Is she not the most perfect human ever? Can't wait to see her Netflix series with Martin Scorsese. Discuss
Her wallpaper is very nice.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | October 25, 2019 4:12 AM |
I'm a big Fran fan, but I'd sure like to know when she plans to finish "Exterior Signs of Wealth." She has, apparently, been working on it since about 1985.
Scorsese's "Public Speaking" was great. There are some excerpts on YouTube, including this one which starts with Fran's description of the difficulty she had learning to tell time. God, she's wonderful!
by Anonymous | reply 2 | October 25, 2019 4:49 AM |
I worship the ground she smokes on.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | October 25, 2019 5:13 AM |
Today is Fran's birthday. She was born October 27, 1950.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | October 27, 2019 4:14 PM |
LOVE LOVE LOVE Fran. If I was a lesbian, I'd date her.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | October 27, 2019 4:19 PM |
"She has a certain... naive charm. But no MUSCLE!" But seriously, one my fave quotes of hers is her idea of the outdoors is the sidewalk she crosses leaving her building to get into a cab. My friends in Seattle could never understand her humour. Having been born in New York City, I found (find) it hilarious. It's like British humour. If you have to explain it, you realize you should never have opened your fucking mouth. Happy Birthday to you Fran. Please don't go away.
by Anonymous | reply 6 | October 27, 2019 4:33 PM |
[R4], just began "Lucia In London." Georgie certainly did have it bad for Olga, now didn't he?
by Anonymous | reply 7 | October 27, 2019 4:34 PM |
[quote]I'd sure like to know when she plans to finish "Exterior Signs of Wealth."
It’s really more of a joke now, isn’t it? More famous for having not been written.
I had tix to see her in LA a year or two ago but had to miss. Adore her.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | October 27, 2019 4:42 PM |
I like her, but she's far from perfect, you dimwit.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | October 27, 2019 4:48 PM |
I do love her wit. A dying talent. And her rejection of capitalism and new NY. She represents all that is great about NY. Not the fabulous restaurants and expensive apartments - the smart, witty, opinionated people.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | October 27, 2019 4:49 PM |
her snatch is old and moldy
by Anonymous | reply 11 | October 27, 2019 4:50 PM |
she's a hot piece of ass
by Anonymous | reply 13 | October 27, 2019 4:53 PM |
From her Proust Questionnaire in Vanity Fair:
[quote] If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
[quote] Thing
by Anonymous | reply 14 | October 27, 2019 4:54 PM |
While looking for her comment about earning money versus stealing it (still looking), I came across this page that has 58 Fran quotes.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | October 27, 2019 5:04 PM |
Ah! Found the quote about earning versus stealing.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | October 27, 2019 5:10 PM |
she needs some hair styling
by Anonymous | reply 18 | October 27, 2019 5:30 PM |
If she had hair styling, R18, she wouldn't be Fran Lebowitz. She'd start talking like Kathie Lee Gifford.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | October 27, 2019 5:50 PM |
Thanks for posting that, R17. It was marvelous!
by Anonymous | reply 20 | October 27, 2019 6:03 PM |
maybe some better hair dye
by Anonymous | reply 21 | October 27, 2019 7:51 PM |
[quote]just began "Lucia In London." Georgie certainly did have it bad for Olga, now didn't he?
Hi, R7. I've been trying to think of a witty response to your post, but haven't come up with a darn thing. I'm no Fran Lebowitz, that's for sure!
So, I'll just say that, if this is your first reading of the Lucia books, you're in for a big treat. (And, there's more of Georgie and Olga to come.)
by Anonymous | reply 22 | October 27, 2019 8:43 PM |
She has her moments, but overall she’s like listening to an old relative kvetching, at some point you just stop listening and start playing with your phone.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | October 28, 2019 12:30 AM |
Does she still smoke like a chimney?
by Anonymous | reply 24 | October 28, 2019 12:41 AM |
R23 = ADHD
by Anonymous | reply 25 | October 28, 2019 12:53 AM |
Purple will be a good color for hair when brunette is a good color for flowers.
by Anonymous | reply 26 | October 28, 2019 1:24 AM |
When what?
by Anonymous | reply 27 | October 28, 2019 1:47 AM |
She's from my hometown!
by Anonymous | reply 28 | October 28, 2019 1:57 AM |
She’s a goddamned Greek
by Anonymous | reply 29 | October 28, 2019 2:45 AM |
In a perfect world, Fran would be the mayor of NYC.
by Anonymous | reply 30 | October 28, 2019 2:47 AM |
[R22] I own a paperback edition of "Make Way for Lucia" and a corresponding HB edition. I won't allow even myself to crack the spine of the HB, I force myself to make do with the PB. I don't know how many times I've read the series, but after a fairly slow start in "Queen Lucia," now that Lucia and Peppino are leaving for London tomorrow (in the storyline), I'm hooked again. It's been long enough (2006 is my best guess) since I read the whole series, so it's discoveries anew!
