a division of the Chersonian Institute

Category: Television (Page 13 of 23)

Wig Art

Wig2MY MOVE IS OVER. Finally! Geesh.Thank god.

In 1977, I left Albuquerque in the middle of watching The
Sonny & Cher Show
(1977, age 7). Thirty-seven years later I’ve moved back to Albuquerque at age 44 and
am again watching the show by way of TV Land's old airings in a Cher Scholar special request research
project to find the Vamp episode that contains “Wine for Caesar.”

Cher’s new video coincides with my quest because I’m
assuming Renate Leuschner created the amazing paper wig in the video. I’m
seeing some amazing wigs again on the Sonny & Cher shows…not just by “Rena”
as she went by in the show's credits, nor "Renata" as she went by in Celebration at Caesars or Renate Leuschner as she appears in the the 
Wig1credits of some Cher movies (like Mask) and concert
programs. This woman is a brilliant wig artist. I have many favorites re-watching
the shows (some are not quite culturally appropriate anymore but that’s another
essay). My all-time favorite (started by the prior wig maker on the show Jim Oertel), is the bun made up of many buns. I also love the wig of braids that
look like the wig-equivalent of a jungle gym.

Cherbuns

The Great Women of 70s TV

Chernow
Mtmnow 
Carolnow  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Cher Scholar and I gave up cable a month or so ago. We were being overcharged and getting fewer and fewer channels from Direct TV. Meanwhile, they've been calling me twice and day and leaving blank messages on my phone. Not cool dying-TV-service, not cool.

Without cable, I decided to watch all my 7 seasons of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. At the same time, Mr. Cher Scholar (formerly a French scholar) and I were finishing up reading Proust's seven installments of In Search of Lost Time. I started to think about those amazing women of 1970s TV on CBS: Cher, Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Burnett. In a Proustian-like effort of obsession, I came up with a list of interesting connections and comparisons.

It Was the Decade of the TV
Woman


Ss-110519-cher-01.grid-6x2 
Mtm
Carol 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 These three women couldn't seem more different physically or characteristically.

Their presences as TV women:

  • The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour ran from August 1, 1971 to May 29, 1973
    (3 seasons);
    The Cher Show
    ran from February 16, 1975 to January 4,
    1976 (1 season);
    The Sonny & Cher Show
    ran from February 2, 1976 to
    March 11, 1977 (1 season).
    Cher was on for a total of 5 seasons.
  • The Mary Tyler Moore Show ran from September 19, 1970 to March 19, 1977 (7 seasons).
  • The Carol Burnett Show ran from September 11, 1967 to March 29, 1978 (11 seasons!)

All their shows ended around 1977 or 1978.

There Were Men Behind These Women


Sonnyc

Mtmgrant
Caroljoe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All these women were receiving significant support from their husbands behind the scenes, more support than the public probably knew.

Cher has described Sonny as her Svengali; he controlled the Sonny & Cher shows. Mary Tyler Moore's husband, CBS executive Grant Tinker, created and controlled her show and ran the production company bearing her name. Carol Burnett's husband was her variety show's producer, Joe Hamilton. According to her biographies, she might have been the most independent of the three. Mary Tyler Moore and Cher both describe their time with their husbands as a period of stunted
growth where they willingly allowed themselves to be "taken care of" by their business-savvy husbands. Both of their husbands had assertive, if not dominating, personalities and Cher and Mary Tyler Moore have both described themselves as obedient. Both Cher and Mary Tyler Moore also described
themselves as having a low level of confidence.

All women eventually divorced their husbands but remained, more or less, friendly with them. Mary Tyler Moore and Cher often give credit to their ex-husbands for their prominent success in the 1970s.

Ironically, they went on to become the independent single women the public assumed they
already were.

They Had Enterprises

Both Cher and Mary Tyler Moore had
husbands who started enterprises in their names (MTM Enterprises, Cher
Enterprises).  Both Cher and Mary Tyler Moore had little to do with
their respective enterprises (Cher didn't even know about hers). Neither of them benefited much from their
enterprises professionally after they left their shows and their marriages.

They Come From Dysfunctional
Families

All thee women grew up in dysfunctional families with an alcoholic or
drug-addicted parent who was either rarely present, never present or otherwise emotionally unavailable.
Carol Burnett and Mary Tyler Moore describe feeling abandoned either physically or
emotionally by one or both of of their parents due to their parents' addictions.

  • Mary Tyler Moore's father was emotionally distant and her mother was an alcoholic.
  • Cher's mother suffered from depression and her father was a heroin addict who was never involved in her early life. His involvement in her adult life was problematic.
  • Both of Carol Burnett's parents were severe alcoholics unable to take care of her.

They Were All First Borns

  • Mary Tyler Moore was the oldest of three.
  • Cher is the oldest of two girls. She has a half-sister, Georganne, who she looked after as a child and as a teenager.
  • Carol Burnett is also the oldest of two girls. She also has a step-sister, Chrissy, who she looked after as a child and as a teenager.

Chrissy
Gorgeanne 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both Cher and Carol Burnett helped raise their half-sisters and they remained close to their sisters as adults.

They Grew Up in Hollywood

  • Mary Tyler Moore was born in 1936 in Brooklyn
    Heights, New York. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was 8 years old.
  • Cher was born in 1946 in El Centro, California. She was raised in Los Angeles.
  • Carol Burnett was born in 1933 in San Antonio, Texas. She was raised in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles by her grandmother.

