ZeitGAYst

Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall: A Performance for the Ages (April 23, 1961)

Forgive some of our gay elders if they look askance when the younger generation gushes about seeing Cher, Barbra or Madonna in concert.  This may be because, in their mind, they saw the concert, i.e. Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall.  This wildly acclaimed performance took place on Sunday, April 23, 1961.

 

 

Judy's career had been somewhat fallow since the late 1950's.  Her last big movie had been 1954's A Star is Born.  She and her managers decided 1961 would be the year for a comeback.  After all she still had quite a resevoir of goodwill from fans to tap into and she was saddled with debt.  Her Carnegie Hall concert was part of a larger tour that went on during April and May.  (In addition to the concert tour she also landed a small but pivotal role in the movie Judgment at Nuremberg.)  In May she returned to Carnegie Hall for another sold out performance and then in July she performed at the Forest Hills Tennis Club.   

 

Judy's live concert album won five Grammys and was the nation's #1 album for 13 weeks.  The following year she starred with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in an acclaimed TV special and the following year CBS gave her own variety show.  It lasted just one season largely because it had the misfortune to be scheduled opposite Bonanza.  Still, Judy was back!

 

 

 

45 years later out singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright, who wasn't even born until 1973, gave the very same concert at Carnegie Hall on two nights.  He seemed to have much fun as Judy did - and the audience was almost as adoring - but the reviews weren't nearly as glowing.  Here, below, is his version of Judy's San Francisco.

 

 

Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin Star in Acclaimed TV Special (February 25, 1962)

The acclaimed Judy Garland special, "Once in a Lifetime", aired on February 25, 1962.  Her guests were Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.  (What a sight to see Sinatra sing while puffing away on a cigarette!)  The show was a prelude to Judy's regularly scheduled Sunday variety show on CBS that began in the fall of 1963.  However, it had the misfortune of being scheduled opposite Bonanza on NBC and would last just one season.

 

 

      

Likes & Dislikes of Gay Life: One Gay Man's Perspective (Winter 2012)

When I started writing this post my plan was for it to be only about those aspects of gay life that bother me.  But as I worked on it I decided I didn't want to come across as a jaded queen, especially because there is plenty I enjoy about the gay milieu.  Therefore, I chose to give both sides equal time.  

 

THUMBS DOWN

> The insipid music of Katy Perry

> Bravo's Andy Cohen (right) for inflicting the Housewives of ... series on us, a sorry celebration of misogyny if ever there was one

> Porn stars who think they're going to have a second career as professional singers  

> The total lack of sexual chemistry between Modern Family's Cameron and Mitchell

> Photos of Chaz Bono barechested

> Out Magazine's "Nipple Count" feature.  And speaking of Out why don't they just combine it and the Advocate; after all, they're delivered together in the same polybag

> Completely shaved armpits

> Little kids on the ferry to the Pines

> Fawning over Anderson Cooper

> Boys who sashay

> Groups of loud, straight women at gay bars

> The occupation known as a "nightlife promoter"

> Gay Republicans

> Couples who insist on holding hands at crowded clubs, with one dragging the other through the throng

> Michael Lucas and his laughably silly Donald Trump pout 

> An air-brushed Ellen DeGeneres, who looks increasingly like a pre-pubescent Ricky Schroeder

> Glee

> The sad decline of Christopher St. - and Key West

 

THUMBS UP

> Tim Gunn, Carson Kressley, Michael Musto, John Waters, Joan Rivers, Kathy Griffin - and a very honorable mention to Hugh Jackman!

> Classic Disco night at the Monster

> Lady Gaga, Madonna and Cher

> Judy Garland's 1963-64 variety show on DVD

> A tatoo on the nape of the neck or base of the tailbone - and nowhere else (in other words, tasteful understatment)

> Fire Island beach walks; summer afternoons lazing about Christopher St. pier

> New York Times op-ed columnist Frank Bruni (right), who replaced the highly regarded, and gay friendly, Frank Rich (who now writes for New York Magazine) 

> Low tea at the Blue Whale

> "Broadway Bares"

> The barechested bartenders at Splash in their skivvies

> The websites Towleroad, Subway Crush, AfterElton and MenTwoGether

> Same-sex marriage in New York state

> Gay men and lesbians who acknowledge their partners at awards shows

> The Tony Awards, especially when Neil Patrick Harris is the host

> Beyonce's song Love on Top (for its title alone!)

> Guys who follow sports (whether at Gym Bar or not)

> Next and Metrosource

> Appreciating the glamour of the Supremes

> Gotham Volleyball and other gay sports leagues (including Front Runners)

> The fact that Kylie Minogue and the Pet Shop Boys have never been embraced by the U.S. mainstream makes them even more special

> Although the future of Hostess Twinkies may be in jeopardy, the supply of twinkies on 8th Avenue in Chelsea remains plentiful 

> An appreciation of "camp"  

 

So it turns out the pluses edged out the minuses, 22 to 18.  And if I failed to mention something or someone it suggests indifference, which may be the worst sentiment of all.

Judy Garland & Liza Minnelli Perform Together for 1st Time (November 17, 1963)

Judy Garland starred in a variety show during the 1963-64 season that aired Sundays on CBS.  On tonight's November 17 telecast one of her guests was her very own daughter, 17-year old Liza Minnelli (another guest that night was Soupy Sales).  This was the first time they performed together professionally and they sang Together, Bob White and The Best is Yet to Come.  The telecast aired five days before the assassination of President Kennedy.

