palm springs cultural center – Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION.

What woman worth her weight in fashion magazines from the 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, (even the 2000’s) doesn’t remember trailblazing supermodel Beverly Johnson gracing the pages and many of the covers of every top magazine?

The answer is none!

As a former fashion magazine junkie I remember her well. She was a super model and I thought she was super stunning – she still is.

Johnson rose to fame when she made world history by becoming the first black model to grace the cover of American Vogue and French Elle in 1974, forever changing the beauty ideal in the fashion world.

During her long career she managed to grace over 500 magazine covers and remains one of the most iconic figures in the world of fashion and modeling.

Now she’s coming to Palm Springs for the World Premiere of her one woman show “Beverly Johnson, NAKED.” Presented by Palm Springs Women in Film and Television and the Palm Springs Cultural Center.

Co-written by Johnson and *Joshua Ravetch, Naked! tells Johnson’s story beginning with her ground breaking photo on the cover of Vogue Magazine. This empowering live performance will take place at the Palm Springs Cultural Center on June 2nd at 6pm.

“Her life took an unexpected turn when she broke her silence, went public, and revealed that she, too, was drugged by Bill Cosby,” said Josh Ravetch, director of the show. That disclosure became part of the key momentum that, in-part, helped to launch the #MeToo movement.

Johnson remains one of the most influential African-Americans in America. Named as one of the “20th Century’s 100 Most Influential People in the Fashion Industry” by The New York Times and listed as Oprah Winfrey’s “25 top legends.”

Her impact is truly worldwide but she’s also an acclaimed author, actress, media icon, businesswoman, loving mother and grandmother.

Her most notable and personal testament is imparted in her 2015 memoir, “The Face That Changed It All,” a New York Times Best Seller. Devoted to sharing her luxury taste with her audience, BEVERLY JOHNSON LUXURY LIFESTYLE BRAND is dedicated to present the finest of beauty, health, fashion, home and lifestyle.

In 2016, Johnson was honored by The Palm Springs Walk of Stars with the 405th Star Dedication award.

I was really looking forward to seeing the show and also meeting her. However, I’ll have left Palm Springs before the time her show arrives here in June. Hopefully I’ll get another chance.

In good company – (taken from Eventbrite, Palm Springs Cultural Center):

*Joshua Ravetch is best known for his collaboration with actress/writer Carrie Fisher, co-creating and directing her in The Geffen Playhouse’s world premiere of Wishful Drinking, Ms. Fisher’s smash-hit one-woman-show. The play enjoyed an extended run on Broadway at Studio 54 and was adapted into a special for HBO. Mr. Ravetch was collaborating with Ms. Fisher to the sequel to Wishful Drinking: Wishful Drinking Strikes Back, a Geffen Playhouse commission, at the time of her passing.

Also at The Geffen playhouse, Ravetch co-wrote and directed Dick Van Dyke in his first-ever one-man show, Step in Time! A Musical Memoir. In the show, Van Dyke took audiences to the rooftops of London for a magical journey from Mary Poppins to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang including hilarious moments from th Dick Van Dyke Show involving a certain ottoman.

Palm Springs Women in Film & Television (PSWIFT ) is a nonprofit organization, founded in 2001, dedicated to empowering, promoting, educating and nurturing its members – both women and men – involved in the entertainment, communication and media industries.

The Palm Springs Cultural Center is a non-profit organization whose mission is to incubate, produce and encourage arts and cultural programs in order to leverage the unique power of creativity to open minds, bridge what divides us, and discover what connects us. As an organization, The Palm Springs Cultural Center is also at the forefront of recognizing the interconnection between the cultural arts and food culture, and their combined importance to the vitality, collective consciousness and sustainability of the community.

For tickets to the show:

Back at the Factory…or in this case the cultural center…

Ramona, Mary in the middle and Me.

