What is the allure of Cher?

OP = Madonna, the loser

Madonna at least had raw talent.

She had that really big Bono.

Similar appeal to Bananarama: Personal style that signaled the counter culture, not much of a singing voice, alternately sullen and wisecracking.

[quote]Madonna at least had raw talent.

In other words, she was a cunt?

Cher is a brilliant actress in the right part (Moonstruck) and has the same knack for crafting an image/star persona that Madonna does. I’d argue Cher has more raw musical talent than Madonna and certainly more raw acting talent. Both of them had a great eye/ear for image in their younger days.

Cher is not a natural beauty - she always looks like she's wearing 10 lbs of makeup.

She's kind of like a beloved tree in the backyard of the place you grew up in. You go back every 15 years and it's like. 'Wow, it's still there!'.

Cher was considered natural because of her snaggle teeth and beak.

[quote] Madonna at least had raw talent.

You mean she fucked dj’s without condoms.

Sonny was the real talent between the two

I bet Cher does big stinkies in the bathroom.

His production of "Alfie" is pretty dreadful.

Sonny counted his lucky stars every day that he found Cher. He wouldn’t have ever made it without her to convert his talent into something marketable.

R8 that’s how everyone feels about you breathing air

Cher is a hippie, people, always has been. Love her.

Hippies don't play Vegas.

She is cheesy.

She's a hard worker and has a sense of humor.

Young Cher and young Janet.

I was never a fan of Cher's. Although she still rakes him over coals decades after his death she would have been nothing and nowhere if it hadn't been for Sonny Bono. She never would have had a career if not for him. He invented (and reinvented) Sonny and Cher. She reminds me of Stevie Nicks in that way. Nicks disparages Lindsey Buckingham whenever she's asked about him and even got him kicked out of Fleetwood Mac, but if not for him no one would know who she was.

Sonny and Cher both needed each other, just like Lindsey and Stevie. Unlike Lindsey, Sonny seemed to understand that and appreciate Cher for it. I don’t recall Cher saying a bad word about Sonny, just the opposite.

She never did drugs, right? So not really a hippie.

She was an ORIGINAL. That was the allure.

I thought Cher was originally thought of as the cheesy/junior version of a hippie who was safe enough for uptight parents to let kids buy the records.

Always thought she was overrated as a singer. Although I do like some of her songs, especially her output from the mid to late 80s. She can be a very good actress, and I actually prefer her that way than as a singer.

R2 If you mean by "talent" her vagina then yes it was very raw after it rode a dozen record producer/DJ dicks in order for its owner to get ahead.

You don't last for nearly 60 years in the spotlight without talent. And Cher has plenty of talent. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Cher's voice has remained strong, powerful, and she still sounds great. She's also a great actress. And she still looks fabulous.

Not many do it better than Cher.

Cher gave Sonny a really nice, heartfelt eulogy. I haven't heard about Cher disparaging Sonny after he died.

I wish Cher had continued acting. She's amazing in the right role, but I think she just got bored with the entire deal. Also her 60s/70s fashion + look is still iconic today and a big reason for her staying power.

Cher chose freezing her face over her acting potential. I love her but I think that is such a waste of talent to pay for vanity. But it’s her life and her face.

Well, it's not all her face. I think there might be donors involved.

She's very talented, but she does have a tendency to go towards the easy money grab. (Pretty much everything post Believe).

It's a shame she didn't do more with her movie career. She went from being considered a joke in the industry to becoming an award winning, respectable actress in the matter of a few years. But as someone mentioned above, it seems the thrill left when she won the oscar. Also, movies don't pay as much as touring.

Didn't she get fibromyalgia after those exercise infomercials?

Didn't Stevie predict Sonny's death when she wrote Landslide?

“Cher is not a natural beauty - she always looks like she's wearing 10 lbs of makeup.”

I’ve always beat my face—and ‘The Beat Goes On’.

r2...she had raw beef curtains....nothing more.

[quote] I don’t recall Cher saying a bad word about Sonny, just the opposite.

Twelve years after his death she said he was "a terrible husband" and he "treated her ‘more like a golden goose than like his wife." She was always dissing him. But without him she'd be nothing. He made her career.

[quote] You don't last for nearly 60 years in the spotlight without talent. And Cher has plenty of talent. Unlike many of her contemporaries, Cher's voice has remained strong, powerful, and she still sounds great. She's also a great actress. And she still looks fabulous.

Not many do it better than Cher.

Who are you, her agent? You're really slopping over with the fawning worship. And "she looks fabulous?" You must be going blind. She looks like some kind of weird alien. Her voice isn't exactly "strong and powerful", either. And as for her being a "great actress"....well, for a "great actress" her film career sure didn't last long.

She's lasted as long as she has because of luck more than anything else. G

I have seen a lot of concerts in my day including Cher at least seven or eight times. She is one of the hardest working women in show business. Her concerts are fabulous amazing productions. Her voice is still great. Love her.

Take that, bitches.

At 5:23 she talks about performing at Sun City in South Africa

[quote] Take that, bitches.

Your Cher worship is cringeworthy. Eww.

Wasn't there a huge boycott on South Africa in the 80s? I saw a recent interview with Little Steven Van Zant, who spearheaded that. I give him a lot of credit because he was genuinely pissed and fired up about the situation (segregation) in South Africa and risked a lot to speak out.

[quote]She is one of the hardest working women in show business. Her concerts are fabulous amazing productions.

It hardly matters when she sings such bad songs. She has never had any taste in music (or in clothes either). Things like "Believe" and the Diane Warren dreck sound as terrible and dated as "Dark Lady" and "Half Breed."

She IS a genuinely talented actress and she doesn't seem to care.

I want to know why someone who has 26 albums keeps singing the same fucking songs for every tour/residency. She really has been repetitive for the past 20 years.

And let’s get real - she NEVER would’ve had a career without Sonny. She simply isn’t smart to have been able to navigate the business on her own.

