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Still Here: The Madcap, Nervy, Singular Life of Elaine Stritch
The ebullient, troubled life of a Broadway legend who became a heroine to a younger generation
Still Here is the first full telling of Elaine Stritch’s life. Rollicking but intimate, it tracks one of Broadway’s great personalities from her upbringing in Detroit during the Great Depression to her fateful move to New York City, where she studied alongside Marlon Brando, Bea Arthur, and Harry Belafonte. We accompany Elaine through her jagged rise to fame, to Hollywood and London, and across her later years, when she enjoyed a stunning renaissance, punctuated by a turn on the popular television show 30 Rock. We explore the influential—and often fraught—collaborations she developed with Noël Coward, Tennessee Williams, and above all Stephen Sondheim, as well as her courageous yet flawed attempts to control a serious drinking problem. And we see the entertainer triumphing over personal turmoil with the development of her Tony Award–winning one-woman show, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, which established her as an emblem of spiky independence and Manhattan life for an entirely new generation of admirers.
In Still Here, Alexandra Jacobs conveys the full force of Stritch’s sardonic wit and brassy charm while acknowledging her many dark complexities. Following years of meticulous research and interviews, this is a portrait of a powerful, vulnerable, honest, and humorous figure who continues to reverberate in the public consciousness.
Still Here is the first full telling of Elaine Stritch’s life. Rollicking but intimate, it tracks one of Broadway’s great personalities from her upbringing in Detroit during the Great Depression to her fateful move to New York City, where she studied alongside Marlon Brando, Bea Arthur, and Harry Belafonte. We accompany Elaine through her jagged rise to fame, to Hollywood and London, and across her later years, when she enjoyed a stunning renaissance, punctuated by a turn on the popular television show 30 Rock. We explore the influential—and often fraught—collaborations she developed with Noël Coward, Tennessee Williams, and above all Stephen Sondheim, as well as her courageous yet flawed attempts to control a serious drinking problem. And we see the entertainer triumphing over personal turmoil with the development of her Tony Award–winning one-woman show, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, which established her as an emblem of spiky independence and Manhattan life for an entirely new generation of admirers.
In Still Here, Alexandra Jacobs conveys the full force of Stritch’s sardonic wit and brassy charm while acknowledging her many dark complexities. Following years of meticulous research and interviews, this is a portrait of a powerful, vulnerable, honest, and humorous figure who continues to reverberate in the public consciousness.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published October 22, 2019
178 people are currently reading
905 people want to read
About the author
Alexandra Jacobs
7 books6 followersAlexandra Jacobs is a longtime features writer, cultural critic, and editor who has worked at The New York Times since 2010. She has contributed to many other publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Observer, and Entertainment Weekly.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
December 15, 2019
A 5-star book for its storytelling, research and overall intelligence, 'Still Here' rests at 3 stars for its subject; so that rounds out at 4 stars.
I read this account of Elaine Stritch's life for two reasons: an interest in the musical 'Company' (in which Stritch had a significant supporting role and garnered lots of attention for her powerhouse performance of 'The Ladies Who Lunch'; this is one of the book's best chapters) - and because Stritch co-starred in the infamous indie flick 'Who Killed Teddy Bear' (in which she played a tough but sympathetic lesbian; there's not a lot of info on the film but still more than I anticipated).
Anyone who saw Stritch's celebrated one-woman show 'Elaine Stritch: At Liberty' (which gets a lot of mileage out of her on-again / off-again battle with sobriety) basically already has all of the information (or most of the pertinent info) found in this book - but with one difference: the reader is here given much of the dark side of the persona that Stritch thought it best to shy away from when telling her very entertaining life-story onstage.
What we get in this bio is a portrait of a control freak who yearned to be a bona fide star: as in beloved leading lady. But her own character wasn't sufficiently suited for such status, onstage and off. Stritch felt that she only came alive when she was performing - and there's an undeniable sadness in such an outlook. To achieve more than Stritch managed requires a certain humility and certain people skills - both of which Stritch lacked.
(For example... it's reported that writer John Lahr - who put her life 'together' for her in order to present it to audiences for 'At Liberty' - had to take Stritch to court when, once the show was officially over, Stritch continued to perform the material under another title; thus robbing Lahr of royalties. They settled out-of-court; Lahr called her "ungrateful" for what he did for her.)
