Category: Television (Page 13 of 23)

Recap of Woman’s World Press Tour

July 21, 2013 / Cher Scholar / 1 Comment

The Accolades:

After decades of dissings, then surprised condescension at her success in the 1980s, then the
1990s of affected interest with the turn into occasional accolades and credit,
the excitement of this round’s interviewers is palpable. I’m chalking it up to
the inarguable facts of her career piling up and The Cher Show kids finally finding their asses in interviewing seats.
It’s truly extra-ordinary and Cher is responding with
her grown-up voice and is downright verbose in her responses.

One of my favorite pile-ups of accolades was from SoSoGay,

“Before Beyonce,
before Gaga. Before Rhianna and before Katy. Before Britney, Christina, Cyndi
and Celine. Before Whitney and Mariah, and before Madonna. Before colour
television, before the Vietnam War, before man walked on the moon. Before the
decimalized pound. Before everything, before time immemorial…There was Cher….this shimmering vestibule of unrelenting
fabulousness….her sparkling tsunami.”

Ed Brody, the author, tells me Burlesque was amazing and to get over myself. I laughed at that. I wish I could. But that’s the cross a scholar bears.

Here’s more overview of the love:

A Cher fan said
she was coolest person ever since he can remember (Watch What Happens/Andy Cohen)
Andy Cohen said as a kid he watched The Cher Show and “when she came down the
ramp, life, hope, goose bumps, gave me fairy dust, inspiration” came too. He said Cher
was putting to bed all the kids in America. (Watch What Happens/Andy Cohen)
Anderson Cooper said he grew up adoring Cher—and
his mom (Gloria Vanderbilt) said Cher was her
fantasy daughter. Kelly Ripa is also a fan. One caller said he had to get high
to talk to Cher (Watch What Happens/Andy Cohen)
Dan Taylor called her the female artist of rock
and roll, the iconic lady (WCBS).
On Sirius/XM radio’s Studio54 channel, the hosts Marc Benecke and Myra Scheer were very
excited. (I just got a new car so have free XM for 3 months or something–whohoo!). In
their intro, they played “The Shoop Shoop Song,” “Believe,” Turn Back Time,” and
“Woman’s World” clips. On the Town Hall interview with Cher,
(the inaugural), Myra noted that she was Steve Rubell’s executive assistant at Studio 54 in New York City.
They called her major star, a guiding star, a role model with 250 world-wide
awards in music, TV and film, including a Golden Globe, an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy,
and a hit song in every decade “since 1910” Cher joked. At the first break,
they played “Take Me Home” (and noted the song was on the Studio 54 album). The next
break “Turn Back Time.” The next break “I Found Someone” (and here a salamander
crawled up our faux-bedrock wall and stopped to listen). The next break “Believe,” “Strong
Enough” next and during the final break “Women’s World.” Many of New York’s straight men asked questions
during this interview and I love how straight men in NYC love her. You don’t see this so much in LA and the Midwest.

Candidness: Cher seemed so much less guarded in her face, body, and with her words.

The New
York Times said what they used to say about her in the 1980s, “In this age
of rigidly controlled star-bots, no topic seemed to be off-limits (except her
relationship status).”
She appeared on The Today Show with Savannah Guthrie, (perky like Katie
Couric) and was so nice and comfortable in her PJs. After the interview,
Guthrie gushed about Cher to her co-anchors, calling Cher
an unassuming charmer. I was impressed how easily Guthrie could kid with her.
On Z100, the DJ played “Does Cher Care” asking Cher irreverent questions about Paula Dean (Cher feels she’s not
misunderstood, just wrong), Sandra Bullock’s new movie trailer: is it
overexposed, will it be good? Is Cher even interested (Cher said it looks
cool), about the never-ending cupcake craze (Cher said it sucked to begin with and
prefers Hostess cupcakes), should Snowden be punished or kicked out of China/Russia?
(Cher said this was above her pay grade).
Andy Cohen launched CherMaggedon with a plethora
of games, including Truth or Cher—the Truth
question being who her greatest lovers were (She said they’d all been
exceptional. Andy said “That’s a list!” and she answered, “Not a long list but a
good list.” He got her to admit Tom Cruise in the top 5 when prompted). In the
Dare, Andy Cohen quoted Moonstruck
and asked Cher to slap him while saying “Snap
out of it.” In another segment Gypsies Tramps and Tea, Andy Cohen asked for
Cher’s opinion on: Elvis (didn’t know him), Whitney (didn’t know her), Nick
Cage (he’s crazy but I love him), Meryl (my idol), Phil Spector (he’s crazy and
only paid me $25 for a year’s work), Michael Jackson (I have TMI!), Tom Cruise (He wasn’t
a scientologist then and they were hot and heavy for a minute), ever having a lesbian lover?
(who hasn’t). She said she stole a horse when I was 13 and took it to Santa Ana. If she could
meet anyone? She’d ask Jesus “Dude, what’s the deal?” Her favorite decade was the
80s (so much fun, could go naked swimming). On her bucket list? (I thought she said to build
Balobgese house but is that right??). Her best movie role was Moonstruck.
Does she have a boyfriend? (The moment anyone knows, you don’t have one; so she
keeps that on the low down now—that’s a great answer actually). For the Jackal of the Night: Cher picked Senator Ted Cruise because he’s an a-hole who
doesn’t like gays or foreigners. According to Andy, the show said “Cher” 29 times – which was a record.
During Andy Cohen’s Aftershow, he asked her what
sent she would use for a scented candle (Uninhibited); she says she watches
CNN/MSNBC. Anderson Cooper made a surprise appearance and said Cher calls in all the time to help people but low key (that she did so
with Hurricane Katrina). They asked her about the Supreme Court decision on gay
marriage (about time, she said) and they tried to play Kiss, Marry, Shag with
her (with Quaid who she’d say she’d marry and Nicholson & Cage but she
never finished the list.) They ran a Hair Chertrospective at the end.

Cher was great fun through all these shenanigans.

The New Album:

On Live Chat NY, Cher
said the video wouldn’t be released until September (which is very strange since
a video might have helped the single). Cher
said the newspaper wig was her wigmakers idea and kinda a nightmare. She said
her favorite songs on the album are “Lie to Me” (a Pink song), “My Love” (a
future single), Take It Like a Man” (a future single), and Dressed to Kill.”
She said she recorded “Woman’s World” in an hour (on Z100 she said the song sang itself) and
she co-wrote the song “Lovers Forever” which is actually old and was written for the movie
Interview with a Vampire. She said
the album has dance, rock and ballads and she hopes it will generate three videos.
On Z100 Cher said recording is still scary and
tenuous and she is not Cher fan, that recording studios are not her favorite place to be, that she feels more confident
on stage (where I shine) because she feels she’s a good entertainer (vs. a singer).
To Andy Cohen, Cher
said Lady Gaga didn’t like their duet but that she felt it was good. Cher said this was her best album and her best songs and she loved that she didn’t have to lower her keys.
WCBS noted that this is her 26^th
album. She said here it was very eclectic with dance, ballads, a country song, and
some funky banjo in one song and a U2-sounding 9/11 song called “Sirens.”
On XM she talked about the writing of “Woman’s
World.” As she said in “Believe”-era interviews, there’s no overt personal connection to the song. She said the writer was a guy and
his idea was that women are strong and now demand their rights. (In this light,
I think the setup suffers from slight condescension, which isn’t the writer’s fault, but a generational interpretation, ex: we don’t need men to tell us this.) Myra said the song was
very “I Will Survive of the 21^st Century.” (I thought that label should
have been applied to the song “Strong Enough” with its 1970s sound). Cher
said the song was like “Believe” in that she didn’t like the second verse,
which was too similar to “Believe.” Cher said
she won’t cry twice, which is why in “Believe” she added the more empowering line: “Maybe
I’m too good for you.” She wants to show that women are resilient. Myra said although Cher
didn’t write it, she owned it. Cher’s mom said
that about her The Voice performance.