I had memories of Olga, of course. But forgot how she positively dominated "Queen Lucia." And the whole evening yesterday I spent in Georgie's Oxford cut trousers! It's a rare treat indeed to know I have hours and days ahead booked into anything non essential - LUCIA! My friends may say, "How tar-some of him, to inveigh so much energy to fiction." If they only knew that I relegated THEM to fiction! Poof! Princess Poffofski! Poof again to the brandy swilling guru (the true idol of Mr. Quantock).
Before I get too fucking precious, I think another magic mushroom caramel and a half mg. of Xanax, a pot of Trader Joe's Irish Breakfast tea. And I shall ride along with Lucia, Peppino, and everybody else, on the 1100 Express to London. [DL'ers who haven't read these books will understand nothing of this, but Mr. Georgie will. Not Olga Georgie, but Risholme Georgie. I gotta fly before I really sound like some nurshing home queen mainlining Prednisone)] Au reservoir [R22]! Piggy and Goosie say hello from the stocks on the green!
by Anonymous | reply 31 | October 28, 2019 3:30 AM |
Oh my goodness, R31, what a great post that was!
I know you'll have a wonderful time rereading the series. In fact, I might do that, myself, one day soon. It's been a while.
Au reservoir.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | October 28, 2019 5:00 AM |
I saw her a few months ago in the West Village. I kvelled and shvitz with excitement, no lie!
by Anonymous | reply 33 | October 28, 2019 5:04 AM |
I loved her short clip on the departed bookstores of old New York, I wish she would do a documentary on the subject.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | October 28, 2019 5:06 AM |
delightful
by Anonymous | reply 35 | October 28, 2019 2:09 PM |
Drunk
by Anonymous | reply 36 | October 28, 2019 4:03 PM |
I have a bunch of Lucia books downloaded due to DL’s recommendations. Maybe I’ll start one today.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | October 28, 2019 4:38 PM |
She needs
Earrings and
Caftans
by Anonymous | reply 38 | October 28, 2019 4:54 PM |
I love Fran. I painted my house recently and to keep me company I went on a Fran binge watching various clips and listening to podcasts as I worked.
It struck me that in recent interviews she refers to herself as gay. Although I can still sense some reticence in her voice when she says it. On the other hand she is in her element discussing the gay men she knew. Am I remembering correctly that she hadn’t addressed her sexuality before? Being Irish I only became aware of her about 10 years ago and I remember googling and the consensus was she was clearly a lesbian but hadn’t ever come out.
Has she ever had a partner? I mean have NYers ever seen her out and about with anyone? She alludes to picking up girls in bars when she first got to NY and to driving and drugging a lot before becoming sober at 19. Did she give up sex then too? Lol
She’s a fascinating character. Entertaining but reserved. Social but solitary. Public but private.
I’m sure when she passes they will publish all the half written novels in some sort of collection.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | October 31, 2019 7:14 AM |
She is a fetishist of the past but she does keep up and say witty things about now.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | October 31, 2019 7:39 AM |
How does she live, do speaking engagements keep her in that lifestyle? She was quite attractive when she was young. I was curious what her views on MeToo would be and it turns out she is very supportive of the women and the movement and she claims everyone knew about all those guys anyway. She says the rape and violence was likely not known but their reputation for lechery and trading roles for sex was an open secret. In my circle, older lesbians have been 50/50. Some are not supportive and are a bit victim blamey. Seeing pictures of young Fran I think it’s likely she had some creepy experiences herself that have shaped her views. It’s a pity she doesn’t talk more about lesbian life in NY in the 70s. She has lots to say about gay men.
