The Third Estate Sunday Review focuses on politics and culture. We're an online magazine. We don't play nice and we don't kiss butt. In the words of Tuesday Weld: "I do not ever want to be a huge star. Do you think I want a success? I refused "Bonnie and Clyde" because I was nursing at the time but also because deep down I knew that it was going to be a huge success. The same was true of "Bob and Carol and Fred and Sue" or whatever it was called. It reeked of success."
Graves was the second African-American woman to star in her own hour–long television series and the first for a drama television series.[1][2]
[. . .]
Graves pivotal role in the 1974 ABC crime drama television movie and later series Get Christie Love! featured Charles Cioffi and Jack Kelly as
Lieutenants Reardon and Ryan, respectively, Love's supervisors. At the
time of the series creation, Graves' was noted as the second
African-American woman to star in her own hour–long television series,
after Diahann Carroll in Julia which aired six years prior. An article in the November 1974 issue of Jet magazine
described Graves as "television's most delightful detective, the
epitome of a tough lady cop with more feminine features than Venus".[6] In 1983, Graves retired from show business to devote her time to her faith.
See the problem?
JULIA
wasn't an hour long program. It was a half-hour sitcom starring
Diahann Carroll. So Teresa couldn't be the second African-American
woman to star in her own hour-long TV series if we're counting JULIA as
the first.
Cicely Tyson was
part of an ensemble cast of 1963's EAST SIDE WEST SIDE (fourth of the
five billed actors). It was an hour long drama headed by George C.
Scott. She was not the star -- it was an ensemble (she played Scott's
secretary) so we wouldn't consider her the star anymore than we'd
consider Karen Valentine the star of ROOM 222. If you are going to
consider her the star and not part of an ensemble, then Teresa wouldn't
be the second woman. It would be Nichelle Nichols for STAR TREK. But
unless someone can think of an actress who starred in an hour long drama
-- carried the show -- before Teresa Graves, Teresa holds the record.
Okay, book review. This week I read Boze Hadleigh's Hollywood Gays:
Conversations With: Cary Grant, Liberace, Tony Perkins, Paul Lynde,
Cesar Romero, Randolph Scott.
I really loved this book.
Paul
Lynde comes across very funny. I think I enjoyed most reading his
chapter and the interviews with Dick Sargent and Waylon Flowers.
And it's really something to read this book. I think it was the right week for it because it was the week Ava and C.I. noted "Call Her Heroic (Ava and C.I.):"
We're told that various people can't come out because it would
destroy their careers. We don't believe that. But, okay, fine, stay in
your closets if you have to. What's the reason for keeping someone
closeted after they've died?
THE NEW YORK TIMES supports
enshrining the dead in a closeted tomb. Of course, they do. They have
to. Mel Gussow reviewed or 'reviewed' plays and based his opinions on
who he slept with -- if, he slept with an actor in the play before the
play (especially if he paid for sex), he panned the play. Gussow wasn't
alone at THE TIMES and to this day we're all supposed to pretend that
this well known john to countless men was straight. It goes to the
paper's image.
We don't give a s**t. The image -- the
false image -- needs to be dismantled for truth. Even if you did
nothing in life to help equality, in death your truths can help others.
Your truths can explode the lies of right-wing hate merchants who want
to pretend that there is no historical truth to LGBTQ+ persons. Your
truths can provide reality to the ignored history.
As
CALL ME ANNE makes clear, Anne Heche always lived in her truth. As
life made clear, even in her final days, Anne had to take hate from
people. She was so much better than the times she lived in.
There
are truths in the book that provide reality. So many gay people who
were in the closet. So many that we embraced and that knowing the truth
about would make a difference.
Cary Grant. Why can't his
daughter talk about the truth today? Who's going to be harmed?
Randolph Scott is in the book -- Cary's lover. The book has people
talking about Gary Cooper. They were talking about some millionaire
kept him. I thought, "I didn't know Anderson Lawler was rich."
Anderson was his love affair. Turns out, he also had a rich man who
kept him.
I liked the chapter on Caser Romero -- especially when
they talked about books on gay actors -- like Sal Mineo -- were
minimized or avoided and when they wrote about someone who had come out
as bi -- like Marlon Brando -- results in a book that ignores his public
comments and instead renders him straight.
It's historical and really increased my understanding and perspective.
Gays were hidden and not by accident and not just in the 50s.
It's a really great book. Also loved the chapter with Richard Deacon -- Mel Coolie on The Dick Van Dyke Show.
I read the book on Amazon Kindle and strongly recommend it.
Kat:
"Don't you know I'm taking my case to the highest court of love and
these are some of the crimes you'll be found guilty of." My nephew Matt
used to sing that all the time as he'd play in his grandparents' (my
parents) backyard. The Ashford & Simpson song featured an
incredible lyric opening and, of course, an amazing vocal by one of
America's greatest singers.
Diana Ross is a huge star today. She's had a string of hits like no other. And was recently nominated for a Grammy for her THANK YOU
album. She's an Academy Award nominated film actress on top of
everything else (LADY SINGS THE BLUES), a Golden Globe winner and a Tony
winner. Success is linked to Diana Ross.
But it wasn't always so obvious.
She
took a big leap at the start of 1970 as she stepped away from Diana
Ross & the Supremes -- the only group to rival the Beatles on the US
top forty during the sixties. The big leap was the solo career.
With
the Supremes, she'd sung lead on 29 top forty hits (I'm counting top
forty in the US -- both pop and R&B charts) -- and for the 29th, I'm
counting the dance chart in the 90s when a remix of "Someday We'll Be
Together" charted). Solo? 62 recordings became top forty hits on the US
chats (pop, soul, adult contemporary and dance -- 62 includes her vocal
on "We Are The World").