Old Songs:

On Live Chat NY, Cher
said she turned down “Turn Back Time” around 1000 times and then did the song
in an hour. She said her favorite song of her own is “Song for the Lonely.” The
interviewer said she loves “Baby Don’t Go”
and Cher said that was a great song and very definitive Sonny & Cher.
On Z100 the DJ said Cher
has embraced change through the eras vs. musicians who say “this is the kind of
music I make” and aren’t flexible. Cher said
she gets bored and likes to try new ideas. Cher
said she can’t think of anybody my age who
is making records to get on the charts or anyone who performs onstage with no clothes.
(She’s so funny!) They talked about “Believe” and auto tune and the vocoder and pitch machines. I get confused during such tech talk.
On WCBS, Cher
says she almost threw away “Believe” although she thought it was a “beautifully
constructed idea.” She talked about the first time she heard herself on the
radio, for her song “Baby Don’t Go.” They were at her mom’s house where their managers
were living (because they were all poor). They were in the living room listening
to KFWB and had all been calling on all their phones to the radio station to get it played. Cher said it was an out of body experience with everybody
screaming when the song came on. They said they all wanted to go to the Cadillac
dealership with bag full of money and buy a Cadillac.
On XM, Cher
said she hasn’t a clue about her longevity in the business. She agreed with a
fan that she liked the “Walking in Memphis”
video and was the first to play Elvis. (Like originally? Like in 1971, which is
my theory that she’s been doing Elvis since then?)

General Music:

On Live Chat NY, Cher says she Pink, Adele, and Amy
Winehouse; On XM she said she still has her favorite go-to song (but said
it makes no sense) as Procol Harem’s “Whiter Shade of Pale.” SoSoGay reporter
mentioned that her song from Not.Com.merical, “With or Without You” taps into
that Procol Harem sound.

Movies & Broadway:

According to Live Chat NY, Cher has no word on the
status of Drop Out or Bet and Flo, movies once listed on her IMDB page. For her
next movie, she seeks a non-glamorous role in an independent film. She says she
will never do Shakespeare.
She also says she got her Silkwood offer on a Wednesday matinee of her Broadway show, Come Back to the 5 & Dime, and she liked
doing a play, found it comforting. (Live
Chat NY)
She said Broadway was not easy but you get an immediate reaction. (XM)
According to Live Chat NY she’s still writing
for her Logo show.
The DJ of Z100 told Cher
he used to watch Mask over and over with
his sister. On Z100 and XM, Cher said she was
sick during the offer to do Thelma &
Louise but that what belongs to you comes to you. She regrets not being able to do it but feels it
was meant to be “Sue’s” part.
Andy Cohen during his Aftershow asked Cher if she keeps in touch with the Mermaids daughters, Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci. Cher says they grew up and she hasn’t seen them lately. She
said “Noni” went through a strange period but seems back on track and she
remembers sneaking Christina M&Ms during the shooting when directors
thought Christina was too chubby and banned them from her trailer. Cher
said she loved the family-feeling of movies and talking to the tech people. She said
she had a great time on Burlesque.
On WCBS, Cher
retold the story about a crowd laughing at her name during the Silkwood preview (Nichols told her the
previews were out and she went to a Tom Cruise movie in Westwood to see it with
her sister and her manager, Billy Sammeth). She said it was organic laughter and therefore
pretty painful. At the eventual premiere the audience clapped at her name in
the credits.
On XM, Cher
admitted not knowing how’s she’s persevered in a youth-oriented film industry. Myra calls her fearless. Cher said you evolve. Mark said she has communication
with audience. Cher said she is likable. She
said her most memorable moment was winning the Oscar. It was amazing to her since
it took so long to get an acting job. She said Robert Altman was such a rebel. Mike Nichols told her when he saw the Saturday matinee about the
character of Dolly that they couldn’t find anyone for the role before they found Cher and so they we were just gonna
write her out; Mike said, “She’s a lesbian, but really lovely.” A fan asked if
she would do more musicals? She said she wasn’t planning any but she enjoyed
singing in a film.
One fan on XM commented on her sexy glamor and
sensitivity in movies from Moonstruck
to Jimmy Dean. Cher
joked that she could multitask. She said, I am who I am for better or worse, a
lot of worse. She said she likes play in her work and that sometimes she stops
doing it when she feels she has nothing to offer.

Twitter & Star
Fights:

On Live Chat NY, Cher
admitted on Twitter it’s hard to read jokes and emotions, saying, “Words can’t
see a smile, can’t get emotions.” She said she tweets in the middle of the night
like a vampire. To Andy Cohen she says she’s good with Madonna.
Andy Cohen asked her about Nicki Minaj throwing
shade on her. She said people come and go. Snap!

Exercise & Free
Time:

On The
Today Show Cher says for free time, she sees friends, goes to the Bahamas,
paddle boards, goes hiking, or somewhere
like Nepal.
On XM she talked about working out, working her
“ass off” now because when you’re older it gets harder. But she was always into
sports and running as kid, climbing trees. She had “so much energy.” Official exercise started for her during The Sonny
& Cher shows where she took a dance class during their lunch breaks.
She said you have to change it up to trick your body. The same exercise stops
working. Now she does yoga, pilates, weights and the trampoline to music, bouncing,
she says, makes her happy.

Outfits:

In the New
York Times, Cher said her favorite dress
was the Oscar Snub Dress: “If you could have seen it up close. It was cashmere,
the beading was beautiful, they made earrings and the headdress was exquisite.
It was impeccable. It was beautifully done.” (And Cher
would know a headdress). She also stated “Camp is in the eye of the beholder.”
On The
Today Show she said she doesn’t mind people hating what she wears.
On Andy Cohen she wore space platforms shoes and
black and white geometric jacket and pants. Cher
scholar Robrt Pela noted that this outfit matched the back cover of Sonny & Cher’s In Case You’re In Love album.
She stated her that her favorite outfits where the Oscar dress, and her first
Indian “costume,” and the “Turn Back Time” outfit (Which one? The concert hole fit or the
video V fit?)
On XM, a fan asked what her outfit inspirations
were. She said her first inspiration was Bob Mackie. She loved that her
friend said her hair on The Voice
looked like a chicken from the 4H club. She says she has a good humor about it. But she said the outfit
and wig didn’t translate on the show (I agree: too many cuts and closeups). Cher said art should provoke conversation, not that she
can say my hair was art, but she was going for Luxe Punk.

