BEFORE: I just added to my Star Wars autograph collection, I got a signed Jimmy Smits ("Bail Organa" from Episodes 2 & 3) photo in the mail so my count is now up to 131 different signed 8x10's from all 11 major arcana SW films. So far I have not collected anything from the "Clone Wars" feature, but it's a direction I can go in the future - and I have not collected any autographs from "The Mandalorian" yet, because it's new and (semi-)popular and the prices are at a premium. Would I love to have a signed Pedro Pascal in the collection? Of course, but not at these prices, I can probably get a Billie Lourd at a more reasonable cost. And Sigourney Weaver? Forget it, there's only one photo available at $260, too rich for my blood. I've got to focus on Episodes 1 to 3, and what I can get at a discount, without breaking my budget. Also I like when it's more organic, I feel like Pedro's going to appear at the theater one day during a premiere and maybe I can hit him up, even if that means I get fired. JK. But this collecting thing is ongoing, it's a process that will maybe never end, until I do.
But the Doc Block is here for a limited time, just like the McRib. I'm 10 films in so we're 20% done for this year, and tonight I've got a dilemma on the "Get to Know a State" profile. Gloria Gaynor was born in New Jersey, but I need that state for a different doc - NO GUESSING because it's not going to be about Bruce Springsteen. She got famous playing in NYC discos, but I already profiled New York, and she lives in Tennessee but, you guessed it, I need that state for a different doc, too. My choice is going to be made based on these recent events - "I Will Survive" was accepted into the Library of Congress' Registry of notable National Recordings in 2016, and she performed there at a celebration of disco music in 2017. And last year President Trump named her as one of the honorees for the Kennedy Center Honors, held in December 2025. I know, considering who the President is and how he annexed the Kennedy Center, this honor doesn't mean as much as it used to. But the signs are (semi-)clear, the chain wants me to profile WASHINGTON, DC.
(I know, I know, it's not a state, it's a district. And yes, this is going to throw off my numbering, now I have 51 things to profile and 50 documentary intros to do it. Don't worry, I have a plan, and if it works, this will all make sense at the end...this is a logistical puzzle in progress and this is my weird way of solving it)
Date admitted to the U.S.: Trick question, it wasn't, but it was authorized July 16, 1790, so it's got a 236th birthday coming up... DC, you don't look a day over 200...
Claim to fame: A wretched hive of scum and villainy. But you know, the Smithsonian is cool.
Nickname: District of Columbia, or "the room where it happens"
Prevalent language: Nonsense. Also anarchy.
District Motto: Y.M.C.A. or M.A.G.A.
District Flower: American Beauty
District Fruit: Lindsey Graham
District Fruit: Lindsey Graham
District Reptile: Mitch McConnell
District Bird: The bald eagle? Nope, it's a wood thrush.
District Tree: Scarlet Oak
District Beverage: The Rickey
District Dinosaur: The Capitalsaurus, I'm not kidding. Were you expecting Joe Biden?
Notable Sports Teams: Somehow they have them - the Commanders (formerly Redskins) and the Wizards (formerly the Bullets), the Nationals (formerly the Expos), the Capitals in the NHL, and the Mystics in the WNBA.
Fun Fact: John Adams, the second President, was the first to live in the White House, George Washington never did. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were frenemies, like the Evert & Navratilova of the day and they died on the same day, July 4, 1826, exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Probably each one died disappointed that they didn't outlive the other. Efforts have been made to turn D.C. into a state since the 1880's, it's always been "Umm, we'll get back to you on that" but as a result citizens of D.C. are taxed like everyone else but they are NOT represented in Congress, which seems a bit unfair. They get one delegate who can't vote, so what's the point? I mean, I get that we don't want an odd number of stars on the flag, but get over it.
I have been to Washington, DC - stopped there on a family trip when I was a kid. We visited the Smithsonian and the Air & Space Museum, everything else I think we saw from afar. It still counts, so my record goes up to 8 and 2. I think I know how many states I've been to overall, but I'm going to keep you in suspense.
Dinah Shore carries over from "Chris & Martina: The Final Set" via archive footage.
THE PLOT: After overcoming traumatic events in her own life, Gloria Gaynor rebuilt by earning a degree in psychology and investing her own resources to produce the gospel album Testimony, which earned her a second Grammy 40 years after her first.
