Sunday, October 16, 2011

Out Spotlight

Today's Spotlight is an actress, comedienne, Academy nominated screenwriter and author. Today's Out Spotlight is Fannie Flagg.

Fannie Flagg was born Patricia Neal September 21, 1941 (although some say 1944), in Birmingham, Alabama, the daughter of Marion and William Neal,Jr. Her mother was a homemaker and her father was a small-business owner and projectionist.

She began her theatrical career at age eight with her own play entitled The Whoopee Girl which caused her to be expelled from school because it contained the word 'martini'. Seven years later, she resumed acting career, appearing in more than 30 plays with the Town and Gown Theatre, and then on her own local tv show in Birmingham. Just 18, Flagg co-hosted the locally produced "Morning Show" on WBRC-TV.

At 20 she went to New York to start her acting career. Flagg couldn't use her birth name since there was already a well-known Oscar-winning actress named Patricia Neal, and choose the name Fannie Flagg. While in New York trying to jump start her career, she wrote and appeared in comedy clubs.

She honed her writing skills by creating her original sketches, first as a determined contestant in the Miss Alabama contest (which she finally won on her sixth attempt). Flagg herself was a contestant in the Miss Alabama pageant for seven years. She never won the title like her character does, however, she did win Miss Congeniality.

She got noticed in the NY comedy club circuit and got hired as a staff writer for Allen Funt's Candid Camera, and she later became Funt's co-host on the syndicated 1970s weekly version of the show.

She went on to more than 500 network television appearances to her credit, including "Jackie Gleason," "Johnny Carson," and "The Dick Van Dyke Show".

During the 1970s, Flagg became a fixture on game shows, which showcased her quick wit and sassy Southern personality. She is best known for her appearances on the game show Match Game, where she was a fixture in the lower right-hand seat next to regular panelist Richard Dawson.

She was also a regular on The New Dick Van Dyke Show, where for two seasons she played Van Dyke's character Dick Preston's sister. Another memorable role was Cassie Bowman in the 1980-81 sitcom version of Harper Valley PTA, starring Barbara Eden.

Flagg was not just a small screen star, she made her film acting debut in the movie, "Five Easy Pieces" with Jack Nicholson in 1970, and went on to star in "Some of My Best Friends Are...","Stay Hungry", "Grease", "Rabbit Test" and "Crazy in Alabama".

And her talent was showcased on stage with roles in "Mary, Mary", "Private Lives","Once More With Feeling", "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean". Flagg also starred in "Patio/Porch" and "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" on Broadway.

During the 1960s and '70s, Flagg wrote and recorded two comedy albums, "Rally Found the Flagg" for RCA and "My Husband Doesn't Know I'm Making This Phone Call" for MGM Records. Some of her skits included many parodies of Lady Bird Johnson and Martha Mitchell.

She has spoken publicly about her dyslexia, saying she was enormously challenged as a writer because she "was severely dyslexic and couldn't spell, still can't spell. So I was discouraged from writing and embarrassed". She put her writing career on hold for most of the 1970s because of being discouraged and her anxiety. She overcame her fear and completed several novels and screenplays on her way to an even bigger career as writer.

Flagg is probably best known for her book "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe". In 1991, collaborating of screenwriter Carol Sobieski, she turned the novel into the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes".

The story is a gently feminist portrait of two women growing up in the Depression-era rural South, the film, excised the lesbian content of the book's story.

The film starring Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary Louise Parker, and Cicely Tyson garnered Flagg a nomination for an Academy Award for her screenwriting debut. It also earned her the coveted Scripters Award and a nomination for the Writers Guild of America Screen Award. For her reading of the audiobook, she received a Grammy nomination.

Fried Green Tomatoes was not her first novel. Her first was Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man (originally titled Coming Attractions). She went on to write after Fried Green Tomatoes, including "Welcome To The World, Baby Girl!", Standing in the Rainbow, A Redbird Christmas, and Can't Wait to Get to Heaven.

Her first novel, Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man, was on the New York Times bestseller list for ten weeks. Her second, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, praised by Harper Lee and Eudora Welty, was on the Times list for thirty-six weeks.

Coming off the success of the book and the movie, Flagg went on to write a nonfiction collection of recipes entitled "The Original Whistlestop Cafe Cookbook".

Her most recent book, "I Still Dream About You: A Novel" was published on last November.

Flagg was at one time married to fellow actor Dick Sargent, who he himself was also gay. They both hid their sexual orientation at the time, and appeared on Tattletales as a couple. They were divorce,Sargent going on to marry again before finally coming out shortly before his death. Flagg went on to have a relationship with author, activist,and feminist icon Rita Mae Brown, who wrote about her relationship with Flagg among her other past lovers.

She continues to write and divides her time between homes in California and Alabama.

15 comments:

Special K said...

Jake doing afternoon tea.

