Catching up with Mitzi Gaynor

I admit it, I have a big ol’ crush on Mitzi Gaynor, the legendary star of South Pacific.

At 77, she’s still got it going on! When I saw her Sunday at the LA Tony Award Party, I was sort of staring at her after we finished talking but not in a way that I wanted her to notice! She gives me a sideways glance and says: “You’re checking me out aren’t you!”

It was so funny! And great. She is great.

Ever since we did an interview last fall to promote the DVD release of all of her dazzling TV specials from the 60s and 70s (they were highly-anticipated annual events), Miss Gaynor is always so warm to me whenever I see her – most recently we sat together at Florence Henderson’s 75th birthday concert.

Anyway, Mitzi had been retired from showbiz but after her husband Jack Bean died in 2006 (they were married for 52 years), she has re-emerged professionally and been touring with a one-woman show.

“I was in San Francisco, I was in Spokane, I was in Palm Springs,” she said.

She also had some other news for me: “I’m writing a book.”

But don’t expect anything scandalous: “You know when the National Enquirer calls me up, they want to know like a recipe for Hungarian goulash, that’s how sexy and salacious I am. I was a married lady for like all of my life.”

How has it been since she has re-emerged in recent years?

“It’s kind of wonderful. I can go to Trader Joes now and everybody knows who I am. Instead of saying, “Aren’t you?” they say, ‘Mitzi!’ and it’s kind of marvelous.”

So is she.

To give you a good sample of what Mitzi can do, here are a few clips. The first is a compilation from her TV specials, the second is a song she sings in South Pacific. She’s the best!