Got back from today's ND/NF screenings ("Pavee Lackeen"; "Still World" and "First on the Moon") to read on ATT's homepage that Maureen Stapleton died. Took more than an hour to get home, because the "R" was nonexistent (waited at the 59th Street station for at least 20 minutes) but then got home and when i turned on the TV that documentary "Broadway: The Golden Years" was on Channel 13. So many people had raved about it when it played at the Angelika. So (in memory of Maureen Stapleton) decided to watch it, and it was enjoyable (how could it not be, with all those actors talking? if actors aren't lively in conversation, what are they?), but some of Rick McKay's comments (especially during the pledge breaks) were irritating. But it's similar to the feeling i had watching the PBS doc "Broadway: The Musical": the people who do these docs aren't really very knowledgable. Rick McKay talks about his surprise when so many people interviewed talked about Laurette Taylor. And then he mentions how he had never heard of Laurette Taylor. Where has this man been? Laurette Taylor's one of those names that EVERYONE talked about, and not just in the theater: George Cukor would always talk about Laurette Taylor, and Katharine Hepburn would always say that Laurette Taylor was the greatest actress she's ever seen, and on and on and on. Had Rick McKay never heard of "The Glass Menagerie"?

In a way, that's why i think it's hopeless: in every field i can think of, there are so-called "experts" whose actual knowledge is very minimal, but they get to rule because there's nobody else around (think RoseLee Goldberg and the field of "performance") : they're the ones whose books get published, they're the ones who get funding, they're the ones who are being asked by foundations, etc. to "advise" about the field. I wish i were a know-nothing, because maybe i'd actually find a way to make money on this racket.

But i was sad to read about the death of Maureen Stapleton. She was one of those people (Shelley Winters was another)... well, all i can say is that the only time i ever met her, she was drunk! But she was funny!