THE WORST WEDGIE

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

I saw this photo on the news today:

This car is wedged between two buildings at a retirement home in Pennsylvania. No information yet on how it happened.

I feel sorry for the owner of the car. It must have been quite a shock to have one's car end up this way.

I hope to get back to writing about Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon tomorrow, but this week is a busy one, packed with appointments.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

WHY I'M SAD

I'm sad about some friends' problems and so much of what's in the news breaks my heart. All those children--and adults--in detention centers (or concentration camps) makes me sick. Little kids are trying to take care of toddlers, who don't even have diapers. They're cold and they don't have decent food. In one of the adult centers it's so overcrowded that people can't lie down. They sit, packed in together, or they stand. It's so bad that some people stand on toilets to get out of the crowd. Then that causes problems for the people who need to use the toilets. People, especially children, are sick and even dying. I weep as I write this. 

Do unto others as you would have others do unto you, Donald Trump and your minions.

MORE TO COME

I'll be back with more Fosse and Verdon in a day or two. I am tired and distraught by a lot of bad news.

Let's have another number from Cabaret. Watch the dancers' movements and start to become aware of the Fosse style, if you aren't familiar with it already.

THE WOMEN . . . and Fosse

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Bob Fosse lusted after women, and he harassed women to get what he wanted. Lots of women.

He was married three times and had a long-term partner. He wasn't faithful to any of them. “Bob grew up around strip clubs. Women were his hobby,” [Gwen] Verdon once reportedly said, according to Winkler. “He’d even cheat on his mistress. Part of him felt guilty, another part was ecstatic.” (source: The Oprah Magazine https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/a27056228/bob-fosse-gwen-verdon-true-story/)

Wife #1: Mary Ann Niles––his dance partner, married in 1947, divorced in 1951
Wife #2: Joan McCracken––dancer, married in 1952, divorced in 1959
Wife #3: Gwen Verdon––dancer, married in 1960, separated in 1971, never divorced, had a daughter named Nicole Fosse in 1963, Verdon was with Fosse when he died
Partner: Ann Reinking––dancer, with Fosse from 1972 to 1978, Reinking and Verdon were friends
Other Women: too numerous to know, but during the 1970s he seems to have been involved with 
Jessica Lange on and off

I could write all sorts of trash about the ways Bob Fosse used women (each wife helped him reach greater heights in his career), but it's too damn depressing. That's why I didn't finish writing this post last night. I couldn't continue to write about a man who treated women so badly.

However, I have been tweeting and posting on Facebook about another man who mistreats women. This particular man's defense against the allegation that he raped E. Jean Carroll is "she's not my type."

It made me wonder if my friend's 90-year-old grandmother who was raped was her rapist's type. And how about my patient in a nursing home who was in a vegetative state and was raped? Was she her rapist's type?

Rape is not a crime of lust. It's a crime of anger, domination, and control.

I don't want to watch Bob Fosse dance today. I'd rather ask Liza Minnelli to do one of her brilliant numbers from Cabaret, the movie that earned her the Best Actress Academy Award in 1973. Joel Grey won Best Supporting Actor. Bob Fosse won Best Director, even though he was up against Francis Ford Coppola, whose The Godfather won Best Picture.

Cabaret had ten Academy Award nominations and eight wins, a record for a movie that didn't win Best Picture. It also won numerous BAFTAs, Golden Globes, and other awards.

Thank you, Liza, for performing for us today.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

BOB FOSSE WAS A USER

A note for you, Dear Ones: I can see from your comments on Monday that I'm not the only person who loves classic films and musicals. If you would like to write a guest post about your favorite musicals, whether on stage or on film, and especially your favorite Fosse and Verdon moments or your other beloved stars in musicals, please email me at dumpedfirstwife@gmail.com. If you don't have so much to say that you want to write an entire post but you have a couple of paragraphs about your favorites that you'd like to share, then please send them to me, also at dumpedfirstwife@gmail.com. I can combine shorter bits of writing in a few posts. I don't think we interact as much in the blogosphere as we used to do. I hope to do my small part to change that.

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Bob Fosse was a big-time user. He was a heavy drinker and smoker. He took prescription drugs (uppers) to keep him going. I don't know if he always obtained them legally.

He also used women and could be very nasty. If #metoo had existed when he was alive, he would have been talked about all over it. Plenty of women had good reason to complain about him. As a choreographer and director, he expected dancers to have sex with him. If a woman declined, she might find herself without a job, or at least she'd be threatened. He also used his wives. Each of his three wives helped him move up in his career and he treated them like shit.

But oh my god! how the man could dance. And his choreography was amazing. He directed some excellent Broadway shows and movies, too.

Bob Fosse was born in 1927 and by the time he was 13 he was dancing in bars and burlesque houses. As he grew older, he moved to New York. He wanted to be the next Fred Astaire.

We all know that the world has only had one Fred Astaire and we'll never see another one, but Fosse was very successful in his own way. He started out dancing in some Broadway shows and appeared on television. In 1953 he got a contract with MGM. He appeared in films such as Give A Girl A Break and The Affairs of Dobie Gillis. His choreography for a dance sequence that he performed with Carol Haney in Kiss Me Kate called attention to his abilities.

