Failure Face?

So...if all had gone perfectly according to plan I would have blogged about The Judy Garland Show, one episode per day, and nearly be finished, if not completely finished at this point.  So what happened?  Am I lazy?  Maybe.  Was it difficult?  Yes.  Did it turn something I enjoyed into a chore?  A touch.  Here's the truth.

1.  It was turning into a chore, and I was beginning to drive myself crazy.  I LOVE The Judy Garland Show, but truth be told, I love it in small doses.  One a week.  So, maybe that's something I can commit to.  Maybe this was all too much from the get-go.  I was no longer looking forward to the show, and having a "critical eye" on something, preparing to write about it, can take away a lot of the pure joy.  It's like you've got one eye on the fun, and another on the door.  Plus, with the watching, the research and the writing?  It consumed a lot of time in any already time restricted life.

2.  I think I was beginning to drive my roommate crazy.  We share a tv, and night after night I was watching the show, and we were going to our separate rooms doing our own thing.  Not that we don't do this often, we are individuals pursuing our own lives, and yet... I was beginning to feel like I was dominating the tv and I hated how much time we were spending in the same apartment, as if we were completely alone.  He's certainly got an appreciation for Judy, but he's not a fan by any means, and I didn't want to bombard him.

3.  I lost my readers.  A lot of them.  Not that this is a hugely trafficked blog, but I do enjoy getting read, and my readership was way down, and thus the motivation to write for an audience that possibly wasn't there?  Low. 

4.  It's been done.  Beautifully.  So many people have written about this show, and the fans seem to have dredged up every single detail amongst themselves at one point or another.  So, what's the urgency???  Is anyone clamoring?

So there you have it.  I am going on a hiatus for an indeterminate amount of time.  Not on the blog, but on The Judy Garland Show blogging.  It may come back, but I ain't making any promises.  Yes, I feel like a bit of a failure face, but I will pick up the little pieces and continue blogging.  I ain't finished, yet.  Nuff' said.

You Can't Eat Glamour For Breakfast

It's become cliché.  You're in your car listening to the radio or lounging around watching television and someone  who works in a job that just about anyone else would die to have is sitting in a cushiony chair by a conspiratorily nodding talk show host, or sitting in front of mike in a radio studio, and they say something to the effect of "believe me folks, this job that I have that seems so awesome?  It's not as glamorous as it looks". 

Why do they say this?  What's the point?  Is it to say, "I may look like I'm having a blast wearing beautiful clothes and getting my picture taken for a living, but my life it still really hard and I'm to be pitied"?  Because that's what anyone who says this sounds like.  A big fat cry baby.

And I know, their motives may be kind of sweet.  It may all be in the vein of "don't be jealous of me guys, life is hard for me, too" but honestly?  I don't want to hear it.  Really?  There are downsides to your job?  People judge you more harshly?  You don't eat?  You have to work out a lot?  That's the price of glamour.  And even if you don't feel it, can't appreciate it, doesn't mean it isn't there.  It's just not there for you.

Glamour, most of the time,  is not something seen from the inside out, but from the outside in.  That's the point of it.  Nothing is truly as glamorous as it appears.  If you look closely, almost everything has it's dark sides, it's "shadow side".  But truth be told, none of us consuming the glamour wants to look closely.  Somewhere deep down, we "know", we just don't want to know. 

Glamour is an aspirational concept  it's for those who don't get to dress up every day and go to movie premieres.  They look at those who do and think... "that could be me someday, if..."  We don't want to hear that it sucks to be you, because to a small or large degree we want to be you, and if your life really is no better than ours?  If we have to sit down take a look at our lives and start fixing it from the inside to be someone's idea of happy?  How daunting.

That points to another aspect of glamour.  Not only is it ethereal, and mostly for the benefit of others, it's also relative.  So while it may seem like I was tearing all those nameless movie stars and makeup artists and chefs new ones, I was really tearing all of us a new one.  Our life?  The ones we live?  To someone else, it's a pretty luxurious lifestyle.  And while I don't want to boil everything down to a facile "let's all just be happy for what we have" lesson, we've all seen these people, these "glamorous" people who should by all preconceived notions, be happy, and yet are not. 

