36 | SUMMER 2013 | FAIRWEATHER
makeup by bella
E
laine Stritch has left the building—the
Carlyle Hotel building, that is—and moved back to
her Birmingham, Michigan, hometown.
And what a sendof it was: a huge article in the
New York Times; a tearful farewell from the entire
hotel staf assembled in the lobby; a red-carpet opening and rave
reviews at the Tribeca Film Festival for a documentary, Elaine Stritch:
Shoot Me, about her extraordinary career. Now, after 70 years of flling
Broadway theaters and cabarets, she was gone.
"It has been hysterical showbiz—interviews, interviews, interviews, newspapers, pictures,'' said Elaine, speaking with Fairweather
magazine as she settled into her magnifcent new condo in the Detroit
suburb. "No, it doesn't stop. I guess when you work for 68 years in the
theatre they all come in for the kill, and they say that's something, and
I say, 'Now, you notice?' It's very hard to be noticed in life. Have you
ever noticed?''
Her new spread in the center of town in Birmingham looks and
feels a lot like her corner suite at the Carlyle, where she lived for the
last 20 years. It is a two-bedroom, frst foor, chic apartment with a
beautiful deck, sitting room, living room, large kitchen, TV room, and
three bathrooms. Elaine gets a little lost in the hall.