Results matching “Anderson Cooper” from Out in Hollywood

I lost my job today.

Even as my co-workers were losing their jobs all around me, I remained blissful in writing columns and feature stories and, of course, this blog. Fingers banging on the keyboard, not an employment care in the world. Someone even asked me a few weeks ago if I was worried about being laid off. I said: "I don't worry about it because I don't think it'll happen and if it does happen, then I will have not worried about it until then."

And so, I was able to enjoy my seven-and-a-half years at the Los Angeles Daily News right up to the very end. I ask you, what better last assignment than to cover The Academy Awards?

I was officially informed Monday afternoon that it was to be my last day on payroll at the paper which has undergone deep cuts in recent months. I've wanted to post something on the blog sooner about my fate but I put an update on my Facebook page late this afternoon and have been dealing with dozens and dozens of non-stop messages and phone calls (all incredibly supportive) for the last several hours. Nothing like a a series of big, warm cyber hugs and friends calling from different cities and states and even countries.

I'm overwhelmed. Thanks to everyone from the bottom of my heart.

The Daily News has graciously consented to keep the Out In Hollywood archives available at this site. Meanwhile, I have launched a new site called Greg In Hollywood (greginhollywood.com). New name, same Greg.

What was important to me when I came to work at the Daily News was that I be an openly gay man from day one. I had been a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times for 11 years and stayed closeted for most of that time. It was really eating me up inside. I left The Times to find myself personally and professionally and it turned out that the ugly newsroom in Woodland Hills with no windows was a new start for me. For about seven years, I spent what have been, so far, the happiest days of my professional life. At times, I felt like I was at Disneyland it could be so much fun.

I started this blogging adventure in the summer of 2006 as an online side project at the paper and it just seemed to click from day one. I wanted a gay person's voice and perspective and interests to be represented on a blog that maybe everyone else might enjoy reading too. Even though my print workload never lessened (violins, please), I found myself addicted to blogging and the instant nature of posting stories, photos and videos and getting immediate response.

Out In Hollywood grew and was one of the only gay-themed blogs at any mainstream news organization in the country. And during that time, I was given wide berth to be authentic, creative,and provocative.

A high point was last June when the Los Angeles City Council honored me for pioneering coverage of gay Hollywood, entertainment and cultural issues in a mainstream newspaper. It was a proud day and I was honored to have former Daily News editor Ron Kaye and former DN managing editor Melissa Lalum by my side. They were my true champions in this endeavor. Other than the unfortunate powder blue sportscoat I wore that day, it was a wonderful day at City Hall.

The blog gets well more than 150,000 hits per month at this point and has become a regular read for many. I appreciate each and every set of eyeballs. One of the biggest scoops was from a luncheon honoring Jodie Foster. It was packed with media and Hollywood bigwigs and I seemed to have been the only one to notice that she seemed to casually came out duiring her speech. Here's a LINK to that little scoop.

I have also interviewed many gay celebs and heroes for this site including Dustin Lance Black (pictured w/me earlier this month), Martina Navratilova, John Amaechi, my hero Billie Jean King, Ellen DeGeneres, Cynthia Nixon, T.R. Knight, Neil Patrick Harris, Luke Macfarlane, Lance Bass, Gus Van Sant, Chad Allen, Tom Ford, Charlie David, Robert Gant, Wilson Cruz, Peter Paige, Jane Lynch, George Takei, and such straight allies as Gavin Newsom, Judith Light and Kathy Griffin.

It really was time for a blog like this when you consider all that's happened in recent years: "Milk" star Sean Penn winning best actor and Dustin Lance Black winning best screenplay at this week's Oscars; same-sex marriage being granted then voted out by California voters; Ellen DeGeneres and Portia De Rossi getting married during the brief legal window; Keith Olberman becoming an unexpected straight ally as did Bill Maher; famous folks (Amaechi, T.R., Bass, NPH, Macfarlane, Cheyene Jackson, David Hyde Pierce; Darryl Stephens, Thomas Roberts, Miss Cleo and Cynthia Nixon coming out (I'm not sure if we can count Lindsay Lohan yet!); controveries that included Isaiah Washington using of the other "f" word in reference to T.R. Knight and later being fired from "Grey's Anatomy," Sen. Larry Craig getting busted for "tapping his foot" in airport bathroom; Former Joint Chief of Staffs Gen. Peter Pace saying gays are "immoral" despite the many serving in the military under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Ted Haggard giving up his ministry after admitting to drug use and gay sex; Rosie O'Donnell being on "The View" and feuding with Donald Trump, Bill O'Reilly and finally, Elisabeth Hasselbeck; and television features gay characters on Showtime's "The L Word," Here!TV's "Dante's Cove," Logo's "Big Gay Sketch Show," Scotty and Kevin on "Brothers & Sisters," Luke and Noah on "As the World Turns," Marc St. Claire on "Ugly Betty," Lee and Bob on "Desperate Housewives," Billy Baldwin and Candis Cayne's storyline on "Dirty Sexy Money," Alex Meade on "Ugly Betty," Calvin on "Greek," Capt. Jack Harkness on "Torchwood," Uncle Saul on "Brothers & Sisters" and many more.

