Slog
News & ArtsSaturday, April 25, 2009
Celeb Somewhere Between 40 and Death
Posted by Dan Savage on Sat, Apr 25, 2009 at 1:50 PM
Before she was a TV star... Bea was a Broadway star.
RIP Bea. And, yes, the fact that Angela didn't play Mame in the film is one of the great tragedies our of time
UPDATE: Oh. My. God.
Thank you so much, Slog commenters, for this treat. Thank you. The tuba, the banjo, the LYRICS. Good God, the lyrics. And the tuba! Who wrote this? Who orchestrated it? And was Amyl Nitrate ever some guy's name? And this was on TV?!?! Genius. And the banjo! God know what your grandpa's huffin'? I have to go sit in a dark room for a day or two now. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
2
Tonight, my friend in New York plans to go to the stage door of Blithe Spirit on Broadway and personally thank Angela Lansbury for this Tony Awards performance with Bea Arthur.
4
Bea Arthur, RIP and all that.
But, I must add that I'd rather have my eardrums punctured with knitting needles than listen to show tunes.
But, I must add that I'd rather have my eardrums punctured with knitting needles than listen to show tunes.
6
#4 - strange, I had to click the little arrow button to get any show tunes playing. Is there a reason for your post?
7
In her honor, we should all watch the Star Wars Christmas special where Lady Bea plays the cantina bartender . Sigh.
8
@6 - "Is there a reason for your post?"
Uh, sharing my opinion? I thought that's what blog comments were for.
Uh, sharing my opinion? I thought that's what blog comments were for.
9
Here is a video of she and Rock Hudson singing about poppers and Amyl http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3VbSfQ3n…
11
I'd agree that Angela would have been a much better choice than Lucille Ball, but Rosalind Russell will always be the Mame of my heart.
RIP, Bea. You brought me alot of entertainment over the years and it was much appreciated.
RIP, Bea. You brought me alot of entertainment over the years and it was much appreciated.
12
@9: Thanks for the link! Also, did you notice that for part of the song they appear to be on the GG's lanai?
RIP Bea
RIP Bea
15
Dan darling - you know I adore you, and always have, even before that one fleeting encounter at the Brass Connection, Christmas season 1990something (rest assured that nothing untoward happened, scandal sloggers: I was much too gawky and awkward - not to mention drunk)
But how could you - a fortysomething homo, a standard bearer for all things gay - not know about the Bea Arthur TV special that bought us the Bea/Rock duet? Even I, growing up in that vast red wasteland known as western Iowa, knew this. Indeed, I think, even saw this, when it first aired.
The very foundations of my gayness are shaken.....
Oh, and yes - RIP, Bea....
But how could you - a fortysomething homo, a standard bearer for all things gay - not know about the Bea Arthur TV special that bought us the Bea/Rock duet? Even I, growing up in that vast red wasteland known as western Iowa, knew this. Indeed, I think, even saw this, when it first aired.
The very foundations of my gayness are shaken.....
Oh, and yes - RIP, Bea....
16
Angela Lansbury is toxic. Half of Venice will dance the day she finally dies. She's been on a crusade to close any business that's open past 9pm. Bars have to turn down their music and close their patios because of her fight against local nightlife.
If you try to park on the public street in front of her house, her guards will come out and harass you.
Venomous, bitchy, vile, harpy of Venice.
If you try to park on the public street in front of her house, her guards will come out and harass you.
Venomous, bitchy, vile, harpy of Venice.
18
@16, you make trolling the web to insert yourself wherever you find your neighbor's showbiz career mentioned seem like an awful lot of fun.
19
dan,
Your posturing before SLOG versus your pandering before the NYT is proof positive you are a dip shit. Bea Arthur, cultural icon? Hump that, pal.
Your posturing before SLOG versus your pandering before the NYT is proof positive you are a dip shit. Bea Arthur, cultural icon? Hump that, pal.
20
This is the most fantastic thing I've ever seen. Rock Hudson is god. Sitting near him makes Bea Arthur one of our last living links. Who's left -- Liz Taylor?
More evidence that post-Reagan fake moralism is just plain ignorant.
More evidence that post-Reagan fake moralism is just plain ignorant.
22
Calm yourself, Sven. So we have a pandemic. Maybe a lot of people will die. Maybe a lot of people in Seattle. it's happened before, but we didn't have cable, or a slog, back then.
The 1917 pandemic hit Seattle hard. Then we thought it was over, and we had a big spontaneous street party. But it wasn't over, and a lot more people died. But guess what? We're still here.
The 1917 pandemic hit Seattle hard. Then we thought it was over, and we had a big spontaneous street party. But it wasn't over, and a lot more people died. But guess what? We're still here.
23
@22:
"We"? Raise your hand if you were around in 1917? (and I think you mean 1918)
I thought so.
Yes, the human race survived. But a lot of people still died ... That said, I have to admit that I'm not really worried. But I understand why some people are.
"We"? Raise your hand if you were around in 1917? (and I think you mean 1918)
I thought so.
Yes, the human race survived. But a lot of people still died ... That said, I have to admit that I'm not really worried. But I understand why some people are.
25
Slog--
I am so sorry about posting a rant earlier about Angela Lansbury. I was tired and undercaffinated, and and I completely mis-remembered who was who.
*Angelica Huston* was the harpy trying to kill Venice nightlife:
http://www.yovenice.com/2008/07/20/venic…
Angela *Lansbury* is a patron of Venice, having generously given to a woman's rehab center there.
I am so sorry about posting a rant earlier about Angela Lansbury. I was tired and undercaffinated, and and I completely mis-remembered who was who.
*Angelica Huston* was the harpy trying to kill Venice nightlife:
http://www.yovenice.com/2008/07/20/venic…
Angela *Lansbury* is a patron of Venice, having generously given to a woman's rehab center there.
28
Hey, slog, SEO spammers have found you. Delete 27, and the others like it in the other recent threads.
29
The song Bea and Rock sing is from "I Love My Wife" an obscure Cy Coleman musical from 1977. Starred Joanna Gleason and James Naughton. The orchestration is taken directly from the show.
30
i, for one, intend to spend the rest of my day at work transcribing these lyrics so that the bf and i can learn it for the next hootenany.
my guess is they wrote 'amyl nitrate was some guy's name' because 'amyl' and 'emil' are homonyms. sorta.
my guess is they wrote 'amyl nitrate was some guy's name' because 'amyl' and 'emil' are homonyms. sorta.
31
@30:
nuts. i should have said 'homophones,' and the lyrics are, of course, available online. back to work!
nuts. i should have said 'homophones,' and the lyrics are, of course, available online. back to work!
32
Hey, Amyl Nitrate is as much as name as "Rock Hudson," "Tab Hunter" "Dash Riprock" or "Beef Jerky" are...
I thought coming from Rock Hudson made it funnier.
I thought coming from Rock Hudson made it funnier.
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