It's easy to look at those who have more than us and say "you should enjoy your own glamour.  You should, for one moment allow yourself to be the kid who has been pressing his nose up to the glass and looking at the Christmas display, and let yourself into the shop."  If you think of it, we are all that person, that glamorous person.  In a way,  we are all the kid inside the toy shop or the movie star at the premiere.  We just have to decide if, when we play, we are going to play "full out"  and appreciate the glamour the glamour surrounding us and within in us.  It won't last, that's the nature of glamour.  But it can be enjoyed for what it is, some fleeting glimpse of fancy that makes us feel the specialness that's always there.

"Coming Soon"

While I used to look forward to birthdays for all the material bounty that would shower down on me and make me feel worthy (and I admit that a Wonder Woman flash drive can still bring me to the heights of giddiness) lately I've come to look forward to them for a different reason, namely, the change they inevitably bring. 

It could be that I'm getting older and nature is whispering ever more urgently into my ear that time is growing short and I'd better make days count, but each birthday these past few years has brought about a major life change.  It was right around my birthday that I decided to quit my job at Keller Williams, that I decided to move back home to Austin, Texas after six years in LA, that I let go of a friendship or two, decided to really grab onto a dream, like writing a performance piece...  Birthdays mean change.

I can never quite be certain what that change will be, but I can already feel the restlessness building.  I can hear the questions, the wondering.  Of course, like many people do when the questions start to pop up ("What the hell am I doing with my life?"  "Did I waste to much time pursuing an artistic career?"  "Should I get out of that halfway world that I seem to be living in and fall one way or the other?" "When am I going to feel settled?"  "Am I already 'settled' and I just haven't realized it?"  times seem uncertain) I've started praying again, looking for signs.  Good old God, the parachute we go back to when we need him.  I've always been great at beginnings.  Always been great at leaping into something and giving 100%, but staying the course?  This I have yet to master...

Regardless, and please forgive the cringe worthy analogy, change is a brewing, and when that lil' cup of Life Coffee is ready, I'll let you know what it tastes like.

TJGS Episode 13: With Special Guest Peggy Lee

While the thirteenth episode was pretty routine in some ways, there are a few things that set it apart. 

First, there is Jack Carter, who is essentially taking Jerry Van Dyke's place for this show and who somehow manages to make the slightly insulting banter with Judy work.  He just throws it out there, lobs it out and is able to make Judy look Judy completely normal while he comes off as some kind of schmoozy, boozy nut.  And yet, he's still charming in this old school comedian way that no one could carry off today.  I can't quite put my finger on it, and I'm not saying I love the material, but he makes it work better than anyone I've seen so far.  He also has a number in which he complains about the youth of America, and while the material is a bit stale, again, he is so comfortable and confident in his delivery, spitting out "babes" and "honeys" left and right.  How can I not hate him?  And yet, I don't.  Of course we have The Judy Garland dancers to spread the corn around in an already corny number.  Thank God for them. 

 

Jack and Judy also share a routine in which they play different musical comedy teams throughout history, finishing with a tribute to "Mr. Wonderful" in which Jack Carter had appeared with Sammy Davis Jr.  For my money they could have done away with the rest of the routine and focused on the last material, as the earlier parts seem a bit gimmicky and forced, even if Judy does do a wonderful Ethel Merman impersonation.

 

 

Peggy Lee is the Special Guest of the episode.  Beautiful, bountiful Peggy Lee.  She's so meaty and sensual, poured into her dress, all topped with hair like cotton candy, her voice so smoky and rich.  I just love her.  And yet... part of the magic of Judy is that you don't even realize how wonderful she is until you see other people attempt the same thing.  Peggy never quite seems comfortable with the camera, and is a bit of a deer in the headlights; a gorgeous, busty deer in the headlights.

 

 

The "Trunk" spot of the show is wonderful, as Judy sings two terrific numbers.  She starts with Irving Berlin's "How About You" and sounds lovely (even if she doesn't quite give herself over to the sorrowfulness of the song) and closes with "When Your Smiling" and the finish is stellar, with Judy selling it in typical fashion.

