- published: 18 Jul 2014
- views: 77820
Elaine Stritch (born February 2, 1925) is an American actress and vocalist. She has appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films, and many television programs. She is known for her performance of "The Ladies Who Lunch" in Stephen Sondheim's 1970 musical Company, her 2001 one-woman show, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, and recently for her role as Jack Donaghy's mother Colleen on NBC's 30 Rock. She has been nominated for the Tony Award five times in various categories, and won once, for Elaine Stritch at Liberty. Stritch is also a three-time Emmy Award winner.
Elaine Stritch was born in 1925 in Detroit, Michigan to Mildred (née Jobe; 1893-1987), a homemaker, and George Joseph Stritch (1892-1987), an executive with B.F. Goodrich. Her family was wealthy and devoutly Roman Catholic. Stritch's father was of Irish descent and her mother was of Welsh descent. Samuel Cardinal Stritch, former Archbishop of Chicago, was one of her uncles.
Stritch trained at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York City under Erwin Piscator; other students at the Dramatic Workshop at this time included Marlon Brando and Bea Arthur.
Here's to the ladies who lunch
Everybody laugh
Lounging in their caftans and planning a brunch
On their own behalf
Off to the gym, then to a fitting
Claiming they're fat
And looking grim 'cause they've been sitting
Choosing a hat
Does anyone still wear a hat?
I'll drink to that
Here's to the girls who play smart
Aren't they a gas?
Rushing to their classes in optical art
Wishing it would pass
Another long exhausting day
Another thousand dollars
A matinee, a Pinter play
Perhaps a piece of Mahler's
I'll drink to that
And one for Mahler
Here's to the girls who play wife
Aren't they too much?
Keeping house but clutching a copy of life
Just to keep in touch
The ones who follow the rules
And meet themselves at the schools
Too busy to know that they're fools
Aren't they a gem?
I'll drink to them
Let's all drink to them
And here's to the girls who just watch
Aren't they the best?
When they get depressed, it's a bottle of Scotch
Plus a little jest
Another chance to disapprove
Another brilliant zinger
Another reason not to move
Another vodka stinger
I'll drink to that
So here's to the girls on the go
Everybody tries
Look into their eyes and you'll see what they know
Everybody dies
A toast to that invincible bunch
The dinosaurs surviving the crunch
Let's hear it for the ladies who lunch
Everybody rise, rise
Rise, rise
Rise, rise
Rise, rise