Life is a Cabaret

When I need a shot in the arm for some self-confidence, I can always count on revisiting RuPaul's Drag Race.  

RuPaul on How to Live Your Best Life brought tears to my eyes.

Bless her, Dakota Schiffer in S4 admits that she doesn't like musicals, which is typically my line in life.  Yet, one musical that I have always loved is Cabaret. I know why I like it as an adult but am still a little baffled why I liked it as a child and why I was allowed to even watch it.   

Of course, Liza was the star but Joel Grey (11 April 1932, Cleveland, Ohio) was mesmerizing as the Master of Ceremonies.  He won a Tony and an Oscar for his portrayal.

Grey's recent essay in The New York Times entitled 'I Starred in Cabaret.  We Need to Heed Its Warning'  

Performing 'If You Could See Her'

Fabulous article in The Guardian that references his childhood start in Cleveland

'Willkommen' on The Muppet Show

“Stick with it, be who you are. It’s going to be tough.But it’s also going to be beautiful.” - Joel Grey

For fellow SC fans:  Schitts Creek - The Making of Cabaret

The brooding, sensitive Freddie

How often does Luke Perry come up in conversation?!?!?  Not very.  So after two mentions of the James Dean look-a-like came up (with reference to BtVS film and the original Beverly Hills, 90210 series) in discussions yesterday with my friend Lauren, I thought I should dedicate a few words to the Ohio native.  This will be a bit telling of my age but the original cast of 90210 were supposed to be the same age as myself and their fictional class also graduated from high school and went off to college in 1993.  The character Dylan McKay, a brooding and sensitive rich boy managed to hit the right note for me as I was going through a James Dean and Laurence Olivier's Heathcliff phase at the time (to be completely honest, perhaps it was just the beginning).  Well, to get back to Perry, he was born in Mansfield, which is about 30 miles from my hometown, and grew up in Fredericktown.  It's been stated in interviews that Perry likes to return to Fredericktown annually for their Tomato Show.

Baseball 90210  

Fun Fact Friday: Bueller? .....Bueller?

I had such high hopes for Without A Clue, a comedy with Ben Kingsley and Michael Caine that's an alternate representation of Sherlock Holmes as a fictional concoction of Dr. Watson, but it just wasn't that funny or engaging.  Yet, it did have Jeffrey Jones as Inspector Lestrade, which reminded me of an important John Hughes film, Ferris Bueller's Day Off (well to be fair, Ferris has also come up in many conversations recently).  Jones is probably best known for his role as Ed Rooney, the principal determined to track down the charming and elusive truant Ferris.  This was one of those seminal films in my adolescence and was in a constant viewing rotation with The Goonies and The Lost Boys.  It may be set in Chi-town but it wouldn't have been much of anything without Ohio.  Well, at the very least, some of the most memorable characters would perhaps be quite different in our minds today if Ohio wasn't a factor:

1.  Alan Ruck (Cameron Frye) was born in Cleveland and attended high school in Parma.
2.  Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller) is married to Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City fame), who was born in Nelsonville, Ohio and later moved to Cincinnati, Ohio before moving to New York to further her career as a child actor.  SJP attended The School for Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) when her family was based in Cincinnati.
3.  Jennifer Grey's (Jeannie Bueller) father is Joel Grey, who is perhaps best known as the Master of Ceremonies in the film version of Cabaret.  Joel grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and began his career as a child actor in the Cleveland Playhouse.
4.  Charlie Sheen's (Boy in Police Station) dad, Martin Sheen, grew up in Dayton, Ohio

FBDO Trailer
Cameron Montage
Broderick interview with focus on FBDO
Charlie Sheen and Jennifer Grey in FBDO
Obama campaign ad Ferris Bueller-style

Fun Fact Friday: The Endearing Ted Mosby

Alright, I may never become a fan of How I Met Your Mother despite finding all of the characters endearing, especially the main character, Ted Mosby.  Yet, I do quite like the fact that such a quirky and romantically optimistic male lead is an Ohioan. While the character Ted hails from Shaker Heights, Ohio and is a graduate of Wesleyan University, the actor that plays Ted, Josh Radnor, is originally from Bexley, Ohio and graduated from Kenyon College, where he won the Paul Newman Award.

