I went to see Cloris Leachman at the UGA Fine Arts Building. She was giving a lecture (more of a question & answer session, really) as a follow-up to her one-woman career retrospective show (that I didn't get to see...). If you have ever met me or seen my walls, you know that I am a ridiculously huge fan of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I first saw Cloris on MTM--she plays the ever-on-the-go, perfectionistic neighbor/landlady who's friends with Mary and always at odds with Rhoda (Valerie Harper, an actress I *almost* saw years ago but who was unable to perform in the play I attended--boo!). She is brilliant. Most recently I've seen her as the loving, half-drunk, serious-when-she's-gotta-be mother of Tea Leoni in Spanglish--but she's done lots of work before Mary, lots of work in between Mary and Spanglish, and is still really active.
Jim & I went to see her today. The theatre wasn't the fancy one I remembered--we must have been in a different studio or something. Harsh overhead fluorescent lights, a smattering of fans and actors-in-training, and a microphone that didn't work. With the heat (or AC?) blasting continuously the entire time, I missed out on about 1/2 of what was said. Despite the frustration that accompanied that, I was thrilled to see her in person. She looks amazing at almost 82 years old--in good shape, able to walk swiftly up and down stairs, and really quick witted and extremely silly.
I wish I'd taken a photo of when she started scooching her chair closer and closer and closer to the host, prompting lots of laughter from the crows. I did get a few good shots, though. Here's one of her in a girlish pose, feet hung over the side of the chair.
When Jim & I went to leave, I had a feeling she was going to call us out. She did. We started walking quietly toward the exit and she said, "Excuse me," to the crowd. Looking towards us, she asked, "Where are you going?!' I told her I was going to work; she asked me what I did. Then she looked at Jim and pointed. "What about you?"
"Oh, I have to go to the doctor," he explained. She, like any woman over 60 (or perhaps any woman of any age?) was charmed by Jim and expressed genuine concern for his back problem. After their quick talk, she snapped back into stage-Cloris and said, "All right. You can go."
I love her.
The end.