Concerts:

On LiveChat NY, Cher talked about
her first live appearance in bowling alley and Sonny pushing her on stage. She
said about her Caesars shows: “They were
very staid.” (New York Times) and that
fans couldn’t afford the show so there was an older, low energy audience. She came
to understand “you don’t get to decide how they’re gonna enjoy it. They get to
decide.” She said on tour she saves her voice and doesn’t talk, lives like a
nun. She said in the 1960s people threw
rings on stage, in homage to the fact she had rings on every finger (I did not
know that.). She said “Song for the Lonely” is impossible to sing and she didn’t
tape Caesars show. (Live Chat NY)
The New
York Times was with Cher at the Marquee
during a very long wig change. Manager Lindsay Scott was asked, “How much of
his life is spent waiting for Cher to change
her outfit and get trussed up?” “A good amount.”
In the Marquee video itself, Cher
made a speech about when she was uncool and a has-been, “you guys have always
been there.” Cher watched some drag queens/impersonators
dance to a mix of her songs and she danced and sang along, smiling.
On Z100 she said she might tour next year. The
DJ asked her about seeing all those cell phones now at shows. She said smart
phones weren’t around yet during her farewell tour years.
During the Macy’s 4^th of July
Spectacular, I loved the long hair and the pants. Is that chain mail back in
action? Mr. Cher Scholar made many positive remarks, (She looks cool here,
looks younger, like the big hoops, she looks great). The women in audience
really seem into it. Cher smiles a lot and
throws out sultry looks. She did lip sync but in the bootleg pre-tape, you can
hear her singing. She comments about dressing age-appropriate (not quite yet; age appropriate would be dressing like Helen Mirren above…can you believe they’re less than a year apart in age?). She talks about her choreographer, Doriana
Sanchez, and about getting free M&Ms vs Dr. Pepper backstage.
Cher announced
she’ll be performing a Today Show
concert on September 23. The hosts said to “expect a legendary crowd.”
Cher said her least
favorite song to do live is “Jessie James.” She talked about touring with sonny
in early 70s on the club circuit where they had to cook in our room but used
Chastity in act; She used to lead the orchestra. (Watch What Happens/Andy Cohen)
On XM, Cher
said hearing her records again, she felt they sound better. For live shows you
need to speed them up because the audience needs excitement. She said singing
live is a crap shoot. She said sometimes her musical director Paul Mirkovich changes up arrangements. A fan asked if there was a drag queen better
than she was? She picked Elgin Kenna and called him a genius artist.

TV Shows:

To Andy Cohen, she talked about Farrah Fawcett’s
appearance on The Sonny & Cher Comedy
Hour. “She had tits and I didn’t” so Farrah got all the crews attention.
She said one of her favorite things with
Sonny was the Raymond Burr blooper (long form) and on XM she said the blooper
was “so us.” She also agreed she loved her West Side Story performance. She
said there were 14 costume changes on her show with Sonny.
On WCBS, she said her appearance on The Voice was awful and scary. Before
the show she told her mom she would either be the greatest reinvention of herself
or it would be “get thee to a nursing home.”

Family & Friends:

Cher said her mom would be a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race and Chaz was great
performing in “30 Minute Musical” (Live Chat NY), the episode spoofing Independence Day and Chas played the
president. (Watch What Happens/Andy Cohen)
Cher said Sonny’s
funeral was very Italian with everybody cooking. “The only person not there was
Son.” Cher said they didn’t sing to Chaz at
bedtime, they read her stories. (Watch What
Happens/Andy Cohen)
ON WCBS, Cher said her mom’s best advice was to never
litter and that Cher has never seen Chaz better
in his life.
On XM someone asked for Cher’s
advice to new artists. Cher said entertainment
and fame are so different now, everyone has an immediate clothing line (I
wonder how Sonny would have operated in this era). Cher
said Sonny instilled in her the idea never to believe in a no. She said she should
have stopped years ago when all signs pointed to no, but like a bumper car she
keeps going, it’s in her family DNA. She said far more talented people don’t
make it. She hears friends saying older people should move over to give the
kids a shot, but the women in her family are not moving out of the way.
On XM they asked her for her best personal and
professional decade. She said all decades have had their over parts and have
also spiked up. “They said I reinvented myself but it was untrue…I’m just me.”
She couldn’t decide on a best decade, saying the 1960s were the beginning, the
1970s had the TV show, the 1980s had the movies and was the best decade
personally.
On WCBS Cher said she was still working with Children’s
Craniofacial Association.
In The New
York Times, Cher said Robert Camilletti was
her easiest relationship and of her two husbands, Sonny she was most attached
too: “It wasn’t like anything before or after. And it wasn’t all roses. It was
very Russian roulette.”
On XM she said her true love was Robert Camilletti and Ronnie Zimmerman was the one who could make her laugh so hard she cried.
XM asked her for advice for parents. She said I’m on twitter with your
kids. She said it’s hard to stop telling your kids what to do but you need to think of them as people and cut
them some slack and do fun stuff with them. You’re not just there to boss them around. But teenagers
are crazy. You need to guide them more because you worry about them all the time. Her mom told her never
lie, litter, or talk back. But she learned to drive when she was 11 and her mother assures her she was
a mercurial child. “Chaz was an angel all the time. Elijah is like me.”

Her Character:

Calls herself mercurial (Sirius/New York Times) and says
her worst habit is worrying too much (Live Chat NY). If she could go back in
time as superpower to meet an Egyptian whose name I couldn’t catch or to send the
paparazzi into space (Live Chat NY). She said her biggest obstacle is her up
and down moods and she works to stay in the center and not be over emotional
(WCBS).
On XM she was asked if she would change anything
she’s done. “How long do we have,” she asked and then said the truth would be too
personal. She believes what belongs to you comes to you.

Plastic Surgery:

In the New York Times,
Cher admits her limited movie offers might be due to her wrinkle-free visage,
that her look might make it “hard to be anyone but Cher.”
She said this idea “didn’t feel very good. But it was true. I get that. I
understand that.” She was also asked about Chad Michaels allegedly having
surgery to look more like her: “If it doesn’t bother him, it doesn’t bother me.
I don’t feel creepy. I don’t.”

A Book:

To Andy Cohen, Cher admitted she once wrote “a half-assed book.” But before she write the bigger book, people have
to die off. She said she and friend, Paulie, talk about it all the time.

Shy Kid to Superstar:

My iPod shuffle served up the Sonny & Cher b-side “Hello”
during Cher’s big June/July press push. I was
taken by how far she’s come in her confidence.

We’ve also come to a point of critical mass in her career, where no one (including Cher herself) can pretend this is her first album, movie or project and dismiss or ignore all the preceeding history. I love it when she talks about experiencing showbiz over so long a period of time and, as you can see, all these interviews reflect the breadth of her work, from live shows to TV shows to music albums to being a fashion icon. It’s all here.

Cher Pushes into July Publicity

July 7, 2013 / Cher Scholar / 1 Comment

News and Pics of Cher at The Pier/Gay Pride

http://www.chernews.blogspot.com/2013/07/cher-performs-trio-of-tracks-at-dance.html

http://www.cherworld.com/cher-news/cher-performs-at-pride-concert-new-york/

News and Pics of Cher Performing at Macy's July 4th Celebration from Liberty Park

She looked so lovely at this, by the way. Total charmer. Mr. Cher Scholar's comments:

"She looks cool here."

"She looks younger here."

"She looks great."

"I like the big hoops."

Gah. It's like he wouldn't stop talking about it. 😉

http://www.chernews.blogspot.com/2013/06/cher-performs-womans-world-at-liberty.html

The z100 Radio Interview

http://www.cherworld.com/cher-news/cher-z100-radio-interview/

I'm telling you, the way interviewers are making over Cher, the excitement and respect they give her…it's so remarkable. It kind of made me verklempt. And she's so giving and patient with all their fawning.

The Today Show

Cher was on The Today Show this week in her pjs and not last week. So I missed it like I'm missing everything else in this press junket. Thank the Cher Gods for the Internet. Great interview.

Best clip with the hosts fawning over her afterwards.

