|
|
| |
» Articles |
|
Gless plays 'Queer as Folk' character off top of her head
By Eirik Knutzen
May 7, 2004
A split second after she was cast in Showtime's "Queer as Folk" four years ago, Sharon Gless went to work building her character from scratch. In a radical departure from sexy cop Christine Cagney in "Cagney & Lacey," she needed to come up with a believable, brassy diner waitress with a heart of gold.
Gless already knew what made the coarse and common Debbie Novotny � the proud mother of meek, gay Michael (Hal Sparks) � tick, now she had to match the part's interior to the exterior.
Debbie's a very smart, loving woman who's a little wacko, she explains. Like a lot of waitresses, I thought she should wear a wig � maybe a different one every day.
So I went out and bought a bunch of wigs in different colors � purple, blue, silver, pink, yellow � but in nice styles, she continues, laughing. But the network would only let me wear a flaming red one all the way through because they were afraid the viewers wouldn't recognize me. I thought it made it seem like I had had a lobotomy, but they wouldn't relent.
To contrast Debbie's waitress uniform consisting of black pants, sensible black shoes and a multi-buttoned rainbow vest, Gless scoured a West Hollywood shop specializing in T-shirts adorned with nasty, dirty, filthy sayings and graphics for the lady's leisure wear. The first of the $300 worth of T-shirts she wore on the show said "Got Lube?" The rest are inappropriate for a family newspaper.
It takes courage to look like this, says Gless, drowning in gales of her trademark lusty laughter, but it's worth it because they write a lovely scene or two for me every week. The lines may be funny, touching or sad, but they're always intelligent and to the point. Ultimately, they are words fitting for a strong woman as outrageously as she looks. She's the glue who holds them all together.
At the end of "Queer as Folk's" first season, Gless and her studio hairdresser decided to have a burning ceremony for the first of all the $10 wigs she wore on the show.
We tried, but the material wouldn't burn � it was made of some weird synthetic that just melted, she recalls. That's when the producers had real wigs made for me. And this season, now that I've lost weight, I have an even nicer wig cut shorter � but it's always flaming red.
Based on the 1999, 10-part British miniseries version (which Gless has never seen to eliminate undue influences on her very different Debbie character) set in Manchester, the U.S. version (10 p.m. Sundays, repeating during the week) is set in Pittsburgh and shot in Toronto with a young American cast, approximately 50 percent of whom are gay.
The level of professionalism in this group is fantastic. I learn from them, but I had to make big adjustments during the first year, she muses.
I was used to being the flavor of the month, but now there was a different attention paid to me � not only am I straight, but I'm also older, Gless continues. In terms of the sexuality and excitement of the show, I didn't really bring anything to the table. I knew what my role was about, but I didn't get any feedback from the producers. They finally paid me a compliment, saying that I obviously knew what I was doing, so there was no need to talk to me.
In 1972, Gless became the last contract player signed by Universal Studios, which, among other things, led to the series "Faraday and Company" as a regular and the recurring role of Nurse Kathleen Faverty on "Marcus Welby, M.D." Her other episodics include "Switch," "Turnabout," "House Calls," "Cagney & Lacey" and "The Trials of Rosie O'Neill."
And Gless � who earned two Emmy Awards for "Cagney & Lacey" � has no intention of tossing out her makeup case or bickering with the lighting director.
I want to work until the day I die," Gless says, "and so far I've been very, very fortunate. Most actors my age aren't working anymore. But there is also a resurgence of films for older women, such as 'Calendar Girls' and 'Something's Gotta Give,' so who knows?
However, it's highly unlikely that her professional future will include more "Cagney & Lacey" two-hour reunion telefilms along the lines of the four she cranked out with old partner Tyne Daly in 1994 and 1995 � which they dubbed "C&L: The Menopause Years." According to Gless, the powers that be at CBS are not particularly interested in one more project involving senior citizens.
Undeterred, she has optioned a series project on her own and is trying to talk her husband, former "Cagney & Lacey" executive producer Barney Rosenzweig, out of comfortable retirement on a private island near Miami to become its show runner. If all else fails, she can go back to TV movies and miniseries (including 1978's "Centennial" and 1979's "The Last Convertible"). She also burns off excess energy onstage, in "Misery" and "Chapter 2" at London's West End.
Not that she's absorbed by work, particularly when leisure activity includes slot machines. As she did last year, when her husband and 30 friends (including Tyne Daly) celebrated her 60th birthday by getting on a chartered luxury bus in Los Angeles and spent the next few days at The Four Seasons Hotel and fine restaurants in Las Vegas.
I'm the slot queen, she says, giggling, and with all gratitude and humility, usually very lucky. On my first day there, a change lady gave me a cardboard silver top hat with 'Happy Birthday!' written on it. I wore it the rest of the day and ended up with $6,500. It was a very good day.
on top
|
| |
|
