{"id":56685,"date":"2012-08-05T16:19:16","date_gmt":"2012-08-05T20:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=56685"},"modified":"2019-03-11T09:13:56","modified_gmt":"2019-03-11T13:13:56","slug":"mitchell-fain-presents-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=56685","title":{"rendered":"Conversations with Mitchell, Part 1: Justin Timberlake, Lena Horne, Doris Day, Jill Clayburgh, Cary Grant, Don Rickles."},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nMitchell and me. Years ago, in a photo booth at Lounge Ax, a grubby music club on Fullerton in Chicago, across the street from the fabled Biograph.<\/i><\/p>\n

\nThis is an interview that has been in the works, at least in my own head, for a couple of years. My friend Mitchell Fain, actor, director, circus performer, and Hollywood encyclopedia, has a vast wealth of knowledge and passion for performers throughout history, and it is one of the many ways in which we bond. We love to just talk about these people, and hash out why they are so unique and wonderful. I wanted to get him on tape. My idea was: to come up with a List of Names, names that I would not reveal to him beforehand, and then go through them with him, one by one. And so that’s what we recently did, in a series of phone calls. I would throw out a name to him, and ask him to describe said person in just one word. Mitchell then took it from there, as I knew he would. This is the kind of thing that turns me on, that makes me happy to be a part of this vast swirling conversation involving the entertainers throughout history, those remembered, and those somewhat forgotten. Mitchell not only is articulate, but he has a way of providing examples to back up his various opinions that made this a joy to put together. The names I threw out at him were eclectic and far-reaching, and I hope you enjoy our interview. Part 2 will go up in the next couple of days. Please, please, feel free to leave comments about your own favorites, your own thoughts, about these remarkable performers. Thank you, Mitchell, for playing along. It will be a great contribution to my site.<\/p>\n

So let’s start with the first name I threw at him.<\/i><\/p>\n

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE<\/strong><\/h1>\n

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\nSheila O’Malley:<\/big> One word.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Mitchell Fain:<\/big><\/strong> Old-school. <\/p>\n

I say that because he’s so multi-talented. He’s sexy. Unfortunately it shows me to be the dirty old man that I am because I thought he was adorable when he was in NSYNC<\/strong> and I predicted that he was going to become as famous as he has become, although people laughed at me. I feel totally justified, which is a pun on his album name, by the way. He’s like Hugh Jackman<\/strong> and Neal Patrick Harris<\/strong>. They all could have been working at MGM. They can sing, they can dance, they can act, they have a personality, they can do a talk show, they can do comedy, people like to see them, they make people happy. I feel like he’s an old soul old-school talent. He doesn’t seem to sweat it. There’s something very grateful about him. Of course, I’m getting a lot of this from Rachel [Hamilton – our friend who writes for Justin Timberlake<\/i>], in that she says that he’s very grateful for the life that he has. He treats people kindly because of it. Which also makes me love him. <\/p>\n

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\nJustin Timberlake’s Emmy-nominated performance at the ESPY’s, written by our friend Rachel Hamilton, who is on Timberlake’s writing staff<\/i><\/p>\n

MF:<\/big><\/strong> I think that we’re destined to be friends, that’s what I’m trying to say about it.<\/p>\n

SOM:<\/big> That’s really the thesis statement.<\/strong><\/p>\n

MF:<\/big><\/strong> I think we’re destined to be in each other’s lives.<\/p>\n

SOM:<\/big><\/strong> [I am laughing.<\/i>] So you liked him in NSYNC. That was when you first clocked him?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MF:<\/big><\/strong> I first clocked him when they were on Leno. Celebrity <\/em>had just come out and they were doing “Pop”. I remember thinking: A, he was adorable, B, I really like the song, and C, he had a Michael Jackson<\/strong> quality. He was exponentially better than everybody in his group and I felt that he was destined to be a solo star.<\/p>\n

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