More Andy Cohen Show thoughts

Cher scholar Robrt made the astute connection between Cher's outfit on Andy Cohen in June "those wild matching outfits she and Sonny are wearing on the back of their second Atco LP." Brilliant!

When I met Cher at a CD signing, I blogged like a nerd about it (just to process it, man). I see Anderson Cooper has done the same thing but using his media-source CNN: http://www.towleroad.com/2013/07/anderson-cooper-apologizes-for-fawning-over-cher-video.html (Thanks to Cher scholar Dishy for sending.) Cooper outs Wolf Blitzer as a Cher fan. Speaking of Anderson on Andy Cohen, I am always interested when when Cooper talks about his mom, Gloria Vanderbilt.

Queerty.com then makes fun of him for doing so: http://www.queerty.com/anderson-cooper-dresses-in-cher-drag-wants-to-braid-chers-hair-20130704/. (Thank you Cher scholar JefRey for forwarding.)

After Andy Cohen taping a New York Times reporter did a story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/fashion/cher-talks-about-what-else-being-cher.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&emc=eta1

More Remixes from Cher's Youtubes:
Jodie Harsh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdAko-fEOq0
Zookeeper: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0Bw6lromTI
Jason Nevins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBRl-2YMzkE

Great Idolator Pieces
Thanks to Cher scholar JefRey for sending…

"18 Reasons Why Cher is Fundamentally Awesome"

The memory-lane of Cher Single Covers

I want to talk more about the highlights of all this press coverage but me paws still ailing (thanks to Bruce for your advice…yes it is my upper back causing all the drama), so look to that in the weeks to come. Lots of great stuff to digest.

Cher Likes New York in June, How Bout You? (And VCR Alert)

June 30, 2013 / Cher Scholar / 1 Comment

Unfortunately I have been felled temporarily this week by carpel tunnel and much melodrama related to that (crying jags, garment renting) so I've behind in all the Cher appearances of this week. I can't type much (to save my arms and hands) but I'll post what I've been sent.

The Voice Wrap Up:

Blake Shelton on Cher's performance and what it meant to him: http://www.wetpaint.com/the-voice/articles/2013-06-24-blake-shelton-favorite-season-4

Cher on her performance (to Access Hollywood): "It was awful at the beginning… Because my voice has been really bad lately. I was frightened, but I knew I had to do the best that I could. It was probably not the best that I'll ever do it, but it was definitely the best I could do tonight." Cher talks about her look as Luxe-Punk: http://www.cherworld.com/cher-news/cher-discusses-the-voice/

Host Carson Daily said: "It was so crazy to
see Cher on the stage. I've been very lucky to watch Madonna, Paul
McCartney, Michael Jackson. I've interviewed them, I've talked to some
of the greats, but watching Cher tonight, that sort of completes my
personal volume of icons in music."

Results of "Woman's World" the Charts (sent from my friend Christopher, my Billboard chart-watcher):

from Paul Grein of Chartwatch on Billboard:

"To My Readers: Cher’s “Woman’s World” didn’t make it this week. It sold 26K digital copies to enter Hot Digital Songs at #79. I thought that might be enough to do it. Alas, no."

Christopher: "Hot Digital Songs is the sales chart for digitally purchased singles. The low ranking on the sales chart, when combined with no significant radio play, failed to generate sufficient overall points for the song to make an impression on the Hot 100. 🙁 "

According to CherNews,

'Woman's World', which was a top 50 seller on Amazon and iTunes, has
entered Billboards Hot Digital Songs chart at number 79, with sales of
over 26,000 copies. Perhaps more importantly, the song has entered Billboard's 'Bubbling
Under Hot 100 Singles' chart at number 25. The 'Bubbling Under' chart
showcases the 25 songs that are sitting just below Billboard's main 'Hot
100' chart and that have not yet entered the main chart. 'Woman's World' has unsurprisingly made a big impact on Billboard's
dance charts; it debuted at number 7 on its Dance/Electronic Digital
Songs (sales) chart and number 16 on its Dance/Electronic Songs chart
(sales, airplay, club play, streaming).

Sadly the bubbling under chart is not great boon. It means the single is charting over 100. Top 41-99 is not a hit. So over 100 isn't great. But it could gain momentum yet.

Live Chat with 1067 LiteFM

Watch video either at:

CherNews

Cher Word

Cher at Q Night at the Marquee in New York City (June 27 & 28)

Watch the video at:

Cher World

Cher News

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (June 27)

Cher News

Cher World

Watch it on the Tubes: 1, 2 and 3 and AfterShow later and more later.

The ramp up for this show was called Cher Magedon and Cher scholar JeffRey sent me the promos which are hilarious…

Talk about an American treasure. The Queen reigns. I'll talk about these interviews more when my hands aren't freakin killing me. But I will say I love how relaxed and open Cher is in all of them. So nice, so nice.

The Pier Show (June 30)

Fan video and video from very very far away (for some reason this is interesting to me; imbibing with out paying…so fun!). Cher was reported to debut the song from the new album, "Take it Like a Man."

Today I noticed there is a reported album leak with the following track listing:

1. Woman’s World
2. Take it Like a Man
3. Dressed to Kill
4. Lie to Me
5. Pride
6. Red
7. I Walk Alone
8. Beautiful Vampire

I didn't download the album myself because (I'm not that innocent), I was afraid of a virus.

Coming Up

SiriusXM Town Hall Interview

Cher World coverage:

"Full piece will air on Thursday, July 4, at 10:00 am ET, via satellite on The
Blend, channel 16, and Thursday, July 4 at 2:00 pm ET on Studio 54
Radio, channel 54, and through the SiriusXM Internet Radio App on
smartphones and other connected devices, as well as online at
siriusxm.com. For rebroadcast times, please visit www.siriusxm.com/townhall"

A clip is posted on Sirus XM

July 4th on NBC

Cher News reports Cher will appear on NBC's 'Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular' TV special.

June 18, 2013: A Day of Chertasticness

June 20, 2013 / Cher Scholar / 3 Comments

The Single

Woman’s World was released this week on June 18, 2013. I’ve
been realizing over the last few days that this single is the first Cher single released in a post iTunes world, the first CD
released entirely digitally. It makes me feel kind of naked and missing
something as a collector as I'm missing having another compact disc, cassette or 45-single. Times have sure changed in this lifetime of Cher singles. What do I
add to my shelf? What liner notes can I pour over? But will there be a collector's single?

Kids don’t
even have CD players anymore. I have a broken one in a boom box. I still have a CD “walkman" I never use because I use
my iPod exclusively for music when walking. And I have a CD player in my car which is the only one I use.

Cher’s last album, Living
Proof from 2001, predates iTunes. I do remember hearing samples of the songs
online and I don’t remember what format they were in. I do appreciate how Cher
has embraced the changing world of music delivery and social media, as her new
website shows. As other artists complain about the new paradigm, she carries on.

As for the single release yesterday: I like the crispness of
the download. The remix seems like it has more nuances, more depth in sound,
some contrast, some extra trills. I like how Cher’s
vocals have more variety, going up in places where I don’t remember them going
up in the earlier version(s). “Come
togEther now” and “EveryBODY in the club.” The build up of the synthesizer
bed is more dramatic and interesting. Don’t care much for the shuffling end.
But I DO appreciate that we don’t have to listen through a spoken-word intro on
yet another Cher dance track. It’s interesting what a
few little changes can do to improve upon a thing.

The single cover: Is it me or does this cover look very
Gaga? Eh.

