Recently in Birthdays Category

As the saucy, slutty Blanche for seven seasons on "The Golden Girls" (and don't forget the one season of "The Golden Palace"), Rue McClanahan became an Emmy winner and a gay icon for playing waaaay against type. Betty White had played the slutty Sue Ann Nivens on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" while Rue was to play sweet and childlike Rose. But in the end, thankfully, they switched roles and the rest is history.
She currently stars in "Sordid Lives: The Series" as Peggy Ingram and previously starred with her "Golden Girls" co-star Bea Arthur for six seasons on the classic 70s sitcom "Maude."

When I spoke with Miss Arthur a few months back, she shared a funny anecdote about her friend: "When we started 'Golden Girls' and Rue, my darling Rue, suddenly found herself a so-called TV star. I remember she couldn't believe that I did my own grocery shopping! But I did and would usually meet Angela (Lansbury) in produce."

Here's one of her funniest "Golden" scenes as a delirious Blanche who has not slept in days. It is, an absolute a scream:

I was just checking out Dlisted and saw this photo of Dame Edna (aka Barry Humphries) and it scared the crap outa me! It really did. I jumped back from the screen.

Anyway, Edna, er Barry, turns 75 years old today so we wish the Dame a very happy birthday...

...this great star of stage, screen and television turns 65 years old today. Yes, Rizzo is 65! My favorite line of her's in "Grease" is this: "Sorry French!" My friend Brent can deliver it perfectly.

But Stockard Channing is so much more than the fabulous Betty Rizzo. She's a Tony winner with an impressive Broadway resume, a three-time Emmy winner including a win for her role as the First Lady on "West Wing," and she earned an Oscar nomination for best actress for her - in my opinion - best performance ever in "Six Degrees of Seperation."

Miss Channing, who I've had the pleasure of interviewing a few times, has done so many projects with LGBT characters and themes and I want to highlight some of them here: she won the Emmy for her portrayal of Judy Shepard in "The Matthew Shepard Story," won a Daytime Emmy for her role in "Jack" as a mom who helps her son understand why his father (and her husband) left their family for another man, and in "The Truth About Jane" she played the mother of a lesbian teen who has great difficulty accepting her daughter's sexuality.

Then there was an Emmy nomination a few years back for terrific sitcom "Out of Practice" which was criminally cancelled after just one season. One of her three children in the show was played by Christopher Gorham who we love and the daughter in the show was an outspoken lesbian played by Paula Marshall.

So whether it's LGBT themed stuff or just camp like "Isn't She Great" and "The Girl Most Likely To..." Stockard Channing is the bomb! Below is a scene from the 1973 cult fave "Girl Most Likely To" (written by Joan Rivers) starring Stockard as a former ungly duckling who cleverly kills all the people who were mean to her in high school:

And finally, here are some scenes from the wonderful "Out of Practice." Enjoy!

I haven't always been ensconced in the world of Hollywood.

Back in my 20s, I spent several years living just blocks from the ocean in Newport Beach then Huntington Beach so I'm a sucker for a surfer in a wetsuit. I even got a press pass to what was then called the OP Pro in the late 1980s (I think it's now called the US Open) and was just mesmerized by a guy named Tom Curren.

So I remain mildly interested in the sport (and the wetsuits) to this day and was surprised that last year I read all of Kelly Slater's autobiography "Pipe Dreams." It was all about his life traveling the world on the surfing tour and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Kelly is movie star handsome and even though he did once date Pamela Anderson, he seems like a cool person. He has won more surfing titles than anyone else including a record NINE world championships. The first came when he was just 20 and the most recent was last fall when he was 36.

Kelly turns 37 years old today...

We should all send cards to the great Carole King today for providing us with so much of the music that is part of the soundtrack of our lives.
The singer-songwriter turns 67 years old today, is still in fine voice and even has her own record label: Rockingale Records.

I've had several periods in my life where I've just played her "Tapestry" album over and over and over again and seen this dynamo of a live performer twice in concert.

Carole's big hits include "You've Got a Friend" which is the video above as well as "It's Too Late," "Jazzman," "I Feel the Earth Move," "So Far Away," "Sweet Seasons," "Only Love is Real," "Where You Lead ("I Will Follow") and "Smackwater Jack."

