage of California's Prop 8, which amended the state constitution to ban same sex marriage. Photographs show celebs with duct tape over their mouths, symbolizing voices being silenced. Liza joins others in this protest, such as Deepak Chopra, Fran Drescher, Audra McDonald, Ashlee Simpson, Cindy McCain, Tori Spelling, Greg Louganis and Kim Kardashian.

Liza, long a champion of gay rights, says: "Here's what I believe. No shame. No blame. No guilt. Be who you are."

Powerful words. And oddly enough, they could stand as the personal mantra of her life!

• Today Mika Brzezinski, the usually bare-armed, well-toned blonde who tries to calm down the unruly frat boys of MSNBC's "Morning Joe" -- will appear at the MDC Partners Innovation Centre. Mika will be promoting her candid new book, "Obsessed: America's Food Addiction--And My Own."

Mika, who seems to have an easier time of it on-air these days, what with Joe Scarborough taking more chill pills, has apparently struggled with a variety of issues concerning her weight, self-image and her relationship with food.

"Obsessed" is published by Weinstein Books. Harvet Weinstein himself, along with comic David Steinberg, are hosting the event. Harvey says, "I am so proud of Mika and this book!"

The big question--will Mika wear one of her well-known sleeveless little dresses to her book party? If she does, it'll be fine. Unlike some women (and some clueless men who walk around in tank tops) Ms. Brzezinski has the arms for it.

• Two-time Olympian runner Nick Symmonds is being pursued by ABC to become its new hot "Bachelor" on the still-popular reality show. Nick is an Eagle Scout from Boise, Idaho, and likes to go fishing when he isn't sprinting. He's charming and good-looking (natch!) and the kind of guy "any girl could introduce to her parents."

Well, a girl could introduce any kind of guy to meet her parents. But Nick seems to be a genuine sweetie.

• Robert Downey Jr. must feel he is living under a lucky star. The brilliant actor soared fast and high, plummeted faster and lower than anybody could have believed. He seemed to be forever lost to drugs.

But he came back, slowly but surely, first as the great actor he has always been, and now, incredibly, as the action star of the "The Iron Man" films. Each one of these is more phenomenally successful than the last. Already, after the astounding weekend of "Iron Man 3," talk of a fourth and even fifth film, is already being discussed--in the press, at least. Men tend to have an easier time rehabilitating themselves in the public eye, so that helped Downey. But it was his talent and intelligence that were his real assets.

I'm glad for him. Now, let's see what re-hab lockdown does for Lindsay Lohan.

• Ad Week features Keith Richards, back in 1980, holding a big open bottle of Jack Daniels scotch. They say marketers love this sort of look back into nostalgia and that consumers are "drinking it up!" So everything old is new again, like they keep saying.

This magazine asked multi-media celeb Michael Smerconish, to talk about how he has changed in going for sat radio over his former 80 stations: "This will allow me to deliver a program without regard for the fact that I'm surrounded by people who want to kick the crap out of Obama whether he deserves it or not...I am now an independent. I'm a believer in the death penalty. I believe in a strong defense. I'm a firearms owner. But I'm also pro-choice. I believe we should legalize pot and prostitution."

Michael also appears on MSNBC, writes for the Philadelphia Inquirer and has written several books.

•From Sally Kellerman, promoting her coming autobiography, Read My Lips. Why didn't she seem to take advantage of her "M*A*S*H" success? Sally says, "I began to believe my own publicity. I'd been this overweight, not very confident girl, and now everybody was telling me I was the greatest. All these interesting people wanted to write for me, work with me. But instead I thought, 'I've got this acting thing down. Time to work on my music.' I wanted to go on the road, get some soul. I wanted to be like Billie Holiday, but without the drugs... Well, maybe just a little grass."]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3229264 2013-05-07T09:02:17-04:00 2013-05-07T09:23:06-04:00

Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-smith/ The View is still a daytime ratings-getter, last year averaging 3.3 million viewers a day.


But still that was down from previous years -- according to focus groups -- that was the fault of Joy (Behar) and Elisabeth (Hasselbeck) who were too politically polarizing... And so, Jenny McCarthy is among the first of many who will be trying out for the big gig.

Apparently, the producers must not think of her as polarizing, despite the evidence. Like the fact that the vehement, anti-childhood- vaccine activist posed naked again last year on the cover of Playboy.


So writes the New York Post's very smart TV critic Linda Stasi. Linda goes on to deplore Jenny as a fake when it comes to giving advice about kids and saying she is a "stay-at-home mom." Joy states "It is the diversity of ages, races and opinions that makes The View work!"

Personally, I'd vote for New Yorker Brooke Shields to come on board. And bring back Joy Behar!

• Now is your chance to see the fabled Tommy Tune, and you won't have to pay an arm and a leg. He is appearing at Town Hall, 123 West 45 Street on June 1, a Saturday, at this great Manhattan gathering place.

I keep telling you that Tommy is the only person ever to have won nine Tony awards; they should re-name them "the Tommy Awards."

And his act is better than ever. You've never seen an over-six-foot-tall tap dancer do what he does. If you want to see me in person, be there although Tommy hasn't been reduced to having me join him onstage yet. He keeps saying "Please, Liz, let me do it myself!"

Here's how to get tickets. Go from 12 to 6 to the Town Hall box office. Take the easy way out and call Ticketmaster, 1-800-982-2787. Or call up the-townhall-nyc.org.

