More than a lady who lunches

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.