Friday Dance Party: Happy Anniversary

I can't believe it myself, but this silly Friday segment will be turning One tomorrow. It was 11/14/08 when I began presenting a weekly clip featuring some sort of dance. I swiped the idea from my buddy Larry, who presented dance clips on his personal blog for several months before giving up the ghost. I, however, can never let go of anything, so the Friday Dance Party continues in these pages.

The segment evolved rapidly into a place where I could showcase my favorite musical styles. While I have tried to always present a clip with some form of dance involved, I don't really keep to those parameters anymore. So, there are many clips from the past year which had very little, or even NO, dance in them. Whatever, it's my site. One of the most moving of those clips featuring no dance was this one, performed by the winner of that smash hit series, "Ukraine's Got Talent."

That clip is one of my favorites, as is the one featuring Kristin Chenoweth at the Boston Pops (that one has no dance in it, either, but lots of hilarious staging, and man, can that gal belt!). Probably my favorite clip of the year, though, features quite a bit of dancing: it's the sequence from the Tony Awards featuring Grand Hotel, and the late, great Michael Jeter stopping the show cold.

A lot of the clips from the past year have been from the musical stage, as I've grabbed clips from the Tony Awards or various film adaptations or the occasional TV version. Yes, back in the day, musicals were sometimes transplanted to TV with their original stars. Thus, we got a glimpse of Lauren Bacall's triumph in Applause, and Joel Grey's hoofing in George M!, as well as a TV adaptation of J.C.Superstar, just in time for Easter. There were some television stars represented, including a Designing Woman, a Disney cutie, and of course, The Monkees. Even a bubble-headed booby showed up. Not all the clips were meant as tribute; there were a couple which were so dreadful they had to be included. Whoever thought The Brady Bunch should morph into a variety show should have lost his job, and putting a disco number on The Lawrence Welk Show was just plain wrong (but you can't look away). There was even a TV commercial on the Dance Party, a very famous item starring Ann Miller (it's a real hoot, you should watch it).



But as I mentioned, most of the year's clips were from the Broadway stage. We saw everything from A to Z (or rather, A to X: Ain't Misbehavin' to Xanadu). The film versions of West Side Story and 1776 showed up, while the death of Natasha Richardson inspired this grainy clip from the Cabaret revival. When David Carradine went a little too far in that closet and died, I was reminded of his brother's performance in Will Rogers' Follies, and when Jonathan Pryce's birthday coincided with the big GM bailout, Miss Saigon landed. Though they were a bit grainy, I was excited by the clips from Pirates of Penzance and from the original A Chorus Line, because they were clearly filmed LIVE, in front of living, breathing audiences.



As I've spent the week reviewing the past year of Dance Parties, I'm dismayed to discover that several clips have been removed from YouTube due to copyright issues. So, clips from Gypsyand Gilligan's Island, among others, can no longer be accessed. When I have a few hours, I'll go on the hunt to replace them. (You can still click on those links to read what I had to say about those clips, you just can't actually watch them. sigh.)



The remainder of the clips were from the usual suspects, that is, from stars or programs where dancing is not unexpected. Gene Kelly partnered with Julie Andrews, and Fred Astaire partnered with Betty Hutton. There was no surprise when Judy Garland, Vera Ellen, Shirley Temple, Martha Raye, and Baryshnikov showed up, though the Steve Martin tap duet with Gregory Hines was pretty unexpected.

If you want to waste the weekend, you can find all 51 Dance Parties here, including the very first entry, which is quite cute. A year ago, I thought the clips would always feature unknown folks dancing, and while I quickly moved away from that concept, in honor of that first week, here is another amateur Dance Party. Aren't they adorable?

TV Droppings: thirtysomething, twentysomething years later

I'm currently slogging my way through season one of thirtysomething, which was released on DVD a few months ago. Well, maybe "slogging" is too tough a word, but I have to admit, I can watch only one episode at a time. This surprises me, as I remember the show very fondly, and have been awaiting its release with some eagerness.