Although no one interviewed would come right out and call her a monster (well, I guess one person did), it becomes clear that Stritch felt she was owed - and had enough talent to demand subservience to her will. She could, of course, be very charming - when it suited her purposes. (At one point, Stritch is quoted admitting that she had considerable lack of awareness re: her reputation for being difficult.) But, in author Jacobs' view, the only person in her sphere who was even more controlling than Stritch was Woody Allen (who directed her in two films - and who comes off in a particularly bad light).
To a noticeable degree, Stritch had a rather magnetic personality. It can't be denied that she had a unique 'je ne sais quoi'. Still, there was something intrinsically off-putting about her. Maybe it had something to do with her irrational fear of being touched.
I read this account of Elaine Stritch's life for two reasons: an interest in the musical 'Company' (in which Stritch had a significant supporting role and garnered lots of attention for her powerhouse performance of 'The Ladies Who Lunch'; this is one of the book's best chapters) - and because Stritch co-starred in the infamous indie flick 'Who Killed Teddy Bear' (in which she played a tough but sympathetic lesbian; there's not a lot of info on the film but still more than I anticipated).
Anyone who saw Stritch's celebrated one-woman show 'Elaine Stritch: At Liberty' (which gets a lot of mileage out of her on-again / off-again battle with sobriety) basically already has all of the information (or most of the pertinent info) found in this book - but with one difference: the reader is here given much of the dark side of the persona that Stritch thought it best to shy away from when telling her very entertaining life-story onstage.
What we get in this bio is a portrait of a control freak who yearned to be a bona fide star: as in beloved leading lady. But her own character wasn't sufficiently suited for such status, onstage and off. Stritch felt that she only came alive when she was performing - and there's an undeniable sadness in such an outlook. To achieve more than Stritch managed requires a certain humility and certain people skills - both of which Stritch lacked.
(For example... it's reported that writer John Lahr - who put her life 'together' for her in order to present it to audiences for 'At Liberty' - had to take Stritch to court when, once the show was officially over, Stritch continued to perform the material under another title; thus robbing Lahr of royalties. They settled out-of-court; Lahr called her "ungrateful" for what he did for her.)
Although no one interviewed would come right out and call her a monster (well, I guess one person did), it becomes clear that Stritch felt she was owed - and had enough talent to demand subservience to her will. She could, of course, be very charming - when it suited her purposes. (At one point, Stritch is quoted admitting that she had considerable lack of awareness re: her reputation for being difficult.) But, in author Jacobs' view, the only person in her sphere who was even more controlling than Stritch was Woody Allen (who directed her in two films - and who comes off in a particularly bad light).
To a noticeable degree, Stritch had a rather magnetic personality. It can't be denied that she had a unique 'je ne sais quoi'. Still, there was something intrinsically off-putting about her. Maybe it had something to do with her irrational fear of being touched.
December 27, 2020
Pity Alexandra Jacobs, the biographer of performer Elaine Stritch. Though blessed with ample documentation of Stritch's long and high-profile career on Broadway and in film, she seems to have run across a problem when trying to find contemporaries willing to discuss their relationships with the legend.
And it's not because the singer/actress was nearly ninety when she passed away in 2014, but because very few of her co-stars seem to have anything positive to say about their association with Stritch. Throughout Still Here: The Madcap, Nervy, Singular Life of Elaine Stritch, the actress' associates speak frankly (and often with no little resentment) about their difficulties when working with her. She pulled focus during scenes in which she was supposed to be fading into the background; her often outrageous demands, on-stage and off-, constantly disgruntled her fellow cast members.
I was astonished at the number of people who, in the course of this biography, were eager to speak ill of the recently deceased. Stephen Sondheim, who provided Stritch with perhaps her most iconic role as Joanne in Company and who was a longtime collaborator and confidante, plumbed new depths in tact when he refused to speak at Stritch's funeral on the grounds that he 'didn't know her well enough.'
Stritch also had a way of embellishing her life stories in a way that would make any serious researcher go crazy in attempting to verify anything. Her details about a date with Marlon Brando became increasingly rococo over the years, to a point it's impossible to discern what actually happened. Most of Stritch's recollections, including those she summoned for a proposed memoir, carry a cigarette-smoke haze of implausibility.
