June 2008 Archives

Cyndi Lauper crosses paths with Luke and Noah on "As the World Turns" on Thursday when she performs at a gay pride events in their fictional town. She'll be singing her current hit "Into the Night Life" which she has performed on so many shows in recent weeks that I can;t get it out of my head! I think she also sings "True Colors."

The first time I met Judge David Young, he was kind of a good luck charm. He was presiding over a lunchtime drawing at the National Gay & Lesbian Journalists Assn. convention in San Diego and pulled me name out of a hat and I won some DVDs!

The judge and I were face-to-face again on the red carpet of the Daytime Emmy Awards recently. He was up for an award and was there with his partner, Judge Scott Bernstein.

"Judge David Young" premiered last September and made Young the first openly gay TV judge. He presides over small claims court cases on the show, far different from the
America West Flight 556 case - in which two America West Airlines pilots were convicted of trying to fly a plane while drunk - which he presided over while still oin the bench.

Does being gay make a difference when you're a judge? "I dress better than most," he joked. "No. When you decide cases, you decide cases on law, based upon fact."

His thoughts on the recent gay marriage ruling by the California Supreme Court: "Marriage is the last bastion of discrimination that we have in this country and it's time that the walls come knocking down and I'm very happy with what happened in California."

The judge said that when gay marriage is legalized in his home state of Florida, he and Bernstein will get married.

How did they meet?"We met at a law firm Christmas party," he said. "We've been together 13 years."

For people, like me, who supported Hillary Clinton's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, the past month has been somewhat of a grieving process. I've known that I would be voting for Barack Obama in the fall - that wasn't going to be the issue - but I didn't feel the same enthusiasm.
But that is changing now and I'm more and more impressed with how Obama is handling himself out on the campaign trail and becoming a better and better candidate. On Saturday, one of my best buds, Evan Pondel, organized an Obama rally in West L.A. and it was the perfect kind of event someone transitioning from Clinton to Obama. Councilman Bill Rosendahl gave a very inspiring speech, comparing Obama to Bobby Kennedy who the councilman had worked for in the 60s.

After a few other people spoke - including a woman from the Obama campaign - Evan callled me up to speak about my post-Hillary funk and I got surprisingly emotional standing up there and just getting caught up in the energy and enthusiasm of campaign. I left wearing my first "Obama for President" sticker.

In related news, Obama has spoken out against the proposed amendment to the California state constitution which seeks to ban gay marriage - again.

Here is an excerpt from a letter the candidate wrote to the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club: "As the Democratic nominee for President, I am proud to join with and support the LGBT community in an effort to set our nation on a course that recognizes LGBT Americans with full equality under the law. That is why I support extending fully equal rights and benefits to same-sex couples under both state and federal law. That is why I support repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy, and the passage of fully inclusive laws to protect LGBT Americans from hate crimes and employment discrimination. And that is why I oppose the divisive and discriminatory efforts to amend the California Constitution, and similar efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution or those of other states."

"For too long, issues of LGBT rights have been exploited by those seeking to divide us. It's time to move beyond polarization and live up to our founding promise of equality by treating all our citizens with dignity and respect. This is no less than a core issue about who we are as Democrats and as Americans."

It still bothers me that twice Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had the chance to make gay marriage legal in California when bills had passed the legislature and twice he took the "let the courts decide" position. But I do like that since the California Supreme Court did make its ruling, the governator has kept his word and said he would not support a November ballot initiative that would again ban gay marriage.

Tom Brokaw asked him about it on "Meet the Press" this Sunday (God, I really miss Tim Russert). Here is what Arnold said: "...As a matter of fact, I think the Supreme Court made a decision there. It was apparently unconstitutional to stop anyone from getting married. It's like 1948, the interracial marriage, when the Supreme Court of California has, you know, decided it was unconstitutional and then later on the Supreme Court of the United States followed, I think 10 or 12 years later. So I think it is, it's good that California lead--is leading in this way. I personally believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman. But at the same time I think that my, you know, belief, I don't want to force on anyone else, so I think we should stay with the decision of the Supreme Court and move forward. There are so many other more important issues that we have to address in California. So I think to spend any time on this initiative I think is a waste of time."

Daniel Craig is the best thing to happen to the James Bond franchise since Sean Connery (sorry Pierce Brosnan fans!) and I cannot wait until his second outing as Agent 007 hits theaters this fall.

Johnny's Diaz's second book, "Miami Manhunt" is now out!

He is a terrific storyteller which he showed in his debut novel "Boston Boys Club." I like this second book even better and I think it's because Johnny changes the locale from his to his hometown of Miami Beach (He was a writer for the Miami Herald).

This book is set specifically in South Beach on the ever-hot Lincoln Road at a club called Score (anyone who's been to Lincoln Road knows about Score).

So here's a synopsis of the book and the characters Johnny has created: Ray Martinez, the resident movie critic at the Miami Chronicle, is tired of hooking up with sculpted, shallow hunks. He would give the Miami dating scene a one-star review. Ted Williams, host of a popular Miami version of Entertainment Tonight, enjoys the perks of his celebrity status but a reckless move could cost him everything. While Brian Andrews lives the life of leisure with his fabulously wealthy older boyfriend, but can't seem to shake his attraction to a Puerto Rican love god named Eros.

The book, on sale now, follows these three friends over the course of one wild year when love gets crazy, hearts get broken and mended, and the only thing to count on is the fact that life will never be the same again.

Johnny is a writer for The Boston Globe and has become a friend of mine and he, Kenneth Walsh (Kennethinthe212) became so inseparable at last year's National Gay & Lesbian Journalists Assn. convention that Johnny nicknamed us "Los tres Blogeros."

He's the only gay Latino writer in the US currently writing contemporary gay Hispanic fiction, is a Living/Arts writer for The Boston Globe, where he writes about pop culture, style trends and Hispanic-related stories. Previously, Diaz was a reporter for The Miami Herald where he shared in the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the federal seizure of Elian Gonzales and its aftermath. MTV Real World fans will remember him as the "gay guy's boyfriend" from the Miami season. Readers can visit his website at www.beantowncuban.com.

Time to blow out the candles, today is the second anniversary of Out In Hollywood. After all the attention over the City Hall honor a few days ago, I really have not much else to say about what a privilege and a joy it is to write this blog. It has changed my life - for the better - in so many ways.

So, I'll just do a recap of where we've been in the past 24 months. The blog passed 2 million visits a few months ago and readership increased 130 percent from the first year to the second. With posts ranging from between 6-10 on an average day, Out In Hollywood should reach 4,000 posts by next week!

I have no plans to slow down - it feels like the fun has just begun!

Anyway, I've compiled some lists highlighting some of what has happened in the world of gay culture, entertainment, politics etc. and in doing so, it becomes even more clear to me that the time for a blog like this - and all the other sites with a gay sensibility - has really come:

Biggest stories: Gay marriage legalized in California; candidates for Democratic presidential election hold debate in LA; "Brokeback Mountain" star Heath Ledger's death;

Famous people who have come out publicly: John Amaechi, T.R. Knight, Lance Bass, Neil Patrick Harris, Luke Macfarlane, Cheyene Jackson, David Hyde Pierce; Thomas Roberts, Jane Lynch, Miss Cleo, Cynthia Nixon, Paulo Szot

Famous gay people who have gotten married or engaged: John Barrowman, George Takei, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia DeRossi, Darren Hayes
Scripted TV shows with gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered characters: Showtime's "The L Word," Here!TV's "Dante's Cove," Logo's "Big Gay Sketch Show," Scotty and Luke 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"

Reality TV shows featuring LGBT: Nate Berkus, host of "Oprah's Big Give," Jeff Lewis of "Flipping Out," Jackie Warner of "Work Out,," Sean Hetherington on "American Gladiators," "Project Runway" winner Christian Siriano,, Todd Herzog of "Survivor,"

Controveries: Isaiah Washington's use of the other "f" word in reference to T.R. Knight and is later fired from "Grey's Anatomy"; John Amaechi's coming out sets former NBA player Tim Hardaway off on anti-gay tirades; Sen. Larry Craig busted in airport bathroom; Former Joint Chief of Staffs Gen. Peter Pace says gays are immoral despite the many serving in the military under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Vile Ann Coulter uses gay slur in reference to John Edwards; Ted Haggard gives up ministry after admitting to drug use and gay sex; Out Magazine features Jodie Foster and Anderson Cooper on the cover of its Power List issue; Rosie O'Donnell feuds with Donald Trump, Bill O'Reilly and finally, Elisabeth Hasselbeck...leaves "The View" early...

Adam Levine performed on "Good Morning America" Friday on "Good Morning America."
Enjoy!

Greg Hernandez honored for stellar coverage of gay issues

Daily News columnist and blogger Greg Hernandez was honored by the Los Angeles City Council on Friday for pioneering coverage of gay Hollywood, entertainment and cultural issues in a mainstream newspaper.

Hernandez was among nine local gay leaders, writers, entertainers and activists - including state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles - honored by the council as part of the city's second annual LGBT Pride Month Celebration.

Bill Rosendahl, an openly gay member of the council, said Hernandez has contributed significantly to a broader community understanding of gay issues through his daily column in the Daily News and his blog at blogs.dailynews.com/outinhollywood.

"Good journalists who are gay and appreciate being gay and who write about the gay experience are doing a huge service to the community," Rosendahl said.

Hernandez, who two years ago began Out in Hollywood as one of the nation's first gay entertainment blogs affiliated with a mainstream publication, said he's inspired to tell stories about people in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community as part of his wider coverage of Hollywood.

"I love to write about what people have accomplished (and) for them to tell me in their own words," said Hernandez. "Younger people can see that anything is possible."

Daily News Managing Editor Melissa Lalum said Hernandez brings tremendous dedication, energy and enthusiasm to his work.

"He is uniquely positioned to bring gay issues and culture to mainstream audiences in an effortless way. He is as likeable in person as he is in print or online," Lalum said.
Kuehl, a lesbian who is about to be termed out in the state Senate, was honored for her legislative efforts, specifically on behalf of the LGBT community.

Also honored were actor Wilson Cruz; former AIDS coordinator Phill Wilson; LAPD Capt. Tina Nieto; IN Los Angeles and Frontiers political writer Karen Ocamb; Diane Olson and Robin Tyler, original plaintiffs in the gay-marriage case; Rodney Scott of Christopher Street West; and Suzanne Naputi of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center.

"Lipstick Jungle" hearthrob Robert Buckley is giving Matthew McConaughey a real run for his money as the actor who owns the fewest shirts! JustJared.com has posted dozens of new shots of Buckley that ya just gotta see! Here is the LINK...In them, he is filming new scenes for the second season of "Lipstick."

Tennis legend Billie Jean King watched the matches at Wimbledon on Saturday. At 64, the equal right activist is at the site of her greatest triumphs as a player. She was just a teenager back in 1961 and playing in her first Wimbledon when she and Karen Hantz giggled their way to the title. She went on to win six singles titles there and shares the record with Martina Navratilova for the most overall titles won at Wimbledon - 20 - which includes singles, double and mixed doubles.

The midde Sunday at Wimbledon is a day of rest for the players. The remaining 16 make and femalem players will resume play Monday. Unfortunately, German star Tommy Haas will not be among them as he lost to Britain's Andy Murray Saturday. Tommy gets injured or ill more than any other player so him even competing is a victory! Personally, I think Tommy could just segue into a career as a model or an actor. What. A. Dreamboat.

Just lovely...Happy Friday!!!

I wrote a story for Sunday's LA Daily News about the LGBT Pride Celebration at City Hall earlier today and wanted to share it withreaders of the blog first:

Just about every day this space is for famous people and their stories.

I'm certainly not famous (except to my little niece and nephew), but you'll have to indulge me a bit as I tell you about the extraordinary day I had on Friday.

I was among the 11 gay and lesbian people honored by the city of Los Angeles for contributions to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender community and for "significant achievements in your professional and personal life."

Wow!

Here I was... decked out in a new shirt and tie, a little nervous and soon to be called up to address the City Council on live television -- nobody told me about that! But with the support of some close friends and mentors, I made it through a very moving ceremony.

State Sen. Sheila Kuehl, a former actress ("The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis") whose final term in coming to an end, sat next to me and was among those being honored. She received so many tributes that she had to remind everyone at one point that while she was leaving the senate, she is not dying.

I already knew fellow honoree Wilson Cruz, the actor who rose to fame on "My So-Called Life" and who has had a busy career on stage ("Rent"), in television ("Noah's Arc") and films ("He's Just Not That Into You").

Wilson has accomplished all of this as an openly gay actor. He came out when he was just a teenager and had to pay a personal and professional price. But he lives his life on his own terms and I admire him greatly.

Karen Ocamb, who covers politics for IN Los Angeles and Frontiers magazines, was the other journalist honored. Karen's tenacious reporting of LGBT issues is so important and so thorough. She is not afraid to put anyone's feet to the fire whether they are a straight politician or a gay leader.

Obviously, since my focus is on entertainment, Karen and I play far different roles in the media. I'm proud to be doing this column and my Out in Hollywood blog, which touches gay and mainstream audiences. I have an incredible opportunity to share my work with a wide array of people and hope my sensibilities broaden people's perspectives.

The emotional impact of the occasion took me by surprise.

Busy with work all week, I confess to not giving the ceremony much thought until that morning. When I saw my friends Beth Barrett, Evan Pondel and Mariel Garza, my editor Melissa Lalum and former Daily News editor Ron Kaye all there for me, it was suddenly a big deal.

Then came the stories of the incredible people who were honored with me and their eloquent speeches. It gave me a lump in the throat! I'll never forget the generous words Councilman Bill Rosendahl, who led the event, had for all of us.

Did I mention, we had not been warned that we'd have to speak or that it would be on television? Now, I'm not shy, but I'm not used to being on the other side of the camera. When you are in the trenches doing interviews, going to events, writing columns or blogging, there isn't much to reflect on what you are doing or its impact.

At Friday's ceremony I was without my reporter's notebook and pen and I left my audio recorder at home. We were the story. Each of us shared how far we've come, but we all know the road ahead is just as important.

Sorry for the lack of posts today! I'll have some later and some tomorrow. Spent part of the day at Los Angeles City Hall for the most amazing ceremony honoring nine LBGT Angelinos for their accomplishments. I was one of them and Wilson Cruz was another! I'll be writing a column detailing it all (and have more pictures) so stay tuned!

...Hugh Jackman is a total babe!

You lose your gay card if ya don't wanna watch this.

Tonight on Bravo, from 7- 9:pm, the GLAAD Media Awards will air. Even if you attended one of the ceremonies held in LA, New York, San Francisco or Miami, chances are - unless you are a GLAAD staffer or something - that you've seen more than one of the ceremonies. This telecast brings them all together!

The pics I've posted are all from the LA ceremony in April and are reason enough to check out this show. Kathy Griffin and her mother had a really cute bit at the start of the show at the Kodak Theatre. Kathy, of course, was ver bad - thank God!

The dreamy Billy Baldwin appears with his "Dirty Sexy Money" co-star Candis Cayne as a presenter. Here is a list of all the other stars you will see tonight: still my crush after all these years Kevin Bacon; "The L Word" star Jennifer Beals and the show's creator Ilene Chaiken; the gorgeous Cindy Crawford; the amazingly talented Wilson Cruz; the awesome Alan Cumming; the great star Loretta Devine of "Dreamgirls" and "Eli Stone,"; Sally Field who I really, really like; the very sexy Tom Ford; visionary MTV exec Brian Graden; lovely Mariska Hargitay; "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson; sweetie pie T.R. Knight of "Grey's Anatomy"; hilarious Alec Mapa; talk show host Graham Norton; courageous activist Judy Shepard; ultra cool Kyra Sedgwick of TV's "The Closer"; outspoken Sharon Stone; singer Joss Stone; legendary Barbara Walters and honoree Rufus Wainwright.

And then we have Miss Janet Jackson who showed up in Hollywood looking absolutely stunning, was gracious on the red carpet then gave one of the shortest speeches that I can recall ever given by a recipient of the Vangaard Award.

And how's this for an added bonus? The awards telecast will be immediately followed by the basic cable premiere of the critically acclaimed, Academy Award-winning film "Brokeback Mountain," which also received the award for Outstanding Film - Wide Release at the 17th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. "Brokeback" is always worth seeing again and again. And even before star Heath Ledger died, I still would watch and think about how much he deserved to win the Oscar that year for best actor. It will remain one of the best performances on film - ever.

I gabbed with Jimmy Smits Thursday afternoon and am really happy to be featuring him in my newspaper column on Sunday. It was just one of those really good interviews with good energy. So, I am sharing it with Out In Hollywood readers a few days early.
On "The West Wing," Jimmy Smits' character of Congressman Matthew Santos was elected president of the U.S. but the show ended its run before we got to see Santos move into The White House.

On July 4, Smits returns to the scene of that fictional storyline to host "A Capitol Fourth," a televised party in Washington D.C. televised live on PBS.

"It's very moving to watch those fireworks with all the national monuments as a backdrop," Jimmy said a few days ago. "It fortifies you in a strange kind of way about what it means to be an American - especially for me, being second-generation in this country. It just gives me goosebumps."

Jimmy called to chat after a long day of shooting an episode of the popular Showtime drama "Dexter." He has joined the show in its third season as Miguel Prado, an assistant district attorney in Florida who forms a bond with the title character, a forensic expert-serial killer portrayed by Michael C. Hall.

"(Hall's) work is just really, really special," Jimmy said. "He can do more with an eyebrow than most people do with pages of dialogue."

Without question, Jimmy has had one of the most successful careers of anyone who has ever worked in television. He's also had a movie career that includes roles in the last two "Star Wars" films, "My Family/Mi Familia," "Lackawanna Blues," "Old Gringo" and "Switch."

He won an Emmy for his portrayal of attorney Victor Sufuentes, who he played for five seasons on "L.A. Law." Then he earned an Emmy nomination during each of his five seasons on "NYPD Blue" as Det. Bobby Simone.

Jimmy really re-invigorated "The West Wing" during its final two seasons as Democratic nominee Santos who engaged in a thrilling presidential campaign against Alan Alda's Republican Sen. Arnold Vinick.

"I had a blast," he said of "West Wing." "We did a live debate episode show that we did twice - once for each coast - and that will always stay in my mind as one of the most fulfilling experiences of my career on a lot of levels."

While "The West Wing" was a terrific high, his experience with the short-lived CBS series "Cane" turned out to be a professional low.

The drama about the lives and internal power struggles of a powerful and wealthy Cuban-American family in Florida running a rum and sugar cane business had its chances to succeed doomed by the writer's strike that crippled Hollywood earlier this year.

"The experience on 'Cane' was wonderful for me but it's just very bittersweet because of the way the year went down," he said. "It's basically collateral damage of the strike. I had a great time working on it, learned a whole lot and forged a lot of wonderful friendships."
He's happy to fit in the July 4 hosting duties with work on "Dexter" and said he's looking forward to hearing the musical acts which include Huey Lewis and the News and Taylor Hicks.

But mostly, he looks forward to those fireworks on the Washington mall and the feelings they evoke.

Said Jimmy: "When you start thinking of the framers (of the Declaration of Independence) and the chances they took when they put their name down, it makes you reflect on how deep those words were and how far this country has some. It also helps you acknowledge how far we have to go."

I love it!!!

David Beckham has blogged about his racy Emporio Armani underwear ads and the unveiling event for his billboards in San Francisco last week that caused quite a stir:

"Well I'm sure you've seen the pictures but last Thursday I went to San Francisco to see the unveiling of the new Emporio Armani campaign I shot a while back. To be honest I was amazed by the huge billboard poster outside Macy's department store, but even more amazed by the amount of people who turned up to see it! I'm always surprised by the amount of attention certain things create, but the attention this campaign has created is pretty incredible." What else has been incredible for David? Getting to visit the Golden Gate city, blogging "It was great to meet some of the people who'd come out especially though, I've always wanted to visit San Francisco, so it was a great to finally get there."

What a heartbreaker!

Andy Roddick, America's best hope at Wimbledon, was stuinned in the second round of the tournament today losing to a dude ranked 40th in the world. Andy lost in the 2004 and 2005 Wimbledon finals to Roger Federer and is always coinsidered a major threat at this most prestigious of tournaments.

But the U.S. heartthrob went out 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4, 7-6 (4) Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia in a closely-fought contest that Andy really should have won. Andy's probably got a few more really good chances to win the tournament to go along with his 2003 US Open crown, but time is passing him by.

At least Andy flashed his tummy to the crowd...

I haven't written anything about Boy George being denied a Visa to perform in the U.S. because, frankly, I don't really care.

But I read an item on Queerty that I thought was amusing:

A reporter asked State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey about the trouble George is having getting permission to tour in the U.S. this summer. The singer has had his share of troubles with the law with the most recent being an investigation into his alleged kidnapping of a Norwegian hooker..

Here is the exchange:
Q. And what does the U.S. Government have against Boy George - (laughter) - You denied him a visa.
CASEY: Sorry, I should have swallowed before you said that. (Laughter.) Let's see if I spit the water over any place else. (Laughter.) I've seen the report that's out there. Obviously, visa records are confidential. But I'd simply note that there often are difficulties for individuals who either are currently subject to criminal charges or otherwise may have criminal records. So I think you might want to look toward some of those reasons as why he might be having some difficulties here.

Q. It's tragic really.
CASEY: Do you really want to hurt him? (Laughter.)

Now see it for yourself:

Ace Young, a season five "American Idol" finalist, called recently from the road. He's touring with his band and visiting radio stations to drum up interest to a fever pitch for his self-titled debut CD out July 15.

Ace only finished seventh but he points out that the same season,top-selling rocker Chris Daughtry finished fourth. For the record,Taylor Hicks won that year. But Ace's good looks and long flowing hair made him a hearthrob and his dedication to his craft could make him a rock star.

Even without a record out, he has managed to stay in the limelight as most other top 10 finalists from seasons past fade from sight. He has toured with his band and was nominated for a Grammy for co-writing the triple platinum hit single "It's Not Over" on
Daughtry's album. The 27-year-old LA resident has also done some acting, including a guest spot on the FOX series "Bones."

Still, why the heck has it taken him three years to finish his record?

"I didn't want the time crunch of forcing something out," he said. "I put together my own team and we are literally doing everything grassroots. I wrote the majority of the album and was able to write with Desmond Child and Diane Warren. I had a blast making the album that I wanted to make."

One of the reasons his album took so long to complete was because he traveled to different places to work with certain producersincluding Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, Miami and - get this - Sweden.

He wanted a Rock/R&B/Funk collaboration record where each song would stand alone. The quality of the music, he said, is key because "I want to tour for the next 30 years, not just be out for a minute and then be gone."

While the album won't hit stores for a few more weeks, its first single "Addicted to Love" is already out. Although he is eager to establish his identity as an artist, he hasn't run from his "Idol" roots. He was in the audience for some of the tapings this year and performed with his band at several post-show parties, including a bash after the May finale.

"It was fun, I had a blast," he said of his experience on the show. "I made life-long friends. At the same point, I got to be seen across the world singing songs that I enjoyed."

There was a time, not that long ago, when "Gossip Girl" cutie pie Chace Crawford and former N Sync band member JC Chasez seemed inseparable. They were thick as thieves at Elton John's Oscar bash and other places and everyone was abuzz. Now, we don't see them together - probably just due to busy schedules?

Chace was asked about the gay rumors in an interview with Metro.Co.UK
Here is some of the interview:

Q. A number of gossip websites have been speculating about your sexuality. How do you deal with that?

A. You've got to laugh it off. You haven't made it unless there's been a gay rumour about you. There are so many fabrications. They take your picture with someone and then say you're having a relationship with them. I let it roll off my back.

Q. So you're not having a secret gay fling with ex-'N Sync singer JC Chasez?

A.No, of course not.

Q. Do you have a favourite 'N Sync song?

A. No, I don't.

I did a little moonlighting this week and wrote a story posted today on AfterElton.com. I can take credit for the article but not for the mouth-watering pictures that accompany it! Above is Robert Buckley of "Lipstick Jungle." and the other guys, Here is a LINK to the article. Check it out and these photos and many more!

It's one thing to court the gays in your advertising but it's quite another to dump them. Heinz caved to about 200 complaints from people freaked out by its mayonaise commercial which included a gay kiss. Now more than 2,000 people have signed an online petition urging Heinz to put the darn thing back on the air. Until they do, here's a video of the commercial.

