Kish Me in the Morning

Yesterday I fell in love with a gay man I haven't met. That's when Cuauhtemoc Kish, called simply "Kish," read his review of The Odd Couple (female version) on the San Diego Theatre Scene weekly internet radio show.

Lapczynski was in total control of her character, inspired perhaps -- I think -- by the likes of Bea Arthur. She spouts out the correct sports answers to the trivial pursuit questions while begrudgingly funding, via telephone, her ex-husband's gambling with panache.

While "total control" and "panache" are compliments I won't sneeze at, it was the reference to Bea Arthur that tickled my toenails. Kish knocked it out of the park. I was inspired by Arthur, oh yes sir!

I grew up watching All in the Family, and then Maude, and later The Golden Girls. I loved watching Bea Arthur react to other people, not with her lines, but with her movements and gestures. She was a master of the slow burn and the double take. Before I even knew the terms, I'd seen them done flawlessly a thousand times.

Bea Arthur wasn't your typical TV starlet. She was bold, smart, quick, funny, and free of the "doormat" stigma most other smart, funny women at the time were hung with. She had a commanding presence, taller than most men, and a booming low voice. And when she made her first appearance as Maude in 1971 on an episode of All in the Family, she was 48 years old. In an industry where short, young, and cute will always work, Bea Arthur forged a career based on talent.

As a youth watching Bea Arthur, I didn't know that I wanted to be an actress; I wanted to be HER. The other women on TV didn't resonate with me. Cute little sweetie-pie waifs weren't my cup of tea. I'd never be one of them. Bea Arthur, though... that I could do. And that was worth doing. And if Kish can see even a flicker of her in me, then I'm flattered beyond words. All 350 of them.