Sad Chicken Ranch news

July has not been a kind month for Chicken Ranch alumni. Specifically, those folks connected to the famed brothel through the mega-successful Broadway musical, "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." Carlin Glynn, who won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Miss Mona Stangley (which was based on real-life madam Edna Milton Chadwell) died on July 13 at the age of 83 after battling dementia and cancer.

That's Glynn on the right, facing Edna Milon (left). This was a publicity shot Milton gave me from the musical. The production wanted to promote the fact that Glynn and Milton looked similar. They really don't look very similar but I suppose when the alternative Miss Mona is Dolly Parton, this bit of trivia becomes much more plausible.

Obituaries have led with the fact that she played the mother to Molly Ringwald's character in the 1980s John Hughes teen film "Sixteen Candles." She's also the real-life mother to actor Mary Stuart Masterson, who she had with husband Peter Masterson--who co-authored the book to Whorehouse on Broadway and shared background information on that whole experience with me for my book (Peter Masterson died in 2018). Glynn's first film role was in "Three Days of the Condor" but what jumped out at me was that she played First Lady Meg Tresch in the 1987-88 Fox sitcom "Mr. President" opposite George C. Scott in the title role. I remember watching this at a teen and liking it quite a bit, but also realizing that the series was never as good as it should've been with all the talent involved.

The other big loss is that of Pamela Blair, who originated the role of Angel in "The Best Little Whorehouse..." If you've seen the play, you'll know the role is much more substantial than the blink-and-you'll-miss-her role from the movie. Angel shows up at the Chicken Ranch early on, a jaded sex worker who's cynical and has abandoned any effort at nuance (that's her in the center of the image to the left). She undergoes a significant character arc through the play and by the end leads the cast through the finale of "Hard Candy Christmas," vowing at the end to leave prostitution behind her for good. Here's a fun bit of trivia for you: Angel was originally named Amber in the script, but the name was changed at Edna's insistence. Masterson and co-author Larry L. King hand found some discarded letters in the trash pile at the Chicken Ranch and used the names from those letters for the characters in the play. Edna thought that an invasion of the women's privacy and would have none of it.

Despite the success of Angel in "Whorehouse," Blair is better known for originating the role of Val in "A Chorus Line" two years prior. Her other Broadway credits include "Mighty Aphrodite," "Of Mice and Men" and "A Few Good Men." She also had stints on the daytime soap operas Ryan's Hope and All My Children.

Blair died July 23 from complications related to Clippers disease. She was 73.

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