“Nowadays they just be dap, straight from the Timbos up to that baseball cap” It was 1995. I was managing singer Billy Porter (Kinky Boots) and secured him a record deal with A&M…
Year: 2014
Blog posts
A New Still of My Brother in Annie Hall Emerges After 37 Years
Fans of his films know that Woody Allen shot far more footage for Annie Hall than he and editors Ralph Rosenblum and Wendy Greene Bricmont actually used. The film is a terrific example of…
Eating With the Stars: Lillian Gish’s Lemon Pie
“We serve it with whipped cream on top. It is very rich, but very, very delicious.” Lillian Gish’s Lemon Pie 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt grated rind of 1 lemon juice…
(N)e(u)rotica: What Madonna Said to k.d. lang About Peggy Lee
Having witnessed Madonna in full-throttle-self-centered-diva-mode multiple times over the years, I didn’t dispute the veracity of the recent news that the pop superstar was reprimanded for repeatedly texting during a New York Film Festival…
“They Wish to Secure a Major Label Record Deal”: LUCIA
Dear Stargayzing Readers: One of the things that made working at record companies in the 1980s and 1990s so great was that you would, on a daily basis, receive letters like this one from the “instrumental…
Pink’s “Over the Rainbow”: Whatever Happened to Phrase. Ing?
I should begin by saying I am a fan of Pink. I think she is as talented a pop singer who has come to the fore in the Internet age as any I’ve heard. …
Revisiting Mike Nichols’ 1975 Comedy The Fortune: An Unsung Gem, By John Richkus
A flat-out perfect classic farce, Mike Nichols’ The Fortune (1975) is a blend of sophisticated and low comedy, delicious, masterful work by actors at the top of their form. The classic dialogue walks the…
Eating With the Stars: Ann-Margret’s Cookies
More Ann-Margret in Stargayzing: 30 Stars of Hollywood’s Golden Era Who Are Still Alive (Caution: Time Sensitive Material)…
An “Alanalysis” of Alanis Morrisette’s “Ironic,” Which Mostly Isn’t
When Alanis Morissette broke big with Jagged Little Pill in 1995, the first single, “You Oughta Know” was, as my friend, writer/producer Peter Zizzo was apt to point out at the time, a “pull-your-car-over-to-the-side-of-the-road-because-who-the-fuck-is-this?”…
Quote of the Day: Writer Dan Savage on Young, Dumb Gay People
“To be a dumb gay person is a luxury that was won for you by people who came before, when being gay was so complicated and so difficult that dumb gay people didn’t last.”…
“How Music Began”: A Mid-Century Gay Myth for the Under-10 Set
In 1973 my fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Schindler taught a unit on Greek myths at the end of which each student was given the assignment of writing his own. My piece was called “How Music…
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