a division of the Chersonian Institute
Cher scholar Tamara Lorenz Hampton has produced a book about one-of-a-kind outfit creation and over 10 years of doll art and collecting in her book The Fabulous World of Cher Dolls.
The book is intended to help serious collectors "determine what they have" and "how to display, decorate, and create" for your dolls.
The book is on sale for $125 on Lulu, a price that probably reflects the full-color production of an indie book.
So while we're cooling our heels waiting for the new Cher single to be released this month, I came across some good video of Cher on the UTubes.
Cher on CNN
I caught up with a whole array of Cherness on CNN:
– Cher on Larry King (1999) circa "Believe," Tea with Mussolini and discussing Sonny's funeral (part 1 and part 2)
– Footage I hadn't seen about Cher's single with Eros Ramazzotti (2001); how they came to make the record together
– Cher calls CNN to talk about Hurricaine Katrina, feeling the same helplessness we all did but with some extra money to help out (2005).
– Cher calls CNN to talk about the death of Michael Jackson (summer 2009) and her experiences working with him; how hard it was to learn the Jackson Five dance for her Cher TV show, how Michael loved her beaded socks.
– Cher continues to talk that night about Farah Fawcett (summer 2009). "This chick was holding on to thin air and still had a great attitude."
Dolls
– Cher Scholar JefRey sent around this clip: a French commercial for the Mego Cher doll. Mr. Cher Scholar thinks the commercial is from Quebec. He said the accent sounded unusual to him and we figure the Cher shows would be more meaningful to Canadians than to the French. Mr. Cher Scholar translates the commercial jingle as follows:
"That's Cher! [John laughed at the beginning because in French 'Cher' means both 'dear and, in 'slang, expensive… so it sounds like the little girl is exclaiming "That's expensive!"] The doll with long hair; the doll with elegant clothes, that doll that you can braid, wardrobe for all occasions. Thirty-two ensembles sold sseparately. Cher is sold with everything on the screen. Cool! [John was confused by the accent over the very last word which he guessed it meant divine or wonderful or cool.]
– Cher peforms (circa 1966) "Mama" with all those creepy dolls at what looks like a staged doll factory. Far from being creeped out, Cher looks pretty blaze about it all.
Cher Concert Openings
Although Cher did video for her 1978-9 Take Me Home shows, the big opening video I remember is from Heart of Stone tour. It's fuzzy but you get a sense in the jump in polish from concert videos made from 1989 to 2008. This opening is just a collage of clips as opposed to a remix of music and clips. The first video opening at Caesars Colosseum.
What's great about these openings (whatever version they take) is not just how well they familiarize nonfans with Cher's 4-decade oeuvre, but how much excitement they build up before Cher makes her entrances.I love how the second one is a lovely mashup of "Believe," "I Got You Babe," "Dark Lady," Gypsies Tramps and Thieves," "Song for the Lonely" and "The Beat Goes On."
European Interviews
– Wetten Dass (German) interview from 1995, part 1 and part 2 and part 3 (she sings a O Holy Night in German!!).
– Wetten Dass from 1999.
– Sanremo (Italian) interview with audience from 1999.
Alison Calthorpe, 17, 
is seen to the left, drowning in her Cher stuff. It's all too familiar to us isn't it? Soon her Cher stuff will rise above her bedroom window and drown out the sun.
David Sanderson of The Winnipeg Free Press did a story on Alison, the newest Cher Zombie to sprout in Canada, hooked on Cher after, of all things, seeing the dread-haired diva's appearance on Dancing with the Stars.
Cher Scholar is quoted heavily in the article, talking out of her ass no doubt. I hope I didn't say anything too embarassing although I am now questioning my comments on the prices of collectibles.In my head I was thinking about what I paid for both the Dark Lady and Half Breed posters when they appeared on eBay and how cheap you could get them a few years later.
I did almost faint after getting the Sonny & Cher Theater in the Round toy for my 8th birthday, although I didn't mention that to Mr. Sanderson in the interview. He picked it right off cherscholar.com: http://www.cherscholar.com/toys.htm. No matter how scholarly you try to appear, you can't hide the crazy collector within.
Welcome, Alison, to this motley tribe of fanatics. I hope you have a sturdy inheritance through which to burn for Cher doll outfits.
It's been a very crazy month and I've been lagging with my blogging. But Cher Scholar is exhausted. We got back from Cancun early in the month and then went right into Thanksgiving prep. My mother-in-law Donna came for the long weekend (and I love it that she was so enthusiastic about seeing Burlesque Thanksgiving-eve with me and John. See our collective review for more about that.) Unfortunately, in between launching the big dinner with new recipes and juggling a huge work ramp-up to a Cartagena Colombia meeting, I've been wiped out, in pain and feeling a bit deflated from all the work.
One pre-Thanksgiving task I looked forward to was putting up Christmas decorations, which (like cooking Thanksgiving dinner instead of grabbing take-out at Dinahs) I hadn't done for two years. And this means hoisting up the Cher Christmas tree!
However, I was initially thwarted in this most pleasant task because two mice had been living in our garage. John freaked out and spent $50 on every kind of imaginable mouse trap to place on every conceivable mouse path in our garage, leaving the leftover un-opened traps sitting right on my boxes of Cher crap.
