Betty Buckley on Bway

[Leadingplayer]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 9:42pm

Why was it 7 years between Carrie and Sunset Boulevard. Did she pass on projects? Did she want a break after Carrie's flop?

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 10:10pm

Somewhere between she did another flop. I think it was called THE TRIUMPH OF LOVE.

She also did the Off Bwy show WHITE'S LIES.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 10:11pm

And then a sort little 14 year break after Triumph of Love?

Look, I love her. I'll go see her in anything. But if you ever known anybody who has ever worked with her, well, you can figure it out.

[Baiseur82]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 10:28pm

I must have missed that she has a reputation of being difficult.

[ggersten]

Posted: 4/10/12 at 11:45pm

I thought she used that time to work on the Eight is Enough musical?

[missthemountains]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 12:07am

I haven't heard that she's difficult to work with, just a little cooky.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 1:27am

Was she ever up for the Grandma role in BILLY ELLIOT? I remember there were rumblings of her being in the show during the Broadway transfer, wonder why she hasn't done a show in a while.

[staunchcharacter]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 6:04am

There's something strange regarding my review of Faith Healer. Specificly, the last paragraph starts all over again at the beginning of the article. However, the problem doesn't appear on the editing page, so I can't fix it. Help! (and thanks).

Audrey



Updated On: 5/1/14 at 06:04 AM

[castlestreet]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 6:34am

Can't everyone be difficult in their own way when dealing with the pros?

I've gotten to know her over the past few years and I can tell she that while she can be as someone said, "cooky", she is very charming and sweet in person and delivers on stage- no doubt. Aside from Triumph of Love, her last major role on a Broadway Stage was Sunset to which she was very very well received. I'm not sure which critic when he re-reviewed the show said "finally a Norma who can both act & sing the part". Sometimes the roles just don't come your way.

There was talk for a while about her playing the Olympia Dukasis role in the much delayed musical version of Moonstruck, but that never seems to go anywhere- too bad- I would love to see her back on a Broadway stage again...

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 7:59am

I do remember hearing that she was in the mix for BILLY ELLIOT at one point, but I don't know if that was just rumor or not. She also did many of the readings for TALES OF THE CITY but ended up not doing the full production in San Francisco.

She is difficult to work with, there's no doubt there. She's extremely sweet and caring to her fans but not always to her colleagues. Also, she's been living in Texas pretty much full time for the last ten years, which makes an extended project (such as a yearlong Broadway run) a hard prospect. (She lives on a working ranch with animals that would need to be cared for in her absence)

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 8:07am

Dollypop, Triumph was after Sunset.
"TRIUMPH AFTER SUNSET" might be a good name for her memoirs.

[followspot]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 8:09am

She's done some things at Hartford Stage, including CAMINO REAL, and consistently pops up on the cabaret circuit.

My understanding is that she's pretty thoroughly devoted now to her beloved Texas horse ranch. Performing has become secondary.

As for the 7-year CARRIE/SUNSET gap, she seems to have worked steadily in film and television during those years. There was just as large a gap between PIPPIN and CATS. Such is show biz.

Updated On: 4/11/12 at 08:09 AM

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 8:44am

Gotta admit I heard stories back in her Drood days.

Let's just say it wasn't a happy company by any means.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 10:25am

A friend of mine was involved in WHITE'S LIES and told me that Miss Buckley's secretary addressed the cast and company before their first rehearsal and told them all that the star "had her own way of doing things" and advised them not to question her choices.

I saw the play several times and can honestly say that Buckley's understudy was much better in the role than she was.

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 10:28am

It is startling to compare Buckley's IBDB page to LuPone's and Peters's (to take two examples).

Not that quantity trumps quality or anything, but still . . .

Posted: 4/11/12 at 10:29am

In my brief dealings with Ms Buckley, she was absolutely delightful during even trying circumstances.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 11:39am

She definitely has the reputation for being difficult with her co-workers, now the word "difficult" is a bit vague so who knows what that might mean. I remember she also got fired from the BROTHERS & SISTERS pilot, where she was set to play the lead, and replaced with Sally Field. At the time, there was word of her not gelling with the rest of the cast, I wonder what the real reason was. I'm always surprised she doesn't get that much work.

[followspot]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 11:45am

@ray-andallthatjazz86 — I think it would only be fair to point out that three cast members from the 'Brothers & Sisters' pilot were changed when it went to series, not just Betty Buckley. This is pretty typical with pilots (particularly when a star such as Sally Field becomes attached after seeing the pilot), and doesn't indicate anyone being difficult. But if you prefer to spread your difficult/fired/replaced version, I guess no one can stop you.

Updated On: 4/11/12 at 11:45 AM

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 11:58am

I'm not trying to "spread" anything, I'm perfectly aware that people are replaced all the time during the pilot-to-series process, but there are specific reasons why people are replaced. I remember at the time it was the way it was spun by the media, and I even pointed out that "I wonder what the real reason was," so take a chill pill and calm down.

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 12:05pm

I know with all of the recent "Carrie talk," many of you (including me) have gone back to watch the film. I also watched the various special features, and you can see Betty herself on-screen say she had an attitude back then. She mentioned that she was the same age as several of the girls playing high school students in the film, but because of her "attitude," she came off as older and more of an authority figure.

So it's not like she wasn't aware of it.

I'm sure there are many stories though. I also know that she turned down roles as well, so it wasn't like her phone didn't ring at all.

It should be mentioned that she also did film and TV work back then. Tender Mercies in 1983 (as Duvall's wife) and Frantic in 1988 (as Harrison Ford's wife).

Updated On: 4/11/12 at 12:05 PM

[followspot]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 12:35pm

She also has a terrific scene in Woody Allen's ANOTHER WOMAN [1988].

Updated On: 4/11/12 at 12:35 PM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 1:17pm

Say what you will about Betty, she has never stopped working. In fact, I think she works twice as hard as her contemporaries and challenges herself in new ways.

She is an impeccable actress-maybe eccentric, but gifted. She acts in theatre, TV, and film, performs concerts and cabaret, teaches voice and acting master classes, and has taught full semesters at Texas colleges. She also raises and trains horses.

She is living her life fully and playing by her own rules. As usual, a seasoned actress with some strong ideas is labeled a bitch or a kook.

How many actors are without quirks?

[MrMidwest]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 1:24pm

Betty talking about her "attitude":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc5x8O9X5Eo

I get wistful when I start thinking about what Phantom of the Paradise would have been like with Buckley..

[morosco]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 1:31pm

I wouldn't care if she were stark raving mad - a performance like this one linked can rarely be topped. Skip ahead to the 8 minute mark.

Her "I've come hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooome at last" is not to be believed!
Sunset Blvd - Buckely-As if we never said goodbye

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 4/11/12 at 1:44pm

Many actors can have their "difficult" moments. Unfortunately for those actors those moments make far more interesting stories and are the ones that last.

Ms. Buckley certainly seems to fall in the middle of the spectrum from all that I've heard from those who've worked with her. I think Longfellow described her best (long before she was born, of course) "when she was good she was very good indeed, and when she was bad she was horrid"

I do know some people who have taken classes with her and have come away with a great respect for what she does and the devotion she seems to have for nuturing young talent.