Radnor:  Not your average TV Star
Interview with first question about coming from Ohio

From Lucky Slob to "The King of Hollywood" and Glamour God

Flip through any free newspaper in London now and you'll see the advertisement to the left for a photo exhibition in the National Portrait Gallery.  It still amazes me how influential Ohioans were in Old Hollywood especially since we're not typically considered synonymous with glamour nowadays despite being the home of Victoria's Secret.  Many of the early movie moguls and stars came from Ohio roots, which undoubtedly includes 'The King of Hollywood'  Mr. Clark Gable.  I have always cringed when I hear lines from Gone with the Wind being recited and because of that I was reluctant to appreciate 'The King'.  Yet, if you ever catch It Happened One Night, for which he won an Oscar, you'll find a whole different creature, a witty and charming fellow, who apparently was much like Gable himself.

Born in Cadiz, Ohio, on February 1, 1901, William Clark Gable lived and attended school in Hopedale from 1903 to 1917.  After several years as a stage actor, he went to Hollywood, where he made sixty-seven movies in a remarkable career that spanned four decades.  In 1942, following his wife Carole Lombard's death, he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and was off the screen for three years while flying combat missions in Europe.  Although he was forever changed by the loss of Lombard, he always remained the man that women wanted to be with and the man that other men wanted to be.....incredibly masculine and utterly charming.

“All this ‘King’ stuff is pure bullshit. I eat and sleep and go to the bathroom just like anyone else. I’m just a lucky slob from Ohio who happened to be in the right place at the right time.”-- Clark Gable

Biography.com Article & Documentary

Better Blog Post about Clark Gable: The Lucky Slob from Ohio
The Man, the Myth, the Museum
Clark Gable - The Postal Service

Doris Von Kappelhoff: A Little piece of Ohio in Hackney, London

Albums displayed in case at V&A Museum of Childhood, May 2011

During my visit of the V&A Museum of Childhood last week, which was either prompted by my homesickness or my feeling a bit old lately, I was surprised to stumble upon at least two Ohio-related items.  One was part of a display that had interview snippets from Hackney residents about their family and childhood.  A resident mentioned that some of her happiest childhood memories was listening to the radio and to singers like Doris Day.

Doris Day was born 'Doris Mary Ann Von Kappelhoff' on April 3, 1924 in Evanston, Ohio (neighborhood of  Cincinnati).  Little Doris aspired to be a professional ballerina but an automobile accident dashed that dream by crushing her leg.  Fortunately, this setback led to the discovery of her gift for singing and after some lessons she began singing professionally at the age of 15 with the Les Brown Band.  After a screen test with Warner Bros (more Ohioans), she would become America's sweetheart and star in over 39 films in the 50s and 60s with the likes of Clark Gable (another Ohioan) and Rock Hudson. She is currently staging a musical comeback at the age of 87.

Talking about homesickness:  Doris Day singing 'Ohio'
Fun Doris Day Trivia

‎"I have found that when you are deeply troubled, there are things you get from the silent devoted companionship of a dog that you can get from no other source." -- Doris Day

Not all Sheens are from Mars

Martin Sheen, Hollywood, 1996 by Paul Joyce

Ah, well, I had planned on posting this months back during the media frenzy surrounding Charlie Sheen, which although dissipating is still continuing, but a recent visit to the Whitechapel Gallery reminded me how much I enjoy Martin Sheen.  In the small theatre, a series of films played and the most engaging one was Dinh Q. Le's split-screen film simultaneously showing clips of Charlie Sheen in Platoon and Martin Sheen, in Apocalypse Now.  Amazingly to me, the film even included a clip that I didn't remember but found incredibly interesting and relevant:  Willard (Martin Sheen) states, “Fuck. You don’t get a chance to know what the fuck you are in some factory in Ohio.”  So, while Charlie Sheen is declaring himself a 'total freaking rock star from Mars' and the media is eating it up and following him like the train wreck that he is, I find myself wishing to hear more about my preferred member of the Sheen clan, Martin. Sheen the Elder (birth name: Ramon Gerardo Antonio Estevez) was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio by immigrant parents.  After leaving Ohio at the age of 18 with bus fare he borrowed from his parish priest, Sheen struggled to attain his acting dreams in New York and married a young Ohio art student (Janet Templeton) before landing a major breakout role in the play 'The Subject was Roses' and later his iconic role in 'Apocalypse Now'.  Despite his newfound fame and wealth, he like his son Charlie, had demons and addictions to battle.  Yet, he managed to surpass them and has maintained his marriage and a strong and ultimately happy family life.  In addition to all the work he has done on his own life based in Malibu, California, Sheen continues to visit Ohio to do good works and is involved in the development of his hometown and homestate community.