Anyway, Noah is given his "dead" dad's dogtags which means, to him, he's dead. Of course he's not! Sheesh. But Noah thinks he is and is all conflicted and sad and at one point during today's episode, he begins to sob, falls into a hug with Luke who tells him: "You deserve to be loved." But Noah explains that his dad "died" hating that he is gay and that he could never be the man Luke wants him to be. He again walks away, leaving Luke at the farm.

Later, Luke shows up at Noah's work and says that his trying to get back together Noah "ends today."

"I'm not gonna stalk you and I'm not gonna push you into anything you don't want to do...Noah, I am always gonna love you. So if you ever need someone to talk to or not to talk to or just someone to be with, I'm here."

He then walks away...for now.

This sounds like an incredibly cool event and I'm really proud to be among those being recognized: The Los Angeles City Council will hold its 2nd Annual LGBT Pride Celebration Friday June 27 at Los Angeles City Hall. On behalf of the City of Los Angeles, councilmembers will honor the LGBT community and celebrate recent tremendous advances in the LGBT civil rights movement.
Councilmember Bill Rosendahl will lead the event, and will be joined by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Police Chief William Bratton, and Redondo Beach Mayor Mike Gin, as well as additional dignitaries. Several community leaders and groups will be honored.

Honorees include: State Sen. Sheila Kuehl; Wilson Cruz, Actor; Phill Wilson, former AIDS Coordinator; LAPD Captain Tina Nieto; Karen Ocamb, IN Los Angeles and Frontiers magazines; Greg Hernandez, LA Daily News, Diane Olson & Robin Tyler (pictured above); Rodney Scott, Christopher Street West;; and Suzanne Naputi, LA Gay & Lesbian Center.

I am especially proud to be honored alongside my fellow journalist Karen Ocamb whose work is so important and is someone I really like and admire.

Here are a few links to Karen's recent work covering gay marriage:

-- This is Karen's piece "I Do! California Performs Same-Sex Marriage" which features our fellow honorees Diane Olson and Robin Tyler.

-- Marriage in WeHo is her coverage of the first day of licenses issued and marriages performed in West Hollywood
being

-- Karen also helped put together this one-time LGBT Media consortium of LGBT newspapers and freelancers who shot pictures and posted them on a special Marriage Project on Bilerico.com - which provided free to folks around the country.

Anyway, the event is gonna be held on Friday morning starting with a breakfast at City Hall then a ceremony inside Council Chambers. My being included in this is cool because it coincides perfectly with the SECOND ANNIVERSARY of Out In Hollywood which is Monday! I'll have some fun facts and figures on that day for you. I'm sure it will be RIVETING.

Silver foxy CNN host Anderson Cooper, tight-lipped about his sexuality at least publicly, got more than he bargaibed for when he invited Rev. Al Sharpton on his show along with Focus On The Family's Tony Perkins and journalist Roland Martin.

While discussing scary James Dobson's blasting of Barack Obama, Sharpton said to Anderson: "I may have some very conservative personal feelings but I feel you have the right to live your life differently. I may think that what you do Anderson is gonna put you in Hell, but I'm gonna defend your right to get there."

Anderson remarked: "I appreciate all your concerns about my afterlife. I'm personally not all that concerned, but that's a whole other discussion."

Video courtesy of Towleroad

Yeah, I know. I need to grow up! But it looks like Russian tennis stud Marat Safin wants to give Novak Djokovic a tender kiss to make him feel better after beating him in the second round of Wimbledon today.

The loss, on paper, is a shocker. Novak is ranked third in the world and considered one of four men who could win the whole thing. But Safin is no slouch even if he's faded in the last two years. He was once the number one player in the world, beat Pete Sampras to win the US Open in 2000 and Roger Federer on his way to the Australian Open title in 2005.

I would totally want Marat to kiss me!

My Daily News colleague Kerry Cavanaugh didn't even tell me she was going to a wedding when I saw her in the newsroom a few days ago! Maybe she thought I'd wanna slap my name on the gift.

But Kerry, of course, would not have brought a gift anyway because she is our City Hall reporter and was covering the wedding of the first gay couple married by LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. He presided over the union of Oscar winning producer Bruce Cohen ("American Beauty") and Gabriel Catone, an art consultant.

The wedding was held in the mayor's press room with no flowers or music and closed
to the public but that didn't stop some dame named Rosalyn Schultz of the Church of Christ from crashing the event. After the vows were exchanged and champagne was being sipped, she took to the microphone and called Villaraigosa "an adulterer" and felt that would be the perfect time to tell everyone there that she is against gay marriage.

Gee, no kiddin' Ros. Thanks for sharing.

City staffers cut the microphone before she could say any more and she quietly left the room. They newlyweds told Kerry they were able to laugh off the interruption.

"It added spice to the festivities," joked Cohen, "It doesn't spoil our day. It doesn't take away our joy. And it certainly doesn't change the fact that we are legally married in the state of California, by the mayor of Los Angeles."

They have an out-of-state reception planned and a honeymoon in India.

It's official. Neil Patrick Harris is now such an established star on "How I Met Your Mother" and in the "Harold and Kumar" movies that he is able to spoof his teenage role on "Doogie Hauser" in this ad for Old Spice.

Gee, what was that they used to say about what would happen if an actor came out publicly as gay? Never work again. Lose endorsements. Abandoned by fans. NPH has turned all that on its ear!

It's a new world!

It's so nice that on his 45th birthday, George Michael is out on your again, sharing his talent with his fans - a talent he had kept locked away for far too long. He's had his silly scrapes with the law and seems to have emerged intact and focused. Loved seeing him on "Eli Stone" this year and on the "American Idol" finale and look forward to seeing more of him in the future...

Because he won his first round match at Wimbledon on Tuesday with ease. If he wins six more of them, Rafael Nadal will become the first men's tennis player since Bjorn Borg way back in 1980 to win Wimbledon and the French Open in the same year. But Nadal's top rival, Roger Federer, is after some history of his own. If he wins the tournament for the sixth straight year, he breaks a tie with Borg for the most consecutive titles.

...for me to get tired of posting pics of Mario Lopez? Hmmmm. Nope! Not possible!

I don't know quite why Will Smith was smooching on David Letterman on last night's show. I saw a preview of it while watching the news and wasn't even intrigued enough to blow off my late-night fave Charlie Rose to watch it. But I will say this: it's nice to see that Will, by far the biggest box office star in the world these days, not being afraid to kiss a man. In his only gay role - "Six Degrees of Separation" - he was supposed to have a kiss with Anthony Michael Hall but balked. What we saw in the finished product was some kind of fake camera angle thing that still bugs me whenever I watch the flick which features an Oscar-nominated performance from Stockard Channing.

Cyndi Lauper tells TV Guide's Michael Logan in next week;s issue that she's "a real buttinsky" and can't help but play matchmaker on "As the World Turns" by trying to get our on the outs lovers Luke and Noah back together.

"Who wouldn't want to get involved with that?" Cyndi tells the mag. "I tell those boys: 'You never give up on love!' And it's true. There will always be obsticles but in the end, it;s all about love, pal."

Cyndi encounters the pair at a gay pride part in the July 3 episode and Noah has shown up with someone else! So, does Cyndi thing there have been too many obsticles between these lovebirds - especially since the episode ends with Noah announcing that he is joining the Army! (egads!)

Said Cyndi: "Anybody can do the badda-bing badda-bing sex stuff. Luke and Noah have taken a slower, deeper path and, in the end, that'll have a more powerful impact on the audience."

Miss Lauper was asked if she knew that she was stepping into such a "controversial" storyline. I love her answer: "Yeah, but why is true love controversial? Those so-called 'Jesus people' are so confused, so disconnected from their hearts. They don't speak for Jesus. He would be horrified by their beliefs! What CBS has done here is groundbreaking and very courageous. Also smart, because a lot of gay people watch soaps. I'm honored to be a little part of it."

It's so nice that one a day when something crummy happens like Heinz wimping out and pulling a commercial because about 200 people don't like the gay kiss in it, that I can read that the handsome and talented actor Paulo Szot is an out and proud gay man.

Less than two weeks ago, Paulo won the outstanding actor in a musical Tony Award for his performance in "South Pacific." That is the same category that David Hyde Pierce won in last year for "Curtains" and publicly thanked his male partner,

I love the Tony Awards...they get even more gay after I finish watching them! AfterElton.com reports: There had been some speculation about Szot (who was rumored to be openly gay in his native Brazil, where he is a celebrated opera singer), but not much was known about him in the States before he took the stage in Pacific. And of course the sight of him and sound of his pipes set tongues wagging and Internet speculation afire the day after the Awards. We contacted his publicist and were told that yes, he is gay, and we're welcome to say as much.

Well this kinda sucks. Heinz decides to do a really cool ad for its new Deli Mayo product in the UK that features two men sharing a kiss at the end of a family breakfast scene. No big deal, right. It's the UK, they have equal rights where they let gays serve in the military and have civil unions.

But after 200 or so people called and complained, Heinz yanked the ad from the air! Apparently those caller found such a kiss offensive and "inappropriate to see two men kissing". Other complaints include that the ad was "unsuitable to be seen by children" and that it raised the difficult problem of parents having to discuss the issue of same-sex relationships with younger viewers.

Gee, imagine having to do that!

Nigel Dickie, director of corporate affairs for Heinz UK, told MediaGuardian: "It is our policy to listen to consumers. We recognise that some consumers raised concerns over the content of the ad and this prompted our decision to withdraw it."

Here's the part that really irks me: Dickie added that the campaign for the new Heinz Deli Mayo product, which was due to run for five weeks, was meant to be humorous and that the company apologised to anyone who felt offended.

Why apologize? And did you bother to think that a lot more than 200 gay people - at least those who would eat mayo - might buy your product because of the ad?

Now you've come off as gutless and sorry you even did it. I hope, for your sake, that those 200 complainers are gonna buy your mayo because I'm not!

Writer Brandon Voss was nice enough to send us an early look at his 'Big Gay Following' feature on sexy David Duchovny in an upcoming issue of The Advocate. I'm excerpting some of my favorite questions and have a link to the entire thing at the end.

Brandon starts off by reminding the "Californication" and "X-Files" star about one of his classic guest appearances as himself on "The Larry Sanders Show' starring Gary Shandling. Larry's gay assistant estimates his friends' opinion of Duchovny: "A third think he's gay, a third think he's bi, and the rest don't care -- they just want to kiss him anyways." Is that a fair representation of his entire gay fan base? "On my best day, that would be nice," admits Duchovny,

In Californication your womanizing novelist character, Hank, lives in Los Angeles and works in the entertainment industry, yet there are no gay characters -- just a smattering of frat-boy fantasy girl-on-girl action. What's the deal?
That is quite unrealistic, and I hope to address that in the near future, and I apologize to my big gay following. It's funny because when we were casting the pilot, and even when we shot the pilot -- though we never told the actor -- the idea was always that Evan Handler's character, my agent, was gay. But that never came to pass. Actually, he became more of a player than my character.

Hank says he used to live in New York's West Village "amongst the gays," so I'd be surprised if he's never jumped the fence.
Well, Hank is a very passive sexual partner. He's like a boy who can't say no, so I could certainly see that. That was one of my favorite lines -- I love saying "amongst the gays."

What inspired the homosexual vibe you gave off on The Larry Sanders Show?
It was before this whole man-crush thing became played out -- the "bromance" and all that stuff. I had done one Larry Sanders and Larry and I had become friends, and we were thinking about what I could do next on the show. I said, "Why don't I have a crush on you, but I'm not gay, and it's funny because it doesn't bother me -- I just say it." And he said, "That is funny." So we ran with it.
Here is a clip from that classic "Larry Sanders" episode:

Have you been hit on by guys?
I grew up in the East Village and lived amongst the gays, so that kind of shit happens, and it's no big deal.

Have you ever been annoyed by gay rumors about yourself?
I didn't know I had a gay rumor! It wouldn't annoy me at all. I imagine if I were gay and wanted to hide it, it would annoy me. I find I only get annoyed at the things that are true, so that's a telltale sign.

Have you ever dealt with a friend or loved one's coming-out?
I had a friend come out in college, and I didn't handle it great because I'd just always assumed he was gay. So when he came out, I guess I wasn't surprised enough or didn't think it was amazing enough. It was always obvious to me!

To read Brandon's conversation with David in its entirety, click HERE and enjoy!

"As the World Turns" on-screen couple Luke and Noah (Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann) presented Ellen DeGeneres with the Daytime Emmy Award Friday night for outstanding talk show host.

Bizarre that I did not even notice this until after the ceremony. Backstage, you have can watch the ceremony on TVs but when another winner comes backstage for a Q&A you often stop paying attention to the show for a few minutes. I think Tyra was holding court backstage when Nuke gave Ellen her award. They certainly are a dashing duo and Ellen, of course, is a goddess...

I can count on one hand the times I have felt physically star-struck. It just sort of hits you in unexpected ways and for me, it seems to happen when I meet stars who I watched in my childhood including two of "Charlie's Angels:" Jaclyn Smith and Cherly Ladd. It happened again the other day with Susan Lucci. Here is a column I wrote on Miss Lucci that will appear in today's LA Daily News:

During all the years that Susan Lucci was nominated for - and famously lost - the Daytime Emmy Award for her performance as Erica Kane on "All My Children," she handled the result each time with extraordinary grace.

So when she finally won her Emmy in 1999 - on her 19th try - there was something akin to a palpable sense of nationwide relief even if it meant she wouldn't be able to spoof her losing streak on "Saturday Night Live" and in commercials.

"When I did win, I got the key to the city of New York and New York City firemen would stop on their trucks and give me a big thumbs up, and beggars would sing (laughs)," Susan said when we spoke at a pre-Emmy party last week. "It was wonderful. It's much better to win but it's great to be nominated."

Here is video from the night of her 1999 Emmy win:

The night of her win, Susan vowed that she would return to the set of "Children" the next day and play Erica "for all she's worth." She kept her word and is now in her 38th year on the show playing the most famous character in soap opera history.

"I love the part of Erica Kane," she said. "I walk into the studio in the morning and I'm smiling, I'm happy. I work with great actors and I've got one of the best parts ever written for a woman as far as I'm concerned."

Remarkably youthful at 61, Susan has managed to juggle her role as the larger-than-life Erica with many other ventures including a series of well-received television movies ("Mafia Princess," "Between Love and Hate" and "Ebbie").

"I love that the fans and the public has really responded to (Erica) so much that I also have had the chance to go on Broadway in 'Annie Get Your Gun' and have a line of jewelry and lingerie and all of that on HSN," she said. "I enjoy it all. But it's all because of Erica Kane."

Erica has been married seven times, legally, and there were another five unions that were either ceremonial or later found to be invalid.

"No, I don't forget," she said when I asked if she remembered everyone her character had been married to.

Nothing in Erica's life is ever simple. She has a lesbian daughter who battled anorexia, a daughter from a traumatic teenage rape, and a son who she thought she had aborted but who was used by the doctor in an experimental fetal transplant.

Working woman Erica started as a model then edited a magazine, wrote several books, ran a cosmetic empire and now works as a talk show host. She is currently involved in a political storyline with Mario Van Peebles.

"I had talked about Erica being involved with a politician and the political world a couple of years ago," Susan said. "But the time is right now. I'm so glad that we're doing it right now because I'm loving it."

I know, I know. So many of you have stopped whatever you were doing today and wondered: "Gee, why hasn't Greg posted his Wimbledon predictions yet?" Right? It has consumed you!

OK, I really should stop sniffing glue when I blog. But the fact is, that wonderous sporting event called Wimbledon got underway in London today. As a teenager and well into my 20s, I would build my schedule around watching as many of the matches on television as possible. In 1991, I made my first trip to the tournament and was so escited that the night before, I did not sleep a single wink. So after a full day at the tournament, I kept falling asleep in the tube (subway) station on the way back to my friend Lorna's flat in East Finchley! I went every other day for about 10 days and it is one of the best memories of my life - especially when Lorna and I scored 10th row seats on Centre Court one memorable day.

I still follow the toiurnament but have not been back to the Wimbledon grounds in more than 10 years. One of my BFF's, Henry, is there this week and he is the biggest Roger Federer fan there is. So I am rooting for Roger because it will make Henry so happy and also because Roger is a class act who deserves to win.

But that does not mean I think Roger will win. He has won 60 consecutive matches on grass and not lost at Wimbledon since 2002 but I think his streak consecutive titles will end at five. The reason? Rafael Nadal.
Roger has beaten Rafael in the last two Wimbledon finals but Nadal has gotten closer each time. At 22, he has constantly improved his game and won his first grass court tournament a few weeks ago in london just seven days after giving Federer one of the worst defeats of his career in the fionals of the French Open.

Rafael is ready to step up and win this time. But if he falters before getting to the final, Federer will likely win. Still, he must also contend with the only other two players very capable of winning: Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick.

As for the women, it's pretty amazing that either Venus or Serena Williams has been champion in six of the last eight years. Venus, a four-time winner, is defending champion but I think this is Serena's year to win again. It would be her third Wimbledon singles title. That being said, I'd love to see 31-year-old Lyndsay Davenport, back on tour after having a baby last year, win her second Wimbledon.

This is a hoot!

Warren Beatty may be happily married to Annette Benning (and raising their four kids) but before settlong down in his 50s, he was involved with some of the most beautiful women in Hollywood. He was involved with "Shampoo," "Heaven Can Wait" and "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" co-star Julie Christie for many years, "Reds" co-star Diane Keaton, and "Splendor in the Grass" co-star Natalie Wood not to mention an egagement in the early 60s to Joan Collins and dating Madonna in the early 90s. Even Cher claims to have lost her virginity to Beatty.
That's what makes Jane Fonda's recent thoughts about Beatty to writer Gregory Speck all the more amusing. She made her first screen test in 1957 with the then-unkown Beatty who had not even made an appearance on "the Many Loves of Dobie Gilllis."

"At the time I suspected thatWarren might be gay, because he was so cute and had so many unusual, intellectual friends," Fonda told Speck. "Well, how wrong can you be? He became legendary as a great lover, so I missed out on a good thing back then."

It sound\s like Jane was just about the only leading lady who did miss out!

Bumped into Jack Mackkenroth of "Project Runway" Friday as he made his way down the red carpet at the Daytime Emmys. He was with nominated actress Heather Tom because he had designed her dress.

I had no idez what to ask him so I lobbed this idiotic Melissa Rivers-like question: "What were you going for with the dress?"

"Basically I went off her eye color and she wanted something flowy and I went from there. we're auctioning it off afterwards on ClothesOffOurBack.org to benefit three different AIDS charities so it's a good thing."

So how are things going with fellow reality show contestant Dale Levitski?

"It was never really a boyfriend," Jack explained. "We were daiting light and now it's over. But we're still friends. I'm single, ready to mingle."

His gay kiss made the final cut of "Sex and the City" and can be seen in one of the movie's first scenes. As far as other projects, Jack said: "TV stuff I can't really talk about but all good. Busy. When the contracts are signed, I'll let you know."

I. Can't. Wait.

Summer has only just begun and already Matthew McConaughey's beach activitiies have the paparazzi hot on his every move. I mean, I love pictures of this dude as much as anyone but apparently the overzealous photogs got on the last nerve of some of Matthew's fellow surfers.

But really, was in necessary for them to encircle the shutterbug and throw his camera into the water? The photog claims he was injured. I think it was a public beach, right? If so, it seems like the hang-tenners were out of line.

Tuc Watkins and I gabbed a bit at the Daytime Emmys over the weekend and, of course, I wanted to know if he would be returning to ABC's "Desperate Housewives" next fall as one half of the gay couple on Wisteria Lane.

"We should find out in the next couple of weeks," he said. "The show fast-forwarded five years and Bob and Lee got married in the last episode and we'll see if we're still living between Gabrielle and Susan."

There was talk that Tuc's character would be split from his husband and in the five years since, be living with Andrew Van de Kamp (Shawn Pyfrom), the show's young gay guy who is growing up to be cute as a button. But Tuc, 41, did not seem thrilled about his character sharing his life with someone 20 years younger.

"I don't like that rumor," he said. "I didn;t like that story and I'm glad that it's just a rumor."
Since Bob and Lee did get hitched on the season finale of "Housewives," I wondered what Tuc's thoughts were on gay marriage becoming legal in California: "I think the Supreme Court decision is fantastic," he said. "I think it's the way things are going to move in the future. I'm anxious to see what's going to happen in November and I think Bob and Lee proved their commitment on the last episode prior to this legislation happening. so, once again, Marc Cherry's ideas are a little bit ahead of the curve."

Meanwhile, there's his day job. I told Tuc that I was "outraged" he has never been nominated for his truly unique role of scam artist David Vickers on "One Life to Live."

"It's ridiculous!" he joked. "If soap opera is meat and potatoes, I provide the broccoli robb," Tuc said. "It's so much fun to play David Vickers. He's the world's stupidest smart guy."

Tuc first appeared as David in 1996 and in the last 12 years, has taken leave from the show to do such things as "The Mummy" film, the terrific Showtime series "Beggars and Choosers" and the classic gay indie film "I Think I Do..."

But he has always been able to return to David: "He's the kind of guy who can kind of come and go because you never know where he's gonna be. It's wherever the next scam is. There aren't a lot of scams you can run in Pennsyvania (where the soap is set). He can go back there to kind of fill the coffers but you've got to go out into the world and experience other things in order to bring something new and different back."

Here are some terrific clips of Tuc in his role as David Vickers. They show why the soap has allowed him to return again and again and again. It doesn't hurt that in the first two clips, he's shirtless!

Here is a fun spoof that catches you up on the David Vickers story...

Damn. It's opening day of Wimbledon, the most prestigious tournament in all of tennis, and we have already suffered a major eye candy blow. Sexy American player Robby Ginepri, coming off a stellar run at the French Open a few weeks ago, lost his opening round match to Fernando Gonzalez in three closely-fought sets.

Jon Hensley, who has played Holden Snyder on-and-off for 20 years on "As the World Turns," wasn't nominated for an Emmy Award this year. But I can think of a few awards he should get: 1. Coolest dad of a gay teen in soap history. 2. Hottest dad of a gay teen in soap history! OK, the second category was mostly a joke but Jon is a very handsome guy. I got to see for myself at a pre-Emmy party last Thursday and again on the red carpet at the Kodak Theater on Friday.

I wanted to know how he felt about his television son, Emmy-nominated Van Hansis, coming out as gay a couple of years ago, His character of Holden and his wife Lily (played by Martha Byrne until recently) had long been one of daytime TV's supercouples.

"When they first told me about the storyline, I was pretty skeptical about whether or not we should be doing that in daytime," he admitted. "It's turned out to be, I think, one of the better storylines in the last 10 years. Fans have really loved it.
Recently we had Cyndi Lauper come on the show. I guess she was a fan of it sl she was very supportive of it. It's been great and I hope they continue it."

The most touching scenes, to me, have been when Luke gets back from maybe a fight with Noah and sits in the kitchen talking to his dad about it. Holden cares about his son's happiness first and foremost and that seems to guide him in any advice he gives.

Jon said: "They really wanted my character to very supportive of him, whatever sexuality he chose and what;s really wonderful about it is I guess there aren't that many parents like that when their sons come out to them initially and tell them that they are gay. But Holden dealt with it and he loves his son."

Until Brooke Shields paid a visit to "The View" recently, I had forgotten that Sherri Shepherd had spent some time co-starring with her and Kathy Griffin on the NBC sitcom "Suddenly Susan" in the late 90s.

So when Sherri and I gabbed last week at an pre-Emmy party, I asked her to dish on the D-lister thinking maybe I'd start some kind of little feud or something. But Sherri had only good things to say about the Emmy winning "this award is my God" comedienne: "Kathy Griffin! That's my girl! We don't see each other as much but we always text each other. I was just at her show, I was sitting in the back row cuz i knew she was gonna talk about me. Kathy is unlike no other, I think she's brilliant and I admire Kathy's work ethic. She works hard. She busts her behind."
I don't know if we'll be seeing these very funny ladies together on "The View" anytime soon. Kathy has said on several talk shows lately that she has been banned for now for remarks about Barbara Walters. She at one time seemed to be in the running for the spot on the panel that ended up going to Sherri. It's just as well though. i like the idea of Kathy being out there on the D-List left up to her own devices. She's much better as an outsider.