She’s also of the opinion that we’re all whores who wouldn’t be faithful in marriage and she can’t imagine why we’d want marriage. I know Bette Milder was cancelled by some gays for saying something similar but I accept that Fran is a product of her time and find the humor in her turns of phrase. Still, I’m greedy and wish she’d share more about lesbian life which is less documented and glamorized.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | October 31, 2019 8:16 AM |
How does she support herself? I’m going to guess she never picks up the check.
by Anonymous | reply 42 | October 31, 2019 8:57 AM |
I think the millennial version of Fran is embodied in Sarah Vowell.
by Anonymous | reply 43 | October 31, 2019 9:14 AM |
I ran into her on the street in NYC recently and fangirl’d, “Are you Fran Leibovitz?!” She looked at me like you would a mugger and said “Yes.” Told her I loved her work, nice to meet her and I let her continue her day. She was unfazed. I was starstruck, she was exactly as you’d expect and it was a pleasure to meet her in person.
by Anonymous | reply 44 | October 31, 2019 9:27 AM |
One of the most interesting things I've ever heard Fran say is how devastating AIDS was to our culture. Not just the artists who were lost, but the audience of discerning gay men were lost as well. It created a "cultural vacuum" so to speak, and things have never recovered. It starts at 19:25.
by Anonymous | reply 45 | October 31, 2019 3:12 PM |
"It struck me that in recent interviews she refers to herself as gay. Although I can still sense some reticence in her voice when she says it."
When Outweek was outing celebrities in the early 1990s, I remember they reported that Fran was disgusted and refused to answer when asked if she was gay. Like no one could tell, ha ha.
A long time ago a friend of mine who lives near her told me she would see Fran with her then girlfriend frequently. Fran was an very attractive Jewish girl when she was young, as in this video.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | October 31, 2019 4:59 PM |
[quote] Before I get too fucking precious,
Before?
by Anonymous | reply 47 | October 31, 2019 5:12 PM |
She was attractive. She had that Jewish intellectual upper class hot under the denim and corduroy lesbo chic thing going on.
by Anonymous | reply 48 | October 31, 2019 5:15 PM |
R45 it’s true. Think about how music, movies & TV got progressively trashier after the mid 80s, by the time Britney Spears arrived it was all gone and we were ready for rap music about getting “crunk & fucking dripping wet pussy.”
by Anonymous | reply 49 | October 31, 2019 6:35 PM |
Fran lived in New York when it had real culture, not what passes for it now. Pre-Times Square Disnification. Pre-AIDS killing off half of everyone with a cultural memory.
People say a lot of things about New York now. It's still a wonderful city it just used to be more interesting and alive.
by Anonymous | reply 50 | October 31, 2019 6:40 PM |
Her view that men over a certain age shouldn't wear shorts is ridiculous. She may be able to handle those suits in all weather that she wears but goddamn, it gets hot in the summer.
by Anonymous | reply 51 | October 31, 2019 6:46 PM |
Dear R51, she's KIDDING
by Anonymous | reply 52 | October 31, 2019 7:37 PM |
r49 that can also explain why we have men like Andy Cohen and Ryan Seacrest today.
by Anonymous | reply 53 | October 31, 2019 8:05 PM |
Men never wore shorts when she was young though did they? I’ve seen pictures from DisneyLand in the 50s/60s and the men are all in suits. She says it of course for humorous effect but I’m sure it was a bit strange when shorts became a thing for people of her generation.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | October 31, 2019 10:01 PM |
She was talking about SENIOR men in their running shorts, R54. Odd how people don't comprehend what they're listening to.
by Anonymous | reply 55 | October 31, 2019 10:08 PM |
Yet we're supposed to endure and be titillated by women's bare feet , legs, arms, backs and boobs on all occasions.
by Anonymous | reply 56 | October 31, 2019 11:46 PM |
I was wondering what Fran’s type would be. Dolly huh?
by Anonymous | reply 58 | November 1, 2019 12:20 AM |
I like this British public access interview.
by Anonymous | reply 59 | November 1, 2019 4:41 AM |
I like Fran, but she's affected.
by Anonymous | reply 60 | November 1, 2019 7:00 AM |
R49 "music about crunk and.. pussy ". American sexual mores have got to be the most bizarre and inconsistent in the western world. The average American will cringe dramatically at the sight of a man in a speedo or a graphic sex scene in a film. And don't forget the mass meltdown over Janet's rogue nipple. We treat politicians extramarital affairs as somehow a matter of grave public concern. But for years music has been dominated by the most pornographic and crude lyrics and imagery. The songs of the mid 2000s in particular had lyrics that made me feel like a scandalized maiden aunt. And worse, the quality is utterly atrocious.
by Anonymous | reply 61 | November 1, 2019 7:28 AM |
This woman is better on the page than doing stand-up. Some of her stuff on the page has great aphorisms and imagination.
