haines his way

04/05/2003:
"FEDORA"

Well, dear readers, it’s cleaning lady day so I must write these notes in a thrice or faster before she gets here and gives me the Evil Eye. Do any of you dear readers think it’s time for the fedora to make a comeback? My goodness, what a segue that was. That was a seque worthy of Samuel Beckett, dear readers, in fact, I feel we should call it the Samuel Beckett Segue. Watching all these French crime thrillers, these serie noires, has put me in mind of the fedora, since Mr. Alain Delon wears one rather strikingly in most of these films. Perhaps I shall buy a fedora because I’m always a trendsetter, fashion-wise. I created the “looking like a bag of laundry” look so popular today. So, perhaps if I start wearing a fedora I will bring that trend back as well. I’m rather bored of baseball hats right now (yes, Virginia, I started that trend too), and I don’t think the world is ready for a beret comeback just yet, or a Carnaby cap (I used to wear those, as well). Yes, I think all we Hainsies/Kimlets (male and female, not necessarily in that order) should purchase fedoras and bring back that marvelous and sexy look. Remember, you heard it here first.
Last night I attended a middle school production of Cinderella, featuring Greer Geissman as Joy, one of the evil stepsisters. It was delightful and so was she. The little girl who played Cinderella was very sweet and so was her Prince. I guess they now license the version with Falling in Love with Love and Boys and Girls Like You and Me, because they were both there, sticking out like a sore thumb. But, a good time was had by all and then I came home and ate some chopped liver whilst thinking about a fedora.
Well, why don’t we all click on the fershluganah Unseemly Button below before you-know-who gets here and gives me ye olde Evil Eye.

Today I shall be attending the Ray Courts Hollywood Memorabilia Show – I’m not signing at this one (I’ll do the one in June, to celebrate the release of Kritzerland, and perhaps even the new CD), but I always go down there to be supportive and say hello to my many friends.
Have I mentioned that I think it’s time for the fedora to make a comeback? What a fine chapeau is the fedora. Where will I find one? Are there hat stores? Does anyone still wear a hat – oh, a Stephen Sondheim reference. If the fedora is “out” will anyone carry them? All this may seem old hat to you, but I really believe the fedora’s time is here once again.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must go here, I must go there, I must go everywhere, and then I must eat something amusing then go off to a screening of what I believe is the latest Vin Diesel film (don’t ask). Today’s topic of discussion: What is the most outrageous fashion statement you’ve ever made? In other words, what is the most outrageous outfit or costume (non-Halloween) you’ve ever worn in public? I’ll start – when we were running Bay Cities, one of our group had recently broken up with his girlfriend, so we all decided to go out for a night on the town to a singles place called the Sugar Shack (which had formerly been my childhood favorite restaurant, Kowloon). But, I was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, and others were dressed not-so-well, either. At that time, the fellow who’d broken up with his girlfriend had just produced a film called Night Visitor (which I did a cameo in, and which I polished some dialogue for – although I don’t think they used it – it stood out because it was actually good, so it didn’t go with the rest of the wretched script). In any case, he had three of Alan Garfield’s black suits at the office, so we all put them on and wore them to the Sugar Shack. Of course, Alan Garfield is rather short and rather heavy so the suit looked ridiculous on me (I was very thin at the time, and 5’10” as well). The other people didn’t look quite as stupid as I did but we were quite a sight to see. Your turn.

Replies: 48 Unseemly Comments

What about Billy Wilder's Fedora? Anyone ever see that?
Posted by Michael Shayne @ 04/05/2003 08:30 AM PST

Colored tights, pantaloons and a pointy hat.
Posted by William E. Lurie @ 04/05/2003 08:33 AM PST

The guy that got dumped had to be Alain Silver. But what is more important than that was the film called Never Cry Devil and was Allen Garfield, Allen Garfield or Allen Goorwitz at the time?
As for fashion statement I wore hot pants once to school. (Grade 7) when they just became fashionable (I think for the first time)
Posted by Michael Shayne @ 04/05/2003 08:41 AM PST

