Who Needs Pants?

The opening shot was an elderly woman in a knee-length fur coat, sashaying along the streets of New York, her birdlike legs clad only in black tights. A hat crowned her grey hair, a jaunty scarf tied around her neck. Perched on her face were ginormous eyeglasses.

As she strolled along the sidewalks, adoring fans came up and told her how much they loved her. One man asked for a selfie with her.

So, who was the object of all this attention? Broadway actress Elaine Stritch.

The documentary was entitled Shoot Me, and was filmed in 2013, a year before Stritch passed away.

I love documentaries that explore the lives of people who are not in my stratosphere. And that is certainly the case with Ms. Stritch.

What I discovered about her was that she had a ton of talent and enjoyed a career that spanned 88+ years.

She told a story about dating President Kennedy before he became Commander in Chief. It was a brief period -- only two dates. On the second date, she invited him up for a night cap. His response was something to the effect of, if she was going to play records and serve him eggs and nothing else, he was not interested.

He didn't come up.

Noel Coward, disparaging a play Stritch was in (but recognizing her talent), offered her a part in his new musical, Sail Away. Stritch took on the role of leading lady and was nominated for a Tony for her performance. Her career took off.

Over the course of her lifetime, Stritch eventually won a Tony, along with several Emmy Awards.

She had a love affair with Ben Gazarra. She had a thing for Rock Hudson. And she asserted Kirk Douglas professed his love for her, although she did not return his affections.

In 1973, Stritch married the love of her life, Actor John Bay. The pair enjoyed wedded bliss until Bay's tragic death from brain cancer in 1982. She never married again.

Stritch was very candid about her alcoholism, which worsened after the death of her husband. She got it under control, but not before it contributed to the onset of diabetes, which plagued her for the rest of her life.

She was candid (and that's quite the understatement) about everything. In the documentary, she was coming up on the end of her life, and she vacillated between being at peace with the inevitable and being terrified.

Her residence in New York was the Carlyle Hotel. She also lived for a time at the Savoy in London.

Stritch played Alec Baldwin's mother in 30 Rock. She was buds with James Gandolfini. And she did a one-woman show called Elaine Stritch at Liberty.

The documentary was fascinating. Now I'm ready to read the book.

Let's hear it for the ladies who lunch...everybody rise...