Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen are friends who have taken their friendship and celebrity on the road for an evening of gossip and commentary. Since both are mega-stars in their respective fields, the Chicago Theater was sold out, and the entertainers did not disappoint.
The two interviewed each other and interspersed their comments with film clips. I knew very little about Andy Cohen, since I do not watch his “Real Housewives” series, and that was a disadvantage as the evening wore on and numerous women lined up to ask the less-serious Andy about his shows. One woman asked: “Which is the dumbest housewife?” but Cohen chose not to diss that one.
Some brief biographical information was conveyed through film and commentary, and I learned that when Anderson Cooper’s 23-year-old brother, Carter, committed suicide (Anderson was 21) he jumped from the 14th floor ledge of Gloria Vanderbilt’s Manhattan penthouse while she watched. This, said Cooper, has informed everything he has done in life since. He indicated that perhaps he likes to be where tragedy has struck to see how others deal with it and survive.
Another bit of gossip concerned Gloria (Vanderbilt’s) hooking up with Marlon Brando, something that Carol Matthau (wife of Walter) arranged back when Brando was in his prime. As he put Gloria in a cab in the morning, he said, “You have Japanese skin.” (Whatever that means.) This was Brando in his prime and sexy days, Cooper stressed.
Another interesting story concerned the gentleman that does a cheek swab and then traces one’s lineage. He discovered that the Cooper side of the family had a great great grandfather who had owned slaves and had, in fact, been hacked to death by one of his slaves, using a hoe. (Ben Affleck recently called and asked that this information be omitted from his geneology report.)
The evening was a hit for fans of either gentleman, gays, and fans of the real Housewives of wherever. The only real housewife I had ever heard of was Theresa Guidici because she went to jail. After that, Nene Leaks was another I knew had been on one of his shows, because she appeared on “The Celebrity Apprentice” and, also, briefly on “The New Normal.”
I enjoyed the evening, as I knew I would, and the event was sold out.