Jul 31 2010
#27: When I Played Zsa Zsa Gabor
“You probably don’t know who Zsa Zsa Gabor is, do you?” Barb asked me the other day, having just read of Zsa Zsa’s bone-breakage upon falling out of bed.
“Oh, DO I!” I exclaimed, swiveling around in my chair.
In fifth grade, we had to get into interview/interviewee groups. I have no idea what we were studying that made this a necessary assignment, but I was in a group with my friend Spring and some asshole bitch whose name isn’t even worth mentioning (the same one who years later went on to befriend Henry’s ex-wife!
).
Everyone else in the class chose normal people to role-play with, like one girl was Debbie Gibson and the interviewer asked her questions about her new perfume, Electric Youth.
Someone was a skateboarder. Another boy was a weatherman. Normal fifth grade character studies!
Me? I was Zsa Zsa Gabor. My Aunt Sharon swore it would be a hit. “Either her, or you could be Imelda Marcos!” I had no idea who either of them were, but Sharon found me a shoulder-padded sequined blouse and a blond wig, so it was decided that I would be Zsa Zsa.
Spring was the interviewer, and The Bitch was the cop who received Zsa Zsa’s backhand. That was the big thing in celebrity news at that time.
The Bitch was perfect for the role as the cop, because she was portly and looked like Chief Wiggums from The Simpsons.
I didn’t know much about Zsa Zsa. Sharon told me to just keep splaying out my hand and saying “Dahhhhling” over and over.
It was a train wreck. No one in the class understood who we were supposed to be, except for Mrs. Madden who was behind the camcorder failing at stifling her laughs.
Somewhere, I have a copy of this disaster on VHS. Maybe one day if I find it, I’ll find a way to put it online so everyone can laugh at my visible discomfort of playing the role of some old Hungarian stranger that no under the age of 40 knew back then, and then dance around in a ring of schadenfreude.
“You’re a very interesting young lady,” Barb said after I told her this story. Interesting is not the word Henry and Alisha would use.
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I know there are online dictionaries and wikiedia’s and googles etc … But for the hell of it or for me can you define words like schadenfreude in your own words??
Wonka
I think the hardest word I ever had to explain was solipsistic. It’s like, I know what it means and can use it in sentences, but for some reason I’ve always had a hard time putting it in my words!
Schadenfreude is one of my faves because I always take delight in the misfortune of my enemies, lol.
Mmmmmm, schadenfreude. <3 The sweetest of all German words.
I got Zsa Zsa's autobiography for Christmas, at my request, when I was in junior high. I wasn't very popular in junior high.
so listen…this is creepy as fuck but we did an assignment similar to this and upon my grandma’s prodding/my sister’s torture.. i was liz taylor…what the fuck who does that
I think we were meant to be friends.
haha the more I learn…the more I think that’s probably an understatement