Remembering Boldface: Could It Be That It Was All So Simple Then?
To commemorate the passing of the Times's sorta-gossip column, Boldface, we asked HuffPoster Rachel Sklar — the Fishbowl vet who is both perhaps the column's biggest fan and also the president of the Lower East Side branch of the Campbell Robertson fan club — to reflect on the greatest Boldface moments of yore. Cue The Way We Were, and then take it away, Rachel:
How to pick just one favorite Boldface column? I'm on the record as being a huge fan (read: embarrassingly, sloppily, obviously so), and frequently cited Campbell's witticisms when I was at FishbowlNY, where his showtune-citing proclivities were most welcome. Standouts include goofy art-history puns ("Hey, Modigliani! Why the Long Face?"), smarty-pants literary references ("We have heard the Olsens singing, each to each"), and elaborate poems ("To PARIS! Riper than a melon/Led more Greeks astray than HELEN/Been around more than MAGELLAN"); honorable mention for his charming little goat drawings, done in tandem with Boldface predecessor Joyce Wadler and, coincidentally, very Passover-appropriate.
But Rachel's favorite column? Jump...
But for me the top column is and must always be that perfect union of fan favorite Wilmer Valderrama and a classic of musical theater. It's brilliant: "Celebrity Whose Name Can Be Most Easily Sung to the Tune of 'Gary, Indiana': WILMER VALDERRAMA. Mr. Valderrama wasn't at the Tonys, as far as we know. But it is true. Try it." That's just genius. (And so is this: "An old reporter's trick: WILMER VALDERRAMA will go on for hours if you start in with whatever is on the cover of The Nation.")
I think I'm done now. Er, and maybe a little embarrassed. Do you think I've tipped my hand?
Yes, Rachel, we do. And thanks for it.