Sally Kellerman Interview

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                                     This week, Penny Landau, aka: The TV Junkie, interviews actress/singer Sally Kellerman, who brings her new show, Hot Lips to Cool Blues, to Metropolitan Room for two performances, December 5 and 6. Sally talked about her passion for music, Broadway, M*A*S*H and Robert Altman, all from her kitchen while cooking chicken for her husband.

Before we get into your music, I need to know something. M*A*S*H…is it the truth or just “cinema myth,” that when the tent fell on “Hot Lips” in the shower, your reaction was enhanced by Altman’s placement of a naked man, dangling in the breeze in front of you?

SK: It’s the absolute truth, and it wasn’t any naked man, it was Gary Burghoff, who played “Radar” O’Reilly.

Ok, let’s just talk about M*A*S*H* first. It was one of the most popular feature films of all time and you were nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

SK: M*A*S*H is “the gift that keeps on giving.”

You’ve done several films with Robert Altman. What was he like to work with, and as a person?

SK: Movie stars would line up to work for him for $1.50! He had a love of actors. If Altman believed in you and trusted you, he wanted to bring this to you. We would be in Paris and we would have French food all week. He made everyone feel like a family and brought in local women to cook for us. It was always fun to be around Bob and to be his friend.

Nashville was one film of Altman’s you weren’t in. As a singer, that seems odd.

SK: He asked me to be in it, and it’s my BIG regret, that I could have done it, and didn’t.

You started your acting career doing an incredible amount of  episodic TV, including the pilot of” Star Trek.”

SK: I just did a Con in Chicago. I don’t do them very often, but the fans are amazing.

You were born and raised in Los Angeles. How did that influence your choice of career?

SK: I’m 100% LA! I even went to Hollywood High. I did a lot of TV acting when I was very young; “Bachelor Father,” “Ozzie & Harriet.” In fact, I did The Marriage Go Round with Ozzie & Harriet Nelson.

What about musical theatre?

SK: I was actually in the musical of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. David Merrick cast me the day he offered the lead to Mary Tyler Moore. I was her standby. We did the show the old fashioned way; we sold out in Boston, Abe Burrows was there and then Edward Albee came in and put in some old men. It was so bad, we were afraid to take our curtain calls.

But you’ve also done a lot of club work?

SK: I’ve performed at Carnegie Hall and in the early ‘70’s at the Rainbow Room and Rainbow & Stars. I did a three month tour and turned down movies. I had my show with no writer, no director. People told me “You’re funny, you don’t need a writer.” Well, I was funny on Thursday, but not on Friday, so that was that.

And you kept on singing throughout your acting stints?

SK: I did. People are still surprised that for years I focused on music. I never stopped singing, never stopped doing clubs; Rose Tattoo, the Roxy for a year one night a month at Genghis Cohen, which is a Chinese restaurant. I’d just get a band together and go on the road.  When I was the hottest I turned things down. I’ve always wanted to be a recording artist. I love audiences and I love to sing. But when I did Night Club, I didn’t even know if I could act any more. I played an Alzheimer’s patient and I got to sing. I would have been more well-educated, had I studied music. I just always wanted to act and sing and that’s where my passion was, and is.

Who were your influences? What tunes?

SK: Janis Joplin & Laura Nyro, even though my roots are in jazz. I’m not a jazz singer, that’s why I didn’t go into it, but my roots are in jazz. Then the ‘60s came along. I like blues, standards and then people started writing for me. It kind of evolved.

Talk to me about your CD, Sally.

SK: I teamed with Grammy Award-winning producer Val Garay, who has recorded with an awe-inspiring who's who of artists ranging from Kim Carnes to Linda Ronstadt, the Motels, Neil Diamond, Jackson Browne, Marvin Gaye, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor and Jennifer Warnes, among others. Someone brought him to one of my shows one night. He took all my music and me and  made me better. With thirteen (and counting) number one hits to his credit, Sally is undeniably among prestigious company.

Hot Lips to Cool Blues! - Sally Kellerman with Tardo Hammer on piano at Metropolitan Room on Sunday, December 5 @ 4pm and Monday, December 6 @ 9:30pm. $20 cover charge, two drink minimum. Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22 Street, (212)206-0440. www.metropolitanroom.com

The “TV Junkie” will return from island hopping in the Caribbean, next week. We at NiteLifeExchange.com miss her witty & urbane patter week after week. Okay, the TVJ wrote that herself, but isn’t that a huge part of who she is & why we love her? (say yes)