Lily Tomlin

Lily Tomlin 

Obsession Level: As Big As Edith Ann's Chair!

Today's obsession was decided by signing on to Facebook and finding out that there's a new television show coming in November that will unite two of my obsessions, and possible provide me with a new obsession!  The show Malibu Country will be starting in November and it's starring Reba, one of my obsessions which I've already posted on, and Lily Tomlin, and obsession that I have yet to discuss.


Where do I begin with Lily Tomlin?  I feel like I've been laughing at her for years.  She's appeared alongside so many of my other obsessions, and I'm always thrilled to see my obsessions joined together on screen.  


It seems to me that Lily Tomlin has a way of making her characters really come to life, and no matter who she's playing she makes them timeless.  She's a universal type actress...she's the kind that can appeal to audiences of many different generations.

Edith Ann is my favorite one of Lily Tomlin's characters.  The first time that I saw Edith Ann I thought I would cry from laughing so hard.  The voice is classic, the costume is too.  I remember the very first skit I saw with Edith Ann was about Edith Ann making a really disgusting sandwich.  It was the kind of sandwich that all of us made as children if we were turned loose in the kitchen.  It was, of course, disgusting, but she had no idea why it was gross because she had carefully thought out all the ingredients.  

Then there's Ernestine, the operator.  She made appearances on the Cher Show.  She was so funny, and between her voice and her face, she'll crack anyone up!  She made me wish that we still talked to the operator when we wanted to call someone.  I'd probably just call Ernestine to talk..."No, I don't want to be connected to anyone, I was just calling you!"  LOL

So now there's the promise of Malibu Country.  It's my chance to see Reba and Lily Tomlin working together on a weekly basis.  I'm excited about the possibility of adding a great new obsession (television show) to my already long list!  I'm sure that Tomlin's character is going to be hilarious, since the trailer promises great things.  She looks like a tell-it-like-it-is, heavy drinking, funny mom, and I'm excited to see her make this character as epic as all her others!  

Cher

Cher

Obsession Level: She's The Ultimate Diva

I've loved Cher since I was a child and heard Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves on the radio.  I asked my father who was singing the song and he told me it was Cher.  Christmas rolled around and I asked for a Cher tape for Christmas.  My parents knew who she was, but they weren't really what I would call fans.  Still, they got me some tapes and I was hooked.  They didn't really understand the obsession, but then again they seldom understand my obsessions.  LOL  It didn't matter if they understood it, it was taking off and they knew what that meant.


My music collection grew.  I wanted it all: old stuff and new stuff.  My movie collection grew, including the Farewell concert collection.  This obsession also quickly spawned my obsession with Sonny and Cher, of course.  I have to admit, it also led to quite a few other obsessions through watching the movies and picking up new people that caught my attention.  I even dressed up as Cher, forced my best friend to dress as Sonny, and we put on the Sonny and Cher show for my family.  My father taped our production and we still laugh at it today.  I had bought a two tone wig during Halloween because there hadn't been one solid black one.  My best friend and I saw this as not problematic and also bought two cans of spray paint.  In the back yard we spray painted the wig black and let it dry.  Now here's a little bit of information that might be helpful for anyone thinking about spray painting a Halloween wig.  The paint does not bond well with the synthetic hair.  Throughout our production, the wig slowly covered me in dried spray paint.  By the end of our production it looked like I was covered in bruises.  Still, we had fun.


I've never seen Cher in concert, but maybe I will someday.  It does make me very happy that she continues to make albums and star in movies.  I'm hoping she'll never stop.  This is an obsession that's something like 18 years old and still going on!  LOL

Sam Elliott

Sam Elliott

Obsession Level: He Made Me Love Westerns

I don't remember the first time I laid eyes on Sam Elliott, but it wasn't long before I was in love.  He was the perfect man's man.  He was rugged, tough, and his voice was amazing.  It's like "velvet over gravel" according to one of my friends.  I have seen him in a lot of movies, always playing a tough guy and something of a charmer. (Obviously, I mean who wouldn't he charm?)  For me, though, his real masterpiece was when he played Wild Bill Hickok in Buffalo Girls.  I got the movie originally because Reba was in it and I needed it to finish up my collection of Reba movies, but then I discovered I had a billion other reasons to fall in love with the movie.  First of all, it was based on the book by my favorite author, Larry McMurtry.  Actually, it was the movie that led me to Larry McMurtry, but I'll get to my obsession with him as well as the other obsessions spawned by this movie in later blogs.  In fact, I think that Buffalo Girls deserves its own post.

The point here is that I fell in love with a man named Wild Bill Hickok, both the character and the man with a mustache behind the character.  I had absolutely no problem understanding why Calamity Jane (Anjelica Huston, another plus!) had fallen in love with him and had a child with him.  He was gorgeous, charming, and his voice would basically paralyze any woman around!  I knew after seeing Sam Elliott in that role, we were going to enjoy a long and happy relationship together through my newly formed obsession!  It's an admittedly small role in the movie, but it was enough for me!  

After Buffalo Girls I picked up a lot of movies with Sam Elliott, many of which you'll probably end up reading about here, if you're reading this, that is.  Mask was another one of my favorites.  Now I got to see Sam not as Wild Bill Hickok, but as a bad A biker!  He was just as amazing as he was in Buffalo Girls, but I got a different taste to what he was capable of.  It was also an added bonus to see him with Cher, another obsession.  (If you haven't noticed, a lot of my obsessions overlap, leading me always to question which obsession begot the other.)  He's both sensitive and tough in the movie, and that signature voice and mustache are there for all the world to enjoy.  Besides that, who doesn't love a man who can sport leather (whether it be "animal hides" or a biker jacket) and look totally amazing in it?!