I AM CAIT .. I'm pleasantly surprised

To be very honest when I first heard about the upcoming program about Caitlyn Jenner I wasn't going to watch. I'm not into all those silly celeb "reality" shows which are enough to nauseate anyone except those who like to stand and watch the remnants of  a motor vehicle accident. But this being Monday evening and nothing else on I figured I'd give it a go and most likely change the channel in 10 minutes as all it's going to be is one big poof (no pun intended) piece about Jenner deciding what wardrobe to wear on any given day.

I didn't watch the Diane Sawyer interview at all nor Jenner receiving the ESPY award on ESPN until after it was aired. Well  I Am Cait was one of the most enjoyable programs I've watched.

Behold The Champion Caitlyn Jenner

In 10 minutes Caitlyn Jenner has done more for persons of transgender than has ever been done in all these many years I've been writing about LGBTs.

She used her spotlight on ESPN's The ESPYS to bring hope and understanding to countless many, young and old, who identify as T.

She got applause in all the right places and a standing ovation at the end. Tears in the eyes of some and near tears in others. I was struck by the expression of Kiefer Sutherland when the camera happened to be on him in what can be best described as taking it all in and truly understanding that what Jenner and others go through to be who they are is not an easy road to hoe.

There was much speculation and criticism that this would be one big publicity stunt on the behalf of Jenner what with a new reality show upcoming and ABC/ESPN as a ratings pusher. And well it could have turned out that way but the winner in all this is the community of the T.

Minds will not be changed overnight, some will never change, but a more graceful champion of transgenders has not been seen before. No brow beating, no chest beating, no controversy for "the cause". Just an eloquent display of humanity, from one person to another person.

COLE TUCKER SUCCUMBS TO AIDS

Cole Tucker a gay-porn actor died earlier this month from "AIDS related illness" at the age of 61 according to the website Queerty.

This may not be "need to know" news for many however in this day and age when young gay men are still performing unprotected sex and there is still a culture of "bug chasers" Tucker's passing deserves more than a footnote on some gay-porn blog.

There is still no magic bullet and ask those who now may live longer than those decades ago if they had the option of being disease free or have to live a life of taking meds to delay the inevitable which they would chose.

It's still important to put a face on AIDS all these years after it began regardless how the person became infected.

Caitlyn Jenner Welcome To The "T"

The accolades flowed when the long awaited first look of Bruce Jenner transcending to Caitlyn Jenner came to view. But as she soon found out the accolades of congratulations can quickly turn to mean spirited comments from none other than the "T" which on many occasions devour their own.

One has to wonder if there is a "T" God or Goddess one has to bow to before "coming out" and in the case of Jenner in all her makeup and airbrushed glory.

If history has shown us .. the collective LGB  us .. while there are a great many in the world of "T" who are supportive of each other, there are those and usually the ones who are lucky to pass as ugly men in drag, it is the latter which have the highest degree of nastiness against their own.

To wit I say to Caitlyn when being assailed by them ... fuck 'em ! ... and enjoy your life from this moment forward with nary a look back. And if you can make a buck or two along the way hats off to you.

With your fame both now and pre-Caitlyn comes responsibility as your "reality show" can open many an eye and at the same time offer hope to those who are in need.

You've come a long way baby ... now go for the gusto which your life now offers.

American Horror Story's Special Lady

Well I guess it takes a pretty woman to bring me out of blogging retirement and introduce to you, if you haven't already met one of the "stars" of the new season of American Horror Story.

In the new run of AHS titled Freak Show there is this rather tall gal who towers over everyone in the cast and whose rather homely look hides more than the real beauty beneath but also her very nature of being a woman.

Erika Ervin also know as Amazon Eve in the modeling world stands well over 6 feet tall and has in this writer's opinion legs which just never stop.

Ervin who is also a fitness trainer began life in Turlock, CA as William and transitioned from male to female in 2004. She appeared in the TV show Funny or Die in 2011, Family Tools in 2013 and the Netflix series Hemlock Grove also in 2013. Now she plays one of a group of performers with special attributes in AHS because of her "less than natural" height.