It has been my pleasure to cover all of that as well as last summer's Democratic National Convention in Denver (that's me with, I hate to name drop, ANDERSON COOPER), and all those Academy Award shows, Emmys, Grammys, Golden Globes (with my awards show bud Sandra Barrera - including last night's Oscars) and getting to interview just about every star I could dream of - except Elizabeth Taylor. The closest I got to Miss Taylor was when they wheeled her by at last November's Macy's Passport event and all I could think was: "I think she has lipstick on her teeth!"

Anyway, it's been a jam-packed 7.5 years from beginning to end, a helluva ride. I made friends for life like James Nash, Beth Barrett, Evan Pondel, Brent Hopkins, Melissa Lalum, Mariko Thompson Beck, Rachel Uranga, Mariel Garza and John Miller (and many more!). Good times, many, many good times. As Mary Richards said in the very last episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" to the newsroom gang: "Thank yiou for being my family."

So the blog will continue under a new, to-be-determined address posted on this site later this week. I'll become a full-time blogger and jump into the freelance world again (anyone need an awards show covered?) and we'll see how that goes.

Call me crazy, but I think the best is yet to come!

-- Greg

Kathy Griffin is basking in the glow of her New Year's Eve potty mouth during a visit to Jimmy Kimmel who told her that her off-color remark while co-hosting CNN's coverage with Anderson Cooper was "depending on your time zone either the last greatest TV moment of 2008 or the first great TV moment of 2009."

Kathy is gleeful about all the Internet buzz created by the incident and says Anderson texted her the next day: "There are tanks lining up for a ground invasion in Gaza and you're the top story on Drudge Report. Wow."

Some other choice bits from the clips:

Kimmel to Kathy: "Dick Clark has hosted New Year's Eve for 40 years and he's never said that word and his name is Dick!"

Kathy eplaining herself: "I was just trying to do anything I could to make (Anderson) laugh. I thought my microphone was off (yeah, sujre). I thought it would be funny to try and shock Anderson Cooper."

Her 88-year-old mother's post-NYE rant: "How could you do that to my Anderson? He's a Vanderbilt for God's sake...You've shamed the family again!" Says Kathy: "My mom was inconsolable. It took TWO boxes of wine to get her off that ledge."

Uh oh, I hope this isn't another Dakota Fanning moment for Kathy Griffin. Several years back, while co-hosting the E! channel pre-awards coverage (I think Golden Globes) and she asked some stars for their reaction that Dakota had checked into rehab. She was joking but got fired. Watch this from last night and see if you think she'll suffer the same fate on CNN!

My favorite part of this is Kathy dissing on Lou Dobbs. Kathy and Anderson are such a great team! They should have their own morning show. Too bad they have such kick-ass day jobs...

Here is more of last night's Griffin-fest. She was also on with Larry King...

I'm usually running around somewhere in either Palm Springs or West Hollywood on New Year's Eve but if I were at home tomorrow night, I'd have the TV on CNN watching the fun team of Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin. The D-Lister adores the Silver Fox and plays off him well. Above is a clip from last year's show followed by two more after the jump.

This is a mix of the serious, the silly and the sexy...

Let's start with Jimmy Kimmel's hilarious rebuttal to girlfriend Sarah Silverman's "I'm F****** Matt Damon" video. It's called "I'm F****** Ben Affleck. You gotta see it to believe it!

****************************************************

Staying in comedy mode, Tina Fey did several "Saturday Night Live" sketches as Sarah Palin. I think this one is the funniest with the funniest line of them all: "I can see Russia from my house!"

***********************************************

Scotty and Kevin, played by Luke Macfarlane and Matthew Rhys, respectively, got hitched in the season finale of "Brothers & Sisters" last spring and it was such a moving episode filled with heart. I'll never forget it.