But in real life her manner is pushy, aggressive (ending each sentence with the word Right) and the sound of her cancerous voice makes me think she'll be dead in a few years.
by Anonymous | reply 62 | November 1, 2019 7:39 AM |
I never thought I'd say this, but there's a person who should have a podcast. The format can be a random word lobbed at her as a prompt and she's off and running.
by Anonymous | reply 63 | November 1, 2019 11:55 AM |
I hope that’s what the upcoming Netflix show is. Fran doing a video podcast. I too would love a weekly or monthly Fran podcast though.
by Anonymous | reply 64 | November 1, 2019 1:54 PM |
Ohhh I love Fran! I'd trade running into her for running into Bob Dylan in Chelsea, which I did.
by Anonymous | reply 65 | November 1, 2019 2:28 PM |
Looking forward to Fran's Netflix show.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | November 1, 2019 2:29 PM |
"And don't forget the mass meltdown over Janet's rogue nipple"
Not really. It was about Janet pulling a stunt not in the script, not expected by the NFL or CBS. Janet was signed to do a biopic, and her stupidity at the 2004 Superbowl nixed it. A nearly career ending move.
by Anonymous | reply 67 | November 1, 2019 3:21 PM |
R62 Kinna Hora.
by Anonymous | reply 68 | November 1, 2019 3:51 PM |
She's hardly perfect, but she is certainly one of the wittiest and trenchant commentators of modern life and politics.
by Anonymous | reply 69 | November 1, 2019 4:54 PM |
She's probably alternately annoying and delightful in real life. I love her and yet all that "I said it first" and "I was right" would drive me nuts.
I hope I get to meet her. She's the only one on my dream list I haven't met yet.
by Anonymous | reply 70 | November 1, 2019 4:54 PM |
Fran is one of the very last of the unrepentant, unapologetic smokers. She loves to smoke and she doesn't give a fuck what anyone thinks. She's a (pardon the pun) dying breed.
by Anonymous | reply 71 | November 1, 2019 4:57 PM |
[R71] Yes, even though I don’t smoke anymore, I Like that there still are smokers.
by Anonymous | reply 72 | November 1, 2019 5:48 PM |
They're the people version of rotary phones.
by Anonymous | reply 73 | November 1, 2019 5:53 PM |
Fran probably spends a lot of time on the street smoking since she can't do it inside...you could meet her there, R70.
by Anonymous | reply 74 | November 1, 2019 6:20 PM |
Sean Penn, John Mellencamp, Liza Minnelli and Dionne Warwick are the only remaining "I don't give a fuck" celeb smokers I can think of offhand. All the other celebs who smoke try their best to hide it.
by Anonymous | reply 75 | November 1, 2019 7:41 PM |
Patricia Arquette has been a chain smoker for years, and is chatty with other smokers hanging outside of buildings.
by Anonymous | reply 76 | November 1, 2019 9:24 PM |
Johnny Galecki also smokes habitually
by Anonymous | reply 77 | November 1, 2019 9:25 PM |
There are 1990s interviews where Fran looks almost cute (for a woman).
But Smoking Fran looks and sounds terrible now. Whenever she speaks I can hear the cancer in the body.
by Anonymous | reply 78 | November 1, 2019 9:45 PM |
You sound HIGHLY neurotic.
by Anonymous | reply 79 | November 4, 2019 1:16 PM |
R478 is just like one of those cancer sniffing dogs
by Anonymous | reply 80 | November 4, 2019 1:53 PM |
She objected to the idea that it was a requirement for all gay people to announce it. If you really want to hear her say the words, watch the last few minutes of below (but the whole thing is good).
I think she looks pretty good for being nearly 70 and a dedicated smoker all her life. Her justification for why smoking in public places should be allowed is ridiculous, but on nearly everything else I agree with her. And she is a true wit. Most people don't understand what wit sounds like. It sounds like Fran Lebowitz.