The show is called "Steps in Time."

• Happenings! Christine Baranski, who has had a lot of prizes in her acting career, always insists that family comes first and that she is just an old-fashioned wife and mother. I say nuts!

She keeps the dedicated and famous, such as director Mike Nichols and his like, never missing
a chance to view her performance, wherever it may be. So now she is doing "On Your Toes" in the Encores! concerts at New York City Center through May 8-12 and you can call for tickets, $30, and up at 212 - 581-1212.

I have just loved watching Christine play the partner in a law firm in the TV smash hit The Good Wife, and they allowed her to have sexy romantic moments just as many middle-aged women do! She is simply great as a realistic, demanding lawyer and "lover." Just as she stole the TV series Cybill away from Cybill Shepherd back in 1995, as a martini-loving friend.

If you go to see Baranski, you'll be seeing one of Cole Porter's greatest shows with the hit standard "There's a Small Hotel."

So I know Christine's husband and two grown daughters and she is devoted to their life together in Connecticut and around the world. But I also know, as they do, that acting comes a dead heat second -- and maybe she'd top it off with a Margarita.

• The Katharine Hepburn Garden Party is taking place May 11 at 1 p.m. on a Saturday at the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. And you can find out how to go and how to have free coffee and cake on the Great Kate by calling 212-826-8980. Meanwhile, Miss Hepburn's house at Fenwick, out of Old Saybrook, Çonnecticut is now all done over and for sale at only $30 million or so. The rep for this is my pal Colette Harron at Sotheby's call 860-767-7488 ext: 107.

Now that young Taylor Swift has bought herself something expensive on the Northeastern Seaboard, realtors all over Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island are making big bucks having rich folks follow her example.

• Plan ahead if you love Christiane Amanpour and Cynthia McFadden because these two dynamos are chairing the Courage in Journalism Awards at lunch, Cipriani 42nd Street on October 23, with Bank of America the national presenting sponsor.

• Out in LA. this happens as a dinner October 29 with Cindi Leive of Glamour presiding and Chevron sponsoring. Contact Weinstein Special Events at 212-254-6677 ext 303 if you believe in The International Women's Media Foundation. Or if you believe in journalists who are risking their lives.

• I am personally still trying to write my acceptance for the Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter lunch which happens May 14 for "Women of Achievement," happening at the Boathouse in Central Park. And Bloomberg Philanthropies just gave a big hunk of change in my honor and in honor of our pal Cathy Blaney, a political not for profit fundraiser for the Museum of 9/11.

This might confuse you because there is to be another "Women of Achievement Award" gala honoring Women's Project Theater on May 13th at 10 Debrosses Street in Tribeca. Joanna Coles and the legendary Helen Gurley Brown will be saluted...as will Cosmopolitan Group's Donna Kalajian Lagani, HBO's great documentary film maker Sheila Nevins, and the B'Way League's Charlotte St. Martin. Call 212-228-7446 ext. 10.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3222790 2013-05-06T10:10:35-04:00 2013-05-06T10:25:36-04:00

Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-smith/
Alas, or luckily, Oscar never saw Baz Luhrmann's latest interpretation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby.

Mr. Luhrmann has done the impossible -- he has rendered Gatsby lurid, noisy and without soul.

• Starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the mysterious Jay Gatsby, Carey Mulligan as the shallow socialite with whom he is obsessed, and Tobey Maguire as the sensitive narrator of the tale, director Luhrmann, for reasons known only to him, decided to shoot this intimate story in 3-D. He says Fitzgerald was a "cinematic" writer and would have approved. I have seen but one film, Oz the Great and Powerful, where the 3-D process didn't distract. Here, the distraction is overpowering and definitely unnecessary. In fact, it is laughable. The soundtrack is also snicker-inducing, with modern Jay-Z hip-hop songs peppering the endless Moulin Rouge-style wild parties at Jay Gatsby's mammoth estate and other equally eye-and-ear hurting sequences. Is this really like the Roaring 20s?

• I couldn't help but think about the 1974 version of The Great Gatsby. It was a critical and financial disappointment, but in the gaudy face of Mr. Luhrmann's vision, I see a re-evaluation on the way. In the '74 film, Mia Farrow, Karen Black and Bruce Dern gave somewhat over-the-top performances. Robert Redford was criticized for being restrained to the point of ennui. And not showing Gatsby's "tough" side. He was too elegant. Well, now I say, three cheers for ennui and elegance!

The brilliantly talented Leonardo shows us nothing but Gatsby's pompous posing and shifty gazes. The warm and embracing smile, the romanticism and the hope that Nick Carraway (Tobey) sees in Gatsby, are absent.

Leo is also, despite being bronzed throughout, puffy-faced and not looking quite his best. DiCaprio, despite his hot minute as sex-symbol is really, and always has been, a great character actor. And he's been robbed of an Oscar on several occasions! If I had to re-cast this one, I'd select Ryan Gosling.

Carey Mulligan as Daisy? I've come to think this role is impossible, for any actress. We are supposed to have some empathy for this Zelda-like character, despite her pretensions and betrayals. But, we are also supposed to see what she is, from the first. Miss Mulligan is lovely to look at, but has a somewhat flat affect. I actually began to long for Mia Farrow's quirky, hysterical Daisy -- totally wrong but like a train wreck, impossible not to notice. (Mulligan is good, however, in the famous hotel room scene, where she is compelled to make a heartbreaking confession.)