Sheen Family Therapy
Augsberger/Estevez scholarship
For a pacifist, Martin Sheen plays a pretty good president
Martin Sheen on his own addictions and 'Apocalypse Now'
What Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez were doing during Charlie's media and mental frenzy

Bogie & Bacall (and Malabar Farm)

I will freely admit that I am neither a Bogart nor a Bacall fan but the fact that their nuptials took place in Ohio is fascinating to me. It's strange yet charming to imagine these two movie stars in their glitzy heyday getting married on a farm very near to where I grew up in a most unobtrusive part of the Midwest.  The farm in question is Malabar Farm, which was established by Bogart's long-time friend and Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Louis Bromfield. After establishing himself as a writer in NYC and spending a decade in France with his family, the Renaissance Man Bromfield decided to return to his native Ohio to set up a farm implementing sustainable farming practices.  Bromfield has since come to be recognized as a pioneer in organic and sustainable farming in the United States.  He was awarded the Audubon Medal for Conservationism in 1952 and in 1980 was posthumously inducted into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame.

"Ohio is the apothesis of Americanism. The middle west begins with Indiana, the east with Pennsylvania, the south with Kentucky, and, surrounded by these sits Ohio, one of the richest spots on earth. Its contribution to music, art, literature and the theatre is far greater than any two states in the nation."

—Louis Bromfield

"We eked out every last drop of Midwestern air and sky— of farm and cooking smells—boxer dogs." -- Lauren Bacall 

Bogie and Bacall, 65 years later in Ohio
To Have and Have Not:  Vanity Fair article with Bacall
Newsreel of Bromfield and Malabar Farm

Soap Heartthrobs

As I continue my quest to catch up on all things '70s and have been viewing episodes of Soap on Netflix (thanks to Alycia's suggestion), I discovered that the two heartthrobs in this hilarious and sometimes poignant parody of daytime television were played by Ohioans.  Peter Campbell, the tennis pro that slept with every woman that entered the little Connecticut town's country club was played by 'Galahad with a gun' Robert Urich, who grew up in Toronto, Ohio.    Danny Dallas, the somewhat dim-witted but sweet and charming son of Mary Campbell who has gotten in too deep with the mob, was portrayed by Ted Wass of Lakewood, Ohio.  I doubt that either actor's upbringing had much bearing on their portrayals in this series but it did at least affect Urich's overall career.


I think my longevity has a lot to do with where I come from – a blue-collar town in Ohio – and how I was raised: to work hard and respect other folks. -- Robert Urich

The King of Cool

While driving from Schio (my comment on its similar spelling to Ohio greatly amused my friend Ilaria) to Vicenza to catch a train to Venice, my compatriots played American music such as CCR (I think to keep me comfortable) and old Italian ballads. One song that resulted in the whole car singing was Volare, which my friend's father (with his customary good-natured wicked little smile) said that all visitors to Italy must learn. I apparently experienced a moment of amnesia and didn't mention that it was an Ohioan that made this song popular in America. Evidently the song was originally named "Nel blu dipinto di blu" ("In the blue, painted blue"), was the signature song of Domenico Modugno and is the only foreign-language song to have been awarded Record and Song of the Year Grammys. Yet, most Americans are most familiar with the version sung by the King of Cool, Dean Martin. Martin was born Dino Paul Crocetti (June 7th, 1917) in Steubenville, Ohio to Italian immigrant parents. Little Dino only spoke Italian until he went to school, which he left in the 10th grade because he thought he was smarter than the teacher. Before becoming the world renowned crooner, comedian and Rat Packer that we know, he delivered bootleg liquor, was a speakeasy croupier, blackjack dealer, steelworker and welterweight boxer. For anyone who knows anything about the history of Ohio, none of those vocations should be a surprise.

I've never given the man a fair shake though due to his associations to a couple of my least favorite entertainers (Frank Sinatra and Jerry Lewis) but have been happily surprised recently by the wry humor displayed in his popular celebrity roasts and find it oddly satisfying that 'The King of Cool' hails from my home state.

Biography from All Movie Guide

Groovy Dean Martin website

Dean Martin's Volare

Dino and fellow Ohioan, Doris Day, singing 'Baby, It's Cold Outside'

Dean Martin Fan Center (Steubenville, Ohio)

Dean Martin Festival

Orson Welles roasting Dean Martin (with other Ohioans Bob Hope and Paul Lynde)