Cher can only wish she’s as beautiful, successful, rich, famous, and talented as Madonna. Madonna is the queen of pop who is the best selling and touring artist of all time, who writes her own music and constantly reinvents her look, music, taste, choreography, trends, fashion. And Cher well is Cher, who still uses the same wardrobes and choreography in every her greatest tours that have lasted over 15 years. When is she gonna stop this damn boring tour? Cher can’t even dance. Nobody outside of the US knows or gives a fuck who the fuck this woman is.

Is she still doing a Farewell Tour? How long has she been doing one? Twenty years?

For me, the allure is in the public persona she (or, more accurately, Sonny) created in the 70's when she was on the Sonny and Cher show.

As a kid, I just loved how she came off on that show. Sarcastic, smart, funny, beautiful, and incredibly glamorous...yet also somehow down-to-Earth and no-bullshit. (I know, it's all an image, an illusion, but it's a great one and it worked for me).

I've never been a huge fan of the music, but I do have a huge nostalgic attachment to a lot of it.

She's just one of those people I've always rooted for, no matter whether or not I liked everything she did. I don't think there's much of a logical explanation for it. There are certain entertainers I feel that way about, and she's one of them.

Love her

She's down to earth and doesn't take herself seriously.

R44 I know! She has been doing the same exact set of songs for over 20 years. The only thing that changes from tour to tour is the order they're in and the costumes she wears when she sings them.

She really was a good actress for a brief time there.

She worked so hard to be taken seriously and then as soon as she was (the Oscar) she seemed to lose interest in acting.

I wish she had done Thelma and Louise rather than Sarandon.

[Quote] I know, it's all an image, an illusion

Shnap out of it!

I had my share of Cher:

“Cher had previously told TV host James Corden that Tom was among her "top five lovers", and had also told Oprah Winfrey that he could have been a "great big romance" if they hadn’t been forced to part ways due to their busy schedules.”

Cher - Queen of the Universe

Cher sure can pick 'em. Her lovers have included Gregg Allman (druggie dimwit), Gene Simmons (slimy pussyhound), David Geffen (gay), Tom Cruise (gay) and Val Kilmer (nut job) and the moronic Bagel Boy Rod Camilletti.

She has a sense of humor about herself.

She’s relatable, not only to her generation but also to 13 year olds who have never heard of Sonny Bono or “Moonstruck”!

Mask, Witches of Eastwick, Moonstruck, Come Back To The Five and Dime Jimmy Dean...

As noted in right film role Cher was magic, and was well worth price of admission. Coupled with a string of vocal hits in 1980's and 1990's Cher became something of an icon, especially with the gays.

You have to give the old girl credit, she reinvents herself and does so in ways that previous and new generations of fans adore.

Everything being said, if nothing else Moonstruck cemented Cher's place as a "star" if you will.

Each time break out that film for people who weren't even born when it was first released, they are blown away by Cher.

R57, I referenced that scene on here about a week ago. I always forget about that cheesy smooth-listening moment by the fireplace, lol. But, Norman Jewison handled her transformation from frumpy to Met-ready with such loveliness and grace. It has a real wow-factor, and I love the two notes that play when she steps out of the cab before the sweeping music when Cage finally sees her.

[quote]saying he only communicated with her by fax

So, he was an asshole to her back in the 1990s? Let it go, lmao.

Why do people pit wars against all of our Elder-Icons? I don't hate any of them. I love them all. It's the young ones that don't do anything for me.

[quote]What is the allure of Cher?

She has a great vag

I don't think she's overrated as a singer. To my memory, no one has ever really praised her singing, except sometimes to say she is a better/more competent singer than is generally acknowledged.

I like her voice. It's unique. And I think the thing that has made Cher successful and popular are her unique voice and look, plus talent, plus an honest sense of humor about it and everything else.

She doesn't come across to me as arrogant, but as surprisingly objective about herself. I've heard her say in interviews, for example, that she has been intimidated to act in movies, that she almost dropped out of the movie with Meryl Streep because she felt incompetent and had a panic attack, etc. That's not something an egomaniac would do or admit. She has continued to record albums, but I've heard her say in interviews that she doesn't have a favorite among her songs because "I don't listen to Cher music. It's not really my style. But I'm glad other people like it."

She knows she is cheesy. She's in on the joke. She even likes Cher impersonators.

And at the same time, she is serious about her career and she is a talented actor and singer.

So it's a combination of legitimate talent that isn't very serious and is backed by a good sense of humor and humility that people love. There aren't many people who fall into all those categories—Dolly Parton is one.

And speaking of Dolly, both she and Cher are bleeding hearts who are always doing things to help people quietly behind the scenes and also making public pleas for others to help.

She's got pizzaz. She's the London of entertainment: when you're tired of Cher you're tired of life.

If Turn Back Time on the Missouri doesn't do it for you, what will?

What r27, r47 and r60 said, loved your post r39!

Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, and the rest, all are products of that assembly-line, mass marketing driven, cut-out-doll pop stardom. At some level, they're indistinguishable from each other.

I'll grant you that Madonna, Lady Gaga and Beyonce occupy an elevated niche in the annals of pop stardom.

Then, there is Cher. Unique, unmistakable, one-of-a-kind, with a public persona and stardom that truly is in a class by itself.

And yes, all the more amazing because, from a pure talent standpoint, she ain't all it.

Cher (and Dolly) have another allure, a patriotic one: they could only be American. There's something so deeply satisfying about that.

I always saw her more as an entertainer than an artist, which isn't a bad thing per se.

R56 Cher's education stopped in high school and she went straight into show business. So she's stunted and teenage-ish in a way. I do think she's a strong person, though, never got all fucked up on drugs or what have you. And again, she was totally original, no one at the time looked and sounded like her. She was ultra-glamorous, funny, could sing (yes I know it's arguable but she made catchy records that people enjoyed), and to everyone's amazement, ultimately delivered Oscar-worthy acting performances. You have to give it to her. For me, being distinctive is any performer's greatest and most lasting achievement, and she did that and then some.

What is the allure of Cats?