Joel Edgerton is suitably brutish as Daisy's husband, though he seems almost a cartoon of vile debauchery. Tobey does what he can as the innocent narrator and Elizabeth Debicki is icy, beautiful and impressive as Jordan, the socialite golf pro.

• Is it sumptuous to look at? Yes. But is that really the point of The Great Gatsby? This is Fitzgerald strained through Mr. Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge and Australia. (By the way, I loved Australia, despite its length and the fact that it was six unconnected movies in one. You weren't supposed to take it seriously. I didn't, and had a good time. The Great Gatsby I expect to take it seriously!)

I have heard some chat that the Gatsby costumes will bring back 1920s style. I doubt it. Theoni V. Aldredge won an Oscar for her designs for the Redford/Farrow film. But 20s styles did not return. The designer for Baz's film is less accurate, everything looks fairly trashy, really. Nobody need worry that they'll be forced into cloche hats and short straight-line dresses with fringe.

Maybe millions will love this movie. For instance, I loathed Les Miserables -- as a play and even more as a film -- but it made money. And Anne Hathaway won an Oscar -- and for that I was glad!

So my opinion is just that -- my opinion. Perhaps it will take HBO or Showtime or the BBC to finally render The Great Gatsbyproperly. Or never. It seems to be literature and no film can get it right.

In any case, the box-office will rule. As will what's left of the music industry. Anticipation for the soundtrack is high and hot.

• Now, before you think I am a monster, I did attend the Peggy Siegal luncheon for Gatsby last week at the New York Public Library, mostly populated by film and fashion scribes. Anna Wintour was among the hosts, and most of the stars attended -- Miss Mulligan, Mr. Maguire, Mr. Edgerton, and Miss Isla Fisher. Every one of them was amusing, sensitive, passionate about the film and their roles. Baz Luhrmann was there too and he's super passionate.

Let me say this: No film, certainly nothing on this massive scope, is meant to be bad. Elizabeth Taylor once said to me, in the wake of some brutal criticism, "My God, do they think we set out to make a bad movie?!" And maybe The Great Gatsby isn't bad. I did notice a generational gap. The younger folks liked it a lot. The older ones did not. The Great Gatsby opens on Friday. I was informed that I was embargoed from writing about it till May 6, today. I assume other and perhaps more positive critiques will be available.

Lunching and listening to the directors and stars didn't change my opinion, but I came away liking them very much and admiring their commitment and heart.

Oh, funniest line. Isla Fisher, who plays the pathetic Myrtle was asked, How did it feel to play a floozy?" She answered, "I've never not played a floozy! And if my poor father was here he could attest to that."]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3209261 2013-05-03T11:33:11-04:00 2013-05-03T11:40:39-04:00

Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-smith/
Oh my! I have so many friends and acquaintances who have a distinctly opposite point of view these days.

• That "Living Landmark" of New York City, the actress Candice Bergen, is going into movie production. Last seen onstage by theater goers, she was simply great as the neglected wife of a politician in the recent staging of Gore Vidal's "The Best Man."

Candy will now delve into a big screen version of her own past as the child of famed ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. He invented the tuxedo-ed 'dummy' Charlie McCarthy, a big radio and film rage of the Fifties. The 'dummy' became one of the surprising and unlikely celebrities of his time, with his good-looking creator (Edgar) sitting beside him in a pose of elegant innocence

In this manner of speaking, Edgar and his beautiful wife, Frances, became the parents of Candice and her brother Kris, but Charlie became a star, landing the two true Bergens in the shade. "This creation took over and eclipsed the creator," says Candy. "It was the dummy that wouldn't die. Åll the fan mail initially went to Charlie. And Edgar wasn't really welcome at parties in the beginning unless Charlie was with him. It was totally surreal." This will all be based on Candy's 1984 memoir, "Knock Wood."

Edgar Bergen died in 1978 at age 75. And Charlie went to the Smithsonian. Evidently Candy's idea for this movie is not that she and Kris were so overshadowed by Charlie that they hardly mattered, but that their Swedish father never received his due. (As a child, she was irritated at being described as "Charlie McCarthy's little sister.") It's an amazing story and will make a great movie. No release projection yet.

As you know, Candice Bergen herself went on to become as famous as anyone who has ever starred in a comedic hit TV show. She had to request that the Emmys stop naming her their winner year after year in "Murphy Brown." She is often spoken of as one of the most beautiful ever film stars.

To my way of thinking she is one of the most beautiful human beings down deep inside who I've ever known.

• Speaking of movie stars! The Gloria Crest Estate was built in 1926 by the heir to the Polish throne in Englewood, New Jersey. It was later owned by none other than Gloria Swanson and it actually resembled the old Sunset Boulevard. (Do I have to tell you that the Billy Wilder movie of "Sunset Boulevard" starred the real Gloria?)

They are asking only $39 million for Gloria Crest with its full gym, spa, theater, garden, pool house, lake and a panoramic view of NYC. There is a seven car garage with elevator to all levels. Does Mitt Romney know about this property?

Want to know more about Miss Swanson? Her papers reside in splendor at the University of Texas in Austin. But you can read the real lowdown on her in the recent book about Ambassador Joseph Kennedy titled "The Patriarch." This book is a great addition to Kennedy history.

