OFFICIAL: Elaine Stritch has passed- Page 5

[hushpuppy]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 12:20pm

Unless I've missed something, it's not that big a deal. I was having dinner at Gallagher's on 52nd Street the night they dimmed the lights for Tony Randall in May, 2004. We went outside and the marquee lights went out. Then, after a minute, they went back on. I don't believe they turn off every light in Times Square, just the marquee lights on the theatres. And since it's not dark outside at 7:45pm, it's not like the entire street is plunged into darkness.

IMHO, it's more of a symbolic gesture.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 12:26pm

I love the one I understand they did for Merman. They dimmed the lights and her hearse drove by all the theaters she'd appeared in before taking her to her final rest.

I teared up just typing that!!

[lovebwy]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 12:40pm

You know, I went to see Shoot Me the day it opened here in Los Angeles a few months ago at a movie theater in Westwood. I was the only one in the audience.

It occurred to me to watch it again on Netflix last night, but thinking back the movie is less about her career and life than it is about her end, and how she was dealing with it. It wasn't promoted that way, and I doubt that was the original concept, but that's how it turned out. The scene where she has the episode on Long Island is very chilling. The fear in her face is all to real.

A very intimate look at someone facing the great unknown. And a very well done documentary. But I don't think I'll be able to watch it again for quite some time. Lucky for us, At Liberty is still on You Tube.

[jv92]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 1:15pm

Hal Prince said something in the WSJ obit:

"There was nobody who played a role she originated who could remotely come close to what she created," he said. "And she was stunningly honest, incapable of lying—to a fault, I would say. I loved her and I'll miss her."
Link

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 2:04pm

Has anyone actually said how she died? And don't say "old age."

[haterobics]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 2:07pm

Natural causes.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/07/17/332320816/actress-and-singer-elaine-stritch-has-died Updated On: 7/18/14 at 02:07 PM

[lovebwy]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 2:24pm

I know she started drinking again. And I suspect she was drinking more than she let on...

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 3:09pm

I don't know if this was mentioned anywhere... and I'm not trying to bring up the affect her death made on money or anything... but after yesterday, "Ladies Who Lunch" re-entered the Top 100 Soundtrack Songs on iTunes at #87 and the COMPANY original Broadway cast recording is currently #42 on the Top Soundtracks Chart.

[madbrian]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 4:27pm

I've mentioned this on other threads, but my mother had uncanny, undeniable resemblance to Stritch. Though my mother never cursed, her demeanor and appearance were very Stritch-y, and she was also diabetic. My mother passed away two years ago, and since then it's been almost impossible for me to get through Stritch's rendition of I'm Still Here from the Sondheim birthday celebration. I mustered up the courage to see Shoot Me, but I almost lost it during the clip where Stritch was lamenting the inability to drive, which was eerily reminiscent of my mother.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 4:50pm

Medical Instinct tells me stroke or Pulmonary Embolus. Diabetics are frequently affected by cardiac events as was the case w my own dear Dad.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 5:12pm

Elaine Stritch's husband John Bay died in 1982. My friend was his friend and adviser on the one-man show John wrote and performed in the guise of Groucho Marx. Elaine contacted my friend after John's death to say that John would have wanted him to have the show costumes, props, etc. My friend dragged me along to Nyack New York to meet a woman I never heard of, grab a suitcase, turn around and take the long trip in reverse. Instead, she invited us into her home and entertained us with everyday banter for hours.

I didn't know she had been a star on the Broadway stage; I loved theater but my knowledge was limited to my personal experience. And I didn't know about her success on TV in the U.K. Regardless, she talked about everyday things in her indomitable way and I adored her. I remember she wanted her friends to move from Manhattan to Nyack. The reason I remember it is that every time she said "Nyack", she elongated the "Ny" syllable in such a funny "Elaine Stritch" way that it's the only way I've pronounced it for the next 30 years. And, I remember that she apologized because she needed to have something to eat and fixed herself a stew of prunes and apricots. I understood sometime later when I learned of her diabetes, but at the time she didn't mention her illness. However, she did say between bites (in the only moment that would hint at the person I would come to know on stage and screen) "Don't get sick. It sucks."

Thanks for making a little gay boy adore you that day Elaine, despite the fact that I didn't have a clue who you were. In fact, I didn't even know who I was at the time, but I'm sure you did, and you made me feel special. Rest in peace.

[lovebwy]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 5:14pm

We got to have her for so long. Some would argue she did her best work after the age of 70!

Her final appearance on Theater Talk around her 88th birthday is incredible. At age 88 we find her at the very height of her raconteurial powers.

I am devastated in some ways that she's gone, but so very thankful that she lived long enough to give us all one hell of a third act.
Theater Talk with Stritchie

[HorseTears]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 5:22pm

Hey guys, no need to keep speculating on Stritch's cause of death. Multiple sources are saying stomach cancer - no doubt complicated by her diabetes. I hope she wasn't in too much discomfort toward the end.

FROM PEOPLE:
As Broadway prepares to dim its marquees on Friday night in tribute to Elaine Stritch, who died at her Michigan home on Thursday after a recent battle with stomach cancer, the highly individual actress-singer is being remembered by those who had the memorable experience of working with her, including 30 Rock creator and star Tina Fey.

Dean [Stritch's agent] says that Stritch's stomach cancer was complicated by her diabetes.
"They took out a good part of her stomach, that was maybe two months ago. She said, 'They got it all, they got it all.' But it came back quite aggressively."


People Magazine article on Stritch's passing

[lovebwy]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 5:29pm

Yeah, in the more recent video of her doing a short Q & A for Shoot Me something did seem to be wrong.

It's so strange but emotionally I feel as if she was taken before her time. Intellectually I realize that 89 is a ripe age to go. But had the cancer not happened, who knows how much longer we would have had with her?

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 8:55pm

I think she'll get a little bit more than the standard light dimming. All day I've been going around not grieving, just unable to believe it. In the Broadway: The American Musical documentary someone is quoted as saying, "George Gershwin died today, but I don't have to believe it if I don't want to." I feel the same. Just...HOW can this fireball be gone.

Spending my evening drinking alone in honor of her.

And one for Stritchy.

[haterobics]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 10:27pm

A handful of us were standing outside Studio 54 for Elaine at 7:45p, but they didn't dim their lights... I guess not all theaters do it?!

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 10:40pm

Any chance there's video of the lights dimming? I'd love to be able to keep that for a while. There's a iPhone video circulating Facebook, but I'm not sure how to save it.

[haterobics]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 10:41pm

I have video of the Studio 54 lights not dimming for 3 minutes?

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 10:41pm

Is there a link of that, iluvtheatertrash?

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 10:48pm

I don't know how to link it, or I would... It's a video that was directly uploaded to Facebook. No clue if this will work, though I hope it does:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10202911334199224&set=vb.1078881165&type=2&theater

[haterobics]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 10:53pm

That worked!

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 10:56pm

I'm glad! I've cried quite a bit in the past day or so. Elaine was my hero, and the #1 reason I fell in love with the theater. I'll miss her presence terribly.

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 7/18/14 at 11:07pm

Thanks for sharing! I love that the Broadhurst put up her picture while the lights were dimmed.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/19/14 at 12:23am

Thank you to whomever recorded that. That was lovely.

And if there's any benefit to LED marquees...that was it. Nice job by the Broadhurst.

[Ed_Mottershead]

Posted: 7/19/14 at 12:45am

Wonderful and totally fitting for one of Broadway's greats. RIP, Elaine. We're missing you like hell!