Ah, another acting powerhouse has crossed the bar: Elaine
Stritch died today, aged 89.
If you’ve never seen her on stage or screen, well, damn,
I’m sorry for you. She had the most commanding presence. I know her best from
her Emmy-winning stint on Law & Order,
where she played Lainie Stieglitz, one of the classiest lawyers ever—bigger cojones
than most men, but an upright integrity, which you don’t often find in any
calling, much less the legal one.
Stritch completely carried that off. She gave you the
impression that you’d like to sit down for a couple of rounds of martinis with
Stieglitz, but that you’d want to keep your wits about you, because she was
entirely capable of leaving you in the dust at any juncture of the
conversation.
I’ve also seen snippets of her stage performances,
including her one woman show, Elaine
Stritch Live at Liberty, a few years ago. I’m telling you, it was envy-inducing
to see how amazing that woman, in her 80s, looked in a man’s oversized shirt
and a pair of black nylons. And you could have slapped up the Red Army’s chorus
on the stage behind her, and no one in the audience would have noticed anything
except Stritch. Like I said, commanding presence.
And, of course, that voice. You never forget that voice.
Primarily happy on stage, she was very active in the
musical scene, and closely associated with Stephen Sondheim’s work. As I
understand it, she completely nailed “The Ladies Who Lunch” in Company. I’m not sure there’s anyone
else out there who could even approach the force of her delivery.
She had quite a few knocks in her life, and yet faced up
to filming a very honest biographical documentary earlier this year, Elaine Stritch: Just Shoot Me. Following
its release she had a fascinating interview with NPR’s Scott Simon, in which she
faces such topics as her diabetes, her drinking, the death of her husband, and
getting old. Listen
to it, especially if you can’t see the docu just yet.
It’s not actually easy to hear, because she’s honest
about everything, including being short-tempered. But it’s all class. Just like
she was.
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