The number one best way to buy something you want and pay way too much for it is eBay. There must be a wide selection of fedoras there.
I have been wearing saddle shoes every day for the last three or four years but they've never caught on. I think all the Hainsies/Kimlets should wear saddle shoes as well as fedoras.
Posted by Sandra @ 04/05/2003 08:50 AM PST

Please tell Miss Carroll Baker hello at the Courts Show and ask Miss Beverly Garland if Miss Allison Hayes really fell off that horse on purpose during Gunslinger. Both comments will make you even more popular at with those ladies, I am sure.
Fedora? Hmmmm...I am a fan of the beret - always tasteful and always an eye catcher. Even in a roomful of Fedora-wearers, the beret wearer will attract attention.
I although, Michael Shayne, I have never worn a pair of hot pants, I have been accused of being the owner of a pair. 8-D
Saturday, unseasonably cold here.
My Roadshow Version DVD of THE HAPPIEST MILLIONAIRE is now unavailable, so I went to EBAY and bought a VHS roadshow version in "mint" condition. This might be the only way I can get it now....so I will soon have it! What's wrong with that? Oh a Sherman Bros reference.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/05/2003 09:46 AM PST

That should be 8-D!!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/05/2003 10:23 AM PST

When I was young(er) and more fit, I went to a Halloween party dressed as a combination Conan/Rambo....the fatigues of the latter and the body paint of the former (modelling my body paint to approximate that of Conan and his comrades when they invaded Thulsa Doom).
I looked pretty darned good and raised more than a few eyebrows.
But, I was back to my old self the next day.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 04/05/2003 10:58 AM PST

I'm a great fedora fan; think they look sharp and stylish and sexy. I'm not normally a Hat Person as I don't care much for the feeling of something gripping me 'round the head, but my personal favorite type of hat is the pith helmet: lightweight and comfortable, and perfect for the hot Arizona sun. (I think I mainly like it because wearing mine makes me feel like one of my favorite historical figures, Capt. Jeffrey Spaulding, the African explorer.)
Posted by Drumm @ 04/05/2003 11:39 AM PST

One time when I was in fourth grade, I couldn't find my shoes, so I put on one shoe from one pair, and another from another pair, and I just went to school that way and hoped no one would notice. I guess some people thought that was pretty cool because the next day a bunch of people wore mismatched shoes.
Posted by Sandra @ 04/05/2003 12:07 PM PST

Dr. Frank 'N Furter, of course!
3 hours devoted to makeup, body camouflage and dress, every Saturday, delivered a really amazing facsimile.
Posted by KT @ 04/05/2003 12:22 PM PST

A day ahead but a day behind.
Welcome Drumm. I have been back on the "folk" wagon for a few weeks after buying the beautiful Shelby Flint CD. I am really fond of the Glenn Yarborough Solo albums too. Saw the NCM when they toured here in the mid 60s. I was playing Eva Cassidy Cds yesterday and thought back to a few other versions of her songs.
Costumes and me! Not a thing comes to mind. I am way too conservative.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 04/05/2003 12:37 PM PST

I'm not one to dress up at all. Only when I'm performing. One time I was involved in one of the many annual AIDS Benefits that I've done, the director (Rick) and I were performing "Beauty That Drives a Man Mad" from "Some Like It Hot: The Musical." (The song was transcribed (shhh, don't tell anyone) from the London recording, not the Broadway version of "Sugar.") Anyway, we were asked to sing at another function (in full drag) and we did. We had to arrive "in costume" because there was no where and no time to change into the outfits. Even though we got some pretty funny stares, a lot of people who saw us walking down the street smiled and waved at us. We were the best act at this other fuction.
Posted by George @ 04/05/2003 01:22 PM PST

Just back from the Courts show and will have much to say tomorrow. Now, where in tarnation IS everyone? I've noticed of late a certain malaise, post-wise. Let's get with it, you people, let's get off our collective butt cheeks and post, post, post (that is three posts), otherwise we may never be the most popular site on all the Internet.
Posted by bk @ 04/05/2003 01:41 PM PST

