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| Courtesy bettybuckley.com |
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Betty Lynn at 3.
Courtesy bettybuckley.com |
Did you ever go to Joe Allen’s on 46th St. (Restaurant Row), we asked?
“I love Joe Allen’s.” The words belonged to the multi-talented Betty Buckley whom we interviewed by telephone from her Texas home.
In the heart of New York’s theater district, Joe Allen’s is renowned for its hamburgers and even better known for its primacy in paying homage to such Broadway flops as Lolita the Musical, Kelly, about the guy who jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, Carrie and Texas Li’l Darlin’- all posters from failed shows.
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Betty Buckley as Margaret White in Carrie, singing the ballad: When There's No One 1988. Photo: Peter Cunningham |
Betty Buckley, played the homicidal mother of the title character in one of the all-time busts, Carrie, The Musical. It closed on May 15, 1988 after only 16 previews and 5 performances, guaranteeing its place in theater history as one of the most expensive disasters of all time.
Buckley’s convincingly upbeat reputation was reinforced by this sanguine recollection of the experience: “Actually, Carrie was really a fantastic venture. Despite its short-lived run, it was a cult event of a musical. People came all dressed up in costume and spoke out to us while we were on the stage. I never had more fun in my life.”
We told her that in our estimation there are three archetypal Lone Stars; Mary Martin, Texas Guinan (way before our time) and Betty Lynn Buckley, the l’il darlin’ of Big Spring, Texas.
Did you ever meet Mary Martin?
“No and I never played Nellie Forbush. But I always wanted to play Mary Martin’s Peter Pan when I was a kid. It was one of the first color TV presentations, but despite our having a black and white set, it was pretty exciting stuff.”
As for “pretty exciting stuff,” we would have to include Buckley’s rendering of the song He Plays the Violin, as among our most memorable moments in our 70-plus years of theater-going. As Martha Jefferson, her loving tribute to her versatile husband Thomas Jefferson in the 1969 musical 1776 captivated her on-stage listeners William Daniels as John Adams and Howard Da Silva as Benjamin Franklin, each of whom was intent on coaxing young Tom to write a declaration of independence.
“It is a great song, among my favorites,” she declared. “And judging from the Broadway by Request segment of my solo act [more on that later], it’s a crowd-pleaser, too. Ken Howard, who played Jefferson, was a very nice man and Bill Daniels, a funny guy, was so terrific in that show. Howard Da Silva was a great actor and a wonderful guy.“ Ken Howard and Daniels later were closely identified with two long-running TV series: The White Shadow (1976-1981) and St. Elsewhere (1982-1988). Bill Daniels told us from his home on the West Coast, “I remember a very young gal from Texas with a great voice. Betty came into the play and opened with this huge voice. It was, in a way, wrong for the show, but, who cared, because she was a knockout!”
Encouraged by her mother, Buckley acted in summer stock musicals. As a junior majoring in journalism at Texas Christian University, she was signed by a theatrical agent. After she graduated in 1968, she headed to New York.
“I got that part, [Martha Jefferson] the first day I arrived in New York when I was 21 years old. It was a wonderful beginning and very fortunate that I arrived when I did. My agent kept prodding me to come to New York and I was kind of hesitant to do so. My father was reluctant about my going to the big city. Well, I went. As soon as I arrived, I called my agent to tell him I was there, and he said, ‘you’ve got 15 minutes to get over to the American Theater Laboratory. Take your music and go!’ I had no idea what it was for. I was the last girl to audition on the last day. Peter Stone who wrote the book and Sherman Edwards who wrote the music and lyrics were in on the audition. They were pleased with what I brought to the table and decided to give me the role.
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As Dixie Scott in the movie, Tender Mercies.
Universal Pictures. |
“The movie I am proudest of is Tender Mercies (1983), which Robert Duvall acted in and co-produced.” [ Buckley took a fraction of her salary to play Dixie Scott, a Tammy Wynette-style country western star in this superb movie.] “The script writer was Horton Foote, who just died in his 90s. He was a great, great man.”
Here’s a clip of Buckley as Dixie Scott.
Click here: YouTube - Betty Buckley from "Tender Mercies" singing "Over You"
Or Copy and Paste: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Hh2JggNn38
What would you regard as your signature song?
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As Grizabella singing Memory in Cats.
Courtesy bettybuckley.com |
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Memory,” from Cats in which I played Grizabella.”
What about his “As If We Never Said Goodbye,” from “Sunset Boulevard?”
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As Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard. Courtesy bettybuckley.com |
“I love that song as well, but Memory is the one I’m known best for. Meadowlark? It was a song written and composed by Stephen Schwartz. I started doing it in concert. I was one of the original people up for the role of Geneviève in The Baker’s Wife which was based on the Marcel Pagnol movie. I auditioned about nine times and I didn’t get the part. I was so mortified that I had to go through such a long process with a show that Stephen told me he had written with me in mind. Since it never opened on Broadway, my therapist told me I should claim the song as my own.”