• Does Gov. Christie know that his state is such a repository of former screen history? The film business actually started in Fort Lee and now that city is building a three screen movie theater and museum in the 13,000 square foot Barrymore Theater, paying homage to John, the grandfather of young Drew.

• Beards are out, three day scuff is in (one of the few holdovers from the 1980s -- remember it was Don Johnson in "Miami Vice" who began this untidy trend.) But a full beard might make a comeback, at least among men who want to appear young, healthy and handsome.

Yes, a study from the University of Southern Queensland, found that beards block 90 to 95 percent of UV rays, slowing down facial aging, and reducing the risk of skin cancer. If you have allergies, the irritating pollen and dust will simply be caught in your beard and not travel upward, to torment you. Beardy men will also avoid ingrown hairs and acne associated with daily shaving. Full-bearded men also avoid the effects of strong winds, keeping the face baby smooth.

That's all fine and well, but if your face is covered by a beard, how will anyone see the positive effects? Will guys ask, "I may look like an unkempt serial killer, but honestly, I've got the complexion of a five year old under this."

For my money, there's nothing more attractive than a freshly-shaven man.

• "Hey, girlie. Wanna be in pictures?" That phrase has been used on hapless young women since the days of silent films. What usually happens is nothing but a cheap dinner, a sleazy fumble, and a phone number that is disconnected.

But sometimes the person behind the words is sincere. Such was the case of PR guy to top athletes -- Hal Lifson. Hal spotted one Brenda Soleimani as she picked up her two children from school -- the same school where Hal's children go. He was so struck by her looks that he introduced himself and suggested she try modeling. Texas-born Brenda said, "What? I'm married. I have two children. I'm forty!" But Hal is a persistent fellow. After assuring her that his intentions were honorable, he introduced Brenda to famed Playboy photographer Stephen Wayda and persuaded him to take shots of the reluctant, bemused housewife.

The pics turned out so well that Hal shopped them around and now Brenda is being seriously considered for a role in the fourth season of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."

I'm not a fan of these shows, but millions are. If you look at any magazine cover, there they are -- people I have certainly never heard of, being idolized like Brad and Angie.

Needless to say, Brenda Soleimani is now one of Hal's clients. The only one who does't run, jump or swim -- professionally.

• Farewell to the singing star of the 1940's, Deanna Durbin, who died a few days ago at 91. Durbin was a huge star for Universal Pictures, but she almost became a huge star for MGM. She was paired with young Judy Garland in a short where both girls sang and emoted.

Louis B. Mayer was leaning toward Durbin, but others at the studio convinced him Garland was "the one." Deanna went immediately to Universal and became an instant star, with her sweet/sexy girl-next-door looks and soprano trills. In fact, she was a bigger star than Judy for a couple of years, much to Garland's distress. (Despite all the tales of being forced into work, Judy loved to perform and wanted to be famous.) As for Durbin, at the height of her career, she'd had enough. She retired at 26, married and never looked back.

Years later, she and Garland ran into each other in Paris, where Judy was performing. "My, God," said Deanna, "Are you still in that awful business?!" There is no record of Judy's response, though in final years she would often say, "This is a rotten business, except for the audiences."]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3198715 2013-05-02T04:33:48-04:00 2013-05-02T04:44:18-04:00

Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-smith/
"The problem then is how you escape the tyranny of it. In a way it's always a struggle between you and this tyrant you've created that is a piece of yourself."

This was Pulitzer winning Russell Baker talking to the late Nora Ephron in her divine book Scribble, Scribble: Notes on the Media.

• I just ran across this and it seems to be a piece that one can tell affected Nora and she used it psychologically in her new play Lucky Guy, which is about a tabloid columnist, Mike McAlary. He is played nightly and matinees by the giant Tom Hanks, acting on the Broadway stage. And Mr. Hanks will, undoubtably win the Tony!

• They wouldn't let anyone come to the posh New York Public Library lunch for The Great Gatsby, happening today, if one hadn't already agreed to see a big screening of the movie beforehand. We met the demand. More on Leo DiCaprio's Gatsby in a few editions. So far, he looks entirely lovely in the ads and previews seen. But I'm a sucker for a guy who can act and also give his money away to good causes.

• The Stella by Starlight gala is set now for June 10 and those who run this annual charity to keep the Stella Adler Studio going have elected a grand "Stella" graduate to honor -- Elaine Stritch!

"The work of theater is written on water," says leader Tom Oppenheim> Nevertheless, Elaine is always recalled as a girl sitting in Stella's classes with Marlon Brando, working with director Harold Clurman in the original cast of William Inge's Bus Stop (in which I happened to first see Elaine onstage) and "Stritchie" went on to fame as a Stephen Sondheim specialist after she had long graduated from Stella.

They are going to announce an Elaine Stritch Scholarship Fund and so some lucky young actor will get training here. On this June 10 night they hope to raise at least $50,000 more, and they are offering us Alec Baldwin (his mother on 30 Rock was Elaine Stritch)... the ubiquitous Liza Minnelli... the gifted Bernadette Peters...Star Trek's George Takei... and Warren Beatty? On film I presume. Many others will join in.