She just bought a $3.1 million dollar apartment. You can Google it; people have talked about it already on DL. I think her touring and speaking is highly lucrative. I also don't get any impression she's a tightwad and ungenerous, either.
by Anonymous | reply 81 | November 4, 2019 1:53 PM |
She talked about going to Brooks Brothers and buying a robe and pajamas and slippers for her friend, the gay photographer Peter Hujar, who was dying in the hospital. That is not the act of someone who's an ungenerous tightwad.
by Anonymous | reply 82 | November 4, 2019 1:55 PM |
She is also not someone stuck in the past. She said NYC was better in the 1970s because it wasn't all about only being rich and because she was younger, and being younger is always better, anyway. But she also said nostalgia is the dead knell of the culture.
by Anonymous | reply 83 | November 4, 2019 2:03 PM |
Sue Mengers left Fran some money in her will.
by Anonymous | reply 84 | November 4, 2019 2:03 PM |
Fran made enough money from her first book to buy an apartment in Manhattan at super cheap late 1970s prices. Since then she has simply sold and traded up without having to layout any significant “extra” money for her apartments.
Based on the fees listed by her speaking agency I’d guess she brings in close to $400k a year.
Also, Fran was and still is very loved by her super rich friends like David Geffen, Calvin Klein, Barry Diller, and the slightly less rich but still loaded types like Ian Schrager. It wouldn't be all that surprising if some of them have helped her financially at times or at the very least given her excellent investing advice, let her in on advance stock deals, etc..
Plus she has long been a sought after guest for dinners and parties where of course somebody else is picking up the check. So she probably doesn’t really have to spend much of what she earns from her speaking engagements. And that leaves more than enough to cover her Marlboro Lights habit. LOL
by Anonymous | reply 85 | November 4, 2019 2:21 PM |
Cigarettes are about $15 a pack in NYC now, so Fran needs those speaking fees!
by Anonymous | reply 86 | November 4, 2019 3:29 PM |
Good one, R86. But you must know that celebrities get all their drugs for free.
by Anonymous | reply 87 | November 4, 2019 3:32 PM |
Thanks for the link R81 -- Fran's great.
by Anonymous | reply 88 | November 4, 2019 3:52 PM |
I wonder if Woody Allen is jealous of Fran...do they know each other? He may avoid her.
by Anonymous | reply 89 | November 4, 2019 4:18 PM |
Why would Allen be jealous of her? They're not even in the same field or really share the same style of humor.
by Anonymous | reply 90 | November 4, 2019 5:19 PM |
She's a humorist and a New Yorker, R90.
by Anonymous | reply 91 | November 4, 2019 6:24 PM |
I wonder if Toni Morrison left Fran any money. In publishing, rumor had it they were a couple.
by Anonymous | reply 92 | November 4, 2019 6:26 PM |
[quote] I wonder if Woody Allen is jealous of Fran.
Why would he be? As much as DLers love her, she will not be remembered after she dies because she did not write much at all.
by Anonymous | reply 93 | November 4, 2019 6:28 PM |
Maybe Fran got better chicks than Woody.
Fran and Toni
by Anonymous | reply 94 | November 4, 2019 7:02 PM |
R89, You seem too stupid to like Fran or Woody.
by Anonymous | reply 95 | November 4, 2019 9:21 PM |
Couldn't Fran at least get those coats fitted? Unless shlub IS the look she's after.
by Anonymous | reply 96 | November 5, 2019 1:32 PM |
She's so vain about her fashion sense, meanwhile she wears stuff that doesn't fit and what the fuck with the rolled jeans?
by Anonymous | reply 97 | November 5, 2019 2:34 PM |
Why do you say she's vain about her fashion sense? She just knows what she likes to wear and she sticks to it. It's her signature look. I agree her suit jackets sometimes look big in the shoulders, though.
by Anonymous | reply 98 | November 5, 2019 2:40 PM |
She mentions her sense of style. She's done so often.
by Anonymous | reply 99 | November 5, 2019 3:03 PM |
She used to dress like a college student - jeans, pullover sweater, loafers. Now she dresses like a college professor - ill-fitting jacket and jeans, messy everything else. At least that's what college professors looked like in her (and my) day.
by Anonymous | reply 100 | November 5, 2019 3:05 PM |
To have a sense of style and refer to it does not make you vain per se.
by Anonymous | reply 101 | November 5, 2019 3:13 PM |
The oversized jacket was very much a thing of the late 70s, so was the rolled up jeans - but it was a fashion in places like New York & London, for boys and gurls. I used to wear that style. We also used to turn up the cuffs of our jackets if the sleeves were too long...or even if they weren't too long. A lot of us used to buy these jackets in second hand clothes shops. '60s, with very narrow lapels. All that turning up meant you didn't need to bother getting them altered. This then morphed into the big jackets with broad padded shoulders in the 80s style. I remember some people would even pad the shoulders of their sweaters.