Oh yeah, one more thing. Backstage after the Emmy broadcast, Sherri and fellow co-host Cameron Mathison (sigh) came backstage for some questions. Sherri talked about how happy she was for Ellen DeGeneres winning yet another Emmy because there was a time when Sherri couldn;t get herself booked on any of the talk shows. But Ellen was such a fan and ended up inviting Sherri on so many times that she holds the record for the most guest spots on the program. That, of course, led to guest hosting on "The View" and the rest is history.

Sherri, as you recall, was guest hosting the day that Rosie O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck famously had it out on live television. Kathy sat in the next day when Rosie was gone and Barbara had returned. Here is a clip and it may indicate why Kathy has not been asked back!

When Evan Handler was in his 20s, he wasn't sure he'd even make it to his 40s. But the actor and author managed to beat the leukemia that threatened his life and is now enjoying the most successful stretch of his career.

Evan, 47, is on the big screen right now in the movie "Sex and the City," reprising his role as Charlotte's husband Harry Goldenblatt and is currently filming the second season of Showtime's new hit show "Californication" in which he plays David Duchovny's literary agent, Charlie Runkel.

On top of that, Evan is out promoting his new book, "It's Only Temporary...The Good News and the Bad News of Being Alive" which is a follow-up to "Time On Fire: My Comedy of Terrors" in which he told the story of his unlikely recovery from the leukemia.

Evan and I had a nice chat last week that I want to share with you:

Q. This is quite time for you with a hit series, the "Sex and the City" movie out and your new book. Tell me about the book first.
A. It's been great. Whenever you put something like that out and people come to you and go out of their way to tell you that it meant a lot to them and that they really recognized a lot of stuff in it and found it very funny and true about relationships and about life, that's all great. It makes a lot of the effort paid off."

Q. Your first book was published 12 years ago. What made you decide to do another one now?
A. I had been looking for something to write about for a long time and I realized their was an equally incredible story as the story of survival years ago - to tell about my life since being declared cured of that supposedly incurable illness. The act of living my life backwards, if being reduced to a dying old man in my 20s and then set free around 30 to try and catch up. It had a lot of lessons and interesting stuff. the irony of taking a really long time to find consistent enjoyment in a life even as I knew I was lucky just to be living it and what that did to relationships and how it really did complicate finding successful love and being able to invest in a future - which is what you need to do with someone - instead of just living for the moment because there really wasn't trust of a future. Those themes were true for people who hadn't been through what I'd been through. They are the same things that everybody wrestles with but maybe not in such a concentrated way."

Q. Because of what you went through with your health, how has it been to handle your current professional success, to be famous? Do you take it a little but more in stride?
A. The recognition factor that's happened to me in the last few years was really sudden and happened relatively late so it doesn't have so much to do with my life experiences as the stage in my life that it happened. For me it's been a really enjoyable novelty that I would have taken a lot more seriously if it had come to me much younger. I think I would have felt I had earned my due then as opposed to really finding it as random an occurance as it's been for me. It doesn't feel like such a complicated thing.
It also happened at the moment I met the woman who became my wife. That was kind of confusing. To meet a woman who I thought I could make a go of it with as, fdor the first time, women are calling out to me: 'We love you! We love you!' It was a little confusing. At the same time, I think it kept a lot of things in perspective that might not have been otherwise."

Q. We feel like we know you because "Sex and the City" is on again and again on television and then there's the movie now.
A. They feel like they know those characters. I'm not that character but there's a warmth.

Q. You don't walk around without any clothes on and sit on the furniture?
A. I did that but that doesn't mean that I'm that character. I didn't see that the big deal was about that. I have a very understanding wife.

Q. OK, let';s talk about Californication. It's hard to find a really good role in a hit TV series once and here you are twice. How has it been sinking your teeth into this guy?
A. I feel very lucky. This show is so easygoing, it's just been a pleasure. I'm getting more and more stuff to do. Charlie's storyline is actually much bigger and more central as we go on to the second season so it's been a dream, it's been a dream job. It will be interesting to see how popular it becomes. 'Sex and the City' I came into it when it was already a huge, huge success so it's great that this one is succeeding the way that it is. I'm really waiting to see if it becomes as huge as 'Sex and the City' was.

Q. The chemistry between you and David Duchovny is key I think. Was that a natural kind of chemistry or are you guys just really good actors?
A. I think we kind of hit it off and we come at things from a similar place. We like to work in similar ways, we like to keep it loose. When I discovered early on that David likes to keep it very loose and adlib and that stuff that I really enjoy and feel pretty accomplished at, he's really masterful at it. So it becomes really fun to bounce stuff off each other back and forth. It's just been really great.

Evan has a lot to compare it to. The native New Yorker was a busy actor on Broadway early on and has been a regular or a recurring character on the short-lived shows "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," "It's Like, You Know..." and "Hot Properties."

"Californication" has something going for it that none of those shows did: a second season!

...we're starting to get a whole new batch of pictures of a shirtless Matthew McConaughey. What a wonderful thing...

...and we wish her the very best on this and every day. Cyndi turns 55 today and still has the energy of someone half her age. She is currently on the "True Colors Tour" which is dedicated to promoting LGBT awareness and equal rights. Cyndi, whose sister is gay, has long been one of our most important straight allies and we love her for that and for being one of the more authentic stars around. Love, love, love her!

I think Cyndi's "True Colors" is one of the best songs ever about accepting and embracing yourself. Here are some of the lyrics and a video of Miss Lauper singing thos most wonderful of songs::

You with the sad eyes
don't be discouraged
oh I realize
it's hard to take courage
in a world full of people
you can lose sight of it all
and the darkness inside you
can make you fell so small

But I see your true colors
shining through
I see your true colors
and that's why I love you
so don't be afraid to let them show
your true colors
true colors are beautiful
like a rainbow

The magnificant Meryl Streep (pictured at the 2007 Academy Awards) turns 59 today. While she is the one who deserves gifts on this day, it is she who continues to give us the gift of her immense talent. Her next to films, the musical "Mama Mia" and the drama "Doubt" are highly anticipated and she showed us in "The Devil Wears Prada" a few summers ago that she can still pull off things that we've never seen her do before.

As part of an Out In Hollywood birthday tribute to Miss Streep, here are some clips from some of my very favorite performances of hers over the years. Each are so different, all are wonderful.

1. Devil Wears Prada

2. Postcards From the Edge

3. The Bridges of Madison County

4. Ironweed

5. Best of all, Meryl as herself accepting the Golden Globe Award for "Adaptation"

BEST SPEECH: Tyra Banks, hands down. Here is the best part: "They said "The Tyra Banks Show" would last two weeks, and we are entering our fourth season this September. And I just have a message for everybody out there. When you have a dream, there are going to be many people that tell you that you cannot do it, that you are not good enough. And I want you to tell them to kiss your dimply, flat, juicy, bootilicious, skinny, jiggly, saggy, fat ass."

MOST WINS: Anthony Geary, who has played Luke Spencer on "General Hospital" for about 30 years, showed, once again, that his performance and his character remain the best in daytime televisioin - with or without Laura! After picking up his record sixth Emmy Award for outstanding actor, Geary reflected backstage on why he was so emotional about it: "It gets more exciting. Soap operas are becoming the young persons game so at my age, I become more excited every time I'm nominated."

LONGTIME COMING: Jeanne Cooper, at last, won the Emmy for outstanding lead actress for her longtime role on "The Young and the Restless." The 79-year-old actress had a hilarious opening line to her speech: "I bet you thought I died." Then the xx-year-old reflected on how unforgiving technology can be on one's features: "Oh dear...high definition, it;s a bitch, isn't it?"
Backstage, Miss Cooper said she only made up her kind to come to the kudofest on Monday after some pressure from various higher ups on the show and the network. Her win, she said, "is totally shocking to me. So many good, performances turned in. It's always shocking (pause) When you lose...There are about three times I thought I should have (won)" "I received lifetime achievement award and that, of course, is a thrill, a big thrill. Winning was a different kind of thrill:"

HOSTS WITH THE MOST: Big kudos to Cameron Mathison and Sherri Shepard who brought so much energy and fun to their jobs and, in the process, re-invigorated the entire Daytime Emmys franchise. Producers wisely had nominees sitting at tables like the Golden Globe Awards and this allowed our completely charming hosts to mingle with the high profile guests like Barbara Walters and other nominees. ABC would be very wise to ask these two back in the future. Sherri looked sensationally slim in all three of her outfits and Cameron is so good looking that you want to slap him but don't because he also seems like a genuinely nice guy. He told us backstage that while the hosting part of his career has taken off, "All My Children" remains his top gig because it's like family and, frankly, "it pays the best." Meanwhile, Sherri thinks the two of them should headline some kind of sitcom together.

In closing, I have some thoughts about this whole Daytime Emmy Awards experience. The funny thing about daytime stars is that when you see one like Susan Lucci or one that is on a show you watch like Van Hansis, you get excited and want to talk to them. But if you don 't watch their show, you could have no idea who the heck they are. You totally blow them off on the red carpet and an hour later, they are on national television accepting an Emmy! But whoever they are, I've never seen a group more accessible to their fans and to the press. It was such a fun event because of all the good vibes in the air. I had a great time!

When it comes to the red carpet at the Daytime Emmy Awards, EllenDeGeneres is an absolute rock star.

"Ellen! Ellen! Over here!" "Ellen! Look this way!" Ellen, just one question!" That last urgent request came from me and Ellen and fiancee Portia de Rossi did pause for a quick question and I asked how badly she wanted to win.

"Sure I want to win," she said. "But if you don't win, it doesn't really matter because happy for other people to win. But of course I want to win."

So I asked Portia: "Would she really be happy for someone else?"

"Oh yeah," Portia said. "She really is happy for other people. The ladies on "The View" have been nominated 11 times and they haven't won yet."

As it turned out, Ellen could be happy for herself as she won outstanding talk show host - her fourth consecutuve triumph in the category and the co-hosts of "The View" are starting their olwn streak of Susan Lucci proportions. Lucci was famously nominated 19 times before finally winning for her role as Erica Kane on "All My Children."

Ellen and Portia were among the stars sweating under the intense afternoon heat in Hollywood as they made their way up a long red carpet leading to the Kodak Theatre.

But soap opera queen Lucci was regal and cool as a cucumber with someone from ABC keeping her shaded underneath an umbrella. I'm going to feature our interview in a seperate column next week.

Just about an hour before showtime, co-hosts Cameron Mathison and Sherri Shepard did red carpet interviews and I gabbed with both of them wanting to know how they were holding up.

Cameron said Sherri "keeps coming up with funnier and funnier stuff. I'm just her straight man. i just love working with her."

Sherri looked glamorous and slimmer than every in her blue gown and told me: "I stopped eating so I could fit into my dress, I haven't eaten in about three or four days. I'm really hungry."

My spot on the red carpet was right next to a bank of male photgraphers who kept telling the actresses how gorgeous they looked and snapping a gazilion pics of them and all but ignored Luke and Noah from "As the world Turns." Nominee Van Hansis and on-screen partner Jake Silbermann stood akwardlly for a bit then moved on as the clueless photogs did not realize that these two good looking guys are involved in one of the hottest storylines in the history of daytime TV.

I chatted up handsome as ever Tuc Watkins of "One Live to Live," Tracy Bregman, a nominee and past winner for "The Young and the Restless" and her co-star Doug Davidson, Stephen Macht of "General Hospital," Jay Kenneth Johnson of "Days of Our Lives," and John Hensley who plays Luke's dad on "ATWT." My very favorite was a chat I had with Hillary B. Smith, a past Emmy winner for her role as Nora on "One Life to Live." I'll post some of these encounters in the coming days.

I'm writing this backstage from the Daytime Emmy Awards at the Kodak Theatre. Ellen DeGeneres was such a riot when she came back after winning for outstanding talk show host for the fourth consecutive year.

When there was a knock on the door, she dashed to the door and opened it, much to the shock of caterer holding a platter of food.

It marked the first first tine in four years that Ellen's show did not also win outstanding talk show so she went home with one trophy instead of two and joked: "It feels weird, I'm not balanced this year. This is gonna join all the others, i put them all in a case and I hope to build, a wing in my house."

She talked about how much she enjoys her work: "I love what I do and what I've wanted to do for a long time, I want to make people happy....This kind of thing, it's not the award itself, it's actually people saying, "You make us happy.' That means something to me."

Ellen was asked where she would put her Emmy and she said it and the others "are gonna be on top of the (wedding) cake. She and fiancee Portia de Rossi and planning to be married soon,
"Planning a wedding is very stressful," Ellen said. "It's crazy. My gardener is now invited."

Yes, we have set a wedding date," she added then was asked about bow being able to legally get married in California.

"I obviously feel like it's long overdue. I think someday people will look back on this like women not having the right to vote and segregation and anything else that seems ridiculous that we don't all have the same rights."

Here is some of Ellen's speech when she accepted the Emmy: "I want to say, first of all, I never take this for granted. Every single year. I know people joke about it, but I get nervous every year. It's not what we do it for, but it feels so good. And I want to say thank you, first of all, to the fans because yoiu are amazing, amazing people."

"We all know this has been a crazy year, and we have - my show, we've done a lot of crying and a lot of laughing, and then I cried all by myself, and then a lot of people laughed, and then I cried some more, and then I laughed. And I know you're counting me down, but it's the longest day of the year, i just read, so I can go on."

After tonight's Daytime Emmys on ABC, there will be a show airing called "MVP." It's a popular Canadian show that just started airing on ABC's SOAPnet channel. It shows how professional hockey players and the women that love (or use) them can slap, sleep, and accessorize with the best of them. I guess no one is gay, or even bi. At least not that I know of. But I do know that the three male leads are hot, hot and hot. I chatted withj each of them at the SOAPnet pre-Emmy party last night in Hollywood.

Lucas Bryant (right) plays the captain of the fictional hockey team and he was very fun. Here is how he decribes the show: "It's totally saucy. There's very little hockey, it's sort of the behind the scenes action that matters most. There's some scandal, there's a little T and A if you will."

His character has "a bit of a dirty past which keeps popping up." Biut does he have to do any actually playing of hockey for certain scenes?
"I am Canadian and like a good card-carrying Canadian, i was born playing hockey," he said. "We did actually play a little bit but it's not so much on the air."

His co-star, Dillon Casey, has been getting a lions share of the attention for the gigantic billboard in Times Square that features him wearing very little and revealing quite an awesome body. Lucas joked: "It's just his head, it;s my body."

Dillon is not as playful as Lucas on the red carpet. I wanted to know what the heck it;s like to have this huge wall with your likeness on it in the middle of NYC.

"It's cool man," he said. "\I didn't know\ it was gonna be a billboard when I took that picture. But when they told me about it, I wasn't really sure what to think. When I went down and actually saw it, it was cool man, yeah. It's fun. You just have to take each moment as it is and just try and enjoy the ride and it;s been a lot of fun. It's cool.""

He has a tatoo on his pec in the shot and I asked if it was real. He was kinda saracastic with his reply or maybe he was teasing but not able to really pull it off: "I'm so committed to my roles, I'm like Daniel Day Lewis so I thought getting a tattoo of MVP on my chest would be perfect."

Well, good for you, man.

Then there is Peter Miller who was happy to discuss his character with me.

"He's good but it's a deep, deep good and there's a lot of layers to get through to get to the good. He's just a bad boy but he's got reasons for it. He's trying to numb himself because he's had an accident that killed his wife and baby the year before, he was drunk. so he's trying to drown it with booze, women and drugs."

This is a show that seems worth checking out!

Heard some scoop at the SoapNET pre-Emmy party last night: Antonio Sabato Jr., who rose to fame as Jagger on "General Hospital," will step back into the role for the first time in 13 years. He will being Jagger back for the GH spinoff "Night Shift" which airs for three months in the summer on SoapNET. It's going to be annoucned during tonight's Emmy telecast on ABC but, you heard it here first!

Antonio, who was one of the more memorable Calvin Klein underwear models, has been reminding us of just how hot he still is on NBC's "Circus of the Stars." He's been one of the real standouts on this competition reality show that I think has everyone wanting more Antonio in their TV lives! The show debuts July 22.

Got the chance to chat with "As the World Turns" on-screen lovers Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann at the SoapNET pre-Emmy party in Hollywood last night on a crazy red carpet that had me cutting an interview short with Shirley Jones so I could gab with Susan Lucci. Surreal. So by the time I got to Luke and Noah, These two guys really are close friends, finishing each other's sentences at times and Jake is even better looking in person than on television!

My first question to Emmy nominee Van Hansis was really stupid: "Why does your hair look different on just about every episode?"

His reponse: "Honestly, it grows really quickly...I don't know, they just cut it a lot and they change it. I think I'm one of the only guys on rhe show who has kinda longer hair. So our key hair stylist, Theresa, who's awesome, likes to play. She comes with all these ideas."

Here is the rest of our conversation. I think the questions get a little better:
Greg: Sometimes, the storylines really annoy me. They are very far-fetched.
Van: It's a soooaaap."
Greg: But you guys pull it off, you make us still care. Tell me how you do it.
Jake: Any script we get, you try and find what resonates with you. It is a soap so there are outlandish things that happen but that's the fun of it.
Van: Yeah, you just have to give yourself over to the genre. Even when outlandish things happen, you have to find the truth.
Greg: Are you guys having a good time with this storyline?
Van: Oh yeah. Yes. Definitely, without a doubt. It's been really great.
Greg: Are you glad Ameera's gone?
Van. No.
Jake: Absolutely not.
Greg. Okay, you enjoyed working with the actress (Tala Ashe)?
Van: Yes, she's an amazing, amazing actress and she's become a very good friend of ours and when she left we were very sad to see her go but we know that we're going to remain friends.
Greg: Do you pay much attention to the fans? They have a lot of opinions.
Van: We know that fans kind of felt like she got in between Luke and Noah, i understand. But Luke and Noah can't have it be peachy for them all the time or else fans wouldn't like that other.
Greg: People were pissed when you guys didn't kiss for so long.
Jake: We're kissing now!
Greg: Thank God. Did you hear any of the uproar? Did it matter to you?
Van: We really were not involved in that really at all and I think that's the way it needed to be and I think the fan campaign went the way it should have gone and they focused on the people they needed to focus on."
Greg: Are you nervous about the Emmy show?
Van: No. I mean like, if I won that's awesome. If I don't win, what happens? I don't win an award. It'd be great to get the award but just being nominated is awesome. It's a no lose situation to me.
Greg: Does it matter to you guys if your characters are together or is it more fun as actors for them to be having problems?
Jake: I think it's situation by sitiuation. I think there's so much further for them to go being together. I'm looking forward to what's gonna happen.
Van: Yeah, I feel like when we have scenes where they're fighting, we often have really good meaty scenes and those are great. We both like those. But we have a blast working together so we could both be wanting to kill each other, Luke and Noah could be wanting to kill each other like I guess Mr. and Mr. Smith type thing (laughs) or having a love in. It doesn't matter.
Greg: Are you used to your new mom?
Van: Yeah, Noelle (Beck) is wonderful. Of course Martha (Byrne) is one of a kind and no one is Martha but Noelle is doing an incredible job and we are very, very lucky to have her.
Greg: You miss you dad?
Jake: I do (laughs) Daniel Hugh Kelly is great to work. It's funny working with him then seeing him afterward on the screen because he's a great, funny guy and he's so nice. Then you see him on the screen and he is psychotic!

Let's hope Van wins the Emmy tonight! He deserves it!

Writer Brandon Voss has a terrific interview with George Michael in the new issue of HX and I wanted to share some of it with you on this scorchingly HOT Friday morning in Los Angeles. Somedoby, please, get me a popsicle!

Some excerpts:
Are you trying to please gay fans in particular with this tour?
There is such a large part of that audience that's stuck with me in America. In America I think there will be a lot of gay people in the audiences--I really think it will be 50/50. In Europe the front rows were just full of these gorgeous gay men, but when we got back to England, they were few and far between. Funnily enough, the more right-wing or Catholic the country, the more gay people were at the concerts; in places where gay people are still more oppressed, they will absolutely support a gay artist. In England, they don't feel the need to identify. I constantly chip away at my female audience by insisting on writing about my life--though you'd never know it when you go to the shows because they're all screaming their heads off. But I've literally paid a price just for being unapologetic, and I thought that was very important politically.

Did you feel a special connection with gay fans even before you came out in 1998? Surely you must've known it wasn't just girls eyeing your butt in the Faith days.
Oh God, yeah, I knew that. With all those number one club records and stuff, I really have had a great amount of support from the gay community in America in the last 15 years, so absolutely that's special. I actually write about my real experience now, and I think that's one of the things that makes it easier for gay people to listen to.

Did you get any positive feedback from a gay fan that made coming out professionally worth the drama?
Quite a few people have written to me over the years on that basis. From the moment I outed myself, when I wrote "Outside," immediately I thought, Wouldn't it be great to make a video for all those kids that are now where you were 25 years ago, with your only experience being cruising--and feeling terrible about it because you're 16 or whatever? If someone had made a video like that for my entertainment when I was a young guy, I would've loved it.

To read the interview in its entirety, click HERE.

The talented actor of stage and screen turns 39 today!

We will forever love Peter Paige as Emmet on "Queer as Folk" but since the series ended, the actor has been mighty busy with other projects. He starred last year in a Los Angeles production of "The Hkstory Boys," directed and starred in his own movie ("Say Uncle") and did one of the more memorable guest spots ever on "Grey's Anatomy" as a patient with a brain tumor who had no censor and would say whatever popped into his head like telling Dr. McDreamy that he's HOT!

Here's some of his scenes:

Mario Lopez appeared on the morning show Thursday and discussed the "hottest bachelor" photo shoot for People mag that had him recreating iconic beefcake poses made famous by Burt Reynolds, Brad Pitt, Richard Gere, Mark Wahlberg and Christopher Atkins.

In the article accompanying the pictorial, Mario is asked a really silly question: "Ever been hit on by a man?" (pul-eeeze, like a guy that hot in the entertainment business wouldn't be). Here's his answer: "All the time. I'm very flattered being popular in the gay community because they are a hip, cool community. They're very cutting edge so they like me and I think that;s great."

Good answer Mario!

Wanda Sykes is such a hoot. I love her no-nonsense way of talking: "It's very simple: if you don't believe in same-sex marriage, don't marry someone of the same sex! I don't understand people all up in arms over (expletive) that don't affect them."

I found this clip on the Popnography site which has put together "The World's Shortest, Dumbest, Gay Marriage YouTube Comedy Film Festival."
Check it out!

I am covering a Daytime Emmys pre-party tonight and tomorrow will be on the red carpet at the Kodak Theatre and backstage during the show. OIh yeah, there's a swanky post-show party two that I'm hoping to spend some time at.

So who do you think I'll be looking for? Barbara Walters? Cameron Mathison? Van Hansis? Okay, I'd stop and chat up any one of them but my biggest prize would be the star of the new SoapNET series "MVP." His name is Dillon Casey and he was introduced to America recently with this image on a 60 foot billboard in Times Square.

ABC, which owns SoapNET, is trying to give the series some big-time sampling by airing it at 10 p.m. tomorrow night right after the Daytime Emmys.

"My friends are saying 'Let's go to New York,'" a sheepish Dillon -- who lives in Toronto -- told SoapNET.com. "But I think it might be kind of lame to go stand under my own billboard and point at it."

The actor, who plays a hockey player on the show, has a master's degree to go along with those abs.

George Michael kicked off the multi-city "25 Live" tour at the San Diego Sports Arena.this week - his first North American tour in 17 years - which just happened to coincide with same-sex marriages taking place legally in the state for the first time.

The gay pop star was asked about gay marriage by the Associated Press and here is what he had to say: "It's way overdue. It's something that happened ... almost without a whisper in England, but it was basically because we weren't that concerned about the word 'marriage."'

He added that "because this is a much more religious society, there are a huge number of people who want (their) unions to be part of something that they can place in their religion, so (marriage is) much more important here. I think that's why it's so long in arriving here, but I think it's fantastic, obviously."

The unveiling of David Beckham's new Armani ad on the side of a San Francisco building caused quite a stir yesterday. He really is, bigger than life. And the soccer stud himself showed up to sign pics of his beautiful self. It must be so fun to be David Beckham. What. A. Hottie.