Get in touch with tom@stellaadler.com if you want to give, or attend or send money. I have a weak spot for this Studio. They gave me the Harold Clurman Award some years ago and I have always remembered telling them how horrified the tempestuous director would have been by that gesture. I also announced from the stage that I wanted to thank my theater "lovers" -- directors Sidney Lumet and Jack O'Brien. This amused their wives a lot!

(Oh, Mr. O'Brien doesn't have a wife; so much the better!)

• Here's a sighting! Deborah Harry, one of the favorites in this column, at the opening of Breakfast at Tiffany's, wearing a feathered hat designed by Ivy Supersonic at the Interview magazine party. The show closed recently. But the original Truman Capote script sold for $306,000 to the Russian billionaire, Igor Sosin, this very week.

• Do you sense that this column has drifted toward acting? The other night at the Actors Fund gala where the Medal of Honor went to Robert DeNiro, 750 people simply kvelled when he accepted. He swept the actress Holland Taylor -- just Tony nominated for Ann -- into three separate hugs. She said she would always remember the moments, "distinctly and permanently."

Miss Taylor, when she got up to speak about Steve Kalafer, the volunteer treasurer of the Actors Fund, told the guests that she had had to "take medication; mostly illegal" in order to bear to assemble her tax information every year. So she said, anyone handling ledgers, adding machines, deserved undying admiration.

My pals, Gigi and Harry Benson, are everywhere like white on rice. On May 16 they will kick off their latest book Harry Benson: The Beatles on the Road and the wonder of this is that it will happen at Taschen, the original Farmers Market at 6333 West 3rd with Tessa and Tucker Tooley and Wendy and Michael Landes as hosts. (I didn't know that they appreciated The Beatles out in L.A. (Kidding!)

I'll never forget Whoopi Goldberg telling me about meeting Paul McCartney in her early days. He told her to relax and enjoy her rising star. He said, "Don't be like we were when fame struck. We didn't know how to enjoy it. We went crazy. You can and should enjoy yours all the way to top!"]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3192953 2013-05-01T10:11:58-04:00 2013-05-01T10:18:06-04:00

Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-smith/
And here I thought he was always thinking about the universe. But then we are ever surprised by what the famous say. For instance, Lenin's last words were "Good dog!"

• Everybody I meet, just about, talks to me about movies or a television series. They have in mind a story, or a plot, or a title, or an adaptation from a book, and they all seem to think their idea will be quickly recognized in Hollywood. In their heads, they have already cast it and gone to
the Academy Awards or won an Emmy. Believe me, it's not that simple. It never was ... but nowadays? Incredible.

So now, a real pro -- Lynda Obst -- has written a realistic book about making film into reality in these days of extremes. You remember Lynda, friend of the late Nora Ephron, associated with the hits "Flashdance" and "Sleepless in Seattle" and about 16 other films and TV series. But as her son tells her today, "Mom, nobody makes a movie now just because it's 'good'!"

One of the greatest editors in all of publishing, Alice Mayhew of Simon & Shuster, is behind Lynda's new work. The title is "Sleepless in Hollywood: Tales from the New Abnormal in the Movie Business."

While you were dreaming of Kristin Stewart with flowing hair, starring in your movie, "... audiences were getting their first exposure to the brave new world of breakthrough special effects, and what was becoming possible in animation." Lynda goes on: "It was a weird changing Darwinian time. Conditions were changing as fast as I could figure them out and then would change again. Movies are now an endangered species in the very place that makes them." Lynda doesn't just preach here. She gives examples and this book is full of anecdotes about those we know and love and despise. She analyzes China's developing international movie empire, advising that with our popcorn, we might well take a pair of chopsticks. She describes what might, may, will happen. James Cameron and his triumphs are detailed. This is a wonderful text book full of mysteries, loss and longing. I just couldn't stop reading it, even though I have never had movie-making impulses.

But it might discourage you from becoming a film backer or producer or even a part-owner of something on the screen, big or little. There's always that.

• It's been fun to have Peter Rogers visiting New York since his big move to New Orleans for good. And you can see in Architectural Digest his new French Quarter antebellum house all decorated in green and full of those good old Peter Rogers touches, like his framed photos of all the famous women he put in his "What Becomes a Legend Most" advertisements many moons ago. The magazine is a wonder for the month of May with its dazzling homes around the world. (Peter can be seen during this Manhattan visit, in the flesh, at things like best musical multiple nominee "Kinky Boots." But he is more often seen in the famous
down home Irish bar, Donohue's on Lexington Ave in the 60s.)

Speaking of gorgeous places to live, don't miss New York mag this week. We've been writing here about the late C - Z Guest and her inherited chic and there is her heir, the beautiful Çornelia, showing how she has taken a lot of mama's great treasures to make herself a spanking New York apartment.

• Tonight, Literacy Partners has its 29th birthday with real writing- reading stars at Cipriani 42nd Street. (Actually, it's been helping the illiterate for 40 years!)

Bill O'Reilly, the maestro history writer of the best seller lists....Pulitzer winner Elizabeth Strout and Jon Meacham... will read from their own works. Patricia Cornwell and Tatiana von Furstenberg are our distinguished honorees and Jackie Weld Drake will take home the second-ever "Lizzie Award" for all her work with fighting illiteracy in the Spanish community. And the rest of what she does for books and authors and publishers.

You could help us teach hundreds of adults how to read and write. Send a check to Literacy Partners, 30 East 33rd St. 6th floor New York, N.Y. 10016.