But she has written a big batch of hits for other people and fortunately, has also recorded her own versions of them. They include Aretha Franklin's "Natural Woman," "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" recorded by The Shirelles, "Take Good Care of My Baby" by Bobby Vee, "The Loco-Motion" which had hit versions by Little Eva and Grand Funk Railroad, "Go Away Little Girl" recorded by Steve Lawrence and later by Donny Osmond, "One Fine Day" by the Cliftons, and "Up on the Roof" by The Drifters,

Here are two more songs from this music legend:

It brings tears to my eyes when I think about what Judith Light has meant to the LGBT community for so many years. She's given us more than her love - she's given her time and her name to countless causes.

I'll never forget a few summers back at Outfest when she was participating in an "Ugly Betty" panel and when they introduced her, the ovation was long and heartfelt and dwarfed the applause for America Fererra, Vanessa Williams or any of the show's other stars.

She is a woman who was horrfied by the AIDS epidemic and the government's lack of action when people, including her friends, were dying. She was one of the first celebrities, way back in the early 80s, to step-up and help to raise money and awareness.

"I've been part of the really dark days," Judith told me at the Ribbon of Hope event back in 2007. "How it feels now is it feels mildly better but it's not enough. I know that people are working really hard to make it be different and that's what we have to keep doing ...[HIV/AIDS is) out there and it's not over."

I love what Judith said at another awards show earlier that year about gay people: "You are my teachers, you are my role models. You risk everything to be authentic. Do you know how rare that is in this culture? ...People who are out and who are willing to risk in order to lead."

Love ya Judith!

...the great star, who is in need of a kidney transplant now, turns 59 years old today. Natalie, the winner of eight Grammys, has long been a fave of mine and it all began with her first hit: "This Will Be." That was over 30 years ago!

Natalie has had career ups and downs and personal ups and downs but she has endured and become what we gay men love: a survivor!

She's a real Broadway baby and she turns 84 years old today.

There are probably those who only know Elaine Stritch from her Emmy-winning role as Alec Baldwin's mother on "30 Rock." If so, that's a darn shame because she is one of the most dynamic performers to ever hit the Broadway stage. She won the Tony for her one-woman show "Live at Liberty" and let's face it, no one can sing "Ladies Who Lunch" from "Company" the way Miss Stritch can.

Enjoy this video:

Sorry for the lack of posts. Technical problems trying to post from home. Gotta find out what's going on! Anyway, I'm in the newsroom now and have many, many items for you so kieep checking back.

I want to first of all, wish a very happy birthday the the great Joan Baez who an all-time fave and has the voice of an angel.

The gays love Diane Keaton best in "Baby Boom" and the absolute best in "First Wives Club" with Bette Midler and Goldie Hawn. But, of course, there is so much more to celebrate about the Oscar winner's film career as she turns 63 years old today.
There's the brilliant comic actress in "Annie Hall," "Baby Boom," "First Wives" and opposite Jack Nicholson in the glorious "Something's Gotta Give" (pictured, left) which earned Keaton the Golden Globe Award and her fourth Oscar nomination (She won in 1978 for "Annie Hall"). And then there also the first-rate dramatic actress who played Al Pacino's wife in the "Godfather" trilogy, the Oscar nominated performances in "Reds" and "Marvin's Room") and lesser-known gems including the dramas "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" and "Shoot the Moon" and the wonderful comedy-mystery "Manhattan Murder Mystery" opposite Woody Allen.

Always interesting to watch in films, Keaton is often even more interesting as herself. I found this 2003 interview with Lesley Stahl really sums up her life and career well...

It's so rare that a star who is this gorgeous is also such a major talent. His curremt hit ABC show "Private Practice" has finally given him some small screen success but it doesn't give him the kind of showcase he deserves. Taye, who turns 38 today, is one of the original stars of "Rent" and returned for the movie version. The clip below is the film's opening number.

The seven-time Emmy winner turns 71 today.

She is forever young thanks to the seven seasons of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show." She also has some dramatic chops earning an Oscar nomination for "Ordinary People" and an Emmy for "Stolen Babies."

But comedy is what she did best as you can see in this clip from my favorite episode of all time:from her sitcom: "Chuckles Bites the Dust."

...the kid turns 18 today. Here he is singing the song that announced to the world that a major talent had arrived: "Imagine."

This talented actor, who came out at 19 while co-starring on ABC's "My So-Called Life," turns 35 years old today!