Cher has a great voice.

Here's a vocal profile by a voice expert.

A lot more positives than negatives are listed, including credit for technically healthy singing, which a lot of pop stars get knocked on.

Someone thinks she's a great actress?

Nope.

She's a unique celebrity. That is all. But it seems to have been enough.

Sonny and Cher were so popular when they broke up personally they each got their own show on TV,

I used to like her but then I saw The Cher Show and realized what a narcissist she is as well as a misandrist. She hates a man she can't control.

Would Cher have been as successful without that short and memorable brilliant name?

R67

If and or when she can get that vibrato under control.....

Still have to admit that vibrato and few other bits gives Cher's voice a distinct sound. You know it anywhere.....

R70 No, "Cherilyn" is not the name of a star.

Sean Hayes has same sort of vibrato issues with his voice. This is one why his imitations of Cher come off so well.

Over years scores of drag queens and others have tried to mimic Cher's sound, only a few can get close, and again it is those who have or can produce same sort of vibrato with their instrument.

Has anyone here had a personal encounter with Cher? I would guess she carries an energy with her that fills the room.

She really is like Dolly. Somehow she is a self-aware self-parody while just being herself.

BITCH

I think her voice is actually really strong. She may not have a huge range but she has a pretty powerful voice that sounds distinct from the sorts of powerful belters we get ad nauseam on American Idol-type shows.

This fucking asshole troll posts a million of these types of lame threads every day. Literally 99% of postings are from this lame ass fucker. DL=99% brain dead fuckery.

R76 I knew a friend-of-a-friend who worked with her in a client services way, the kind of position where she could have been cold/businesslike and it would have been somewhat normal. Instead she was very kind and always offering him perks, tickets to special events (not to her own concerts but unrelated things), sending gifts for his family, etc. A very thoughtful lady who was not scatterbrained the way I imagined.

By all accounts Cher is a very wonderful and nice person. She and the "Bagel Boy" are still in close touch and have been so all these years. He cannot speak anything but good of Cher, and that's saying something about a person in an industry were people take up and drop people all the time.

[quote]For me, the allure is in the public persona she (or, more accurately, Sonny) created in the 70's when she was on the Sonny and Cher show.

[quote]I just loved how she came off on that show. Sarcastic, smart, funny, beautiful, and incredibly glamorous...yet also somehow down-to-Earth and no-bullshit. (I know, it's all an image, an illusion, but it's a great one and it worked for me).

[quote]I’ve never been a huge fan of the music, but I do have a huge nostalgic attachment to a lot of it.

[quote]She's just one of those people I've always rooted for, no matter whether or not I liked everything she did. I don't think there's much of a logical explanation for it. There are certain entertainers I feel that way about, and she's one of them.

I could have written this, 47. I didn’t see the show until I was an adult but it had the same effect. Here she is with Carol Burnett

[quote]Sean Hayes has same sort of vibrato issues with his voice. This is one why his imitations of Cher come off so well.

He does a good Cher.

The link below starts at 1:55, rewind or replay to see the whole thing.

Had she left her face alone, she would have been a stunning older woman…

I can understand a facelift but I wish she hadn’t messed with her nose. It was a great nose, exotic in the best sense.

Great clip R84

Of course in real life there was no freaking way Cher would have been totally unnoticed much less allowed to leave a gay establishment without being rushed.

R87 It's amazing that you felt a need to add that qualifier lol

I love her song that goes….

If I could turn back time. I would date a fetus.

"What is the allure of Cher?"

If you have to ask, you're just not DataLounge material.

May I suggest Mr. Ray's Wig World?

I'm surprised you are not all up in arms about the fact that Cher was 16 and sonny was 28 when they started dating. I went to the same private school as Cher. Sonny got kicked out of the school grounds for hanging out with her and then she left school because she didn't like those rules. She left the semester before I went there but everyone was talking about it. My friend lived 3 doors down from her mother in Encino, and one day we went over there and hung out with Cher. This was before they got really famous. They were still local. I was about 14 or 15 at the time and we spent the afternoon painting our legs and having a good time. Cher was fun and down-to-earth.

R91 What, pray tell, is leg painting?

Madonna is the Cunt that Devoured Hollywood. She has NO acting talent whatsoever. She can move, that’s about it. She ruined Evita with her inability to sing the score.

Cher’s great. Fuck off, Oppie poopie boy.

R92 we used body paint to paint our legs psychedelic colors, flowers, and whatever else we wanted to paint ourselves with.

^^^ it was a fad for a short period of time.

No one sounded like her? Sonny Bono sounded like her. And vice versa.

Cher's career wouldn't have survived the '70s without Bob Mackie. I get the sense her film career didn't take off because she probably doesn't take direction very well, she's sensitive and strong-willed. I also wonder if winning the Oscar and receiving that kind of legitimacy was enough to satisfy her aspiration/goal.

I just can’t imagine Cher being taken advantage of by anyone, even at age 16. And it seemed to have all worked out ok.

Her film career did take off.

All's well that ends well. She's 77 and didn't die of an OD like Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney and Madonna.

She always seemed kind of self-deprecating and like she's in on the joke... which makes her appealing.

R99 Cher was not that way when she was young. Sonny pretty much ran the show. I saw them at the Hollywood bowl very early in their career and people started to get closer to the stage and Cher ran away. Sonny had to tell them to sit down or she would not come out again because she was scared.

She started to come into her own as she got older. The age difference was all that unusual, It was a different time.