Then he started choreographing Broadway shows, including The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees. 

1960––choreographed and directed New Girl In Town
1961––choreographed How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying
1966––choreographed and directed Sweet Charity
1973––won a Tony for Best Direction of a Musical for Pippin
1975––choreographed and directed Chicago
1986––choreographed and directed Big Deal and won the Tony for Best Choreography

In between Broadway shows and sometimes while he was working on Broadway shows, he directed movies. Here's his Filmography as it appears on Wikipedia. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for Cabaret, a huge success––and a movie that I love––that won many awards. Cabaret is currently available on Netflix streaming.

• The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953 ,actor) - Charlie Trask
• Kiss Me Kate (1953, actor) - 'Hortensio'
• Give a Girl a Break (1953, actor) - Bob Dowdy
• White Christmas (1954, choreographer, uncredited)
• My Sister Eileen (1955, actor, choreographer) - Frank
• The Pajama Game (1957, choreographer)
• Damn Yankees (1958, actor, dancer, choreographer) - Mambo Dancer (uncredited)
• Sweet Charity (1969, director, choreographer)
• Cabaret (1972, director, choreographer)
• The Little Prince (1974, actor, choreographer) - The Snake
• Lenny (1974 ,director) - The Interviewer (voice, uncredited)
• Thieves (1977, actor) - Mr. Day (final film role)
• All That Jazz (1979, screenwriter, director, choreographer)
• Star 80 (1983, screenwriter, director)
• The 1st TV Academy Hall of Fame (1984) - Himself

He died from a heart attack when he was 60 years old. Not a big surprise with the drugs, the drinking, the smoking, and the overwork. 

Wow! This post will be ridiculously long if I start telling you about the women in his life and "the Fosse style." So we'll start with this information, and learn more about Bob Fosse tomorrow (I'll try for tomorrow).


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Fosse

Of course, we have to watch him dance. Bring on your best, Bob. The sequence I chose is "The Competition Dance" from the movie My Sister Eileen (1955). Appearing with  him is Tommy Rall (no slouch himself). When the sequence begins, Fosse will be on your left. He wears the darker suit and the gray hat.

Ladies and Gentlemen, coming to you directly from YouTube, it's Bob Fosse:

FOSSE/VERDON

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

I mentioned Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon not long ago because I watched the mini-series about them on FX. If you missed it, you can Google Fosse/Verdon to find places where you can watch it.

Sam Rockwell is very good as Fosse and Michelle Williams gives a great performance as Gwen Verdon.

As I watched the eight episodes, I was concerned that if people didn't already know that Fosse and Verdon were icons of American musical theater that they wouldn't really understand their importance by watching a limited series.

So let's see what we can learn about Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon this week. If you ever had the good fortune to actually see Gwen Verdon perform onstage, then please tell us about it in the comments, or if you have a long story about her, a guest post would be welcome. You also might know her from movies in which she didn't dance, such as Cocoon.

Some of you have probably seen Bob Fosse dance without knowing it (he's in some older musicals but isn't the star), and you've probably seen at least one movie that he choreographed or choreographed and directed.

Let's start the Fosse/Verdon info with one of their performances together. Let me sign off, and then you take it away, Bob and Gwen.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

This number is "Who's Got The Pain" from the film version of Damn Yankees (1958). If Bob and Gwen can't cheer you up on a Monday, then I don't know if anything can. I've watched this clip many times. I always spend the rest of the day singing and dancing around the house while Franklin and Penelope stare at me and wonder, Who does she think she is today?

FEELIN' SORRY FOR MYSELF

Poor, poor pitiful me.

SOCIAL SECURITY SCAM CALLS

A warning to you, Dear Ones: When I awoke this morning, three messages were on my voice mail telling me to contact the Social Security Administration at 415 960 1223.

I was skeptical, but I called the number just in case it was legitimate. It wasn't.

The guy who answered the phone was difficult to understand. He had quite a strong accent. He asked for my name, which I provided. He said he needed to check my records, and then came back on the line saying that they had a different name for me. It was my first name and my last name from when I was married. Why would Social Security have the wrong name for me? I changed my name with them years ago when I got a new Social Security card.

The man went on to tell me that my Social Security number was suspended immediately because of numerous cases of fraud in Texas. Have you ever been to Texas? he asked.

I said, I want to talk to your supervisor. He said that it was difficult to get a manager on the phone and would take some time. I said, I want to talk to your supervisor.

He put me on hold for about 10 seconds and then the same person came back on the line and said he was the manager and wanted to know what the problem was. I said, This is a scam. Don't call me again.

I hung up and contacted the real Social Security Administration. Their recording said that phone calls are being made by people pretending to be from Social Security and to report it immediately if identity theft occurred.

I have no reason to think they've stolen my identity because the point of the call is to get people to reveal their social security numbers and/or banking information.

As I've gone about my morning, I've received myriad calls from 415 960 1223. It's always a message on my voice mail telling me to call them immediately because I'm in biiiiiig trouble.

