It’s been four years since Dixie Longate threw a Tupperware Party in Los Angeles. A lot has changed during those four years. The country is more polarized. The government is fractured in a way never before seen. The haves have more than ever (meaning the have-nots have even less). The only thing that seems the same (and I mean that as a compliment) is that Dixie’s Tupperware Party is still a hoot. Thankfully Dixie’s return begins tonight at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. She will be in Culver City sharing her unique perspective on the world and also selling those fabulous Tupperware products right up to December 30th.
Dixie, as the bio on her website will tell you, is originally from Mobile, Alabama. She has three kids and three ex-husbands. She relocated in her trailer to Los Angeles as part of her parole. Her passion for all things Tupperware started in 2001.
I first met and spoke to Dixie about four years ago. So when we caught up again for this interview, we talked about gift suggestions for the holidays, new opportunities she might have and a legendary comment by Joan Rivers.
With the holidays coming up, what’s the best Tupperware gift you can give and/or receive?
Let me tell you something. We have this wine bottle opener that is so amazing. You don’t need to take the foil off. You can stick it in and get the sucker out. Buy one for yourself and bring a bottle of wine to work. Put a bow on it and say, “Larry from Finance gave me this.” Then you can drink at work. Keeping labeling it with someone else’s name. I think of everything.
You won’t necessarily see your children for Christmas. What will you be doing for the holidays in La La Land?
It remains to be seen. I know, from being here before, everyone is so damned neighborly. You can look behind a dumpster and find just about anyone.
If the Food Network called and offered you a show, what would you want it to be?
I think I would want to just sit there drinking on the side while everyone else made food and then I’ll put it in the Tupperware. I’m terrible. They say, “open the bottle of wine and make your favorite thing.” I do the storing – they can do the cooking.
I read an interview from Denver where you said that people tend to trust you with personal information they really need should have. Why does that happen?
When I do the show everybody feels like I’m everyone’s friend. They want to talk to me and rub up on my leg. I’ve had people talk to me about tricks they were going on privately when they was married. I’ve had people talk about money they’ve been squirreling away and figuring out the time to get out of a bad relationship or marriage. Not that I would ever betray their trust. To this day I’m out in the lobby selling Tupperware and they give me the biggest hug and they confide in me. I’m a giver. It’s what I do. I can’t help it.
You’re very active during your show. What’s one of your best skills?
I can do things with my legs I’ve learned from a stripper in Mobile. Do not sit next to her when you are at church. I’m not really good at the yoga moves, but I can do something that will get me out of a parking ticket.
As you get older are you getting wiser?
I hope so. Either I’m getting wiser or everyone around me is getting dumber. I look around and wonder how the hell do you breathe on your own? I’m traveling more and meeting more people and having more experiences. If not, the booze seems to be helping.
If memory serves, you like your margaritas.
I will always be partial to a margarita. But I will say, I have a friend who makes the best bathtub gin you can imagine. There’s nothing like sitting on the side of her trailer drinking gin from a coup.
I have to ask. Joan Rivers once said, “I’ve had so much plastic surgery when I did they will donate by body to Tupperware.” Did they?
To my knowledge I do not know that she did. When somebody has been with the company for over 50 years, they are called “Legacy.” When people retire they will do a special presentation for them. And the spouse can come up and give words of joy and thanks. There was a gentleman a couple years ago. His wife was a legacy person and she had passed. He came up and he said that they had wanted to cremate her and her wish was to be put in a piece of Tupperware and be brought to Jubilee. (Jubilee is Tuperware’s annual celebration was described by the Los Angeles Times in 1990 as “Let’s Make a Deal with some Miss America mixed in.) Good thing he didn’t put it in a spice rack. You don’t want to make a mistake there.
Do you see yourself qualifying for “Legacy” status?
I never thought I’d be doing it this long. I’ve been doing it for 17 years. I don’t know that I’ll ever stop doing it. I know when I get buried I’m taking my Tupperware tumbler. I’m taking it to heaven so I can suck on it.
Dixie Longate portrait photos by Brandon Rogne. Additional photos courtesy of Dixie’sTupperwareParty.com