This show is no Mad Men, which can be ripped through in a single weekend (I have written about that show before), and it is certainly no Slings and Arrows, which can be devoured in a single sitting. With thirtysomething, I'm not all that anxious to discover what happens next. The show was appointment television for me during its initial run, and now I am wondering if that was due to the fact that I was myself "thirtysomething" at the time. It was a bit of a groundbreaker, as it was a family drama without the family; it centered around 7 youngish adults who, in essence, became each other's family. Perhaps that was the aspect of the series which appealed to me the most, as I have done exactly that (choose my own family) throughout my life.

I'm having trouble finding any other reasons I was so enamored of the show. I certainly did not see myself in any of the core characters; my recollection is that it would be well into the show's run that David Marshall Grant would show up, as shy, offbeat artist Russell, who happens to be gay. More on him anon.

First seasons of shows are often the least cohesive, and thirtysomething is no exception. Though the performances are as I remember them, the writing has an archness which is not attractive to me today. I see now why, during its run, it was so often criticized as being "whiny," as the characters seem to be experts at making mundane problems life-threatening. The leading lady, Hope (Mel Harris), is almost unbearable in these episodes, as she complains about just about everything. When her mother (played by the spectacular Shirley Knight) comes to visit, and does nothing but attempt to help her daughter, she spins out of control.

I admit one of my favorite episodes of the whole series was one of these early ones, in which Hope and Michael attempt to have their first date night since their baby was born; cabaret artist Michael Feinstein provided the musical motif for this episode, which creatively used two actors (Lucy Webb and Timothy Stack) to portray a series of characters who spoil the evening. This was also the first appearance of therapist Dr. Nestle, played by Earl Boen in a recurring role, who shows up in a fantasy sequence dreamed up by Melanie Mayron's Melissa.

Those fantasy sequences were pretty unique back then, and provided the thirtysomething writers with some fun playthings. The Thanksgiving episode, for example, included a fine sequence when photo proofs of the gang came to life and commented on the action. I'm also enjoying the work of actor Terry Kinney, who has a recurring arc as the boss and boyfriend of career girl Ellyn (Polly Draper). I remember loving his work back then, and it was after his character was gone before I learned he was one of the Steppenwolf gang (I have been surprised that he did not achieve the fame his cohorts John Malkovich, Gary Sinise, and Laurie Metcalf did...I hope he's not bitter).

Well, I'm barely through the first half of the first season, and I know things will pick up. The show never really took off in the ratings, but became one of the first shows to survive due to its demographics, rather than its overall viewership. In future seasons, there will be some dark turns, including a nasty divorce, and a long story arc concerning breast cancer (from personal experience I can report that it is handled realistically). Those storylines will be anchored by Patricia Wettig as Nancy; she was the most Emmy'd of the cast, winning awards for her work three of the four years the series ran. When Michael and Elliot (Ken Olin and Timothy Busfield) abandon their own ad agency and sign on with a larger firm, we will meet one of the most memorable characters of the series, Miles Drentell (David Clennon), who makes Don Draper look like a pussycat.

The future will also include the single most controversial episode of the series. It may be the single most controversial episode of any series of the 1980s. It was in season three that David Marshall Grant's character, Russell, hooked up with Peter, played by Peter Frechette. They have a "morning after" scene in bed, which was apparently a television first. I remember the scene distinctly: the two guys are sitting up, side by side, not touching, barely even looking at each other. It was that awkward "where do we go from here" moment, one we have seen thousands of times played by straight couples. But because it was two men, the world exploded. Boycotts were threatened, and sponsors yanked commercials. ABC lost over a million dollars by broadcasting the episode, so it's little wonder they declined to rerun it, for fear of further controversy.

All that fun is in the future, though. For now, I will slowly make my way through season one of thirtysomething, and appreciate the fact that the show created a whole new word to describe people of a certain age.

Veterans Day

My dad is a veteran of World War II, but just barely. He enlisted in the army in the final months of the war, and was undergoing basic training when D-Day hit. He wanted to be a pilot, and though that did not happen, his interest in air flight continued to this day. He spent a full and successful career at Lockheed (back when people spent entire careers with one company), and continues to follow aeronautics in his retirement.

