THE CLINTON WEEKEND

Friday night :
Richard and I went to the President’s birthday bash/fundraiser at the Hollywood Palladium. It was a really fun party. Jerry Lee Lewis played, and Ronnie Hawkins (President’s Clinton’s favorite musician growing up). Stevie Nicks sang—fantastically. Her voice strong as ever and her band (according to the expert, Richard}, is tops, including the great guitarist, Waddy Wachtel.

Stevie Nicks

With Stevie Nicks

People danced and the vibe was unusually cool and fun for a fundraiser. Chelsea Clinton was especially impressive as she took the stage to talk about her father and what he is doing with his foundation.

Saturday afternoon:

Here we are on one of the many buses taking us to the Bowl for the Clinton Global Initiative fundraiser. Steve Bing, Richard, and me in the back of the bus. Paul Allen and Robbie Robertson in front of us. Elsewhere on the bus were Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell, Brian Grazer among others.

On our way into the Bowl.

Bonnie and Joni talking with Hillary Clinton

And then there was Lady Gaga. I never saw her live either and OMG what a force. Here she is at the start, up in the tree, singing to Bill Clinton

Down from the tree she came singing a sort of sexy love song to Bill C. Her "Marilyn moment" as she said, referring to when Marilyn Monroe sang Happy Birthday to President Kennedy

Gaga!

Lady Gaga right in front of us. That's Bonnie's red hair. Hard to get lost when you're with Bonnie---just look for the red.

Chelsea, the president and Hillary, right after Lady Gaga moved away, but you see the image of her lips on the screen

now she's back up in the tree with a top that looks like she's naked but they are breasts painted on---I think...

President Clinton and Chelsea together on stage about to introduce Bono.

Richard, Bonnie, Joni and other friends were in the box next to the President, Hillary, Chelsea, Hillary's mother and Terry McAuliffe. Stevie Wonder opened the show. That's him on the screen

K'nane from Somalia met the President when the singer was a little boy. The President told us almost all the other children who he was with are dead. His singing was very sweet and touching.

I wish I'd gotten better pictures of Usher. I'd never seen him perform live and he was astonishing!!

Usher

Bono and President Clinton

Bono performs

The big surprise of the evening was the rock and roll band from Columbia and their lead singer/guitarist, Juanes. President Clinton told us he is the best known and loved rock ‘n roller in South America and he was fantastic and unusual. We’re going to get all his albums.

Many stars including Ellen Degeneres, Jason Segel, Maria Bello, Ashton Kutcher and others introduced the musicians.

When the show was over, President Clinton said, “I am the only former President to have a 65th birthday attended by both Lady Gaga and the Secretary of State!”

Richard said, as we were leaving that it was probably the best live concert he’s ever been too…and he’s been to many!

With Richard Perry and President Clinton

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20 Comments

  1. Wow, what an interesting post. I seriously love Lady Gaga! As you said, a real force. I love her song Judas! One of my friends does a crazy dance to that.

    By the way, dear Jane, I’ve written that Klute review I told you about a couple of weeks ago and you said you’d like to read it. I VERY nervously give you the link and I cannot say how honored I would be if you took the time and read it. You would make my evening, morning, afternoon, day, week, month, year, decade, lifetime. 😀 I worked hard to make it as good as possible and I wanted to honor you and your performance which I consider… (see it there) I hope this piece will serve its purpuse and you’ll enjoy it:

    http://oscarnerd.blogspot.com/2011/10/jane-fonda-in-klute-200th-review.html

    Hope it’s fine if I put this link into the comment.

    • Daniel, What a fantastic review, Daniel. That you for sharing. I am honored. xx

      • Oh my… It’s me who’s honored. You have no idea how happy that made me! 😀 Now I love you even more if that’s possible! 😀

  2. Wow! It looks like it was an incredible concert! Great pictures! I love to see celebrities who give so much time and money back to such important causes. I know the concert was fantastic, but so is the fundraiser itself. You sure do go to a lot of gatherings, charity events, and fundraisers. I don’t know how you keep up with it all! How many charity/fundraiser events do you think you attend in a year?

  3. excellent reporting and photos..you could have been on top at fox in another life

  4. WOW! Awesome photos!! You have been so wonderful to share them with your little monsters. 🙂 I’ve been your little monster since 1977 after watching Fun with Dick and Jane. 🙂

    ((((Jane))))

    Patty

    • Patty, How bout Little Monsters-in-Law?

      • LMAO!! (Laughing my ass off) I’d like that! Thanks! 🙂

  5. Yippee. I’ve been waiting for this blog. I saw the video of Lady Gaga performing “Bill Romance” and “You and I”, kept thinking ‘I can’t wait for Jane’s blog and photos of the concert’ since I knew you were there. How exciting. I really wanted to go, but due to a family commitment couldn’t get away.

    Jane did you get a chance to talk with President Clinton and/or Hillary and if so, what did you say?

    Thanks so much for sharing.

    • The Prez reminded me that we met when I was married to Tom Hayden and he was running for Arkansas Lieutenant Governor. I reminded him that when I was living with a family of “hillbillies” I’d met through Dolly Parton in the mountains of Arkansas (Mountain View), he actually called me on the phone they had just installed. They had no other electrical appliances. He was governor then, I believe. He said he remembered that. I was there doing research for a film “The Dollmaker” in which I played a woodcarving hillbilly (won an Emmy for the role) and I chopped their wood, milked their cow, shot and cooked them possum and biscuits in a dutch oven in the fireplace and had the experience of a life time, living just as our pioneers must have (except with a phone). I wrote all about it in my memoirs.

  6. Hello Jane,

    I big fan of President Bill Clinton, it seem Bono get about was also among mourners at small Silicon Valley ceremony for Apple’s Steve Jobs.
    It is is nice to see Richard Perry open door, in the music area. Jane Fonda and Music was no always
    a connection in the mindset. Music and the process is bringing ideas or events together in ones memory or imagiation, the process to create connects asshifting as transportation or relation between things.

    with love and care,

  7. What a wonderful time you must have had!! everyone looks so good. My hero’s, as I learned life’s lessons through music. And always you. Life is good!!
    Sheri

  8. Hello Jane
    You must have had a great time.
    Thank you for these moments that you share with us. one would want to be there !!!

  9. What a fabulous run down (and pics) on this incredible event. Thanks for sharing, Jane. It’s always a blast to see these things thru your eyes. I also recently discovered Juanes on Pandora… wow wow wow!

  10. Hey Jane…Wayne Young here from Australia. Somehow I landed here, and am prompted to say hello in memory of David McTaggart, who introduced us back in 1994 when I produced a film called The Last Whale for David. One of the most inspiring and driven humans ever. He is greatly missed at this time when environmental warriors are needed more than ever. Best wishes from Down Under….Wayne.

  11. What fun! Love the Hollywood Bowl. Wish Hillary would run for Prez would be so great to have Big Dawg in the WH again.

    Ordered ‘Prime Time’ and can’t wait to read it! In mentioning fave J.F. films above…one of mine is ‘Monster-in-Law’…just the thought of it cracks me up. Classic! And quelle figure!

  12. I just wanted to chime in on how affecting your performance in The Dollmaker was, Ms. Fonda. Though in different times and a different place, I was the 7-year old middle child of three in a family that moved from West Virginia to northeastern Ohio in 1956. When I saw The Dollmaker years later, the family dynamics echoed back to some of my own experiences. That seemed like a role of some risks to you, so thanks for taking them.

    • Dana, my character in “Dollmaker” is my all time favorite (well, next to Bree Danials.)

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