Whether starring on Broadway ("Rent") or on television ("Noah's Arc," "Raising the Bar," "Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World," "Party of Five") or in films ("Coffee Date," "He's Just Not That Into You," "Bam Bam and Celeste," "Party Monster"), the gifted and authentic Wilson is one of the great talents.

Happy Birthday!!!

...Reichen Lehmkuhl who turns 35 today!

The first winner of CBS' "Amazing Race" (with former partner Chip Arndt), Reichen has managed to remain in the limelight in a variety of ways since "Race": writing a book ("Here's What We'll Say"), being an actor ("Dante's Cove"), having his own calendar and line of jewelry, and dating Lance Bass for awhile. He's now with the equally gorgeous Ryan Barry, writing a column for Advocate.com and, I hope, starting a new season on "Dante's" soon! He's also cooked up something called The Real Reichen, a web com that allows viewers to watch Reichen during his day. Unlimited viewing is $99 a month!!!

The singer turns 69 years old today! She had the tall order of replacing Florence Ballard as a member of The Supremes and she did so with class. Diana Ross left the Supremes for a solo career in 1970 but Cindy remained with Mary Wilson and new lead singer Jean Terrell and they had several top 10 hits including "Stoned Love." She took some time off to have a baby but returned before finally leaving the group for good in early 1976 - one year before it disbanded.

TRIVIA QUESTION: On which episode of "Designing Women" did Cindy Birdsing's name come up? Answer comes later this week unless someone comes up with it first!

*** We already have an answer! Scott in Washington DC correctly writes: Her name appears in the episode where Anthony gets stranded on the women's camping trip/retreat with the ladies and has to play drag for the trip. When the director asked him his name, he uses Cindy Birdsong.

Below is a television appearance shortly after Cindy joined the Supremes:

The songstress (I just don't think that word is used enough these days) turns 68 today. To celebrate, here is a video of one of her biggest hits "That's What Friends Are For" with proceeds going to AIDS research. She's joined by, as you probably know, Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Gladys Knight...

Enjoy!

The Divine Miss M, one of the great gay icons of all time, turns 63 years old today. She's still going strong with her ongoing Vegas show "The Showgirl Must Go On" a smash and her best movie role in years ("Then She Found Me") out on DVD. Here is a video of Bette singing an appropriate song: "I Look Good."

There was a time, not that long ago, when Clay Aiken's birthday would have been ignored by this blog. But that was in the "my personal life is none of your business" era, before he appeared on the cover of People magazine earlier this year confirming what the world pretty much assumed: he is gay.

Clay also became a father for the first time this year and said he wanted to set an example for his son about living a life without lies. So happy birthday to the the "American Idol" runner-up (season two) who is a bigger star than just about any of the winners of that singing competition. He's currently appearing on Broadway in "Spamalot" and I hope there's some extra applause after each of today's show for the birthday boy.

This one-of-a-kind comedy writer, best known for his run on "Hollywood Squares" and his role of Edna in the national touring company (and later on Broadway) of "Hairspray," turns 60 years old today.

He's a hoot and definitely young at heart. I've chatted with Bruce Vilanch many times in recent years. Last time was before the election when he gave me his opinion for former VP candidate Sarah Palin: "She's just amazing. She has all of the depth of the woman from the 1-800-DENTIST commercials which is where I think they found her - 1-800-RUNNINGMATE. She scares me because she's never been out of Alaska. Even a walrus has done that."

And here is his take on John Travolta getting the role of Edna in the movie version of "Hairspray" instead of Bruce: "I lived with 'Hairpsray' for two years and HE got the part. He looks like Kirstie Alley BEFORE she cashed the Jenny Craig check. He and I have gone up for so many of the same parts for so many years."
Earlier posts:
-- The World According to Bruce Vilanch...
-- Bruce Vilanch is writing for Bette Midler's Vegas show...
-- Bruce Vilanch takes no prisoners on Outfest Awards night

Time flies.

But Billie Jean King has made the most of her time on this planet so far and her impact on the culture has been tremendous. She was the most focused of tennis champions and has used that tenacity in her off-court activism for equal rights for women and equal opportunity for everyone from the pro women's tennis tour to college campuses to the playground.

An amazing, amazing person. Her attitude about life, about fairness and achieving what you set out to do have stuck with me always.

Happy birthday to a great leader, activist and champion...

Here is video of a recent interview with BJK:

Recent related posts:
-- Old pals Elton John and Billie Jean King raise $400,000 for HIV/AIDS charities...-- Billie Jean King educates as Venus wins a big title...