 



TJGS Episode 12: The One Where Judy Gets Touched...A Lot

By episode 12 the edict was out.  Judy was not to touch her guests.  People who saw her being so affectionate thought it made her look nervous and didn't like Judy kissing her female guests on the cheek in greeting.  Of course, this is ridiculous, and I for one never thought that the affection Judy displayed indicated that she was nervous, but that she was attempting to calm the nerves of others.  At any rate, Judy later commented how funny it was that on the episode where she worked so hard not to touch the guest stars, they were reaching out to touch her. 

Garland had gotten very close to Zina over the week's time and was thrilled to have Vic Damone as a guest star as she was a great admirer of his talent.  He would appear on the show twice more, and each time they would perform a wonderful medley of Broadway hits.  They started of with a medley from Porgy and Bess that is really pretty wonderful.  They look so comfortable and the notes!  The notes are so passionate and full and vibrant.

The highlight of the show, to my mind, was not actually filmed in the same week.  It was taped much earlier and inserted into this week.  It's the "Tea For Two" segment with George Jessel.  Jessel had been a gigantic name in show business back in the thirties, and Judy makes sure he has the chance to have all the focus again.  She's so obviously delighted to have him with her, so gracious to him.  And for his part, he's still very quick witted and funny.  He does most of the talking, which I frankly think is nice.  I know Judy's a great story teller, and yet, these segments could have done a lot more to highlight and lift up the guest star than they do.  This is the best "Tea" segment ever (just ignore Goerge's story of how he named Judy.  Yes, he gave her the last name Garland, but Judy had named herself).  And Judy sings an amazing snippet of "Bill" that I wish she'd sung as a complete number.  Still, tossed off like this makes it seem so natural and conversational.  It packed a lot of power.

 

 

This is definitely not a notable episode, but it is pleasant, and quite funny to hear Vic Damone sing "And oh the towering feeling!" as he stands high on fork lift, which is then lowered to the ground by a little blonde pigtailed girl.  Talk about literal... 

Second Looks

Tonight's the night I am watching and blogging about episode 12, in my usually brilliant fashion.  But I have to admit, I'm really saddened by the death of Zina Bethune and the tragic way her life ended.  Learning about it has made me want to dig deeper into who she was in her time here.  Is that weird?  Death does that sometimes, though.  It can endow someone with more "depth", more poetry than what we might have initially given them in our passing thoughts.  But once you know something like that, the thought of how their life ended sticks around, altering the way you think of them.  At least until we can see beyond it and focus on the truth of who they were as a person.  But unless you take those extra looks at a person's life it can be so easy to judge them by the way their life ended.

Is it fair?  Is it fair to judge the whole of a person's life by the way it ends?  Or should we judge it based on the highs it reaches, by the moments when it reached its potential and impacted lives through the understanding of and fulfillment of its life purpose.  I think that's the way it should be.  Because in so many ways, for so many people, the end is so random, just an odd act of God, or nature, or whatever you want to call it. 

Working with the elderly has also made me think and rethink the many ways life ends.  For example,  I met this wonderful little owl like woman who lived in a room, very comfortably at a pretty exclusive home for the elderly.  She spent a lot of her time tucked in a little lazy boy, watching televison, ocassionally getting out to play bingo... She had these two beautiful paintings on the wall of her room, one of herself from when she was a young woman in the fifties, and next to it a young man, presumably her husband.  And there was something so beautiful and poignant about the way they were cherished and still displayed with such pride.

Do we judge her life by its end?  This very peaceful slowing down, which is relatively solitary compared to much of her early days, cared for by people who begin as strangers, but grow to love and respect her, because of her dear personality and spark of life?  Well...why not?  It certainly doesn't tell the whole story, but a lovely soul like that, her life slowly winding down, but still affecting people in many small ways, it's pretty telling of the kind of life she lived up to that point.

And Zina?  She died protecting an injured creature, and you can't say that doesn't speak to something.  You can't say that doesn't tell you what a caring soul she was to stop and pay attention to a little wounded soul.  Look a little deeper and you discover that when she left acting she went back to her passion for ballet and up until the end of her life was teaching disabled children how to find joy in dancing. 

It's funny, because all you have to do, with anyone really, is stop and pay attention.  Look at them from a slightly different angle.  You don't even have to force it, make yourself find a new way of looking at them.  You really just have to be open to other possible explanations of that person and not "why they are the way they are" (that's so pious and patronizing) but who they are.  I guarantee that they are more than you have been allowing them to be.  And if you are open to it, life will present you with not just one, but a handful of ways to them in a new way.  You just have to be prepared to be wrong. 