The Temporary Video

The video with the paper-hair wig has not
surfaced yet; but there is an “official lyric video” up inspired by the
postcards from the 1940s which are all the rage now in feministy-joke-form.

I like it alright but it's lacking the charisma of Cher.

The Remixes

More remixes popped up as well on the Utubes:

Tracy Young Mix – it's okay–remixes make me daydream
Danny Verde Club Mix – okay as well
R3HAB Mix – I like this new one better than the
other two
But the MZ Poppins Mix is still my favorite

I’m still trying to figure out the whole remix thing. Since
I don’t go clubbing, I can’t see it from an athletic standpoint. It seems
different ones have different energy and counter melodies. So it seems a very
subjective thing, which remix you gravitate toward. Can someone else elaborate on
the secret art of remixing for me? Now mashes I get and totally love.

The TV Appearance

My husband asks how she was going to sing this live on 2013 finale of The Voice. After
seeing it, I really couldn’t tell. It didn’t sound like the record to me. It
sounded breathy like her usual live performances and imperfect but I wouldn’t stake my life
on whether this performance was live or not. I appreciate the fact that they always hold Cher
out to the very end of live shows. It is a testament to her power to hold viewers.
But I never feel her act is quite the showstopper that say Bruno Mars was doing
that Jacksons
homage. I love how they introduced her with her plethora of her awards. I liked the
purple Mohawk wig but never did get a comprehensive look at the outfit. The strobe
lights didn’t help make me feel high NRG about the performance. And the dancing
wasn’t as thrilling as the Bruno Mars simple-but-effective overall effect. But then again, none of the other acts really had much good in the way of dancing.

I really liked the show but then I find all finales pretty
exciting. I liked the remix of “Take on Me” by A-Ha in the Christina Aguilera
and Bitbull performance. But visually it was very “tacky party” to me. I
enjoyed all the clips of the judges (since I’ve never seen the show). I love,
love, loved big nose girl, Michelle Chamuel! She was my favorite of the
contestants. Overall, Mr. Cher Scholar and I felt the quality of singers was
better on this show than on American Idol. Many times, Mr. Cher Scholar called
out from the other room that he couldn’t tell if a performance he was hearing was by a
contestant or a professional. Seeing Nelly was a treat! I love him, loved the
country/rap mashup. Bob Seger was definitely the highlight of the show. Wished
he was singing “Night Moves” solo. What a great song. It was overplayed too
much when I was growing up but it’s really first-rate. Talk about a voice. And
what great teeth.

Cher with the winner(s): Danielle Bradbery and Blake Shelton

Cher with the judges: Blake Shelton, Usher and Adam Levine. Did Shakira shun Cher??

The full outfit view. Are those Hammertime pants?

Watch the performance.
See more pics on Cher World.

The Interview

Mark Steines of Entertainment Tonight interviewed Cher for 30 minutes on LiveStream before the show. He
used some fan questions plucked off Cher’s
twitter page. When I was on, it looked like over 4,000 other people were on,
too.

They discussed the new paradigm in selling music. Mark asked
if albums still held value and Cher said for
an artist the iTunes system wasn’t so great but for the music buyer it better
enabled them to make choices. He asked her how she stayed relevant and if she
had advise for young artists. She begged off both those questions (“I haven’t
got a clue.”) She said she loved Pink and her music. She said it would be hard
to bring back the variety shows considering their pace and the success of
reality shows. (Saturday Night Live is such an affront to the idea that variety show is dead,
though). She talked about her Lovelies and learning to tweet, her favorite
memory. She revealed that one of the bonus tracks is a Diane Warren song. She
talked about her favorite outfit (1986 Academy Award outfit). She talked
about Sonny’s meat pasta sauce and how she makes it with chicken and penne
(Hey, howabouta Sonny cookbook??). She said if she ate at Mark’s she’d like grilled hot dogs
with the cheese inside with BBQ sauce and mustard and a chocolate malt. They
discussed bikers vs. truckers. Cher said Dr. Pepper is a must have for her backstage and
she commented on how cheap the Dr. Pepper company is for never giving her free Dr.
Pepper after all her years of talking about loving Dr. Pepper. (“They’re so cheap, they never gave me
anything.”) She talked about her upcoming
appearance at The Pier Dance.
She’s still a nervous performer. She said she’d be a great (and kind) judge on
a talent show. By the way, was she wearing brass knuckles?

She’d like to continue to
make movies, something independent and gritty, something un-Cher like (my
Cher-movie fantasy). She talked about loving writing her new Logo series and
loving directing. She would love to direct Morgan Freeman who she said was honest
and full of depth (agree totally). She talked about seeing the restored version of the original movie Frankenstein
recently and how it made her sob. She told the story about Sonny
meeting U2s Bono in an elevator. She talked about crafty shows she likes, The
Brothers, Love it or List It and Long
Island Medium.

Ordering the Album

According the preorders, the title of the full
album will be Closer to the Truth and it looks like two versions are available on
iTunes, a regular 11-track version and a deluxe 14-track version (with 3 bonus cuts). Amazon is only
offering only the 11-track version now. Cher.com is offering a collectors
edition through its site, the digital deluxe album with a lithograph. If you signed-up on Cher’s
webpage to get information about “Woman’s World,” you received an email
Wednesday about the “special fan edition.” I must say, Cher.com is on the ball.
Whoever is working her social media, bravo! It’s all coming together for this project.

During Cher’s interview
with LiveSream, Mark Steines announced that the first 500 people to order from
Cher.com would get a signed booklet. Of course I surfed right over there before
The Voice appearance and tried my little heart out on three browsers but the
WarnerBros site was locked up every time I tried to order. In fact, my Chrome
browser purchase, (where I made it through to my payment information), hung up in a processing mode all
night long until I finally shut the browser down the following morning. Meanwhile, my
husband tried on his computer and got through right away. Can you believe it?? He said
it was because he didn’t want it badly enough to jam up the servers. He said if
it was a collectors Chief’s football jersey, I would have gotten through and he wouldn’t
have. Which brings us to…

Why Mr. Cher Scholar is Indispensable to Cher Scholarship

So not only was Mr. Cher Scholar very helpful in snaring me
a collector’s CD from Cher.com, but I also wouldn’t have been able to watch her
on The Voice without him. We gave up cable three weeks ago and switched to
Hulu. Hulu wouldn’t have posted the finale until the following day
but I assumed I would be able to watch the show on NBC’s streaming live site.
Right after work I tried it and NBC wanted me to download special software for
streaming video (totally unnecessary). When I went to download it, my virus
software warned me the add-on was really suspicious ad-ware.

I expressed severe disappointment at this (only Cher Zombies
know what kind of sad wailing I refer to here) and Mr. Cher Scholar not only
convinced me that we could make it to Radio Shack for an antennae (looking up
the airtime online after I was two lethargically deflated to do so), but he helped
me set it up in time for the show. I was a mess and it took Mr. Cher Scholar to make me snap
out of it.

See the pic of him above graduatin' with his Masters last month.

LiveStream Alert and News Galore

June 17, 2013 / Cher Scholar / 1 Comment

So it's summer here in Santa Fe (obviously) and we've been going through a nasty heat wave that broke a few days ago. Just came across this picture of Sonny & Cher in their pool from an early publicity session. Love this picture on so many levels, least of which because I'm hot and don't have a pool handy.

CherNews and CherWorld have been posting some good stuff in the last few days. Tomorrow is single release day for "Woman's World" and she will sing on The Voice tomorrow night. She will also be doing a LiveStream interview before The Voice at 6:15 PST: http://new.livestream.com/cher. Apparently, You can ask questions for this special event by sending them directly to Cher on twitter by using the hashtag #Cherlivestream.

