"The Funniest Woman in the Twin Cities" was verklemped to a Supreme degree.
While here at The Dakota, Mary Wilson, who has apparently decided that Diana Ross just doesn't exist, went to Hubbard Broadcasting for an interview with Sheletta Brundidge, host of Channel 45's "CrossRoads," an assignment editor at KSTP-TV and a comedian.
"And I never had this happen before, but when she walked into the station, I was tearing up," said Brundidge. "As black girls, we grew up watching the Supremes on TV. It just did something to me. I was like, 'I'm tripping,' I do NOT cry. I can count on two fingers the times I have cried -- one was labor and the other was a death! Girl, that woman made me cry. I was like, 'Excuse me for one moment.' I had to compose myself, I was meeting somebody larger than life. I didn't cry, cry; tears weren't meeting under my chin but my eyes watered up. "
After her eyes dried, could Brundidge discern whether it looks as if Wilson has had any work done?
"No, she has not had any plastic surgery. And I looked for work," said Brundidge. "She is as beautiful now as she was then. And so gracious, kind and gentle. She behaved like I was doing her a favor when I felt she was doing me one. She has a beautiful spirit. Maybe that's why she has aged very well."
Age and time have not, however, healed Wilson's relationship with Diana Ross.
"I asked her what she was comfortable talking about and she said her new show at The Dakota, her activism," said Brundidge. Wilson speaks out against those unaffiliated with the Supremes and Temptations, touring and performing as if they were.
"I said 'What about Diana Ross?' and she just gave me this look. It was that You're-about-to-catch-a-whuppin'-look. I was like, 'OK, she DOES NOT want to talk about Diana Ross, so I'm not asking.' As a matter of fact during the interview, I believe when asked about forming the Supremes, she said 'Florence and I' as if Diana Ross was a ghost, wasn't even there."
Ross was not there, from the start.
She didn't even mention Diana Ross's name."
In the book "Dreamgirl: My Life as a Supreme," Wilson gave the world a different take on the image Ross has carefully cultivated. Miss Ross was looking out for herself and reveled in being treated better than Wilson and the late Florence Ballard. Ross got the Supreme treatment because she was fooling around with their Motown boss, Berry Gordy, who, ever the Svengali, also recognized that Diana was more marketable than the others.
To put it in terms young kids can appreciate: Diana Ross was the original Beyoncé.
However, Beyoncé has a much better voice than Ross, who had more natural sophistication.
"Beyoncé is super-duper country," said Brundidge. "You know Beyoncé is from my hometown, Houston, Texas, so I can talk about her and why she acts the way she acts. Giirrl, she is really country. We call that ghetry, a little ghetto and a little country."
Beyoncé and Ross are also the kind of divas who would not have condescended to use other people's makeup.
"Mary Wilson came in and said, I need some makeup; I didn't put my rouge on. I was like, 'Do you need me to go buy you something?' She said: No, this will be fine. She put on guest makeup. I was thinking, 'Mary Wilson is using the guest makeup. I can't believe this!'"
Brundidge's interview with Wilson is scheduled to air Nov. 4 at 7:30 a.m. on Channel 45.
By then, Brundidge hopes to be an Emmy winner. Her blog, sheletta.com, has been nominated for a regional Emmy; the awards are being passed out Saturday.
"I will not be in the audience because I cannot afford two of those $150 tickets," she said. "If I do that my son's going to have to be potty trained by Thursday because that's my Pampers money for the rest of the year."