********************************************

Same-sex kisses between men on television shows usually leave something to be desired - especially when one or both of the actors are straight. An exception was this smooch between Adam Grimes and Chad Allen from the summer series "General Hospital: Night Shift".

***************************************************
It is no wonder Anderson Cooper enjoys his side gig on "60 Minutes" so much: he gets to show off his biceps and hang out with sports hotties. His interview with David Beckham was fun but even better is this clip from his recent interview with Olympian Michael Phelps. Anderson challenges Phelps to a race in the pool!

***************************************************

It was such a thrill to watch Tina Turner and Beyonce Knowles perform at the Grammy Awards. Beyonce showed proper respect to her elders and Tina showed that even though she is pushing 70, she is as sensational as ever.

************************************************

The 2008 Tony Awards were highlighted by Patti LuPone's win in the best performance in a musical category. The great LuPone, amazingly, had not won a Tony in 28 years! It was long overdue and much-deserved. I was watching from the LA Tony Awards party at the Skirball Center with the likes of Tommy Tune, Carol Channing and Florence Henderson and I can assure you, there was not a more popular win the entire night.

********************************************************
The presidential campaign made "The View" must-see TV during election season. This particular showdown was my favorite because Barbara Walters finally confronted Elisabeth Hasselbeck on the substance in her staunch defense of Sarah Palin who she actually campaigned for. Said Walters: "We love you on the program. You are the counterpoint. But every single day you never ever say, 'Maybe there's another point.'"

*************************************
Ellen DeGeneres, God bless her, was one of the most important voices and faces in the fight to preserve gay marriage. Her wedding to Portia de Rossi made the cover of People magazine with a splashy photo spread inside. At one point, people complained that Ellen wasn't doing enough. But they were silenced when she took up the issue on her show with the likes of John McCain, donated $100,000 to the No on 8 campaign and made this video with her own money:

***********************************

And finally, here is the amazing commentary by Keith Olbermann given on MSNBC on Nov. 10, six days after California voters passed Proposition 8 and banned same-sex marriage in the state. It was one of the most common sense thing I have yet to hear on the issue:

DListed's Michael K has posted an early Christmas present: photos of Anderson Cooper's yearbook page from Dalton School in New York in 1984. He's listed as Anderson Hays Cooper, He listed his senior quote as, "Mary had a little lamb, the doctor fainted."

He was cute then, gorgeous now...

Get in line D-lister! This is a funny moment form last night's "Larry King Live" Watch Anderson blush!!!

Anderson Cooper, CNN's Silver Fox, was at a launch party last night for his "Planet in Peril" documentary premiering on CNN tonight at 9 p.m.

Anderson, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and National Geographic Channel host Lisa Ling examine effects of the Earth's rapidly growing population. Among other subjects, the trio investigates the spread of disease, oil and poverty in Nigeria, shark fishing and shark dive tours, African elephants and mountain gorillas. It is the second "Planet in Peril" special.

"I love the political coverage this year, I found it incredibly exciting, but it's always nice to change things up," Cooper told the New York Daily News. "You don't get the opportunity to go into the mountains in the Congo, then off to Rwanda every day, so it's something that I really jumped at."

Anderson Cooper does one of his occasional pieces for "60 Minutes" tonight (remember his Beckham interview?). This time, he profiles eight-time 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps. The Silver Fox does more than ask questions though: he actually challenges Phelps to a race across the length of the pool.

Phelps admitted to not working out much since the Olympics and he also gave Anderson several advantages: he would have to swim underwater the entire time, could not use his arms and he would have to push off from the wall while Anderson dove in.

I think you can guess what happened. Says Anderson: "What does it feel like to be in a race with Michael Phelps? I couldn't tell you. He went by me so fast I never even saw him."

Here's a clip of the big race:

Watch CBS Videos Online

No Prop. 8 stuff but it's always nice to watch the Silver Fox and Jay spoke out early in favbr of gay marriage. The most amuxing part is Anderson's thoughts on "Real Housewives of Atlanta." Here's a thought though: If Anderson were openly gay, Jay's breast jokes about one of the housewives woiuld have really fallen flat. Instead, you have Anderson sort of chuckling and saying, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Enjoy!

I'm glad Dan Savage is on ,my side is all I gotta say. Check this out.

