An Evening with Kelly Bishop: The Third Gilmore Girl
Twenty-four years ago today, a program about a young mother, her daughter, and their small town, aired its pilot episode on the WB. Gilmore Girls would eventually become one of the most beloved shows in the history of television. Featuring memorable characters, such as: Lorelai Gilmore, Rory Gilmore, Luke Danes, Sookie St. James, and the topic of today's blog, the matriarch Emily Gilmore played by the wonderful and incomparable Kelly Bishop.
Recently as an early birthday present for Rebecca (her birthday is October 6th people, if you see her, holla atcha girl!) I bought tickets for a once in a lifetime event where we would be able to see Kelly Bishop in person, as she was on tour for the release of her memoir, The Third Gilmore Girl: A Memoir. Rebecca and I arrived a half hour earlier than usual not just to get good seats, but because we have a tendency to arrive either super early or a little late, and if we've learned anything from Friday night dinners with Emily Gilmore, you are REQUIRED to be on time. It was quite hot out, but we managed to stick it out and were rewarded with good seats, air conditioning, and two copies of her book. The event was sponsored by Webster Groves' bookstore the Novel Neighbor and took place at the Kirkwood Art Center.
As we sat down, we then had another hour before the event began. I was feeling tired and was desperately in need of a coffee despite the fact it was six o'clock in the evening. I never related more to Lorelai saying: "I need coffee in an IV!" After waiting patiently, Kelly Bishop was introduced and announced this might have been her first visit to St. Louis. She then went into detail how everyone in her circle, including Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, told her she should write a book.
Kelly was magnificent, witty, self-deprecating, and her distinctive voice, which she claims she doesn't hear, told stories that had the audience in awe and hysterics. Whether it was her talking about her sympathies toward rescue animals or how she finds mother characters to be rather boring (which surprised us), how her grandmother, mother, and her were similar to Emily, Lorelai, and Rory, and what her co-star and onscreen husband Edward Hermann smelt like ("I guess he smelt like a man..."). One particular moment that had everyone near tears was when a woman said that her father was a musician in A Chorus Line (one of Kelly's first major roles) and claims she saw Kelly dancing, and this would inspire her to take up this profession. We also found out whether she was Team Dean or Team Jess. She is.............Team Logan, which was disappointing as in our household, we are Team Jess.
Unfortunately, time has the burden of flying when you're having fun and before we knew it, the event was wrapping up. As we all applauded, Kelly thanked everyone for coming.
Thank you, Kelly Bishop, for a wonderful evening and thanks to the Novel Neighbor for sponsoring this function!
- Collin