What seems so obvious now was a gamble in 1970 and it could have gone either way.
DIANA
ROSS was a hit in 1970, all the way to number one on BILLBOARD's Soul
Album Chart. And EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING was also a hit. But it was a
less focused album. It might be an album that would benefit from a
reissue.
I say that because Diana's third solo album, SURRENDER, benefits from a reissue.
It's
one of the three albums that Diana did with Ashford & Simpson --
Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson -- producing (and with most of the
songs written by the duo). DIANA ROSS, SURRENDER and THE BOSS. I had
always felt SURRENDER was a rather weak entry in the trio.
What the re-release does -- on thick vinyl -- is let SURRENDER reclaim its own legitimacy.
I
don't think, for example, that you can understand Michael Jackson's
THRILLER without first listening to Diana Ross' diana album ("Upside
Down," "I'm Coming Out," "Have Fun Again," etc) and you really can't get
appreciate Michael's earlier vocals without listening to the remastered
SURRENDER.
I had SURRENDER on CD. I never had it on vinyl. I don't think I had it on cassette but you know my memory.
SURRENDER
on CD isn't worth any amount of money unless you just want to have
every CD that Diana released. It's sound quality -- like too many of
the ones MOTOWN produced in the 80s -- is very poor and makes the album
sound underwhelming. (In 2008, an expanded version was released on
compact disc, I've never owned or heard that release.)
In publicizing their release, ELEMENT (the label) notes, "Limited Edition LP. Deluxe 180-Gram Reissue. Including Original
Artwork & Credits. The third studio album by American singer Diana
Ross, Surrender was released by Motown Records on July 6, 1971. The
album saw her reuniting with writer-producer team Ashford & Simpson
who had overseen her self-titled debut album in 1970."
Don't
get excited about 'original artwork.' That's the cover and back
cover. Otherwise, all you have is the white sleeve the album comes in.
Don't get excited about "credits" either -- there are no credits --
other than songwriter and producer credits. They're on the back cover.
And don't get excited about it arriving if you do order it.
There
are two stories there. The first is ELEMENT wasn't ready to meet the
requests. The second is AMAZON fell asleep on the job.
But
two weekends ago, I'm looking around and still waiting on the album
when I see that AMAZON no longer lists it as "not in stock" and is also
promising delivery within six days.
Huh?
I'm
back online arguing with them. It takes three days of arguing to get
an informed response. Oops, they forgot they had people waiting. It
was out and they were shipping, but oops, they forgot that some of us
had ordered in advance. They forgot us, Woops. Sorry.
So the album that I was supposed to receive on January 27th never arrived until February 21st.
If
you go to AMAZON now, you'll see "only six left in stock." (WALMART and
TOWER RECORDS have it in stock and don't note that they're limited on
the amount they have -- WALMART has it cheapest at $21.57 currently.)
I'm telling you that because I don't want to hear you complaining to me if you order it and you have trouble getting it.
That
happened long ago with Holly Near's album with Emma's Revolution. It
wasn't a very good album to begin with but they couldn't deliver it --
and this was digitally. I got so many e-mails complaining about that --
complaining as though I was over digital releases -- that I've not been
in the mood for it again.
So you have been warned.
If you walk into a record store and see it, grab it. If you're willing to possibly wait a month, order it.
What have you got if you do?
A
great album. I am so impressed with this vinyl copy. The music and
the vocals are front and center. The 80s MOTOWN reissue made the music
sound small and tinny. With this reissue, you get the mountains and
valleys of soundscape that Nick and Valerie came up with to accompany
Diana's thrilling vocals. And the vocals are so much more thrilling.
I don't know, for example, why "I Can't Give Back The Love I Feel For You" wasn't a single.
Diana has posted the song on her YOUTUBE channel, four years ago, and it's a pretty strong version in terms of sound.
As strong as that sounds, it sounds even better on the vinyl version.
Side
one is a hit on all five tracts -- perfection. And I love the
background vocals from Nick and Valerie and from Diana Ross herself. I
hadn't noticed her in the mix before the vinyl. But mainly, I love
marveling over Diana's lead vocals.
"Didn't
You Know (You'd Have To Cry Sometime)?" is an Ashford & Simpson song
Gladys Knight & The Pips released in 1969. It made it to number 11
on the soul chart. It's a strong recording. But Diana's version is
the definitive one. The thrill of hearing her roll the note up as she
sings "know" in the chorus, the talk-singing of the second verse (the
conversational way she phrases it), the final chorus, it's all a
dazzling piece of art.
The vocal on "A Simple
Thing Like Cry" is equally amazing -- the way she throbs and draws out
"cry" in the chorus. And the piano figures throughout. Why isn't
someone begging Valerie Simpson to not just sit down at the piano for
one of their albums but also to produce it?
The
vinyl re-release of SURRENDER makes clear it's part of a one-two-three
punch for team of Ross, Ashford and Simpson. As for Diana, she's had
103 recordings make the top 100 of the US charts and listening to
SURRENDER makes clear why. "I'm A Winner" is one of the songs on side
two and she certainly is.
Jim, Dona, Jess, Ty, "Ava" started out this site as five students enrolled in journalism in NY. Now? We're still students. We're in CA. Journalism? The majority scoffs at the notion.
From the start, at the very start, C.I. of The Common Ills has helped with the writing here. C.I.'s part of our core six/gang. (C.I. and Ava write the TV commentaries by themselves.) So that's the six of us. We also credit Dallas as our link locator, soundboard and much more. We try to remember to thank him each week (don't always remember to note it here) but we'll note him in this. So this is a site by the gang/core six: Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I. (of The Common Ills).
