New TV Show Plans To Feature Palm Desert

When it was first published in 1966, Jacqueline Susann's "Valley Of The Dolls" became a smash best seller and set the tone for "chick lit" that authors like Jackie Collins are still cashing in on to this day.

Valley of The Dolls was the story of prim and proper Anne Welles, based on Susann's own Hollywood experiences in the 1940s. We follow Anne's foray into the world of New York show business and all the dark and grim realities of that lifestyle, plus the excitement and glamour. Valley of the Dolls has it all.

The book has sold more than 30 million copies and is still in print all over the world. The book was made into a feature film that starred Patty Duke, Sharon Tate, and Barbara Parkins in 1967 and was a huge box office smash, despite very mixed reviews.

You have to understand that to really appreciate "Valley of the Dolls," you should understand that it is a mix of camp melodrama and serious downward spirals of three young women who become hooked on "Dolls," or pills that help them cope with the anxiety, frustration and insecurities of their show business lives and marriages.

A cautionary tale with themes that resonate so heavily in today's 2011 Hollywood celebrity culture, the film "Valley of the Dolls" was revamped in the early 1980s and 1990s as TV mini series that never were more popular than the original movie, which continues to play to packed houses on the revival circuit. 

With the success of AMC TV's "Mad Men," the new "The Playboy Club" on NBC and the new show "Pan Am" on ABC all set in the 1960s, the time seems right for a reboot of "Valley of The Dolls."

This was reported by the legend of New York City gossip, Liz Smith, in her Wednesday column.

Madonna's name was mentioned as a "top pick" to play the character of aging Broadway star Helen Lawson, who in the '67 film was originally to be played by Judy Garland.

Lawson has a famous cat fight in the film with Patty Duke's "Neely O'Hara," character during which Lawson's red wig gets tossed into the commode!

The rehab center that will play a major role in the new series could be set in Palm Desert, as a nod to the Betty Ford Center in nearby Rancho Mirage.

This was reported to Palm Desert Patch by Steve Escobar, a show biz insider and news writer.

"I am good friends with (someone close to) the new 'Dolls' series and I learned of the Palm Desert connection from him. It makes perfect sense, as Palm Desert is the playground to the show biz elite. Plus, it's a great 'dry-out' place so close to the studios, but yet removed from the scene," Escobar said.

Some of the top young actresses in Hollywood expected to vie for the parts of Neely O' Hara, Jennifer North, and Anne Welles are Leighton Meester, Selena Gomez, and Demi Lovato.

Screenwriter Paul Rudnick ("In and Out," and "The First Wives Club") and director Betty Thomas ("The Brady Bunch" movies) are attached to the Valley of The Dolls project but an actual producer has not been named by NBC. 

Actors recreating scenes word for word from Valley of the Dolls have had success with an off Broadway sendup of the classic movie, and there have been all star celebrity readings of the script in New York and Los Angeles in recent years.

"Lindsay Lohan is a huge Valley of the Dolls devotee and has extended scenes of the movie on her iPhone," reports Escobar, who met Lohan in 2010 at Rasputin's Music in Berkeley, Calif., a store which he manages.

Once again, Palm Desert is in the limelight in Hollywood even if it is to be a place where show business' 'fallen angels' go for salvation.

Palm Desert will also be showcased as a "getaway retreat" for stars, similar to the famous scenes in films like "Less Than Zero" and "American Gigolo," Escobar reports.

Lindsay Lohan may someday -- in the character of Neely O' Hara -- be scolded by the Helen Lawson character.

"They drummed you right out of Hollywood. So you come crawling back to Broadway. Well, Broadway doesn't go for booze and dope! Now you get out of my way cause I've got a man waiting for me!"