 

A Brief Hiatus

Well, I fucked up.  I didn't blog last night.  And do you want to know who did it to me?  Zina.  Zina Bethune, formerly of the CBS series "Nurses".  She was one of the guest stars of episode 12, and friends...I just couldn't do it.  She was dear, very sweet, adorable even to some, I'm sure.  But she was such a wildly inappropriate guest, such an obvious ploy for ratings, and she tries SO HARD!!  You can see the nerves bubbling up out of her skin like little pimples. It would have been fine if she were on a daytime talk show, or a night time chat show, but on a variety show that you would hope requires a little experience and talent?  She doesn't cut it, and I couldn't make it through.  I tried, but then someone texted, and my modern mind wandered and before you knew it, I was asleep. 

So why not tonight?  Why couldn't I post tonight?  I hung out with a  good friend of mine, had a couple of drinks, and...

But tomorrow I will do it.  Tomorrow I will finish the episode, although, as you can already guess, it won't be a particularly fun post that results from it.  ZINA BETHUNE???
_________________________

Ok.  Cue the raging guilt. Zina Bethune has passed on.  I got curious and looked her up on-line, and found the following on Wikipedia: "On February 12, 2012, Bethune was killed in an apparent hit-and-run accident while she was trying to help an injured opossum in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. She was five days shy of her 67th birthday."

How awful.  She really is sweet on the show, and I'm sure if I'd met her in person I would have loved her.  She obviously cared for animals, even really unattractive ones. 

TJGS Episode 11: The Best One Yet

This has always been my favorite episode of the series as it has more amazing, varied, beautifully conceived numbers packed into forty-five minutes than any other episode in the series and if you only catch one installment in the series, it should be episode eleven. 

The show begins in a Wintery Wonderland, with a chorus dancing in to introduce Judy before she glides in on a sleigh, seated next to a very handsome young dancer.  It's so glamorous and festive, and Judy so vibrant and sounding wonderful. 

 

 

As for the "Be My Guest" segment, this is one of the rare episodes in which it works, with guests Steve Allen and Mel Torme (the second of his contracted appearances) singing their "school song" and Judy responding with her "school song", that school being the little red schoolhouse at MGM.  It's clever, self deprecating, and sung with such mischief.  It's a joy.

 

Judy later sings "Here's That Rainy Day" in a number which is beautifully designed.  Judy in a raincoat crooning mournfully , as people stroll by, their umbrellas glistening from the rain above.  I really feel the show could have benefited from the more immersive "set-pieces" that highlight this show rather than the bizzare obstacle courses of random furniture that sometimes deck the stage and serve as set.  To be fair, this abstract kind of set was very popular in its day, and I could just be a matter of personal preference.

 

Mel Torme's solo spot is horrible in a really delightful way.  He sees himself as some kind of brooding ladies man, and was really into motorcycles at the time of the taping so he suggested doing the number in the midst of all these high powered machines.  Pair them up with these ultra-serious, "working way to hard to be sexy" dancers, and Mel schmoozing it up ala the "Rat Pack" and you have a treat.  Truthfully the recording of the song is wonderful, and no one can fault Torme's singing (although I will say he hit a couple of clunky notes in the show that I wish they would have let him do again).  He redeems himself in a marvelous duet with Judy in which the two of them sing "The Party's Over". 

 

 

Judy and Steve Allen also perform a medley of songs from the unsuccessful musical "Sophie" based on the life of Sophie Tucker, with music and lyrics by Allen.  It was Judy's idea to showcase the songs in the hopes that one of them might become a hit in spite of the failure of the show itself.  The first number in the medley "I Love You Today" is very sweet, while the second song is a touch on the trite side, and the third...the third is a dynamite song,and one of my three favorite performances on the series., and it comes in at 4:35 in the clip. 

 

 

It's lovely to see Steve Allen just beaming as she sings his work.  His great admiration is very apparent, and the two of them are so warm and comfortable together.