A friend of mine sent me a funny quote from Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, one of three players with the best chance of finally ending Roger Federer's dominance at Wimbledon which begins next week: "The dream is to win Wimbledon. That's the biggest major of them all, the one with the most tradition. You get a special feeling there. If I won, I don't know what I'd do. I'd probably take off all my clothes."As you can see from these pictures, the outgoing 20 year old does indeed like to take his shirt off so I think it's totally possible that if he were to add a Wimbledon title to go along with his Australian Open title, he might just toss his shorts into the crowd.

Last year, he made it to the Wimbledon semifinals but had to default in the middle of his match to Rafaal Nadal due to injury.

What can I say? Kathy Griffin makes me laugh, she makes me happy. I missed her appearance on Carson Daly's show yesterday and as I was looking for it (unsuccessfully) on YouTube, I came across this visit to "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" that can't be more than a few weeks old.

"My audience has gotten even gayer since I saw you last," she said as she talked about entertaining on a flight from San Francisco to Sydney for Mardi Gras.

Flashback: This bonus video is really random and really funny. It's Kathy with Justin Timberlake AND Britney Spears when they were still a couple. I have no idea what is on Kathy's neck, OK? Check it out:

I've been looking for an excuse to post this picture of my friend Jim Key taken last month at a celebration rally held in West Hollywood on the day the California Supreme Court overturned the same-sex marriage ban. So Jim, the public affairs officer for the LA Gay and Lesbian Center, asked me to let people know about the center's Online wedding Resource Guide for Gay and Lesbian Couples.

In response to an overwhelming number of calls from couples looking for gay-friendly businesses, and from business owners who want to provide wedding services for gay and lesbian couples, the center has developed LAGayWeddingGuide.com. It includes everything from bakeries to DJs to wedding planners, Best part is this: it features businesses that not only want to work with gay and lesbian couples, but support the LGBT community.

The online guide also serves as a valuable resource for out-of-state or out-of-area couples who are planning to come to Southern California to get hitched and need to locate local businesses to help them plan their ceremonies.

Here's what Jim has to say about it: "A wedding is often one of the most significant events of a person's life. Planning one is often one of the most overwhelming. Many gay and lesbian couples who are planning to wed now are faced with the double obstacles of locating local wedding-related service providers who support same-sex marriage, as well as planning a wedding on a shorter-than-normal timeframe."

So check ou the online guide and start your planning you lovebirds!

Please. As if I didn't already love "Lipstick Jungle" enough already. Now comes word that the great Mary Tyler Moore will join the series when it returns this fall in a recurring role as Brooke Shields' mother.

Sounds delish!

Mary may be best known for her sunny good girl roles on the TV classics "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show," but she is also expert as a dramatic actress and can pkay a terrific bitch. After all, she was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as the cold and distant mother in "Ordinary People" and one of her seven Emmys was for her portrayal as an evil woman arranging black market adoptions in "Stealing Babies."

On "Lipstick," Mary will play a retired high-power executive, who fought the good fight for working women in the '70s and '80s and doesn't shy away from giving her daughter her opinion on "how to have it all."

"I'm fortunate to have had a front row seat to the evolution of working women on television," Mary said in a statement. "It's been great fun to watch the strong female characters of 'Lipstick Jungle' go at it week after week. I absolutely adore Brooke and I'm delighted to be a part of a show which is so well written."
Mary's first appearance will be on September 24 on NBC, when the series returns for its second season premiere. She will be coming full circle in a way because "Lipstick" follows the lives and careers of three career women in New York City. In the 70s on her self-titled landmark sitcom, Mary was an assistant producer of a TV newscast and best pal Rhoda (Valerie Harper) was a window dresser. Their eccentirc neighbor Phyllis (Cloris Leachman) wasn't really career-oriented but she did once do a short stint in Mary's newsroom but proved so annoying that she had to be fired!

Ameera: I can't impose on you and Luke anymore. I wish you both the very best that you can finally be together...I hope that you'll be very happy together."

Awe. Okay, don't let the door hit ya!

Luke amd Noah go to get a coffee and Noah expresses surprise that Luke would want to hang out with him after he spotted Luke and Reg together earlier. (He must be like his dad, always lurking): "I saw you with your new boyfriend."

Luke says he's not dating Reg but admits: "It felt really good to be wanted by someone who wasn't so messed up."

I'm not sure what their future holds. No doubts lots of ups and downs. I personally want to see Luke go out with Reg, test the waters. Noah has lost his appeal as far as I'm concerned. But then again, I'm not in love with him!

Noah: "I don't want to break up with you...I've got a lot to sort out.

Towleroad reports that this is one of the images to be revealed later today. II. Can't. Wait.

...ha!

Hey, I can't help it if the guy is newsworthy. It's just been announced that NPH will join the adorable Kristin Chenoweth on July 17 to reveal the nominees for the Emmy Awards which will be marking their 60th year.

I think Neil has an awfully good chance of snagging his second supporting actor in a comedy nod for "How I Met Your Mother" and it would really be cool if Tony winner Kristin was recognized for "Pushing Daisies."

The Emmy awards will air on Sunday, Sept. 21 on ABC.

Mario Lopez recreates Marky Mark's iconic underwear pose in this story. Clearly, Mario is a gorgeous man but I gotta go with Wahlberg in this instance.

Who's your pick?

Love this new ad for Heinz Deli Mayo that just premiered in the UK. It seems like one thing then turns out to be another and it's all sealed with a kiss. Check it out!

And since this adorable duo were out on the historic day that California ushered in gay marriage, "Access Hollywood" interviewer Shaun Robinson just zeroed in on when T.R. Knight was going to marry 19-year-old Mark Cornelson.

"We've only been dating for about six months, so it's a little soon for that, " T.R. told Access.

Shaun pressed the issue, asking how the date could be moved up, Mark responded with, "We'll see, we'll see."

"Thank God we have the pressure," T.R. added. "I'm happy for the pressure!"

T.R. also revealed that the couple will at least be attending a wedding soon: "We're going to Ellen and [Portia's] wedding. I'm really excited about it. We got a little Save the Date card. They're such wonderful people! I'm honored we got invited."

Oh Joan, I hope I'm just as naughty as you are when I'm 75. Miss Rivers was on the UK's version of "The View" the other day called "Loose Change." She was gabbing about red carpet interviews and offers her opinion of Russell Crowe: "He is a piece of - get ready to bleep this. (expletive, expletive)!" The show was live - no chance to bleep! The hosts seem rattled but Joan just goes on. But apparently during the commercial break, she is asked to leave the set.

Joan's apology is almost as funny: "Yes, I swore, and I'm so (expletive) sorry. No one told me the TV show Loose Women was a reality show and that I would be voted off. It's funny: offstage, I hardly ever use profanity. My favorite four-letter word is 'shop.'"

Whether it's talking about his sex life with boyfriend David Burtka on Howard Stern's radio show or admitting that he got an erection when kissing a female co-star on "How I Met Your Mother," Neil Patrick Harris has become increasingly outspoken and confident since coming out a few years back. AfterElton.com takes a look at NPH and writer Brent Hartinger interviewed me for the piece. But you'll have to read it on AfterElton.com.

The chapter on her being cruelly passed over for the Broadway production of "Sunset Boulevard" after originating the role in London will be worth the price of the book alone! Glenn Close, who starred in the LA production, got the Broadway gig and Patti LuPone - who was contracted to do it in New York - was said to have been devastated - and completely furious. I think things from her dressing room were thrown out a window. She got back on her feet though, like any true diva, and used to $1 million-plus settlement from Andrew Lloyd Webber to build a swimming pool I seem to recall.

Patti, fresh off winning her second Tony Award Sunday for "Gypsy" (her first was for "Evita"), is working on a memoir, tentatively scheduled to be released in 2010 by Harmony Books, an imprint of Random House Inc. The book is currently untitled. I've got some ideas: "Don't Cry for Patti LuPone" or "Patti's Turn" or how 'bout "Life Went On."

The AP reports that according to the publisher, the actress will write about her whole life, "From her beginnings in Northport, Long Island, where she discovered that being onstage was the one place she couldn't get into trouble, she takes us on the roller-coaster of professional highs ... and emotional lows (her humiliating firing from 'Sunset Boulevard,' nightclub work in the Catskills to pay the bills)."

Patti;s other stage credits include the original London company of "Les Miserables" and Broadway revivals of "Sweeney Todd" and "Anything Goes." She has also appeared in such films as "Witness," "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Summer of Sam," as well as four seasons as Libby on the ABC series "Life Goes On."

Here is Patti's bring down the house performance pf "Everything's Coming Up Roses" on Sunday night's Tony Awards. Gives you a good indication of why she won!

This is so wonderful. Actor George Takei and his partner Brad Altman were the first same-sex couple to pay $70 and apply for a marriage license in West Hollywood today.In all, more than 100 were issued in WeHo.

I had to miss the occasion but my pal Jim Key of the LA Gay and Lesbian Center forwarded me these shots taken by Robert Blackmon. In addition, Damon Romine of GLAAD has a terrific collection of the television coverage at his CineQueer blog. Here's one of them:

George and Brad's wedding will not take place until September and after 20 years together, they certainly are entitled to take their time in planning the perfect event.

Takei, 71, told ET.com that his 54-year-old partner Brad proposed to him as the two were eating, just after the news was announced that the California Supreme Court had legalized marriage for same-sex couples. "He said George, will you marry me? And I said, 'Darn it,' with my mouth full, 'I meant to do that, you beat me to it,'"

George has posted this message on his website:

We are back at our home in Los Angeles after a hurly burly morning in West Hollywood, where we applied and received our marriage license. We are feeling a combination of exhaustion and exhilaration after sharing the morning with hundreds of other couples taking this historic opportunity.

This is a glorious California morning of making history. Now the love that Brad Altman and I have shared for each other for these last 21 years will be recognized and celebrated joyfully when we get married in September

San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples back in February of 2004 and has remained an important ally in this particular fight for equality.

But he told Advocate.com Tuesday that he hasn't had a chance to join the crowds in public celebration:. "I have to be careful, because there are friend and foe out there," he says. "So I have to be more cautious. I wish I could go out there with a ballcap and glasses."

But he did have one private moment today when on the way to City Hall, he pulled his car over a half-block away just to take in the spectacle of couples preparing to marry.

"People say 'My life was changed four years ago,'" he says. "Today, we're reinforcing that." Newsom adds that the mood is very different now than it was in 2004. "Then, it felt like you were doing something that you shouldn't be doing -- but you knew it was right. This time, we have permission to do it."

To read the entire interview, go to Advocate.com

David Duchovny is stepping back into his role as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder in this summer's feature film "The X-Files: I Want to Believe." Since the series on which the movie is based ended in 2002, David has taken on a series of different roles ranging from comedy ("Connie and Carla") to heavy drama ("Things We Lost in the Fire") and even starred and directed in his own film "House of D."

But the role that has really transformed perceptions of him is that of Hank Moody, a brilliant but troubled novelist in Showtime's terrific series "Californication." David, 47, is a revelation in the role which earned him a Golden Globe Award in January and should be a shoo-in for an Emmy nod.

"I enjoy playing him mostly because in the comic tradition this is a guy who says what he thinks and does what he wants to do," David told me Monday at a party in Hancock Park celebrating the DVD release of the first season. "A lot of comedy is based on somebody breaking social norms, somebody who doesn't abide by the rules that we all have to. That's like the energy and the fun of comedy. We all wish that we didn't have to abide by the rules and yet we all do for the most part. It's either tragedy or comedy. Tragedy is when you don't abide by the rules and you hurt somebody, in comedy nobody really gets hurt."

Hank is quite a handful his drinking, promiscuity and complicated life involving his ex-girlfriend(Natascha McElhone) and their daughter (Madeleine Martin) and the real complications from his sleeping - unknowingly - with his ex's new step-daughter (Madeline Zima) who also turns out to be a minor.

It's a far cry from "The X-Files."

"There was always a lot of discussion directed at me when I was doing 'The X-Files' about typecasting and that kind of stuff and it never really was a concern for me," David said. "It's just really nice to be able to stretch in another direction and I hope there's more."

But he was more than happy to reprise his "X-Files" role in the new movie out July 25: "I was very excited to do it and I'm very excited now that I've seen the finished product. I think Chris Carter made just a great thriller. A really smart, scary 'X-Files' back in the tradition of the first couple of years of the show. I am just really proud of him and of us - that we pulled it off."

George Takei and his partner of 20 years, Brad Altman, were scheduled to be among those taking out marriage licenses this morning at West Hollywood City Hall. I was too busy working to make it out there to cover the event and will post some coverage from other outlets later. But for now, here is a story on gay marriage that aired on CBS' Early Show yesterday morning which includes an interview with George and Brad...

Gay weddings are taking place everywhere in California today! But the ceremnoies actually began at 5:01 PM, yesterday and a couple of tjem were extra special. In Los Angeles County, Robin Tyler and Diane Olson were first to be hitched. And they should be: They were the original plaintiffs in the case that led to California Supreme Court's landmark decision to overturn the ban on gay marriage.

In San Francisco, Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, who have been together 55 years, got things gojng when they were married by SF Mayor Gavin Newsom.

Liza Minnelli (seen here arriving at Sunday's Tony Awards) has had a very uneven film career. She won the best actress Oscar in 1973 for "Cabaret" and was nominated a few years earlier for "The Sterile Cuckoo." She starred opposite Robert DeNiro in "New York New York" and had a big comedy with opposite Dudley Moore in "Arthur." I personally liked her early 90s dancing flick "Stepping,Out" but it was not a hit nor were "Rent A Cop," "Lucky Lady," "A Matter of Time," or "Arthur 2: On the Rocks."

But Liza, whose greatest successes have been on the stage anyway (three Tony Awards), found a gem of a role on television's "Arrested Development" which is set to become a feature film. The Emmy winning comedy was a critical fave with a loyal following during its three years on FOX but it never had big ratings. It will be great to have Liza, tinier than ever these days, back on the big screen.

After decades as a loyal viewer of "The Today Show," in recent months I've been watching a lot more of "Good Morning America." And the biggest reason is hottie news anchor Chris Cuomo. Not only is he really attractive, but he's also a good interviewer, has effortless charm, and is a fun guy. He's been filling in as co-anchor for the last two weeks, one week for Diane Sawyer the other for Robin Roberts. They would be smart to make him a permanent co-anchor. What. A. Dreamboat.

Cyndi Lauper visited the show last Friday and Kenneth in the 212 has posted pics of her and of Chris and Robin...

Lots of drama on Monday's episode of "As the World Turns" but the good kind: Luke and Noah having painful and emotional discussions about the future of their relatiobship. I much prefer this than the Ameera crap and killer daddy.My favorite line is when Luke says to Noah: "You're still wearing your stupid wedding ring!" Noah's being a bonehead and surely will regret pushing Luke away - especially since Luke got asked out by a cute guy at school! I hope he accepts te offer and that heavy petting will ensue and that Noah wikll walk in on it (of course he will, it's a soap!)

Again, kudso to Van Hansis (Luke) for a terrific episode. I think he should submit it for next year's Emmy race. Speaking of Emmys, I will be covering the Daytime Emmys for the first time on Friday and hope to get in a good gab with Van and other stars of interest.

Stay tuned!

Oh, what a happy day. In less than an hour, some city clerks in California will begin issueing marriage licenses to same-sex couples and by tomorrow, all of them will have followed suit!

I'm thrilled for those who have been waiting so long for this day, who deserve this day. I think the images of these couples that will be all over the media this week, will be unforgettable. Nothing will change the haters minds, but a lot of others will be able to see how loving someone of the same gender is really the very same as loving someone of the opposite sex. The feelings are the same, the dreams for the future the same. We just don't need people out there using every ounce of their energy trying to deny us such a basic equal right.

Will have numerous postings tomorrow about what is happening out there and plan to be at West Hollywood City Hall as licences are being issued. No, I'm not getting married sillies. I'll be there to do some interviews and share in the joy...

Because she is so well-known as Carol Brady from "The Brady Bunch," a lot of people don't know that before the lovely lady met that fellow and they knew that it was much more than a hunch, that Florence Henderson was a major Broadway star. She starred in the original musicals "The Girl Who Came to Supper," " Fanny" and "Wish You Were Here" as well as the 1953 revival of "Oklahoma!"

There were also national tours and regional productions of various shows including "South Pacific," "The King and I" and "The Sound of Music." She was the perfect host of Sunday night's 12th Annual Actors Fund Tony Awards Party in LA.

"Once you taste the theater, once your heart is there, it never really leaves," she said during our pre-show chat.. "That was my first love and when I go to New York, I see as many shows as I can. I just got back from New York a couple of hours ago." But she wasn't there to catch any shows this time: "I went on Friday. Judge Judy is a very good friend of mine and she completed her brand new home which is so exquisite and she had a 30 year anniversary party. It was a grand evening and I promised her I'd go."

But on previous trips to the Big Apple, she had caught some of this year's Tony nominated shows: "I saw "In the Heights" and I saw "Gypsy" with Patti LuPone. What a great, great performance. It's truly memorable. And I saw Ethel Merman in it. I just think when Patti walks out there on that stage, she owns it."

I wondered what Florence's favorite stage roles were?
"I loved doing 'The Girl Who Came to Supper" which was Noel Coward's last show. That was wonderful. Then Maria in "The Sound of Music" which I loved because it appealed to everybody, it didn't matter what their religion was. They just loved the show. I loved doing Nellie Forbush ("South Pacific"), I loved opening the (LA) Music Center here as Anna in "The King and I."

There are certain moments in my career that I will remember forever and one of them occured last night when I conducted a joint interview with theater legends Tommy Tune and Carol Channing. These longtime friends were at the 12th Annual Los Angeles Tony Awards Party where Miss Channing presented Tommy with the Julie Harris Lifetime Achievement Award. The evening was hosted by the enternally youthful Florence Henderson.

Carol: Did you know that I gave my son - well, he's known as my son - I gave my spiritual son one of his Tony Awards. They hooked up the New York Tony Awards with a show he was doing in Seattle. Which show?
Tommy: It was 'Bye Bye Birdie."
Greg: How many Tonys do you have?
Tommy: I've got nine.
Carol: I've got four and a lifetime achievement. I'm very happy about that.
Tommy: And every one of them was very deserving.
Greg: When you won for "Hello Dolly," was that one of the greatest nights for you?
Carol: When you're up for an award, you get a case of the willies. It won for best sets and best prchestration and now they're not gonna give it to me at the end? You get very nervous about it. You can't lose or else it will look like everyone else won for the show in spite of me. But I could have lost it because Barbra Streisand was up at the same time."
Greg: But you beat her!
Carol: We don't mention that whenever she's anywhere near.

Greg: Tommy, what are your feelings about being honored tonight?
Tommy: It's a great honor, it's thrilling. The people who have won it before, Carol being one of them, are great people. Julie Harris herself, Liza Minnelli, Gwen Verdon, Jerry Herman. Greats. Theater greats. I'm very proud to be following in their footsteps.
Greg: What keeps you going after all these years?
Tommy: I work out all the time and I do yoga and I take dance class and I have ideas and I have shows. I got shows I gotta do!
Greg: Will you be back on Broadway soon?
Tommy: I'm directing a new show called "Turn of the Century" and I hope it will be back on Broadway very soon. We're trying it out ijn Chicago in September.

Greg: How about you, Miss Channing. Will you be on stage telling stories and singing songs anytime soon?
Carol: I'm doing it all the time, three shows a week, for the universities. But that isn't important today. I never forget my son and I'm very honored to be here. He's got NINE Tony Awards! I've seen them, he's got them all lined up.
Greg to Tommy: Where do you put all those Tonys?
Tommy: I just moved and I have a mantle in the new place and they link up just exactly right. It just fills it. I can't win any more otherwise I'd have to move! But I could move.
Carol: I'm SO proud if him.

Billie Jean King is my hero so any time I see an interesting interview with her, I gotta share it with ya. The legend chatted with AP and here are some highlights:

On Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's run in the presidential primary: "If you go by history, it took women 70 more years to vote. If (Sen. Barack) Obama's smart and wants to win, he'll have Hillary as his running mate. To me that would be the right thing to do because they both had so many votes. I know if I were in his position, it's a no-brainer. Or if I were in her position and she became the nominee, he's the right one. They both were so neck and neck, they both bring a different demographic, so I think that's important. But, hey, whatever happens, happens."

Her five-year plan: I thought about a TV show--why not--for the boomers. Get the grandkids on. I know I want to do more books. I like self-improvement, but I want to do THE book (autobiography). I've done a couple in the past, but a lot of years have gone by. It's the first time in my life I'm not clear on my focus. It's been good because it's a challenge. I have a huge sense of urgency, I've always had since I've been a young girl. I love tennis ... with diabetes and obesity on the rise, you can't beat it as a lifetime sport.

If you were the head of a sports network: "I'd start having more and more women's sports on. I love sports because of the human element. I think most people can relate to that, whether they like a sport or not. It's about the people. The reason people think they know all these male athletes is because they see them all the time. If they see us enough, they will definitely like us. And make sure you take boys and girls to women's sports. The girls are taken to men's sports. Don't separate."

On she likes at Wimbledon which beigns next week: (Rafael) Nadal and (Novak) Djokovic are playing better than a year ago. Djokovic won the Australian, he loves to perform, loves being out there just like Nadal. (Roger) Federer is still the one to beat. He's a genius, probably the greatest player that's ever lived. He's such a great person, he's got a good soul, he's very aware of the world around him. On the women's side? I'm going to miss (Justine) Henin. I just loved watching her backhand and her all-court play. She was so tiny and had to be such a great athlete to be No. 1 in the world. But the Williams sisters, Lindsay Davenport ... Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic, those two are great. And Maria Sharapova, if she can get that serve going and have more self-confidence.

This kid's appearance on "The Today Show" this morning just blew me away. Tim Russert, who died on Friday, was one heck of a dad which is so apparent when you watch his son Luke Russert.

I thought he'd never take his shirt off again! We haven't had any fresh beefcake pics of Matthew McConaughey in forever. It's nice to know that everything looks as good as it ever did...

What a terrific show! I watched the telecast honoring the best of Broadway at the 12th Annual Los Angeles Tony Awards Party at the Skirball Center in LA. Florence Henderson charmingly hosted the evening where Carol Channing presented Tommy Tune with a lifetime achievement award after the Tonys were over.

I can't imagine a more fun way to watch the Tonys (except maybe actually being there at Radio City Music Hall in New York). What a crowd! At my table was Tony winning composer Jeff Marx, who co-wrote "Avenue Q," and throughout the room were such stars as Charles Durning, Betty Garrett, Carol Cooke, Anne Jeffreys, Charlotte Rae, Shari Belafonte, and William Schallart, among others.

I did a joint interview with Miss Channing and Mr. Tune that I will share with you in a post later today as well as an interview with Florence Henderson.

Here are some of my impressions from the ceremony:

HOSTESS W/THE MOSTEST: Whoopi Goldberg, God bless ya. You were perfection as you showed up for little comic bits at just the right time and held the show together wonderfully. Please host again next year.

POPULAR PATTI: The crowd, which watched the show on giant screens as well as smaller flat screen TVs, was really wild about Patti LuPone. When she finished singing "Everything's Coming Up Roses" from "Gypsy," the room burst into sustained applause. Then when she won, the crowd erupted with cheers. A very popular win for this Broadway legend who, stunningly, had not won a Tony in 28 years. She had three losses since her 1980 win for "Evita" including a few years back for "Sweeney Todd." It was Patti's night and everyone loved how she takked the orchestra down when it tried to play over her.

BEST REUNION: The original cast of "Rent" did a moving tribute to the late Jonathan Larsen who died before his ground-breaking show opened. It has now passed 5000 performances on Broadway.

NICE TOUCH: Having Jack Klugman, Broadway's original Herbie in "Gypsy," introduce LuPone's musical number.

ANNOYING PRESENTER: Julie Chen. She did a fine job, for a robot. (Her nickname is Chenbot). So why, other than the fact that she is married to CBS honcho Les Moonves, is the host of "Big Brother" on the Tony telecast? As if she's not already rammed down our throats enough already. A completely uninteresting television "personality."

SCARIEST PRESENTER: Was the the Unibomber accepting Stephen Sondheim's lifetime achievement award? No, it was Mandy Patinkin who doesn't seem to have shaved since quitting "Criminal Minds" a year ago.