All three women went to high school in Los Angeles.

Not All of Them Experienced Poverty

Mary Tyler Moore went to private school. Cher experienced a seesaw of poverty
and wealth, but it was poverty that most affected her. Carol Burnett experienced severe poverty. Mary Tyler Moore often describes herself as a moderate politically but seems to be more strongly conservative. Cher is staunchly liberal. Carol Burnett rarely speaks about her political beliefs but was the only one of the three to overtly support Women's Rights and the Equal Rights Amendment.

They Could Have Been Convicts

Mary Tyler Moore's grandfather told her she’d either end up on stage or in jail. Cher says if she hadn't been an entertainer, she would have been in jail.

Fred Silverman Had A Feeling About Their TV Shows

Show Facts:

  • All their shows were on CBS.
  • Both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour benefited
    from CBS Head of Programming Fred Silverman’s lone support and his desire to drive youth-oriented programming in the early 1970s.
  • Both Carol Burnett & Mary Tyler Moore had Paul Sand (my first TV crush) on their shows.
  • Mary Tyler Moore and Cher were both
    given personal votes of confidence by Lucille Ball.
  • Both Cher and Mary Tyler Moore did dance classes on their show's lunch hours.

Nobody Slept with Elvis

Mary Tyler Moore and Cher both express
regret for not “taking Elvis up on it.” Elvis called Cher
for a date in the 1970s and she was too shy to go through with it; Mary Tyler Moore was the only leading lady Elvis had whom he didn’t
sleep with. On Oprah, Mary Tyler Moore joked, “what was I thinking?”

But Were They Friends?

  • Cher and Carol Burnett were on each
    other’s shows and did friendly spoofs of one another.
  • Carol Burnett's daughter Erin and Cher's then-daughter Chastity were childhood playmates.
  • Carol Burnett was fan of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and provided a nice blurb for the recent book Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted.
  • Cher
    and Mary Tyler Moore were often described as “very nice.”

Did They Influence Each Other's TV Specials?


Dream
Soul 

 

 

 

 


After watching Mary’s Incredible
Dream
(1976), I believe this bizarre special (in its entirety) had a direct influence on Cher's segment, "Musical Battle to Save Cher's Soul Medley," from Cher…Special (1978). There are obvious similarities in the depictions of heaven and hell, both using similarly funky photographic techniques. As Jamie L. Weinnan commented on Mary Tyler Moore's special (but which could also be said about the Cher special): “TV could be pleasantly insane in the
70s.”

Mary's Incredible Dream was allegedly the first to feature Ben Vereen as a guest in 1976. He apparently became the ubiquitous guest. You can draw a line directly from that fact to his ironic portrayal in Bob Fosse's All That Jazz in 1979.

Compare Mary's performance (7:47 mark) of “Because
I’m a Woman” with Cher and Raquel Welch doing the song a year earlier in 1975. Mary Tyler Moore also sings "Let the Good Times Roll" and "Aflie" in her special.

Mary Tyler Moore, in my mind, is a very talented comedienne, more on the comedy mark than Cher. Carol Burnett is probably the broadest talent of the three. But neither Carol or Mary can "sparkle in the center" like Cher does (whether Cher's dancing, singing or in a skit). Cher has that sparkle of coolness the other two don't have.

Would someone please (Oprah maybe) get these three women in an room for an
interview about what it was like to be perceived (and so influential) as
independent women of the early and mid-1970s, in the midst of "women's
lib" (feminism's second wave), particularly since at least two of them
(maybe all three) didn't always feel so independent and/or feminist.

Can we make that happen? Anyone? 

 

Recap of Woman’s World Press Tour


943273_10201522820973247_1967374274_nThe 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.




WomanssingleThe 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 26th
    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 21st 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.


GypsiesorigOld 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.


MaskMovies & 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:
Inlove

  • 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:
Helen-Mirren

  • 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 unc2ool 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 4th 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:
Hersonny

  • 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:
Ft

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

Cher Dance at the Pier (4)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/

Pride4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Macys2News 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

Z100interviewThe 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.

 


Today showThe 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

O-CHER-BEETLEJUICE-1-570Cher 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

 


Cher-yours-tomorrow-1968-580x435Great 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)

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.


ChatLive 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) 

Cher Gay Pride

Cherny2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watch the video at:

Cher World

Cher News

 

 

 

Cher nyWatch 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…

 

 

 

Mageddon3
Mageddon2
Mageddon1

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


CherxmSiriusXM 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

Cher_G+CoverPhoto-LiveStreamNewTimeNBC-300x168

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


LyricThe 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.


CherwigThe 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.

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

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

Voice-appearance
The full outfit view. Are those Hammertime pants?


LivestreamThe 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
Pierappearance 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…


IMG_0572Why 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

SonnycherwaterSo 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

WomanssingleCher 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

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

DmlcThis 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

MombeachGeorgia 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:

  1. 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.)
  2. Chris Alcaide (Also an actor, tall, loved Cher but they were only married "20 minutes" because he was very jealous.)
  3. 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.)
  4. Joe Collins (Nothing is said about him…is there jucy dirt behind the omission or was he really that boring?)
  5. 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.)
  6. 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 Promo 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!

ChermugBits 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 (?)Dmlc2

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.
 
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