 

In the tea segment, Judy sits with Jayne Meadows (Steve's wife and Judy's new best friend).  She is so sophisticated, so erudite, and at ease with Judy.  She's like a showbiz version of one of Truman Capote's swans.  Now the wig she's wearing?  That  helmet with the curly cue on the side?  That's another matter altogether. 

 

Yet another number that just takes the house down is a gorgeous interlocking puzzle of an arrangement which combines several songs as sung by Garland, Allen and Torme.  The conceit of the number is that each of them wants to sing a different song, so they sing every one of them.  Often times one sings lead while one or two of the others sing in counterpoint.  When you watch the clip, feel free to skip the unneccesary comic bit and go right to the good stuff at 3:40.

 

 

 

Finally, there's the "Trunk Spot".  The first number is a throw away that is only noticeable for how much Judy seems to be enjoying herself, but the second is a breathtaking piece, almost operatic in its breadth and tone, and Judy's voice just soars.  It's kind of distillation of all the things that make her one of the most magnetic performers who ever lived.

 

 

(Note:  the show was taped in mid-October, but must have planned as a New Years episode from the get-go- it aired on January 5th, 1964- as there are at least three mentions of the new year peppered throughout the episode.

 

 

 

   

 

 





TJGS Episode 10: Ray Bolger Talks to the Instruments (and They Don't Listen to Him)

Episode 10 is a cobbled together, cut and paste mess.  Having guest stars Jane Powell and Ray Bolger should have made for a great show, but instead it's amongst the worst of the series. 

One of the things I wish they would have dropped from the show completely the "Be My Guest" segment.  Once again, a guest star comes out and ribs Judy about some mistake she'd made in her past, and once again it doesn't play well.  Plus, there's this odd mixture of ad-libbing and scripted material that throws off the rhythms and makes everyone, especially Judy as the driver of the segment, look like they don't know quite what they are doing.  The sketch didn't quite know if it wanted to be loose and casual or tight and quickly paced.  As a result it isn't much of anything.  And the transitions!  They're so awkward, and having to make them look natural and organic is a near impossibility, which Judy doesn't achieve, and yet, who could?

Another reason I'm not so fond of the show is that Judy looks the least prepared that she has on any of the episodes show so far.  There's lots of manic energy and hand wringing galore as she looks every minute like she's about to go up on a line, and pulls through about a half a second late.  It's an obviously "unsettled" Garland on episode 10. 

There's this strange phenomena amongst Garland fans.  There's an urge to protect her that's stronger than with most.  We don't want anyone to think ill of her, and are so tired of the same old untruths about her that we, or I guess I should speak only for myself, I cringe every time I see her looking unprepared because it's just more fodder for the ignorant, who will of course jump to the conclusion that she's drunk.  Well, 95% of the time she's not.  But that 5% has a real impact on some, and the myths and legends surrounding it have an even greater impact.

Jerry Van Dyke had just been fired, and this would be his last episode on the show.  Garland was pretty upset by it (incidentally, at the same time she was campaigning to get Schlatter reinstated as Producer of the show) and in her few moments with him you can see even more affection than usual, as the two of them know this will be it.  Bill Hobin would soon leave the show as director, citing creative differences with Hunt Stromberg, Jr and Norman Jewison.  The production team was dividing up into sides, tensions were high, and it all had quite an impact on Garland, who started showing up late to rehearsals more often than not.  Garland was the type who soaked up the emotions of her environment, and the emotions now on the set were filled with tension.

Adding to the lack of cohesion is what seems like a mini-concert plunked down in the middle of the show, and appears to have been filmed weeks apart from the rest of the show due to the very different hairstyles and costuming.  After Judy sings a few numbers there's an abrupt cut and Judy returns in the same hairstyle and dress she'd been wearing before.

The numbers themselves are pretty weak.  Ray Bolger sings a medley of songs in a so-called rehearsal room full of empty chairs with instruments seated upon them, and he spends his entire number talking to these inanimate instruments, much as Clint Eastwood would later do at the Republican convention.  He sings, badly, every possible song with a woman's name in it.  The only enjoyable moments are when he dances. 

Judy sings "One For My Baby" as a throw away number in the middle of a comedic sketch, and I would have loved to hear her do it seriously.  Not just without all the interruptions, but with an approach that treated it as a dramatic monologue, something at which Garland excelled.