Even Stritch's most famous redemption arc, as recounted in her lauded one-woman show, Elaine Stritch: At Liberty turns out duplicitous: after a decades-long love affair with the bottle, Stritch claimed in her show, she saw the light, joined AA, and sobered up. Only she didn't, as the biography reveals. Going dry might have been a marketable, Tony-magnet of an narrative arc, and it might have sold untold tickets to At Liberty, but as her long-time friends admit, Stritch was unlikely sober a day in her life.
I love Elaine Stritch's recorded performances, and count myself fortunate to have seen her live not only in At Liberty but her final Town Hall concert, during which she rambled, wandered around the stage, and refused to allow her accompanist to provide the lyrics she could no longer remember. Although this biography gently casts doubt not only upon Stritch's most grandiose claims, but even her lesser disclosures to friends and family, its revelations don't diminish either the performer's massive talents or iconic Broadway status.
And it's not because the singer/actress was nearly ninety when she passed away in 2014, but because very few of her co-stars seem to have anything positive to say about their association with Stritch. Throughout Still Here: The Madcap, Nervy, Singular Life of Elaine Stritch, the actress' associates speak frankly (and often with no little resentment) about their difficulties when working with her. She pulled focus during scenes in which she was supposed to be fading into the background; her often outrageous demands, on-stage and off-, constantly disgruntled her fellow cast members.
I was astonished at the number of people who, in the course of this biography, were eager to speak ill of the recently deceased. Stephen Sondheim, who provided Stritch with perhaps her most iconic role as Joanne in Company and who was a longtime collaborator and confidante, plumbed new depths in tact when he refused to speak at Stritch's funeral on the grounds that he 'didn't know her well enough.'
Stritch also had a way of embellishing her life stories in a way that would make any serious researcher go crazy in attempting to verify anything. Her details about a date with Marlon Brando became increasingly rococo over the years, to a point it's impossible to discern what actually happened. Most of Stritch's recollections, including those she summoned for a proposed memoir, carry a cigarette-smoke haze of implausibility.
Even Stritch's most famous redemption arc, as recounted in her lauded one-woman show, Elaine Stritch: At Liberty turns out duplicitous: after a decades-long love affair with the bottle, Stritch claimed in her show, she saw the light, joined AA, and sobered up. Only she didn't, as the biography reveals. Going dry might have been a marketable, Tony-magnet of an narrative arc, and it might have sold untold tickets to At Liberty, but as her long-time friends admit, Stritch was unlikely sober a day in her life.
I love Elaine Stritch's recorded performances, and count myself fortunate to have seen her live not only in At Liberty but her final Town Hall concert, during which she rambled, wandered around the stage, and refused to allow her accompanist to provide the lyrics she could no longer remember. Although this biography gently casts doubt not only upon Stritch's most grandiose claims, but even her lesser disclosures to friends and family, its revelations don't diminish either the performer's massive talents or iconic Broadway status.
July 15, 2019
Alexandra Jacobs has done the nearly impossible - she’s turned a fascinating life into a boring book.
August 20, 2020
Elaine Stritch’s name will almost certainly be familiar to you if you’re a fan of musical theatre. With her distinctive gravelly voice, upfront demeanor, and unique fashion sense (she wore black stockings instead of pants most of the time), Stritch was an eccentric and unique talent who never quite broke into the big-time, but nonetheless lived a fascinating life.
Born into an upper middle-class existence, Stritch was always considered the rebel in her family. Convent educated, she moved to New York City in the 1940s hoping to make it big on Broadway. She understudied for Ethel Merman in “Call Me Madam,” starred in the unfortunate flop “Goldilocks,” was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the original production of “Company,” and mounted her own one-woman show, “Elaine Stritch: At Liberty.”
A woman far ahead of her time, Elaine Stritch was not a performer who easily fit into the mold of what her era expected of her. She alienated colleagues while wowing audiences eight shows per week, earning both adoration and disdain. Jacobs does a masterful job chronicling Elaine Stritch’s career with several fascinating stories about her subject (such as a hilariously failed audition for the TV show “Golden Girls”). But she also paints Stritch as a flawed woman whose struggles with alcoholism, insecurity, and generally vulgar nature earned her a reputation of being difficult to work with. While she gained widespread admiration among her colleagues, several dropped away over the years, leaving her a lonely person as she neared her death in July of 2016 at age 89.
Beautifully written and laid out by biographer Jacobs, STILL HERE is a showbiz chronicle about a woman whose distinctive presence in show business left an indelible mark.