It was surely decades ago that I gave my father an American flag for, I don't know, his birthday, or Father's Day or Christmas; it was so long ago, I don't remember. It remains the best gift I ever gave him, as he proudly hangs it outside his house on every national holiday. It's travelled from Los Angeles to Atlanta to North Carolina, and by now is a bit tattered, and very weathered. I've offered to replace it for him, but he'll have none of it; he's proud of the flag, and I guess proud that his son gave it to him so many years ago.

I don't make my father proud all that often, so when it happens, I'll take it and run with it. I never served in the military, and don't know many who have. My generation was ever-so-slightly too young for Vietnam; in fact, I missed the draft by only a year or two. Once military service was no longer mandatory, nobody I knew ever joined up. Even today, I can think of only one of my peers who is a vet, my buddy Matt, about whom I wrote a while ago. And he's younger than I; I don't believe I know a single man my age who has served in the military.

That flag is flying outside Dad's house today, alerting the neighbors that a veteran lives here. It's not a very happy Veterans Day this year, with the atrocious massacre at Fort Hood casting a long shadow. Those soldiers who were slaughtered didn't get the chance to become veterans, and neither did Brian Bradshaw. Ever hear of him? Probably not. He was killed in Afghanistan on June 25, 2009. That was a big day in the news, one of the biggest of the year, as it was the date Michael Jackson died. So Brian's death, and others like his, passed without any kind of national acknowledgement. I've posted the below clip before, but I feel inclined to post it again today. I suppose it's better suited to Memorial Day, since the guy in question never became a veteran. For some reason, though, I wanted to see it again today; Brian Bradshaw, and all the thousands of other soldiers we've sacrificed in Iraq and Afghanistan, won't get to grow old like my dad, flying a faded flag outside his house on days such as this.

Friday Dance Party: Maine's Question One

Was there any doubt? Not from this tired, cynical soul. Though this time, the good guys, that is, the pro-gay marriage folks, actually outspent the conservative, "Let's Preserve The Sanctity Of Marriage Because Heteros Have Treated The Institution With All That Dignity So Far" side...but really, as I've written before, we are not going to make headway as long as our GALs ("Gay Activist Leaders") cling stubbornly to that word: "marriage."
The voters in Maine have voted to repeal an ordinance enacted by their own legislature to allow gay marriage in the state. Why is anybody surprised at this? In each and every instance, when the question of legalizing same-sex marriage has been put to a popular vote, it has been defeated. Each and every time. EACH AND EVERY TIME. Why? Basic civil rights for any minority group should NEVER be left up to the whims of the majority; in such cases, Americans will prove, over and over again, that we are, at our core, selfish, bigoted, and resistant to the rights of any minority. If the black civil rights movement of the 1960s had been put to a popular vote, Barack Obama would still be drinking from a separate water fountain.

So, Maine voters proved my point and repealed the law giving equal rights to same-sex partners. You know what else happened on election day this week? "Referendum 71" passed in Washington State. It was nicknamed "Everything But Marriage," and it insured that same-sex couples would enjoy the exact same legal privileges and rights as married couples, in short: Equality. The only thing missing: the term "marriage." And the measure passed. Why won't those stubborn PALs back off the M Word, and concentrate on gaining full civil rights in all 50 states? We can start calling it "marriage" later.

So, for this politically charged Dance Party, here is a clip you should already have seen. Though it's never been posted here, it went viral last year after the infamous Prop 8 was passed in California. Composer Marc Shaiman (Hairspray) gathered an all-star cast and created this little mini-musical in response. Enjoy, then go out and hug a homosexual. We could use a bit of positive reinforcement; apparently, we're still not as good as you:

Carl Ballantine

1917-2009

He called himself "The World's Greatest Magician," but he actually gave up sleight of hand very early in his career. The tricks he learned from his barber as a kid did not translate well to the nightclub circuit, until he began commenting on his own ineptitude. He would arrive onstage in formal attire and alert the audience, "if the act dies, I'm dressed for it." He might cut up a newspaper into long strips, promising to reconstruct it. Then he would pause to read the want ads.