A group of us attended an art/film/book signing event for Mary Woronov; former muse to Andy Warhol. A muse by definition is a person or personified force who is the source of inspiration for a creative artist. However, Woronov has since become her own creative artist as actor, figurative painter and author. But getting back to Andy…

I’ve always had a fascination with Andy Warhol, going so far as once trying to locate him (at a relatively young age) at his studio in Manhattan that everyone referred to as “the Factory.” Unfortunately he wasn’t there and I’m not even sure what would have happened had I found him. Perhaps he’d have hired me as an assistant, perhaps he would have put me in one of his underground movies and I would’ve become his muse or maybe he would have just told me to scram…but I didn’t see it that way.

Being a bit of a mystery, his work appealed to me and he was way ahead of his time having eventually predicted what is now happening with social media where an average person can become famous through avenues like YouTube or tik tok. It’s fascinating actually; the world is wide open and yet; it’s not really “real.” Reality TV, influencers and Art is everywhere. I remember Warhol’s “Interview Magazine”, nicknamed “The Crystal Ball of Pop”, featuring interviews with celebrities, artists, musicians, and creative thinkers. In 2018, the publication ‘folded’ and ended both its print and web publications. Times have changed. But sometimes it’s important to hear significant stories from the past.

with Claudia Reid of Palm Springs POV + variety show entertainer.

Which brings me to my recent meeting with former Warhol muse and cult star Mary Woronov. It was at the closing reception of her art series “the mystery of the red shoe” and a movie she starred in called “Rock ‘n Roll High School,” at the Palm Springs Cultural Center last Saturday night – the closing night of a MARY WORONOV MEGASPECTIVE presented by The Ebersole Hughes Company – the same documentarian duo who did “House of Cardin,” “My Name is Lopez,” “Mansfield 66/67,” “Dear Mom, Love Cher,” and others. I’m a huge fan of their work.

Sponsored by HELLTOWN Whiskey & The Cheetah Hotel (links below).

with Roy; creator & co-founder of Helltown Whiskey

Gathered around was an eclectic bunch, to say the least: An “in-the-know” crowd of documentarians, entertainers, musicians, whiskey makers and the odd blogger who remains curious.

L-R (Me, Mary Woronov, Ramona Huth, Roy Rogers Oldenkamp, P. David Ebersole, Kitty Joselle Gilvezan.

It’s clear that not everyone knows who Mary Woronov is. A major cult figure as an actress for her work with Andy Warhol and Roger Corman films, she is also an accomplished painter and writer, having published three books —Wake for the Angels: Paintings and Stories, her autobiography Swimming Underground: My Years in the Warhol Factory, and the novel Snake.

Woronov joined Warhol’s entourage after a class trip to the Factory and starred in a number of his underground films (Chelsea Girls for one), and she appeared as a go-go dancer in the Velvet Underground’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable shows. She left the Factory in the late 1960s and, after recovering from a heavy methamphetamine addiction, spent two years in Europe with a friend. It was during this time, Warhol was shot by Valerie Solanas, and thanks to the now altered Factory dynamic, “there was nothing to go back to.” She then supported herself with work in off-Broadway theatre, got married to director/producer Theodore Gershuny, appearing in three of his films.

Woronov is most famous for her role as Mary Bland in Paul Bartel’s black comedy Eating Raoul (1982).

She’s also funny as hell. It was a pleasure being in her company.

Speaking of hell….there was Helltown Whiskey where co-founder Roy Rogers Oldenkamp (an L.A. Art Dealer) gave my friend Ramona and me a little education on the making of whiskey as we sampled whiskey sours which turned out to be pretty darn tasty. The evening ended with us getting a lift to another bar called Truss & Twine with an entertainer who plays piano and sings Dean Martin tunes while his wife sings Dinah Shore oldies. The show is appropriately called “Dino and Dinah.”

Welcome to Palm Springs!

Cheers!

Cheetah Hotel:

https://www.cheetahhotelps.com/
Helltown Whiskey

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Beverly Johnson “Naked”

There’s Something about Mary Woronov