CherNews also culls from Cher's tweets that the failure of Lady Gaga's "The Greatest Thing" duet had more to do with Lady Gaga not liking it than Cher. Producer RedOne was set to redo it as a solo track but "dropped the ball," went "MIA" and please direct your ire at him, tyvm. According to tweets, the album will have 11-16 songs (sweet!) and there are duets with Pink and Jake Shears and a mystery duet on the album.

Of course I have many fantasies concerning Cher's mystery duet. In fact, I have fantasized about an all-chick duet album with Cher as a feminist version of all those insipid Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett duet albums. I also fantasize about a John Waite duet and more Tom Jones duets.

CherNews also reports that Cher and William Shatner are sharing friendly tweets which is sooo awesome because it is another fantasy of mine to see Shatner interview Cher for his Raw Nerve show (if that show is even still running). His interview questions are so much more interesting than anyone elses.

Believe me, the Cher-duet-interview-fantasy factory is alive and well here at Cher Scholar Institutes. Oh and Cher expressed interest in fellow Ellen Show guest Theresa Caputo, saying she reminded Cher of Sonny's mom and other loud and lovable family members of his. I keep getting Caputo (the Long Island Medium) confused with psychic Kim Russo who does The Haunting Of…" show with celebrities. I've never thought about it before but a nice new Cher fantasy would be to see her appear on Russo's show so we could continue to connect with Cher's long lost loved ones.

CherNews also resports from Europe that:

The 'Burlesque' soundtrack album has shot to number one on the iTunes
Soundtrack Albums charts in Austria, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland
after the film was aired on television in Central Europe. The
soundtrack album was also spotted back at number one on iTunes
Soundtrack Albums chart in Japan, where it is certified Gold for 100,000
shipments.

Cher keeps on cookin' out there.

TV Alerts and Breaking Single News

June 10, 2013 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

Cher tweets and CherNews are reporting many great things for Cher’s new single, including the cover art to left. Love. It.

This info is also on Cher.com.

Cher will perform the single on The Voice on June 18. The single will be released digitally that day.

The release date for the full album is September 24.

No news yet on if the single will be released on CD or when we can start to see the new video.

I hope Cher’s performance shows up on the UTubes or Hulu soon after June 18. I have no cable or DVR anymore.

Boston Globe’s Comments About Cher

May 25, 2013 / Cher Scholar / 1 Comment

A few weeks ago Cher Scholar Dishy sent me the link to the Boston Globe review of Dear Mom, Love Cher. I thought two paragraphs were worth quoting. The review worries that the special is just an excuse for an infomercial to promote Georgia's new album but then the review goes on to say:

But, oh whatever. “Dear Mom, Love Cher” is an awfully sweet gesture,
which arrives on the eve of Mother’s Day. Cher is a good daughter, and
it’s pointless to resist her good will in sharing the spotlight and
giving big public props to her mother. OK, so the rest of her family
lives in the shadow of the glitzy, bellowing, tart-mouthed, surgically
reconstituted, drag-queen-inspiring, bad-boy-loving,
fashion-forward-forward, farewell-tour-addicted, mononymous, unsinkable,
sympathetic, and always fabulous diva. We all live in the shadow of
Cher, right?

…

It’s such a lovely thing — Cher helping her mother realize her dream
after all these years — that I was able to let go of the special’s
ulterior motive. And Holt seems to enjoy and savor her moment, as the
three women talk and laugh together in her honor. Her beauty shines
through. As a diva of a different stripe, Joni Mitchell, might put it,
in Holt’s case, happiness is the best face lift.

Review of Dear Mom, Love Cher

May 23, 2013 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

This is the first Cher special that has occurred since I've had my blog (which started in the fall of 2006). And I have to say, my two favorite Cher things in the world are Cher albums and Cher TV specials. I think this comes from starting to be a Cher fan in the early-to-mid 1970s when Cher was all about some flashy-fun TV Specials.

I noticed some old-tyme Cher special feeling while I was watching this one (luckily Mr. Cher Scholar was at work or he might have been disturbed to see it): childlike excitement, a feeling of suspended time, and then a slight sad fretting that the special would be over in one short hour. A Cher special for me is then like Marcel Proust's madeleine cake in In Search of Lost Time, a key to a vivid childhood memory. I watched it three times.

I loved seeing never-before-seen pictures of Cher as a kid and hearing the family delving into their history in Arkansas.

Bits about the family

Cher calls her history a "strange American story" but it's probably not so strange. Definitely interesting. Definitely American. She kids her mom that they "can only walk the narrow razor wire of white trash so long."

I loved all the stories about Georgia's grandparents, her fierce grandmother who defends her mother with a broken bottle and her mean grandfather who blows himself up while working dynamite to blow up stumps while the railroads in Arkansas were being built. This story is downright poetic with the psychic daughter's graphic dream predicting it. In newspaper reports, Lynda is called a "self-proclaimed psychic." It would be interesting to hear more about her other uncanny predictions or how the family felt about having some psychics in it. Lynda comes across as a very complex figure who is never described mean as such but does her share of mean things.

I wish we had learned more stories about Roy too who spent so much time with Georgia and who, it seemed, Cher knew as a child. He is described also as a complex of mean and funny. When did these family members die? What did they do while they were in California? And what about the story about Roy's attempt to kill Georgia and her brother Mikey. We learned nothing about Mikey.

Cher affirms that her grandmother Lynda's mother was either a quarter or a half Cherokee. Cher claims it was her great-grandmother who taught her grandmother the Rabbit and War Dance. She said although that doesn't make her very Indian, "Half Breed" was a good song to sing.

Bits about Georgia

Georgia was born in Kensett, Arkansas, on June 9, 1926. Her father Roy was 21. Her mother Lynda was 13. She started singing at five and became state champion, described as a blues singer, in Arkansas (May 29, 1938). It was Bob Wills who encouraged her father to take her to Hollywood and they hitchhiked. Georgia talks about being perceived as a "dumb Oakie" when she came to LA. She explains why she changed her name from Jackie Jean Crouch (which she liked) to Georgia Pelham (in honor of a dead friend) and where Holt came from (last husband's name). Her Dad worked at the famous Cliffton's Cafeteria. (It's still open! Go eat there…it's so kitchy!).

Georgia talks about the squalid conditions of living in the slums near San Pedro, Main Street and Central Avenue. Georiga talks at length about her conflicting feelings about her early marriage to Cher's biological father, torn between her mother Lynda, John Sarkisian and an abortion. She tells more about the Catholic home in Scranton that wanted to keep Cher (which inspried Cher's critical song "Sisters of Mercy") and Georgia's eventual 6-week "Reno Cure."

Back from early struggles, Georgia won some beauty contests in Reno and LA (Miss Holiday on Wings) and won a Jack Carson scholarship to drama school with the Ben Bard Players. We get to see clips of her bit parts on both I Love Lucy and Ozzie and Harriet. You can see Cher's 1960's smile in some of these clips and head-shots. The family talks about Georgia being friends with Robert Mitchum and Lenny Bruce and a herd of beautiful people. The Asphalt Jungle story is told.