It's not often a trans person has been cast in film or TV and it's refreshing to see that FX and the producers of AHS are "pushing the envelope" by casting Ervin. It will be interesting to see what the overall public reaction will be as folks find out that this gorgeous she was once a he. Hopefully we have come along far enough to see an actress other than what those with narrow minds would call "a freak".

"Your Husband Wants To Be A Girl"

I haven't watched Cheers since it went off the air.

Watching it once was enough for me so no constant watching reruns as I do other TV shows.

Needless to say it's been a long time since I've listened to the complete Cheers song until this afternoon when I posted it in a comment on a fellow FBer ... and aghast what did I hear which I had forgotten all these years.

"and your husband wants to be a girl".

WHAT !?! OMFG !! GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY !! and let me clutch my low hanging pearls .. and they do too thank you very large.

I know I'm sometimes slow on the uptake but I don't ever remember the TGers nor GLAAD raise a stink (as in bullshit) over that line in the song even though it wasn't part of the intro to the show.

Of course if the show were trying to get on the air today there would be all kinds of uproar and outrage.

Perhaps one of you readers should notify them about this affront to all ladies with a bit more between their legs and the Gay Mafia so they can do one of their silly protests.

After all the show is in syndication and don't forget about de homo episode where Norm gets lip assaulted by two queers.

Ah the good old days of TV ... when nary a peep was raised and no one clutched their pearls when things were done in good fun ... and most people had a sense of humor very much unlike today.

If the show was filmed today the set would have to include a gender neutral restroom.

Sixteen Years After Ellen Comes Out

Sixteen years ago I was in my 40's and in the closet as a bi-guy when something extraordinary happened.

Comic and TV sitcom star Ellen DeGeneres came out, loud and clear that she was a lesbian.

It was still a time when those words dare not be spoken by many much less in homophobic Hollywood where for decades the LG&B kept the closet door locked not only by themselves but by agents, studios and PR departments.

Careers were on the line with the fear of the public finding out the true sexual identity of their favorite stars.

Many said at the time Ellen had just taken a poison pill in regards to her professional career as a comic and actor. That the life of celebrity which she so enjoyed was over.

But as they say the rest is history.

Perhaps it was the right time for the right person to declare who they are.

Perhaps we as a Country were, although still infants in understanding, able to accept that, yes there are queers that we know, even ones we invite into our home once a week.

Fast forward to today where this writer is five months away from turning 60, is no longer in the closet about being bi, albeit I don't wear it on my sleeve, and Ellen well she's doing just fine thank you very much.

I've seen much over these decades of my life, more than I could ever hope for being LGBT, while we of course still have some miles to go as far as total Equality in regards to law and religion plus total acceptance by the still closed minded.

While laws can be changed, religion and closed minds are another thing, venues of which after awhile it makes no sense to continue to seek change when change in those respects are futile and it makes more sense to change what and who can be.

You can't change the spots of a leopard, to continue to try is a waste of time and energy.

Over the past couple of months I conducted my own "social experiment" by inviting folks I work with to "friend" me on Facebook ... most would probably LMAO at now finding they have been part of an experiment. That experiment has proved one thing which I have written about several times over these past six years of writing.

I'm the same person you knew before you found out.

All, some probably twenty or so by now, have not changed their outward ways to me at work, and more importantly none have "unfriended" me on Facebook.

It could be said it's because of my age, the fact many are from a younger generation who are more "accepting" or it could just be that perhaps finally in the grand scheme of things, who cares.

As the old cigarette slogan went, for Ellen, myself and countless others, "you've come a long way baby".

Boomer Memories Queering Your TV

A blog I came across a few weeks ago is a must read for gay and bi boomers as it takes a look back at TV programs which not intentionally geared toward de gay made puberty a lot more interesting before the collective we had any idea which side(s) of the road we were headed.

The blog Boomer Beefcake and Bonding goes into great detail outlining TV programs and actors, young and old, and how subtle and sometimes otherwise led fellas to .. well sometimes have wet dreams and then some.

The blog is not explicit in nature so if you're looking for that kind of material .. forget about it.

It takes a sentimental stroll down memory lane through TV-land from Batman to Flipper to Dr. Kildare and everything in between.

The blog is written by author Jeffery P. Dennis who has written several books and articles on the queering of American culture through the media and movies.

