September 21, 1944– Fannie Flagg:
“Remember if people talk behind your back, it only means you are 2 steps ahead.”
Her novel Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe was the beach book in the summer of 1987. The Husband & I both really took to it & passed it around to friends. It remained a favorite for a very long time, although that original copy has long disappeared from our bookshelves. Before this bestseller, I knew Fannie Flagg mostly as a funny fixture on gameshow panels in the 1970s including The Match Game (1973-82), occupying the lower right hand seat next to regular panelist Richard Dawson & with gay actor/director Charles Nelson Reilly hovering above her.
Flagg began writing & producing TV specials at just 19 years old. She went on to be an actor & writer in TV, films, & theatre. Her acting credits include the original Broadway production of The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas (1978), the films: Some Of My Best Friends Are (1971), Five Easy Pieces (1971), Stay Hungry (1976), Grease (1978) & Crazy In Alabama (1999). During the 1960s & 1970s, Flagg did funny, smart stand-up & recorded 2 comedy albums that included parodies of Southern Ladies including Watergate figure Martha Mitchell & First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. During the 1960s, Flagg hosted a morning show on WBRC TV in Montgomery, Alabama.
Flagg wrote a screenplay based on her most popular novel which became the rather good film, Fried Green Tomatoes (1991). The movie earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Fried Green Tomatoes starred Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates, Mary Stuart Masterson, Mary Louise Parker, & the great Cicely Tyson. We saw it in its initial run in the theatre, of course, & The Husband & I caught it on cable while channel hopping this summer. We enjoyed it as much, maybe even more, than in previous viewings. The film really stands the test of time, even if Flagg did remove a substantial portion of the lesbian content from the book, Fried Green Tomatoes At The Whistle Stop Cafe in order to make the film Fried Green Tomatoes more commercially viable. Too bad, the novel is really quite gay & very heartfelt.
Flagg is openly gay, & was once the partner of writer Rita Mae Brown, who outed her in the press after they split. As if being a lesbian wasn’t tough enough, Flagg is profoundly dyslexic, like me. Flagg:
“I am severely dyslexic & couldn’t spell, still can’t spell. So I was discouraged from writing & embarrassed”.
Her promising writing career was put on hold for much of the 1970s, but Flagg overcame her fear & completed several novels & screenplays in the 1980s & beyond.
At one time Flagg was linked in the press, & was in some reports said to be married, to gay actor Dick Sargent of Bewitched fame. They appeared as a couple on the 1970s gameshow Tattletales, which featured celebrities & their spouses. Host Bert Convy would introduce them as “Dick Sargent & his lady, Fannie Flagg.” Sargent eventually came out of the closet before his final curtain call in 1994.
Flagg’s birth name is Patricia Neal, but when she tried to use her real name, the acting unions informed her that some other bitch already had the moniker.
Flagg divides her time between homes in California & Alabama.
I planted just 9 tomato starts in late May, a little early for Portland growing conditions, but it was already 90 degrees. It is now only 2 days until the Autumn Equinox, & I have had many ripe, stunning heirloom tomatoes, but plenty of green ones, including those that are supposed to be green, like Green Zebra. We will be having some of the fruit that has not ripened, using The Husband’s Vegan Fried Green Tomatoes Recipe:
Ingredients
3 medium, firm green tomatoes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup oat milk
2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs or cornmeal
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle slices with salt & pepper. Let tomato slices stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place flour, milk, eggs, & bread crumbs in separate shallow dishes.
- Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Dip tomato slices in milk, then flour, then bread crumbs. In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for a few minutes on each side, or until brown. As you cook the rest of the tomatoes, add olive oil as needed. Season with salt & pepper.
Eat & enjoy.
The post #BornThisDay: Actor/Writer Fannie Flagg appeared first on World of Wonder.