& she's clearly stuck in that era, refers to it a lot...it was when she had her success as a writer.
by Anonymous | reply 102 | November 5, 2019 3:29 PM |
In the Candy Darling documentary, Fran wonders why a man would want to be a woman since being born a man is advantageous.
by Anonymous | reply 103 | November 5, 2019 5:44 PM |
"Keep your winning hand," she said.
by Anonymous | reply 104 | November 5, 2019 7:15 PM |
Her recent museum exhibitions have sucked. One was filled with family photographs worse than those my father had taken. Not all that interested in what she has to say these days.
by Anonymous | reply 105 | November 5, 2019 8:55 PM |
r105 I think you mean Annie Leibovitz.
by Anonymous | reply 106 | November 5, 2019 9:08 PM |
Hahahaha!
by Anonymous | reply 107 | November 5, 2019 9:09 PM |
Until a few years ago, I thought Fran was the famous photographer.
by Anonymous | reply 108 | November 6, 2019 12:13 AM |
Maybe Fran will be one of those smokers who makes it to 90. Sometimes I think about starting up smoking again.
by Anonymous | reply 109 | November 6, 2019 2:01 AM |
r109 that does happen occasionally. One of my great-grandmothers smoked unfiltered Pall Malls like a chimney and made it to 91.
by Anonymous | reply 110 | November 6, 2019 2:30 AM |
Is that a new euphemistic phrase, R1?
by Anonymous | reply 111 | November 6, 2019 2:34 AM |
R110 It's anecdotes like that that tempt me back to cigarettes, though it would probably be unwise. There do seem to be a certain percentage of people who just have very strong constitutions and or immune systems. They seem to be slightly more common among the much older generation. It's those born between the late 50s and early 60s who seem to be dropping like flies.
by Anonymous | reply 112 | November 6, 2019 2:58 AM |
r112 I have a theory that (ironically) the old-fashioned unfiltered cigarettes (Pall Mall, Lucky Strike etc.) weren't as deadly as modern cigarettes. The old-timey ones had less chemicals and additives in them. Modern cigarettes are juiced up with all kinds of shit.
Yes, of course the old unfiltered brands certainly caused diseases, but just anecdotally speaking, I think the modern, chemical-laden filtered brands have more disease-causing shit in them.
by Anonymous | reply 113 | November 6, 2019 3:08 AM |
R113 Interesting theory. That could well play a part.
by Anonymous | reply 114 | November 6, 2019 3:14 AM |
Fran is a national treasure.
Opinions to the contrary are stupid.
by Anonymous | reply 115 | November 6, 2019 3:16 AM |
Emphysema is an awful way to die. It’s like you’re drowning in air.
by Anonymous | reply 116 | November 6, 2019 3:32 AM |
[quote][R112] I have a theory that (ironically) the old-fashioned unfiltered cigarettes (Pall Mall, Lucky Strike etc.) weren't as deadly as modern cigarettes. The old-timey ones had less chemicals and additives in them. Modern cigarettes are juiced up with all kinds of shit.
This is absolutely true. I'm very sensitive to chemicals and when I went to America I smoked the cigarettes and felt like I was going to die. It was a very strong reaction. It was even the case when I bought the organic ones, whatever they're called with the red Indian on the front or whatever they were. It ruined my trip because I was addicted.
by Anonymous | reply 117 | November 6, 2019 4:41 AM |
R115 Fran is indeed a treasure. I saw her a few times and she had us convulsing. What a charmer.
by Anonymous | reply 118 | November 6, 2019 7:46 PM |
I thought about Bloomberg's candidacy; but R17 post made me come back to my senses.
by Anonymous | reply 119 | December 3, 2019 12:35 PM |
She wouldn't want that gig. Mayor of NY, though, she's expressed interest in. And a judgeship.
by Anonymous | reply 121 | December 3, 2019 7:34 PM |
Her income from writing was never sufficient to support her lifestyle in NYC. She and Malcolm Forbes, who was gay of course, were very close. He was generous to her during his lifetime and left her a substantial sum in his will.
by Anonymous | reply 122 | December 3, 2019 7:44 PM |
Dolly and Fran make an interesting couple.
by Anonymous | reply 123 | December 3, 2019 8:02 PM |
"She and Malcolm Forbes, who was gay of course, were very close."