The blog along with the postings is put into actor categories so one can look up their favorite actor as written within the blog.

Another fun blog which looks at all things queer in movies and the media is Movie Dearest written by Kirby who along with the aforementioned puts out four other blogs about de gay.

So if you're looking to add some new blogs to your favorites check out the two mentioned above.

In the immortal words of Robin "Holy stuffed jockstrap Batman".

De Bisexual Nemesis Of James Bond

So in the new James Bond flick Skyfall, the villain is Silva portrayed by Spanish hunk Javier Bardem.

The LGBT websites are tripping over their dropped undies because they report Silva is gay and tries to seduce Bond (played by Daniel Craig) while he is tied up in a chair.

Actually from the little bit I've read Silva is most likely bisexual, or it could all be just a come on to make Mr. Bond as uncomfortable as possible, but of course that doesn't work with this line from James to Silva, "What makes you think this is my first time ?".

But what if Silva is gay or bisexual, as we know, in the end, nothing good comes of the Bond villains. Which brings me to this thought.

How long before the likes of GLAAD start complaining that yet again a member of LGBT is being portrayed in a negative light, one which shows "the only good gay is a dead gay".

The clock is running, not only for Silva but for the protesting to begin .. tick .. tick .. tick.

James Bond's Transgender Bond Gal

As you probably know this year marks the 50th anniversary of the mega-blockbuster movie saga known as James Bond ... good grief do I feel old !

What some may not know is that in one James Bond flick, For Your Eyes Only, Caroline Cossey aka Tula was one of the James Bond girls albeit in a small walk-on shot and the first and only as far as we know transgender Bond Girl.

Born Barry Kenneth Cossey, she was diagnosed as being intersexed and at age 17 began hormonal therapy and in 1974 had sex reassignment surgery. Cossey identifies herself as transsexual rather than transgender.

As a model using the name Tula she wowed those her saw her and was featured in a Playboy magazine shoot in 1981. She had appeared in several magazines such as Harper's Bazaar as a top rated glamour model.

However she was "outed" by the UK rag News of The World after her appearance in the Bond film and with the headline, "James Bond Girl Was A Boy".

So upset was she with the outing she contemplated suicide.

But to her credit she fought back and came out with her best selling book, I Am Woman in 1982 followed by a second book in 1991 My Story. She appeared in Playboy a second time in 1991 with a pictorial spread.

Cossey has been married to Canadian David Finch since 1992 and lives near Atlanta, GA.

On June 23, 2015 Cosmopolitan magazine wrote an article about Tula and her thanking Hugh Hefner for "giving her a platform" and being Playboy's first trans model.

Guess Who Came To Dine

Well we regular folks who live in Fairfield County, Connecticut are use to the rich and famous in our neck of the woods and up into Litchfield County.

Heck there was a time when Robin Leach of Lifestyles Of The Rich and Famous fame lived just a tad couple of miles from me with a "lakefront" home on Candlewood Lake. The quotes around lakefront is because between the house and the lake were a multitude of gawd awful steps down a steep bank to the waterfront. In fact because of the "modernistic"flavor of the home (which really didn't fit in with the homes in the hood), that long walk down to the water and the price he was asking at the time kept the house on the market for much longer than he probably anticipated and had to sell it at a much reduced price when it did finally sell well over a year or so later.

So when celebs who do or have lived in our County, mostly in the southern part or up in Litchfield, with the likes of the late Paul Newman (wife Joanne Woodward still lives here), Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, the late Eartha Kitt, Henry Kissinger, Diane Von Furstenberg, Mia Farrow to just name drop a few it really does become old hat. Many of us old timers have called our area Hollywood East just because of all the names and money which has come and gone probably since the hay days of early Hollywood.

So when on Monday POTUS, otherwise known as President Barack Obama, came calling for money and dinner it was really just a big .... sigh for many of us. First he attended a fundraiser in Stamford at the Marriott for upwardly mobile folks at a mere $500 a head then the big bucks dinner for the big bucks people and celebs at $35,800 a head at a "real" waterfront home in Westport, that of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein which was co-hosted by the lovely Anne Hathaway.Pity I didn't have the money to attend as I would have liked to of seen Joanne Woodard again who I last saw back in the 70's when I covered the racing team Paul Newman raced for.

