PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: AARP AND PALEY PRESENT: BETTER THAN EVER: ACTRESSES OF A CERTAIN AGE ARE DEFYING THE ODDS {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented at The Paley Center for Media in New York. This seminar, presented in conjunction with AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons), celebrates women "of a certain age" and their shifting roles in media and entertainment.
The evening opens with a series of clips featuring some of the panelists as well as other notable female performers, including "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" (1952); "December Bride" (1954); "The Barbara Stanwyck Show" (1961); "Here's Lucy" (1971); "All in the Family" (1972); "The Jeffersons" (1975); "Murder, She Wrote" (1985); "Dynasty" (1986); "The Golden Girls" (1989); "Murphy Brown" (1998); "Damages" (2007); "How to Get Away With Murder" (2015); "Veep" (2016); "Grace and Frankie" (2016); "Feud: Bette and Joan" (2017); "Gotham" (2014); "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" (2015); "Friends" (1996); "Ballers" (2015)' "The Walking Dead" (2015); and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" (2015).
Host Ron Simon (curator, The Paley Center for Media) then offers opening remarks and introduces Beth Finkel (New York State Director, AARP), who briefly discusses the association's aims to "lay ageism to rest." Next, Sheila Nevins (producer and president, HBO Documentary Films) moderates the following panelists: New York 1 news anchor Cheryl Wills; and actors Marlo Thomas, Carol Kane and Tovuh Feldshuh.
The panelists touch on such topics as: Wills' views on being considered her colleagues' "work mom"; questionable "compliments" about not looking one's age; Thomas' sense of "denial" about aging and why she was shocked to find herself turning 60; Nevins' views of her own relative fame; Feldshuh's sense of a "rebirth of the golden age of television," with many opportunities for actors; her upcoming role as a man in a play about boxer Max Schmeling; debate about facelifts and plastic surgery and whether they limit an actor's expressiveness; Feldshuh's belief in "quantum time," as opposed to linear, and how she prepared for a challenging acrobatic role in "Pippin"; Kane's doubts about her "courage" to undergo plastic surgery; her "conflicted" feelings about aging, including a surprising story about "dyeing" her hair for a role; Tovah's mother Lillian Feldshuh and her death at the age of 103; Feldshuh's work as narrator of the HBO documentary "Triangle: Remembering the Fire" (2011) about the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire; Nevins' shock at learning that her 16-year-old great-aunt perished in the famous blaze; how Wills' father's premature death at the age of 38 affected her views of time and gratitude; her belief in inner beauty and how one's personality shows through one's appearance; Thomas' ongoing emotional bond with her father Danny Thomas, who died in 1991, and her spiritual consultations with him about her work with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which he founded; her sense that older women must find "new dreams" after significant life changes; how gratitude increases with age; why Thomas is happiest in the theatre, compared with the challenging long hours of television acting; why New York does not "close down" to older actors as Los Angeles does; and the importance of making new mistakes and "learning to bend," rather than reacting angrily to challenges.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: dating at an older age; the importance of close friendships, including Feldshuh's discussion of "blue zones," areas of the world where people live to greatly advanced ages because of certain life choices; how male friendships differ from those between women; the increase of the average lifespan and how it is affecting the workplace; Nevins' great appreciation for the "gift of health," thanks to her work in documentary films that often profile "unlucky people"; appreciating the wisdom of older people and "designing" a new idea of older women; why New York City makes a particularly good home for older people; Kane's life lessons about "using the word yes"; Feldshuh's role as benevolent leader figure Deanna Monroe on "The Walking Dead" and her affection for co-star Andrew Lincoln (Rick Grimes); why women should actively take on leadership roles; Thomas' interest in various Jewish philosophical principles, including Tikkun olam, or "repair the world"; the challenge of staying young while facing emotionally draining tragedies, including the importance of meditation and spiritual peace; losing one's contemporaries with age; and Feldshuh's "miraculous" experience of witnessing her mother's death.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: November 30, 1999 7:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:25:15
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 130600
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ron SImon … Host
- Sheila Nevins … Moderator
- Cheryl Willis … Panelist
- Tovah Feldshuh … Panelist
- Carol Kane … Panelist
- Marlo Thomas … Panelist
- Beth Finkel … Guest
- Lillian Feldshuh
- Andrew Lincoln
- Max Schmeling
- Danny Thomas