The list of husbands was illuminating but inconsistent:

John Sarkisian (We find out where they meet and a few of their experiences as they relate to Cher, but don't find out anything about his character, his heroin addiction, his prison sentence, later-life conflicts with Cher after she became famous, when he died, etc.)
Chris Alcaide (Also an actor, tall, loved Cher but they were only married "20 minutes" because he was very jealous.)
John Southall (Georganne's father, described as one of the loves of Georgia's life, love at first sight, Cher calls him "dark like me" and appreciates the attention he gave her when Georganne was born on September 7, 1951 and "everyone forgot I was alive"…but he was an alcoholic. Georganne says that when she or Cher refer to their Dad, they mean him.)
Joe Collins (Nothing is said about him…is there jucy dirt behind the omission or was he really that boring?)
Gilbert La Piere (Was a wall street banker and they lived in New York with him, was described as very Father Knows Best and not a good fit with the family. He died last year and because he adopted Cher and Georganne, his obits still describe him as Cher's father. Georganne kept his name.)
Holt (His first name is never given and nothing is said about his character or why Georgia married him.)

We hear much about Georgia's longtime boyfriend, Craig Spencer, who came into the picture while Georgia was running Grannys Cabbage Patch quilt shop in Brentwood in the late 1970s. It was Craig who encouraged her to record an album at a West Lake studio. Craig was 30 and Georgia was 51. Craig and Georgia are shown being interviewed by Oprah early in her career. In old late-1970s clips, Georgia talks about having the same vocal resonance and register as Cher. Craig and Georgia talk about their disappointments that the album was shelved due to contract disputes. Craig laments, "50% of something is better than 50% of nothing." The recordings languished for years in Georgia's Palm Desert garages. Cher says they shouldn't have survived.

Georgia comments a bit on her depression and how she became "a royal pain" after this late career setback but nothing about family depression is elaborated on. Georganne talks about Georgia's unique carriage and demeanor and I think that was spot on. Cher calls her before her time.

Bits about Georganne

We learn all the many shows Georganne appeared in and it's an impressive listing: General Hospital (where she created the mean-girl character of Heather), Ozzie's Girls (with a young Matt Harmon), Welcome Back Kotter, Happy Days, Fantasy Island, TJ Hooker, Police Woman, The Streets of San Francisco. Would love to see her full reel!

Bits about Cher

Cher talks about living her life like a bumper car. Georgia claims Cher is stronger and braver than she is. Cher and Georgia tell the story of Cher's arrest (on January 27, 1959, complete with mugshot) and how the event started at a bowling alley before Cher drove off in the borrowed car to get a sandwich. A picture of the famous LA-eatery Johnnie's Pastrami is shown. By the way, the profile and head-shot of the mugshots do not match.

Scenes from the TV biopic The Beat Goes On are show to illustrate Cher's stories about moving out of the house as a teenager and moving in with Sonny. I've always wondered if Cher approved of that movie based on Sonny's tell-all book. Cher indicated that Georgia threatened to put Sonny in jail. Cher was in her teens and Sonny was nearly 30. I wonder how far Gerogia's threat went and if it was a real concern for Sonny. Interestingly, Cher talks about her anger when she finally ran away and back to Sonny, kicking out her bedroom window screen in what she describes as a dramatic scene.

Georgia eventually got used to the idea of Sonny and talks about how proud she was of Cher when she visited Sonny & Cher the set of Good Times.

The final word on spellings and dates (?)

Sarkisian as in Cherilyn Sarkisian. She was named for Lana Turner's daughter Cheryl combined with Georgia's mother's name Lynda. It's interesting that Georgia picks all her names based on women in her life. Cher was born May 20, 1946.

Even the special could not clear up the cloudiness surrounding spellings of LaPiere. In the beginning of the special, Georganne's name was spelled Lapiere Bartylak (no space, small P) and by the end of the special, husband #5 had his name spelled Gilbert La Piere (space and a big P). Gilbert's obit spells his name LaPiere. In any case, there are no two letter Rs in any of these versions.

Chaz Bono was born Chastity Sun Bono on March 4, 1969.

Elijah Blue Allman was born on July 10, 1976. (Why did he wear sunglasses throughout the special?)

There were things I missed that a one-hour special couldn't hope to cover: a sturdier timeline of when Georgia's family moved from Arkansas to Oklahoma to California. More Arkansas stories, more stories of Cher's grandparens. A more complete list of the husbands with dates and more anecdotes. I know Georgia married John Sarkisian twice but I still don't know which other husband Georgia married twice. She had 8 marriages and 6 husbands.

It's rumored Cher might do a mini-series about the family saga. Mom at least should get a book if nothing else. After all, we never did hear the awful cat story.

More good stuff:

More Press Interviews for Dear Mom, Love Cher

May 22, 2013 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

Of course I took copious notes on the recent Cher special, Dear Mom, Love Cher (see the promo commercial here). But before I attack that information, I want to review all the press coverage for the special.

Of course the big bombshell of the entire buildup was the reveal of Cher’s preteen mugshot for being arrested for stealing a car. Cher has told the story many times over the years, how it was basically a misunderstanding. But never have we seen this mugshot!! I am literally dumbfounded no media like TMZ has ever located this! I mean mugshots of celebrities have their own websites! And this is Cher we’re talking about!

When my parents were driving out to attend Mr. Cher Scholar’s graduation, my mom grabbed a copy of Cher’s interview in USA Today with Edna Gundersen (total Fargo name). Cher talks about how the special started from a 16 minute video she made for her mom. This quote seemed significant:

“Cher marvels at her mother’s playfulness, resilience, perseverance, and talent. Holt’s mothering skills? Imperfect but loving and patient, Cher says. Cher describing her parenting ability as similarly flawed.

The Tonight Show

Cher and Georgia appeared with Jay Leno on April 30th. I loved Cher’s jacket and hair wave. Georgia seemed somewhat frail and quiet. Cher talked about being the only dark one in her family. She also described putting all new music to Georgia’s old vocal tracks.

Leno played an old Mike Douglas clip of Georgia singing and Cher and Georgia said the loves of Georgia’s life were Craig Spencer (her long time lover during the nightclub and Grannys Cabbage Patch days) and Georganne’s father John Southall. Leno called Georgia the original cougar.

Ellen

Cher, Georgia and Georganne appeared on Ellen on May 1st. Ellen said Cher has sold over 275 million albums.

I love, love, love Cher’s wig on this episode and felt Georgia was more animated in her jean jacket on Ellen.

Georganne and Cher talked about how Cher was always the odd one in the family and how the album project went big when Cher got involved (because Cher can’t do anything small).
Cher and Georgia lip synched a performance of “I’m Just Your Yesterday.” Then Ellen gave all three women cowboy hats and you know how coo-coo I am for Cher in cowboy hats!!

Cher on Good Morning America

I thought Cynthia McFadden was going to interview Cher’s family for the show Nightline and I taped about three nights of shows without finding it. Luckily CherWorld posted a clip of the interview McFadden did for Good Morning America.

I have my love-hate relationship with the softball/hokey questions of Cynthia McFadden but I have to say this was my favorite interview for this TV special.

Cher and Georganne talk about how pretty Georgia was but “she didn’t even know it.” Cher talks about the kind of Everly Brothers harmony she has with her mom.

Cher is also very honest about how tough she is but how crushed she gets when faced with criticism. “I am crushed and crushed and crushed and I still come back.” I think I love this interview because Cher is obviously so relaxed and honest and happy-seeming. It reminds me of old 1970s and 1980s interviews.

Access Hollywood

Also from Cher World, another interview with the same outfits (press junket?) but a different interviewer. Shaun Robinson asks Cher about NBA player Jason Collins coming out. I love how Cher handles this question, with gentle dismay. This tone goes a long way. Again Cher’s not being pissy or defensive but still venting frustration. Brilliant. Cher talks about how archaic it is to be still debating issues of sexuality. She asks, “How long do you have to wait to be who you are?”