This is such an interesting time. There's the "second Stonewall" feeling with protesters marching the streets and making themselves seen and heard in a glorious way. Then there is looking ahead with various legal battles on several fronts and the question of what happens to the marriages of the same-sex couples who took the plunge during the five months that it was allowed in California.

Most fascinating is the post-mortem on what happened and how it happened.

Do the leaders of No on 8 take the blame for having commercials that were too soft and for not doing enough grassroots campaigning in the African-American communities? Were people just too complacent? Should African-American voters - 70 percent of those who voted in favor of Prop. 8 - be criticized for voting to take rights away from anyone? Where do we go from here?

Interesting questions worth pondering. I'm still learning about it all and don't have any answers that I feel confident giving. But I'm eager to hear what you all think went went wrong and where we can go from here.

I just gotta get me a subscription to Best Life, a magazine from Men's Health that I believe is geared for men over 40. Even though I am just 29 (ha!), I think I might rather enjoy it.

And let's be real: Anderson Cooper is on the cover of the lastest issue! Yes, he's a distinguished journalist who has reported from international hotspots and from all sorts of domestic disasters. Yes, he's very smart and a good interviewer. But I guess I really like him because he is a dreamboat!

Earlier posts:
-- Video: Anderson Cooper can't believe what he sees...
-- My latest newsman crush...
-- Neil Patrick Harris defends Anderson Cooper's right not to be public...

CNN's Anderson Cooper, or "The Silver Fox" as I call him, did a piece on Katie Couric's much-lampooned interview with GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. The look on his face after he views the piece is priceless.

I have to admit, this is a lot less fun when you consider what dire shape our country is in economically:

(AP) WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue package, ignoring urgent pleas from President George W. Bush and bipartisan congressional leaders to quickly bail out the staggering U.S. financial industry.

Stocks plummeted on Wall Street even before the 228-205 vote to reject the bill was announced on the House floor.

When the critical vote was tallied, too few members of the House were willing to support the unpopular measure with elections just five weeks away. Ample no votes came from both the Democratic and Republican sides of the aisle.

Move over Anderson Cooper. Sorry Terry Moran. Too bad Chris Cuomo.

Greg has a new news crush and his name is Jeff Glor of CBS News.

I was watching Jeff - who I had never heard of before - fill in for Katie Couric on the evening news Monday and was smitten by his good looks and manner. He's what they call a natural.

Over dinner with my friend Ted the other day, I was trying to remember his name. "Jeff...somebody." "Jeff Lord?" ""Jeff Lore?" Ted, being the excellent reporter that he is, got to the bottom of it and discovered that the name is JEFF GLOR.

And now he's my crush. Here's some video of a story Jeff did during the Olympics:

Sometimes it;s just fun to post a shirtless picture of Neil Patrick Harris because he is so darned cute. He's hosting the Creative Arts Emmys this weekend so I hope to have a moment or two with him on the red carpet.

But Michael Jensen, editor of AfterElton.com, had a lot more than that with NHP recently and posted a terrific, wide-ranging interview today. I'm excerpting a line of questioning that stemmed from Neil's comment in his recent OUT Magazine cover story that one of his role models as far as being comfortable with his sexuality was Danny Roberts from the New Orleans season of "The Real World."

He talks with Michael about what he thinks is the difference between Danny Roberts and someone like Anderson Cooper who does not discuss his private life:

NPH: "...The difference between those two to me is that Danny Roberts was on a reality show, so I was watching him exist in his world and so that was what was empowering was to see him interacting socially and admiring the way he behaved in any given situation. With someone who's sole job it is to relay information, I think the more you know about them, the more things can get muddled when you're trying to pay attention to a story.
AE: I agree with you up until the point where if that person, whether it be Anderson Cooper or anybody else, if they draw a clear line and say this is what I talk about and this is what I don't, then that's completely fine. But if you do things such as write an autobiography and do talk about other personal stuff, don't you sort of open the door to those types of questions?

NPH: I don't think so. I think writing a biography is subjective and you write about what you find important in your own life at that time. I think it's separate from inviting Barbara Walters into your bedroom. They're different situations. I find the community very interesting in who it opts to criticize. Because I think the people that take the most heat often don't deserve it.

So I think those two examples are actually kind of radically different. I'm a big fan of respecting someone's skill set. Of course, if anyone wants to stand tall, I think they would be impressing upon lots of people to stand tall as well, but I don't think that one is required for the other. I mean with Danny Roberts, he was inviting cameras into his actual life to film him. And when you're dealing with Anderson Cooper, who is really recounting the news stories, he's doing quite the opposite.