HOTTEST GUYS: Hands down, Cheyene Jackson wearing those short shorts and singing a number from "Xanadu." He's so handsome, so built, so talented and so gay! The perfect man. Runners-up: Anthony Rapp and Taye Diggs from "Rent" cast and, one of the sexiest men alive: Harry Connick Jr.

LOOKING GOOD: A pair of sixtysomething actresses who are also three-time Tony winners looked as good as they ever have when they walked out to present awards: Liza Minnelli and Glenn Close. Glenn always seems to look sensational as she is clearly fit and either has the best genes on Earth or a really superb plastic surgeon. Either way, she's still hot! As for Liza, she walked out in a little black dress and she's thin again! I love Liza even when she married that creepy hair plugs dude so I'm glad to see she is in one of her healthy stretches. Still, Is it just me or did it seem like one side of her mouth was kind of paralyzed?

OK, so back at the Skirball: there was a silent auction and I bid on beautifully framed and signed posters of Bernadette Peters' "Gypsy" (bidding for LuPone's started at $250) and "The Country Girl" signed by Peter Gallagher, Morgan Freeman and Frances McDormand. I checked moments before the auction closed and had been outbid on "Gypsy" but "Country Girl" seemed to be mine. But, in the end, someone else got there under the wire and outbid me! Dammit!

Still, it was a good dinner, good wine, nice company. I asked Jeff Marx where his "Avenue Q" Tony Award is kept and he said at his parent's house in Hollywood, FL. "but it comes back to visit every once in awhile if I need it to speak at a college or something." Florence was kind enough to keep the crowd updated on the score of the Lskers-Celtics game during commercial breaks as well as Tiger Woods' US Open progress. They oughta let her host the Tonys themselves. Florence Henderson is an amazing woman and one of the real, great showbiz pros.

This is amusing, especially Cynthia Nixon's regal appearance as a Tony winner giving advice to the cast of "Xanadu." The Tony Awards air on CBS tonight!

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who played in the French Open final on clay just seven days ago, have made a quick adjustment to grass courts by winning Wimbledon warm-up tournaments in Europe today. Federer won in Halle, Germany, without dropping serve to extend his winning streak on grass to 59 matches. It was his fifth title there. Nadal became the first French Open champion in 35 years to follow up with a title at Queen's in London, holding off Novak Djokovic in a superb two-set final and bringing his current win-streak to 17 matches. Roger and Rafael have played in the last two Wimbledon finals with Federer winning both times. This year could be different the way Nadal has been playing!

He doesn't dwell on it, but Neil Patrick Harris' coming out as a gay an nearly two years ago seems to have done wonders for his career. The Emmy-nominated star of "How I Met Your Mother" and the "Harold and Kumar" movies was already on a career upswing when he was compelled to confirm his sexuality when certain bloggers began applying pressure. He did so with grace and, for the first time, began to let us know him as NPH the man, not just the actor. He's witty and charming and utterly self-confident and his presence on talk shows, a game show like "Password" or as a guest host for Regis Philbin, have become a very welcome treat.

So happy 35th birthday Neil and thanks for letting us in a bit, you're a credit to us all.

The year was 1980 and Patti LuPone beat out, among others, Sandy Duncan in "Peter Pan" and Ann Miller in "Sugar Babies."

It is 28 years later and again Tony Award night. Miss LuPone is the front-runner to win her second Tony, this time for "Gypsy." I'm rooting for her and will be watching the telecast live at a Tony event in LA where Tommy Tune will be honored and Carol Channing will be among the celebrity guests.

I'll have a recap later...

Here is a Tony Awards number from the mid-90s with then-host Rosie O'Donnell, Patti LuPone, Betty Buckley and Jennifer Holliday...

In a business where so many stars come and go, I wondered how the lovely Lesley Ann Warren has managed to keep working in quality projects more than four decades.

"Follow your bliss," she said simply.

"I'm incredibly driven by material and the times that I have over-ridden that instinct and done a job for money or because someone else thought it was a good idea, things have not worked out for me."

But a lot has worked out including the lead in the memorable 1965 television production of "Cinderella" which launched her as a star. Lesley Ann, now 61, had already made her Broadway debut a few years earlier in the musical "110 in the Shade."
She went on to star in such feature films as "Choose Me" and "Clue" and earned an Academy Award nomination for 1982's "Victor/Victoria." Here is a clip from that movie:

There was also an Emmy nod for "Family of Spies," and a Golden Globe Award win for the miniseries "79 Park Avenue."
More recently, audiences have gotten to know Lesley Ann through her recurring roles on "Desperate Housewives" as Teri Hatcher's mom and on "Will & Grace" as the mistress of Will's father.
"It's just amazing to me," she said as she reflected on her body of work. "Sometimes, it's real important when I feel down or discouraged to take stock of these opportunities that I've had and the roles that have stayed in people's minds."

But there are still new roles ahead and one of them is in the new USA drama "In Plain Sight," Lesley Ann's first regular series role since she replaced Barbara Bain on "Mission Impossible" in the late 60s.

"We finished shooting our 13 episodes and it was absolutely great," she said. "You just never know when you are entering a new experience. The writing is so smart and sophisticated and edgy and funny and ironic. The characters are rich and complicated and I think it's a terrific show."

The actress plays the mother of Mary Shannon (Mary McCormack), a United States deputy marshal attached to the federal witness protection program.
"She initially appears to be a rudderless mom who drinks too much and likes the men too much," Lesley Ann said of her character. "She doesn't have a career and is living with daughter because the last man left. But you get to know why she's this way. She's had dreams shattered and heartbreak. She becomes more of a deep and moving character but still funny, still tons of comedy."

"Sight" is off to a quick start ratings-wise and seems to have been a good choice for Lesley Ann's first TV series in more than 40 years.
"The only other series I had ever done was 'Mission Impossible.' That was a very specific kind of show about plot and how the mission team figured into that. "By the fourth episode (of 'Sight'), you are learning who these people are and what in fact drives them."
Since director-producer-actor Sidney Pollack had recently died, I wanted to hear Lesley Ann's thoughts on him since she had so memorably played his mistress on several episodes of "Will & Grace."

"He was as passionate as an actor as he was as a director or a producer - deeply invested in the scenes and his character and his character's relationships. It was, inspirational."

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Online bonus: I asked Lesley Ann which of her movies she would select for a time capsule. She picked "Cinderella," "Victor/Victoria," "Choose Me," "Family of Spies" and "79 Park Avenue." I'd like to add one more to that list: "A Night of Heaven" which starred Lesley Ann opposite Christopher Atkins who played a male stripper!

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And changing gears, here is a clip from 43 years ago of Lesley Ann doing a musical,number from "Cinderella"

Finally caught the season premiere of Kathy Griffin's "My Life on the D-List." She's as funny as ever and this portion that I've posted has her getting ready for her New Years Eve gig - co-hosting CNN's coverage from Times Square with that cutie pie Anderson Cooper. She calls him "Andy." I love, love, love his laugh. And she makes him laugh a lot!

Enjoy!

There was a time when I really admired Boy George's candor and his guts. But for far too long now, he's lost his way getting arrested for everything from drugs to keeping some dude hostage! C'mon!

So, I wish George a happy birthday and hope he can stay on the straight and narrow and create some good music again!

I love this picture of the great Steffi Graf from Wimbledon a few years ago when she was honored as a past champion along with Martina and Billie Jean. Steffi reminds me of Glenn Close in that scene from "The Natural."

The great Graf turns 39 years old today. She retired from tennis nine years ago after winning seven Wimbledons, six French Opens, five US Opens and four Australian Opens as well as the Olympic gold medal. She did it with grit and grace and was ranked number one longer than anyone in the history of the sport.

Now Steffi is married to Andre Agassi and the mother of two children. I think gay men, like me, always loved her for many reasons, but mostly because of her indomitability.

Happy birthday Steffi!

Roger Federer has long been the king of tennis - especially on grass. But French Open champion Rafael Nadal looks primed to end Roger's streak of five Wimbledon next month. He beat four-time champion Andy Roddick 7-5, 6-4 Saturday to reach the final at the Queen's Club for the first time. He is vying to be the first Spaniard in 36 years to win a grass-court tournament. He will face Serbian hottie Novak Djokovic in the final. Roddick (seen w/Rafael below) was aiming to become the first five-time champion at the Wimbledon warmup.

There are certain Sunday morning rituals that I have had for years: reading the Sunday papers and watching "Meet the Press." So it was stunning to hear that the show's longtime moderator Tim Russert dropped dead earlier in the day in the Washington D.C. bureau of NBC News. He is believed to have had a fatal heart attack.

He was a tough interviewer - really grilled public figures - and someone who really had the respect of his fellow journalists. Here is an exchange he had just recently with John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate:

Russert: "You have said repeatedly, 'I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues...'"
McCain: "Actually, I don't know where you got that quote from."
Russert: "I got it from John McCain and here it is."
McCain: "OK, let me tell you what I was trying to say and what I meant."

It is so sad to think that his life has ended at the age of 58 and that we won't have him holding the feet of politicians to the fire.

Tim also had a weekly CNBC talk show that I liked to watch where more relaxed conversations took place with authors and other noteworthy folks. My nephew Anthony, who had often stayed the weekend with his uncle Greg as a kid, always jokes about and imitates the "Meet the Press" theme music he would hear coming from my television when he was trying to get that last hour of sleep.

Rest in peace, Tim.

Here is the first report of his death, delivered by Tom Brokaw:

...I've posted any beefcake pictures of Chris Evans. Well, today is as good a day as any since it is Chris' birthday! The star of the "Fantastic Four" franchise and such flicks as "Cellular" and "The Nanny Diaries" turns 27 today.

Ya gotta figure that Chris pretty much has everything he wants or needs as far as gifts go so let's consider this photo his gift to us!

They are seen together in public so rarely that some people don't even know that Oscar winners Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty are siblings. Gay people love Warren because he's just so damned handsome and sexy, even in his early 70s. But we really love his sister. Her movies "Postcards on the Edge," "Terms of Endearment" and "Steel Magnolias" are on just about every gay man's DVD collection along with "The Turning Point" and "Sweet Carity." They got together Thursday night, along with a lot of Hollywood's A-list, to celebrate Warren being bestowed with the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award.

It's good to see former President Bill Clinton smiling after the tough loss his wife endured in the Democratic primary race for president. He's always been at home in Hollywood.

Diane Keaton, a gay icon for such films as "First Wives Club," "Baby Boom" and, of course, "Annie Hall," not only co-starred with Beatty in "Reds," but was involved in a serious relationship with him for at least a few years. They have remained friends and even co-starred is "Town and Country" several years back.

As I mentioned a few days ago, I'm still having some trouble transfering my unabashed enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama. I even had a dream a few nights ago that I was consoling Hillary as I was helping her clean out dresser drawers. I have no idea what that meant.

So, while I deal with my issues, another Clinton survivor, Barbra Streisand, is moving on to Barack. Streisand confirmed this week that she is willing to help with the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's campaign.

Streisand can raise an awful lot of money when she sings for someone - just ask Bill Clinton! So I'm sure the Obama campaign will be happy to have her as a fund raiser!

The other day, one of my straight male co-workers came into the newsroom complaining about the "Sex and the City" movie his wife took him to. I wanted to just pummel him and realized there are now three things you should never discuss in order to preserve harmony: politics, religion and "Sex and the City."

Anyway, some people don't like the flick apparently, even fans of the series. I loved it and can't wait for the DVD to come out with all the deleted scenes and other extras. As the movie heads into its third weekend, it has earned a solid $107 million (as of Wednesday) at the box office and should add at least $10 million in the next three days. I think a domestic total of around $140 million is in store when all is said and done. I hope this is a big enough gross to mean there will be a sequel. Maybe Carrie has a baby, Miranda turns into a lesbian, Samantha flies out to the coast for a tryst with naked guy.

the ppssibilities are endless!

I just cannot top this lede from the New York Post: What started as a battle of the biceps has turned into the battle of the bulges between stars of Broadway's "A Chorus Line."

The paper's PAGE SIX column reported last month that Mario Lopez and co-star Nick Adams clashed when the very buff Mario refused to wear his character Zach's trademark costume of a long-sleeve tan sweater because he wanted to show off his biceps, Who could blame him? If I had those guns, I'd have a xleeveless tuxedo made, OK? So Mario instead wore a short-sleeve shirt on stage.

But apparently Mario wanted tp be the top guns on stage so asked that the also very buff Nick cover up his tank top with a baggy hoodie whenever he danced next to Mario! But payback is a bitch: The Post is now reporting that men's-underwear company 2(x)ist has passed over Mario and wants Adams front and center in a shirtless ad.

Jason Scarlatti, 2(x)ist's creative director, gave final approval and told The Post: "Nick's very masculine, sexy, modern. It's totally all about his body. Mario is a good-looking guy, but Nick had it. He's up and coming, the new face of sexy. He's original. He's hot."

The ad campaign was shot in one day at Via Della Pace restaurant in the East Village. It will appear in Out's August issue first and then in other magazines.

How cool is this? Sabrina, Jill and Kelly back together again...

There will be another rare reunion of the original stars of "Charlie's Angels" when Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson appear on an episode of "shear Genius," the Bravo reality show hosted by fellow angel Jaclyn Smith.

These women have had famous heads of hair for more than 30 years so this is the perfect show for them to appear on and marks their first time together on television since a heart-warming reunion on the Emmys two years ago during a tribute to Aaron Spelling.
It was shortly after rare joint appearance (pictured, right) that that we learned Farrah had been diagnosed with cancer. She has been fighting hard and good to see she's well enough to appear on TV in something other than TMZ.com with cameras following her at the airport.

"You will be surprised when you see it," Jaclyn told Entertainment Tonight of the reunion. "We recreate our styles from the '70s with a modern touch. I thought it was challenging, because you think the simplicity of those styles. I think having some 'Angels' there was intimidating to some of the stylists. I think it was harder for them than just recreating [the hair styles] because we were there."

The second season of "Shear Genius" premieres June 25 at 10 p.m. on Bravo. Until then, here is the 2006 Emmy appearance of the ageless Jaclyn, Farrah and Kate:

Just got back from the very crowded Outfest launch party in Hollywood, A pretty chaotic scene with the top floor so packed with people you could barely move and the more spacious bottom floor virtually empty. Anyway, I ran into gay media mogul Paul Colichman there and pulled him aside for a quick gab that I wanted to post for you right away. Paul is chairman and partner of Regent Entertainment , a leading independent film company and the producer of such films as "Gods & Monsters" and "Twilight of the Golds." He is also founder & chief executive officer of here! TV. Regent recently purchased The Advocate and Out magazines from PlanetOut. Here is my conversation with Paul about the latest piece of his growing media empire:

Q. What made you decide to buy the magazines?
A. We are very passionate about these brands. We feel they are the most important brands in gay America and we wanted to make sure they were going to have proper stewardship on a go-forward basis.

Q. Should we be exoecting any dramatic changes in the magazines?
A. What you should expect is provocative, cutting edge, cultural content that is befitting of these brands.

Q. Will Here! TV movies and series get kid glove treatment?
A. Absolutely not and we are very focused on covering all gay television and gay media. They are no means going to treat (Here) better or worse than they treat anyone else.

Q. You had an interview a few years ago when you said you would never want to be in the magazine business. What changed?
A. You know, if it wasn't for brands that are this powerful, I would never want to be in te magazine business. The thought of just buying another magazine would have been unthinkable to me. These are the only magazines that we wanted to own.
Q. Where is the place for The Advocate and Out in the current media landscape when so many operations are struggling?
A. Frankly, i think they are struggling less than mainstream publications are. We have a loyal audience and an incredibly intelligent audience for both brands. Our job is to make sure we serve that every single day both in print and online and make sure we don't disappoint our sophisticated, loyal audience/

Q. How hands-on will you be?
A. As hands-on as someone who owns many magazines and a television network and produces 30 movies a year could be (laughs).

I cannot believe that me and ultra-conservative "View" co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck would ever have anything in common. But this morning on the chatfest, she talked about how she could not tear herself away from "Celebrity Circus" last night.

Me neither.

I had watched Antonio Sabato Jr. practice his flying silks act a few weeks ago at the training facility and also saw some of the other celebs including Olympian Janet Evans and Christopher Knight of "The Brady Bunch." So, I wanted to see how it all came together for the show which was hosted by the charming Joey Fatone.

What I had not seen was the gayest judge in the history of competitive reality show television history! Louie Spence was shamelessly flirting with Sabato and Knight after they finished their routines and I thought he was going over the line a bit. If a straight man was that aggressively suggestive with the female contestants, it would not have gone over well and I would have been just as put off by it.
Fatone rolled with it as did the contestants but I think Louie (sitting to the right of fellow judge Mitch Gaylord) should tone it down a bit. He's a gay man in a visible role right now and makes us all look bad, I think, because so many haters out there are so ready to paint us all with a broad brush anyway.

Just my opinion..

To be fair, Louie was at least just as effusive and flirty with one of the female contestant: the gorgeous Stacey Dash, best known for playing Alicia Silverstone's best friend in "Clueless." He said she was making him feel things he didn't realize he could feel or something like that.

I've been called a lot of things in my life -,some of them nice, some of them not. But the other night, I was called something I had never been called before: "Ma'am." No, I wasn't in drag or anything (I have nothing against drag, I just think I'd make an ugly woman!). I had ordered a glass of Merlot at one of the outdoor bars at The Abbey in West Hollywood as I waited for my friend Michael who was late meeting me for dinner. The hunky bartender (aren't they all hunky at The Abbey?), handed me my glass of wine, and said "Thank you ma'am" and turned around to help someone else. I knew I heard right but decided to just sip my wine and read the LA Weekly. Suddenly, he turns around red-faced and says: "Did I just call you ma'am?" Before I could even answer, the guys sitting next to me enjoying a plate of hummus blurt out: "Yeah! You did!"

Bizarre. Anyway, it reminded me of the episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" when Mary and Rhoda become a ma'am. In fact, the great Valerie Harper even named her memoir, "Today, I am a Ma'Am."

I think CBS's summer series "Swingtown" has just become must-see TV!

Grant Show, the still hunky after all these years star of "Melrose Place" said in an intrerview that his character is going to have some same-sex action in an upcoming episode of this show set in the swinging 70s. We already know that Grant can pull off same-sex love after his steamy scenes during the first season of "Dirt" so his role as suburban swinger Tom Decker is a natural. I'm not crazy about Grant having to sport that icky mustache in the series but hey, it was the 70s so whaddaya gonna do?

According to the AP, when the ex-boyfriend of Tom's wife pops up around episode six with aspirations of rekindling their high school romance, he ends up bedding both of the Deckers.

"Trina and I pretty much do everything together," says Show, flashing a grin that exaggerates his 'stache. "That, I think, is the craziest thing I've done on the show. It's probably going to flip America up and down the most. It's sort of left to the audience as to how far that goes, but I think that's going to be controversial."

And hopefully, hot!

What I love about Novak Djokovic is that the world's third-ranked tennis player isn't afraid to show his emotions or affection. Here he is seen in an embrace with fellow Serbian Janko Tipsarevic after their match Thursday at the Queens Club tournament in London.

Out In Hollywood fave Daniel Craig (his photo emerging from the ocean has been posted here more than even the David Beckham underwear ad!) had the tip of one of his fingers sliced off this week while shooting a scene for his second Bond movie "Qauntum of Solace." But, he's such a stud thaqt after being treated, he went back to work the same day!

)

I fell asleep before Kathy Griffin's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel last night. Thank God for YouTube!

She discusses Al Reynolds' recent bikini shots, asked Jimmy is he has a hairy a** and suggests he manscape, the Apple computer dude she was dating who emailed her that he was getting married to someone else, and about her efforts to be the white Oprah Winfrey on "My Life on the D-List"

Here's the whole thing!

I just got the press release announcing the line-up for Outfest 2008:The 26th Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. It wasn't too much of a surprise since brochures with the entire schedule were already printed and being handed out at the LA Gay Pride festival! But it means a lot less typing for me as I provide yoiu with this preview of the fest to be held July 9 to 21, 2008, one day longer than previous years. In all, 212 films from 25 countries will be screened, I'll be doing some previews in the coming weeks as I watch some of the screeners before the festival.

*** "Breakfast with Scot" starring Tom Cavanagh ("Ed") and Ben Shenkman ("Angels in America") as the Opening Night Gala film. I saw this at the Palm Springs Film Festival in January and am glad more people will get to see it - especially since Tom Cavanaugh is such a hottie! It tells the story of a makeshift family engaged in a struggle over hockey pucks and perfume. Cavanagh and Shenkman play a fairly closeted gay couple that become temporary guardians of a recently orphaned 11-year-old boy, played by newcomer Noah Bernett, who has a penchant for feathered boas, rose hand cream and all that glitters. Directed by Laurie Lynd, based on the award-winning book by Michael Downing.

*** This shoiuld be a can't-miss: The Outfest Legacy Project will unveil its second LGBTQ film restoration project of the seminal 1978 film, "Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives." The film was directed by the Mariposa Group, a collective of talented filmmakers that includes Rob Epstein who went on to win Academy Awards for his pioneering documentaries "Common Threads: Stories of the Quilt" and "The Times of Harvey Milk" (which is also screening at Outfest 2008). Originally created in 1978 by a group of young filmmakers, the movie deals with people's experience of being different. Even though it has a homosexual theme, at heart, "Word is Out" is more of a touching reportage that captures the lives of 26 people- ranging in age from 18 to 77, from San Francisco to New Mexico to Boston,

*** Awards Night: "Were the World Mine" puts a spin on William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" When Timothy (Tanner Cohen) and Jonathon (Nathaniel David Becker) get cast opposite each other, games of love, mischief and wild imagination start to take place. The all-boys high school gets so complicated that not even the coach is able to shut down the production and spare his boys from playing women's roles. This whimsical film filled with musical numbers, theatrical fantasy and adolescent realities will bring smiles to anyone watching.

*** Closing Night Gala Screening - "Tru Loved" This is a teen romantic comedy about Tru (Najarra Townsend) whose life is anything but normal- she has two moms and two dads. She bravely sets out to establish a gay-straight alliance at her school and in the process gets everyone around her to toss out their preconceived notions, including her high school mates, who learn a precious lesson about being true to themselves.

*** Special event: "Sordid Lives: The Series" makes its Los Angeles premiere and brings together director Del Shores and its all-star cast including Margaret Cho, Rue McClanahanand Olivia Newton John.

**** The Outfest outdoor sing-along has been a longtime festival favorite and this year's choice of "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut" is sure to be a hoot. In years past, special guests from the sing-along film have made appearances to add to the revelry.

For more information and for a complete listing of films in the Festival, log on to www.Outfest.org or call 213-480-7065. Festival tickets go on sale on June 9th to Outfest members and on June 16th to the general public. Special ticket packages are also available. Outfest's 26th film festival is presented by HBO® and the grand sponsors are Absolut and Heineken.

About Outfest

Outfest is a leading showcase for diverse, international lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) film and video. Since 1982, Outfest has presented nearly 4500 film and video titles for audiences of well over half a million people.

I like to think I'm up on most of the same-sex kissing going on in movies but I had no idea that Steve Carell and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will share one in "Get Smart" which opens next week.

I'm quite sure it won't be at all romantic but here's what the actors said to the Associated Press about their lip-lock:

"The Rock has softer lips," said Steve. "I guess I could say that. He smells like strawberry shortcake. For me, that's why they call him The Rock. He rocks people's worlds...He is such a good guy. We just laughed that whole day. That was a total no-brainer in terms of that scene. There was never one moment of hesitation or awkwardness. He's game for anything, let me put it that way."

The Rock said:: "It was just one of those things where I thought well, you know, 'What could be the most entertaining and funniest moment that we could think of that would still make sense and still kind of root in reality?' We came up with a great kiss. 'I thought if Jake Gyllenhaal can do it, Will Smith can do it, then I can do it, too. I'm going to own it. I was like, 'Give me those lips right now. Right now.'"

Wow! Hot!

Says Luke: "Don't you mean ex-boyfriend?" Noah tries to protest and Luke adds: "Forget it...see ya ariund." Now we wait for the flip-flop from the crazy writers.

I'm having trouble adjusting to the new Lily, Luke's mom. The other one was just so perfect...

This picture is just so suggestive in so many juvenile ways (tee hee)

I believe in freedom of speech, totally. But I also believe in taking responsibility when you say outrageous and irresponsible things. Rupert Everett, who has gotten increasingly reckless with his remarks about everything lately, has issued an apology after remarks he made about contemporary soldiers being "wimps" caused something of a major media firestorm.

