Hello, dolls! So here’s the deal: Today (It’s November when I wrote this), I had a walkthrough of a new venue with our “Golden Gals Live!” cast and got to spend a little time with a little boy I call “Ma’.” Mr. Ms Adrian.
S/He drove me home afterwards and, while we were listening to showtunes, I thought of how many squeals we have shared over the last year because of Broadway, Bette Midler and big butts. I lean over and tell Mr. Ms Adrian, “I wish we had shared space when I was your age, because almost nobody around me ‘got’ it, and I really needed it.”
Then I came home and found an email from my editor asking me to write this praise and I didn’t hesitate.
I am at least 20 years older than the child that plays my mother. (That’s how incredible I look! It feels good, but I must really attribute much of my unreal fabulosity to all of the youthfulness I have sucked out of this person. But even then … I look really good.)
I Love Mr. Ms Adrian with all of my heart. And let me tell you: At not one point have I ever heard a negative word about this gal. Ever. Period.
Adding additional shame to my own behavior is that I have also never heard a negative word come out of that gal’s mouth either. She’s a damn saint.
I wish I could BE this gal.
Adrian Padron was introduced to me with TVLand Live’s “Golden Gals: Live!” two weeks after I got out of a 6-week stint in a hospital, and THE DAY AFTER I buried my mother. Here is this child who’s supposed to play my mother while I’m all but convalescing and wiping the dirt I buried my mother with still fresh.
For any of you familiar with “The Golden Girls,” you already know that Sophia Petrillo and Dorothy Patrello-Zbornak are basically a sister act. So if one of the actors doesn’t work, the whole joke falls flat. Doug Ba’aser says to me, “Trust me! Adrian’s got this!”
And boy did she ever. Holy CRAP did she EVER!
An accomplished Lady Gaga impersonator with a flair for high theatrics (just my style) she just kept growing. She kept getting better and better. And then better. Her Dr. Frank N. Furter is now an annual favorite. Her Gaga remains legendary. And her Sophia is sublime.
But the cherry on this little Cuban cake is what a magnificent human being I find him to be. It’s astonishing at which the ease of kindness exudes from this person. What a guy! Seriously, y’all. WHAT A GUY! He just wants everybody to be loved, cared for and entertained.
It has been my honor to basically write a fan letter to a friend who earned every fucking letter. I love you, Ma!
To view the full list of Watermark’s Most Remarkable People of 2020, click here.