Interesting discussion and there is tons more at AfterElton.com.

I was walking down the 16th Street Mall Thursday after lunch when I came upon this massive crowd outside Hard Rock Cafe. The rumor was that Oprah Winfrey was inside. It turns out she was not. But other stars were since there was a Creative Coalition event on health care going on. Handsome Josh Lucas came out twice to wave to the crowd and to give autographs, Angela Bassett came out once and gave a shy wave, Alan Cumming popped out to give a few autographs and finally, Spike Lee did some hellos.

As I was on Oprah-watch, I chatted up two hot guys who made the time go far faster...They are a couple and their names areTed and Travis. I'm not sure which one is Ted and which one is Travis now that I'm home. I don't even know my OWN name at this point!

Anderson Cooper may be the "it" guy of TV news but Tom Brokaw still has plenty of star power. I was standing near the makeshift CNN studio when Tom, wearing tennis shoes and carrying a red backpack, tried to casually walk to the NBC studio. No dice. People were hollering to him from the stands and a stream of folks down on the field asked him to stop for a picture. "I've got to keep moving," Tom said at one point, smiling.

Attending Cyndi Lauper's concert at Fillmore Auditorium was just terrific. I loved when she said, "Listen to mama, vote for Obama." I love, love, love Cyndi Lauper.
Thank God for my friend Hope Hamashige who moved to Denver about 3-4 years ago. On Tuesday night, I had to wait more than two hours to interview the Black Eyed Peas because Bill Clinton's convention speech ran late. I called Hope to gab and she said, "I'm downtown too, I'll ride my bike over." We got to hang out and tell some of our war stories with a young reporter from People mag, just out i\of college. Made us feel a liittle old.

I tell ya, it was one hell of a week. I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

It was an awesome experience, awesome. It's right up there with the really big events in my career and in my life. On the final night of the Democratic National Convention, I unexpectedly got a floor pass for Barack Obama's speech. I jammed over to Invesco Field at Mile High where the excitement was off-the-charts. .Having a floor pass means you get to wander all around the place, including near the stage, near all the action and near the CNN booth and Anderson Cooper!

Here is Anderson and me. I handed my camera to a guy Anderson was talking to and he gladly snapped the photo then Anderson says to me: "You just asked the president of CBS News to take our picture!" Then the guy - I didn;t get his name - said, "I'm not the president." Anderson said, "You will be."

Here is Sheryl Crow just after leaving the stage. At this point, I was trapped in an area that suddenly went into lock-down because some VIP was coming in. Thinking it was Obama, I stuck around awhile but no dice. Got tired of waiting and found another way out but not before snapping a photo (below) of NBC's Luke Russert (Tim's son) interviewing Martin Luther King III who was one of the night's speakers on the 40th anniversary of his fahter's "I Have a Dream" speech.


Four years ago, John Kerry was the Democratic nominee. I snapped him getting interviewed by a Polish TV network.

What can I say? I'm having an absolute blast this week in Denver. So invigorating, so much going on, so many people. My first priority is doing interviews but I'm trying to get some pictures too when I remember to. When I made my way to the convention hall yesterday, I made sure to get some snaps!
After I filed a piece from inside our press tent which is just outside Pepsi Center, I spotted ABC News "Nightline" anchor Terry Moran. I'm a big fan of the show which I think a lot of people figured would bomb out after the departure of Ted Koppel. But thanks in part to Terry, who is one of the three hosts, the show has thrived. It would be a shame if ABC yanked "Nightline" to make room for Jay Leno next year but it seems to be a real possibility.

Anyway, Terry had just finished listening to Ted Kennedy's electric speech and was on his way back to his press area when we met and had this picture taken. While it's not as good as bumping into Anderson Cooper would be (EVERYONE seems to be spotting Anderson except for me), Terry is pretty darmed hot.

This is the parade/demonstration that kept me stuck on Colfax Ave. about a block away from The Denver Post building for a good 15 minutes. I decided not to be pissed and just watch the damned thing.

Here is one of my best pals Ted Johnson who is covering the convention for Variety (he was filing a story from the CNN Grill and I snuck this picture of him before calling him over). It's been great having him in Denver because we've been able to see each other here and there and are always calling each other on the cell: "Are you going to this event?" "I haven't eaten all day either!" "Which shuttle stop is the Pepsi Center on?" "Does (deleted) keep calling and pitching stupid stories to you too?" "How mucn sleep did you get last night?"