Just mention food and everyone will show up again :)
Posted by Jennifer @ 04/05/2003 02:07 PM PST

Are any of the Frank Skinner Universal scores available on CD? Not sure which online service to check.
Got the Judy Garland Show volume 7 today with some nice numbers with Bobby Darin - and a great number with a Venice Jr High Football team that was never used.
Did Mel Torme know how to do anything except put together a string of songs with the same word in the title? It gets really boring to watch and must have been boring to sing, as well. Now and then you want to hear the WHOLE song, Mel.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/05/2003 02:27 PM PST

I don't believe it was boring to
Judy to sing since she
seemed to have problems
remembering lyrics at that
time anyway... and, of course,
watching those shows "in a
string" might end up being
boring too....
The new song in town seems
to be "Put The Blame on Mel"
lately....
Posted by François @ 04/05/2003 02:42 PM PST

No melcontent offerings! Mel's "Cast Your Fate To The Wind" is still a favourite of mine. If only I could forget his "Send In The Clowns". An amazing talent IMHO.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 04/05/2003 02:54 PM PST

Nothing personal against Mel...though I'm not a fan. Just seems that his job was to present Judy at her best and challenge her.
Not important in the long run.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/05/2003 03:25 PM PST

Drumm--where in Arizona are you?
Posted by Laura @ 04/05/2003 04:02 PM PST

What about Billy Wilder's Fedora?
Posted by Wondering @ 04/05/2003 04:13 PM PST

What about Billy Wilder's Fedora?
Posted by Wondering @ 04/05/2003 04:13 PM PST

Actually it is Tom Tryon's Fedora, the movie version directed by Billy Wilder. I loved the book, but I have only seen the movie on television. I think if it was done as well as the book - in Wilder's typical style - it would be great.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/05/2003 04:21 PM PST

Nothing personal indeed
Jrand52; i was sort of teasing
you...
I'm sure you know that, at that
time, Judy -- and I'm a fan, oh
yes ! -- was NOT easy to
challenge, while SHE
challenged people around her
; remember the "dawn patrol"
story ?
Posted by François @ 04/05/2003 04:24 PM PST

Correct again, Jrand52, and
the main character was played
by (Swiss ?) German actress
Marthe Keller, who had her big
break, MANY years ago, on
French TV and also played
opposite Al Pacino in a movie
which title escapes me at the
moment, years after....
Another favorite French
actress of mine also had a
part in that film; Anny Duperey.
Posted by François @ 04/05/2003 04:30 PM PST

BOBBY DEERFIELD !
Thank you, Google!
Posted by François @ 04/05/2003 04:31 PM PST

Fedora (1978)
Drama , Suspense
Color, 114 min.
Mario Adorf
Jose Ferrer
Henry Fonda
William Holden
Hans Jaray
Gottfried John
Marthe Keller
Hildegard Knef
Frances Sternhagen
Michael York
William Holden, a
down-and-out Hollywood
movie producer trying to get
his career back on track, goes
to Greece to try to lure a
famous movie star out of
retirement. He slowly unravels
the secret of the ageless" star.
Based on a novel by Thomas
Tryon, this satire-tinged drama
from director Billy Wilder is a
unique film with a melancholy,
twilight mood. Holden's jibes
at the self-indulgent, vacuous
"New Hollywood" seem close
to Wilder's own attitude."
Posted by Marthe Keller ;- ) @ 04/05/2003 04:35 PM PST

Tom,
When it comes to Mel, "there's
always one YOU can't forget" !!
Posted by François @ 04/05/2003 04:39 PM PST

Laura,
I'm in Feenickz. (Emphasis on the 'zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.')
Posted by Drumm @ 04/05/2003 04:49 PM PST

LOL Francois! Thanks. Marthe Keller was terrific in BOBBY DEERFIELD!
Did anyone else read Hildegard Knef's autobiography? Her description of SILK STOCKINGS on the road to New York is great!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/05/2003 05:05 PM PST