So you're saying that he wasn't interested in lesbian Fran "that way"?
by Anonymous | reply 125 | December 3, 2019 9:03 PM |
I believe Sue Mengers also left Fran money in her will.
by Anonymous | reply 126 | December 3, 2019 9:04 PM |
I'm sure Toni Morrison left Fran money in her will.
by Anonymous | reply 127 | December 3, 2019 9:06 PM |
I will probably leave Fran something in my will, as well.
by Anonymous | reply 128 | December 4, 2019 4:35 AM |
She is flabbergasted by the #MeToo movement. “It never occurred to me this would ever change. Being a woman was exactly the same from Eve ‘til eight months ago. So it never occurred to me that it would change. Ever. I can tell you that it’s probably one of the most surprising things in my life. The first forty guys who got caught — I knew almost all of them."
She’d known Harvey Weinstein, known he was a jerk, but had never heard that he’d raped women. “I believe it. I believe every single woman. Prove to me she’s lying. I believe it because I was a girl. And men, even the best men, the most well intended men, the smartest men, by which I mean the men I have carefully selected to be my friends?” She said. “They do not understand it. Men cannot understand this. I always say, ‘Just agree with me. That’s all.
Because you don’t understand this. You do not understand what people are talking about.’”
It’s not about sex, she said. “That’s not what we’re talking about. The easiest way to explain this to men in a blunt way that just about encompasses everything is: look at it this way, it’s about work. How’s that? Because when I was young, most of my friends who were girls who had to work were waitresses. And I would never be a waitress. I cleaned houses, I drove a cab, and they would say, ‘Why do you do these jobs? House cleaning’s a horrible job. Waiting tables is not a great job, but it’s a nicer job than cleaning houses. You make about the same money, maybe make a little more, being a waitress.’ And I would say, ‘No — manager.’ Because you couldn’t get a shift as a waitress without sleeping with the manager.
by Anonymous | reply 129 | December 4, 2019 5:24 AM |
So what if the accused guys — many of whom she knows — lost their jobs? “It showed that most of these guys are totally replaceable. They’re gone, and so what? There’s still movies, there’s still television shows, there’s still comedians.”
by Anonymous | reply 130 | December 4, 2019 5:26 AM |
I want Fran's take on everything. Can we just have a weekly Q&A with Fran, and submit questions in advance (so she can weed out the "This is more a comment than a question, actually" ones)? I love the way she describes things. I love her. And when I meet someone who also loves her, I feel an affinity. You in this thread, you get me.
I hope she lives a long time.
by Anonymous | reply 131 | December 4, 2019 2:37 PM |
Fran is going to have a Netflix series, produced by Martin Scorcese. Can't wait to see that.
by Anonymous | reply 132 | December 4, 2019 2:50 PM |
She once called Viagra "That bane of the third wife." She's fantastic.
by Anonymous | reply 133 | December 4, 2019 4:53 PM |
Fran is alive and well in the time of Covid-19.
[quote]How have you been spending your time in self-isolation?
[quote]It depends how much you count the time you spend sulking. Let me put it this way: when they compile a list of the heroes of this era, I will not be on it. Mostly I’ve been reading. Also, taking phone calls from people who for the last ten years have told me they hate to talk on the phone. And I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to think about this, because it is a very startling thing to be my age—I’m sixty-nine—and to have something happen that doesn’t remind you of anything else.
by Anonymous | reply 134 | April 20, 2020 10:26 AM |
R122 and others, how does anyone know what was left to someone in a will? Did the family make a public announcement? Serious question.
by Anonymous | reply 135 | April 20, 2020 1:22 PM |
My favorite vegetable is steak.
- F. Lebowitz
by Anonymous | reply 136 | April 21, 2020 1:20 AM |