Or spend your money to reserve at Café Carlisle on East 76th Street in the spotlighted hotel where the delectable Yanna Avis opens May 9th and 16th and May 10th and 17th at 10p.m. Reservations 212-744-1600.

• A correction: So sorry, but the other day, writing about super agent Sue Mengers, as assayed onstage by Bette Midler, I mistakenly used the name of Oscar-winner Eva Marie Saint in an anecdote. I said she was one of the first clients Sue had really and truly adored. I meant to write Julie Harris!

This reminded me of a real Julie Harris story. When the great actress was playing Joan of Arc in "The Lark" on Broadway, the costume designer Alvin Colt met a friend on the street.

The friend said, "Terrible thing!...You know the part where Julie Harris jumps over a big rock, waving her sword? Well, last night she fell on her knee and they had to take 18 stitches...!"

Alvin Colt gasped and asked, "In her costume!"]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3185383 2013-04-30T10:00:29-04:00 2013-04-30T10:33:55-04:00

Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-smith/ VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV's First Wave.

By the time I finally met Madonna, she was as big as she thought she was going to be when she famously told Dick Clark, "I want to rule the world."

I can't recall exactly what the interview was about -- perhaps her "Sex" book and "Body of Evidence" movie. But I do remember, just before the cameras rolled, Madonna said to me, "You're not afraid of me. I like that."

By the way, this is not a unique way of thinking for stars who inhabit the upper-upper echelon. Bette Davis didn't like people who cowered. Elizabeth Taylor was the same way. If you showed you were overly impressed, Elizabeth might well send you out to pick up some jewelry for her.

And expect you to pay for it.

• On Thursday, Peggy Siegal, Manhattan's Queen of the Night, switches on the electric lights of her energy in the afternoon. Peggy will oversee a lunch and discussion about one of the year's most eagerly-waited films -- Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. This book has seen about five screen incarnations, most famously, the 1974 version with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow. (At that time, the talented Miss Farrow still seemed to be recovering from her dealings with Satan in Rosemary's Baby. Despite the lavish costuming she looked terrified rather than the delicious object of Jay Gatsby's fantasies. Well, Redford wasn't a ball of fire either. Karen Black stole the film, really.)

This version of "Gatsby" stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire -- the latter must be so relieved to wriggle out of that "Spiderman" bodysuit, and wear elegant black tie! Director Luhrmann decided to shoot in 3-D. Unless everybody's head explodes, I can't imagine why. But maybe it'll work. After all, he did give us the divine Moulin Rouge.

Anna Wintour, David Remnick, Carey Mulligan and Isla Fisher will greet, and mingle among the guests at the New York Public Library. Tiffany and MAC cosmetics are co-hosting this luncheon.

Meanwhile, all versions of the fabled Scott Fitzgerald work are selling out on Amazon!

• You know how the Constitution says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion...or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..."

Well, that still applies and seems to be alive and well. And, my friend James C. Goodale, has finally gotten around to publishing his book which is about how he defended the New York Times as a lawyer over the issue of their releasing the infamous Pentagon Papers. This was back in 1971 under the aegis of managing editor Abe Rosenthal. Ancient history? Well, yes, it took a while. When I asked Mr. Goodale what he had new to say, he laughed: "Well, my sainted press agent says that in this book I compare President Obama to President Nixon and I warn of 'attacks on the free press.'"

What brings this up to the present is that reading this seemingly dry as dust stuff is actually just the opposite. The book, titled Fighting for the Press: The Inside Story of the Pentagon Papers and Other Battles, published by the CUNY Journalism Press, is a pell-mell page-turner!

So, what happened last week when I went to a party for Mr. Goodale hosted by Tina Brown/Harry Evans in their made-for-cocktails apartment on East 57th Street? A who's who of journalism appeared, including two of my heroes, Morley Safer and Dan Rather. And then there was the ebullient Carl Bernstein and all those folks from the Times who haven't forgotten the Times of the 1970's.

Harry Evans, no sissy when it comes to defending a free press himself, got up on a chair and engaged author Goodale in a long heated argument as to whether Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, is as entitled to a defense as the Times! This went on for quite a while as we cocktail sippers pondered on how everything has changed thanks to the Internet. I think, in spite of the Internet changing everything it was decided that any free press is still worth defending.

Among the missing were Mr. and Mrs. Ben Bradlee, once of the Washington Post. They are the best pals of James and Toni Goodale. But travel these days is hard and broadens your seating arrangements. Still, I did miss them. The last party where I saw them, I sat next to the still sexy Ben. When Henry Kissinger was asked to say a few words about Turkey, Ben whispered in my ear: "Liz, get up and interrupt Henry and say the open question is sex-after-90!"

Good question.

• I'm not much of a Gwyneth Paltrow fan, though if I ever got to know her, I might change my mind. (I love her mother, Blythe Danner.) But I am shocked at the snarky press Gwyneth receives. The media pounced last week when Paltrow was chosen by People magazine as the World's Most Beautiful Woman. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but you'd think they'd found a collection of dead babies in her cellar! Then she wore an oddly cut, semi-transparent gown to a premiere -- something she even said was a mistake. Still she was slaughtered. Enough already with the Paltrow bashing. The more people are beaten up by the press, the more likely I am to have some sympathy for them. And, it's boring, too.

