Kelly Bishop

This was a breath of fresh air. I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe it's because she did the thing memoirs usually don't, and that is tell her story in order. She doesn't go all over the place as she tells us about her life. Kelly wrote a lovely memoir and told her story beautifully. It was a joy to listen to her voice, she really does have an iconic tone.

I love Gilmore Girls, and while there are issues with the show, (and I especially have issues with the character of Emily) the actors all put show more on an amazing performance. Kelly Bishop is a huge part of that- I couldn't have disdain for Emily if she wasn't performed perfectly. I'm interested in checking out Kelly's other camera work, and she even made me interested in Bunheads! When that show was released, I had the opposite of interest in it, but now that I know she was part of it and Amy Sherman-Paladino created it, I'm more than interested to check out the one season it got.
It was so fun to hear about Kelly's time as a dancer- I had no idea her career started that way! Her growing from a tiny ballerina into a Broadway star, then to being in front of the camera is so inspiring! She talks about how many times she thought her career was over, even from when she didn't get into a prestige ballet school as a teen, and how she was able to revive it time and time again. She even dishes a bit of drama, and she tells everything in an open and honest way. She's such a force, and so graceful too.

One thing I found interesting, was how her story so closely related to Barbra Streisand's. I mean, they are only a year apart in age, and only 2 years apart in when they started their show-business careers! I'd be willing to bet they were both working in theater at the same time before Barbra went all in on her music and making movies. It's just amazing to think about how many talents came from that same arena that I didn't even know about. Did you know Morgan Freeman started as a dancer? I sure didn't until Kelly told me she worked with him before his own stardom! For me, Broadway and theater has never really been on my radar, but it's obvious so many talents not only got their start there, but also went back to it. (I'm looking at you Corbin Bleu.)

I loved listening to Kelly talk about her love life and especially when she found her true love Lee Leonard. It's so tragic how cancer seemed to haunt him and their lives nonstop, but it didn't break Kelly's spirits. Listening to her talk of his passing and her grief were really amazing and made me feel thankful for my own life.

I look forward to more work from Kelly, she shows no signs of stopping her career, and I admire her for that. She found her true passion, and she believes we all can do that, and that we can start over whenever we want if we realize what we're doing isn't what we want anymore! I really adored this book and fell in love with Kelly Bishop in a way I hadn't even known her before. show less

A gracious and measured look back at the life of a working dancer and actor. Bishop's perspective on past relationships, jobs, choices, and moves provides a view into her life, from her Colorado childhood to auditioning for the ABT, to working at Radio City Music Hall and on Broadway (originating the role of Sheila in A Chorus Line), winning a Tony, and working in film and TV, including Dirty Dancing and, of course, Gilmore Girls. Determined throughout her life not to have children, she is show more devoted to her rescue dogs and cats, her late husband Lee, and her friends.

See also: Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham

Quotes/notes

[Not getting into the American Ballet Theatre] was a huge blow that wasn't softened one bit by reminding myself of the old cliche that life isn't fair. No, it isn't, but it damned well should be. (43)

...one of my usual mantras: "If it's meant to work out, it will. If it isn't, it will just make me available for what I'm supposed to be doing instead." (161)

...sad about the uncertainty I think every actor goes through when a project ends: Will I ever get to work again? (231)

One of the blessings that continues to bring me peace is breaking the habit of mourning the loss of times and experiences I'll never have again and insisting on celebrating them instead. (234)

I strongly believe that there's a satisfying field, a job, a career for everyone - it's just a matter of finding it, and the best way to do that is to head in the direction of what you love....Aren't we lucky that there's such a wide variety of dreams to choose from, and so many people who choose them? (237) show less

I have only ever watched around (the same) four episodes of Gilmore Girls because the show was too cutesy for me, but damn, Kelly Bishop is an all singing, dancing, acting, childfree icon! I knew her from Dirty Dancing of course, but didn't know about her chorus line - sorry, A Chorus Line - years in New York, for which she won a Tony Award. Her memoirs are the reason why I love biographies, because I don't have a life and talented, independent women like Kelly have lived a lifetime and are show more still going strong. I admire too that she speaks openly about having an abortion and not wanting children, even attending a pro-choice rally, which is more of a contentious subject in America today than for women like Kelly in the 70s, bizarrely.

Amazing lady. I'm going to look up A Chorus Line, even though she was only in the Broadway production, and try again with Gilmore Girls. show less

Rating:
3.5 Stars

In a nutshell:
Actress and dancer Kelly Bishop tells the story of her life.

Best for:
Fans not just of Gilmore Girls, but fans of theatre, and those who just appreciate a clever woman.

Quote that made me think:
“Aren’t we lucky that there’s such a wide variety of dreams to choose from, and so many people who choose them.”

Why I chose it:
I watched Gilmore Girls on streaming and found the characters interesting. Thought this might be an interesting read.

Review:
This is a good show more memoir, at least by my measure, which is this: did I learn something new about the author’s life (yes) and did it feel like they were as honest as reasonable (yes). I came away thinking that Bishop is the rare person who is not brutally honest - they are just honest. There’s only apologizing when it is warranted, but there isn’t the cruelty that so often comes with it. Basically, I get the sense that Bishop is who the average ‘I just tell it like it is’ person THINKS they are, when in reality the vast majority of them are just assholes. And she does not strike me as an asshole.

She has also lived a FASCINATING life. I’m not going to get into it all here (that’s the point of the book, right?), but she was part of the workshop that resulted A Chorus Line, and one of the characters is basically based on her life. And she won a Tony award for it (coincidentally, she won the same night as future TV husband Edward Hermann). And who could forget that she was Baby’s mom in Dirty Dancing? And of course, the role that millenials likely know her from - Emily on Gilmore Girls.

Some things that really stood out to me where her love of animals, and her very clear desire to NOT have children. It’s one of the first things that comes up in the book (a musing she had as a child herself), and she sticks to it throughout her life. She shares in the book that she had an abortion when she had an unexpected pregnancy, and she doesn’t apologize for it or make excuses, because she doesn’t need to. She just shares why it was the right choice for her.

Her personal life had rough aspects to it - a horrible father, and a not-great first husband. But her second husband was clearly her great love, and she speaks of him (and his experience with cancer and ultimately his death) with an almost poetry.

The section on Gilmore Girls is not as long or detailed as I would have expected given the title of the book, but it makes sense if you think about how long a life she has lived. It is interested, for sure, but I probably would have enjoyed more.

The quote I chose to pull out I loved because I think it’s a great thing not just for aspiring dancers, or actors, or artists in general. None of us need to live the same lives, and that’s a good thing. We can dream of having children, and dream of not having children. We can dream of dancing in the West End or of teaching five year olds how to read. We can dream of being surgeons, or of partners, or of singletons traveling the world. Bishop dreamed first of ballet, then of acting, and she managed to turn those dreams into reality.

Would I recommend it to its target audience:
Yes, though if all you are looking for is hot Gilmore Girls gossip, you will be disappointed, as she spends maybe 15% (at most) of the book on that. Which makes sense, as it only ran for 7+1 seasons, and Ms Bishop has lived a long life. show less