Jimmydean2 At the end of last year Jimmy Dean sent me some taped TV appearances on DVD. I talked about Black Rose and Monte Carlo earlier, but I was finally was able to watch the 20/20 interview from Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean when it was originally a play on Broadway.

This instantly brought back memories for me. This was back in 1981 before Entertainment Tonight and its insane spawns that all seem like the same show now. Back then you couldn’t get a Cher sighting outside of shows like 20/20. I remember taping this interview (the first Cher interview I ever taped in any format) on my old, top-loading tape recorder. I was 11 or 12 years old and playing back my little audio-cassette, I about memorized every word of this interview. Seeing the visuals again after all this time feels truly bizarre yet thrilling. This interview had some amazing early-80s photos of Cher. I wish I could find a copy of it on the youtubes.

Some highlights

  • Cher says she hopes the critics don’t make Hamburger Helper out of her. Hamburger Helper, remember that?
  • She made 4k a week. The producer of the show noted that other stars on Broadway were making 50-60k a week then, so we are made to understand Cher was getting a very low salary-of-love.
  • Cher also confirmed that it took her 6 weeks to earn what she was earning in 11 minutes doing her show in Vegas. She said then (and she said recently about her new Vegas show) that the money doesn’t matter; but someone must have cared enough about the money to have figured that out.
  • Her teeth look amazingly crooked from the angle they filmed the interview, more so than on any TV appearance I can recall. I always say I miss Cher’s old, crooked teeth -  but have you ever seen a modern star with such crooked teeth? When I was seven I remember my parents saying “Why are you a Cher fan? She has crooked teeth!” I couldn’t figure out what someone’s teeth had to do with anything – but who even remembers Cher had crooked teeth these days? She had awesome teeth. It had everything to do with the way she moved her mouth so lusciously.
  • Cher is seen gleefully dancing at Studio 54 and they put up a picture of her with Ron Duguay. I knowRon-duguay-poster she was supposed to have dated this hockey star at the time but I never knew if I should believe it or not. But now that she confirms she once dated Tom Cruise, I guess anything is possible.
  • 20/20 reminded me that People Magazine (the issue which ran during her Broadway run, the one with that fold-out cover with her kids) called her “The First Lady of Flash.” This is probably the best, most succinct and inclusive accolade to date – and it’s an old one.
  • Cher actually squeals in this interview.
  • She says she’ll be nervous before she goes out for her debut performance as Sissy and says she’ll probably have to go to the bathroom and be sweaty and cold.