@ashleylee27 Ashley Morris
At Tea & Sympathy waiting for a table and I get asked, "Are you with Jake?" Turn my head and I see Jake Gyllenhaal. #iwish #heartthrob
1 hour ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®

Twitter

Special K said...

I don't know if anyone has read Michael K on Zach Quinto's coming out.

He sums it up well.

If a celebrity wants to shout that they're gay on the cover of a weekly magazine, then I say whatever works for them and their publicists. It all helps. I mean, if my teenage self saw Ricky Martin screaming SOY HOMOSEXUALIS!!!! on the cover of a People en EspaƱol at the Stater Bros. checkout line, it might've inspired me to be more over-the-top Norma Desmond-ish about my official coming out scene...

...That being said, I still like the way Zachary Quinto eloquently and casually dropped it like it's not a big deal and isn't breaking news. That's pretty much how you do it.

destiny said...

Yeah, love the way he did it too. I'm sure he was affected by teen suicides, and he came in for some criticism for doing an It Get's Better video while not being out himself.

I also suspect another reason for his coming out is that he has now been going out with Jonathan Groff for over a year. I've read that some years back Groff talked about an old boyfriend he had when he first came to New York who was in the closet. Groff apparently broke it off when the boyfriend continued to remain in the closet, even to his family, because he couldn't take living that way. Groff has also been very active in advocating for gay rights and gay marriage.

This is a big deal. I know people are going to say he's mostly a character actor who really wants to do theater, but his being out and being in a franchise like Star Trek is a huge step.

destiny said...

I didn't know Flagg was married to Sargent, very interesting.

Butternut Squash said...

I loved the book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, even more than the film. I think because it explored the relationship between the two women much more. Great Out Spotlight, and I loved the one on Dustin Lance Black too. Just catching up with the posts after getting back from leaf peeping in Vermont and New Hampshah. Gorgeous. Yesterday's post is getting me in the mood to make a Butternut Squash risotto! :)

Love Jake's new look too, with the glasses. I'm sure he needs a break sometimes from wearing hard contacts, and he looks great in specs.

Congrats to Zachary, he is beautiful.

the real m said...

Great spotlight as usual. I did not remember that she wrote Fried Green Tomatoes.

Still high from Quinto coming out, I think he did it in a very eloquent way. Next needs to be Andersen Cooper and Matt Bomer, followed by Jake and Austin.

LOL!! said...

And Leo, George, Ryan Reynolds and Gosling, Spacey, Travolta, Cruise, Will Smith, Vin Diesel, Jodie, Queen Latifa....

Florida Tom said...

Just got back from Gettysburg, Pa.
Talk about emotional.

Wow it is true about Zachary. I do think it is awesome. Anderson has got to be next.

destiny said...

Great statement by Quinto on his blog:


when i found out that jamey rodemeyer killed himself - i felt deeply troubled. but when i found out that jamey rodemeyer had made an it gets better video only months before taking his own life - i felt indescribable despair. i also made an it gets better video last year - in the wake of the senseless and tragic gay teen suicides that were sweeping the nation at the time. but in light of jamey's death - it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it - is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality. our society needs to recognize the unstoppable momentum toward unequivocal civil equality for every gay lesbian bisexual and transgendered citizen of this country. gay kids need to stop killing themselves because they are made to feel worthless by cruel and relentless bullying. parents need to teach their children principles of respect and acceptance. we are witnessing an enormous shift of collective consciousness throughout the world. we are at the precipice of great transformation within our culture and government. i believe in the power of intention to change the landscape of our society - and it is my intention to live an authentic life of compassion and integrity and action. jamey rodemeyer's life changed mine. and while his death only makes me wish that i had done this sooner - i am eternally grateful to him for being the catalyst for change within me. now i can only hope to serve as the same catalyst for even one other person in this world. that - i believe - is all that we can ask of ourselves and of each other.


Zachary Quinto

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
prairiegirl said...

Really enjoyable Spotlight, Special. I remember Fannie Flagg from The Match Game where she was always pretty snarky, then later I would see her name on a couple of books and wondered if it was her, then discovered it was her.

One day of work today and then it's home free! Got a lot to get done today, though so it won't be easy.

prairiegirl said...

Awwww, little Flynn is on Just Jared this morning, at the airport with his mom. He's quite a little chunk, lol. What a happy looking lil' baby - he is just the cutest little HW baby out there. And he's always awake, wide awake with those big eyes. And I love his name, Flynn. That's a great name. I usually don't get excited over the celebs' babies but this little Flynn is just adorable.

Florida Tom said...

I was just gonna post the same thing Destiny. How sweet. How true. No more excuses. No more excuses. I am so happy that others are making it very obvious that not only being in the closet but creating situations liking bearding are very very hurtful. I am glad Jake is not but Austin needs to stop. That opportunity is right around the corner. Lets see how he handles it. No more excuses. No more creating excuses for them. i hope we all realize that. There is now NO reason to hide.