Ballantine brought comedy to the world of the magician, and influenced David Copperfield, Steve Martin, Dom DeLuise, and Penn & Teller with his routines. He took his surname from a bottle of whiskey, and named his daughters after famous racetracks (he liked "the ponies"). His brand of stand-up worked well on television, and he guested on all the major variety programs of the 50s and early 60s.

He is well-remembered as Luther Gruber, one of the lovably inept con-men who crewed McHale's Navy in the mid-60s, and he brought his incompetent magician act to Fantasy Island, Night Court, and The Cosby Show. He was the first "magician" to headline in Vegas, and appeared in the first Broadway revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum starring Phil Silvers (he played Marcus Lycus in the production). In his later life, he had a career as a voice-over artist (he memorably voiced the talent agent of the California Raisins), and received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Fellowship from the Magic Castle in Hollywood. He appeared in several feature films, including The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968), The World's Greatest Lover(1977) and Mr. Saturday Night (1992), but will surely be best remembered as "The Great Ballantine," the magician whose act bombs.

Carl Ballantine died this week at the age of 92. His wish was to have his ashes spread over the racetrack at Santa Anita.

More Line Trouble

Last week, I dipped my toe into a controversy which has since returned to my radar. It all started with a New York Times article regarding Matthew Broderick and his difficulty with his lines during the preview period of Starry Messenger. He was making use of a prompter during performances, which irritated some audience members. (Nobody seems irritated at Lynn Redgrave, who just opened her newest solo show at Manhattan Theatre Club, and is reading the whole thing. But perhaps that's apples and oranges...) Anyhoo, that same NY Times piece spent a bit of time relating the tale of actor Matt Mulhern, who was dismissed from a production at Hartford Stage for hiding a cheat sheet (with line prompts) in his hat during previews for The Orphan's Home Cycle. I did not reference that part of the article at the time, because my gut was telling me there was more to that story than the Times was reporting, or the actor was admitting.

(the actor standing on the far right is Lucas Caleb Rooney, who was the cast member who assumed the roles vacated by Mulhern)

The actor in question (FULL DISCLOSURE ALERT!!) is a friend of a friend of mine, but I have never met nor worked with him myself. He has an active career on stage and screen, a career which has likely been damaged by the Times piece. Below, I have included Matt's video response to what he claims are inaccuracies in the report of his firing (the first of his career). As an actor, I find it a compelling tale, but am still not sure we are getting the entire story.

It is inconceivable to me that a director (Michael Wilson, who is also artistic director of Hartford Stage) would so easily sabotage his Opening Night by firing a principal actor the day before. I have a hunch he was jonesing to get rid of this actor for reasons other than cheat sheets in hats, and snapped up the opportunity (Mulhern revealed to the Times during his interview that he had "ruffled feathers among colleagues for a variety of other reasons" during the rehearsal period).

As of now, we don't know the actual reason Hartford Stage dumped Matt Mulhern; contractually, they are required to offer "cause," but so far, have declined to do so. Actors Equity Association, the union involved, seems to be waiting quite patiently, as the firing took place in early September. Meanwhile, actor Matt Mulhern is left twisting in the wind...

A Couple of Dealmakers

There were two deaths last week which caught my eye. Both were folks who knew how to take care of themselves.

Michelle Triola (Marvin)

1933-2009

She studied theatre at UCLA, and was a struggling actress when she snagged a bit part in Ship of Fools in 1964. She snagged something else while working on the film: a meal ticket. She began a relationship with the film's star Lee Marvin, who was married at the time but installed her in his bachelor pad in Hollywood while he dumped his wife. Eventually, Lee and Michelle moved to a Malibu home where she later claimed she was persuaded to give up her "promising" career to become Marvin's de-facto spouse. They were together six years, during which time Marvin became a high-profile star and won the Oscar for Cat Ballou. Though she could never get the star to marry her, Michelle legally changed her last name to Marvin in May of 1970; a month later, he evicted her from his house. Later that same year, Lee married his high school sweetheart, while Michelle hired high-priced Hollywood divorce lawyer Marvin Mitchelson and headed to court.
She was asking $1.8 million, half the actor's salary during the years they were together, and after a sensational trial, was awarded only 104 grand. She never even collected that, as the judgement was reversed on appeal, but by then, she really didn't need the money. Before the case ever made it to court, Michelle had landed another "benefactor:"
Dick van Dyke never married her, either, but the couple remained together over 30 years, until her death this week from lung cancer. Along with her flamboyant attorney Mitchelson, Michelle Triola can be credited with adding a new concept to the legal and societal landscape: palimony.


