Happy 104th Bette Davis!

Hello, my gorgeous fans! Today is a momentous occasion: The 104th Birthday of Bette Davis! I was thinking about this recently, and the people who run showbiz these days just don't have the imagination and genius that they once did. Look at the women of the past that we still talk about: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Vivien Leigh, Judy Garland, etc. Most of the women I just listed did not possess typical beauty, but what they did possess was talent, presence, and just raw electricity. And not just the leading ladies were like this. Look at supporting players like Eve Arden, Angela Lansbury (in her early days she was always second fiddle), Thelma Ritter, etc. They are so memorable in all the films they're in. These days we have...who? Keira Knightly?

So, Bette Davis. I just want to wish her an enormous happy birthday, wherever she may be. She has inspired me more than she, or anyone will ever know. From legendary performances in movies like Jezebel, Now Voyager (which is just the best), Dark Victory, The Letter, All About Eve, etc, to her less well known, but fabulous, performances in All This and Heaven Too, Watch on the Rhine, and The Sisters, to her often parodied late career in movies like Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, The Nanny, Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte, and A Catered Affair, I LOVE IT ALL! My one regret is that Bette Davis, unlike actresses like Meryl Steep, or Diane Keaton, or even Katharine Hepburn, was not allowed to age gracefully in film. Back then they didn't know what to do with women of a certain age in film, when I believe that's when women can became their most complex and delicious. I always wish Bette had been allowed to age with grace in film, BUT, that doesn't take away from the fact that she was still fabulous in those later movies. She paved the way for so many great actresses. Happy Birthday Bette!!!

Missed Opportunities

Hello, my gorgeous fans! One of my favorite things to do is to "dream cast" musicals, which means taking a musical, and casting it with your ideal, perfect cast. Most of the time I cast myself as the leading heroine when I play this game, but sometimes I ponder on things like: "What if Betty Buckley had replaced Patti LuPone in Evita?" "What if Judy Garland had starred in the movie version of Gypsy?" or "What if Shirley Bassey had done a stint as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard?" "Why wasn't Master Class written sooner so Anne Bancroft could have starred in it?" These questions spark glorious fantasies in my mind, but usually lead to depression since they never happened.

What is so maddening is that some beyond fantastical casting opportunities have been SO CLOSE to actually happening, but for some reason or another (schedules, artistic differences, drug use) they never came to fruition. Here are some from stage and screen...

1. Judy Garland as Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (there were some talks)

2. Betty Buckley as The Witch in Into The Woods (she was in the workshops, but had artistic differences)

3. Patti LuPone in Sunday in the Park with George (she auditioned, but it didn't work out)

4. Judy Garland in Valley of The Dolls (click here for video)

5. Elaine Stritch in Gypsy (she almost did it over Angela Lansbury in London in the 70s, but for some reason it didn't happen. Obviously I'm glad Angela said yes and did it, because it's an amazing performance. Check out clips!)

6. Liza Minelli in the Evita movie. (This didn't happen because Tim Rice was involved and wanted Elaine Paige, his then girlfriend, who had originated the role in London, to do the movie.)
7. Cher as the Witch in an Into The Woods movie. (The fact that this movie didn't happen makes me so upset. It was to be directed by Rob Reiner also starring Goldie Hawn as the Baker's Wife, Robyn Williams as the Baker, Elijah Woods as Jack, Roseanne Barr as Jack's mother, Steve Martin as the Woolf, etc. Major UGH!)
8. Meryl Street in Sunset Boulevard movie. (This project just never happened. Streep was battling Glenn Close and Barbra Streisand for the part. Hugh Jackman was supposed to play Joe.)
9. Britney Spears in Streetcar Named Desire. (She was offered to do it in London...I know what you're thinking, and I don't care. I would have enjoyed it if it was shockingly bad, and I would have enjoyed it if it was miraculously good. I would have been in heaven.)
10. Veronica Garland in everything. (I have been offered so many parts in so many different stage productions, movies, etc and for some reason or another I have had to decline. Truly sad.)