"All Camp objects, and persons, contain a large element of artifice. Nothing in nature can be campy..."
- Susan Sontag, "Notes on Camp"
And what, really could be more artificial than the Hammond Organ, especially on a mid-sixties German variety show and in the preternaturally enthusiastic hands of the artiste seen here, the remarkable Miss Cherry Wainer?
When I first ran across her (surprisingly numerous) videos on YouTube, I at first took a fair amount of convincing that she was not in fact an invention of Amy Sedaris, but she does seem to be the genuine article. If a random organ-forum (and say that ten times fast) online is to be believed, she is now living in comfortable retirement in Las Vegas. I wonder if neighbors in the condo complex gather surreptitiously near her patio when she practices? I know I would...
I fucking adore this. It has organ music trying to be relevant (and in Germany, no less, where it is relevant), the performer mugging for the camera, and French Poodle as both fashion accessory AND lap dog.
ReplyDeletePriceless. Must share...
Well she certainly is energetic (and those arms are mightily toned) but I'll take Ethel Smith. Her "Tico Tico" is tops!
ReplyDeleteOh, Peter - how funny! I actually found Cherry when I came across Ethel playing "Tico Tico," which I got to because I was watching Sonia Henie skate to the same song, which I got to... Oh, God, I really am too queer, aren't I?
DeleteIf Ms Sontag had known you, she would have added you to her list. Jx
DeleteI actually sat through "It's a Pleaure" (in which Sonja skates in Technicolor to "Tico Tico). Trust me, it wasn't.
DeleteOh! My dear, you have excelled yourself with this one! How utterly fantabulosa... Jx
ReplyDeletePS Like Cookie, I may steal this for my blog at some stage.
I think that's a great idea - in fact, I think we ought to do all we can to try and make Cherry Wainer-fandom a thing - she's too big a treasure to be so obscure...
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