Some thoughts ...

Like so many others, this writer is often inspired by the seasons… or the calendar itself… to put some thoughts in print for others who might, it is hoped, be motivated to read and respond. Trust me this much: this will not be a port-by-port detail of the cruise undertaken by all or even part of my family. First of all, there was no such cruise and, secondly, I think I have already received about as many of these detailed nautical reports so as to determine that, quite possibly, my family grouping was the only such body that remained land- locked throughout 2011.  And for that contribution to the world’s ecology, a well deserved self pat on the back.

Although mostly on dry land, 2011 was a positive year… especially if you remove from the equation my middle daughter slicing off half her thumb in a kitchen accident. The only mandolin that will ever find its way into that household again will be a string instrument that my ethnically Italian son-in-law might actually be able to play. While seeking her Master’s degree in the San Francisco Bay area my oldest granddaughter helped to “occupy” Oakland, proving she is a chip off the old block, my middle grandchild, mid-11^th grade and with a good work ethic behind her, has announced she wants to attend an Ivy-League University, and the tiny six year old continues to progress through ballet, ice skating and other balancing acts. Their parents are all reasonably well (albeit in one case somewhat short of thumb). There were some losses this year… most notably for us, the wonderful director Reza Badiyi. In our extended family there were gains as well, the writing team Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin, who got their start on The Trials of Rosie O’Neill, executive produced The Killing, a fabulous new series for A&E, April Smith, who served a somewhat unhappy term on Cagney & Lacey, continues to successfully write her Ana Grey FBI series of novels and, I am told, has had one produced for TNT on which she wrote the screenplay. Early Cagney & Lacy-ite, Robert Crais, has his Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novels coming out in paperback any day now and as to the duo most of you are interested in… fasten your seat belts.


Tyne Daly wowed the world of Broadway with her stellar performance as Maria Callas in Terence McNally’s Master Class. She also starred in a lovely production I travelled to New Jersey to see as an old-fashioned out of town tryout. It Shoulda Been You is a charming musical in the tradition of Abie’s Irish Rose directed by David Hyde Pierce. I don’t know what the plans are for that show, but Tyne now moves on to London’s West End with Master Class with one of the more eagerly anticipated stage presentations for next year (previews begin late January, 2012). Tyne also joined us at the British Film Institute for their tribute to Cagney & Lacey on the occasion of the kick-off of whatever celebration there will be for the 30^th anniversary of this series. One nice result of that sold out evening and well publicized affair was an article in The Guardian by Kira Cochrane. It is, quite simply, the best piece I have ever read in a newspaper on the subject of our series. I commend it to you.


Of course you probably cannot link to the wonderful job Ms Cochrane’s editors did with the layout of the article, including a front page banner and a cover of their entertainment magazine, but… well…. you will get the idea. Why am I going on so about one newspaper break? Well, I don’t know about you… and I am none too sure how things stack up today… but when I was a boy, even in far away southern California, The Manchester Guardian (by which name The Guardian was then known) was one of the World’s great newspapers. Happy as I am with this article, I am thrilled to be a part of The Guardian.


Onward: Sharon did her bit in the fifth season of Burn Notice for the USA Network and in between seasons four and five continued to star in A Round-Heeled Woman early this year at the GableStage Theatre in Miami’s Coconut Grove. Then, following the end of production of season five on the aforementioned series, Ms Gless took off to England, with nary a break, to do an improved version of the play in Hammersmith, a London suburb. The play was so well received by audiences and critics that the owners of the venerable Aldwych Theatre in the West End proposed a move where in a record 48 hours the “new” version of the play was up and running in the theatre that for 25 years housed the Royal Shakespeare Company. Big thrill for Sharon, as one might imagine, but no rest which didn’t seem to matter to the critics who raved about her performance and gave high marks to the play itself.  A Round-Heeled Woman will close next month and Sharon will return to the States for a bit of a lie-down and then commencement of season six for Burn Notice. Any new plans for the play (off-Broadway, Toronto, Chicago) will be kept in abeyance until her next major hiatus, in the fall of 2012.   