She was never into drugs. It's strange then that she fell head over heels in love with Gregg Allman, who was a hard core druggie. They were one of the most odd couples in celebrity history. He was a Southerner, his band was respected and had a lot of musical cred, and he was very into drugs. She was from California, had cheesy pop hits and was the star of a variety tv show; her stardom was very Hollywood and commercial. She came to one of his shows and after the show she said he sent her a note "one of those Southern flower jobs...you're a beautiful lady, blah, blah, blah." They went on a date and on their first date he started to suck her fingers. She told him "I'm not that kind of a girl...I don't know where the hell that came from." it should have ended there but she said she contacted him and said that their first date was so awful the second one would certainly be better. So they went on a second date and ended up together. Allman said "She was hot to trot, man. And we made some serious love." It was sex that brought them together; Allman was supposedly "a bull in the bedroom." They married and after a few days Cher filed for divorce, which was a source of hilarity. But they stayed together for a few years before divorcing. She had a son with Allman but Allman had little to do with him. Cher lost interest in him pretty soon, too; she shipped him off to boarding school at age 8. Poor kid,

Cher cut an album at Muscle Shoals. Duane Allman might even have played on it.

Cher is a superstar and super-talented as well. And she has a great voice as shown in video below.

And throughout the years, she has more than held her own and excelled with the likes singers and actors including Tina Turner, Bette Midler, Elton John, The Jackson Five, Raquel Welch, Carol Burnett, etc., etc. She remained a rock/pop singer and didn't become older and only perform ballads. Her performances in Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Moonstruck, Mask, Suspect and Tea with Mussolini were outstanding.

If I Could Turn Back Time, Believe, I've Got You Babe, Strong Enough and All I Really Wanna Do, Take Me Home are classics. But when she sang a ballad, nothing was better than The Way of Love. Her concerts are events. You want to know her allure? You have more than enough talent, appeal and iconic images to make Cher one of the greatest performers of our lifetime.

She’s a tall skinny gay man in a Pocahontas wig.

Raquel Welch?! You're just being kind.

She sings the Eldergay National Anthem, OP!!!

I never really liked If I Could Turn Back Taowm. I started liking her music with Believe.

[quote]Cher lost interest in him pretty soon, too; she shipped him off to boarding school at age 8. Poor kid,

According to Cher and Elijah, he was a wild child growing up, but you wonder if she didn't take some of her issues with Greg out on him.

Chaz and her seemed to be very close when he was growing up. But there also seems to be some issues between them as well.

[quote] You have more than enough talent, appeal and iconic images to make Cher one of the greatest performers of our lifetime.

You are either a troll or a nutcase. Or maybe a nutcase troll. Anyway, your incessant kissing of Cher's ass makes you seem like a pathetic twat.

I love her pretty contralto voice, her quirky good looks, her humor, her charisma, her acting, her body, her down-to-earth-ness... What's not to like?

Well, I didn't like how she was embarrassed by her daughter now son's weight problem. I bet if Chaz had looked like Kristen Stewart, Cher would have been delighted that she was a lesbian and later trans.

Don't know what her son by Duane Allman or whoever it was looks like. Isn't he a druggie like dear old dad?

[quote] Don't know what her son by Duane Allman or whoever it was looks like. Isn't he a druggie like dear old dad?

He looks somewhat like his father; blonde hair, fair skin. And yes, he's a druggie just like his Dad.

I've never understood it either OP. Her singing voice is a complete affectation. Her whole shtick, on and off the stage, is one big put-on.

Cher was considered untalented and unattractive in the beginning of her career because she had a heavy, unagile contralto voice and lacked the ethereal, blonde ingénue look that was fashionable at the time (think Sharon Tate, Michelle Phillips or Sandra Dee). However, she is a good singer with a powerful voice and a good range (C3 - F6), and she has proven that she can sing just as well live as she does on record. Moreover, she is a GREAT actress when properly directed, as R6 has mentioned. Her turns in Moonstruck, Silkwood, Mermaids, The Witches of Eastwick and Suspect were all fantastic. I would mention her Oscar, but if the likes of Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow could get one, you know that it isn't really a prestigious award.

What I also think that many people overlook is her sheer charisma, which is undeniable, as well as her ability to take whatever is fashionable and adapt it to her own style.

In my opinion, her real problem is that she is very inconsistent and tends to release great music and films, immediately followed by utter and complete crap. This has prevented her from receiving the widespread praise that she deserves, and made people think that she is some sort of one-trick pony that somehow, manages to survive throughout the decades by latching on to popular trends, which is undeniably unfair.

As far as the Madonna comparisons are concerned, I couldn't disagree more with those who say that they are comparable. Madonna has revolutionized pop music and turned into a spectacle in which publicity stunts are just as important as the music itself, but she is a barely mediocre singer and awful actress. Yes, she is extremely charismatic and has cleverly built herself up to iconic status with minimal talent, but she is nowhere near as great as Cher, who has survived through a combination of real talent, adaptability and sheer determination.

Cher's best performance was this eulogy she gave at Sonny's funeral:

Cher & Raquel Welch - I'm a Woman (Live on The Cher Show, 1975)

Cher & Tina Turner - Shame, Shame, Shame (Live on The Cher Show, 1975)

Cher & Carol Burnett - Variety (Live on The Carol Burnett Show, 1975)

Two ol' song and dance pros:

Let's not pretend stunts weren't part of Cher's arsenal.

Cher & Bette Midler - Trashy Ladies Medley (Live on The Cher Show, 1975)

Cher, Elton John, Bette Midler - Never Can Say Goodbye Medley ft. Flip Wilson (The Cher Show, 1975)

Cher had quite the star-studded lineup of guests on The Cher Show in 1975.

Cher & David Bowie - Young Americans Medley (Live on The Cher Show, 1975)

^^Pretty damn good getting David Bowie to appear on your show.

^^Now that's the allure and appeal of Cher.

Did Diana Ross ever guest?

Linda Ronstadt was on the CHer show, too. She was forced to wear a huge curly wig; she said she was told "with your stringy hair you should wear this." She said it was either be branded as uncooperative or "look like a fool", so she chose the latter.

A wee bit sour, that Linda.

What is a testament to Cher is that shes is very good friends with Tina Turner, Bette Midler and Elton John in real life yo this day.

Good friends with people she almost never sees?

She sees them....and each occasionally references the others interviews

^^^in interviews

She saw Tina recently. And how long had it been before then? C'mon now.

Cher is Cher. Authentic.