Judy, Ray and Jane sing "The Jitterbug", and it's difficult to watch.  Not just because it's overtly "cute", but there's something disconcerting about watching two middle aged women in teenaged bobby-soxer outfits.

 



On the upside?  It's nice to see Judy and Ray together remembering the filming of The Wizard of Oz, even with an awkward moment in which Ray mentions the first edition of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven" that he had given her.  He seems pretty proud of it and she seems to have completely forgotten about it. 

There is one segment that is always a joy to watch.  No matter what else happens in the show, good or bad, as the credits roll Judy dances and cavorts, claps for the audience, shakes hands with her fans, and generally makes magic as only she can. It never disappoints. 

TJGS Episode 9: Steamroller Merm Meets the Two Other "Belters"

Episode 9 is notable for many reasons:

• The arrangements are incredible.  The best of the series so far.  There's Barbra's "Down With Love", Judy's "Just In Time" which modulates all over the place (and would be even more improved when reprised in a later episode with an alternate tag ending) Judy and Barbra's marathon "Hooray For Love" Medley, and of course there is the famous duet arrangement of Garland's "Get Happy" and Streisand's "Happy Days Are Here Again".  It's been getting a lot of play lately, was performed on "Glee", and was featured in the most recent Pink Martini album Get Happy, but the first version is the best, and it was all Garland's idea. 

• The Smothers Brothers are the first comedic guests from the series that remain funny to this day.  While the other comedy acts had been pure cornball and could expect, at best to be considered mildly amusing today (I'm talking to you Dick Shawn) the Smothers Brothers are so off-beat and natural.  The sensibility of their humor is still very "current" and their act seems to fly by.

 

 

• The pairing of Garland and Streisand is history in the making.  Judy had brought family and friends to catch Barbra's act and was so taken with her that she convinced the execs to rearrange the shooting schedule to Barbra so could be a guest.  More than anything, Judy was very generous to talent, and she was exceptionally good to Streisand.  She convinced her agents to take Streisand on as a client (though they may not have needed much coaxing) and throughout the show you can see how much she gives to her when performing.  Streisand on her part is a little less giving, a little more reserved, but I don't think it's selfishness, just youth.  She was only nineteen after all, and still mastering the some of the "finesse" she would have later.  I highly recommend the chapter devoted to this episode in "Rainbow's End" as it perfectly captures the shared spirit of admiration, the perplexed attitudes of many in the old guard of showbiz who didn't get what all the hubbub was about when it came to Streisand, and hints that the Diva in Streisand, when it came to matters like what kind of tea she wanted to drink during breaks and pitching a bit of a fit when her guest spot was slightly shortened, may have been there, even at that early age.

 

• Old "Steamroller Merm", as I like to call her, makes a "surprise" appearance and completely takes over.  The moment she takes the stage she overwhelms everyone with volume and sheer gusto.  She even commands the conversation and takes every opportunity to steer the it back to her.  When the three of them sing together, Ethel's aim is obvious: steal focus.  Garland gives the whole number over to Ethel preferring to be her cheerleader than compete, and when she notices that Barbra's getting a bit bowled over as she somewhat gamely tries to sing along, she pulls Streisand into the group, making her a bigger part of it.   PS:  I suggest watching the number a few times and focusing on a different performer each time.  It's fascinating, and hilarious, as some of Barbra's slightly bemused expressions are priceless.

 

 

 

Jerry Van Dyke is on the show for one of his last episodes, still playing the part of "World's Number One Asshole".  If they'd have just let him continue with his sweet bumbler, and let him have a hand in concocting some of the material himself, he might have made a true contribution.  If only they could have dropped the bullshit about knocking Judy off her so called pedestal.  It continues in this episode and extends to the show itself in a bit in which Jerry claims the show is too expensive and so starts making budget cuts.  The audience doesn't need those little seeds of negativity planted in their head that would make them think the show is doing any less than spectacularly.

 

Incidentally the first reviews for the Garland show came out during this week would target this very aspect of the show as an awful idea, deriding the writers, with one critic threatening to punch the next person who referred to Garland as a "little old lady".   Aside from that they were overwhelmingly positive, if not for the show itself, then for Garland.  She'd always been the critic's darling and this was no exception. Good on you, critics.