Me? I am spending the year-end holidays in London trying to catch my breath from just attempting to keep up with Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly. As to the New Year there is a nice glimmer out there: MGM has licensed the entire Cagney & Lacey series to a distributor in Toronto. They plan to move on the show in 2012, but just how remains to be seen. My initial contact has been encouraging and the idea of a release of all episodes in one package is on the table as is the idea of doing this via direct mail in a print on demand fashion. I am encouraged also because for the first time since the series was (all too briefly) in the hands of SONY (before the previous managers at MGM “fired” them) there is someone in the distribution end who actually seems to know which one is Cagney and which one is Lacey. I don’t have to tell you it has been a difficult process with all the turmoil at MGM almost from the day they “inherited” the series from the Orion bankruptcy.  We have been at the mercy of itinerant managers, a dysfunctional at the outset Fox/MGM home video department created almost overnight in a desperate (and it turned out, failed) effort to make the SONY withdrawal look good, then a slew of firings and hirings as money was infused and a larger group of corporate executives took on the very important task of (not in any particular order) resurrecting the James Bond series for theatrical release, getting ready the first in a trilogy of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo films and, of course, furnishing all their new executive offices. I am going to believe I am well out of there even if it means travelling to the tundra of Toronto. You should be hearing something from us on this long before spring .


Finally, a “thank you” and “farewell” to Jacqueline Danson, who has served us so well as our Web Master here for the past several years.  Ms D is moving on, to bigger and better things. We will attempt to keep this site flowing without her, but she will be missed. For the forseeable future we will mostly update the site via this blog so keep watching this space to keep up to date. Thank you all for contributing your wonderful comments throughout this past year, for signing up for our survey about the full DVD collection (and if you haven’t done that, please do).


Thank you for your patience and know that it is my belief that there is a very good chance that your perseverance and faith will be rewarded in this coming New Year. Bless you all and a Happy New Year!

Barney Rosenzweig         

Here I am in London ...

Here I am in London in the afterglow of a truly wonderful evening at the British Film Institute’s salute to the 30th anniversary of Cagney & Lacey. Our own Jacqueline Danson, working with the BFI, did a terrific job of co-producing the whole thing, Sharon, Tyne, and I were all on “our game”, the sell-out crowd of over 400 was enthusiastic and loving, the moderator, Dame Jenni Murray, was sharp and the film clips that were screened were well received. Of course, no one from MGM was there. No one who could make a difference in the way this series is marketed or promoted witnessed the lasting enthusiasm and affection for the show or its stars. We move on. To what? Not sure. We are approaching the end of the year….a time for decision making and New Year’s resolutions. When I have some, I will send them your way by way of another blog. There is, I must add, some small light on the horizon. MGM has licensed the entire series to a new distributor out of Toronto and in a preliminary contact with him I discovered that, unlike anyone at the new MGM, this fellow actually knows which one is Cagney and which one is Lacey. It’s a start.

One of the reasons I have remained in London is that my spouse is here with her play A Round-Heeled Woman. It has just moved from a successful run in Hammersmith to the Aldwych Theatre in London’s West End. What a coup and what a performance by La Gless. Four Star reviews, the whole nine yards. If you have a thing for Charles Dickens and Christmas in London you must pop over the pond and see this. If you are already in London (or anywhere in the nearby English countryside) I urge you to come and see this work which will continue until mid January when Sharon must begin to wrap things up in order to return to production of year six on Burn Notice. Tyne Daly will be coming to the West End as well for her version of Maria Callas in Master Class, but the two will not overlap as Ms Daly’s play begins previewing on January 21st and runs for fourteen weeks at the Vaudeville Theatre. It was fun to go to Sharon’s opening at the Aldwych with Tyne at my side and afterwards we all were consuming far too many calories late night at the Ivy. The evening before, after the BFI event, Tyne and I put the too-tired Ms Gless to bed and went on to party at the Woolsey where we reminisced and had one of our best evenings in a long time. Onward:

Whatever the New Year brings for “Cagney & Lacey… and me “(can never resist a chance to plug the book) you will learn about it here and in the not too distant future. Until then, may you have a lovely holiday season and a joyous New Year.

Barney Rosenzweig

December 3, 2011

Of a seminar past, a conversation to come, play time (x2), and MGM!

I would like to give a shout out to Elizabeth Proenza, US Army retired and a big-time C&L fan, for making my stay at Tempe, Arizona a whole lot nicer than did the USC football team. My Alma mater lost on the gridiron, but Ms Proenza had arranged for me to give a seminar and a guest lecture at Arizona State University while I was in town and that (unlike the previous Saturday's game) was a most pleasant experience. 


The students were appreciative and attentive and their professor was most complimentary about my book (Cagney & Lacey... and Me in case you forgot). 


