Sylvia Darling
As she sits in front of the vanity mirror, surrounded by 12 soft light bulbs, slowly applying her makeup; she pauses for only a brief moment to note how kind these last 85 years have been to her skin. Her morning ritual of cosmetic application is flawless, effortless and absolute. The process has become mechanical from decades of repetition. The final touch - the eyebrows, these are each meticulously drawn on and reflect her mood for the day. Her original eyebrows were gone by the mid-20’s (not her mid 20’s, but the 1920’s) as was the case for most starlets of the stage back then. You see, Sylvia was a Diva, before anyone knew what a Diva really was.
In 1921, she was a principal performer in the Ziegfeld Follies. Sylvia and her twin sister were rubbing shoulders on stage with W.C Fields and Fanny Brice. That same year, Sylvia performed on Broadway in “Good Morning Dearie”… 347 performances and never missed a curtain call. When the Knickerbocker Theater presented “Peter Pan” in 1924 – she was one of the Lost Boys, one of the Skunk Brothers… and for 96 performances she enthralled the audience.
75 years later, Sylvia will still walk into a room as if she owned it. She’ll play the “crowd” like a professional, even if the “crowd” is confined to the waiters and patrons at a restaurant she frequently dines. She will always be on stage, always in character… always be the star of the show. She can wear a fur coat in the summer, dark glasses at night and don a feather boa for an evening of dinner and dancing… and make it work. Sylvia enjoys calling people “darling” and always smiles and laughs at whatever they have to say, even if she doesn’t know the person or have any idea of what is being said.
She is an anachronism, a 1920’s starlet approaching the 21st century. But people love nostalgia, and Sylvia emits a charisma and charm that is easily absorbed.
When Sylvia’s 25 year old grandson asked her why she wears her sunglasses at night, she replied “So my fans don’t recognize me”…
“Your fans are dead grandma”, he snidely replied… but she heard, “You’ll knock them dead” and nodded as she and glided out the door.
Sylvia – you are missed
In 1921, she was a principal performer in the Ziegfeld Follies. Sylvia and her twin sister were rubbing shoulders on stage with W.C Fields and Fanny Brice. That same year, Sylvia performed on Broadway in “Good Morning Dearie”… 347 performances and never missed a curtain call. When the Knickerbocker Theater presented “Peter Pan” in 1924 – she was one of the Lost Boys, one of the Skunk Brothers… and for 96 performances she enthralled the audience.
75 years later, Sylvia will still walk into a room as if she owned it. She’ll play the “crowd” like a professional, even if the “crowd” is confined to the waiters and patrons at a restaurant she frequently dines. She will always be on stage, always in character… always be the star of the show. She can wear a fur coat in the summer, dark glasses at night and don a feather boa for an evening of dinner and dancing… and make it work. Sylvia enjoys calling people “darling” and always smiles and laughs at whatever they have to say, even if she doesn’t know the person or have any idea of what is being said.
She is an anachronism, a 1920’s starlet approaching the 21st century. But people love nostalgia, and Sylvia emits a charisma and charm that is easily absorbed.
When Sylvia’s 25 year old grandson asked her why she wears her sunglasses at night, she replied “So my fans don’t recognize me”…
“Your fans are dead grandma”, he snidely replied… but she heard, “You’ll knock them dead” and nodded as she and glided out the door.
Sylvia – you are missed
posted by Survival Cookies at 2:56 PM
1 Comments:
Is this your grandma? I never knew of Sylvia! How could that be? I am sorry to hear of her passing.
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