I have been even more surprised by the vitriol poured on Reese Witherspoon in cyberspace. The blogs are alive with scathing criticism of her and her husband's tipsy run in with the law. Drunk driving is no joke. But she owned up to her foolish behavior right away. I'd always thought Reese was an excellent role model, never playing victimized women, a strong character onscreen and off. But so many seem to have taken her stumble personally. Maybe she's been too much of a good role model?

P.S. An elegant-looking Paltrow decorates the cover of the new issues of Harper's Bazaar. Inside she says, "I've learned a lot about genuinely not caring what strangers think about me!"

What I liked best in this issue of HB turned out to be an advertisement. Flipping through, I open a page and in big hot pink letters it says, "Raquel." At first I thought it was an article about the eternal sex-symbol, Miss Welch. But no, it is touting Rocky's line of wigs. The woman is 70, and looks about 35. Yeah, yeah. I know all about photo-shopping. But nobody can be "shopped" this much. The woman has amazing genes and gorgeous skin.]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3177751 2013-04-29T09:11:29-04:00 2013-04-29T09:53:13-04:00

Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-smith/ I'll Eat You Lastwhere she brings Sue back to life on Broadway.

Michael and I had made a pact to see the show separately and then meet the day after at Docks on 3rd and 40th to dish about it. This guy is one of the world's authorities on the late super agent who taught him, he says, all he knows about representing talent. (Oh, I don't know. Michael was never fan-impressed as Sue was and he wasn't ruthless and is now a bigbiz advisor) But he does do a mean imitation of Sue at her funniest and he was one of the many sources that the one and only Bette Midler went to for research. Bette loved Michael's remembrances of Sue so much that she spent six hours with him beforehand, having him read the entire John Logan play aloud to her in Sue's own voice!

• But then Michael and I had a few Margaritas in Sue's and Bette's honor and he told me, seriously, what I had perceived myself. Playwright Logan's take on Sue Mengers is more succinct, more serious while still being funny, more poignant and pertinent than any "imitation" can be. And the great Bette doesn't do any campy impersonation. She delves into the character and behavior and profane outbursts and tears and overkill and sentimentality and love for "Stars" that bedeviled Sue in her upward claw to the top.

If you go to the Booth Theater and buy a ticket, you will end up not caring whether you knew about superagent Mengers or not. You will see a Bette Midler recreation of a little girl, born in Hitler's Germany, who escaped to America and dared to cross the playground to
introduce herself to the pretty girl who was the school star! (She knew talent when she saw it!) And this little Jewish immigrant taught herself to "speak American" by studying Warner Bros. heroines like Bette Davis and Barbara Stanwyck.

Sue Mengers was a self-realized woman with lessons for all women. Pursue your dream. Improve yourself. Be loyal and persevere at protecting your star. Lie to them; don't ever lie to them. "That's not true!" was Sue's most repeated phrase as she instructed the rest of us to be as devoted, fanatical and hard-boiled as she became, dominating La La Land not-so-behind-the-scenes through the 70s -- or until she more or less retired. (The play's setting, with Bette on a couch looking blonde and glamourous like Sue, is set in 1981.) This was after Sue encountered CAA and Michael Ovitz introduced a new kind of tech-business to agenting.

• This play is much more than just funny. Some of it is heart-breaking. Playwright Logan is some kind of genius, ranging over the psychologies of a modern artist like Rothko in his recent "Red" and going on to write for the new 007 Bond movies. You can't be more trendy and intelligent and imaginative than that!

The opening night audience was dazzling and many of them were name-dropped onstage as Bette (as Sue) waits for a blow-off call from her own Frankenstein monster -- Barbra Streisand. Let's just say I noted, sitting around me -- Anna Wintour, Graydon Carter, Louise Grunwald,
Susan Sarandon, Glenn Close, Christine Baranski, Carol Bayer Sager, David Geffen, Terry Allen Kramer, Barry Diller, Diane von Furstenberg, Mica Ertegun, Boaty Boatwright, Bob Balaban, Margo Nederlander and like that! None other than Ali MacGraw was also there and found herself onstage in the dialogue that details how much Sue loved her and detested the man she credited
with ruining Ali's career -- Steve McQueen. Bette gives Sue the best of it here; showing her real love and idealism and devotion to her stars! And the ability to abuse them by profane nicknames!

I was particularly touched by a story about Sue's beloved early client, the great actress Eva Marie Saint... and there was a lot of funny name-dropping -- Bob Evans, Billy Friedkin, Faye Dunaway, Michael Caine, Gore Vidal, and Sue's own husband, a Belgian screenwriter-director
whose career collided with Sue's real dreams. It's all sad but true; sad but hilarious -- and cheers to the young man who comes onstage to run Sue's errands, taking off his shoes, tip-toeing around and being sent back to his seat. "Don't be a stranger..." warns Sue/Bette.

I do congratulate playwright Logan for doing a one-person show with a telephone omnipresent and the plot seldom revolving around telephone conversation. There is one exception with a call from Oscar-winner Sissy Spacek, but it is too funny for words.

• I won't apologize here for not giving the star of this escapade her full due! I guess I think too much of Bette Midler to try to analyze her. She is a highly-intelligent and gifted pop culture star from the past and through the years. But, the very Hollywood that Sue Mengers so adored, ill-used Bette Midler. She did not win the Oscar when she starred in The Rose and she should have won! After that, there was a bit of downhill when it came to acting roles for Bette. However, she re-invented herself for Disney in a series of wildly popular comedies. But now she proves again that she is much more than a brash comedienne or a bouncy, wise-cracking singer in a mermaid's tail. Bette Midler is a fabulous, serious, actor!