Good grief I'm beginning to feel like a gossip writer.

Of course the teabaggers were at the Marriott to "greet" POTUS however his visit was not without some controversy as the beloved Sherwood Isle State Park in Westport was closed so POTUS could land his Air Force One helicopter. Nope he didn't win any friends with that stunt.

So while the Commander-in-Chief rub shoulders, ate, wined, dined and schmoozed, life for the rest of us regular folk just went on.

Good thing these events didn't take place in Greenwich as he may have been dining by candlelight and eating burgers and hot dogs cooked outside on the BBQ just like us regular folk do.

So it goes, just another day in Western Connecticut aka Hollywood East with our well-to-do neighbors. And rumor has it Tom Cruise may be coming to the hood too.

Hunk Chad Everett Passes

In the 60's there was Richard Chamberlain as Dr. Kildare.

But in the 70's a new doctor was called to medical duty, this time Chad Everett in the leading role of Dr. Joe Gannon on the TV show Medical Center.

Unlike Chamberlain who not too many years ago officially, after many years of speculation, came out as gay, Everett was anything but in fact married to his wife, the late Shelby Grant for 45 years.

So it is that news has been announced by Everett's daughter that he had died Tuesday after a year and a half bout with lung cancer.

For many of us boomers who were in pubescence during the days of Dr. Kildare by the time Dr. Joe Gannon showed up with the full head of 70's hair and short mutton chop sideburns, when he came along many of us were beginning to realize our future destiny and Everett became a heartthrob for many a guy.

Many I'm sure hoped that Everett like other male stars of the 70's and 80's would appear nude in an issue of Playgirl magazine but alas that didn't happen and we had to wonder what beef was under those clothes and to .. ahem .. what extent.

You know you're getting old when the heartthrobs of your youth start passing on, but Chad Everett helped me realize I not only liked the gals but also the guys.

It wasn't long after Medical Center began its run that I never watched TV the same way again.

Marilyn Monroe A Lesbian

GayStarNews on Sunday ran an article about Norma Jean, Hollywood's famous Marilyn Monroe in which in a new "tell all book" tells of one of Hollywood's most famous and yet tragic figures, that Monroe was a closeted lesbian which may help explain some of her inner demons and foibles.

In Marilyn Monroe: Private And Undisclosed, writer Michelle Morgan reveals the star's complex and even tortured story. A struggle with the sex symbol icon that, in fact, seems to have trapped her.

Referring to transcripts used by Morgan for her book, These testimonies are also corroborated by the taped transcripts of Monroe’s sessions with Dr Ralph Greenson, the psychoanalyst she saw towards the end of her life.

In the session transcripts Monroe also admitted to having sexual encounters with actresses Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck, Marlene Dietrich and Elizabeth Taylor.

Shortly before Monroe signed with Columbia Pictures in 1948, she met Natasha Lytess, with whom she seemed to have had a love relationship.

Monroe told her close friend, actor Ted Jordan, that she and Natasha were sleeping together: ‘Why not?’ she said. ‘Sex is something you do with people you like. What could be wrong with a natural act?’

Of course we most likely will never know what is truth and fiction as is always the case in these "tell all books" when all of those writtten about are gone and aren't around to pursue legal action for untruths but if the truth about Monroe is accurate it may help explain one of the reasons for her too early demise and suicide.

And adds even more mystique to the legend that was Marilyn Monroe.

Let de Cruise Rumors Begin

So ... Tom Cruise has been served his walking papers by his wife of five years and now let the rumors begin.

Just as John Travolta has been parlayed into de gay rumor mill of late with accusations, some already rescinded, I'm sure de gay or at least bi rumors about Cruise will start.

I haven't bothered to look prior to writing this and quite frankly my dear I don't give a rat's ass damn whether he is gay, bi, straight or likes to do amore' to sheep under a full moon but there will be those who suck up (and make) that kind of gossip like drinking Jonestown Kool-aid.

Only Cruise and his wives and other assorted female partners know for sure and they haven't been talking all these years. To wit I say leave the poor bugger alone.

Who he likes to shack up with is his business and no one else's.