Born into an upper middle-class existence, Stritch was always considered the rebel in her family. Convent educated, she moved to New York City in the 1940s hoping to make it big on Broadway. She understudied for Ethel Merman in “Call Me Madam,” starred in the unfortunate flop “Goldilocks,” was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the original production of “Company,” and mounted her own one-woman show, “Elaine Stritch: At Liberty.”
A woman far ahead of her time, Elaine Stritch was not a performer who easily fit into the mold of what her era expected of her. She alienated colleagues while wowing audiences eight shows per week, earning both adoration and disdain. Jacobs does a masterful job chronicling Elaine Stritch’s career with several fascinating stories about her subject (such as a hilariously failed audition for the TV show “Golden Girls”). But she also paints Stritch as a flawed woman whose struggles with alcoholism, insecurity, and generally vulgar nature earned her a reputation of being difficult to work with. While she gained widespread admiration among her colleagues, several dropped away over the years, leaving her a lonely person as she neared her death in July of 2016 at age 89.
Beautifully written and laid out by biographer Jacobs, STILL HERE is a showbiz chronicle about a woman whose distinctive presence in show business left an indelible mark.
November 16, 2019
Not the deepest dive, but an enjoyable enough romp through Elaine Stritch's life. For me, the narration (performance, really) by Andréa Burns is what saved it.
December 29, 2019
Delightful, and the audiobook performance was one of the best nonfiction I’ve ever heard.
December 29, 2019
Elaine Stritch was a larger than life person, the consummate entertainer, and a very funny woman—funny as in “ha-ha” and funny as in “strange.” She was a woman fraught with insecurities, and those feelings sometimes led her to make bombastic statements, alienate friends, and embellish/manufacture stories from her life. All this is reported in Alexandra Jacobs’s excellent biography Still Here: The Madcap, Nervy, Singular Life of Elaine Stritch. Jacobs is a fine writer. She bases her book on incredible research, having spoken to Stritch’s friends, culled through writings by and about Stritch, and mined the personal correspondence between Stritch and celebrity acquaintances. As a huge fan of Stritch, stretching back to the 1970s when I loved watching her British TV series Two’s Company, I was eager to read this book. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I have to admit I was disappointed to read about Stritch the demander, Stritch the truth-stretcher, Stritch the “bitch.” I’ve always felt that sometimes it’s best to keep our heroes at arm’s length. I would have preferred to remember her as the wonderful stage persona I was familiar with. But good biography, I suppose, should be a well-rounded portrait, and Jacobs certainly gives us more than enough reasons to understand the private Elaine Stritch. It’s just that I prefer the public Elaine Stritch.
September 16, 2021
I listened to the audio book masterfully read by Andréa Burns. I would HIGHLY recommend listening to this audio book because Burns’ voice for Stritch is colorful and textured and really brings the story to life. Elaine Stritch’s life is both fascinating and sad. Her life was truly an example of “old Broadway;” she was accustomed to living a luxurious lifestyle in hotels, dining in her favorite restaurants and wearing silks and furs. I think Stritch is truly an enigma. She was equally as bold, sassy and fearless as she was naive and insecure. A recurring theme in her life was always feeling alone and how she often found comfort in alcohol, which she often described as a “warm hug.” I feel like she was never satisfied and that she was always in a race to make an impact and be recognized. However, despite all the sadness I felt while listening to her life (Alexandra Jacobs, her biographer, often had a dark and negative tone to her writing of Stritch’s story), I still found myself emotional as we neared the end of Stritch’s singular life. She was truly a strong-willed woman, and despite all her faults, her artistic footprint is truly remarkable and unlike any others.
April 15, 2021
This is a very good audio book that captures the mannerisms of Elaine Stritch's speech as well as her stories. That was not an easy task for the voice actor to do, I'm sure. I've been an Elaine Stritch fan for a very long time, and I love that this biography captures her spirit as well as the ups and downs of her life. The author tells even the unflattering stories with a style that shows love and respect. There are lots of Elaine stories that are hard to believe... she had a way of embellishing the truth and remembering events hazily from alcohol or ego or both, and the author doesn't shy away from that. She gives us multiple viewpoints of events and leaves the judgement up to us. Any way you cut it, Stritch was a legend.