While this was going on Jacqueline Danson was finalizing plans for the upcoming British Film Institute salute to Cagney & Lacey (November 29 in London, England). As to the home front: things at MGM are a bit murkier than originally thought, but I hope to have some real news in early November about what might or might not be possible as a result of the survey to which so many of you responded.

Sharon has already departed for London and A Round Heeled Woman rehearsals, having completed her season's work on Burn Notice. The play opens, as most of you know, the week after next, and I will be flying in right after the Cal game in San Francisco to cheer her on for the October 18 opening night. Tyne Daly is also readying a new play, It Shoulda Been You,  for a New Jersey outing about which our own Carole R. Smith will report later.

Have any of you been watching the fairly new USA series Suits?  The well-dressed, good-looking leading man is Gabriel Macht... oldest son of Stephen Macht who played Cagney's love interest in our series. Give the show a try... it's pretty good. I am disappointed by most of the new shows I have seen so far but continue to love The Good Wife and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. And I cheered at the Emmy's for the awards handed out to the folks on Friday Night Lights and Justified. All very good shows.

All for now... I will be reporting back to you in early November about what I have learned from MGM and on what transpired in London with the play.

Barney Rosenzweig Oct 5, 2011

Rumors/Rezi Badiyi

By now most of you know that the article in the UK’s the Daily Mail got somehow garbled in my phone interview and that the story of the imminent revisiting of Cagney & Lacey either on television or the big screen is simply not accurate.

These things happen, although I am not at all clear how in this case since I was asked at the outset of the interview if the rumor of an upcoming production was true and I unequivocally responded that it was not. The conversation went on about the plausibility of such a thing and I acknowledged that we had often been approached by various writers and producers over the years and that we even had a few viable approaches including making it multi generational by bringing Cagney’s niece, Bridget, onto the force.

I believe I went on to lament that my perception was that MGM, the holders of the Cagney & Lacey copyrights, had other priorities, including revisiting their motion picture series of the James Bond franchise. That led me in the interview to segue into my thoughts about the website and the taking of the successful survey of fans, urging MGM to release the entire series on DVD.That was really my purpose in doing the interview in the first place. Oh well. 


I normally don’t mind these things. I have been misquoted or misunderstood more than once in my life, and am only sorry to have disappointed those of you who got excited about the prospect. You know… eventually the story will be accurate. Someday MGM will get around to remaking Cagney & Lacey; hopefully while our fan base is still on the planet. In that case, the Daily Mail has scooped all its competitors once again.

I don’t want to leave this site without making mention of the passing of one of the members of the Cagney & Lacey first family, director Reza Badiyi. He was more than a good friend. He was an inspiration to all of us as well as being one of the most prolific, efficient and caring directors I have ever known.

It was in one of our very first episodes with Sharon as Christine Cagney. We had a strong scene of conflict between the two women. It was a very good… very tough scene, with both women pulling out a lot of potent emotional pyrotechnics. Everyone on the set had to be impressed with the talent these two were demonstrating in those early days of our series as Reza, next to the camera, watched carefully. “Cut,” he said, then added, “…Let’s do one more.” He moved to the two actresses who had given their all and probably couldn’t imagine why their director hadn’t printed the take and moved on. Instead he came close, leaned toward them, and very gently said, “Don’t forget the love.”

Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly have told me more than once it was one of the most important directions they had ever received in their storied careers. “Don’t forget the love.” We will not, and we will always remember this beautiful, talented, man… Reza Badiyi.

Barney Rosenzweig, September 2, 2011

Sharon Gless, Tyne Daly ...and Me - and the official C&L DVD survey!

Tyne Daly has done it again. She has opened on Broadway to rave reviews with a bravura performance this time in Terrance McNally’s Master Class. Both Sharon and I will catch up with her and the show later this summer (the play is scheduled to close its limited run the latter part of August), but I feel secure in offering this seemingly premature “Brava” since I have seen her take on this role a little over a year ago at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. As is so often the case with Ms Daly she was (is) simply brilliant.

On the subject of summer, Sharon continues on with the fifth season of Burn Notice and, in August in London, the casting of the UK version of her play A Round-Heeled Woman. So, both “my” gals are gainfully employed and doing well.

Me? I am revisiting what is now draft three of a novel I began over a year ago. I am struggling with it for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that the plot is somewhat political and the American political landscape keeps changing faster and in more bizarre ways than I (let alone my novel’s leading character) can keep pace with. I have painted myself into so many corners that a new metaphor has to be invented since the number of corners in any metaphorical room should be limited to four, right? I am in more trouble than that.