Drumm -- I'm in Scottsssssssdale.
Posted by Laura @ 04/05/2003 05:11 PM PST

Laura, Drumm: Do either of you know the way to Santa Fe?
Or San Jose?
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 04/05/2003 05:32 PM PST

I can hardly wait to hear Mr BK's stories about rubbing elbows with all the other stars at the Courts Show.
Click on my name to see the people who were there!!! OMG, I know my favorites!!!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/05/2003 05:33 PM PST

Laura,
I have friends -- regular guests
to "my" hotel -- who live in
Scottsdale....... The Driscolls ;
you may know them !?!
Posted by François @ 04/05/2003 05:42 PM PST

Laura
The following quote is by
legendary composer and
arranger Angela Morley, -- very
much appreciated by some
dear readers of this site -- who
happens to be in your neck of
the woods :
"In the last six or so years, life
in Los Angeles had became
less and less appealing to
me. As soon as the Cold War
came to an end, we had a bad
recession in L.A.’s biggest
industry, aerospace. Then we
had race riots followed by
fires, then floods and great
demographic changes caused
by immigration. Finally, on Jan.
17th 1994, we had a big, very
scary earthquake centered
only six miles from my house. I
decided that I simply had to go
and live somewhere else. The
‘somewhere else’ had to be
out of California because there
are earthquake faults all over
the state. I took a look at
Scottsdale, Arizona (only one
hour’s flight time to L.A.) where
there has been no history of
earthquakes and loved what I
saw. Several months later, I
bought a house here."
angelamorley.com
Posted by François @ 04/05/2003 05:58 PM PST

Practical hats, Dramatical hats,
Pragmatical hats, Fanatical hats,
Oratorical hats, Delphicorical hats,
Skeptical hats, Dispeptical hats,
Romantical hats, Pedantical hats,
Critical hats, Parasitical hats,
Allegorical hats, Metaphorical hats,
Statistical hats and Mystical hats,
Political hats, Hypocritical hats,
Clerical hats, Hysterical hats,
Cynical hats, Rabbinical hats!
Posted by H. A. T. S. Elliot @ 04/05/2003 07:02 PM PST

To say that "Fedora" is based on a novel by Tom Tryon is a little misleading. The book was titled "Crowned Heads," originally published in 1976, and was an interlinked group of four novellas telling the stories of four of Hollywood's former stars. The first of the four stories was "Fedora," the basis for Wilder's film.
My own favorite of the four stories, and the only one that carried a "happy" ending, was "Bobbitt," the story of a child star of the late '40s, discarded when he grew, still wanting to entertain as an adult in the mid '70s. It would have made a good film, blending the Technicolor of the earlier period with the cynicism-wanting-to-be-other of the later period. But it would have had to be a musical, which by then was a forbidden form. More's the pity. And what could be made of the story today, another thirty years later/too late? As the child in the story asked when he was young, "Who turned out the lights?"
Posted by S. Woody White @ 04/05/2003 07:43 PM PST

Why do we have to lose an hour tonight? Ah, for the days of working in the Amish country of northwestern Indiana! -And I sure could use a good apple dumpling right now - ooh, and some fudge! -And isn't there still a part of Arizona that doesn't follow DST? ?????
As for most outrageous outfits... Non-Halloween... I've always been a pretty conservative dresser, and if I ever wear anything "bright", it'll be a t-shirt. I have, however, made some fashion mistakes - the lure of the designer label. There was a beautiful Liz Claiborne shirt I bought a few years ago. Kind of browny-beigey, and a very light, flowing fabric. It really was a beautiful shirt, just not beautiful on me. I wore it once or twice just to give it a chance... And it took me a few years to finally give it to a thrift shop. *I couldn't bring myself to return it for some reason, even though it was a little pricey for me at the time.
And speaking of outrageous clothes... We had first dress-tech for Hair today. As always, the costume designer really outdid herself - even with the budget cuts. Really wonderful outfits and accessories. A lot of the kids want to buy them after the show is done. I get tomorrow day off, then we add the band tomorrow night...
-Anyone know how to tell a drummer is knocking on your door?
;-)
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 04/05/2003 08:04 PM PST