In other news: I’m very thrilled to report that today my book, Why Photographers Commit Suicide, was named as a finalist in the 2013 National Indie Excellence Awards!! Whohoo!!

Last Week of TCM with Cher: Women Taking Charge

April 29, 2013 / Cher Scholar / 0 Comments

This was the last weekend for Cher co-hosting TCM's Friday Night Spotlight in April. This week's theme was Women Taking Charge.

The Great Lie (1941) stars Bette Davis, Mary Astor and George Brendt. I've now seen 37 Bette Davis movies. In high school I went through quite the Bette Davis phase and checked them off in a list in the back of the Lawrence Quirk Bette Davis biography Fasten Your Seatbelts, which was a better book than Quirks biography of Cher. My favorite Bette Davis movie is The Petrified Forest but I also loved Dangerous, Marked Woman, Jezebel, Dark Victory, The Old Maid, All This and Heaven Too, The Letter, Mrs. Skeffington, A Stolen Life, Phone Call From a Stranger and many more. I am so attracted to Davis' preciseness and surliness. She's a very engaged actor and I love to watch her in the process of thinking, hatching up a scheme. So different to what I love about Katharine Hepburn, her joie de vivre, her wild uncatchable being as a character I wanted to become.

Cher and Robert Osbourne talk about how Davis fashioned for herself an understated part, how George Brent was a sturdy leading man. I hadn't seen this movie yet and I loved it. Had never seen Mary Astor in a movie and loved her bitchy-star performance. The movie has some great lines like "I'm tired of being your haven," "Dates bore me" and my favorite, "Supposing you go!" The sets are crisp and neat and the story is a battle of the wills between Davis and Astor. The script is smart and understated and the women repeat each others' lines with implied venom and double entendres.Themes involve work vs. marriage, country vs. city, and gender bending in the Arizona scenes where Davis dresses like a man and paces outside the birthing room like a new father. This is a weird time when pregnant women aren't allowed to eat pickles or ham. There are great, stark shots of the southwest.

Bette Davis is always good for the angry line, "Yes…I see" and I can't help but think she has a Madonna face. Or maybe Madonna has a Bette Davis face. The black servents have some good lines but they live to serve and are treated like children. Maybe this is how it was but it deserves a tsk tsk mention.

Davis makes herself vulnerable in the movie when she makes the great lie and Astor when moves in for the kill. By the end, the characters are fully cut enough that you can see both sides.

Cher says she's not a fan of Mary Astor and they talk about her range, from this movie to the mother in Meet Me in St. Louis, Cher remembers, stirring tomato sauce.

Kitty Foyle (1940) – Cher has won me over to the charms of Ginger Rogers but not always to Ginger Rogers movies. Cher appreciated this movie for giving Rogers a serious role and Cher acknowledged that comedy is more difficult than drama. This is a story about a woman hung up on a rich man but too proud to accept his family's requirements of finishing schools and social events. I actually felt sorry for the rich guy in this movie. He did try. Her doctor beau is salt-of-the-earth by comparatively manipulative. The effect of having Rogers talk to herself in the mirror felt too much like a comedy effect but I appreciated the discussion about Cinderella stories with Rogers and her father in the beginning, the thrill of the Franklin Roosevelt election in play, and Rogers' hilarious condescending affectation as a perfume seller. I notice there have been four movies this set with department store locations and I'm always reminded of Cher working one of her first jobs at Robinson May in Los Angeles. The movie is a bit of a soap opera and although Rogers won an oscar for it, her performance in Tender Comrade was more dramatic.

Cher thought Dennis Morgan, the rich boyfriend, was too fluffy and "couldn't hold William Holden's coat." I agree. He looked too Guy Smiley for me. She and Robert Osbourne talk about how much more adult the novel of this movie was (with abortion and other topics) and they discuss the movies Rachel and a Stranger, Stalag 17 and Sunset Boulevard.

The Palm Beach Story (1942) – I'm on the fence about this one. It was a sweet and funny Preston Sturges movie. I loved seeing Claudette Colbert playing a sassy, sexy blue collar lady in comparison to her prim war movie roles. Mary Astor was also good as the nutty sister (a far cry from her performance in The Great Lie). Cher and Robert Osbourne talk about George Sanders and Cher forgets his name although she starred with him in her first movie, Good Times.

The movie opens with a great stop-frame sequence and clips along through crazy situations on a train, a boat and in Palm Beach where the Rockefeller-type character, John D. Hackensacker, lives with his sister. Cher loved the scene where Rudy Vallee wardrobes Colbert at a department store and calls it a "girl moment." The movie hit somewhere between funny and silly and I can't quite place it.

After the movie Cher said she enjoyed comedies but would like to do dramatic things too.

The Women (1939) – I've been hearing about this movie for a while and I'm glad I finally saw it. Typical with MGM, the long opening made a long movie even longer. Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, and Rosalind Russell were all very good. Crawford played a pitch-perfect gold digger and Russell was the bad-friend comedy foil. Cher liked the movie for representing every type of woman. She says it would be impossible to get together such a star-studded cast these days. Even Ma Kettle, Margoire Main, makes an appearance in the Reno scenes.

The movie is full of girls and dogs. Not a single man appears in the movie. Like Cher, I loved the gossipy manicurist character. I also appreciated that every character had something really right to say about men and what Shearer's character should do when forced to deal with her husband's infidelity. The movie let every woman be a little right and a little wrong, from Shearer's mother to her catty friends. Although so many women here hurt by wandering husbands, the movie presented the most sage advise from the point-of-view of the Other Women, Paulette Goddard, who steals the husband of Rosalind Russell. Even Russell has a right point of view from time to time. The best scenes are when the original mean girls come out and scratch their claws. The Reno bitch fight was great. And what a weird scene of exercises at the spa with Russell! This movie was also our tear jerker of the week, definitely an over-the-top, girls-only, chick flick.

Cher liked the colorful fashion show sequence but Robert Osbourne didn't. I wished today's runway shows were more animated and staged instead of the dead-pan boring strut-fests they are today. Cher talked about her special with her mother coming up (and how her mother's album songs were first cut with Elvis Presley's band) and how Cher and Georgia planned to sing a duet on the Country Music Awards (it didn't happen, the awards were early April).

My favorites of the series by week were:

Motherhood: Bachelor Mother (funny and great chemistry between Ginger Rogers and David Niven)
War: Three Came Home (Totally harrowing but memorable)
Women at Work: His Girl Friday (great performances and a great script)
Women Taking Charge: The Great Lie (can't resist a Bette Davis movie)

Cher's Third Week of TCM: Women at Work
Cher's Second Week of TCM: War Movies
Cher's First Week of TCM: Motherhood
Cher's first set of TCM Movies in September of 2011, links to my reviews of The Big Street, Follow the Fleet, Hobson's Choice, and Lady Burlesque.

Category: Television (Page 13 of 23)

Recap of Woman’s World Press Tour

Cher Pushes into July Publicity

Cher Likes New York in June, How Bout You? (And VCR Alert)

June 18, 2013: A Day of Chertasticness

LiveStream Alert and News Galore

TV Alerts and Breaking Single News

Boston Globe’s Comments About Cher

Review of Dear Mom, Love Cher

More Press Interviews for Dear Mom, Love Cher

Last Week of TCM with Cher: Women Taking Charge

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Websites