Gwen Verdon: A Life on Stage and Screen (20 page)

The
New York Times
of October 13, 1968, reported that Verdon was considering a part in the play
Her Bed, His Couch
by Lawrence Roman which was to be produced by Frederick Brisson. What made her hesitate was the choice of director. She claimed if she was going to fail she wanted to fail with the best. Verdon wanted Fosse but he was still working on the film
Sweet Charity
. The role she had been offered was a prostitute (again) who has a relationship with a psychiatrist. The play was not produced. Verdon said she was interested in doing something worthwhile off–Broadway and that she would work for a lot less than money than thought. While in California, Verdon made the first of two guest appearances on the CBS family comedy series
The Carol Burnett Show
that was broadcast on October 16, 1967. In the show Verdon sang “The 59th Street Bridge Song.”

The Ed Sullivan Show
’s twentieth anniversary episode was broadcast on December 10, 1967. This was Verdon’s fourth appearance on the show and on it she performed “Nothing Can Stop Me Now!,” a Leslie Bricusse-Anthony Newley song from the musical
The Roar of the Greasepaint—The Smell of the Crowd
, with a chorus of six dancers in white uniforms. Verdon is heard before she is seen in the number, singing as two dancers holding white drums pass Sullivan. She emerges from the largest drum which is brought on stage by two other dancers; on it is written “Congratulations Ed.” Pushing through the drum’s cover, she wears a white majorette outfit with a black angled slash, slit-skirt and high white boots, and she holds a baton. Sullivan remains on stage next to the drum, and she hits a smaller drum and a cymbal on a drum as they pass her. The large drum is moved and Verdon gets out of it to dance with the chorus. The dance includes the chorus beating drums as she dances around them, and all the dancers marching together after the drums are raised off the floor. The choreography suggests it was done by Fosse, with its use of the group in synchronized movement, recalling the “I’m a Brass Band” number from
Sweet Charity
.

The staging has an interesting change when a curtain behind the dancers is opened to reveal an orange-colored backdrop, with the raised drums hanging in the air. The original six chorus dancers are replaced by twelve soldiers dressed in white, holding rifles, which Verdon dances around. She runs over to Sullivan, gets on her knees and holds his legs until she is pulled back onstage by the chorus dancers where a red material backdrop is raised. They are joined again by the soldiers and, together with the dancers, all the men lie on the floor, then salute for the number’s end, as Verdon salutes standing in front of them. We then see the chorus dancers and Verdon leave the stage and exit the theater through the audience. However she returns to Sullivan for him to hug her and introduce her to the audience. Verdon thanks him and also says thanks to her boys.

Production got underway on
Sweet Charity
in 1968. On the first day of filming, the studio’s publicity department held their customary invitation to the press to visit the set. There was a heavy turnout of reporters and photographers. Fosse posed with MacLaine and when Verdon was recognized among the onlookers she was asked to pose with the star. She agreed and it was then revealed to the press how Verdon was coaching MacLaine in how to play the role that she had created. The press harped on this angle, and while it generated added publicity for the film, it surely did not make Verdon happy. During filming Verdon was photographed with MacLaine in costume in rehearsals for “I’m a Brass Band,” and with Sammy Davis Jr. in costume in rehearsals for the “Rhythm of Life” number. She was also photographed on the set for “If My Friends Could See Me Now” with MacLaine, on the set of “Big Spender” with Fosse, and with Fosse and MacLaine on the set on MacLaine’s birthday on April 24. Filming ended in June 1968.

The film was released on April 2, 1969. Fosse was said to have been so agitated at the New York premiere on April 1 that he abandoned Verdon, who had accompanied him, seeking solace in the Maiden Lane Dance Hall in Times Square. He didn’t leave her alone since she had Richard and Pat Kiley.

It received a mixed review by Vincent Canby in the
New York Times
, who wrote that it was haunted by the presence of Verdon. Canby noted that although MacLaine often looks like her, “she never succeeds in recreating the eccentric line that gave cohesion to the original.” Canby wrote further about the film in the
Times
article “Is the Cost of
Charity
Too High?” There he said that it tried to ignore the fact that the show was largely successful because of the unique quality of Verdon. Pauline Kael called the film a disaster. It received a mixed review by Clive Hirshhorn in his book
The Universal Story
, but John Baxter in
Hollywood in the Sixties
gave praise. It was a box office flop and not even Universal’s attempt to salvage it with a more upbeat ending, where Oscar returns to Charity, saved it.