That she is also a great philanthropist for picking up garbage and making her Restoration Project parks and memorials beautiful, well, that goes without saying. She is a perfect citizen, a wife, mother, producer, singer, joke teller, secret intellect, and terrific to know. I love Bette as much as Sue loved her stars; so I won't go on.

You'll really be missing something if you miss the variety of philosophy, chutzpah, and art onstage in "I'll Eat You Last." Sue Mengers would have loved her stage obit performed by a real star who is a sister act to the star Sue loved and cherished most!]]> tag:www.huffingtonpost.com,2013:/theblog//3.3154557 2013-04-25T09:48:35-04:00 2013-04-25T10:09:35-04:00

Liz Smith http://www.huffingtonpost.com/liz-smith/
This is John Keats in his poem "Sharing Eve's Apple."

• Director-writer-producer Linda Yellen does it again movie-wise! She is already well-known for having twice directed the genius actor Vanessa Redgrave in Playing for Time and Second Serve. (Further, she has directed the likes of Liv Ullman, Diane Keaton, Gena Rowlands, Jackie Bisset, Liza Minnelli, William Hurt, Dudley Moore, Harry Connick Jr., to name just a few. Yellen produced Dennis Hopper's final movie, The Last Film Festival and also Elizabeth Taylor's Sweet Bird of Youth. Wow.)

• Linda has signed a deal now to direct a feature about the complex controversial love triangle between Hollywood legends, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich and playwright Mercedes de Acosta. I've read this screenplay, co-written with Adam Lederfarb, and it is a delight. So poignant, so revealing. Set in the 1930s, it is still relevant to what's going on now, regarding same-sex love relationships. (I can't wait to see what A-list beauties can play these legends? I am thinking Charlize Theron for Garbo. But Madeleine Kahn as Dietrich has gone to her reward. Who else? Barden/Schnee Casting has its work cut out for them.)

Filming starts this August with Lagniappe Films (Factory Girl... Bobby... The Dallas Buyers Club.)

Producers are Holly Wiersma, Logan Levy, Kerry Barden, Joe Newcomb and Tom Notargiacomo. The movie will be called Blush and unfolds the truth of these relationships, as Garbo and Dietrich alternated places as No. 1 and No. 2 while claiming, ironically, that they had never met. Strong-arm studio heads ran Hollywood and "deviation" was not the norm. Stars were black-listed, contracts cancelled if their "activities" became too public.

• The story follows these women through their "blushing" youth, with Garbo, 20, a relative innocent all the way to her self-enforced seclusion 15 years later. (She retired at the height of her career.) Always nipping at her heels was Dietrich, a ball of energy, stunning looking, realistic, sexy and conquering all. Then there was the fiercely intelligent, idealistic Mercedes -- whispered about as "the woman no wife need fear."

World renowned photographer Edward Steichen used his imagination in 1934 to bring Garbo and Dietrich together. Blush indicates it was a lot more than imagination.

• You've seen Bill Stubbs of Houston on the PBS show Moment of Luxury. Now he is being given the Stars of Design lifetime achievement award in Houston come May 1. (This has been won in the past by Richard Meier, Paige Rense and Rose Tarlow.)

May 1 is really a popular date. My own Literacy Partners fundraiser happens that night at Cipriani 42 Street. This is big as we have best-seller king Bill O'Reilly ... Pulitzer winners Jon Meacham and Elizabeth Stroud reading for us and we are honoring two dynamic women -
philanthropist Tatiana von Furstenberg and thriller writer Patricia Cornwell.

We try to teach millions of adults how to read and write at the 5th grade level and we hope this year to raise $1 million. Contact Literacypartners.org/event if you can help us.

• This means I will miss the Jeanne and Herb Siegel kickoff at 21 for Billy Friedkin's new memoir, "The Friedkin Connection."

Friedkin is a popular Hollywood character and talent, wed to the divine Sherry Lansing and he has written an uncharacteristically calm remembrance of how he came to direct two of the most famous films of all time -- The French Connection and The Exorcist. I love this temperamental guy but here he doesn't bother to settle scores as anticipated. He just writes how a nobody gets to be a somebody in a murderous business.

Well, I can't be everywhere at the same time. So I hope the terrific Siegels and Friedkins will forgive my absence on May 1.

• The T.J. Martell Foundation is giving me an award along with Marcie Allen, Joann Camuti, Margaret Cuomo and Lori Stokes. This happens at Riverpark in the Tom Colicchio restaurant on May 7. This way we'll all become "Women of Influence" and Mother's Day will get a nod, along with breast cancer research at Sloan Kettering and Mt. Sinai and the fight vs. AIDs.

This charity is a big deal in the music biz as it is named for T.J. Martell who died of leukemia. Remember, research is the only path to the cure.

I offered to sing at this event but they didn't take me up on it. Grammy nominee Elle Varner will do the honors!

• One performance only! The Peking Opera will offer the rarely seen Peking Opera classic "The Legend of the White Snake" for this Sunday only at 3 p.m. at NYU Skirball Center. Call for $38 tickets at 212 - 352-3101 or 866-811-4111. Discounts for students.]]>