Ryan Murphy brings gay men’s dreams (and nightmares) to his productions.  Casting Jessica Lange and Susan Sarandon as Joan Crawford and Bette Davis in “Feud” was just a gob-smack move!  His blend of fact and fiction can be polarizing, but sometimes he hits it out of the park, and I thought that was the case with “Feud: Bette & Joan”.  So many gay men of a certain age are fascinated by “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?”, Joan Crawford, Bette Davis AND Jessica Lange.  Ryan knows his audience.  And thank you to Michael Augustine-Reed for this great co-signed picture of Jessica and Susan!

Jessica Lange is BY FAR one of my favorite actresses and I will watch her in anything. When she wiped the dust off the mantle in the first season of “American Horror Story”, it was pure gold seeing how such an amazing actress can convey SO much by doing SO little.  I can gush endlessly about Jessica – from “King Kong” (yes, I know) to “Frances” and the mind-blowing “Titus” and on and on.  Her turn as Joan Crawford, especially during Joan’s latter years, was riveting.  (I did find it implausible when Jessica said in an interview that she really hadn’t known much about Joan Crawford before taking the role, but that’s a different story.)  I’ll do a deeper dive and serious gushing on her later and share the other autographs that I have of Jessica, as well. An amazing side-by-side of the real Joan and Jessica as Joan at the 1963 Academy Awards – a must watch!

Susan Sarandon is a national treasure and just so relatable.  Tapping into Bette Davis “eyes” seemed like a walk in the park for Sarandon “eyes”. Shown here is an autograph from “Thelma and Louise” (which I’ve never seen – don’t shoot) and I have a few others that I’ll share later.  But what I really want is something signed by her as Janet from “Rocky Horror Picture Show”.  Please feel free to gift me.  

The “Bette and Joan” storyline went a bit awry on occasion with some liberal creative license, but I was strapped in for the ride.  One part that I found a bit head-tilting was the relationship Bette (Susan) and Robert Aldrich (Alfred Molina).  But we all know Ryan mixes a dash of fact, a tad of gossip, a dream cast and gleeful dose of glam.  bobbyatgloss is an apropos name for a Ryan Murphy fan.

Alfred Molina as Robert Aldrich was interesting casting, and he wasn’t bad, but I thought him outstanding in “Prick Up Your Ears”.  I also love this autograph of his with his distinguished profile and that unique nose.

I’ve got autographs from almost the entire cast of “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” AND from “Feud: Bette and Joan”.  I’ll get into the Hudson Sisters in greater depth later - coming soon!

In the meantime, here’s a brief clip about “Feud” and my (daughter of Bette Davis) B.D. Hyman story.  Turn down the volume. My novice loud voice.

Now I’ll get to my in-person experience with a member of the “Feud” cast – Jackie Hoffman.

I’m writing this having just watched the final episode of Season 3 “Only Murders in the Building”.  Watching Jackie Hoffmann's character epitomize the brusque, stereotype of the female killjoy, I figured I better share my in-person experience with her. 

Because it seems to me that her character doesn't really require much acting per se since it seems to be exactly how she is in real life. 

She first entered my realm of consciousness as Mamacita, the maid of Joan Crawford / Jessica Lange on Ryan Murphy's “Feud: Bette and Joan” on FX. I thought she did a phenomenal job in the role and was very deserving of the accolades and nominations (including an Emmy nod) that she received.  FYI – The full season “Feud: Bette and Joan” DVD set that you see here is rare and NOT cheap! 

Intrigued by the character of Mamacita alone, I saw Jackie's one woman show in September 2018 at Feinstein's at the Hotel Nikko in San Francisco.  On stage I saw a woman that was brash, vituperative, filled with bits of acerbic gossip and seemed to have the need to settle some scores for being overlooked or underappreciated in the entertainment industry. I chalked this up to being a Joan Rivers type of "act". 

Feinstein's is a small intimate room and meeting Jackie afterwards was very simple since there were only a few of us that wanted to say hi.  Armed with a couple of great photos as Mamacita, I introduced myself, told Jackie how much I enjoyed her performance and asked if she would kindly autograph and inscribe the pix. She literally did not acknowledge me AT ALL.  But she took the photos and said to her companion "See! This is what they do!" as she was signing my photos.  When she handed them back to me, I said "Who is THEY?" She simply ignored my question and continued talking to her companion.  Did she mean autograph collectors, gays, fans in general or all the above?  Regardless of what she meant, the interaction was rude and dismissive to somebody who paid to see her and expressed appreciation for her career. 

I might have even preferred the Jessica Lange approach of "Thank you, but I prefer not to sign autographs unless it’s from the show I’m in." (And BTW Jessica was carefully mentioned in an eye rolling manner during Jackie's show, implying "star behavior") 

Since meeting her in person I have seen her as the chronic masturbator with a filthy mouth in John Waters “Dirty Shame”, the cranky (also foul-mothed) neighbor in “Only Murders in the Building” and as a "Watch how cutting and clever can I be" guest on Andy Cohen's “Watch What Happens Live”.  

It may all be make-believe what we see on stage and on screen, but what we see and feel in person is real.  You know the saying about you may not remember a person’s name, but you will always remember how you FELT when you were with them?  Well, I clearly remember.  Perhaps she hadn't yet removed her stage persona during the moments I met her or maybe she doesn’t like autograph collectors, but I can tell you that the Jackie Hoffman I met was about as pleasant as most of the roles she plays.   

Of course, she IS in Show Business and there ARE character actor "bits" or personas that performers adopt, but after meeting her in person, I'm not sure how much of a separation there is between her stereotype casting and her real personality.   

Does she interact in person in the way she has been stereotyped or has she been stereotyped because that's how she is as a person? Hmmm. Maybe both.

Or she simply didn’t like me because “This is what THEY do!”.