So I called them again--and again--and again. Every time someone answered the phone, I shouted, WHAT'S YOUR NAME? Only one person gave me a name (Agent Jacob Johnson and a badge number), which of course is invented. I told him in very firm terms that they were not to call me anymore and that I had reported them for harassment. I called the number three or four more times and did the same thing.

The robo calls kept coming in.

So I blocked their stupid asses. We'll see what they come up with next.

When I checked online, I saw that these calls are a common problem. For more information, you can Google "scam calls from Social Security." If you're receiving repeated calls from the same number, you can also Google "how to block calls on my iPhone or Android phone (whatever the case may be)."

Online sources state that the scam calls might also come from the Social Security Hotline. Keep in mind that Social Security will never call you from their hotline and will never ask you to "confirm" information such as your Social Security number or bank information.

Best wishes and may the force be with you.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

Update: It turns out that the only thing yelling at the scammers did was give me a sore throat. They've called me this afternoon from 414 662 5625 and 415 960 1223. I don't answer. As soon as I hear their familiar message, I block the number. They can come up with as many numbers as they like. I'll keep blocking.

Go ahead: Use another number to keep calling me. You'll find out that I'm not in a good mood today.

TROOPING THE COLOUR 2019

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

It's time for our annual (I call it annual but I might have skipped the last year or two; I can't remember) post recalling Saturday's Trooping The Colour,  the official celebration of Queen Elizabeth's birthday. This commemoration of her birth is always held in June, although Her Majesty was born in April.

However, we had a little problem this year. The Queen was traumatized by her visit from Donald Trump and it was difficult to get the lovely old lady out of the palace. She was afraid he hadn't really left and would start that crap again . . . you know, how he tries to claim the throne. What if he grabbed her pu . . . never mind started mouthing off again and saying that she was born nowhere near Great Britain and had to produce her birth certificate and then kept saying it wasn't a real birth certificate? She's already damned sick and tired of that shit.

The entire family chided Her Majesty for inviting the Trumps to dinner. Here, she tells Kate, BUT I DIDN'T INVITE HIM! I LEARNED HE'D BE HERE WHEN I READ IT ON FACEBOOK!

Then she came up with a great idea: Send Prince Philip to pick up Donald at the airport because Philip is the best driver in aaaaallllll of England.

Unfortunately, Philip forgot his task and the Trumps arrived safely, so the next step in her plan was to give Donald a book––an obvious bit of sarcasm since the man can't doesn't read. But he didn't take the hint and leave, so everyone had dinner together. Her Majesty couldn't stop thinking about how nice President Obama looked in his tuxedo when he visited, while Donald's tux obviously came from a rental shop at the last minute and didn't quite fit.

Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis were upset, too. Here they are at the window of the palace. The looks on their sweet little faces tell the whole story: PLEASE LET US OUT!

 You can't see it in the photo of Charlotte and Louis, but this is what was behind them:

Can you blame them for being frightened?

The Queen felt pretty nervous after hosting the Trump family, and who can blame her? No one can do anything if The Donald walks into Buckingham Palace and kills her or grabs her pus . . . never mind that last part. We know it's true because he said he can commit murder on Fifth Avenue and get away with it and he said he can grab certain female body parts, and the true King of England never lies.

When every single footman and everyone in the family assured her that the Trumps were gone, AND she saw it on Facebook, she agreed to come out for Trooping The Colour. As always, the celebration included a lovely parade.

Beatrice and Eugenie, or Eugenie and Beatrice, were there. It's never too late for braces, girls.

Here are Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie. Edward looks pretty darn full of himself because someone told him he could wear his special hat that turns into a helicopter (he's the one they keep in a shed in the backyard).

Then along came Kate, Camilla, and Meghan. Kate and Camilla raised their hands when they were asked, What is 2 + 2?



Well, the joke was on the Duchess of Wessex and the Duchess of Cambridge because they said the answer is 3, which is what William, Kate, and Harry were before Meghan came along. Now all the ladies are humiliated, but Harry stared straight ahead and pretended he didn't hear the question.

After hours of parading, it was time for the balcony scene. Wait a minute! Harry and Meghan are kind of squished in there behind Prince Andrew, but I don't see Baby Archie.

Oops! I guess it will be a long time before we see Archie again. If ever. No wonder Meghan held onto her belly while she was pregnant.

According to all the reliable click bait sources, everyone in the royal family does nothing but feud with each other. Here, they look up to avoid looking at each other. Only Kate is weirded out enough to look at Louis. She's afraid his head might fall off and that would create quite the mess.

A few minutes later, Camilla was peeved when Louis damn near slapped her in the face, but we know it's something that everyone has wanted to do for years. Prince William had to hold back his laughter.

Prince George let the world know that it's time to end Trooping The Colour for 2019,

so let's bring this celebration to a close by saying

Happy Official 93rd Birthday, Your Majesty. You are older than dirt, but you look a lot better. (Watch out for Charles. He's pretending to be your right-hand man, but he really wants your job. For him to get it, you have to die.)



Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug