I always loved her. She may have SEEMED to be the most “together” on Designing Women, but when she lost it, she lost it bigger than anyone, in a way that had you wanting to cheer and also fall off the couch. Her timing was impeccable. I loved that character, she was my favorite on the show. There is something so wonderful about seeing such a dignified together woman repeatedly LOSE it. She is so hot-tempered and loyal, she just cannot help herself. I have been unable to find my favorite moment of hers from the show on Youtube: it has to do with her stalling before the crowd at a wedding (who’s getting married? One of the other women?), and for some reason there is a delay, so she goes out there to make a speech, but then she finds herself suddenly singing “This Little Light of Mine” – does anyone remember this episode? I am laughing just thinking about it – the baffled guests at the wedding, like: “why isn’t the wedding starting, and who is this crazy woman turning it into a cabaret act?” – but I loved this piece on Entertainment Weekly:
Dixie Carter’s 5 best ‘Designing Women’ moments. Clips are included, so enjoy.
My condolences to her husband, Hal Holbrooke, and rest in peace, Miss Dixie Carter. Thanks for the laughs.
According to the New York Times – Dixie Carter’s cause of death:
“Dixie Carter, an accomplished actress who gave strong, opinionated Southern women a good name in the television series âDesigning Womenâ in the 1980s and 1990s, and later enjoyed success as a cabaret singer, died on Saturday in a Houston hospital. She was 70 and lived in Beverly Hills, Calif. Her death was announced by her husband, the actor Hal Holbrook, who said that the cause was complications of endometrial cancer.
im quite sad. real talent and beauty in that classy lady!
She was terrific. She did it all.
My friend, the famous Drunk Friend Sue, used to work at a major ad agency here in Little Rock. One of their clients (don’t remember which) used Dixie Carter for their ad campaign, and she came to LR for a long weekend of shooting. Sue got to meet her and said she was the nicest person you’d ever want to meet. Totally NOT a diva, very cooperative, very patient.
What was really funny about her portrayal of Julia, I always thought, was that she in real life was quite the conservative, and she — most of the time — vehemently disagreed with the “rants” the Thomason’s wrote for Julia.
My favorite Julia rant was in the episode where she is trying to get out of jury duty (because she’s going to get to meet Pres and Mrs. Carter) and Charlene turns her in to the judge for talking about the case, and the jury is sequestered. She goes off on Charlene over the phone, calling her a “big ol’ donkey Girl Scout” (a phrase I LOVE and use often). Here’s the transcript:
JULIA: (on phone) Hello, Charlene. I just wanted to thank you again for turning me into the judge. Now, the whole jury is sequestered till Lord only knows when, and I am here in Motel Hell, sharing a room with a women with no lips.
CHARLENE: Julia, I had to do it. We violated that law. By the way, I don’t think your supposed to be making telephone calls. I’d hate to have to report this, too.
JULIA: If you are so all fire, heaped up about turning people in, I believe you’ll find some overdue library books in my upstairs den. Why don’t you just report that too, and maybe you’ll get your merit badge, you big ‘ole donkey girl scout!
CHARLENE: Now, Julia, you sound overwrought.
JULIA: Yeah, well, you’re gonna think overwrought. If I miss my dinner with Jimmy and Rosalind Carter because of this, you’re going to pay and pay big. I’m going to find you and hunt you down like a dog! I’m talking about you running through the woods in the snow with blood hounds ripping your clothes off! And remember, Charlene, I have your address. You’d be wise to ask yourself “Do I know where my baby is?”!
OMG, here is the video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZHw7XWky_A&feature=related
That jury episode is totally classic – I was glad to see it included in the EW essay. “You have an advantage, because you don’t have to leave the room when you have to go to the bathroom.”
In her fabulous black suit with the one white collar swoop …
She was a glorious presence, obviously very well-loved by family and friends.
Most working actors are not divas. Divas are actually pretty rare in the profession. Now you go to Wall Street, you’ll find some divas. Dixie Carter was a working successful actress on Broadway, and Designing Women happened for her relatively late in her career. It was her ship coming in (financially anyway). She had waited a long time. That makes people humble. You don’t work that long, at that level, without being good to work with.
She will be much missed. I’m having fun going through tons of clips on Youtube.
// sharing a room with a women with no lips. //
hahahahahaha
Great writing!!!!
I’ll give SOME sort of prize to someone who can find the wedding episode. She is in there stalling forever, and at one point Annie Potts says to the other women, “Someone’s gotta go in there. Julia just sang ‘This Little Light of Mine'” ….
my favorite will always be the night the lights went out in georgia monologue, but for some reason, when she sang How Great Thou Art has always stuck with me. she truly was magnificent.
It must be the one where Charlene gets married, ’cause the only other wedding one I can remember is when her son Payne gets married. But that’s the episode where she gets drunk and sings “Sweet Georgia Brown.”
My mom’s favorite episode is “Big Hoss and Little Falsie,” where Mary Jo is contemplating bigger boobs. “These things are POWER!”
Hmmm. I remember that one. Hysterical!! Could I be remembering it wrong? I will do some research.
It was so awesome to have an ensemble of hot smart women – with writing as good as that! What a rarity!
Also, since the Thomasons are from Arkansas, a lot of the characters are named for people here, some of which I actually KNOW.
And the house in the credits? I almost got married there. It’s downtown, along with Suzanne’s house, which is our Governor’s Mansion.
It MUST be the one where Charlene gets married, ’cause remember? Bill and the stripper are connected by handcuffs and they have to get Monette the Hooker to come unlock them. That must be why Julia is stalling.
I love the way Dixie Carter just *nailed* those rants. She never skipped a beat or flubbed a single word. And you were always rooting for her, no matter how much bile she could muster because there was always this lingering feeling that the people on the receiving end deserved it. She was so great on that show.
I also loved the other characters’ responses to her about to “go off”. They’ll glance at each other, murmur “Uh-oh” – knowing she’s building up a full head of steam to let loose.
The lady was suffering from complications associated with endometrial cancer Dixie Carter Cause of Death Endometrial Cancer http://usspost.com/dixie-carter-cause-of-death-endometrial-cancer-8141/
I liked her from the time she had a recurring role on Diff’rent Strokes. RIP, Dixie Carter.
It was Charlene’s wedding, and you’ve got the gist of it right. But we didn’t actually get to see Julia sing “This Little Light of Mine.” Bill, Charlene & Little Latin Lupe were all hand-cuffed together…thus the delay in starting the wedding. After getting off the phone with I believe Anthony, Mary Jo comes into the bathroom where they are trying to get Charlene ready. They ask how it’s going and she reports, that Julia just sang “‘This Little Light of Mine,’ a marginal wedding song at best.” Julia was my favorite character, but Annie Potts delivers the line to perfection with just the right amount of rancorous sarcasm. I can still hear it in my head.