Morgan Fairchild, Dallas’ dopest diva, a 1969 Lake Highlands High graduate, is back in showbiz — not that she ever left it, really. A battle over ownership of an elite New York City gay bar following the mysterious sudden death of its proprietor is the the basis for Morgan Fairchild’s new series, “Melange,” which shines its spotlight on sexuality-, immigration-, addiction-, power- and inclusion-related themes.
Don’t work yourself into too much of a frenzy just yet. “Mélange,” starring Morgan Fairchild, who grew up in Dallas, filmed the series earlier this month, and the drama has yet to sign with a network.
But big names are attached to the project, whose narrative incorporates current social issues dear to Fairchild’s bleeding heart (that’s if her Twitter feed, which I follow religiously, is any indication of her proclivities).
There’s award-winning theatrical producers Tom D’Angora and Tim Kashani, plus director Emmy Awardee Gary Donatelli, for starters, Variety reports.
The half-hour drama’s basis entails a battle over ownership of an historic New York City gay bar, Mélange, following the sudden and mysterious death of its proprietor.
Themes of sexuality, immigration, addiction, power and inclusion permeate the plot. That said, it is little wonder casting tapped the 68-year-old Fairchild to play the lead role, Vivian, a diabolical diva determined to dominate aforementioned bar and its accompanying fortune.
Such things she speaks, er, tweets out about on the regular.
Fairchild, the Dallas-born daughter of a Richardson High School teacher, has appeared on “Mr. Pepermint Show”; doubled for Faye Dunaway in “Bonnie and Clyde,” enjoyed a reoccurring role on “Mork and Mindy,” played Constance on the soap “Flamingo Road” and guest starred on too many ’80s shows to name.
Right up though 2009, at least, she’s worked steadily in television.
She graduated from Lake Highlands High in ’67. There she wasn’t called Morgan, but rather Patsy Anne McClenny, admittedly not so sexy, unless she wanted to audition for “Hee Haw” (and, honestly, would that have been so bad?)
A bit of trivia: In 1970, two men grabbed her on the street and pushed her into a cab. “I was just damned if I was going to let them see how scared I was,” she said on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen.” “So every time they said something awful, I just made a wisecrack. Eventually one turned to the other and said, ‘You know what, she’s funny, let’s let her go.’ ”
Sounds completely true. (Seriously, I believe her. I believe.)
Oh, and when she was 15, she dated a drummer who went on to play with ZZ Top.
And while we might not see her lustrous platinum mane much on TV these days, she is still toiling.
A three-year board member of the Screen Actors Guild, she’s served on several committees—co-chair Legislative Committee, National Executive Committee, SAG-AFTRA Relations Committee, Commercials Contracts Committee, Honors and Tributes Committee, and Guild Governance and Rules Committee.
Plus, this woman is one of the most prolific political tweeters on Twitter.
Secret message board drives ‘pizzagate’-style harassment campaign of small businesses https://t.co/8RwjHhY6pP via @nbcnews
— Morgan Fairchild (@morgfair) August 28, 2018
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Secret message board drives ‘pizzagate’-style harassment campaign of small businesses https://t.co/8RwjHhY6pP via @nbcnews
— Morgan Fairchild (@morgfair) August 28, 2018
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
John McCain and Russ Feingold’s Joint Effort to Restore Democracy via @thenation https://t.co/fSQDoxP57D
— Morgan Fairchild (@morgfair) August 28, 2018
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Bloomberg News reassigned reporter after Wells Fargo CEO called to complain https://t.co/OP1v8HsWyV via @CNNMoney
— Morgan Fairchild (@morgfair) August 28, 2018
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
That’s just in the past 24 hours, not including retweets and responses.
You might not like her opinions, but she’s clearly intelligent and thoughtful about what she posts. You won’t see: “@realdonaldtrump is why the gene pool needs a lifeguard” or “nice to see Pence’s education isn’t getting in the way of his ignorance” — that sort of thing — on her timeline.
The lady’s far too classy for that.
(I could learn a thing or two from her.)
Said Twitter profile might have served her well when it came to scoring the “Mélange” role, because producers reportedly paid careful attention to social media during casting.