^WTF is this word "authentic"?

r136....its good to know Cher has a keeper that knows the details of her life.

Oh, please. She's as self centred as any other celebrity. "Authentic."

sorry, the above was for r135

[Quote] ts good to know Cher has a keeper that knows the details of her life.

It was an article, hon. To give people like you warm and fuzzies.

What is her current relationship with her kids like now?

[quote] She sees them....and each occasionally references the others interviews.

Yeah, I suppose you're right there when their have their intimate luncheons and sleepovers. You dumb cluck. They're celebrities so they may "see" each other at celebrity events but there's no evidence that they're close, warm, personal friends at all. You dumb twat.

[Quote] What is her current relationship with her kids like now?

Similar to Tina's. "The check's in the mail" etc.

She can be quite funny as a raconteur.

I remember seeing her on some talk show and she was so funny telling the story of how she accidentally flirted with a stalker she was having a problem with.

She went to the movies in Mailbu and was outside waiting for the people she was meeting. She was standing there and she noticed some guy staring at her. She thought he was kind of cute so she looked back kind of encouragingly for him to approach her. She then suddenly realized he was the stalker she'd had issues with so she ran into the theater asking for the manager's office. She said they took her there but everyone who worked there was a teen or like 22. She started saying you probably haven't heard of me but call your mother and check. I'm Cher. I'm famous and a stalker is following me. She says she thought they'd think she was crazy but one movie fan kid said oh yeah from Moonstruck. Then I like who she says because it was Malibu and things happen there that don't in the real world suddenly Whoopi Goldberg popped her head in and asked if she was ok and what was happening. So while they waited for the police Whoopi went over and asked the guy why he keeps following Cher.

I think its funny picturing her in an office full of kids saying I'm famous! Call your mother and ask her!

R145 aww life before cellphones.

Damn, Cher never looked more beautiful. The face, makeup, gorgeous outfit. Wait for her entrance at 3:45 (minus he face covering). Great song and production too.

In 1968 I ws eight, living with my ten year old brother and parents in LA. My dad got a better job offer in Phoenix and we moevd there in Feb '68. No one liked it immediately. Cut to summer '68, and one day my mom read in the paper that Sonny and Cher would be at Encanto Park filming a movie he was directing. Encanto Park is the Central Park of Phoenix, only it's dull and hot. The name of the movie was "Chastity' and is rarely mentioned when Cher's filmography comes up

So we go there, and the are maybe 20-30 other people who had see the article in various combinations of kids and parents, standing behind a thin rope that was maybe 40 feet away from the heart of the film production. My mom looked at the rope and said "Screw this, let's go meet them!" So we hung with Sonny and Cherr ora good thirty minutes (my mom had the Gift of Gab). Cher was in-between takes; there was a creek running through the park and in the background of the shot that was totally stagnant; it looked like mung water and the crew was attempting to make it look more animated. Cher was sitting not on a directors chair with her hame on it, but on one of those set pieces of equipment with wheels and a cross bar that doubles as a seat. She was very nice to both me and my brother; not overly effusive, but she was so young and hadn't come into her own yet. My mom drifted off to talk politics and the summer of love with Sonny.

I remember these fine details because I have this sweet little Kodak instamatic picture of my brother and I flanking Cher on either side, and in the background there's mom in her purple slacks with Sonny, wearing a yellow-orange see-through mesh shirt of some sort. Ever since then I have always liked Cher and vowed to never speak negatively of her. She–and Sonny—were the catalyst for one of the most memorable moments of my childhood.

Cher has always given off a self-aware and self-effacing vibe.

Plus she fit the era: earning her own pay; having long, dark, center-parted hair; wearing the original bell-bottoms; taking no guff from her old man; being exotically beautiful.

Yet Cher presented a traditional role, as well: loving wife; proud mother; charming hostess.

What's not to like?!

One of my favorite movies stars Cher: "Suspect."

I love your anecdote, r148! Your Mom sounds a pip!

Chastity (1969 film)

Suspect (1987 film)

Tea with Mussolini, 1999

Speaking of Linda Ronstadt, R129. She looked great with curly hair and their performance was fantastic. The fact that Cher could hold her own against the likes of Tina Turner and the glorious Linda Ronstadt, is a testament to her talent.

Chastity Bono (now Chaz) was born March 4, 1969

Chastity (the film) was released on June 24, 1969

Do you think Sonny & Cher named their daughter to help promote the movie. Or had they already picked out the name for their daughter long in advance and then named Cher's character in the movie Chastity, which was written by Sonny?

Cher in "Tea With Mussolini."

Also, something that Cher has is that she isn't afraid of looking like a fool and laughing at herself. Here's a performance with the pathetically clownish Charo, where Cher simply has fun delivering a caricaturesque performance and proves what a great actress and performer she is (by the way, the video's title mentions Linda Ronstadt, but she is nowhere to be found in it).

Cher and Charlie Lucas in Tea With Mussolini

I loved Cher sitting on the piano singing the intro to her VAMP skits.

Cher as her tacky, but funny character Laverne...with Joe Namath and I believe Teri Garr.

Lily Tomlin as Ernestine calls Cher...

The son who communicates only by fax, is that Elijah Blue or the other one?

Also does anyone find the younger Sonny hawt?

I thought Cher only had two biological children - Chaz and Elijah Blue. Is there another son?

R163

Just doesn't know what time it is, does he?

Though query is common (and innocently) made enough in families with a transgender kid.

Fax? Who uses a fax nowadays?

Sorry, R164, you're right.

Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!

Her mid-70s album Stars was produced by Jimmy Webb and is her 'West Coast' style LP, with a host of LA session musicians and covers of songs by Little Feat, Jackson Browne, Neil Young etc. It sold poorly and got bad reviews but is very enjoyable, especially her covers of 'These Days' and 'Geronimo's Cadillac'. And the promo clip for the latter is pure Cher.

I'm partial to her 1976 album "I'd Rather Believe in You," especially her cover of Knock on Wood. I don't know why she consigned her mid-'70s albums to the dustbin, her voice was at its peak.