Still, it is something to do while waiting for MGM to figure out the future and just how they will handle it vis-à-vis Cagney & Lacey and it also has me thinking of returning to the easier (at least for me) memoir form in writing down the stories from my past before … and after… C&L. I am also contemplating an audio version of Cagney & Lacey… and Me plus a re-launch of that tome via electronic technology (Kindle and the iBookstore).

Meanwhile, a question for the reader: the subject of technology brings up the probably very real issue that would be collectors of the original Cagney & Lacey series will most probably be frustrated in their goal of having something tangible and tactile that they can put on a shelf as part of a “collection.” Electronic downloads and such are not going to satisfy that urge so the question is how many of you are there? If it could be arranged on an “on-demand” basis to have the entire series sent to you on DVD in pristine fashion from the original negatives would you want it, and what would you pay for those 125 episodes? Would it be all right if they did not have special additional materials such as interviews or would that be an essential part of any package? Think about this, collect the opinions of your fellow fans of the show, and let us know by answering our new DVD survey.

Summer time will be over soon which is followed by the fall and that is when I am in California and will talk to the MGM caretakers of the moment about such things. It would be nice to have ammunition when bearding the lion in his den.

Barney Rosenzweig, July 8, 2011

Of London, New York and Miami ... spring blog

Summer is all but upon us but before that happens I thought I should deal with spring. It was an active time of year in the Rosenzweig/Gless household. First there was that very quick April trip to London, followed by a trek out to Los Angeles, then in May our 20^th Wedding anniversary celebrated with friends in Florida, and a bash for Sharon’s birthday in New York. All of this built in, and around, the beginning of production for the fifth season of Burn Notice, Sharon’s Miami based TV series. Small wonder I haven’t been blogging of late.

The winter had ended with a record shattering Miami run of Sharon’s play, A Round-Heeled Woman at the GableStage Theatre. Having experienced that success the plan was then to take the play to England, open it this fall where it might run during the Burn Notice six month hiatus betwixt production of years five and six of that series, and then on to New York with the play for the fall of 2012. Sharon’s producers had wanted her to come to England to check out their idea for a venue, to do a bit of press and, coincidently, Ron Cowen and Dan Lipman, Sharon’s producers of Queer as Folk, had written Bonnie Blue Eyes, a major musical for the West End stage. It was just opening and Sharon wanted to be there in support. Then there was Tom Conti, her leading man from Chapter Two doing a play written by our pal, the late Jack Rosenthal and we both wanted to attend that with our good pal Jack’s widow, the wonderful actress/comedienne Maureen (no relation to the aforementioned Dan) Lipman so off we went.

We still had one evening open in the three day British dash (timed for the same weekend as the London Marathon, but a full week before the Royal Wedding) so we teamed up for dinner with Bill Paterson, Sharon’s co-star in Stephen King’s Misery. Bill and his award winning wife Hildegard Bechtler are always “must sees” being all on their own enough of an excuse to pop over the Atlantic for a long weekend break from Burn Notice filming even though, truth to tell, I am getting way too old for that kind of quickie. There is, by the way, no truth to the rumor that I went along merely to prove my nose was not at all out of joint at being excluded from the invitees to the big wedding thing and that I tagged along with SG to the UK as evidence of that.

London was fantastic. Bill Paterson and I exchanged books we have authored (his is Tales from the Back Green, mine… in case you forgot… is Cagney & Lacey… and Me). Even I have to confess that I got the better part of that deal. Bill’s book made me laugh and cry. He is as good a writer as he is an actor and so as not to leave Hildegard out of the equation I would add that the set she designed for the Broadway production of Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia was most impressive and worthy of her considerable talent and resume.

Meanwhile, back on the West End, Betty Blue Eyes, based on the British film classic A Private Function is a worthy successor to the movie. Not sure if Broadway will get all the very English references, but it could well work out there after its considerable run in the West End. After the multiple curtain calls we discovered a new (to me) London restaurant: Rules. It could well have been one of the trip’s highlights. We went there with Ron and Dan after their show, raved about their work and the décor and cuisine at what we learned was London’s most historical dining establishment.