Just be happy we got to see him once in his undies and leave it at that.

Archie Bunker Queers And Fags

Dear Archie Bunker never met a person he didn't like to make fun of because of who or what they are.

All In The Family which was America's version of a popular TV show in England, Till Death Do Us Part, ran on CBS from 1971 to 1979 followed for another four years as Archie's Place after Archie's beloved dingbat wife Edith died.

What All In The Family showed us back then and even today is how dumb and stupid people are who are bigoted and biased.

However can you imagine if the LGBT Elites of bloggerdumb and orgs like GLAAD had been around.

We would never have seen Archie go into his tirade about fags and queers, never saw the episodes of Edith's drag queen friend who gets killed and not learned that one of Archie's old friends from school was "a fruit ".

Nope they would have turned out like the mobs in the old Frankenstein movies yelling and screaming while carrying their torches and burning down CBS' Television City in Hollywood and scaling Black Rock, CBS headquarters in New York City, like so many little King Kongs crying out de gay has been defamed.

"Good Night Nurse" as Archie would say.

You see boys and girls sometimes (?) these Elites go overboard in their yelling and screaming about the perceived wrong doing against de gay, enough so to put a cork up de boo-de-aye of creativity in the Media, advertsing, Hollywood and beyond.

And whilst I think about it have you ever heard a peep out of them when these episodes have been rerun countless times over the years ?

Perhaps they get it, at least in the case of All In The Family, to stifle because folks can learn something from the portrayal of bigoted and biased stupidity.

Cher & Chaz At GLAAD Awards

Good grief, and I thought gals and yes even guys had huge Afros when I went to high school but Cher how many Brillo pads died to make that hairdo !?!

In any case Cher made a surprise appearance to honor her son Chaz Bono at the GLAAD Media Awards held in LA this past weekend.

While I'm no big fan of GLAAD as regular readers know because of the orgs narcissistic view on all things LGBT and its over indulgence in self-importance it is nice to see them honor Chaz for all he has gone through transcending to his true self while many scoffed and ridiculed him for doing so.

And of course kudos to Cher and her eventual understanding and continued devotion to her son, not to forget her long time support to all things LGBT.

Now if GLAAD could just get out of the politics of LGBT and their kissy-ass footsie approach to Hollywood how much better an org they would be for all of us. Alas that's not going to happen anytime soon, so for now and at least in this instance, GLAAD you at have done one thing correct with your honoring of Chaz.

Even the most asinine of asinines do on occasion come through and show how good they can be.

Too bad it never lasts though ... but as they say ya gotta have hope.

The Detective Looks At Bias

It was a Saturday night in the spring of 1968 when my folks took me to the Palace movie theater on Main Street in Danbury to see Frank Sinatra’s latest movie.

Had they known in advance the subject matter I’m sure they would have left me home to watch TV.
Fourteen years old at the time and increasingly becoming aware of my sexuality I left the theater with one impression.

The only good homosexual is a dead homosexual, either murdered or one who has committed suicide.

Tough stuff for a teenager and anyone who was gay or bisexual. Herein lies the tale of one of the most gut wrenching films any gay or bi could have seen at the time or even since then in its condemnation of homosexuality.

The Detective.

Read the full article at FOTR @ WordPress.

Brad Davis' Hollywood Secret

In early September 1991 Brad Davis gave up his battle with AIDS. The handsome actor who came to prominence in the 1978 film Midnight Express had been keeping a career ending secret for by then almost six years. He was 41 years young when he died.

In 1985 Davis had been diagnosed with being HIV-positive which according to his wife Susan Bluestein, a casting director in Hollywood, was caused from his use of drugs after his career started to take off with his Golden Globe award winning portrayal of Billy Hayes in Midnight Express. After several years of drug use and excessive drinking Davis cleaned up and got sober in 1981.

1985 was the same year that legendary actor Rock Hudson died of AIDS which brought HIV/AIDS to the forefront in news coverage and put a familiar face on the "gay plague" which then caused Hollywood to become a champion of the HIV/AIDS cause with fundraising efforts spearhead by many but in particular Elizabeth Taylor.

But that notoriety of the disease also came at a cost for actors and actresses, as while Hollywood became a champion it also became a devastator of careers if it were found out members of the acting community were diagnosed HIV-positive or had full blown AIDS.