He told The Sunday Telegraph that modern-day soldiers are "wimps" who are "always whining about the dangers of being killed." His comments were published the same day three British soldiers were killed in a suicide attack in Afghanistan.

Everett, in a statement to the BBC, said he was trying to make the point that, "We still go to war but actually we haven't the stomach for it."
"It seems to me that embracing war means accepting its underbelly as well, torture and the unspeakable violence that spirals from the battlefield to its surroundings. My flippant and irresponsible behavior arises from a deep frustration at the fact that we seem to be continually making war, dreaming up new ones, instead of doing everything we can to avoid them."

Well, I'm not so sure it's an apology since I don't see the word "sorry" or anything. Shia LaBeouf, the talented young actor whose stunning resume already includes lead roles on "Transformers," "Disturbia," and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," had his spokesman express "regret" over a two-year-old video that has surfaced on YouTube that shows Shia calling a friend a "faggot" during some slapping contest at a party.

The clip has been pulled from YouTube so can't show it to ya. Here is the statement via Marc Malkin of E! Online:

"The videotape that is currently being circulated is several years old and captures Shia playing a game among friends in which he uses a derogatory word toward a friend," LaBeouf's rep told Marc exclusively. "He regrets having used the word in any capacity and is very embarrassed that this footage is being seen by anyone."

I'm looking forward to seeing this!

Here! TV announced Wednesday the third installment of the "Donald Strachey Mystery" franchise starring Chad Allen as the gay private investigator will begin playing in select theaters on July 18 then make its debut on Here! on Friday, July 25.

"On the Other Hand, Death: A Donald Strachey Mystery" co-stars the one-time Lois Lane, Margot Kidder. Strachey is involved in a monogamous relationship with a New York State Senate staffer (Sebastian Spence).

The series' first film, "Third Man Out," dealt with the controversial subject of outing while the second film, "Shock to the System," saw Strachey investigate an ex-gay "reparative therapy" group. "On the Other Hand, Death" has our hero delving into gay hate crimes and the difficulties faced by LGBT teens. A resource for gay teens contemplating suicide, The Trevor Project, is prominently mentioned in the film. The fourth installment in the franchise is titled "Ice Blues" and will be premiering in the fall and co-starring Sherry Miller (Queer as Folk).

The movie is also screening at Frameline Fim fest in San Francisco and Outfest in LA this summer...

Let's see, nice legs, cute tummy, he's tall. I'll give you a few hints: he's been to the Wimbledon final twice and is one of the top contenders to win the tournament this year. See who it is after the jump...

This poor kid can't go anywhere without the photogs in tow. Lucky for us!

At last week's Love and Pride event at The Abbey, I had the chance to sit down and have a nice chat with Judy Shepard of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, named after her son who was beaten to death in a senseless hate crime. His remarkable mom has been a tireless advocate for hate crime laws and LGBT equal rights and everytime I see her, I just want to give her a giant hug for being such an inspiration.

Here is our conversation:

Q. Were you surprised at the Supreme Court ruling?
A. "You know, I was surprised. Maybe less surprised because it's California and they're forward thinking but I was surprised. And I think what happened in Massachusetts had a lot to do with that. Everybody thought it was going to fall off into the ocean when they okayed marraige and when it didn't, people were like, 'Well okay. This is their private business and that's great.'"

Q. In the days after the ruling, what is your meszsage to people?
A. "I want everyone to understand that marriage isn't a guarantee of everything. If we think it's going to answer all of our problems in the gay community, it isn't. We still have hate crime to deal with and all the other incremental things. This is not the end all be all, but it's a wonderful thing to have happen."

Q. The ballot initiative to again ban gay marriage just qualified for the November ballot so there's this big fight ahead. Do you think the climate is different from say eight years ago or four years ago?
A: Absolutely. Prop 22, it was hateful. I think if the opponents to this come back in with that same kind of message, it's going to look bad for them because it's a hateful message. Not allowing people to be together and take care of eacn other in a legal way, that's a hateful message.

Q. Do you think it's getting through to people that it's hateful?
A. I do, I really do. I think the more we see it, the more we recognize that it's just people who love each other and deserve to be together like everybody else. The thing that's lacking is federal benefits. I think it's going to have to be a national issue at some point in time. Unlike New York, not every state is going to say, 'Okay, you got married in California and now you move to Montana, you're still married. We've got to do something about that.

Q. What about the politicians? Do you find that anybody is getting any kind of courage toward equal (LGBT) rights. Hate crimes, 'Don;t Ask, Don't Tell,' marriage. Is anybody getting any kind of backbone or are they still waiting or someone else?
A: I think we;ve seen the backbone that's out there and then we still see the wishy-washy stuff going on. Who's going to vote against a hate crimes bill? Still, we didn't have the votes for it. I think that's appalling. Especially when the constituents are telling their representatives, 'We want this to happen." They're just not paying any attention to us."

Q. You're favor of transgendered people being included in the bill?
A. Yes. Included in everything. When it's removed from anything, it's not because of anything we do, it's what the actual representative do. We can lobby for that until the moon turns pink but it's ultimately up to them.

Q. Your thoughts on the upcoming presidential election. I can't imagine you;d be sad to see George Bush out of office. How have the past eight years been for you?
A. Oh, it;s been really hard for the community. I just personally feel like we've been sort of standing in the same place for eight years. I understand that at the grassroots level we've made great strides but at the federal level, we're still right where we started.pretty much. We've educated a lot of legislators and that's good. I'm looking forward to the next eight years."

Q. Where do you get all the energy?
A. I think Matt gives it to me.

Noah is one messed-up kid. He's pushing Luke away because his green card bride Ameera is in jail and his murderer father might be dead (yeah, right). He tells Luke to leave him along because "I can't deal with you right now."

Luke replies: "Sending me home, dismissing me like I'm some kind of pet? You must have me confused with some other boyfriend Noah...."

Noah screams about how "my father killed himself in front of me!" Yeah, a father who killed your mother and shot your boyfriend then kidnapped your "wife" to ship her back to Iraq where she faced certain death: "I know it's a sham marriage but she's still my wife and you can't ask me not to feel this way!"

Then later he says: "I don't know...I don't have any answers, I just need a break from this." Then he says to Luke that "what you and I have is probably the best thing that ever happened to me and I love you..."

Luke calls him later, Noah still wants the break and Luke assures him: "If you need me, I'm here."

I know Luke feels sad right now about Noah needing space but he's better off! He's so adorable and sweet and loyal. The guys would line up around the block for him. But, of course, this is just the beginning of a on-again, off-again soap relationship.

"Get Happy"

Judy Garland was born on this day back in 1922. She is thbe original gay icon and lives on through her brilliant performances including the three I have posted below...Enjoy!

"Over the Rainbow"

"The Trolley Song"

My Daily News colleague Rick Orlov had an interesting tidbit in his must-read political column this week about Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villariagosa who rode in the LA Gay Pride Parade on Sunday.

Rick writes:

Officials across California are eagerly anticipating next week's date when gay marriages will be allowed. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is scheduled to be in Israel when the ban is lifted June 17, said he has taken the steps to allow him to perform weddings.

Before he can do so, however, Villaraigosa needs to fill out a certificate with the California Secretary of State's Office saying he plans to perform weddings.

I don't know what Brody Jenner did to become "famous" except that he's Bruce Jenner's son. And Bruce is barely famous these days, right? But I do know this: he's a real hottie so if MTV wants to give him a reality show, who am I to protest?

And boy, does it sound homo-erotic! Here is the description of the show, called "Bromance," in Variety: "...He auditions a group of dudes to fill his "bro" vacancy. The show will follow the usual dating series conventions, as seen in shows like MTV's Tila Tequila showcase "A Shot at Love" or ABC's "The Bachelor." But in this case, it will be a bunch of guys taking part in contests and angling for alone time with Jenner.

And it comes from Ryan Seacrest Productions. What a world it;s become: a metrosexual like Seacrest producing a show bromance. Why doesn;t everyone just come out already! (just kidding, sorta)

Seacrest told Variety that the idea came out of the whole "man date" phenom, and movies like "Superbad" and "Knocked Up," which feature straight male pals at their core: "I can speak from experience -- girls can come and go, but a 'bromance' can last forever."

Oh Ryan, that's so sweet!

Brody has appeared in many reality shows that I have not seen a single episode of: "The Hills," "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" and Fox's "The Princes of Malibu."

The "Bromance" winner will be invited to join Jenner's entourage. Losing contestants will be kicked out of the show's bachelor pad home base each week in a "hot tub elimination ceremony" -- in which the guys will leave in just their swimsuit, dripping wet, luggage in tow.

Gay. Gay. Gay. I'm SO gonna watch!

After winning "American Idol" a couple years back, Taylor Hicks didn't go on to sell nearly as many records as fellow "Idol" champs Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson.

But the silver-haired singer from Birmingham, Ala., remains upbeat and is following in the footsteps of Season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino ("The Color Purple") by making his Broadway debut in "Grease."

Taylor called from Manhattan on Monday afternoon to talk about his latest gig, which kicked off last Friday.

"It's definitely country come to town," he said of his presence in the Big Apple. "The traffic, all the people and the fast pace that New York is an adjustment. But I love it and I'm starting to become more comfortable with my role in the show."

The role is that of Teen Angel, played by Frankie Avalon in the 1978 movie version, and Taylor gets a nice, big solo in the production.

"The music is classic and the part is a perfect fit," he said. "I couldn't turn down the opportunity to perform on Broadway for the first time."

But don't expect an imitation of Avalon or anyone else. Like everything else he does, the 31-year-old performer said his number has been "Taylorized."

"The great thing about this role is I was able to be Taylor at the same time as Teen Angel," he said. "It allows me to get my feet wet a little bit before I really dive into acting."

He will be living in New York until at least Sept. 6, when his run in the show is due to end. But he will be multitasking all summer: writing songs for a new album planned for later this year and an appearance on "A Capitol Fourth," which airs live on July 4 (on PBS).
Taylor will join such stars as Huey Lewis and Jerry Lee Lewis on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol and he will be performing "This Land is Your Land" as well as songs "Dancing in the Dark" and "Heaven Knows."

"The numbers will be Taylorized," he promised. "You just gotta put as much soul as you can into it."

So what did he think of this season's "Idol" competition and the champion, David Cook?

"I think he's got a great shot to be successful in the pop-rock genre," he said. "He's an accomplished instrumentalist and it was nice to see that on the show this year. I wasn't allowed to play harmonica or guitar."

Taylor's self-titled first album after winning "Idol" reached platinum status but was still considered a disappointment and he parted ways with his record company earlier this year.
I wondered if he felt more pressure to succeed as a former "Idol" champ?

"What's the measuring stick for an `Idol' winner? Is it sales? Everyone has their own opinion," he said. "I'm not worried about it at all. I'm just excited to be an entertainer.

"It is a wild ride (winning `Idol') and it still is. You have to just understand that you've been working as an entertainer for years and want to keep working and you have to re-invent yourself. Some of these things that I'm doing now, it's going to allow me to do that."

Whatever the sales of the upcoming album, Taylor is confident the effort will be better music than his first.

"This time around, I've just had the time to be able to write music," he said. "You're really under the gun to create an album in a short period of time post-`Idol.' With this next album, I'm going to be able to breathe."

I'm really bummed. Took all kinds of pictures on Sunday of the Pride parade and festival in West Hollywood and something went wrong with my photo card and very few images survived. Thank God some did and I am sharing those with you along with some of the highlights of my day.

I got up early to watch the French Open final and since that was over way earlier than usual, decided to get over to WeHo to try and find free parking rather than spend $20 to park at the Pacific Design Center like last year. Got a spot on Robertson right near Melrose, a short block from the festival entrance. Found my friend Mark and his group at their usual spot but the parade was still at least an hour away. I decided to walk the entire parade route in order to get to where thne VIPs and floats etc. were setting up. One of the first people I saw was artist-author Thom Bierdz (pictured, above) who had set up some of his fabulous artwork on a table. Thom is a former soap star who wrote the harrowing book "Forgiving Troy" about his mentally ill brother who killed their mother.
So I get to the area where all the parade partcipants are getting ready and see a buncha guys wearing speedos. "What float are YOU on?" I ask one of them. He was on the float for the restaurant-bar Numbers and I decided to get pics of them along the route instead of right then. Big mistake!

Gathering in the middle of the intersection of Crescent Heights and Santa Monica Boulevard were all the city official types like councilman Bernard Parks and City Attorney Rocky Delgadio. That was all a snooze and the only person I found of interest was the famous drag queen Momma (pictured, right) who strode over to the VIP area dressed to kill and filled with confidence and charisma and was only too happy to stop and pose for me.

Momma is so sassy.

It looked like everything was about to start so I decided to hoof it back to the other end of the route near San Vicente where my friends were.

But along the way, I stopped by a viewing party being held by two new friends of mine, Jose and Michael who own the Mijo Hair Salon. We met last month and just clicked. Michael was an extra in the gay wedding scenes on the season finale of "Desperate Housewives."

Apparently an actual ceremoiny was filmed but left on the cutting room floor. Instead, the ceremony between characters Bob and Lee (Tuc Watkins and Kevin Rahm) ended up just serviing as a backdrop for the rest of the plot.

Then it was time for the parade. As I walked back to my viewing spot, I ran into LifeWorks Executive Director Michael Ferrera and his partner Greg (they are bookending Brad Fuhr and a guy whose name I can't remember in the photo on the left)

Anyway, the parade was finally reaching us. I like to stand on the curb and yell to the people I know and cheer for the groups I am especially supportive of like PFLAG, the LA Gay and Lesbian Center, and Lambda Legal. Attorney Gloria Allred,, who never met a TV camera she didn't want to be in front of, is beloved in the gay community and rode by waving regally. It was great to see the gang from "TransAmerica Love Story" including host Alec Mapa and participant Andrea James who I know through my friend, Kenneth Walsh.

Of my parade pics, one of the few to survive was one of Scott Schmidt, better known as blogger BoiFromTroy. (pictured right) I had seen him earlier but didn't realize he was gonna be on a float!

And on and on and on it went. Mark, his boyfriend Jeff and the rest of the group were all spirited and into it but as it got closer to 2 p.m., I was about to lose my mind and said to Mark: "I haven't been to a parade this long since the Rose Parade of '82!" I got so bored with it all that I wanted to curl up on the grassy island across the street from A Different Light Bookstore where we were gathered.

I bid them farewell and hit the festival. Chatted up all kinds of people, had some beer, ate lunch, and snapped pictures. None of them survived. I was due to meet some friends at The Abbey and was going to try and stay until around 8 p.m. or whenever it was that Olivia Newton-John was to perform. But I was dead-tired and decided to call it a day by 5 p.m. My best straight friend James called from Ohio for our usual Sunday recap of our respective weekends and, I kid you not, I fell asleep on the phone.

So embarassing. Pride weekend left me pooped.

The annual fundraiser for LifeWorks, which offers mentoring opportunities for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth ages 14-24, has turned into one of the hot tickets of pride weekend.

The group's executive director, Michael Ferrera (pictured left, addressing the crowd) made it easy for the hundreds of guests to plunk over some donations or to bid on silent auction items when he said that 75 cents our of every dollar raised goes directly to programs and not to administrative overhead.

This is the second year that I've attended this event and it . Just like last year, the food was delish. Comfort food, but in small sizes. I missed the macaroni and cheese balls from a year ago but was more than satisfied with these awesome mini-Rubens and really good beef skewers.
Met the lovely Michelle Clunie who was the big celebrity guest. She played Melanie on "Queer as Folk" and is really just so lovely. Also there was Doug Spearman of "Noah's Arc" fame, former CNN Headline News anchor Thomas Roberts who I wrote about in an earlier post, Regency Entertainment head Paul Colichman the always fiery and engaging radio personality Cary Harrison and many others.

Mostly, it was fun to catch up with friends and gear up for the Pride festival and parade.

I attended the LifeWorks Mentoring fuindraiser Saturday evening in West Hollywood and will write all about it in a post thbis afternoon. Thought I'd do a little write-up first on Thomas Roberts who was there with his boyfriend. When I spotted him, I thought he might not wanna talk to any media so I just asked, without identifying myself, if I could snap a photo of him. He said, "Sure. But don't I know you? You're Greg, right?"

Gulp.

But no worries. He could not have been nicer and we had a chat. Thomas, the former CNN Headline News anchor, was let go from the entertainment show "The Insider" several months ago. But he seemed remarkably not bitter about it and optimisitc about the future although he couldn't yet reveal any details about what might be in the works.

When we went our separate ways, I looked at the photo in my camera and while Thomas looked sensational (how could he not?), I did not. So later, we ran into him again and it what followed was a hilarious photo session with my friend Eddie snapping our photo then Thomas and I looking at it then requesting another and another and another. He thought he looked kinda constipated in one, I had too much of a double chin in another. But we got a few that we both liked, finally...

Earlier posts:
-- Thomas Roberts surfaces...on the cover of The Advocate!!!

-- Whatever happened to Thomas Roberts?

-- Former CNN anchor Thomas Roberts goes Hollywood...

-- CNN's Thomas Roberts' not so prime-time shifts...

It's an interesting time for those of us who backed Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign which she officially suspended on Saturday. I strongly believe that she was the best person for the job, the smartest and the strongest and the person who would be most effective as president. But, she lost. Yesterday at the Gay Pride Festival in West Hollywood, there were all kinds of Barack Obama supporters out there handing out buttons and stickers and I gotta say, I'm not feeling it yet. Of course I will vote for him - of course - but I just hope my enthusiasm grows once I'm through processing Clinton's defeat. An Obama/Clinton ticket would most certainly help heal these wounds!

Anyway, Obama released a letter to the LGBT community over the weekend. You can read it in its entirety after the jump but here are highlights of his stance on the issues most important to us:

- As president, I will place the weight of my administration behind the enactment of the Matthew Shepard Act to outlaw hate crimes and a fully inclusive Employment Non- Discrimination Act to outlaw workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

- As your President, I will use the bully pulpit to urge states to treat samesex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws. I personally believe that civil unions represent the best way to secure that equal treatment. But I also believe that the federal government should not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples -whether that means a domestic partnership, a civil union, or a civil marriage.

- I support the complete repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Federal law should not discriminate in any way against gay and lesbian couples, which is precisely what DOMA does.

- I have also called for us to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and I have worked to improve the Uniting American Families Act so we can afford same-sex couples the same rights and obligations as married couples in our immigration system.

The full test of Obama's statement is after the jump...

The tennis tour moves to grass for the next month culmiating atr Wimbledon, considered the most coveted of all the sports' big prizes. Hunky American Robby Ginepri (I seem incapable of typing in his name without the word hunky also being included) is seen here playing in the first round of the Queen Club tournament in London. Andy Roddick (pictured below during a training session) is the defending champ at Queens which he has won four times. Could this be the year Andy finally wins Wimbledon? He's been runner-up twice.

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And finally, closing the door on this year's French Open, pictured below is four-time champ Rafael Nadal getting a congratulatory hug from six-time champion Bjorn Borg who retured to Roland Garros for the first time since he won his last championship in 1981. Roger Federer, runner-up for the third straight year, looks a bit forlorn here but took hos loss with grace. He fares better on grass and is the five-time defending champion at Wimbledon.

A few more pics of Ginepri afdter the jump...

How cool is this? The three Emmy winning stars of "The Golden Girls," Bea Arthur, Rue Mclanahan and Betty White reunited Sunday night at the TV Land Awards. Betty is gonna be on "Million Dollar Password" on Thursday. Her late hubby, Allen Ludden, was the host of the original version. Rue seems to always be in the middle in the photos of these three. At a reunion I attended about four years ago, Bea seemed a bit frosty toward Betty so I'm not sure what might be going on there.

So she's had a little nip and tuck, Joan Rivers still looks terrific and today is her birthday!

Saw her one-woman show at the Geffen a few months back and could not believe how full of energy she was, timing still expert. Gays love a survivor, right? Well Joan is certainly that and has always found a new and different way to put herself out there ...and make gobs of money! From stand-up to movie director("Rabbit Test") to author ("Enter Talking" and "Still Talking") to Emmy Award winnng talk show host to Tony Award nominated actress to red carpet queen to jewelry mogul.

You go Joan! And as Lucy Ricardo once famously said to Ethel Mertz during one of their catfights: "Happy Birthday. And I hope you live another SEVENTY-FIVE years!"

Are gay people the best Password players? It would seem so after Neil Patrick Harris' stellar performance last weekend was followed tonight byRosie O'Donnell. She sure can play! On the second episode of "Million Dollar Password," Rosie was so focused and just awesome at giving clues and guessing words. She told host Regis Philbin that she had been a huge fan of the original show hosted by Allen Ludden, Me too! Tood bad Rosie and I didn't live near each other as kids. We coulda watched so much TV together and never fought about changing the channel.

"I'm trying not to think of the money, just the words!" she said at one point and at another, she went around the stage and kissed all the men including Reege and fellow celeb Tony Hawk. She also plugged her family crafting book.

"Don't you know how crafty I am Regis?" Rosie said. "Give me a crayon and a wire and I'm like MacGyver,"

I most enjoyed Rosie's chemistry with Dante Bergadante, a limo driver from Yonkers who also does a terrific Elvis impersonation. He and Rosie were a formidable team and typically got all their words successfully with plenty of time left on the clock.

"You guys are really in sync here," Regis said once they won $50,000. Then Dante shocked me by declining to play for $100,000 (If he had lost that round, his winnings would have been reduced to $25,000. He shoulda gone for the bigger bucks! Rosie wouida come through for ya Dante.

I dozed off during the second set of the men's French Open final, woke up and it was 5-0 in the third set. A few moments later, it was over and Rafael Nadal had beaten Roger Federer 6-1, 6-3, 6-0. It was one of the worst losses of Federer's career and continued his frsutration in Paris where he has lost to Nadal four years in a row. OK, I'm off to the Pride Parade in West Hollywood...Details later...

It was a really big deal when Rosie O'Donnell married Kelli Carpenterin San Francisco's four years ago when the hottie mayor Mayor Gavin Newsom gave the green-light to all the same-sex couples who wanted to get hitched. Rosie told Howard Stern this week that her decision was spurred on by President Bush's comments against same-sex marriage at a time when she felt there were far more pressing issues for him to be spouting off about.

Anyway, don't expect Rosie and Kelli to make another cross-country flight on the evening of June 16 (when you can start getting married in SF. Here's what the multi-Emmy winning personality told AP Radio this week abour it: We are "going to wait until it's legal everywhere, because otherwise, I said to Kelli, we'll be going around touring the country on the marriage tour every state by state....Once it gets to be at the federal level, once every state recognizes the marriages of every other state, I think that'll be the time we would do it,"

And she believes that will eventually happen: "The same way it was illegal for black and white people to marry at one point and people couldn't conceive of that ever being different, I do think that two consenting, law-abiding adults who want to share their life together should be allowed to do that."

Love ya Rosie...

Here's a another picture of Lance Bass and Kathy Griffin from earlier this week. I didn't realize Lance was still dropping his pants for girls! He's so cute.

Happy LA Gay Pride Weekend everyone! West Hollywood is just nuts right now, so much fun. Was at The Abbey frim early evening to past midnight and it was a mix of out of towners (including my friend Ken from SF) and plenty of locals. Music, dancers and perhaps one too many Absolute Vodka's with grapefruit juice.

Anyway, I think this video of James Dean and Paul Newman is kinda cool as I put up a few random posts before heading to brunch with my old friend Hope who's in from Colorado! Good times...

Participants in the 545-mile ride, which is produced by-and benefits-the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation,are pedaling into Los Angeles today as L.A.'s gay pride festival begins. Tomorrow, cyclists will ride in the gay pride parade, in which AIDS/LifeCycle is being honored as the "Community Grand Marshall."

Riders range in age from 18 to 81 and hail from 12 countries and 42 states and include actor Chad Allen (riding for the third time).

Earlier this week, an excited crowd of more than 3,000 participants in the AIDS/LifeCycle bike ride from S.F. to L.A. erupted in cheers as it was announced that they had raised $11.6 million to help end AIDS, a new world record for an annual HIV/AIDS fundraising event.

Congratulatons to all!

Sherri Shepherd is just loving the unexpected perks of being one of the co-hosts of "The View."