Next day, Tom Conti was on stage and great as always. The play is Jack Rosenthal’s SMASH and, although, it has never played in America, I think it would be a smash in the states. Jack wrote it many years ago and his spouse Maureen starred in the original production. It is a very clever piece about a group of creative types (a writer, a director, a composer, a lyricist and a producer) who come together to create a Broadway musical. Sounds similar to the about-to-be launched American TV series called SMASH (about a group of creative types: a writer, a director, a composer, a lyricist and a producer)… a conflict which could launch an interesting series all by itself (not to mention a plagiarism suit).

Exhilarating and tiring as all that was, we no sooner returned to Miami than Sharon went before the Burn Notice cameras and I took off for Los Angeles, the LA Times Festival of Books and a guest lecture at UCLA. The latter was fun for me, appearing for the better part of three hours in front of my friend, Tom Nunan’s graduate seminar on television production, but the book fair was another matter. It not only brought up a few old wounds about the lame way most books and their authors are promoted, but more to the point it was humbling as few of the hundreds of thousands of fair goers seemed to have any kind of a clue at all of what Cagney & Lacey was, let alone why anyone would write a book about it. Maybe that what has delayed this blog. It sort of takes the wind out of what remains of my sails (I almost wrote sales) when I witness firsthand how few people know or care about what I have always believed was a truly iconic television series. I am not wrong about that part. What I have to face is how ephemeral pop culture is and how audiences do move on.

So now will I.

Sharon could not get another break from Miami and Burn Notice for our anniversary at the beginning of May. These personal events come and go, but 2011 was significant in that it was our 20^th. Having just burned a lot of sleep and energy on the London thing, I overruled Sharon’s desire to grab the “red-eye” to and from LA in order to have a party with our family (all of whom live in California) and so we opted instead for dear friends nearer home in Miami, celebrating at the famous Miami Beach Forge Restaurant with 20 pals, one for each year of wedded bliss. Well, to be more accurate, one for each year, blissful or otherwise. Either way, it was a great party followed by another bash at May’s end for Sharon’s birthday. This time Burn Notice was taking a small hiatus for the Memorial Day holiday and so I treated Sharon to a swell dinner at Sammy’s Roumanian Steak House in The Bowery in New York for all our NYC pals including sparklies Rosie O’Donnell, Tyne Daly and Lee Grant. Sammy’s is always a hoot and the food is fantastic… provided you are on serious statin drugs or care not about your cholesterol numbers. This was followed by a week’s worth of theatre on and off Broadway. We saw Book of Mormon (cute, but very over-rated from my point of view), Arcadia (Stoppard may just be the world’s best playwright working in the English language so this is a must-see), House of Blue Leaves (a far better than average revival of the John Guare play with a nice cast), The Minister’s Wife (yawn… but I did LOVE the lighting. I don’t know about you, but I think when the lighting is what gets a review in a musical there is a problem), Jerusalem (a British import with a stunning performance by Mark Rylance. It is more than the old, “if you can’t be good be loud” admonition. Rylance is good AND loud). By the way, we did not see the very theatrical British import War Horse on Broadway as we saw this at its home base in London; a very good night in the theatre. Finalizing our New York musical fling was Priscilla, Queen of the Desert which made my own light-weight (and only) Broadway adventure, All Shook Up, look like West Side Story. This was followed (finally) by The Mother ***ker with the Hat (a play, much better than the title with a very nice young cast). Sad to say the real Broadway highlight was tapas at the Bar Centrale just over Joe Allen’s bistro on 46^th street. Great food and drink from an interesting, albeit limited, menu and sparklies galore in attendance…. a really fun post-theatre hangout. Best meal (other than Sammy’s) was the always reliable Frankie & Johnnie’s and the worst was the very expensive and perpetually overrated Nello’s on Madison Ave. Sharon loved (as always) Serendipity for the Sand Tart Sundae and we were both bereft to discover Gino’s… one of our favorite Italian eateries… had closed its Lexington Avenue doors. It had been a main-stay for Sinatra, Woody Allen and for my entire life of New York experiences. I remain stunned at is closing. Not as stunned as I was at the LA Times Festival of Books, but stunned none-the-less.

That is it for the spring. Amazon and Kindle now have the e-book Cagney & Lacey… and Me for sale on their sites, and any day now iTunes should be featuring the book as well. I am hopeful that this summer brings some good news about those electronic sales along with good reviews for the Mrs. and season number five of Burn Notice. It will be lighting up your television screens in a matter of days. Be patient.

BARNEY ROSENZWEIG

June 9, 2011

Plus ça change ...

The more things change, the more things stay the same ... see: Corsets, Cleavage, Fishnets