Oh! And since it is Saturday night... It's also Trading Spaces night...
Well, I'm watching the rebroadcast now of tonight's episodes... I don't think I really liked any of the rooms tonight... Well, at least Kia's... *I was doing some cleaning earlier, so I didn't really get to see much of them before.
But "What Not To Wear" was lots of fun tonight, and it was nice to see a man get a makeover. Even with all the "you look ugly" talk, they had some nice "accept your body for what it is" advice tonight.
Posted by Jose C. Simbulan @ 04/05/2003 08:08 PM PST

"'oo put out the lights"?
The "Fedora" story was far superior to Wilder's take on it.
Posted by Ron Pulliam @ 04/05/2003 09:13 PM PST

So where is Jason? Where are you William Orr?
Saturday Night fever I guess.
Posted by Tom from Oz @ 04/05/2003 09:15 PM PST

Jose,
NONE of Arizona goes on DST (it's a slender part of Indiana you're thinking of). It's always the same here: the same time, the same damned heat, the same dust, the same lousy drivers.
Thank Zeus for the Internet.
Posted by Drumm @ 04/05/2003 09:32 PM PST

Ron,
I do not know the way to San Jose; I've been through Santa Fe. And I'm not an Arizonan -- I'm a Michigander, bred and true; a Detroiter who can't effin' WAIT to get back.
But I've always heard nice things about Santa Fe.
Posted by Drumm @ 04/05/2003 09:41 PM PST

I just got in from URBAN COWBOY. Oy vey. There have only been two shows that I've ever thought about leaving during intermission. This was one of them. The other was the National Tour of BIG. I won't go any further for fear of potentially hurting the feelings of anyone involved in the show who might read this here website, since it is the most popular site on the internet.
I have to work a special gig at the Met tomorrow (its the final round of competition for the Met Singer's Contest) so I need to get to bed. 'Night!!
Posted by Jason @ 04/05/2003 09:42 PM PST

Crowned Heads....right you are Woody...couldn't remember the details of the book, but I knew it was Tryon material.
I watched two episodes of Trading Spaces myself and didn't like ANY of the rooms. That is unusual for me, because I usually like at least one. But then Kia was in both shows and one had Frank and the other had Hildy...disastrous. And of course Trading Spaces Hollywood Style is on next Sunday!
No most of Indiana does NOT change. We are on EST and then suddenly we are on CST. We don't change. Some parts of Indiana change times for DST but not most of us.
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/06/2003 06:31 AM PST

re: Trading Spaces -- I don't think Hildy and Kia have senses of humor; Doug does, just not about himself. Give me Paige, Gen, Vern, Laurie, Ty and Amy Winn any day (please!).
Posted by Drumm @ 04/06/2003 06:36 AM PST

Hey, TS.... HATS now and forever!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/06/2003 08:00 AM PST

Raves for Brent and CAMELOT at Paper Mill.
Click on my name!
Posted by Jrand52 @ 04/06/2003 08:22 AM PST

Jose asked,
"-Anyone know how to tell a drummer is knocking on your door?"
A couple of possible answers:
A. He doesn't know when to come in.
or...
A. The knocking keeps speeding up and slowing down.
I'm a drummer myself, so I've heard them all...
BTW, I saw TOMMY the other night, and it was a decent production of a really weak show. All of my friends said the same thing: "It was well done and all, but I still didn't like it. Weak book, little variation in the score. Makes for a nice concert, but not much of a show."
And for those who read the review of this production I posted the other day, the show did NOT come anywhere near meeting the expectations raised by the review. One suspects that the critic is on the payroll of the company staging the show. No other way to explain it...
Posted by Dave @ 04/06/2003 09:36 AM PST

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