When we spoke a few days ago, she was still on cloud nine over Janet Jackson showing up at the ABC studios in New York where the show is taped and personally presenting Sherri with a pair of tickets to one of her concerts.

"She walked out and it was like the angels started singing," she said of the moment.

Janet had heard Sherri's on-air story about how when she was working as a legal secretary in her pre-fame days, she had slept outside all night in line to get tickets to the singer's concert during her tour for the "Control" album.

She didn't get tickets - that time.
"Someone made some phone calls and had her sitting downstairs," she said. "What law firm would do that? I remember being a legal secretary and the orders were, 'Go file that document! Get me coffee!' I'd watch soaps and daydream about having a talk show and going to the awards. To actually be living this dream, I keep thinking someone is gonna say it's all just my imagination."

It's been several years since Sherri, 41, has worked at a law firm. She became a successful stand-up comedienne and scored regular or recurring roles in the sitcoms "Less Than Perfect," "Suddenly Susan," "The Jamie Foxx Show," and "Everybody Loves Raymond."

But "The View" has made her a household name and a gig she earned after numerous stints as a guest host. She joined the show last fall along with Whoopi Goldberg.

"She thinks I'm joking when I say it, but it's a dream come true that I'm sitting next to Whoopi," she said. "It's every female comic's dream to have the same path that Whoopi has walked."

They joined longtime panelists Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Barbara Walters, the show's creator and a producer.

"It is truly a blessing to work with a woman who has opened so many doors," she said of Walters who memoir "Audition" recently topped the best seller lists. "I love Barbara's book. It's 700 pages of things I didn't know about Barbara."

The co-hosts on "the View" have changed over the years with Meredith Vieira, Rosie O'Donnell and Star Jones, among the show's famous alumni. But two things have remained constant: they get nominated for best talk show host at the Daytime Emmys every year and every year, they lose.

But Sherri, who is co-hosting the June 20 awards show with "All My Children" hunk Cameron Mathison (pictured, right), badly wants some Emmy gold.

"I want to win so badly," she admitted. "Every day I've been lighting candles, I've been fasting."

Famous for her various hairstyles on "The View," I wondered what Sherri picked out first for her hosting duties: the dress or the wig.

"The wigs!" she said. "I have three dress changes and I have three wig changes and some extra wigs just in case someone needs some."

She plans to go for laughs on the show and even being a little naughty.

"I'm planning on grabbing Cameron's butt," she said. "He's still got a lot of that 'Dancing With the Stars' booty. I am so looking forwards to seeing all these hunky men from the soaps. I've seen them in bed with everyone already."

I'm so glad for people like Udi Behr. He's the handsome guy in the photo above wirh Judy Shepard and TR Knight. I know that Jay Leno got a lot of the attention at Wednesday night's Love and Pride event at The Abbey and his appearance there was a really big deal. But another important straight ally in the fight for equal rights is Udi who I got to chat with before the event began.

"The things I think are important are peace, love, equality, human rights - all those wonderful words that have such wonderful meaning that we really neglect," he said. "It is one of the biggest misjustices I think in American society that they are looking at {gay marriage] as a gay issue. I don't believe it's a gay issue, I believe it's a human rights issue."

A native of Israel, Udi learned his trade in the Tel Aviv diamond industry and his fame as an original designer took off upon his arrival in New York in 1983. His jewelry collections have been showcased in legendary stores such as Sak's, Fortunoff's and Macy's, and worn by celebrities from Ludacris to Angela Bassett to Britney Spears. But 9/11 changed the life and the priorities of this resident of lower Manhattan. It was a very traumatic day for him that included several hours of not being able to contact his young daughter who went to school near the Twin Towers.

"It changed everything in me. In every aspect of my life, it was the ending of one thing and the beginning of another," he said. "I decided there's more to life than meets the eye."

The tragedy inspired his Love, Peace & Hope collection, a precursor of all his exclusive creations under the Love & Pride brand which integrates spirituality with glamour and emotion. He designed the Matthew Shepard Erase Hate pendant with 100 percent of the proceeds going to the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

He makes a good point when discussing why straights should support gays: "If white America would not help black America in the 60s, we'd still have segregation. I think it's an absolute duty, for every person with conscience, to help his brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, fathers, neighbors, co-workers who are being treated like second-class citizens. For me, the all-American dream is about equality and I will fight for it. I think the community that needs the most help and support now from all communities - religious and non-religious, straight, gay. black, white is the gay community."

Reichen Lemkuhl and Ryan Berry were the picture of bliss the other night at The Abbey during the Love and Pride Commitment Ceremony. The two best looking guys in the room were both wearing white but they aren't getting married anytime soon. "That's the question of the day," Ryan remarked to me after the umpteenth time he was asked about it.

The couple had a widely-publicized falling out a few months ago but have clearly patched things up. Reichen told me: "We're doing OK. We're happy to be here. We're not getting married today but we're really happy for those that can."

Ryan added: "I say ditto."

Even though he and Ryan and not ready to take the marital plunge, I wanted to get Reichen's thoughts on same-sex marriage becoming legal in California: "I thought, 'Finally. It's about time.' It just makes sense. It's a situation where you really weigh the constitutionality of taking away someone's rights. It just doesn't work in this country."

It had slipped Reichen's mind that season three of "Dante's Cove" was released on Tuesday but he was happy to talk about the show that has given him his most substantial acting role to date. He more than held his own among the more experienced cast and will be back for the fourth season as Trevor.

"He had a little bit of actiivity last season when he was new to Dante's Cove but rumor has it that he's coming back with a vengeance this season so I'm excited about that. We were going to start production this summer but the scare of an actors strike has sort of halted everything. So we're waiting to hear when it makes more sense to go ahead and start production because we';ll be shooting either in Hawaii or New Zealand. You don't want to get all your stuff out there if everyone's on strike. But it is going to happen, it's just a matter of when."

Ryan is busy too these days and on Thursday hosted a LA Gay Pride Kick-off bash held by Armani and Out Magazine benefitting the Young Professional's Council: "I support anything that helps people come out and being true to themselves and shaking off that double life," he said.

THRILL OF VICTORY: Rafael Nadal has good reason to flex his big biceps. On Friday, he made it to the finals of the French Open for the fourth straight year and preserved a perfect record at one of tennis' most prestigious tournaments. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic (below) suffers the AGONY OF DEFEAT: The Serbian star and reigning Australian Open champ lost to Nadal for the second year in a row in the semifinals. Still, he was generous enough to provide us a peak at his tummy!

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So, if you were Novak, wouldn't you take the opportunity to grab Nadal's chest at the post-match handshake? I sure would! I'm not sure if Roger Federer (below, right) will do the same if he loses to Nadal for the third straight year in the finals on Sunday. I like Nadal a lot but I am really hoping Roger can find a way to beat his clay court nemesis and win the only grand slam tournament to elude him...

This is hilarious! Enjoy!

GLAAD's Damon Romine sent me this letter he posted on the CineQueer blog

Thanks, Jay.

So, thank you, Jay, for lending your voice and showing your support. When Ellen marries Portia and George Takei marries Brad, you'll have an opportunity to have them on your couch to show the world that gay couples should have the same legal protections and responsibilities as everyone else. Or you could take a different path and make their ceremonies the subject of a monologue joke. I'm hoping for the former, but you might tell me that there's room for both. Borrowing a line from you, we'll "see what happens."

It's a good thing Joey Fatone and I chatted by telephone earlier this week because I have such a crush on him, I'm not sure if I could have completely maintained by professional cool. He was in Orlando, FL. and talking to him was easy and fun - he's a really down-to-Earth guy it seems to me.

He's the subject on my Sunday column in the LA Daily News but Out in Hollywood readers get a two-day jump:

Joey Fatone may only be 31-years-old, but he's already a showbiz veteran who has mastered the art of re-invention.

He burst onto the scene as a member of the red-hot band 'N Sync but after the group's demise, things got a bit more quiet for the group's outgoing and charismatic baritone despite a part in smash comedy "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and Broadway roles in "Rent" and "Little Shop of Horrors."

"It's an interesting thing working from the ground back up again," Joey said a few days ago from his home in Orlando, FL. "Some people who have been in that realm of private planes and all those perks don't know how to pick themselves back up. I knew I had to start from the ground back up and I've tried to do smaller things."

Then came "Dancing" where he was Season four runner-up, trimmed down dramatically and was soon flooded with jobs. He hosts the U.S. and Australian versions of "The Singing Bee," and has done red carpet hosting at the Emmy and the Oscars for TV Guide Channel.

Tonight (Sunday), he makes his debut as host of the CBS reality show "Celebrity Circus" and later this month joins "Dancing" alum Mel B. (aka Scary Spice) in hosting "The Singing Office."

"People realized it's not an act," he said of his fun-loving personality on "Dancing." What you see is what you get. I was basically the morale booster. Some people (on 'Dancing') were taking it to seriously. If you're not having fun doing it, why do it? That's the way I take all my jobs."
"Singing Office" is a job he said has been particularly fun. He and Mel B. - who are also producers of the show - personally choose the contestants from various offices: "We ransack the place and find people who maybe can sing. I pick the five best and they go to a boot camp and learn from choreographers. Sometimes it's a complete train wreck!"
While hosting the reality and game shows has come naturally, Joey was far more out of his element when he and Lisa Rinna were tapped to replace Joan and Melissa Rivers as hosts of TV Guide's red carpet coverage at awards shows.

"Oh my God! I had a headache after the whole thing! It's the weirdest thing I've ever done. You have to be on your toes. When I'm standing there, I'm tryiing to think, 'What the hell do I ask these people?' I hate the real personal stuff and don't want to make it uncomfortable for them. The first time, I really didn't do a lot of research and I should have. At the Emmys, some of the people, I had no idea who the hell they were!"

He's still tight with such former 'N Sync bandmates as Justin Timberlake and Lance Bass.

\"Any time I'm in town, I hang out and talk with him," he said of Bass. "We hang out and go to dinner. I'm like that with all the guys. I was in Vegas judging Miss America and Justin was there for a meeting and we hung out. I'm proud of him for what he's done and what he's achieved."

A guest role on Disney Channel's "Hannah Montana" brought Joey some of the younger fans he had when he was with the band.

"It's a mixture," Joey said of his fame these days. "They come up to you like they know you or you get, 'I love you in 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' and in 'N Sync.' or 'Hey! You're a Backstreet Boy' or 'Your butt's big! I like your fat ass!' Now I get the moms who like 'Dancing With the Stars' and because of 'Hannah Montana,' it's back with the young girls. I was on the Disney cruise and one of the girls came up and said: 'My friend thinks you're hot!'"

I agree with the friend!

In the past 33 years, only 15 women had ever been ranked number one in the world in tennis, Hall of fame names like Steffi Graf, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Monica Seles. But on Thursday, Ana Ivanovic guaranteed herself membership in that select club by advancing to the French Open final for the second year running. She replaces Maria Sharapova atop the rankings.

Since 1975, when computer rankings were first established, players who have had the longest runs at the top of five years or more are Graf, Navratilova and Evert while Seles, Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport each spent 2-3 years as number one. Both Venus Williams and Serena Williams along with the recently-retired Justine Henin were top-ranked for at least a year or more with shorter runs at the top for Jennifer Capriati, Maria Sharapova, Amelie Mauresmo, Kim Clisters, Tracy Austin, Aranxta Sanchez Vicario and Evonne Goolagong.

Dear Luke Snyder,

You are such a sweet and good loking young guy. When will you see that your boyfriend, Noah, is not worthy of you? In today's episode, you basically saved his life but he was angry with you for interrupting what he thought was some kind of a breakthrough with his murderer father and his green card bride. He chose Ameera over you and it's not the first time. You have got to move on with your life.

Best wishes,

Greg

Here are today's scenes:

Can you imagine of this guy was your waiter? I wouldn't be able to order! I'd probably spill my water then choke on my food so he could save me. It would just be a fiasco.

Anyway, the stylish Mr. David Beckham is pictured her at the opening of Gordon Ramsay's new restaurant in Los Angeles. It's hard to believe Tom (Never missing a photo op these days) Cruise was not present and accounted for.

Listening to Rosie O'Donnell's interview with Howard Stern made me really miss Howard and Robin Quivers who I used to listen to quite frequently before he went to Sirius Radio. Howard is so blunt and inquisitive and fun. They talk about Madonna, Rosie's sex life, Joy Behar, Tom Cruise ("I think he's definitely in a place that he never thougnt he'd be in."), Jane Fonda ("She's so unbelievably present and non-judgmental") Rosie being sexual abused as a child, Howard and Rosie's past misconceptions about each other, Barbara Walters ("We still talk to each other"), Rosie's wife Kelli and kids, Whoopi Goldberg ("Whoopi will not take any crap"), Elisabeth Hasselbeck (They have not spoken since she left the show but they have emailed each other), Paris Hilton ("It's a tragic story") George Bush ("The guy's so pathetically transparent"), Rosie's controversial thoughts on 9/11, Cyndi Lauper and the "True Colors" tour...

On her blog, Rosie wrote of the experience: this morning with howard, enjoyable,
never say never people things change...

Part Two:

Parts 3-5 after the jump...ENJOY!!!

TR Knight showed up at The Abbey last night looking absolutely adorable with his boyfriend Mark Cornelson. He was one of the star attractions of the "Love and Pride" event to gain support in the fight against right wing's ballot initiative which would amend the California constitution and take away the marriage rights just granted by our State Supreme Court.

Before things got underway, TR and I had a chat about gay marriage.
"It's just our fight to uphold the court's ruling. It's what's right, it's one of our fundamental rights," said the Emmy-nominated star of "Grey's Anatomy." "It shouldn't be any different from any other fundamental rights - freedom or religion, freedom of speech. That's not for some, that's for all. We're in a free society."

I wondered where TR was when he got wind of the Supreme Court decision: "I was in the middle of working on a project in my house and I got a phone message from Corey Scholibo over at The Advocate who's a friend of mine. i knew it was happening but I just wasn't aware of the hour. It was just one of those moments where the word astounded fits perfectly. Just so happy."

Used to setbacks in the gay rights movement, it was a wonderful breakthrough, TR said.
"Not to be negative, but there's a lot of disappointment when it comes to things like, for instance, the Matthew Shepard Act which didn't quite survive. You want to be positive and you want to stay positive. You've got to fight for this, to not be second class citizens. To have something good come out of it, to have there be a success, to know that our country is trying to right its wrongs, it's a good thing."

He added: "Thank God they denied the stay (on Wednesday). It's like, 'OK good.' We're starting to operate as thinking human beings. Obviously public opinion is changing. I was just listening to NPR over the day and a gentleman was on, he was a pollster, talking about how over the 30 years how many people were against and how many people were for. And it's changing so much. People are realizing, I think, it's about equality and that's it. Nothing else. It's about our constitution, it's about America, the principles upon which it was founded. It's nothing else. It's so simple."

He will resume taping episodes of "Grey's Anatomy" on June 25 provuded there is not a Screen Actors Guild strike.

"It's a little more of a brief break than usual because we're going to make up for some lost time and I really hope that there's not another strike. I support my union but there a lot of people this affects and it's not just the people in the union. I'm very hopeful that they're going to resolve this because it's not time for another strike."

Kathy Griffin got Lance Bass to drop his pants last night at the taping of Bravo's A-List awards in NYC. People seem surprised at what a great bod Lance has. I'm not. Saw him at a party recently and he was looking awesome.

Jay Leno stopped by The Abbey Wednesday night for the LOVE and PRIDE "Vow to Vote" commitment ceremony benefiting Matthew Shepard's "Erase Hate" Campaign to show his support for gay marriage.

It had been planned long before California's same-sex marriage court decision and served as a kick-off for LA Pride weekend. I will have interviews from other participants including TR Knight and Judy Shepard in a bit.

Leno arrived after the taping of his show wearing jeans, a leather jacket and holding a motorcycle helmet. He cracked: "I'm very underdressed for this." Jay was led around to different photo ops and I stayed close to try and get a quote or two from the Tonight Show host. Suddenly, he was left alone for a few seconds and I pounced. Here is our conversation:

Greg: Thought I'd grab you for a chat while I can.
Jay: Sure, whaddaya wanna know?

Greg: What made you decide to be here?
Jay: I have friends in the gay community, I mean we live in Hollywood. Who doesn't know gay people in Hollywood? So, they asked me to come down and I said, 'Sure!' I mean, what's everybody afraid of?"

Greg: What do you think about gay marriage in California and all that's happened in the last few weeks?
Jay: "Well, I come from Massachusetts and they have it there and the sky didn't fall in, everyone seems to be fine. It;s one of those things where it's a matter of time, you sort of ease into it and you see what happens."

Greg: Do you have any friends who you want to see married?
Jay: Oh, I have a lot of gay friends. We have a couple of gay couples at 'The Tonight Show' who've been together 7,8,9 years. Whether they want to get married or not...Well, the nice thing about gay marriage is you have TWO people excited about the wedding. In straight marriages, only one person is excited. Gay marriage, both persons are excited.
"But you know what's so funny to me, it's how people miss out on the economic benefits just in terms of catering and flowers and planning. The services that come with it. I see all the companies that have benefited from gay travel. If you look at it, gay people have probably the most disposable income of any group and the businesses that cater to them do very well. So it judt seems like common sense. Gas is four bucks a gallon. For me to worry about what Larry and Bob are doing seems sort of ridiculous.

Greg: If (Sen. John) McCain came on your show, would you ask him about gay marriages?
Jay: Yeah. I know what he would say because that's sort of what you have to say. But I think things gradually change and that's what happens. Obviously when you put people on the spot and you confront them and you stick a mic in their face, well, they're gonna say one thing. I don't know what would happen if he become presidentbut I know that you just have to kind of ease into these things. Like I said in Mass., people just got married, no protests, no parade. Just, 'Oh, OK. Life went on."

Greg: Were we too hard on you over the whole Ryan Phillippe thing? (Leno was blasted for asking the actor to give him his "gayest look" while guesting. He latyer apologuzed for any offense)
Jay: "That seemed a little over the top to me, I hacve to admit. Only because it was not my intention. When I've had straight actors on who've played sexy roles, I'll say, 'Give me your sexiest face.' So, when I said it to Ryan, we had said he's a kid from a Baptist community who was now playing a gay part and I said, 'OK, now give me your gayest look' knowing he wouldn't do it. You laugh and OK fine. Obviously it upset some people. Hey loo, I'm an entertainer, sometimes you annoy people, you make people mad. Alright, that happens. But, I really think there are bigger issues than that. That's a classic case where you're not talking about morality or lifestyle, you're just talking about silly stuff."

They started to pull Jay away for a photo op so I asked how he could possibly give up 'The Tonight Show' next year and what would he do instead: "Oh, that's another whole thing, don't worry about it. I'll find a job somewhere. Something will turn up. I'll get on Monster.com."

Before there was TR, Neil Patrick, Luke MacFarlane and all those other wonderful guys who are now out and proud actors, there was Chad Allen. The man who was cruelly outed by a tabloid while starring in "Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman" as a young man, has become an extraordinary actor and spokesman for LGBT causes. His "Donald Strachey" movies for Here! have been terrific and his performance in "Save Me" will finally be seen by the masses this summer. Chad's other roles include a lead in the feature "End of the Spear" and a role in the recently-completed "For Better of for Worse."

He has also been a very busy stage actor and will appear this summer in "Looped" opposite Valerie Harper at Pasadena Playhouse officially opening July 8 and run through Aug. 3.

Chad turns 34 today...Here are some highlights from one of his "Donald Strachey" movies which cast him as a gay private eye.

I did a joint interview with Cameron Mathison and Sherri Shepherd Wednesday afternoon to talk about their co-hosting the Daytime Emmys Awards on June 20 and they were on fire - talking over each other and making making me and themselves laugh.

Sherri is all jokes and Cameron is full of energy. Since this formidable pair are just too much for one column, I'll focus on him first and write about Sherri next week.

Cameron, 38, has played Ryan Lavery on 'All My Children' for nearly 10 years and has long been one of the most popular actors on daytime television. He just roles with each storyline, including his current one which has his character suffering from amnesia.

"I love my job and I love my life here on the show," he said. "This place has become a second home and a second family. It would take something pretty astounding to get me to leave 'All My Children.'"

Sherri suddenly interjected with her own ideas of what kind of roles Cameron should take away from the show: "I'd like to see you as a houseboy on 'Desperate Housewives' roaming around the bushes or as a patient on 'Grey's Anatomy,' naked."

Those Daytime Emmys are gonna be scandalous!

Cameron is used to being objectified though, especially after his successful stint last fall on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars." when he waltzed and fox-trotted his way to a fifth-place finish. He flew cross-country regularly to do "Dancing" in Los Angeles and "Children" in New York and gained more fans than ever.

"I do have a lot of energy, I've worked hard and come a long way," he said. "These opportunities come up and I feel a little pressure to take advantage of them while I can."
Cameron's charisma and good looks have landed him various hosting gigs including the new show "Your Place or Mine" which premieres Sunday on the TLC channel.

"It was really strange to go from ignoring the camera to looking into them," he said. "For me, it is something that has become so comfortable and exciting in my life."

Each week on "Place," two families compete for a chance to win brand-new furnished rooms for their homes, or for the ability to steal rooms from their competitors.
"It's a cross between a game show and a reality show," said Cameron. "I've never hosted this kind of show before. It's a lot of information, the game is complicated, and I've got someone talking in my ear. It's a really great challenge. It keeps me sharp."

Cameron is famous for his lean but muscular physique. So much so that it was big news when tabloid photos were snapped of him carrying a couple of calorie-laden donuts in his hand.

"I saw that picture!" he said, laughing. "I work out and I try to stay active and fit so I can enjoy certain foods that I like to eat. I try to keep everything in moderation. I used to be insane about it. By the way, when I grabbed those donuts, I had just finished working out."

Roger Federer turned back the stiff challenge of Fernando Gonzalez at the French Open today to advance to the semifinals for the fourth straight year of the only major tournament he's never won.

Roger wants this title badly and at 27, his chances diminish every year he comes up short. It's been like a recurring nightmare with Rafael Nadal eliminating him in the 2005 semifinals and 2006 and 2007 finals - each time in four sets. Let's hope something different happens this time. My friend Henry, Roger's biggest fan, just had a birthday and my hope is that Federer can deliver him the gift of a French Open win.

This is so funny...Anyone know what a "Boo" is???

All we have to do is look at pictures of TR Knight and his cutie pie boyfriend Mark Cornelson to see that they are crazy about each other. But the "Grey's Anatomy" star told US Weekly that they are not ready to exchange vows:

"To clarify, we are not having a commitment ceremony," TR said. "once you are given something that you were never allowed before, you realize how much of a second class person you were before. That is horrible and fantastic at the same time. It makes me want to sob and scream with joy all at the same time."

LA Weekly has been doing a terrific job covering the gay marriage issue and I got this update emailed to me written by staff writer Patrick Range McDonald:
This morning, the California Supreme Court denied a request to rehear its May 15 ruling that legalized same sex marriage. Gay and lesbian couples can now wed, starting on June 17--the date set by the state. Now it's only a question if county clerks throughout California can quickly change the fine print on marriage licenses from a "husband" and "wife" to "spouse" and "spouse."

The most recent ruling by the supreme court was handed down by the same four judges who found Proposition 22--the successful 2000 initiative that dedicated marriage only between a man and a woman--unconstitutional. Once again, Chief Justice Ronald George led the majority opinion.

Any gay or lesbian couple from anywhere in the United States will be allowed to marry in California, which state officials and gay activists believe will attract thousands of out-of-state gays. New York State officials have already announced they will recognize gay marriage if their residents say their nuptials in California and return back to the Empire State. Many other states are concerned that gays will wed in California, return home, and then file lawsuits. For gay rights lawyers, the next several months should be very interesting.

Calfornia voters, though, will have the last say on same sex unions this November, when an anti-gay marriage ballot measure will be put in front of them. Already, both sides of the issue are raising millions of dollars in donations to win the battle, which will be watched by the national and world media. For the gay rights movement and the religious right, it may be the single most important turning point in both their histories.

At some point, I'll have to start ignoring the beyotch that is Rupert Everett who still seems to be angry about not having Hugh Grant's career. In an interview withg Radio Times, here is what the one-time movie star ("My Best Friends Wedding") had to say about Americans:

"I'm totally off the States now. The reaction to 9/11 and then George Bush - really, they've got very blobby as a nation. Now they [the Americans] are whiny victims whose language is entirely taken from two TV shows - Friends and Sex And The City - and there's nothing sexy about them any more. And that kind of semi-blindness about the rest of the world, which was attractive when America was exciting, is really unattractive now."