Cher good.

Proud mother? She didn't react well to her first born coming out. I doubt Cher was a good mother at all. Celebrities are like children. They think the world revolves around them.

I doubt she sees those albums as trash. They weren't commercially successful and they haven't been re-assessed in the years since. It's unclear why she put them on YouTube. Cherry Red in the UK would happily put them out as a boxset of CDs.

Cher's allure is an illusion conjured by Armenian Gypsy Magick.

[quote] Chaz and her seemed to be very close when he was growing up. But there also seems to be some issues between them as well.

He simply outgrew her.

[quote]Did Diana Ross ever guest?

I don’t think so, R128, but are she is with Tina Turner & Kate Smith

Raquel Welch was guest on the Cher show.

Tatum O'Neal was on Sonny & Cher.

I didn't realize Tatum was that popular back then.

Bowie

Those tied off shirts look weird, considering Tatum was a child.

I found the video that goes with the image at R176.

Tatum O'Neal had an, um, THING for Cher. As in sexual attraction. She admitted she had feelings like that for Cher in her memoir. Boy, was Tatum O'Neal fucked up! I don't know if Cher ever knew that Tatum had the hots for her but if she did she'd probably be grossed out.

I don't think same sex feelings = fucked up. Do you know where you are?

I remember a Vanity Fair article where Chastity talked about being attracted to Kate Jackson when she was one of Cher's buddies. Kate Jackson & Cher were pals for a while.

Wasn’t she married to that Irish fellow from U2?

Who is the blonde in those pics, r182? And the person who made the header did Tanya Roberts dirty.

The blonde sitting next to Cher in the club looks like her younger sister, Georganne LaPiere.

You're correct, r185. I thought it might have been Marcia Strassman.

Celebrities' siblings give some insight into what the celebrity might look like if they'd aged naturally.

[quote] I don't think same sex feelings = fucked up.

Tatum O'Neal's lezbo feelings for Cher were unseemly, seeing as how Cher never thought of Tatum O'Neal as anything but a little Hollywood friend. Hell, she'd even take little Tatum out clubbing with her! Actually, that was rather unseemly too, considering Tatum was still a child. But Tatum O'Neal was fucked up big time due to her crazy upbringing, her becoming a Hollywood star at such a young age, and drug addiction. Also she can't seem to decide whether or not she's a lesbian. Like I said, pretty fucked up.

Different fathers, R187, Cher's father was Armenian.

Like Danny Thomas?

Tatum says Cher was stability for her. As normal as you could get in 1970s Hollywood, I guess.

They don't even look like they're related.

Georganne and John Schneider were an item?

OP She's a scamp, a camp and a bit of a tramp. She's a

V

A

M

P

VAMP!

Georganne looks like her mother.

Cher looks like her father.

No. Cher has her mother's cheekbones, her mother's chin etc.

You think so, R197?

When I see pre-1970 pictures of her, before she had any work done on her face, all I see is her father.

I've been to all 57 of her farewell tours and I plan to attend the next 34 too.

Well this thread about a 75-year-old woman took off, so she certainly has some appeal.

When I see Cher's father I see Sonny.

Sonny & Cher look like they could be related in this picture.

[quote]Cher's career wouldn't have survived the '70s without Bob Mackie.

He definitely helped.

So Cher provided "stability" in Tatum O'Neal's life. Boy, that shows you how insane her life must have been if living with Cher provided "stability.'

Stability?

Cher has her father's coloring. She has her mother's apple cheeks.

So cute.

Long dark hair, killer body, and that strange tongue move from back in the day. Show 'em, Dorothy.

Georganne's father was hot.

Does she have a sense of humor?

R23 who are you asking about.? Cher had a great sense of humor I don't know about her mother.

Like Danny Thomas?

Lebanese, Rose, Lebanese.

Her father was Lebanese?! Well, that explains where Chaz got it from.

Cher’s mother is the model on the right.

Just to get the thread back on topic

I know she's Cher but I still can't believe she wore this to the Oscars.

What was the reaction to this back then?

I'll take a wild guess and say "laughter", R218.

Cher had nothing on Edy!

Or when she got her Oscar. She always wore wild outfits.

That's not the night she won the Oscar, R221, she wore that dress in1986 when she presented best supporting actor (to Don Ameche) because she was pissed she didn't get nominated for Mask.

I think it's fabulous!

She is obviously an exhibitionist like Madonna, although not quite THAT bad. There was some photo of her at a skating ring wearing a top that was completely see through and she was wearing no bra (I saw it in Playboy magazine). She was on the cover of Time magazine wearing what I think was a Bob Mackie dress that was similar to the one Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang Happy Birthday to JFK; that it a gown that "nude with sequins." She wore it to some Hollywood event and on some talk show said a man approached her and asked: "How does it feel to be out in public naked?" She seemed surprised at that, saying that with the dress you could "see" but you didn't REALLY "see." Anyway, Cher has always liked wearing outfits that leave little to the imagination.

Cher leaves me cold, too.

Sometimes her acting’s okay, but there’s innumerable performers who can do that.

R223 Me too

Cher is beautiful.

Love her

Classic Cher. Love the straight hair

Cher and son, Elijah Blue

Sonny & Cher

Cher and her mother, Georgia Holt

Cher through the decades:

20-30-40-50-60-70

It's the whole dude looks like a lady bit. Or visa versa.

Cher has never been an attractive woman. She looks “distinct” Mediocrity is best to describe her look and talents.

Cher is an icon. Few performers have had as successful a career as hers.

Cher was dynamite with the Jackson 5. Her voice blended perfectly with Michaels.

[quote]She was on the cover of Time magazine wearing what I think was a Bob Mackie dress that was similar to the one Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang Happy Birthday to JFK; that it a gown that "nude with sequins." She wore it to some Hollywood event

Was it this dress?

[quote]That's not the night she won the Oscar, [R221], she wore that dress in1986 when she presented best supporting actor (to Don Ameche) because she was pissed she didn't get nominated for Mask.