AFTER: Everything is connected, after all - obviously disco is a bit of a theme this year, what with Earth, Wind & Fire and Diana Ross jumping on that bandwagon at some point. But that means the infamous "Disco Sucks" Blow-up-your-records night is shown here, too, and that was profiled back in January when I watched "The Saint of Second Chances". (Just remember this, OK? I watched a documentary back in January, because I didn't think I could link to it during the Doc Block. This could turn out to be very important...). Another connection, Gloria Gaynor appeared on "The Masked Singer", just like Paul Anka, after years of people guessing her name.
Back in 2005, Gloria Gaynor broke up with her husband and manager, Linwood Simon, for several reasons, explained in this doc. At first, she was afraid - she was petrified. She probably kept thinking she could never live without him by her side. But then, she spent SO many nights thinking about how he did her wrong, and a funny thing happened - she grew strong, and she learned how to get along. Hmm, it's too bad she didn't have some kind of SONG that would tell her what to do in such a situation, you know, kind of an anthem about dealing with breakups and how to survive them. Oh, wait, she totally did. Still, it was probably a very tough time, it happens to all of us at some point, I suppose.
The song "I Will Survive" is absolutely iconic - from the number of people who showed up at her book signings and backstage meet-and-greets it's helped THOUSANDS of people get over. Gay people, straight people, homeless people, people with AIDS, each decade has brought new crises and reasons for people to need to find motivation to survive. Now, when I was a kid I heard the song on the radio, and I'll admit I misheard the lyrics. Instead of "Walk out the door," for some reason I heard "O, Commodore" and I thought it was a song about a lady breaking up with her husband or boyfriend who was a naval commander - and that didn't seem weird, except I thought that guy's probably got a well-paid job and a government pension, is she SURE she wants to break up with him? I didn't even know the singing group the Commodores at the time, otherwise I might have thought she was singing about Lionel Richie. (Even worse, when I heard "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" performed by the Rolling Stones, I thought Mick was singing to Aunt Jemima. But that's another story.)
Gloria had some medical problems, quite possibly related to a fall she took years ago while on stage at the Beacon Theater in the 1970's. This film also documents the radical spinal surgery she had in 2018 with the help of an orthopedic surgeon, which finally enabled her to stand up straight for the first time since 1997. This was great news, though I would like to know more about how this happened, and was this injury covered by insurance, was the Beacon Theater held responsible for the accident, like I still have questions. But I'm glad it all finally worked out, and she didn't crumble, she didn't just lay down and die. (Sorry, can't help it. Last time, I promise...)
She could have just stayed on the nostalgia circuit, there's a case to be made for just touring and singing "I Will Survive" at state fairs and such, but instead she turned her attention to Gospel music, I mean she is a person of faith (and a Republican supporter, which I guess explains the Kennedy Center Honors, but I'm willing to overlook that, just this once.) and why not keep growing, keep learning, and put a Gospel album together? It worked for Elvis, and he got more awards for his gospel music than he ever did for his rock and roll records. So she and her new manager hired some of the biggest names in that genre, like Jason Crabb, Mike Farris and Bart Millard, to sing on the album. It's almost like she completely didn't take into account that I would need to link to and from this documentary in a Doc Block one day.
She also completed her college degree in psychology from Walden University, at the age of 71. She already held an honorary degree in music, awarded to her by Dowling College in 2015, but kudos to her for sticking with it and achieving in her later years. Congratulations to this multi-talented, multi-award winning, multi-lingual performer of one of the biggest, best-selling singles in music history. Sure, it was disco but we can forgive that. She's got all her life to live and all her love to give, as do we all.
Directed by Betsy Schechter
Also starring Gloria Gaynor, Yolanda Adams (last seen in "Ride Along 2"), A.R. Bernard, Bill Civitella, Jason Crabb, Mike Farris, Stephanie Gold, Margi Kent, Georg Leitner, Hooman Melamed, Bart Millard, Jackie Patillo, Hasanna S. Proctor, Robin Roberts, Shannon Sanders, F. Reid Shippen, Chris Stevens, Tony Tarsia
with archive footage of Dick Clark (last seen in "Paul Anka: His Way"), Steve Dahl (last seen in "The Saint of Second Chances"), Jay Ellis, Redd Foxx (last seen in "Summer of Soul"), Harold Melvin, Linwood Simon
RATING: 6 out of 10 cover versions of "I Will Survive" (I recommend the one by Cake, or the one by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes)
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