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January 31, 1937 - January 17, 2008
When:
Tuesday, January 31, 2008 at 11:30 a.m.
Location:
in
front of Fredrick's of Hollywood,
6751
Hollywood Boulevard
Suzanne:
"I don't sit around and wait for great parts. I'm an
actress, and I love being one, and I'll probably be doing it till I'm
72, standing around the back lot doing 'Gunsmoke' (1955)."
The
third Hollywood Boulevard Star Ceremony of 2008 was a sad one, like the
first, which was posthumous, for
Elizabeth
Montgomery. (The second was for someone called
Lucho Gatica, a
Chilean singer in the “Bolero” style—whatever that is—who is apparently
very popular with Spanish audiences, but I’m afraid I’d never heard of
him.) Suzanne Pleshette died on January 19th, just 12 days ago. Today
would have been her 71st birthday.
“The
Bob Newhart Show” was one of many no-doubt fine and funny sitcoms I
never watched, simply because I’m not much of a sitcom fan. So I really
only know Suzanne Pleshette from Hitchcock’s The Birds,
where she was killed in a very gruesome manner. But she must have had a
great sense of humor, as she requested a spot on the sidewalk in front
of
Frederick’s of Hollywood, not exactly prime real estate for this
sort of thing. I loved it. It reminds me that, glitzy
Hollywood-Highland Center and
Grauman’s aside, most of Hollywood Boulevard is still pretty sleazy,
and Frederick’s is the class act among the dozens of
Whores R Us lingerie shops along the street, if you can believe it.
I
don’t know the co-star,
Marcia Wallace,
either, and about all I know about her now, having seen her, is that she
apparently does her hair in the morning by dipping her head into a
bucket of rusty water and then sticking her finger into an electrical
socket. Oh, and she had a “nervous breakdown.” I know this because she
mentioned it, and said that Suzanne Pleshette sent her a fruitcake.
Great story!
Then
Arte “Very
Interesting!” Johnson spoke for a while, and had a lot of good
stories to tell. He was one of those “Laugh-in”
stars who only had the one schtick, and had a sporadic career afterward.
Dick Van Dyke
was there, with startling white hair, but he didn’t speak. There was, in
fact, a long list of celebrities who had their own stars on the Walk of
Fame, but I didn’t recognize any of them, as they were mostly much older
than I would have remembered them. Also,
George Schlatter,
co-producer of “Laugh-in,” who I’d never have recognized, anyway. Oh,
and I recognized Rip
Taylor. It helped that he was wearing a hat that said “Rip” on it.
He’s one of those people like
Zsa-Zsa, who
I’m never quite sure why they’re famous. One of the corner people on
“Hollywood Squares.” There was a guy who looked a lot like
Peter Falk, but
his name was never mentioned, so it must not have been him.
Then
it was time for Bob Newhart and
his comb-over. He had a hell of a time. First it was a huge truck
pulling up and idling behind him. Then another truck. An ambulance went
by. Then another … and this one pulled in right on the street beside us
and medics got out, then a fire truck, and a fire chief’s car. (I never
did find out what happened; Lee heard that someone in the small crowd
had fainted.) Bob had a great time with all these interruptions. He
pretended he was directing traffic, then silently mouthed his words as
if the sound system had gone out, and even tried signing his speech.
Tina:
the one who wisely decided not be become a singer, and the youngest and
best-looking of the lot.
Perpetually scowling
Frank Jr.
… and hey, you’d scowl, too, if your life had been devoted to following
your father’s act.
And
Nancy, whose face is looking like she’s been mugged by a dozen plastic
surgeons wielding
collagen and
botox needles.
I have
to say it all seemed heartfelt. These people really liked Suzanne, and
were so sorry that she just missed being able to be there herself. |
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