July 10, 2024
This is a deeply researched biography chronicling the life and career of Broadway legend Elaine Stritch. Most of what I knew about her (and grew to love about her) I learned through a documentary about her and by watching her one woman show. This book sheds some light on her story and where she may have smoothed the edges in her telling.
You know how it is when you admire someone from afar and then meet them - and it ends up being kind of cringe worthy? That’s how I felt as I moved through this book. I think I shall suspend my belief in the ways the book diverges into the truth, and just remember her fondly in the way she shared her story.
You know how it is when you admire someone from afar and then meet them - and it ends up being kind of cringe worthy? That’s how I felt as I moved through this book. I think I shall suspend my belief in the ways the book diverges into the truth, and just remember her fondly in the way she shared her story.
November 19, 2019
Terrific book! Loved reading about Stritch’s life, especially the early years. Followed her for years after hearing Follies concert recording with the NY Phil, but didn’t know much about her early life. Good stuff and she should have been more famous than she was.
January 22, 2020
I have been a fan of Elaine Stritch ever since I stumbled into the world of the theatre so this book was an interesting review of her life and career and accomplishments. I am grateful, however, that I never worked with her--I'm certain it would have been a maddening experience.
November 9, 2023
I read it for work.
Solid bio of a dame
who gave zero fucks.
(Okay, not really.
She maybe cared way too much
about the wrong things.)
Solid bio of a dame
who gave zero fucks.
(Okay, not really.
She maybe cared way too much
about the wrong things.)
May 12, 2024
PURE STRITCH! "Everybody Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiise!"
November 19, 2019
Goddess, train wreck and theater legend. What's not to love. Everybody rise... and read this bio of a women who probably would've been a household name if it weren't for John Barleycorn. Legend says she got sober. Reality and bio say yeah right.
I got to see her in her last Bway performance singing Liasons in Night Music. She huskily barked "line" four times. Previews... so all was forgiven and giggled through.
I got to see her in her last Bway performance singing Liasons in Night Music. She huskily barked "line" four times. Previews... so all was forgiven and giggled through.
July 16, 2021
Elaine is life to me. The beginning the ending. She saved my life by being open about her alcoholism.
***SPOILER ALERT***
I loved the book up until the end where the author decided to question her sobriety at all. Not cool ma'am. Not cool at all.
***SPOILER ALERT***
I loved the book up until the end where the author decided to question her sobriety at all. Not cool ma'am. Not cool at all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 14, 2025
I am still mourning her death.
September 11, 2020
Elaine Stritch was one of a kind. Never a huge star, she gradually immersed herself in the hearts of critics and fellow thespians due to her irreverence and sheer talent to entertain. Jacobs dutifully chronicles Stritch's erratic career but never engages us as much as Stritch deserves.
October 20, 2020
The material itself is 3 to 3.5 stars, but am bumping up as the enthusiastic narration helped keep me engaged. I first came to know Stritch through the Britcom "Two's Company" years ago, and then she pretty much dropped off my radar until recently. What to expect from this book: a standard bio of her personal and professional life. Liberal inclusion of quotes from family members and colleagues give a balanced picture.
As a child, her mother's word was law - never, ever a chance of appeal and reconsideration. That may have lead to her unfortunate habit of trying to re-write scripts over the objection of writers and directors. Her reputation as a notorious cheapskate is covered, both in terms of "re-gifting" items, negotiating above-normal "extras" in contracts, etc; she was no less merciless with chartible benefits where it's pointed out she actually cut into the raised funds significantly at times. I found her tribal, pre-Vatican II Catholic outlook difficult, but it was what it was.
On the other hand, she was incredibly talented. The book makes it clear that she was her own worst enemy. She had promise early on, which we see failing to catch on, as those successes went to her head. Later in life, at a Hollywood audition, Stritch goes so far as to spontaneously add F-bombs into the scripted dialogue! Flaws aside, she could be very funny, brutally honest, and loyal.
I'm going to close by addressing an issue that is brought up, but I didn't feel addressed well: sexuality. There's a brief mention that "this is before she began masculine attire..." However, I didn't catch a reason for that, just left there. Moreover, among the few who stuck by her were Liz Smith and Holland Taylor. Her husband had gay rumors; her previous relationships with men were dysfunctional. I feel one could infer that she might have been in denial of bisexual feelings.
I would recommend the book as being an objective look at such a complex subject.
