Zelda Kaplan on Dancing and Living at 87

From: Blank on Blank
Series: Blank on Blank
Length: 05:09

87-year old Zelda Kaplan:"I am very interested in fashion. I like to look nice. I still love to dance. My friends are dead. ... So with whom should I go out? If I don’t go out with young people, who else is there?" Read the full description.

Long Version

4:30 Version

Playing: Zelda Kaplan on Dancing and Living at 87
From: Blank on Blank

Zelda_kaplan_square_small

Zelda Kaplan was 87 when we met at a bar in Manhattan. It was around 6PM. But her day wasn't ending. Her night was just beginning. After we met for a drink she was off to a fashion show. Then dinner. And dancing at a hot nightclub after that. Its the legend of Zelda. She’ll make you smile.

INTERVIEW NOTES

- The Date: Spring 2003

- The Scene: Irish pub, New York City

- The Source: Minidisc recorder

- The Story: Profile originally ran in The L Magazine.

Also in the Blank on Blank series

Wilt Chamberlain on Tall Tales (04:50)
From: Blank on Blank

"Can you imagine going through America at that time, a man of color, a little boy, 14 years old, that height? You know, I was looked upon as a freak." - Wilt Chamberlain. ...

Beastie Boys on Being Stupid (05:56)
From: Blank on Blank

"There’s a way we talk and it includes profanity. We never figured we’d be arrested for it." - Mike "Mike D" Diamond. Back in May 1985, the Beastie Boys were fresh on the ...

Jim Morrison on Why Fat is Beautiful (04:39)
From: Blank on Blank

"What's wrong with being fat? That's what I want to know. Why is it so onerous to be fat?" - Jim Morrison Interview by Howard Smith | TheSmithTapes.com | Los Angeles, 1969

Larry King on Getting Seduced (04:48)
From: Blank on Blank

"I’m playing these records. The phone rings and I pick it up: 'WAHR'. And this lady’s voice--I can still hear her voice--she goes: 'I want you.'" Larry King tells the story ...

Sam Pickering on How to Teach and Not Dead Poets Society (07:01)
From: Blank on Blank

"I looked in the mirror the other day and I said: My God, what happened to that handsome young man? Who is this grizzled b-a-s-t-a-r-d staring at me?" Interview by John ...

Art Blakey on How to Build a Band (05:46)
From: Blank on Blank

"You’re in your birthday suit up there. People can see clean through you. And your music, your actions and the vibes you bring forth to the audience come out. You cannot hide ...

David Sedaris on Breast Milk and Book Tours (07:42)
From: Blank on Blank

"People would come and defecate on the floor of the dressing room. So I just thought that was his Gap, but I came to find out that it happens in all stores across America." - ...

Brian Selznick on Einstein, God, and Reaching His Potential (06:36)
From: Blank on Blank

"So I bought the postcard, memorized it and sent it off to a friend. And I never thought about God again after that." - Brian Selznick Brian Selznick is the author and ...

Rodney King on Forgiveness and Being a Negro (06:48)
From: Blank on Blank

"I have been challenged to fight for saying 'can't we all get along.' I’ve had people say I want to kick your ass for saying that." - Rodney King Interview by Bobbi Booker ...

Amber Heard on Not Sitting Pretty and Shutting Up (06:46)
From: Blank on Blank

"It’s easier to deal with a woman who is compliant and sweet and sunny and nice and non-confrontational." Interview by Jason Feifer // NYC hotel in 2011 // digital recorder ...

Piece Description

Zelda Kaplan was 87 when we met at a bar in Manhattan. It was around 6PM. But her day wasn't ending. Her night was just beginning. After we met for a drink she was off to a fashion show. Then dinner. And dancing at a hot nightclub after that. Its the legend of Zelda. She’ll make you smile.

INTERVIEW NOTES

- The Date: Spring 2003

- The Scene: Irish pub, New York City

- The Source: Minidisc recorder

- The Story: Profile originally ran in The L Magazine.

Transcript

David Gerlach: This is Blank on Blank. I'm David Gerlach. And thanks for listening as we partner with journalists and interviewers, writers and authors, to build an archive of American interviews. Today’s conversation speaks for itself. Zelda Kaplan was 87 when we sat down. She’s now 94 and when we met at a bar in Manhattan her night was just beginning. She was getting ready for one of her usual forays into the city. A night out that made my so-called social life look pretty lame. Just one example why: after we left the bar, we went to the street and hailed a cab. I was heading home and she was going downtown; She had a fitting for an upcoming fashion show. Zelda, she’ll make you smile. This is Blank on Blank

Song: 42nd Street Original Broadway Cast "Lullaby of Broadway (42nd Street)"

Zelda Kaplan: Here I am very old. Now I’m past 87. I’ll be 88. Here I am running around and I am very...
Read the full transcript

Musical Works

Title	Artist	Album	Label	Length
Lullaby of Broadway (42nd Street)	42nd Street Original Broadway Cast			04:59
You Make me Feel So Young	Joni James			00:00
Cheek to Cheek	Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald	Ella & Louis.	Polygram Records	00:00