 

A month later Liza also appeared on Judy's Christmas show (airdate: December 22) and performed a dance number with her "beau" (as Judy referred to him) Tracy. 

 

 

 

Happily, a number of DVDs are available of the show including one titled Judy Garland: Duets, which includes some of the numbers she sang with Liza.

"The Wizard of Oz" Makes Its TV Debut (November 3, 1956)

CBS aired the Wizard of Oz on TV for the first time on the evening of Saturday, November 3, 1956.  Unlike the theatrical release, which magically switched from black/white to color when Dorothy opened the door of her house after it landed in Oz, the TV telecast was shown totally in b/w.  Three years later the broadcast of the movie became a cherished annual event (when it began airing on Sunday).  In 1999 the movie was acquired by Turner Entertainment where it has aired on its various cable networks ever since. 

 

Although I was well acquainted with the plot, during every viewing I held out hope that Dorothy might make it to the storm cellar in time.  And while many other little boys with gay leanings may have been fascinated by the ruby slippers I found myself enthralled by the tornado and hoped that one day one would strike my neighborhood (perhaps its phallic shape also had a subliminal effect).  Thus began my fascination with meteorology, which almost lead me to get a degree in it (instead I switched my major to Advertising upon determining I wasn't cut out for countless courses in Physics).   

 

 

 

Another beloved movie classic from 1939, Gone With the Wind, wouldn't air on network TV until 1976.

Barbra Streisand Appears on Judy Garland's Variety Show (October 6, 1963)

The Judy Garland Show debuted on September 29, 1963 as part of CBS' Sunday night schedule and aired for one season.  For the show's second telecast Judy had as one of her guests 21-year old Barbra Streisand, a singer taking the entertainment world by storm.  This would be the only time the two shared a stage together.  Babs' appearance was four months before she made her Broadway debut in Funny Girl.   

 

In a classic TV moments Barbra and Judy sang a stunning duet of Happy Days Are Again/Get Happy and another with the theme "Hooray for Love".  Barbra also sang Bewitched Bothered & Bewildered.  Later in the show they were joined by Ethel Merman.  This telecast was truly every queen's wet dream.

 

 

 

 

Here are other ZeitGAYst posts about Judy and Barbra you may find of interest:

Judy at Carnegie Hall

Judy & Liza Share the Stage for 1st Time

Judy + Frank + Dean

Barbra's 1st TV Appearance

Barbra Makes Her Broadway Debut in "Funny Girl"

Barbra's TV Special "Color Me Barbra" Airs

Favorite Songs About New York - From a Gay Perspective

Wikipedia has compiled a comprehensive list of songs about New York that is more than 500 titles long.  I came up with a more selective list of 10 favorite songs from my gay perspective.  Although none are explicity gay in content they have a gay "sensibility", either because of the performers or simply because I own the CDs/records.  Here they are:

 

I Happen to Like New York.  This is my most favorite, a love letter to New York written by Cole Porter and powerfully sung by Judy Garland.  I first heard it on Jonathan Schwartz's radio show on WNYC in the early 1980's and it was years before I tracked it down on CD.

 

Native New Yorker.  This is the most commercially successful of the songs on this list.  It was popular in the winter of 1977-78, the year before I moved to New York.  It's instantly recognizable by its saxophone intro. 

 

New York City Rhythm.  This song was recorded during Barry Manilow's peak popularity in the late 1970's (when he still had a human looking face).  I always enjoyed his tip of the hat to NYC's Latinos with the "Nueva York" interlude near the end of the song.

 

 

Manhattan Shuffle.  A light & bouncy dance tune from 1980 with a percolating beat.  (By the appropriately named group Area Code 212!)  It's about how one has to hustle and sustain blows to self-esteem to make it big in New York: "In the city of dreams, built up on plenty of schemes ...   

 

(Take Me For) A Night in New York.  From 1984, the song's Big Band style by Elbow Bones & the Racketeers brings to mind Dr. Buzzard or Manhattan Transfer. 

 

New York City Boy.  Not be be confused with the 60's song Boy from New York City by the Ad Libs, this danceable trifle by the Pet Shop Boys evokes images of Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen and the West Village.  Sample lyric: "So young, so run into New York City".  The video for the song is a fun one, about a boy being drawn to the City from the suburbs.

 

New York, New York.  Another ode to NYC's decadent nightlife but with Moby's classic electronica style and vocals by Deborah Harry.  It's by far the newest of this list's songs, released in 2006. 

  

New York, You Got Me Dancing.  Former porn actress Andrea True is best known for her disco hit More, More, More.  Her far less popular follow-up (at least with mainstream audiences) New York, You Got Me Dancing pays tribute to some of New York's gay dance clubs of the mid- to-late 1970's.   

 

New York by Night.  This song celebrates the alluring & tawdry side of NYC nightlife in the late 70's/early 80's.  Its chorus sums up the sentiment: "This is New York by night, this is New York by night, filled with laughter, drama, glamour & spice (such a pretty city)".  It was sung by Dennis Parker, a porn actor who was later signed by Casablanca to record a disco album.  Sadly, he committed suicide in 1985 after being diagnosed with AIDS.

 

Am I Ever Going to Fall in Love in New York City?  This song is from Grace Jones' second album Fame.  Hearing it always made me chuckle because of the verse about her "being so far away from Tennessee".  Of course, thinking of Grace growing up in Tennessee is funny, but in actuality she grew up in the equally unglamorous snowbelt city of Syracuse.