As a child, her mother's word was law - never, ever a chance of appeal and reconsideration. That may have lead to her unfortunate habit of trying to re-write scripts over the objection of writers and directors. Her reputation as a notorious cheapskate is covered, both in terms of "re-gifting" items, negotiating above-normal "extras" in contracts, etc; she was no less merciless with chartible benefits where it's pointed out she actually cut into the raised funds significantly at times. I found her tribal, pre-Vatican II Catholic outlook difficult, but it was what it was.
On the other hand, she was incredibly talented. The book makes it clear that she was her own worst enemy. She had promise early on, which we see failing to catch on, as those successes went to her head. Later in life, at a Hollywood audition, Stritch goes so far as to spontaneously add F-bombs into the scripted dialogue! Flaws aside, she could be very funny, brutally honest, and loyal.
I'm going to close by addressing an issue that is brought up, but I didn't feel addressed well: sexuality. There's a brief mention that "this is before she began masculine attire..." However, I didn't catch a reason for that, just left there. Moreover, among the few who stuck by her were Liz Smith and Holland Taylor. Her husband had gay rumors; her previous relationships with men were dysfunctional. I feel one could infer that she might have been in denial of bisexual feelings.
I would recommend the book as being an objective look at such a complex subject.
February 16, 2025
So, I just painstakingly reached page 233, and I don’t feel like finishing it. It’s super dry and stiff—extremely unfunny. The opposite of a page-turner.
Dear Alexandra Jacobs, how do you write a book about one of the most off-the-cuff, funniest people in the industry with such a complete lack of humor? You needed David Sedaris to write this book. Please do not approach anyone in the art of comedy if your writing is this terribly lackluster.
Yes, you’ve researched her life well and spelled every director’s name correctly, along with every restaurant where Elaine had a cocktail—but what is it all for? When I think of Elaine Stritch, I immediately want to rush to YouTube and rewatch her Theater Talk interviews, which are hilarious. You don’t even need to know the context of the interviews or the plays they’re discussing—it cracks you up. Or I want to rewatch At Liberty for the tenth time.
I wouldn’t assign this as mandatory reading to my worst enemy, let alone a fan of Elaine Stritch. Terribly boring. A snooze fest. Comparable to watching paint dry. Please stick to unreadable New York Times articles.
Dear Alexandra Jacobs, how do you write a book about one of the most off-the-cuff, funniest people in the industry with such a complete lack of humor? You needed David Sedaris to write this book. Please do not approach anyone in the art of comedy if your writing is this terribly lackluster.
Yes, you’ve researched her life well and spelled every director’s name correctly, along with every restaurant where Elaine had a cocktail—but what is it all for? When I think of Elaine Stritch, I immediately want to rush to YouTube and rewatch her Theater Talk interviews, which are hilarious. You don’t even need to know the context of the interviews or the plays they’re discussing—it cracks you up. Or I want to rewatch At Liberty for the tenth time.
I wouldn’t assign this as mandatory reading to my worst enemy, let alone a fan of Elaine Stritch. Terribly boring. A snooze fest. Comparable to watching paint dry. Please stick to unreadable New York Times articles.
April 17, 2020
I should purchase a copy of this. I loved it. I love Elaine Stritch. I don't really know why. I never saw her in person, only on TV.
According to the book, I'm not sure that Stritch was actually acting as much as presenting herself on stage/screen. She was outspoken, bawdy, and irreverently reverent. In one story, the cradle Catholic objected to a scripted line that included, "God." She refused to say that but suggested the Lord's name be replaced by "fuck"!
I also was especially tuned in when the book included references to Gloria Safire. Safire was an agent in NYC who eventually switched from a theater agent to a literary agent. My matron of honor worked for Safire. I hope I get to see my friend again (she's 100 and in a PA nursing home) so I can talk to her about this.
Finally, the narrator read Stritch's comments in a voice eerily reminiscent of Stritch's smokey voice, cadence and emphasis.
According to the book, I'm not sure that Stritch was actually acting as much as presenting herself on stage/screen. She was outspoken, bawdy, and irreverently reverent. In one story, the cradle Catholic objected to a scripted line that included, "God." She refused to say that but suggested the Lord's name be replaced by "fuck"!
I also was especially tuned in when the book included references to Gloria Safire. Safire was an agent in NYC who eventually switched from a theater agent to a literary agent. My matron of honor worked for Safire. I hope I get to see my friend again (she's 100 and in a PA nursing home) so I can talk to her about this.
