Known fondly across the desert as the “Voice of the Desert,” Joey is an entertainment institution. With a legendary career spanning nightclub stages, theater, and television all across North America and Asia, she spent 27 years opening for icons like George Burns, Bob Hope, and Milton Berle.
Director Jon Orlin stopped by her afternoon radio show to chat about the documentary, Something To Entertain You. The interview previews the June 19th screening at the XOXO Palm Springs Arts and Culture Celebration.
Listen to the whole 10-minute interview on Joey's website. Start the audio player at 3:14 for the beginning of the interview.
"If They Aren't Palm Springs Art, Nobody Is"
As Joey put it regarding the film's larger-than-life subjects, the Barones: “Oh, if they aren’t [the art of Palm Springs], nobody is.”
While locals know the Barones for their massive, colorful steel sculptures dotting the landscape from Indio to Palm Springs, Jon promises that the documentary gives an unprecedented look behind the curtain. Even friends who have known the couple for 10 or 20 years have walked out of screenings surprised by the stories they never heard before.
Wardrobe Secrets and Splattered Shirts
Joey, a longtime friend of the Barones, couldn't wait to gush over how delightful and gracious the couple is. She even joked that Karen is so petite that she regularly sits right on Joey’s lap!
The interview teased some hilarious and intimate details that make it into the final cut of the film, including:
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Karen’s Closet: A dedicated segment exploring the mind-boggling, ultra-chic, self-designed wardrobe of Karen Barone (whom Joey notes she has never seen in the same outfit twice).
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Tony’s Closet: An inside look at Tony's side of the wardrobe—including exactly how his signature, paint-splattered shirts get that way.
"Some films these days are dark and sad, and this is not that film," Jon told Joey. *"This is a happy film. This is a film about love, joy, and inspiration. A lot of people came out saying, 'I'm going to think about how they live their life and how I can bring some of that into mine.'"