Ironically, everything that was attractive about Rupert is unattractive now...

...the sensational Sam Harris who turns 46 today!

I love, love, love Sam whose musical gifts are off the charts. We got to know him on the original ":Star Search" all those years ago and he went on to conquer Broadway and become best pals with Liza Minnelli, Rosie O'Donnell and Bridget Moynahan. Sam was the best thing about the CBS comedy "The Class" (I still miss Perry Pearl) and is making a talk show pilot for Lifetime. He's also a new dad.

It must be so fun being Sam...

That Rosie O'Donnell. She can make you laugh, she can make you mad and she can make you cry.

I got choked up reading this recap of the kick-off concert of Cyndi Lauper's True Colors Tour in Boston on AfterElton.com which included this section on Rosie's appearance: The majority of her act was dedicated to the memory of her mother and how being a mom herself has shown her the similarities between all human beings. She left the stage with a heartfelt and teary goodbye, telling the audience to be on the lookout for the spirit of her mother in the crowd as she's always believed that her mom was sitting in the audience of each and every performance of her life. It was a touching moment from someone the media often portrays very differently and the crowd really seemed to embrace her emotional openness.

Gay pride weekend in LA starts in just a few days. So much to do, so little time. Several friends in from out of town, parties, events. One of the most exciting things will be the first-ever appearance of Olivia Newton-John who will sing in concert Sunday night. I can't believe she's nearly 60! I was just reading an interview with her in Frontiers Magazine's Pride issue and was remembering all those Olivia hits from my youth. My faves: "Have You Never Been Mellow," "I Honestly Love You," "Pleae Mr. Please," "Suddenly" (duet w/Cliff Ritchie) and, of course, the songs from "Grease" including "You're the One That I Want" and "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and a few of those early-80s hits: "Physical" and "Heart Attack."

She promises to sing a lot of the hits and has some other surprises up her sleeve for Sunday. Here are a few excerpts from her interview with Frontiers editor Jeremy Kinser.

On her Aussie gay vs. American gay fans: "I think gay men, no matter where they are from, are some of the most loyal fans any artist can have and I feel lucky to have so many."

On playing a trashy ex-con lesbian in the movie and upcoming TV series "Sordid Lives": "Having the opportunity to play Bitsy (Mae Harling) was so much fun because she is so much different from who I am in my normal life. Del Shores is brilliant when it comes to creating characters that have both humor and heart. As a director, he really gave me the freedom to make the most of Bitsy and her 'sordid' past. I think of her as Sandy 2 from 'Grease' gone really wrong! (laughs)."
Will there ever be a 'Grease' sequel reuniting Olivia with John Travolta? "There has been talk of that for many years and for as much fun as it would probably be to make, I think the time has passed for a 'Grease' sequel. It is very difficult to have magic like that happen twice. Now I'm not saying I wouldn't if the right opportunity came along. (John) is a wonderful actor, extremely talented, and a close friend."

On her big screen musical, "Xanadu," which flopped in 1980 but became a cult hit and current Broadway show: "The music was and is fantastic and I truly believe the film was ahead of its time. (High School Musical director) Kenny Ortega was our choreographer and even back in 1980, he incorporated street dancers, skaters, and all types of dance elements that were so ahead of their time. I also think the costumes and fantasy element of the movie helped to make it such a campy cult film. For some reason, the gay community really connects with 'Xanadu'!

I just don't care right now. Noah is so darned maddening. He gets set up by his crazy dad and double-crossed by the feds (I think they're feds), Luke gets knocked out. They're all still in NYC...blah, blah, blah. Here's the clip...

...tennis stud Rafael Nadal. When I posted a picture earlier today of Rafa after his quarterfinal win at the French Open, I forgot to mention that he also turned 22 years old today. Two appears to be his lucky number - or unlucky deoending on hows you look at it - he has been the number two ranked player in the world for longer than any other male player in history (three full years) but has never been ranked number one.

Joy Behar is not only a very funny woman, but the longtime co-host of "The View" is never without an opinion. So it was a real kick having a phone chat with her Wednesday morning after she finished taping that day's episode of the chatfest she has been a part of for 11 years.

The most popular part of "The View" is the Hot Topics segment where Joy and her fellow co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Sherri Shepherd and on some days Barbara Walters tackle the biggest issues of the day in spirited fashion. So I tossed out various hot topics for Joy to comment on during our chat:

Hillary Clinton's campaign for president: "It's a terrific thing for young women and little girls to see. When I was growing up, I never gave it a thought that I could be president. When girls were asked what they wanted to be, they would say a nurse or something which is very laudable profession but no one reached as high as the presidency. Now we look at this and say, 'Yeah, we can do it. Even if (Hillary Clinton) doesn't do it, she's setting the stage."

The gay-marriage battle in California: "I don't particularly want to get married myself but if people want to do it, I say go ahead and do it. When gas goes up to $8 a gallon this summer, very few people will care if gays get married or not. It's absolutely a non-issue to me. The idea that it is is beyond my comprehension.

On maybe winning an Emmy after 11 losses in the talk show host category: "We never have won it and I don't believe we will win it. No one on a talk show with a partner has ever won. The votes get split. Regis (Philbin) won the year he was alone. I don't really put a lot of stake in awards. I won the spelling award in junior high school. That's when I peaked."

On the popularity of "The View": "You never really know what's going on out there. You get on television and say a certain thing and there's no way to judge the impact. It has been rather surprising and illuminating that we've been this influential."

On Whoopi Goldberg: "I like her very much. She's a doll, she's a nice person, very amiable, generous, easy to get along with. Not tempermental."

On political opposite Elisabeth Hasselbeck, a staunch conservative: "I don't feel that we are actually fighting. Elisabeth and I have been doing this for years and never, ever had an unkind word. We are friends and it's been a very nice ride with her. She's not a mean girl. She has these particular politics that don't agree with mine."

On Barbara Walters' best-selling memior "Audition": "I thought it was very well done. She's a better writer than I ever thought. Who knew? She writes for television but to write a whole book like that, it was so illuminating and honest. She's had a most interesting life."

Joy is now the pitchwoman for Kraft Bagel-fuls. I reminded her that the last time she endorsed something, it was the Jenny Craig weight loss program! So now she's eating carbs?

She laughed and pointed out that "they're not fattening, especially the whole wheat ones. I've kept the weight off pretty much."

Alec Mapa is such a hoot. He makes me laugh ih that way that you struggle to catch your breath in time before he says something else hilarious. He is in NYC right now and had a chat with BroadwayWorld.com. Here is a LINK to it and I've excerpted a few of my favorite parts.

Q. Welcome to NY. When was the last time you were in town?
MAPA: I was in town a couple months ago as a presenter at the GLAAD awards. I co presented the Vanguard award to MTV President Brian Graden with Randy Jackson. It was very glam. Randy and I sat at a table right next to Barbara Walters and stared at her like she was a painting. As long as I'm name dropping I got to hang out with my friends Alan Cumming and Tim Gunn and I got to meet Cheyenne Jackson! I'm so queer for him, it's almost stalker-ish.. He said he was a fan and I got so excited I almost threw up.

Q.: How does it feel to be such an open advocate for gay rights in the community?
MAPA: I live in LA which is a big gay bubble but when I'm in Ohio, Colorado or the deep south - anyplace where people don't feel safe to be their authentic selves 24/7 I realize that being an out person in the mainstream media makes an enormous difference. I get tons of MySpace messages from gay teens and they all say "Thank You for being yourself. It's made me braver in my own life." That sends me to the moon.

Q. You have been getting a lot of exposure from your appearances on Ugly Betty and Desperate Housewives. What has it been like for you?
MAPA: I was on a UPN sitcom called Half an Half for four years that no white person ever saw. So, I Used To be a celebrity that only African Americans recognized. I was on Ugly Betty and DH for just one season and now white people go bananas too. As soon as I secure that Pakistani demographic, I'll be covered.

Q: I remember the first time I saw you in the film Connie and Carla as n'Cream, which is one of my favorite films. Do many people still recognize you from that role?
MAPA: I get recognized for that movie in the most random places. The Bazaar in Istanbul, a biker bar in Santa Cruz, a pub in the West End. It was a box office flop, but a very loving cult has grown around that movie. I'm so glad because singing and dancing in a dress next to Debbie Reynolds was the most fun I've ever had doing anything.

Q: And I just read that you're going to be in the new Adam Sandler movie, You Don't Mess With The Zohan! What is your character in this and how was it working on the film?
MAPA: I play a hairdresser who teaches Adam, a former Israeli anti terrorist agent how to cut bangs. Adam and I went to NYU together and we always liked each other because neither one of us ever got cast in any plays. Working on that movie made me feel like the biggest homo on the planet because it was all straight guys and me . The crew liked me because I made them giggle. Sometimes it's fun being the only girl.

...that silver fox, Anderson Cooper. The CNN anchor turns 41 today and I hope he has a lot of fun celebrating. I think Anderson is smart and sexy and have chosen not to badger him about being more forthcoming about his personal life. I hope he's happy and I'm glad he's out there telling stories and filling in for Regis every once in awhile.

I just love that after a tennis match, some of the male players like to give each other loving glances or a big hug. I'm still waiting for the day when two of them approach the net after match point and start to full-on make out. Think it'll ever happen?

Anyway, it was just hugs (no kisses) at the French Open earlier today when Rafael Nadal improved his record in Paris to a perfect 26-0 and got a congratulatory embrace by his quarterfinal opponent Nicolas Almagro who won only THREE games from the Spanish hulk. Nadal will no doubt face a much tougher match in the semifinals when he goes up against Novak Djokovic (below) who reached his second French semifinal in a row with a tough win over Ernests Gulbis.

When NBC's new version of "Knight Rider" makes its debut as a series this fall, it has the advantage of having the talented Bruce Davison as a member of the cast.

"I get to be dad and I get to be the inventor and sort of be right in the middle of a lot of it," Bruce told me recently.

His character of Charles Graiman is an eccentric physicist who creates the Knight Industries Three Thousand, the second generation KITT.

"Get ready, there's going to be a lot of new stuff," he said of the revival. "It's going to be a lot of fun which is what we're looking forward to more than anything. KITT's back and he's bad!"

Bruce, who turns 62 on June 28, is a handsome guy who has often been cast as a politician. But he learned early on that character actors get the most work and he now has more than 150 film and TV credits to his name.

He is best-known for his movie roles, which include an Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning performance in 1990's "Longtime Companion," playing Lucille Ball's nephew in the movie version of "Mame," starring in the original version of "Willard" and playing a U.S. senator and his imposter in the first two "X-Men" movies.

I wondered if he had ever seen the 2003 remake of "Willard" which cast Crispin Glover in the title role as a lonely man with an unusual connection to rats. Davison's version was a cult hit back in 1972 and even spawned a sequel, "Ben," with a famous title song sung by a young Michael Jackson.

"I never got to see it; I was out of the country the year it was running," he said of the remake. "My son recently saw (the original) and he said he didn't know what all the hoopla was about. It didn't scare him."

Bruce's most celebrated role, as a gay man whose lover dies of AIDS in "Longtime Companion," still stands out.

"It's certainly one of the closest things to my heart. It was quite a wonderful piece. Now the director's gone and others are, but Craig Lucas wrote a wonderful script and it was a great opportunity to be part of it."

Television and stage have provided the most steady work for Bruce. He was a regular in "Harry and the Hendersons" in the late 1980s, had recurring roles on "The Practice," "Kingdom Hospital" and "The L Word" and most recently did two seasons of the CBS drama "Close to Home."

Bruce made his Broadway debut back in 1968 and went on to star as John Merrick in "The Elephant Man" and in "The Glass Menagerie" opposite four-time Tony winner Jessica Tandy.

So after all these years and all the projects he's been involved with, I wondered if Bruce was still having a good time. His answer came easily: "It's never been better."

Chace who? Penn Badgely shows in this video for InStyle that he not only looks smoking hot in a wet T-shirt, he is also smart and sexy. Take a look.

My biggest disaapointment in Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton is that neither of them have had the guts to support same-sex marriage. As a gay person, this is the most important issue of all. So when the California Supreme Court ruling last month lifted the ban, neither of these candidates could change course.

The alternative newspaper LA Weekly has an article coming out this week focusing on Obama and the gay marriage issue. Here is a statement his campaign has released on the topic:

"Barack Obama has always believed that same-sex couples should enjoy equal rights under the law, and he will continue to fight for civil unions as President. He respects the decision of the California Supreme Court, and continues to believe that states should make their own decisions when it comes to the issue of marriage."

On the issue of constitutional amendments, Senator Obama has been on record for some time: He opposes all divisive and discriminatory constitutional amendments, state or federal. That includes the proposed amendments in California and Florida."

Gee, thanks.

George Takei, who after the California Supreme Court ruling that legalized samesex marriage, quickly announced last month that he would wed his partner Brad Altman, has set a wedding date of September 14.

You can expect some of his former "Star Trek" castmates to be among the guests.

"The best man is my colleague from Star Trek, Walter Koenig, who played Chekov, and the matron of honor is (Lt.) Uhura, Nichelle Nichols," George told People.com Monday."And Leonard (Nimoy) and his wife Susan are on the (guest) list."

George told People about the proposal: "We knew that the (California State) Supreme Court was going to be coming down with their ruling" legalizing gay marriage. (We'd heard) that it was probably going to be positive. So I was planning on asking Brad to get married. We were at home in the kitchen and we had the TV going, and when the word came down suddenly Brad got on his knees in front of me and I said, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'George, will you marry me?' I said 'Yes. You beat me to it. I meant to ask you.'"

People reports that the wedding will be a formal affair at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles (Takei is one of its founders.) and will reflect the couple's eclectic taste as well as their respective backgrounds. (They have been together for 21 years). Scottish bagpipes will play during the ceremony and a Mexican-American Buddhist minister will officiate. They've ordered matching Native American turquoise and silver rings. And the wedding dinner will feature fusion Japanese-Mexican cuisine

George currently has a recurring role on NBC's "Heroes" and is a regular on radio's "Howard Stern Show." He will appear in the new Adam Sandler comedy movie "You Don't Mess with the Zohan" which opens this weekend.

When I was in Palm Springs over the weekend, I picked up a copy of Passport, the gay travel magazine, and most enjoyed an interview with Kathy Griffin inside. Here are a few highlights:

Q. Let's do some free-asociation. Bette or Cher?
A. Oh! Did you see that movie with Meryl Streep, 'Sophie's Choice'? That's what this is like. Pass...pass!

Q. Botox or Restylane?
A. Botox. I tried Restylane once and it gave me bumps. Although, can I just go on record? I have had NOTHING for five years. I'm so tired of hearing I'm 'plastic surgerized.' Granted, I had some s**t done, but look, watch my forehead. (wrinkles foreheard). I can make full expressions. The only person in LA who can do it.

Q. Oprah or Dr. Phil?
A. Oprah! I would even do Gayle over Dr. Phil.

Q. Speedos or board shorts on a man?
A. "Board shorts, but remember I'm thinking straight guy, and it's not so kind to make the straight guys put on a Speedo. It's a little more loving to let them wear a board short.

Q. Obama or Hillary?
A. Oh boy. This is tricky. I don't want to piss off the lesbians. I voted for Hillary during the priimaries but now I'm leaning toward Obama.

Q. Diamonds or cash?
A. I'm gonna go cash because I'm still nervous about the blood diamond thing.

I think Jake Gyllenhaal is adorable, a wonderful actor and seems like a sweet person. So it's no surprise that he would lead the hot 100 poll conducted by AfterElton.com for the second year running or that the out and hot John Barrowman is the second-place finisher. But I'm most thrilled about Luke Macfarlane's debut on the list at number three!!! He's also an out actor making four of the top 10 gay men. (the others are Neil Patrick Harris (#5 and Cheyenne Jackson #4)

Here are a few other out men that I am glad made the list but you must go to AfterElton.com to see the complete list and to enjoy the absolute buiffet of hot photos they have selected. It is a feast for the eyes!

Randy Harrison, who we fell in love with on "Queer as Folk," was number 32. He has established himself as a stage actor since the series ended.

JP Calderon of "Survivor" and "Janice Dickerson Modeling Agency" fame was ranked 73...If people had voted just from this photo, he woulda been top 5!

Other out dudes on the list include Chad Allen, Robert Gant, TR Knight. Thomas Roberts, Rufus Wainwright, Peter Paige, and Tom Ford. Of course, other men on the list are known to b e gay but they are not out publicly so AfterElton does not identify them that way and neither do I. Would be nice though if by next year, they will be out and proud! It helps all of us.

American heartthrob Robby Ginepri's surprisingly strong showing at the French Open ended earlier today when he lost to the Fernando Gonzalez in a fourth-round match. Still, being the last American standing must have done wonders for Robby's confidence as he works to improve his ranking. It was three years ago that he made it to the semifinals of the US Open so we know he can play with the big boys.

"A disappointing performance on my part today, to not have my A game when I really expected it to be there," Ginepri said in a post-match interview. "At the same time, it was great last week and great tournament. I'll probably be a little bit more happy tomorrow, but at the moment I'm a little discouraged with the way it went today."

With his green tennis outfits and bulging biceps, Rafael Nadal reminds me of the hulk. He won his 25th consecutive match at Roland Garros on Sunday giving him a perfect 25-0 record at the French Open. That is a stretch that includes three titles in Paris and a quarterfinal run so far this year. But if anyone can snap the heady streak, it's Novak Djokovic who also won Sunday and will play Nadal, who turns 22 on Tuesday, in Friday's semifinals if they both make it that far.

I'm not sure if I'm posting these pictures of Tony-winning "The Boy from Oz" starHugh Jackman out in the ocean because of him or because of his hot companion. Who is that guy?

And just in case you want to see Hugh with his clothes on, thought I'd share this clip of him performing at the 2004 Tony Awards...

Got home from Palm Springs just in time to watch the new prime-time Password. It was fun but not like the show I remember. This is so fast-paced which is a far different tone than the original. But, time marches on and I quickly adjusted to the new scene.

At one point after a loud music intro, guest star Neil Patrick Harris said: "I feel like I'm in 'Cats!'

In the second game, NPH was paired with a hottie bartender with gorgeous big, blue eyes named Eric Greenlund, who needed the prize money because someone had broken into his apartment and stole some loot. Eric is from Providence, R.I. and his nickname is E-Rock. I'm not sure why.

When host Regis Philbin asked Eric what he did for a living, he said: "I make drinks of loooove." I thought that was kinda hot. Eric won and got to play for the big money with NPH. After each successful round, they'd do knuckles. The knuckle clash was so fierce after the $50,000 round, they almost knocked each other over. When Eric won $100,000, NPH signaled that it was time for a hug. E-Rock looked absolutely crestfallen when he just missed out on winning $250,000 and because of that failure, his winnings were reduced to $25,000.

I thought he was gonna cry.

By the way, I found this gem of a clip from "Super Password" in 1980. What a line-up! It was Allen Ludden as host and the celebrity guest stars are Lucille Ball and Dick Martin. Dick, who died just last week, co-starred with Miss Ball during the first - and best - seasdn of "The Lucy Show." And here's the kicker about this clip: one of the contestants is a pre-fame Kirstie Alley who identifies herself as an "interior designer."

Madeline Zima is really bad on Showtime's "Californication."

I'm not talking about her acting, of course. Her character, Mia Lewis, is a scheming Lolita who wreaks absolute havoc with David Duchovny's life. Madeline is so good at playing bad that I had no idea she was the same sweet girl who played Grace Sheffield for six seasons on "The Nanny."

"I couldn't believe when I got the role because I'm so different from the character," she said when we chatted few days ago. "I tricked everyone into believing I'm this sexy, destructive, ruthless person. It's amazing that I pulled that off. I've always played the sweet girl-next-door character. It's interesting to see the world through those kind of eyes for a little while. Anytime I have to say something rude, it's like, "Really?" But then I have to re-invest every week a new amount of non-judgment and leaving my own personal values at the door. She's so young still and doesn't fully understand the
consequences of her actions."

And her actions during season one, which becomes available on DVD on June 17, were jaw-dropping. In the very first episode, she seduces Duchovny's character of novelist Hank Moody by convincing him that she is a college student and not the worldly 16-year-old daughter of his ex-wife's fiancee. And just so he'll never forget their tryst, during sex she slugs him in the face.

"When I did the scene, I thought I was doing nudity one time. But every week in the recap, the punch is there," said the 22-year-old actress. "They made (the punch) look pretty good. I came dangerously close but I never connected with his mug at all."

Working opposite Duchovny (she later steals his recently-completed novel and passes it off on her own) has been a freeing experience creatively for the young actress who more than holds her own opposite the Emny winner.

"I'm like a little impish girl and play such a Goliath," she said. "It's so funny. I love working with David. He's so funny and brings such a relaxed and open attitude to the set. If you have an idea and want to improvise, whatever's funny goes. Everyone on the show is wonderful. I've never worked on such an amazing group of people - so creative and open and not stuck in one way of doing things. It's a wonderful blessing and a dream."

"Californication" could not be more different in content and tone than "The Nanny," the CBS sitcom starring Fran Drescher that ended its run in 1999. Her character of Grace was the youngest of three children being raised by their father (Charles Shaughnessy) and their nanny (Drescher).

"I was so young," she said of that gig. "I didn't really truly enjoy acting until I worked in later things, not until I was 12."

She hasn't seen the cast since the 2004 TV special "The Nanny Reunion: A Nosh to Remember." But some of them do keep in touch: "I see Nicolle (Tom) every now and again, we've always been close. I absolutely adore her. I went to Ben (Salisbury's) wedding and talk to Charlie on MySpace. But I haven't seen Fran since the reunion."

So how did Madeline - who has racked up an impressive resume of film and television credits in the near-decade since "The Nanny" - manage the often tricky transition from child star to adult actress?

"I guess persistence and hard work," she said. "There's no such thing as an overnight success, just people doing what they love and never giving up. I just never gave up."

Well, so much for those prognosticators who thought "Sex and the City" had limited box office appeal. The movie exceeded expectations with an estimated $55.7 million in ticket sales which almost matches its $65 million production budget.

Here in Palm Springs where I've been on a little holiday, the flick starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Catrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis has been a smash. A couple here at La Dolce Vita Resort went Friday night and said they sat between groups of straight women and gay men (the men brought Cosmos in a thermos). They were still so swept up in the spirit of the movie that they made Cosmos for some of us yesterday afternoon at the pool.

Anyway, "Sex" relegated "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" to second place in its second weekend. It grossed an estimated $46 million. But don't cry for Harrison Ford and company, the adventure flick has grossed $216.9 million so far, and that's just domestically.

I sometimes question why certain "stars" are honored on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Olsen twins? Britney Spears? Kinda robs the whole thing of credibility. But then it gets restored somewhat when a great actress like Holly Hunter is given a star to call her own. The Oscar winner ("The Piano) is the star of such films as "Broadcast News," "Raising Arizona," "Living Out Loud" and "Thirteen." She currently stars in the TNT series "Saving Grace" and won two Emmy awards for "Roe V. Wade" and "The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader Murdering Mom."

Helping Holly celebrate her star on Friday were tennis legend Billie Jean King and director Steven Spielberg (with wife Kate Capsaw). Holly was Emmy-nominated for her performance as BJK in the television film "When Billie Beat Bobby" and Spielberg directed her in the terrific 1989 flick "Always."

John Amaechi, the first British player to have a career in the elite American basketball league the NBA, has been named an Olympic ambassador for Amnesty International.

John, who will be in Beijing for the Olympics, came out last year in terrific his book "Man in the Middle." He said in a statement: "I welcome the opportunity to work with Amnesty International and invite others in the sports community to join me in giving voice to the millions who remain oppressed in China. As we celebrate the pride of our Olympians, let us not ignore those who are executed, tortured and ill-treated as they fight for their freedom of expression and fight against the restrictions placed upon them as individual people by their own government. Those with influence must not sit by idly as atrocities are committed by the powerful towards the oppressed. Let us join together in giving voice to the people of China until they can speak without reprisal for themselves."

John played on the England team that won bronze in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne He is also only the sixth professional athlete from the four major American sports to come out as gay, and the first in the NBA.