It’s impossible to compare MacLaine’s acting performance in the film with Verdon’s in the stage version of the show since there is no equitable material available. However a viewing of the film, and the television appearances of Verdon doing “If My Friends Could See Me Now” and “I’m a Brass Band,” can provide a comparison in terms of singing and dancing. While Verdon does not have a great singing voice, it is serviceable. MacLaine’s likability and sensitivity compensate somewhat for her weaker singing voice which underwhelms some of the songs Charity sings. An example of this is the “Where Am I Going?” number in which MacLaine’s vocal is bad. One can accept MacLaine’s voice as it is since Charity is not a professional singer, only a professional dancer. Additionally it adds to the vulnerability of the character. However when Chita Rivera and Paula Kelly sing “There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This,” we can hear what a difference a good voice makes.

MacLaine’s dancing is better than her singing but it is not as good as Verdon’s. This is apparent despite the fact that Verdon’s coverage is limited by the mechanic of television filming, where the performance is mostly photographed straight onto the dancer in one long take. MacLaine’s performances are viewed with the techniques of cinema. Fosse utilizes editing, different camera angles, and closer coverage which breaks up the flow of a live performance. The effect is influenced by the more realistic sets and locations and costume, since “I’m a Brass Band” provides Charity with a new marching band outfit with striking red long rubber boots and a white hat which sometimes obscures MacLaine’s face. One could argue that Fosse is so eager to impress that the focus moves from MacLaine’s performance to his directing.

The perception of the superiority of Verdon is colored by the fact that she introduced the moves she performs in the two mentioned numbers, which inevitably makes MacLaine’s copying of them disappointing. Another swaying factor is the idea that Verdon was denied the film opportunity so that there is an inherent resentment of MacLaine appropriating the numbers. There is a rumor that MacLaine had an uncredited dance double named Michelle Graham for the film. However it is not as obvious as, say, the dance doubles used for Jennifer Beals in
Flashdance
(1983). Rivera and Kelly may be better dancers but one’s eye is drawn to MacLaine when the three are together in the “There’s Gotta Be Something Better Than This” number. This explains why MacLaine is a movie star and the two others are not. And also perhaps why Verdon was not.

Verdon was on the committee for the 20th anniversary ball of the Bedside Network which took place on May 3, 1968, at the New York Hilton Hotel. Verdon made her only appearance on the ABC talk show
The Joey Bishop Show
on August 30, 1968. She was next a guest on the CBS comedy
The Jonathan Winters Show
on September 25. Verdon danced to “Sweet Talk” and she and fellow guest Peter Graves joined Winters in a movie spoof of
Planet of the Apes
called “Planet of the Chickens.”

She then appeared on the NBC special
The Bob Hope Show
(October 14, 1968), participating in a comedy sketch that ran for over ten minutes. The first part had her seen as Miss Violet C. Drab in a parody of
The Dating Game
called
Celebrity Blind Date
. Introduced as being from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, she is dressed in a black sweater with white collar and yellow corsage, white gloves, a black striped skirt and yellow belt, and black feathered hat which moults. She is called “a reject from
Let’s Make a Deal
” by the host and she shakes fearfully. Verdon gets laughs from her nervous behavior and makes this shrinking violet pathetic but touching. The three celebrity blind dates are Los Angeles Rams player Crazy-Head Craniac, movie star Warren Beagle (played by Hope), and the author-playwright Tennessee Gofar. Clearly all are unsuitable dates, being respectively, dumb, vain and presumably gay. To play the game, Violet asks them questions. When she asks Beagle how he would describe himself, he tells her to picture someone between Rock Hudson and Cary Grant. This makes Violet shriek in pleasure. When she asks him if he only had one night to live, who he would want to spend it with, he replies Dr. Christian Bernard. This makes her swoons and she says she loves the way he sounds. Violet chooses Beagle as her date and Verdon cries comically when he is revealed to her. She clutches him, repeating, “Oh I could die,” and falls to the floor, holding him by a leg as he moves away from her. Beagle walking off-camera, still being held onto by Violet, is the end of the first part of the sketch.