Sure I could have moved them out of the way. As if that were that easy! I was afraid of them! What if 
one accidentally fired off or had a dead mouse decaying in its clutches. I couldn't even look at them. Before our trip to Cancun I had asked John to move the traps and he, thinking I was being a big baby (guilty as charged), was in no hurry to do it. I kept expressing how important it was for me to get to my Cher junk so I could assemble the glorious Cher tree. On a layover from our fight back from Cancun I started again to worry about the traps and having to lose a finger trying to get to my Cher dolls.
This was around the time I was overspending on Burlesque memorabilia and it sort of seemed like he had set Cher traps as an intervention! So I confronted him right there in the airport 
(after finishing the Vanity Fair magazine article)…why you gotta be puttin out Cher traps on me?
He mocked some outrage and said it was all untrue and ridiculous that I would accuse him of such a thing. Then he said it was a moot point because he already picked up the Cher traps!
Ah HA! He admitted it! They were Cher traps!!
Can you believe it?
Anyway, the Cher traps were indeed gone when we got home and I was able to assemble the Cher tree. 
Thank God for tender mercies! A few new things about the Cher tree:
friend Coolia suggested I make paper dolls. At first I didn't want to do this because I hated paper dolls as a child. Really found them excruciatingly boring. But the Cher tree project changed my mind. I found a tatted-up Paul Bunion paper doll for Gregg, a nerdy paper doll for David Geffen and a somewhat dapper doll for Val. Note: I am still working on the Robert Camiletti doll. I haven't found the right body yet. 
For quite some time there has been a ton of links clogging up my blog to-do list. I’m just gonna throw them all up here now just so I can move on with my life. You can link wherever strikes your fancy. My take for must see items have a star (or two) next to them.
Cher’s last words on her farewell tour:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxoKm81YzeQ&NR=1
**S&C Bible ad revisited:
http://www.bay-of-fundie.com/archives/1207/lol-sonny-and-cher (This is actually hilarious. Remember this bible ad from posts back? In this version, people have written in funny comments in S&C's thought bubbles – don’t skip the comments below either.)
Some clips that have come across Cher Scholar’s desk this week:
A Cher Investment: songs written by Bon Jovi, Cher, Celine Dion and Justin Timberlake now form part of the investment portfolio of Dutch civil service pension fund ABP.
Dinner Date Night Idea: stay at home, watch Moonstruck and bake a pizza; here’s how.
Good News: the paparazzi are starting to get arrested in LA when their volume and tactics put people in jeopardy. Uh…it’s about time. Read about such an arrest.
And if you recall my gripes last week or so about Cher’s modern dance routines compared to her 80s Vegas ones, here is a story on her choreographer Doriana Sanchez and how they hooked up.
And Cher may not support Obama but he supports Cher: in a joke last week Jay Leno said: "In an interview in People Magazine, Barack Obama said he was more a fan of Sonny and Cher than he was a fan of Donny and Marie. Well, that should answer the question of whether he’s black enough!" That’s actually very kewl. Sonny & Cher got soul…we knew it!
A party of Sonny, Chers, Donny and Maries
A soulful Cher among honkey Osmonds
It’s small but hey…it’s my first year.
I’m watching TV Lands Greatest TV Icons tonight to start off my very exciting Dead Turkey Day plans for the weekend. For some odd reason, my bf and I our unseasonably festive this year and have decided to decorate our digs this weekend, bake cookies and generally be cheery. This is most unusual.
To keep you busy over the weekend if your family is tormenting you with discussions of embarrassing childhood moments involving Thanksgiving leftovers of yore, retreat to your room and play with Eddie Kent’s 60s Cher paper dolls. You can play with them online!
I couldn’t find a particularly Thanksgiving Cher photo but here is a video of S&C singing in Thanksgiving colors: Just imagine them coming over to your dinner party dressed like that with some giblets and boxed wine.
Anyway, happy Thanksgiving – adopt a turkey next year: http://www.adoptaturkey.org/.
Actually, I’m a little hurt no one has asked. I mean…it’s like you don’t really care.
But I’ll tell you anyway. I coerced my boyfriend into doing some interpreitve modeling.
The LA billboard of Cher doll and Bijan for Men
Michael Kors despairs over the Bob Mackie hole-fit on an episode of Project Runway.
Who hid our Harleys?
Precious and few are the moments we two can Cher.
This is my bf in the shirt I bought him for his birthday. He bought me Sirius radio for my birthday and helped me install it a few weeks ago. I’ve since been stalking the dance, 60s and 70s stations for 18 days until I was finally able to create a Memo Alert for Cher. Now I’m free to roam the vast forest of cable radio programming. Speaking of my birthday, I also got papercut Lancaster County/Amish art from my parents, an iPod car converter and the second Nellie McKay album which is utterly awesome. She’s getting better with time and each song has something eclectic and interesting going on in it. My favorite songs today are "Yodel," "There You are in Me" and "I Will Be There."
http://www.stardoll.com/en/dolls/265/Cher.html
Why paper dolls are fun, I have never in my 30-something years understood.
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