Remembering Tammy Faye
I was working at my computer tonight when I looked up at the TV and saw Larry King begin his show on CNN with this portrait I made of Tammy Faye Messner ten years ago.Tammy Faye died today after a long bout with cancer. And as Larry King showed an interview he taped with her just a few days ago, weighing only 65 pounds and looking devastatingly frail, I could only think back to the shoot we did in the lobby of the Jefferson Hotel in downtown Washington. If I remember correctly she was promoting her tell-all book that had just come out. I'm not normally a fan of televangelists, especially televangelists who swindle thousands of people out of their money, as Tammy Faye and Jim Bakker did with their infamous PTL Club. But during our hour together she was so, well, Tammy Faye-ish, with her dog snug in her purse, that one couldn't help but giggle with her.
When I lived in Binghamton, New York during the mid-1980's I was close with a family who, like me, couldn't turn off that damn PTL club. We would call each other on the phone and laugh and laugh, dissecting that day's show and wondering who on earth would follow these people. So if you're reading this, Judy and Laura Fish, I'm thinking of you guys tonight. I hope you still have the book Tammy signed for you!
Larry King described Tammy Faye tonight as "the one and only" and I thought, you ain't kidding. Has there ever been anyone like her--those eyelashes, that voice, that makeup? Oy vey. Rest in peace.
Matt
posted by matt mendelsohn at 9:05 PM
1 Comments:
Watching Tammy Faye for many years was like watching a train wreck. I was fascinated by the mascara, lashes, fingernails, and yes all those years of tears. It sure brought a lot of laughs but there was always a part of me that thought maybe she was sincere. I watched the Larry King interview (knowing that it was her last). I found myself crying. I am not sure why. I have her book right here on my desk. Thanks to you Matt. She writes to me in the inscription that she thinks she and I could have fun together. You know I bet we would have.
I wonder who got Kevin in the divorce?
Judy Fish
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