The second part of the sketch shows Beagle in his apartment, waiting for the date. Violet arrives wearing an orange and brown sleeveless dress with a frilled trim, orange shoes, a fur stole, white large earrings and an orange ribbon in her hair. The scene is a reverse of the one Verdon played in
Sweet Charity
: This time, her character is
not
found charming by a famous man. Regrettably, Beagle’s attempt to be nice to her is begrudging, and Violet only captures his interest by knocking him unconscious and kidnapping him. However the narrative undercuts the premise of Violet being desperate for attention and Beagle being full of himself when she finds his kisses disappointing. Verdon makes Violet sweet in the way she says hello to Beagle when he enters the room. Her throwing a glove away when she drinks champagne recalls her glove-throwing from the
Damn Yankees
performance of “Whatever Lola Wants.” Violet turns on a radio and dances frantically to the music, moving too fast for the tempo, and she slow-dances with Beagle. The scene also features what appear to be improvised moments. Verdon has a stumbled line reading over “Boy, I’ve seen a sick mackerel with better pucker power than that” which makes Hope laugh in a surprised reaction. When Violet hits Beagle on the head with the champagne bottle which doesn’t break, this leads to him ask, “Is that the right bottle?”

Verdon returns for two dance numbers with Lee Roy Reams and Bud Vest which were choreographed by Fosse. For “Cool Hand Luke” the dancers first appear in shadow for the first minute of the two-minute number. A partial light eventually comes on the dancers, who wear brown Spanish pants outfits with ruffled shirts and black sombreros. For the two-and-a-half-minute “The Tijuana (Mexican) Shuffle” number they are in light. Verdon smokes a cigar and the men have mustaches. The men wore brown shirts, Verdon a brown sweater. The dances incorporate some of Fosse’s patented moves. Verdon remains positioned between Reams and Vest during the entire two numbers. The second dance includes slapping the floor and ends with the dancers in shadow as they had begun. A snippet of “The Tijuana Shuffle” appears on the
Highlights of a Quarter of a Century of Bob Hope on Television
special, seen on NBC on October 24, 1975. “Cool Hand Luke” was later featured as part of the Broadway show
Fosse
for which Verdon was the artistic advisor.

She next made her only guest appearance on the CBS musical comedy hour
The Jackie Gleason Show
(November 16, 1968), filmed in Miami Beach, Florida. Also in 1968, Verdon, Kathryn Doby and Louise Quick did “Big Spender” at Madison Square Garden for a benefit for the Chicago Seven. On July 25, 1971, an article in the
New York Times
reported that in 1968 Verdon had flirted with the idea of playing Bananas in John Guare’s play
The House of Blue Leaves
but would not make a commitment. The part was eventually played by Katherine Helmond in an off–Broadway production at the Truck and Warehouse Theatre and ran from February 10 to December 3, 1971.

From January 13 to 17, 1969, Verdon made the first of three independent appearances on the CBS daytime talk show
The Mike Douglas Show
. She was the co-host for the week for the show, which was taped in Philadelphia. On the January 17 episode Verdon first appears in a white split-skirt with jacket with a silver angled stripe and white knee-high boots. Introduced with the song “Hey, Look Me Over” from the Broadway musical
Wildcat
, she does some high kicks, and she brings out the show’s guests Jack Lord, Lionel Hampton, Paddy Chayefsky, and Cy Coleman. Douglas shows a framed black sketch on white background that the three-and-a-half-year-old Nicole did of Verdon three years earlier, and one of her four Tony Awards. When asked if she is neat at home, Verdon admits that she has one rotten miserable drawer that she allows herself. She says that she thinks you’ve got to have one thing like that in the house to indulge yourself but otherwise her house is very neat. Douglas knows that Verdon is neat because he has secretly taken snapshots of her dressing room which he shows the audience. She laughs and comments, “How dare you call it a dressing room? I’ve been in a phone booth all week.”

When asking about her early career as a dancer, Douglas shows several photograph of her. These include one from
The
Mississippi Gambler
, of her dressed for a Watusi dance in black body and face makeup and white costume with white feathers, and one of her as Eve in
Can-Can
. When Douglas comments on her scanty costume, she says that she had more clothes on then than she has on for the show with him. Verdon reported that the picture shown was going to be the cover of
Look
magazine, and they printed it and all the magazines were sent out but the post office refused to let them to go through the mail. So all the magazines were recalled and the picture was put on the inside and they put Eisenhower on the cover, which the post office accepted. This presumably refers to the March 8, 1955, edition.