Farewell, Polly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               Polly Bergen was long underrated as an actress.  I can still hear her not so exceptional, yet impressive voice, on the Cast Recording of the 1959 musical, "First Impressions," where she played the lead role of Elizabeth Bennett--yes, darlings, Jane Austen's Elizabeth Bennett--in a musical adaptation of "Pride And Prejudice."  Can you imagine????????  The cast also included Farley Granger (Mr. D'Arcy, of course), Hermione Ginglold as Mrs. Bennett, and, as the youngest Bennett daughter, a very pre-"Sound Of Music" Lauri Peters.  She must have gone from one show, right to the other.

                              I also remember Polly for being the object in one of what I consider still one of the most erotic scenes filmed, in the original, 1962 version of "Cape Fear."

                               Back when the Theatre 80 St. Marks was a revival house, I went to a double feature of two of Robert Mitchum's greatest movies--"The Night Of The Hunter," and "Cape Fear."  The latter original was far superior to the De Niro remake!!!!!!!!!!

                                 There was this one scene, where a shirtless Mitchum menaces and sadistically taunts Bergen, dressed in a modest nightgown, but one showing her cleavage.  At one point, he grabs an egg, breaks it in front of her, (symbolizing how he would destroy her!!!!) with the insides running down the cleavage and the gown.  The sexual tension in that scene was so palpable you could almost feel the heat off the screen!!!!!!!!

                                  And they had clothes on, kiddies!!!!!!!!!!  Imagine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                  In some ways, Polly Bergen never had a defined career, but one she was always reinventing.  Which made her perfect, in 2001, to play survivor Carlotta Campion, in the revival of "Follies."   For the duration of a run shorter than the original 1971 "Follies," she was the Toast Of The Town, and Theater Queens and Bergen fans lined up at queues, just to see and hear her sing the Sondheim classic, "I'm Still Here."  Because "Follies" is one of my favorite shows, and one of my acting favorites, Blythe Danner, was playing Phyllis Rogers Stone, I saw it twice, and let me tell you, each time Polly nailed it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because of this, she was on the cabaret circuit for awhile.  I hear she even appeared on "Desperate Housewives, though I was never desperate enough, girls, to watch THAT show!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                Polly will be remembered and missed.  And here she is, at the Drama Desk Awards back then, singing the song in which she stopped the show!  Hear it, and weep, dolls!  Another of the real Golden Age troupers gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                  Rest In Peace, Polly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!