Here's the Oscar win dress

Cher is everything.

R239 I like that outfit too. She was always fun to watch at the Oscars.

That picture of her with Elijah Blue is unsettling. Look at the body language and facial expressions. These are two people who don't like each other much and are uncomfortable in each other's presence.

Will Elijah Blue be Cher's Christina Crawford/Saatchi Parker?

Unlike Joan and Shirley, though, Cher acknowledges that she was a lousy mother.

R182 Kate Jackson with Chastity Bono.

Ah, r245…. Now it makes perfect sense why Chasity changed her gender after spending time with Sabrina Duncan.

R237 Yeah, cool!

This is the article where Chastity confesses her Sabrina Duncan crush.

Elijah tours in Cher's band as one of her guitar players.

[quote] Was it this dress?

Yeah, that one. The "nude" dress.

Cher - Cover / Time Magazine - March 17, 1975

(color)

Cher - Time Magazine - via mail subscription

Cher - same dress for the cover of Time Magazine - March 17, 1975 - black & white

[post redacted because independent.co.uk thinks that links to their ridiculous rag are a bad thing. Somebody might want to tell them how the internet works. Or not. We don't really care. They do suck though. Our advice is that you should not click on the link and whatever you do, don't read their truly terrible articles.]

People called her psychoneurotic. But you can call her Blanche Du Bois! Come aboard her li'l ol' streetcar--she's headin' for the Mardi Gras!

I don't know where that statement above came from show on R254. It appeared automatically unbeknownst to me when I posted the above photo. However, what I wrote that was immediately deleted is the following (Muriel, or somebody is messin' with me!):

Kim Kardashian, paying homage to Cher in a similar dress; however, no one wore it better than Cher.

I think she was so sexy before she got all of the plastic surgery.

That said, and I know this is so weird, but there's something about her gait that is odd to me. It's like she's not engaging her glutes/inner thighs when she walks. But she doesn't have much of either, so maybe that's why.

Cher definitely has mental issues. The compulsive plastic surgery indicates that. She's unrepentant about it, and said rather crudely that if she wanted "wear my tits on my back" it was nobody else's damn business.

R258. You're nuts. Cher does not have mental issues...or no more than the average person.

I remember when she said that quote. It may have been defiant, but it wasn't because she's crazy.

[quote] I remember when she said that quote. It may have been defiant, but it wasn't because she's crazy.

No one said she was "crazy." But she does have mental issues. Like Madonna, she's old (in her seventies now) but still tries to pass herself off as a hot, young babe. And the endless plastic surgery is an indication of mental illness. You're just a smitten fan of hers who thinks she can do no wrong and is a normal, well adjusted person.

Cher is not crazy nor does she have mental issues. The comment of putting her tits on her back if she wanted was weird but did not indicate mental issues.

[quote] Cher is not crazy nor does she have mental issues. The comment of putting her tits on her back if she wanted was weird but did not indicate mental issues.

Your insistent defense of her ("She's not crazy, she's not crazy, she's not crazy!") indicates you're kind of nuts yourself. At any rate, the compulsive surgeries are indeed a sign of mental disturbance. And nobody said she had mental issues because of her "tits on my back" comment, although it is an odd thing to say. In fact, nobody said she was crazy. You're the one throwing the word "crazy" around.

R260 it isn't mental issues, it's a career-expanding strategy. If you don't go under the knife at that age, you edge yourself out of relevance/popularity even more so. Even Jane Fonda reluctantly admitted to having work done so she cold stay in the game.

@r24 except she and sonny kind of invented the hippie aesthetic. Hence she was an original. Nobody dressed like them in 1964. Nobody in 1964 was rocking long straight hippie hair parted in the middle, hippie hair IS Cher hair. Not to mention their entire style that was ripped off by the movement. It wasn’t the other way around. They were super cool to the counter culture untill they came out as straight edge. That doesn’t take away from the fact that they single handedly invented much of the hippie aesthetic. There is pre and post Cher American female style, nobody since Audrey Hepburn before her created such an aesthetic shift, and no one has since. Cher hair is still the standard half a century later, and much of her fashion has come back too. Nobody is inspired by Madonnas stage clothing in everyday life or on red carpets in 2021.

R24 except she and sonny kind of invented the hippie aesthetic. Hence she was an original. Nobody dressed like them in 1964. Nobody in 1964 was rocking long straight hippie hair parted in the middle, hippie hair IS Cher hair. Not to mention their entire style that was ripped off by the movement. It wasn’t the other way around. They were super cool to the counter culture untill they came out as straight edge. That doesn’t take away from the fact that they single handedly invented much of the hippie aesthetic. There is pre and post Cher American female style, nobody since Audrey Hepburn before her created such an aesthetic shift, and no one has since. Cher hair is still the standard half a century later, and much of her fashion has come back too. Nobody is inspired by Madonnas stage clothing in everyday life or on red carpets in 2021.

[quote] it isn't mental issues, it's a career-expanding strategy.

Having plastic surgery to approve your appearance is one thing. Having dozens of procedures indicates a mental problem.

Are we supposed to believe that Joan Baez was inspired by Cher?!

I’m starting to think the Cher hater is one unhinged queen. Did she skip you in the autograph line 60 years ago, op?

OP, you speak blasphemy.

R267 what about that is hippie. The fact remains cher popularized the hippie aesthetic. Not the other way around.

.!/!/

Re-read this:

[Quote] Nobody in 1964 was rocking long straight hippie hair parted in the middle, hippie hair IS Cher hair.

Look at the picture of Joan Baez again.

Cher had bangs bangs when she debuted. The center parting came later.

Her mother was married 6 times, (one guy twice)

and has had a partner since 1976.

That could screw you up!

Joan Baez is great. She was beatnik, counter-culture, folk music, social conscience of a movement, protester.

Cher is great. She was offbeat, a bit hippy, a bit rebel, a little folk, but mostly rock, made a statement with her fashion.

