Her most important roles were in plays by writers who I think are now considered to be "classical modernist" figures.  Schnitzler, Genet, Brecht, Tennessee Williams (she did El Camino Real on stage in addition to playing in the film of IGUANA), etc.  But in an interview once, she said she wished she'd been able to do more Shakespeare.

I think in general Grayson liked work that was a mixture of fun and challenging.  At one point right after DS it looked as if she was going to be in a new Neil Simon comedy (PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE, I think) and that certainly would have been "mainstream."

xo  G.

That's another interesting coincidence, Midnite.  I've been fascinated by the Caffe Cino for years now.  Maybe I talked to you about this once upon a time.  My memory gets very patchy now--fine for certain things but other stuff--it's like it never happened.  Of course I remember your smile, warmth, and inexhaustible sense of elegant chic!

For what it is worth, there is a novel called Temple Slave by Robert Patrick.  It is a roman a clef about Caffe Cino--which is to say, it is a memoir of his time there, but the names have been changed to protect guilty and innocent alike.  It's pretty obvious if you know even a little about 1960s NYC theater and counter culture who is who.

I've often wondered whether Grayson and Sam attended any of the performances at the Cino.  I have the feeling Grayson would have been fascinated.  She did do some other avant-garde underground stuff in the 1960s and 70s so who knows.

G.

We might have.  The scene is in a shop for devices used by stage magicians, as I recall.

I think I did have a videotape that had some Thayer David bits and pieces on it, but I might be misremembering...

G.

Thank you, thank you, thank you MB for those gorgeous shots of Carlotta from that scene!

G.

That's awesome reporting, Midnite.  Thanks so much!

xo, G.

Thanks!  Love them both!  For some reason, the first photo was displaying with Carlotta's line for the second capture.

Best, G.

Holy Hell, today's shot of Carlotta and Gerard is totally awesome!  Excellent work, MB!

cheers, G.

THE RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE is one of my favorite films.  Glad you got to enjoy it!

I think the idea of a feud or innate acrimony between vampires and werewolves was made up by the author of the Twilight books.  It might have been something that came up in modern pulp vampire and werewolf fiction such as the seemingly interminable books by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and others.  I haven't read any of that, so I don't know.

The pre-Victorian lore about vampires, werewolves, Witches etc. was to say the least rather different from modern media images.  You can read books by S. Baring-Gould, the "Reverend" Montague Summers (who was quite a character in his own right), Claude Lecouteux (an excellent modern researcher of old lore) and others, if curious.

Best,  G.