RIP: The Incomparable Elaine Stritch

Elaine Stritch died on Monday in her Birmingham, Michigan home at age 89. Stritch was nominated for five Tony awards (and won in 2002 for her one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty.) She was praised for work in shows like Bus Stop, Company and Sail Away. Younger generations know her best as Alec Baldwin’s brassy, punishing mother on 30 Rock where she won an Emmy for her role as Colleen Donaghy. (Watch her in the clip below. It’s a master class in phrasing and comic timing. She can take any line – ANY LINE – and milk it for whatever she was after) She was totally self-assured in life, and just this year dropped the F-bomb on live TV during a Today Show in an interview with Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb. For years she lived at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan. Last year she moved to Birmingham to be closer to family// Liza Minnelli said about her;

“Elaine was a magnificent woman in every sense of the word. A true trail blazer. Her talent and spunk will be greatly missed by so many of us.”

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, from Modern Family, also shared his thoughts, via Twitter;

“What a life! 89 full years. A true legend & one of my all time favorites.”

The marquees of all Broadway theaters will be dimmed in Stritch’s memory tomorrow night at 7:45 p.m. for one minute in her honor, the theater community state in a statement. Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the Broadway League, said in a statement;

“Elaine Stritch’s big personality was matched by her big talent. Collaborating with some of Broadway’s greatest playwrights and composers throughout her lengthy career, her signature numbers and singular style created a memorable legacy. Elaine Stritch will always be remembered as an important part of Broadway’s rich history, and she will be missed by her many fans.”

She surely will be. What a great old broad, as they used to say…

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