But it's Tuesday in our hearts.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Something Wonderful
It's unabashedly sentimental, completely artificial, and wholly manipulative - but The King and I (1956) is absolutely glorious, gorgeous entertainment. Seeing it on the big screen, in all its Cinemascope 55 splendor, was a breathtaking experience. The sets, the costumes, and of course, that beautiful, beautiful score add up to one of the best musicals ever made; and the chemistry between red hot Yul Brynner and serene Deborah Kerr is seismic. There's one more day left of the Walter Reade Theater's Musical Marathon, and we strongly urge all of our New York readers to see at least one picture. The prints are fantastic, the theater is clean and spacious, and you get to experience what real movie making (and watching) is all about.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Have a Grand and Glorious 4th!
We'll be eschewing the family barbecues this holiday weekend for "family" gatherings of another kind - seeing as many grand and glorious musicals on the big screen as possible, at the Walter Reade Theater's Musical Marathon. Judy, Liza, Fred, Ginger, Doris, Ann-Margret, ONJ, and Marilyn will all be there, among others. We can't wait to see Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - those pumping posteriors during the "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love" number must be something else on the big screen.
Have a safe and happy holiday weekend, darlings!
"You mean you're all...that way???"
"Ah, what the hell...a full figured gal always has a good time with the gays!"
Friday, July 3, 2009
The Dolls Must Be Kicking In
If anyone can tell us what Barbara Parkins is up to in this still, we'd love to hear it.
Meeting on the Line at Heaven
Harve PresnellSeptember 14, 1933 - June 30, 2009
Mollie SugdenJuly 21, 1922 - July 1, 2009
It Was 1977...
...and we were barely fresh from the womb. But with this cast of characters (among many others), we wish we had been 20, like Brooks Peters, and living it up in Paris. Read his glamorous, funny, sexy, poignant memories here.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Farewell, Fayette
FAYETTE PINKNEY of The Three Degrees
January 10, 1948 - June 27, 2009
Ms. Pinkney's death has just been formally announced. Take good care of yourself, girl.
Read the New York Times obit HERE.
"Good Heavens, No!"...
...demurred Ann Sheridan.
"No man's ever wanted to rub it between my pompadour before."
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
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We'll Take Tallulah
Our latest Mystery Guest was the Alabama Foghorn herself, Miss Tallulah Bankhead. Just exactly why someone thought it would be a good idea to gussy a Prell Shampoo tube up in Tallulah drag is lost to the mists of time, but we're sure whatever the reason was, it was a dilly.
FlowerBell was the only one to guess correctly; she wins a custom made Tallulah Toupée, to be worn wherever needed. Whether this is a problem for hair, makeup or costuming is up to you, dahling!
Lethally Handsome
Call us crazy, but being the suckers for a pompadour and a pout that we are, we find Mr. Ray (one of Donna Lethal's hairhopping icons) kinda hot and humpy.
The monogrammed pocket hank we're not so crazy about; but we're sure we could reach an amicable agreement over, say, breakfast in bed.
Skin Deep
"There are no ugly women," Helena Rubinstein declared, "only lazy ones." The cosmetics queen herself was living proof that style could trump mere prettiness. She was decidedly zaftig, and certainly no raving beauty; yet her intelligence, elegance, and innate chic made her infinitely more interesting than many of the vapid glamour girls of her time - and certainly miles ahead of any starlet, model, or (shudder) "celebutante" of today.
For those of us who were not kissed by Venus or Adonis at birth, Ms. Rubinstein (or Princess Gourielli, if you please) is a study in the art of creating one's own beauty through dressing well and refining one's tastes.
It takes a brave woman, indeed, to attempt an outfit such as the one Ms. Rubinstein is modeling above; to actually make it work is the result of a woman who knew herself inside and out, and had not only courage but impeccably good taste. Our dear Joan Crawford, for instance, would look supremely silly in such a get-up (although fabulously, if ridiculously, so); Helena Rubinstein seems completely natural and at ease.
A skillful sense of proportion, and keen eye for color, are probably two of the most important keys to dressing well, and Helena Rubinstein mastered both. Incidentally, her longtime rival was, of course, Elizabeth Arden, who was considered the prettier, more traditionally feminine of the two. But Ms. Arden, for all her brilliant business acumen and undoubted glamour, was no match for Ms. Rubinstein in the field of chic:
A lovely woman, to be sure; but no Helena Rubinstein. As if there could be another.
