We just came from The Paley Center, where Charles Busch hosted a once-in-a-lifetime screening of rare clips from The Tonight Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Merv Griffin Show, and The Jackie Gleason Show, featuring the incomparable Miss Marilyn Maye, spanning 1967-1979. Eight of these, of course, came from the Carson show, where Marilyn guested a record-breaking 76 times.
Beyond Maye's absolutely phenomenal pipes (her highly personal, idiosyncratic renditions of "Maybe This Time" and "Cabaret" made us all but forget Liza What's-Her-Name), her innate jazz sense and timing set her apart from other big-voiced dames who made the Vegas/nightclub/variety show circuit during the Polyester Era. 1970's shlock like "The Need to Be" and "This One's for You" sound like profound truths when interpreted by Marilyn Maye; and when she gamely tackled such unsuitable material as "Spinning Wheel" (!) or "I Will Survive" (!!!), she still managed to A) keep her dignity intact, and B) make the material sound ten times better than it should, through her impeccable phrasing, timing, swing and rhythm. One of our least favorite songs, ever, is "Bad Leroy Brown"; but would you believe that Marilyn Maye not only gave a knockout performance of it on Merv Griffin, but even made it swing like a Chicago blues?! We kid you not.
Seeing these clips (most of which haven't been viewed since their initial airing) was a joy and a thrill, with the audience applauding spontaneously before, during and after each number; and having Miss Maye interviewed by Mr. Busch was an exercise in humility, gratitude, well-deserved pride, wit and warmth. Incidentally, we saw Mr. Busch at Miss Maye's sure-to-be-legendary performance at The Metropolitan last night, with his dapper and handsome partner, author Eric Myers.
For ayem8y: we wore an aubergine fine wale corduroy sport coat; white cotton poplin shirt; camel cashmere V-neck; cream colored flannels; and perforated maple colored brogues. We complimented Miss Maye's wonderfully chic black-and-copper ensemble quite nicely, and were delighted to once again be seated next to, and have a lively chat with, Maxene Andrews' adopted daughter, Lynda.
As Cindy Adams might say, Only in New York, kids, only in New York.