Finally, the narrator read Stritch's comments in a voice eerily reminiscent of Stritch's smokey voice, cadence and emphasis.
July 19, 2020
This book draws from an absolute gold mine of primary material and interviews and is written with sympathy and humor. Stritch really came alive for me as someone who struggled but persevered, a true non-conformist. I felt a real sene of "time travel" going back to her childhood in Detroit, World War II--postwar prosperity and cocktail culture turned sour--and then recovery and hard work. There are so many interesting characters from the 20th century--some famous, some half-forgotten. Her story is unuusal because most actresses are less successful the older they get. But she refused to give up until she had the attention that was her due. And guess what? It didn't make her as happy as she thought. She was restless and never really at peace and could really grate on people, even the ones she delighted. But my god, what a life force! What an unusual woman!
Highly recommend.
Highly recommend.
March 11, 2022
Although she appreciates Elaine Stritch's artistry and her ability to survive, Alexandra Jacobs has also written a warts-and-all biography. It's a fascinating look at one of Broadway's most distinctive talents, but it certainly doesn't present a woman most would want to know. The section on "The Ladies Who Lunch" is essential reading for any lover of contemporary musical theatre.
July 5, 2020
Title says it all!
Loved the writing which was fresh and engaging. The Back stories are fascinating. I loved all the musical and Broadway gossip and stories. The warts high and lows give a true wonderful book which is a keeper
Loved the writing which was fresh and engaging. The Back stories are fascinating. I loved all the musical and Broadway gossip and stories. The warts high and lows give a true wonderful book which is a keeper
March 17, 2023
What a dame!
Ballsy, anxious, strident, insecure, arrogant, self-conscious - Elaine Stritch was a walking contradiction, but oh so interesting. This book is a great read! All hail Elaine Stritch!
Ballsy, anxious, strident, insecure, arrogant, self-conscious - Elaine Stritch was a walking contradiction, but oh so interesting. This book is a great read! All hail Elaine Stritch!
April 14, 2021
Simply marvelous. Actually complicatedly marvelous.
March 21, 2023
A very well-written story about an amazing lady.
December 12, 2023
Funny, historic, inspiring.
January 17, 2021
Acerbic Elaine Stritch had quite the unusual career for an actress, becoming more popular and in demand as she grew older. She assumed diva status without really having a hit to her name until her Tony-winning one-woman show in 2001. Her outrageous personality and long and varied career made her a natural for a biography, and Alexandra Jacobs mostly succeeds in capturing what made Elaine alternately endearing and infuriating, on and off stage. Jacobs does a great job in talking with family members, friends and coworkers about Stritch's attitudes and activities and conveys that many of the disappointments in Stritch's career occurred because the performer bungled the opportunities due to her ego and arrogance, including rewriting some scripts when she went on auditions. And her inconsistency in being a faithful Catholic yet dropping f-bombs in casual conversation and proclaiming she was a recovering alcoholic while many claim she kept tippling after her supposed conversion comes through clear and adds dimension to this biography.
However, Jacobs comes up short in a few areas. The constant comparisons of Stritch's Broadway career against other more successful leading ladies of the stage from Ethel Merman to Angela Lansbury are overdone. She indulges in her previous efforts as a fashion critic in providing much more detail than necessary about Stritch's outfits and decor in her living quarters.
Most glaring of all, Jacobs strangely gives short shrift to Elaine's work on TV. There's no mention of her leading role in the pioneering sitcom The Growing Paynes in 1949. She appeared for four summers in the 1950s on the game show Pantomime Quiz, yet all Jacobs does is note a clip of her and Johnny Carson on the series appeared on The Tonight Show in the 1980s. Her sitcom My Sister Eileen, which she starred on for six months in 1960-61 (a run longer than several of her Broadway shows), gets only a handful of paragraphs with little context as to how Stritch got involved and why it failed. Her costarring role on The Ellen Burstyn Show gets one measly paragraph with no comments from Burstyn, even though Jacobs interviewed the latter. (Jacobs also interviewed Angela Lansbury, who could've added to information on Pantomime Quiz since Lansbury was a regular for a season on that show.) And when Stritch wins an Emmy for her hilarious turn on 30 Rock, Jacobs gives more space to Stritch's pal Liz Smith complaining she didn't like it than assessing the role and its impact on Stritch's popularity.
