Window Dressing

Klute and Heartbreak is my more personal take on the 1971 Jane Fonda film Klute. This is a between-seasons "one-off" episode where I try to dissect what it is about this film that I find so comforting and relevant to my life today. I approach Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda's character) and her relationship with John Klute (Donald Sutherland's character) through the lens of modern womanhood and heartbreak.

If you're interested in Jane Fonda's life and career during this time period or just want to do a deeper dive into Klute listen to my first season episode on Jane Fonda.

BONUS EPISODE:

Window Dressing's very special Santa Anna winds Halloween episode: I Know What You Did Last Summer and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer—these 1997 and 1998 classic teen slasher's mark the genre's renaissance culturally. I focus on Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jennifer Love Hewitt's characters, Julie and Helen as the archetypal blonde and brunette teen scream queens. 

The season finale of Window Dressing: Glamour Girl Next Store: MGM to Playboy is all about Holly Madison and Playboy. She was the last star to come out of Playboy and the first one to successfully take ownership over the Playboy legacy through caring for it. She eclipsed Hugh Hefner from his own bed.  In this episode I talk about her, Brigette Marquart, Kendra Wilkinson, The Girls Next Store and Holly’s place in the history of Playboy.  

Cultural phenomenon and icon Pamela Anderson changed beauty standards and the conversation around female power sources in this country forever. She became the first Playmate to successfully cross over into the mainstream - only to have her new found power taken from her after the theft and release of her, and then husband Tommy lee's private home movie(s). Twenty years later she has finally told her own story, after an unsolicited television show forced her hand. In this episode I talk about the Hulu show, Baywatch, Playboy and a near academic breakdown of the sex tape. All is done with kindness, respect, and a deep love for Pamela.

My resources include all of her Playboy covers, several of her books including: Star: A Novel (2004), Raw (2015), Lust for Love: Rekindling Intimacy and Passion in Your Relationship (2015), and Love, Pamela (2023), multiple interviews, her 2005 Comedy Central roast, Baywatch, Pam and Tommy (2022), and Pam and Tommy Lee: Hardcore and Uncensored (1996).

This week I talk about Alicia Silverstone in Clueless, Cryin, and Crazy. The latter two being early 1990s Aerosmith rock opera style music videos. I attempt to describe what she did for me as a young girl and what she represents to the culture - now and then. Teen girl icon doesn't begin to cover the impact she has had. She is one of my favorite people and it is a joy for me to talk about what she embodied for me growing up and honestly to this day.

The second part of my Dyan Cannon discussion includes the film she wrote, directed, and starred in called The End of Innocence. Rebecca Schaeffer plays the younger version of Dyan's character in this film. It was her last role before her murder at the hands of a crazed fan on the doorstep of her West Hollywood home. Her death is the reason we have stalking laws in this country. I discuss her murder, along with 3 other notable names in the 1980s, Dominique Dunn, Theresa Saldana, and playmate Dorothy Stratten. The "reason" for Rebecca's murder was a role she played in the 1989 comedy Scenes from the Class Struggles in Beverly Hills. That film and her role in it is discussed at length along with the details of the laws that went into place after her death.

Resources include The End of Innocence and Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills, Dyan's memoir, a 2020 episode about Rebecca's murder, Theresa Saldana's film Victims for Victims, Star 80, and countelss other interviews memoirs and magazine articles consumed over the course of my life.

This is the first episode of two Dyan Cannon episodes ranging from the 1960s-1990's. Dyan is a Hollywood mainstay that ushered in a different kind of "it" girl- the comedian with an appetite for sex and a sense of humor about men. She had a wild life and the roles she played are fully embodied examples of her experience and knowledge. Her laugh alone does a lot for humanity but her brutal honesty is a holy quality that we could use more of as a society. All of these episodes are deeply personal for me but talking about Dyan gave me a lot of insight into what I value in women and in society generally. I hope it does the same for you.

My sources this week were her memoir My Life With Carey and her body of work. Including a slew of interviews she has done over many many decades. I also spend a significant amount of time on her instagram page, even when I am not writing about her. I highly recommend you check that out @therealdyancannon.

Sharon Tate's life, work, and death has had an outsized impact on American culture. Victims rights, parole procedures, and victim blaming as a women hating phenomenon are all part of her story. It is an important one for women who either have been a victim or will become a victim of a violent crime in her lifetime. Unfortunately that comprises a rather large swath of the female population. Her death was largely blamed on her, and by extensions the other victims present at her home on Cielo Dr. I do not talk about the details of the crime but instead discover what about her was magic, why its so touching, and how we can remember and honor her.

The primary film I discuss is the 1967 film Valley Of The Dolls. Her full acting credits are listed below. I also discuss her wedding dress, the recent auction of that dress and Leslie Van Houten's many parole approvals. I go into why she hasn't been let out and the political consequences of setting her free. As of today it looks like she will finally have that chance.

sources for this week's show include: Recollections- by Debra Tate, Karina Longworth's work on the Manson family and Sharon Tate, Helter Skelter- by Vincent Bugliosi, and nearly every Photoplay that ever mentioned Sharon, including the October 1969 article mentioned by name in the episode.

Special thanks to David Pajo for editing help.

Sharon Tate's credits:

-Mister Ed 1961-1966: S4. E3 ED “Discovers America” (1963), S4.E11 “Love Thy New Neighbor” (1963).

-The Americanization of Emily (uncredited) “Beautiful Girl” (1964).

-The Man from U.N.C.L.E. : S1 E28 “The Girl of Nazarene Affair" Therapist (1965)

-The Beverly Hillbillies 15 episodes (1963-1965).

-Eye of The Devil Odile de Caray (1966).

-Don’t Make Waves Malibu (1966).

-The Fearless Vampire Killers Sarah Shagal (1967).

-Valley of the Dolls Jennifer North (1967).

-Rosemary’s Baby (uncredited) Party Guest (1968).

-The Wrecking Crew Freya Carlson (1968).

-12+1 Pat (1969).