R.I.P. Elaine Stritch (1925-2014)

Broadway, television and film legend Elaine Stritch passed away today in her home in Birmingham, MI.

The 89-year-old performing powerhouse started her career on the stage. She quickly became a muse for Noel Coward and was considered one of the greatest performers of Stephen Sondheim’s oeuvre. Recently, Stritch took home Emmys for her guest performances on 30 Rockas Colleen Donaghey and for work on her solo show, Elaine Stritch: At Liberty.

Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me is a fantastic documentary now streaming on Netflix that covers the brassy blonde’s incredible career and puts a spotlight on her own struggles to face her own mortality. The documentary features interviews with Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin and the late James Gandolfini, and also reveals juicy gossip from Stritch’s younger days. For instance, Stritch almost had a tryst with a young JFK and regrets dumping Ben Gazzara for Rock Hudson.

But what really makes Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me such a must-see is its how it fully encapsulates the scope of such a singular woman. The documentary doesn’t flinch from showing her at her worst, but by doing so it illustrates why she was one of the best.