In true Hollywood fashion, the studios and executives who held actors' careers in their hands, Hollywood went beyond the old studio days of hiding ones sexual preference or identity through its PR department to flat out turning their back on their own which caused those who were gay, lesbian or bisexual to stay further in the closet and those who, whether straight or LGB, suffered from HIV or AIDS to not only get in the closet but lock it and hope no one would ever find the key.

"We do give money to AIDS and the homeless and the blind. But we're not obligated to hire the victims of the various diseases or causes we support. It all boils down to business . . . dollars and cents . . . and those with an illness or the potential for becoming ill are an economic risk." a quote from a well known but "anonymous" Hollywood producer in an article the LA Times published in 1991 two weeks after Davis passed.

In a 1997 interview with New York Times writer Alex Witchel, Davis' wife described the great pains he went to seeking medical help only allowing doctors to visit him at home, ''Without the secrecy he may not have gotten better medical care, but earlier medical care,'' she said. ''It might have given him a little longer time and better quality of life. We became so isolated. He let a lot of friendships go. He was afraid certain people would pick up on some things. Our world shrank to the bare bones." In order to hide his illness Witchel wrote that Davis didn't buy prescriptions in his name but was supplied with prescription "leftovers" from others after they died.

Davis was going to write a book about his ordeal of working in Hollywood and having to keep secret his illness. While he died before he could accomplish that his wife did write a book using Davis' book proposal as the basis for her book, After Midnight: The Life and Death of Brad Davis.

In the proposal Davis wrote the following which speaks volumes of how Hollywood was then and some might ask "still is ?"

''I make my money in an industry that professes to care very much about the fight against AIDS -- that gives umpteem benefits and charity affairs with proceeds going to research and care -- but in actual fact, if an actor is even rumored to have H.I.V., he gets no support on an individual basis. He does not work.''

Rourke Isn't Playing de Gay

When the news about Mickey Rourke playing on the silver screen out and proud rugby player Gareth Thomas I said to myself, "self how is this dino who is older than me by a year (I'm 58) going to pull this off ?"

Well we don't have to worry about it now boys and girls as the once hunk and then some (as evident in the photo) has realized that a) the stunts involved and prep for is too much and b) a younger man closer to Thomas' age needs to play the part.

You see kids that white or gray hair we 50 plus folks have does suck out the brain cells even the ones that give us common sense about things. Dyeing the hair doesn't work in brain cell sucking prevention.

However, the actor had admitted that time was catching up to him, stating recently: "The physical thing is harder than I thought. I'm just trying to get fit enough to do it." reports the website Joe.ie.

Inception star Tom Hardy is reportedly considering the role. Which would be more true to life anyway as far as age and body type and the fact he admitted in an interview back in 2010 with NOW magazine, when asked de question, if he ever had sex with men, he doth replied, "Of course I have. I'm an actor for f*ck's sake. I've played with everything and everyone. I love the form and the physicality, but now that I'm in my thirties, it doesn't do it for me. I'm done experimenting but there's plenty of stuff in a relationship with another man, especially gay men, that I need in my life. A lot of gay men get my thing for shoes."

Well being bisexual or "experimenting" does have it's advantages but his fiancee Brit actress Charlotte Riley appears to be in no hurry to take that leap to the alter just yet. The couple met in 2009 while filming Wuthering Heights for ITV and before his "coming out ?".

NOW THIS .... GayStarNews reported on Tuesday 3/27 Rourke is not throwing in the towel.

He Dances Like An Egyptian

Michael-In-Norfolk has the background on this and I know it's not polite to laugh at other's misadventures in life but when I saw the video (at the link), sorry boys and girls I couldn't help myself.

Yep Jason Russell the promoter of Kony 2012 has become .. ahem .. arrears with de police in the land of fruits and nuts sunny California for his parading around in de buff and others things which aren't supposed to be displayed in public.

Many are saying that Russell is a closeted gay hypersurpressed by conservative religion and his marriage.

Speculation at best, but if nothing else Russell certainly can be the life of any party and damn can he dance like an Egyptian.

Lesson to be learned do this in San Francisco or New York where no one notices.