Can we talk about the Patti LuPone, Glenn Close scenario relating to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard in which each of you played Norma Desmond the silent screen actress. LuPone played it first in London. Correct?
“Correct. Patti was supposed to do it on Broadway. The New York Times didn't endorse Patti's interpretation, which made Andrew nervous. They cast Glenn Close in the LA production instead. They brought me over to London, and 'broke the show down' for eight weeks and then put it back into rehearsals, making all the changes that had been made in LA. And reopened with me as Norma Desmond. [Buckley recieved an Olivier Award nomination]. Then after my year in London, they brought me in New York to take over the show."
What do you really think of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s work?
“Well, I like him very much – I think, he’s a wonderful composer and a great theatrical impresario and I’m thrilled to have been associated with him. I did Memory at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington when he was inducted.”
Who are your favorite singers or actors working today?
“I love Michael McDonald. He’s my favorite male singer. I love Mary Chapin Carpenter and I love Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson, from American Idol.”
Which song stylists have most influenced you?
“The great lady singers: Judy Garland, Della Reese, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson. I would imitate their records. I was a pretty good imitator.”
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The cast of Eight is Enough starred Dick Van Patten as Sacramento newspaper columnist Tom Bradford. In its second season in 1977, Bradford, a widower with eight kids, falls in love with Sandra Sue "Abby" Abbott (on his left, played by Betty Buckley), a school teacher who came to the house to tutor son Tommy. ABC-TV |
You did “Eight is Enough” on TV for four full seasons with Dick Van Patten. Those residuals from re-runs must still be paying a bill or two.
“Not as much as you might expect. I think they’ve run their course.”
Do you remember your first live performance?
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As Carmen Miranda at a dance recital at 5.
Courtesy bettybuckley.com |
“Aside from being Carmen Miranda at 5,my first individual performance was when I was 11 in a junior high talent show in Fort Worth. I sang and danced Steam Heat, Bob Fosse-stye from Pajama Game. ''I had on my little black suit and bow tie and derby. My teacher had danced for Fosse, and taught me the number (the tricks with the derby hat and everything). I was a notorious character because I had such a huge voice which I displayed unashamedly.“
What was the first movie you remember seeing as a kid?
“Wow – let me think, I remember going to matinees on Saturdays. Double features and westerns. Now what did I see? Yes, I remember seeing Two for the Road (1967) with Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney. I loved that movie and also West Side Story (1961) and Gypsy (1962) with Rosalind Russell.“
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As Mama Rose in a Paper Mill Playhouse (NJ) production of Gypsy rehearsing You’ll Never Get Away from Me with Lenny Wolpe as Herbie (1998). Paper Mill Playhouse. |
After so many years of working in New York, what pulled you back to Texas?
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Astride her late cutting horse, Purple Badger.
Photo: Scogin Mayo. Courtesy bettybuckley.com |
“I moved back here five and a half years ago, because I wanted to ride ‘cutting horses’ which was always a dream of mine. Cutting is a sport in which within two and a half minutes, you and one of these really brilliant, athletic horses–ride into a herd of cows. You separate one cow and drop your hand to a loose rein and the horse has to do all the work to keep the cow from running back into the herd. I’ve been fascinated by these horses since I was 12 and after 9/11 I realized I had to get on with fulfilling that dream before I became too old to do. So I said to myself, ‘what the hell, I might as well try.’ I fortunately connected with one of the top trainers in the sport and started studying with him. I love New York but I’ve been fortunate that many of my jobs bring me back there quite often such as last February when I did Broadway by Request at Feinstein’s on Park Avenue, and which I’ll soon be doing at the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor). The audiences fill out forms, and they put down what they would like me to sing from my Broadway repertoire. And I would tell a story or an anecdote about the show. At the Sag Harbor show I will be accompanied by Seth Rudetsky, a wonderful pianist." [For Betty Buckley fans, see particulars below]
Is there a person in your life?
“I was married once, in my twenties. There have been other attempts at serial monogomy. Oh well... ”
Then there’s some hope for our readers.
"That’s nice of you to say."
What have you seen on Broadway that you would recommend to our readers?
“When I was in New York last, I saw Next to Normal with Alice Ripley. I worked with Alice in Sunset Boulevard. She played Betty Schaefer. I’m so glad she won a Tony. She’s a wonderful actor/singer. Earlier musicals I liked very much were Spring Awakening and Light in the Piazza. I like every medium but I must say there’s nothing as glamorous as opening night on Broadway. It’s the most thrilling thing you can do.”
What are you proudest of?
“Umm, that’s really a great question. I guess I’m really grateful to have had an eclectic career and worked in all these genre. That makes me happy. And I’m pleased that I continue to work. As I get older I’m grateful for all the work I’ve done in the past and I’m grateful that I can still sing for people and act for people.“ |
