By Cynthia Citron
BURBANK, California – You might think that living in an all-pink house would give you a toothache. But, au contraire, Jackie Goldberg, the “Pink Lady,” has made her all-pink home a delightful nest of airy light and soft color. White walls and tasteful pink furnishings, but nothing in Pepto-Bismol, thank you very much. And the reason I’m telling you this is that Jackie Goldberg has a personality that is as pink as her home.
Dressed from head to toe in pink (with a soft pink tint to her hair as well), this dynamic 78-year-old is a whirlwind of activity. (Actually, she doesn’t say she is 78; she identifies herself as “going to be 79 in September.”) At the moment, she is taking reservations for her new theatrical extravaganza, Rockin’ With the Ages 3, a musical featuring 17 performers aged 60 to 86, which opens this week at the Victory Theater in Burbank.
As the title indicates, this is the third time Goldberg has produced this event, and each time it has been a smashing success. “Our first show, in 2009, was like a talent show. It was mounted to demonstrate what seniors could do, and it made everyone—the audience as well as the performers—feel good,” she says. “But this year we’ve got all kinds of special professional help: a super writer and director, Bill Reid, who’s won awards for his documentary films; a musical director, Mark Rodriguez, who also co-wrote the book; and a choreographer, Raquel Brussolo, who started dancing when she was 5.”
Goldberg goes on to rave about the show’s star, Pattie Brooks. “Pattie thought her singing career was over when she hit 60,” Goldberg explains, “but she’s 68 now and she’s playing a disco queen in this production. Plus she’s just cut a new album, It’s All About the Music, and she has a singing gig in New York after this show closes.”
Goldberg’s mantra, “Age is just a number!” is what rules her activities. “People are vital at any age,” she insists, “and what I’m doing is giving them a venue so they can see for themselves what they are able to offer the world.
“I have my ups and downs like everybody else,” she continues, “but I am blessed to have the energy I have, and the opportunity to help others. It’s my turn to give back.”
Her life has not all been a bed of roses, she is quick to acknowledge. Married at 17, she had become the mother of three children when her husband suddenly died of a brain aneurism at the age of 33. Finding herself having to support her children, she went to a manicurists’ school to learn a trade. Applying for her first job, at the Beverly Wilshire Apartment complex, she was asked to give the owner a manicure. The effort, which should have taken 20 minutes, took her an hour and 42 minutes.
“How long have you been a manicurist?” the owner demanded. Goldberg looked at her watch. “About 12 hours,” she admitted. But she got the job. “I can teach you how to give a manicure faster,” the owner said, “but I can’t teach someone to have a positive attitude like yours.” And within a very short time Goldberg became known as the “Manicurist to the Stars.”
Her “attitude” has been with her all her life, she notes in a brief digression. She tells a story of standing in the rain with her mother, waiting for a bus. When the bus arrived, the driver apologized that there was no room and reassured them that there would be another bus coming in two hours. Whereupon Goldberg “in survival mode,” as she puts it, jumped onto the bus and, hands on hips, shouted, “Isn’t there a gentleman on this bus who’ll let a lady sit down!” Three men rose immediately, and Goldberg and her mother boarded the bus in triumph. She was all of four years old at the time.
Returning to her life story, she tells of meeting her second husband, Walter Goldberg, at a singles weekend in Highland Springs—California’s answer to a weekend in the Catskills at Grossinger’s.
Walter, she says, was “a marketing genius” who owned a clothing business headquartered in L.A.’s Merchandise Mart. Soon married, they merged their families (he had two children to add to her three), and she joined him in his business.
One day, dressed in her traditional pink outfit, she was hailed by a man in the Mart. “Hey, pink lady,” he shouted. “That’s it!” Walter exclaimed. “You’ll be the Pink Lady and you’re going to be famous! It’s a million dollar marketing tool!” And she’s been the Pink Lady ever since.
After 38 years of marriage, Walter died. But he left her with a mantra of his own: “Life is for the living,” and with that in mind she began her role as a shepherd for seniors, inspiring them through her network of activities. She gives seminars on such topics as senior sexuality, love and relationships, and humor in aging, as part of a series called “Get Up! Get Out! and Get a Life!” She has also started a multimedia online magazine, “Senior Chic,” that focuses on men and women over 60. She has her own talent agency, the Senior Star Power Agency. And in 2005 she was named Ms. Senior Los Angeles County.
“The world is completely changing,” she says. “Within the next five years, some 7,000 people a week will be turning 60!”
Her goal, too, is changing. “I’ve done three big shows in the Valley,” she says. “Now I want to bring Rockin’ With the Ages into L.A. I think there should be a theater for seniors that will produce plays and musicals of special interest to them. I’ll need a larger theater,” she adds, “but I know I’ll get to the Pantages yet!”
She also wants to reprise The Golden Girls as a musical on stage, and she wants to play the Rue McClanahan role. “I want to be the cute slut,” she says.
And she also wants to make sure that her hair stays pink. She was panicked a few years ago when Revlon stopped making the pink rinse that she uses. “So I called Revlon headquarters,” she says. “I believe in always going to the top. And they told me of one store in North Carolina that used to carry the rinse. I called the store and they told me they had 18 bottles left and I bought them all. I have enough rinse to last until I’m 100!”
She also has enough pink toilet paper and Kleenex stored in closets in her home to last until she’s 150.
And she is still dating. As to how she meets men, she says, “I’m out there. Did you ever go into Home Depot and ask for a screwdriver? Or strike up a conversation in the super market?”
She is also a Toastmaster and a member of the International Hypnosis Federation. “I’m not a hypnotist,” she says, “but I was dating one and he taught me that you can learn a lot about your audience that way. You can learn about a person’s psyche and tell about their personality when you look into their eyes. I talk with people, not to them, and I’m able to discover what they really think and want.
“What they really want is a hug,” she sums up. “Sex is an exercise, but a hug is better than sex.” Although apparently not for a 102-year-old man of her acquaintance. “These 80-year-olds won’t leave me alone!” he complains.
The Pink Lady takes a final sip of coffee from her “Get Up! Get Out! and Get a Life!” coffee mug. “I’m really enjoying my life now,” she smiles. “It hasn’t been easy, but I make it look like it is. What really matters is, I’m here!”
Rockin’ With The Ages 3 will run Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 and 8 pm, and Sundays at 3 through May 1st. The Victory Theatre is located at 3326 West Victory Blvd. in Burbank. Call 818-606-6679 for tickets.
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Citron is Los Angeles bureau chief for San Diego Jewish World. She may be reached at cynthia.citron@sdjewishworld.com