(Inspired, of course, by SAVOIR FAIRE!)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
We've Had It!
No, not really.
But we do need to recharge our fabulosity batteries. A day or two of grapefruit, monkey glands, and Brazilian gigolos should do the trick. See you in a few, darlings!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
It's Sunday!!!
If this were a Sunday in 1962 (as it always is here at SSUWAT), we should like to be Miss Arlene Francis, trading quips and questions with Dorothy Kilgallen, Bennett Cerf, John Charles Daly, and perhaps Tony Randall, Steve Allen, or Martin Gabel. After our second Bloody, we may very well start imagining that we are...
Saturday, June 27, 2009
The Lady Eve
Not that she's ever far from our thoughts, but a recent post on Fabulon reminded us how much we adore Miss Eve Arden; and for all her wry looks and her unparalleled way with a quip, let it be said that she could glam it up every bit as well as her more celebrated celluloid sisters.
Just a Fella With an Umbrella
We'd get caught in the rain with Peter Lawford. Despite all that Marilyn/JFK nastiness.
Friday, June 26, 2009
The Lady, the Legend
No surprises - our last "Mystery" Guest (quotes intended) was Miss Lana Turner. That incorrigible scamp MC suggested that he was going to guess "Ava Gardner," just to make L.T. mad; it's our opinion that she had just enough of a sense of humor to laugh that one off. If he had called her "Josh," however...
Gal Pals
If the summer stock tour doesn't go well, there is probably an open position at Mistress MJ's place for Sally Struthers. One can always use a good foot massage after a long day stomping over submissives while wearing Roger Vivier heels.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Michael Jackson
August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009
Wherever he is, we hope he's been reunited with his nose.
Tranny or Granny?
Ms. Courtneidge starred in a revue called Gay's the Word, performing songs by Ivor Novello.
We are not making this up.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
We're Busy!
Coordinating and organizing one's accessories is extremely time-consuming.
Updates will resume tomorrow. Stay fabulous 'til then!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
It Had Better Be Tonight
Fast forward to 4:00 for Full Frontal Fabulosity, courtesy of Miss Ann Miller. Natch.
The Maye Way
1967...
...and 2009:
...and 2009:
What's so remarkable about this lady is that she sounds better now than she did in her youthful "prime." We attended the raucous, star-studded closing night performance of Marilyn Maye's tribute to Johnny Mercer on Sunday evening, and we're still reeling from it. Just as Dorian Gray had an aging portrait hidden away, we're convinced that Ms. Maye has a shriveled, croaky larynx tucked in a drawer somewhere. At 81 years young, she keeps getting better and better each time we see her, and that's not just hyperbolic gushing. Her reviews have been nothing short of rapturous, and her complete command and hypnotic hold on an audience is a thrilling spectacle unto itself. Marilyn returns to the Metropolitan in October; we're counting the minutes.
One Bad Mother
Our dear readers know their steely old battleaxes; Gladys Cooper's identity posed no problem to you. MC, that clarion of elan and style, was the first to correctly name her.
A great beauty in her youth, Ms. Cooper was criticized in her early stage career for being too stiff; by the time she made her mark in Hollywood, that stiffness had transformed into a gloriously venomous archness. Ms. Cooper's best known role, of course, was that of Bette Davis's gorgon of a mother in Now, Voyager (1942) - it's a remarkable, finely etched performance which manages to be terrifying, maddening, and extremely funny.
In 1967, Gladys Cooper was named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE); she passed away four years later, at age 82, after a bout with pneumonia.
MC wins a collection of good, solid books; sensible shoes; and freedom henceforth from any diets - all things which would meet with Ms. Cooper's approval.
The House in Good Taste
What color do you suppose that fur is? We're torn between bubblegum pink and Smurf blue.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Luxe Lager
Despite the persuasive copy, we can't quite picture Cole Porter or Miss Irene Dunne knocking back a few brewskies; yet, for some odd reason, it seems quite right and plausible to imagine Bea Lillie doing so...
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