I learned last night that they are making a movie of Florence Foster Jenkins’ life with Meryl Streep playing the grand dame herself. I can. Not. Wait!!! Let me back up a bit.
Florence Foster Jenkins (1868-1944) was a well-moneyed, well-connected American socialite and amateur opera singer who rose to infamy at the turn of the twentieth century. Although she is remembered as possibly the worst singer in the world, Mrs. Jenkins was blissfully unaware of her musical shortcomings. In fact, she regularly spent extraordinary amounts of money to give concerts and make recordings of her singing. Her delusions were no doubt encouraged by her coach and accompanist, Cosme McMoon, who also made regular (and equally hilariously awful) appearances on stage at her musical spectacles. Her performances were so famously terrible that people went to extraordinary means to secure a ticket to one of her shows. Although her concerts were by invitation only, she regularly played to packed houses. Her final self-funded concert – her only public appearance – was in Carnegie Hall, and it was a sold-out show. This was the only show attended by members of the press, and the (understandably) terrible reviews reportedly devastated her. She died of a heart attack two days later.
Bestie A. gave me one of her albums about 20 years ago, and we used to split ourselves laughing listening to it. I hope your reaction is similar. Without further ado, here is Herself in all her glory. Sorry/not sorry.
And, in the unlikely event that you haven’t had enough, here’s another.
September 30, 2015 at 7:06 am
Wow. Just wow.
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September 30, 2015 at 11:35 am
Pretty, no?
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September 30, 2015 at 7:47 am
Loved the cats’ comments LOL! Cannot wait for Meryl Streep to bring her back to life.
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September 30, 2015 at 7:48 am
P.S. Again, another great post!
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September 30, 2015 at 11:40 am
Thank you!
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September 30, 2015 at 9:37 am
Ow my ears are bleeding! Even her timing is out, Bless her!
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September 30, 2015 at 11:44 am
Bless her heart! (Which, of course, is Southern code for ‘what a disaster!’)
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September 30, 2015 at 11:53 am
Ha Ha! Yes 🙂
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September 30, 2015 at 3:23 pm
Ha! A couple of coworkers and I often say “Bless her heart . . . in the good way,” when we actually mean it.
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September 30, 2015 at 5:00 pm
Betsy taught me the true meaning of that phrase. Every time I see her, she says it, then we hoot.
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September 30, 2015 at 1:12 pm
Loved this piece, still laughing as I type this. Again this made my day, thanks!
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September 30, 2015 at 1:46 pm
I’m glad. She’s definitely an acquired taste. I’m relieved that people seem to get it.
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September 30, 2015 at 1:15 pm
Oh lorks. She truly did have a voice that would curdle milk. Not only was she excessively pitchy with no sense of rhythm but she couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket. Nowadays, what with reality TV talent shows, we might be cynical and think she was deliberately awful in order to snatch some crumbs of fame. I do wonder why a loved one does not do the caring thing and tell these poor deluded people that perhaps success awaits them in some other creative field rather than standing by and watching them humiliate themselves. That said, if her caterwauling made her a successful living then she was onto something after all.
PS You writing about your reaction reminds me of the first time I heard Mary Schneider “yodelling the classics”. I think I stopped breathing at one point.
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September 30, 2015 at 1:46 pm
And now, i have to go check that out!
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September 30, 2015 at 1:47 pm
Shall I apologise in advance?
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September 30, 2015 at 2:34 pm
I think we can consider turnabout fair play.
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September 30, 2015 at 2:06 pm
Can’t wait til after naptime. Might make my babies cry if I dare click the button now.lol
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September 30, 2015 at 2:35 pm
Ha! It’s entirely possible
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September 30, 2015 at 2:34 pm
ok, hubby didn’t know a thing about this and as I played it, I hear a snicker. What was that? he says. lololol Good times 🙂
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September 30, 2015 at 2:35 pm
Yay!
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September 30, 2015 at 3:26 pm
Bless her heart! (See supra.)
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October 1, 2015 at 1:41 pm
The only bad thing about being so rich that people will tell you exactly what you want to hear is that awful moment when you encounter someone who does not give a crap about your money. How sad that no one would save this woman from herself. That said, I was seeing Marx Brother movies in my head as I listened.
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October 1, 2015 at 2:02 pm
I staged it the same way in my head!
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