This guy died the other day, at the ripe old age of 103. Ever hear of him?

John Kenley
1906-2009

The son of immigrant parents, he quit school in his teens and hit the vaudeville circuit, where he sang, danced, and did impressions of Al Jolson, Maurice Chevalier, and, a bit oddly, Ethel Barrymore. Apparently, his Beatrice Lillie was a scream. He choreographed in burlesque and performed acrobatics for New York revues, but he was never meant to be a performer, which he discovered as an assistant to producer Lee Shubert in the 1930s. After a stint in the merchant marines during WWII, he landed in backwoods Pennsylvania, where he converted a Greek byzantine church into a performance space, and began producing plays. The Kenley Players were born; his company went on to become what Variety called the "largest network of theaters on the straw hat circuit."



At its height during the 60s and 70s, the Kenley Summer Stock Circuit included theatres throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, and toured productions elsewhere. When I was a kid in Atlanta, I recall seeing Joel Grey in 1776, Vincent Price in Oliver, and Paul Lynde in Plaza Suite, all productions which also ran on the Kenley circuit.

John Kenley hit upon a concept which was revolutionary back then, but is standard practice today. In addition to presenting established Broadway stars in the roles which they made famous, he realized that a recognizable name on the theatrical marquee would fill houses. Ageing film stars and current TV phenoms headlined most of his shows. Who wouldn't want to see Karen Valentine and Rose Marie in Bus Stop, playing roles originated by Kim Stanley and Elaine Stritch? He placed Tommy Tune in Pippin, Barry ("Greg Brady") Williams in West Side Story, and (get this) Robby Benson in Evita. He invited Betty White to play Dolly Levi, Pam Dawber to play Eliza Doolittle, and Shari Lewis to play Fanny Brice (Shari Lewis in Funny Girl?? Who did Lambchop play, Ziegfeld?) Joanne Worley played Mama Rose, Kitty Carlisle played Mame Dennis, and Barbara Eden played Maria von Trapp. The guys got some good roles too: Ed Ames played Tevye, Sonny Bono played Pseudolus, and Billy Crystal played the Emcee.


You didn't even have to be an actor to headline his shows; Hugh Downs made frequent appearances, as did Bert Parks. If Kenley thought he had a box office draw, he found a show for them: he put the Hudson Brothers in Godspell, the 5th Dimension in Ain't Misbehavin' and the New Christy Minstrels in Good News. Zsa Zsa Gabor as Madame Arcati in Blythe Spirit makes a kind of odd-ball sense, though Eva Gabor as Desiree in A Little Night Music, maybe not so much. He often nabbed a team of stars from current TV shows, which is how Harvey Korman, Vickie Lawrence, and Lyle Waggoner all landed in Send Me No Flowers, and Soap stars Katherine Helmond and Robert Mandan killed in Same Time, Next Year. Isn't this fun? I could go on for hours; go here for a complete alphabetical list of 40 years of this stuff.

The stars involved made a buttload of money for these short-term gigs, which is why Juliet Prowse, Edie Adams, John Raitt, Carol Lawrence, and Paul Lynde (who was Kenley's biggest draw!) returned over and over. Everyone had to get used to Kenley's opening night tradition, which took Merv Griffin by surprise. He was jobbed in for Come Blow Your Horn, and as the show's leading man, was astonished when he was required, by tradition, to dance the first dance at the cast party. With Kenley. The producer insisted on it, and apparently, no one ever refused.



There were consistent rumours that Kenley was a transvestite, and lived the winter months in Florida as a woman named Joan, but who cares? If he can get away with Lucie Arnaz in Li'l Abner, Rich Little in Promises, Promises, and Fred Grandy in How to Succeed..., he deserves some respect.