Being a prime party rental spot, publicists clamored to book parties at The Main Squeeze -- at least, in 1982 we had regular parties for all sorts, but mostly television and music celebrities. There was a party for a guy named Kenny Everett, who was big there in England, but I’d never heard of him in the states.
But then, in England, a famous drag queen named Dame Edna Everage was really popular. Everage was really a precursor for Mike Myers’ Linda Richmond character, an outspoken, lovable, middle-aged doyenne of domestic philosophy -- although much more glamorous. Dame Edna was a “gal” who’d made it through a hard life to finally grace the stage, where she craved to belong. The comedian who invented Dame Edna and performed in her character, Barry Humphries, was actually an Aussie, which makes sense because in a way, Dame Edna Everage was “taking the piss” on a certain stereotype, whilst also loving what that stereotype stood for.
Hmmm. A lot of double-edged swords and irony in entertainment, I daresay. But that’s always been the case, especially across the pond. Another comedian who was big in the U.K. and tried to cross over to stateside was Benny Hill, who was just so over the top and slapstick-y people either loved or despised him. Monty Python is, of course, the King of British Comedy troupes -- but they were cerebral and sort of silly. Hill was rude, crude, and sexist most of the time.
Anyway, the Kenny Everett party at the Main Squeeze hosted many celebrities through our doors. I can’t say I was a big fan of Everett, a small, bearded man who seemed kind of weaselly.
However, at his party that night, one of my all time favorite English movie stars (er, actors) needed assistance in the teeny tiny extremely messy cloakroom, and I snapped to the task, gladly. . .
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