Dancing the fan-dango

Some people think I am the quintessential antifan, since I keep reminding viewers—and stars—that “the only thing a performer owes to his audience is a good performance.” Following the dictum, I refuse to adore stars as people, and think that most of their lives, including their so-called sins and scandals, are boringly predictable and lacking in imagination. Which is why, I focus on their hopefully exceptional performances, instead.

I’ve been in the biz for decades, so I know only too well that the so-called glamorous and glittering existence that celebrities are alleged to live is mostly fluff and puff created by the industry’s masterful PR mavens and magicians—and should be taken merely as such.

That doesn’t mean I don’t get excited or even go ga-ga (and gago) over some stars’ performances—and, when they’re consistently outstanding, I get excited about the stars themselves, as well.

Foreign luminaries

Focusing for the moment on foreign luminaries, I remember getting so thrilled by a stage performance by Peter O’Toole  in London’s West End that, along with 10 other fans, I lingered for hours in the nippy cold at the artists’ entrance, hoping to get an autograph or catch a glimpse of the much-admired actor as he left for home.

Alas, as we eavesdropped through a small window, we realized that the members of the cast had no intention of leaving just yet, because they were having themselves an impromptu party!

Memorable

So, we never did get to even wave at them—but that was okay with us, because we had fond memories of the great ensemble performance they had given earlier, to warm our recollections for a long time to come.

Another memorable performance I recall in pointillist detail is the one I was gifted with by none other than the late, great Vivien Leigh, of “Gone With the Wind” fame. I caught her luminous portrayal in Manchester, England, and I was figuratively and literally transfixed by its combination of depth and incandescence. Later, Leigh would be replaced in our stellar pantheon by such worthy successors as Meryl Streep and Uma Thurman, but Leigh’s thespic gift is ours to treasure for keeps.

The third great portrayal we cherish was by a now-forgotten veteran actress in Leningrad, Russia. We don’t speak or understand Russian, but her painfully insightful performance “spoke” to us with clarion clarity of absolute truth.

Making the experience all the more rigorous and daunting was the fact that the revered thespic icon was so old by then that she had to perform her role while seated in a wheelchair. But, her exceptional portrayal was so emotionally dynamic and vital that the audience ignored her physical limitations, and focused on her performance as it ascended to the heights of artistic perfection.

Her best “moment” (a theatrical term) in the play was when she was seated with her back to the audience. Her only link to us was the elegant, elegiacally expressive way with which she used her hands to “say” what her heart was feeling. They fluttered like pale, white birds above her, and lifted our hearts as they “flew” away.

For the stars we truly love and are grateful to, we don’t even need a name—the performance is what counts!