What about Buffy Sainte-Marie?

Joan Baez is a mouthbreathing mindless cunt. My ex knew her and I had the gory glory to meet her. My god she is a fucking dingbat. She thinks she's winsome and twee. No. She's a dull humorless hag.

But back to Cher. She's fabulous.

R207, The caption on that photo is bizarre. It's like labeling a photo of Cary Grant as "Archie Leach."

About Cher's plastic surgeries...well, who knows how many she's had. But many years ago she admitted to having her breasts lifted THREE times: "once after each child and then once again." She's probably had them lifted a few more times since then. And I heard somewhere that when Gene Simmons, who was her lover at the time, took her to meet his mother she was unable to sit down because she had recently had her butt lifted. I thought that was pretty funny.

R124 I remember watching that very show in my teens. I put my little cassette player next to the TV and taped the audio, as you did back then if you wanted any kind of record of a TV show. Used to listen over and over again.

Cher definitely did a pivot from 60s hippie to 70s glam. It was remarkable at the time.

^^to '80s rocker and then to Academy Award-winning actress to singer once again to dance queen with a huge Number One hit and a Farewell Tour and then back-in-the-game other tours and ABBA movie star once again.

Cher knows how to reinvent herself and make it a success.

You're being very kind (or publicist-esque) about her post "Believe" career.

Don’t forget pivot to Twitter sensation!

R284. Cher did more than most post-50-60-70 year-olds.

It was Sonny who reinvented Sonny and Cher. After a period of success in the 60s their careers tanked; he knew they couldn't do the hippie bit anymore, so they had to come up with something new. So he refashioned Sonny and Cher into a comedy act where he was the butt of Cher's jokes. It worked. Their look was changed too; Sonny wore suits and Cher, with the help of heavy makeup and Bob Mackie, transformed into this glamorous sex symbol. She was completely different, had a whole new persona. And it was all Sonny's doing. I think she tends to forget that without him she would have been nothing.

My Cher story:

Late one night I saw her ask on Twitter What movie is this playing on TCM? I'm in a hotel and can't figure out how to work the remote.

I quickly looked it up and told her. She thanked me and said she was enjoying it.

What was the movie?

Pocketful of Miracles with Bette Davis and Peter Falk in an Oscar nominated performance.

I use Twitter but mainly just reply to other people's posts. I think I'm pretty clever at times and make my points well, and one day I got a notification I had a new follower...Cher! It's really her too with her screwy writing and ALL CAPS!

Cher on rollerskates! With lots of gays and truckers.

Sonny and Cher did a 70s update of the Louis Prima / Keely Smith shtick

Sonny and Cher may have had the hippie look at first but they were both sober squares and bore no real connection to the counterculture/antiwar/free love movement, they *had* to reinvent themselves. Cher just became a glorified mannequin, but a sardonic “ethnic” one, before her surgeries erased any hint of her non-Anglo Saxon heritage.

Get over yourselves haters. Cher is a great actress and singer. Here's proof of the latter.

I’ve been to a party with her and she is so elegant and beautiful like an alien from another planet. How tall is she? She seemed to be 7 feet tall. I was within 10 feet of her. Amazing presence in real life. There is no way she was not born to be a mega star.

hmmm... got me interested. Google says Cher is 5'9". Sonny was 5'5" - Chaz 5'6" (taller than dad) - Cher's son Elijah Blue 6'1" (and he's 45!) - oh and his dad Gregg Allman was 6'1"

"What is the allure of Cher?"

Her mere existence.

Is she a grandmother yet? Alec had the feeling that her kids didn’t want children…

Alec Baldwin is worried that Cher doesn't have grandchildren? He and faux-Spanish wife will have enough for all of Hollywood.

"What is the allure of Cher?"

If you have to ask you can't afford it lingerie.

What is Cher doing now? She is working on her upcoming biopic and saving abused animals from zoos.

Who should play Cher?

Cher is ageing...backwards!

Is that a recent picture at R302? She looks like an example of state of the art taxidermy.

R302 - She's starting to look like Octomom.

I like her some of her music and a couple of her films. But she’s not a great actress and her Oscar was totally gifted. But she seems like a cool chick. But I can’t stand MOONSTRUCK!

OP, you are lucky that you’ve not been stoned to death for such blasphemy.

[Quote] OP, you are lucky that you’ve not been stoned to death for such blasphemy.

DL isn't the home of basic gays.

Has anyone actually seen her in the flesh, close up, recently? I'm wondering what their impression of her would be. In photos she looks unreal, fake, embalmed. Like Madonna.

Is she like 20 years into her farewell tour?

Star power. You either have it or you don’t. And Cher does.

By the power of Cher, I condemn, thee!

Sorry my Cher Allure Alert never went off.

Love her as an all around entertainer but I will continue to remain unimpressed with MOONSTRUCK and her undeserving Oscar win. The only films that I’ve liked her in were MASK and SUSPECT. Her music is okay but the accolades for MOONSTRUCK? Some people need to chill out over that overrated guido romcom.

I loved her in SILKWOOD. Her funky chill personality really shone through.

Mermaids was a snooze fest.

Tea with Mussolini was superb.

You liked that r318?

Yes, I did. It was like Cher playing CHER! We see the real Elsa Morganthal at the end of the movie. It was Cher burlesquing Cher alongside Maggie Smith. I think it was brilliant.

Tea With Mussolini? People who like that sort of thing... That is what they like.

Maurice Chevalier said about himself, "can't sing, dance, or act. Not particularly handsome. Became famous for being French."

He's being reductive. He was a star because he's unusual. He has that thing, some call charisma, some call charm.

Cher, same. She's not usual. She got some breaks, and she made the most of them.

Like Fred Astaire's failed screen test - “Can't act. Slightly bald. But can dance a little.”

Another unusual star, Yul Brynner. No one remotely like him, completely unique presence.

When Cher heard about the USPS crisis last year, she showed up at the Malibu post office to help sort mail.

Completely ridiculous, and a perfect example of why people adore her.