The remarkable life of Elaine Stritch

Even at her lowest moments, the Broadway legend had a curious way of bobbing up again

Elaine Stritch.
(Image credit: Keystone/Getty Images)

For a long time, there was a set of unwritten rules for actresses: Look young, peak young, and then accept your fade from relevance without kicking up a fuss. If you're lucky, you might get some parts as a kindly grandmother. Leave wild antics and memes to the kids.

And no, you absolutely do not tell Alec Baldwin in a radio interview how your first real orgasm occurred during a performance of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

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Hallie Stiller is a senior editor at The Week magazine who covers visual arts, books, and theater news. She has previously contributed to National Geographic Kids and Long Island Pulse Magazine