Icons: March 2008 Archives

...Sir Elton John turns 61 years young today.
I love Elton for being outspoken, for being an out and proud gay man, for all he does to raise money for his AIDS foundation. He's also close friends with my all-time hero, Billie Jean King, and theirs is the most beautiful of friendships that dates back to the early 70s.

Mostly, I love Elton because of his music. It was the soundtrack to my childhood with an older brother who played Elton's 70s records (yes, they were LPs!) over and over and over again. Years later, I have memories of several Elton concerts including one in San Diego that he did with Billy Joel, then a three-song set he did after a special screening of "The Lion King" in Hollywood, and best of all, a 10-song set Elton did for Billie Jean last year at the Beverly Hilton during an awards ceremony for female athletes called, The Billies.

I've interviewed Elton a few times. One was for a freelance magazine article and I was told he would call "sometime Monday or Tuesday" so it was a matter of having my cellphone on me at all times. Can you imagine? Of course Elton called while I was stuck in rush hour traffic on the 101 Freeway. I pulled off into a gas station parking lot and scrawled down some notes on a yellow legal pad.
OTHER BIRTHDAYS TODAY: If Elton wanted to have a birthday dinner with olther famous people born today, it would be a pretty awesome evening! I figure Elton would be seated in between two legendary ladies: Aretha ("The QUEEN of Soul") Franklin to his left and the great feminist and author Gloria Steinem to his right. Aretha turns 66 while Miss Steinem is 74.
Others at the table: Sarah Jessica Parker (43), young hunks Lee Pace (29) and Sean Faris (26), Desperate Housewives Marcia Cross (46) and Brenda Strong (48), my "Starsky & Hutch" crush Paul Michael Glaser (65) and Bonnie Bedelia (60) who was so good in "Private Lives." Elton could have Katherine McPhee (24) perform a few songs before dinner then the infamous anti-gay activist Anita Bryant (68) could be trotted out later so everyone could throw pies at her face.

I'd love to attend THAT party!

Elizabeth Taylor Hilton Wilding Todd Fisher Burton Burton Warner Fortensky and I usually don't hang out at the same places.

But on Thursday, the 76-year-old legend dined at The Abbey in West Hollywood - one of my regular haunts. The paprazzi caught up with the actress-activist on her way out and she graciously gave a wave.

While everyone talks about Britney Spears getting mobbed by the photogs, it really was Miss Taylor and husband number five (and six) Richard Burton who were the first real targets of overzealous photogs. They began a scandalous affair on the set of "Cleopatra" in the early 60s and for the next 15 years or so, were the money shot.

Liza Minnelli turns 62 today!

The Oscar winner, Tony winner, and Judy Garland's little girl is a survivor. We love Liza with a Z not only because she's an amazing performer, but she has a terrific sense of humor - even about some of her very questionable marriages!

With "Cabaret," "New York New York," and "Arthur," Liza's spotty film career has its gems and she was a riot on "Arrested Development." But Liza's always at her best when she's doing what she was born to do: singing!!!

Oh man, the new cover story on Bette Midler in The Advocate is absolutely awesome. It's the Vegas issue and we all know that The Divine Miss M is headlining in her new show "The Showgirl Must Go On." She was paid a visit by Advocate editor Anne Stockwell who asks her about her stance on gay marriage and lighter topics.
Here are some excerpts:

On her early days performing at the Continental Baths: "[The emcee] would say, "The Divine Miss M!" And the place would go crazy, and I would just be as sexy and as hot as I could possibly be. Because there was no danger in being sexy and hot. What was going to happen to you? Nothing! I was just outrageous. Had thrown away my bra a long time ago. I was wearing backless, frontless, sideless, you name it. My hairdresser from "Fiddler on the Roof" said to me, "You can't just go up there and sing your songs. You have to talk too." So we'd write all these jokes out, and I would memorize them. And sometimes on the spot, I would make stuff up, because by this time I was learning a lot. It was so much fun....I think it was youth, just exuberance and hormones and drive. A lot of it was luck too -- to be in a place where this was going on in the gay community, where this community was feeling its oats and had finally stood up for itself after God knows how many hundreds of years, and said, "No, this is not gonna happen to us anymore."

On her controversial remarks to Larry King in 2003 when she wondered aloud whether gay men would want to commit to traditional monogamous marriage: did have to think it over. These are enormous, just gigantic seismic shifts. People don't like change. People have to get used to it. They have to process it. They have to weigh it. You don't just rush off and say, "I'm going to marry that guy." You just don't do it. A grown-up person analyzes it, hears it, processes it, and makes a decision. You come to a conclusion after you've thought it over, and you really -- I'm not so quick. I'm still singing songs from the fuckin '40s! [Laughs] Give it a rest! Come on! I'm slow! [Both laugh] But gay people changed, of course, much faster than everybody else did and suddenly wanted this thing. I mean, I've known gay people, I've been around people and loved them and have been my dear friends and buried 'em and, you know, all that. But this is like a shift that nobody even--nobody saw that coming."

On her appearance: I look unbelievable. That's what they always say. "You look unbelievable!" I do. I don't know how come. Always, under the lights I look unbelievable. So I'm happy to make everyone happy that I'm not some old crone. They can come and they can feel relieved. Because I look fabulous.

Go to Advocate.com to read the article in its entirety...