Despite these quibbles, Still Here is still a recommended read for those who love entertainment subjects. Stritch was a one of a kind, and this book shows the many reasons why she remained loved by many in show business often despite herself.
However, Jacobs comes up short in a few areas. The constant comparisons of Stritch's Broadway career against other more successful leading ladies of the stage from Ethel Merman to Angela Lansbury are overdone. She indulges in her previous efforts as a fashion critic in providing much more detail than necessary about Stritch's outfits and decor in her living quarters.
Most glaring of all, Jacobs strangely gives short shrift to Elaine's work on TV. There's no mention of her leading role in the pioneering sitcom The Growing Paynes in 1949. She appeared for four summers in the 1950s on the game show Pantomime Quiz, yet all Jacobs does is note a clip of her and Johnny Carson on the series appeared on The Tonight Show in the 1980s. Her sitcom My Sister Eileen, which she starred on for six months in 1960-61 (a run longer than several of her Broadway shows), gets only a handful of paragraphs with little context as to how Stritch got involved and why it failed. Her costarring role on The Ellen Burstyn Show gets one measly paragraph with no comments from Burstyn, even though Jacobs interviewed the latter. (Jacobs also interviewed Angela Lansbury, who could've added to information on Pantomime Quiz since Lansbury was a regular for a season on that show.) And when Stritch wins an Emmy for her hilarious turn on 30 Rock, Jacobs gives more space to Stritch's pal Liz Smith complaining she didn't like it than assessing the role and its impact on Stritch's popularity.
Despite these quibbles, Still Here is still a recommended read for those who love entertainment subjects. Stritch was a one of a kind, and this book shows the many reasons why she remained loved by many in show business often despite herself.
December 20, 2019
This is somewhat worth it to read more, much more, about the spiritedly immortal Elaine Stritch, who blazed through life and Broadway, leaving them behind a lot more energized and wondering, "Just what the hell happened?" Even though Alexandra Jacobs is clearly interested in getting as much of the facts of Stritch's life down, versus the late actress's often fanciful, though no less entertaining, interpretation of it, it often feels like a rush job, with Jacobs pointing out this and that for a brief minute while rushing through other things in Stritch's life, making it feel like she had written this while working at The New York Times at the same time. Probably not possible for a leave of absence from the paper in this day and age as journalism becomes ever more crunched, but it would have helped make for an at-times better, more appreciative biography.
Another irritating thing about this biography, and I'm not sure if it happens elsewhere because I was generally only interested in those things that I knew Elaine Stritch from, including "Two's Company," was there are such glaring factual errors. Jacobs notes that Dan Aykroyd had been in Out to Sea with Stritch. Not true. There was Walter Matthau with her, Dyan Cannon, Donald O'Connor (which may have been where the error happened, as she might well have mixed up two "D" first names, but it's still no excuse), and Jack Lemmon with Walter Matthau on the plane with her at the end of the movie, but not Dan Aykroyd. Not at all. I'm glad to have even pieces of more of Stritch's life in this way, but I kind of wish a writer from The New Yorker had taken this up because even though their fact-checking department likely wouldn't have a hand in it since it wouldn't have been a book from The New Yorker, that's drilled in their writers. They would have been more careful. John Lahr certainly would not have taken this up, for reasons made obvious in this biography, but someone else.
Oh well.
Another irritating thing about this biography, and I'm not sure if it happens elsewhere because I was generally only interested in those things that I knew Elaine Stritch from, including "Two's Company," was there are such glaring factual errors. Jacobs notes that Dan Aykroyd had been in Out to Sea with Stritch. Not true. There was Walter Matthau with her, Dyan Cannon, Donald O'Connor (which may have been where the error happened, as she might well have mixed up two "D" first names, but it's still no excuse), and Jack Lemmon with Walter Matthau on the plane with her at the end of the movie, but not Dan Aykroyd. Not at all. I'm glad to have even pieces of more of Stritch's life in this way, but I kind of wish a writer from The New Yorker had taken this up because even though their fact-checking department likely wouldn't have a hand in it since it wouldn't have been a book from The New Yorker, that's drilled in their writers. They would have been more careful. John Lahr certainly would not have taken this up, for reasons made obvious in this biography, but someone else.
Oh well.
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