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Wayland Flowers

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Wayland Flowers
Wayland Flowers and Madame from Madame's Place
Born
Wayland Parrott Flowers, Jr.

(1939-11-26)November 26, 1939
Dawson, Georgia
DiedOctober 11, 1988(1988-10-11) (aged 48)
Los Angeles, California
Cause of deathAIDS
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Actor, Comedian, and Puppeteer
Years active1960–1988

Wayland Parrott Flowers, Jr. (November 26, 1939 – October 11, 1988) was an American puppeteer. He was born and raised in Dawson, Georgia. Flowers was best known for the puppet act he created with his puppet Madame. His performances as "Wayland Flowers and Madame" were a major national success on stage and on screen in the 1970s and 1980s.

Madame

Madame was created by Flowers in the mid-1960s. Flowers' first big break was an appearance on the The Andy Williams Show. The character of Madame is an "outrageous old broad" who entertains with double entendres and witty comebacks. Bedecked in fabulous evening wear and "summer diamonds" ("Some are diamonds; some are not"), Madame's look is based on movie stars such as Gloria Swanson. Madame is rumored to be based on a Washington, DC gay icon, waitress and restaurant hostess Margo MacGregor.[1]

Madame's many TV appearances included Laugh-In; a long run on the game show Hollywood Squares (replacing Paul Lynde in The Center Square); a recurring comedy skit on Solid Gold; a regular on ABC's short-lived summer replacement show called Keep on Truckin', TV guest spots; and as the star of her own syndicated 1982 sitcom, Madame's Place.

Flowers and Madame were in the center square on the final NBC episode of Hollywood Squares in June 1980; host Peter Marshall asked Madame the final game question of the daytime series, which was "Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Strauss lived in the same place. Where did they all live?" Madame's "comic" answer: "At the YMCA!" Then her "serious" answer: Germany. (The correct answer: Austria.)

Ten years after Flowers' death, Madame returned to the stage with entertainer Rick Skye. After appearances on several television shows, performances of "It's Madame with an E" began November 15, 2008 at Resorts Atlantic City.[2][3] During 2010, the show also toured the US.[4]

Madame is currently on display in the permanent collection of the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, Georgia.[5]

Other puppets

Flowers' other puppets included Crazy Mary (an escapee from Bellevue mental hospital), Jiffy (a Harlem harlot with a heart of brass), Macklehoney (a crotchety, retired vaudeville comedian). His puppet Smedley worked with Marlo Thomas on Free to Be… You and Me.

Death

After collapsing during a performance in 1988, Wayland Flowers began hospice care for AIDS-related cancer at the Hughes House in Los Angeles, California. He died there, at the age of 48,[6] on October 11, 1988, at 48 minutes past midnight.[7] He is buried in his hometown of Dawson, Georgia.[8] Flowers' estate was left to Wayland's then-manager, Marlena Shell.[2]

References

  1. ^ Najafi, Yusef (July 26, 2007). "Universal Mother: Saying goodbye to Margo". MetroWeekly.com. MetroWeekly, Washington D.C.'s Gay & Lesbian News Magazine. Retrieved November 29, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ a b Ferber, Lawrence (December 23, 2008). "The Divine Miss M." Advocate.com. The Advocate. Retrieved November 29, 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ Resorts Atlantic City website, retrieved November 10, 2008
  4. ^ "Tour Dates: "It's Madame with an E "". MadameandMe.com. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
  5. ^ Center for Puppetry Arts
  6. ^ AP (October 12, 1988). "Wayland Flowers Dies; Ventriloquist Was 48". NYTimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved December 30, 2006. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Los Angeles County death certificate number 38819045556, registered 10-13-1988 by Donald W. Long, M.D.
  8. ^ "Wayland Flowers". IMDb. Retrieved December 27, 2008.
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