Jane Lynch debuted last week on Broadway as Miss Hannigan in Annie and there has already been a surge in ticket sales.
She’s done a terrific interview with Playbill.com that you’ve got to read.
Here is an excerpt:
In your memoir, “Happy Accidents,” you describe your life and career as a series of happy accidents. Do you consider Annie one of them?
Yeah, I didn’t set out to do this. Way in the back of my mind, I thought, “I’d love to play Miss Hannigan someday.” I’d love to play Mame and Mama Rose too, but will that ever happen? Probably not. When my agent said we’d gotten the call about Annie, I started to create reasons in my mind why I couldn’t do it, so I told her no. I was in a coffee shop about a week and a half later, sipping a macchiato by myself, and I went, “What is the matter with you, Jane? You’re making up excuses because you’re afraid.” When I called my agent to tell her I’d do it, she said, “I knew you’d come around, so I never told them no; I’ve been working on the deal.”
What were you afraid of? That I was going to fail. That it’s a huge deal and everyone would be watching. I love being the person who surprises everyone, like, “Who’s that?” Now that people know who I am, they’re like, “Alright, Jane Lynch, prove to me you’re worth the hype.”
You go into horrific detail in your memoir about how miserable you were after moving to New York City briefly during the ’80s. Are you more excited about being in NYC this time around?
Oh, yes. The difference between now and 1984, when I first lived here, is that now I’m staying in a very nice hotel, people drive me places, I get good dinner reservations… People smile at me on the street now, as opposed to how mean the city felt in 1984.
Congratulations to the lovely Chely Wright and her wife Lauren Blitzer-Wright.
They became the parents of identical twin boys born over the weekend.
Chely, 42, gave birth to the babies on Saturday in New York City.
The babies are named George Samuel and Everett Joseph after their great-grandfathers.
In announcing her pregnancy in March, Chely had said the babies were technically due in July but since they were identical twins, she had expected to deliver at least a month early.
They came even earlier but a spokesman for the country music singer tells People.com they are healthy and thriving.
‘We are grateful for all the amazing medical care and the love and support of family and friends,’ she said in a statement.
The couple was married in Connecticut in August of 2011.
Matt Bomer, Zachary Quinto, Sean Hayes, Michael Urie, Neil Patrick Harris, Jessie Tyler Ferguson, Tuc Watkins, Jonathan Groff, Luke Macfarlane, Chris Colfer, Victor Garber, Nathan Lane, Cheyenne Jackson and on and on and on.
They are openly gay male actors whose careers have continued to thrive – and sometimes soar – after coming out publicly.
Back in 1993, actor and comedian Jason Stuart beat them all out of the closet when on Geraldo Rivera’s syndicated daytime talk show, he came out.
Jason wasn’t as big a name as the guys in that list then, and he isn’t now. But he’s worked steadily in television, films and comedy clubs being best known playing “Dr. Thomas”, the gay family therapist on My Wife and Kids.
He writes on his Facebook page: “20 years ago I came out on TV in the workplace as an actor and comedian. It has been a journey. I have been very lucky in some ways. I have worked with some terrific artists and some really talented people.”
He adds: “Still looking for equal opportunity. Still hoping to move to the next level in my career. Still grateful I’m still here. Still.”
Below are Jason’s Geraldo appearance and a more recent clip of him talking about being gay in the workplace.
Had a terrific time covering the 2013 Voice Awards yesterday and will have plenty of coverage from the event coming up.
But first I want to share with you a real highlight for me: chatting with soccer pro Robbie Rogers. He bravely came out as an openly gay man in February then stepped away from his sport.
Now he wants to come back and if a deal can be worked out, he could be playing for the LA Galaxy which would allow him to be near his family in Huntington Beach.
I’m going to send you over to Gay Star News to see the full interview which is HERE.
But as a special bonus exclusively for Greg In Hollywood readers, I also got Robbie’s thoughts on the retirement of David Beckham: ‘He probably felt it was time for him, what an amazing career he had and such a role model to footballers and also other people around the world. He’s the guy who I very much looked up to as a soccer player and as a person so I’m happy for him.’
My friends over at Homorazzi featured this member of the San Francisco Giants as one of their “Sports Stud” guys over the weekend and I have to say, they have excellent taste!
He’s Barry Zito, a 35-year-old pitcher for the team.
Barry – whose a lefty like me! – showed himself to be an LGBT ally by participating in the team’s It Gets Better video.
Prior to joining the Giants, Barry spent seven seasons playing for the Oakland As.
From 60s pop star to 70s variety show headliner to 80s Oscar winner to 90s chart-topper to the endless farewell tour of the 2000s, Cher has continued to stay cool – and successful.
In her current decade, we have a Cher who is professionally productive again. She just produced and appeared in the TV special To Mom, Love Cher, has a single coming out in June and an album out in September – or so we’re told!
Here are images of Cher, through the decades in celebration of the birthday of an icon.
Last night’s An Evening With Women event at The Beverly Hilton was a star-studded affair hosted by Kathy Griffin to raise funds for the LA Gay & Lesbian Center’s programs and services.
I’ve been attending this event for at least seven years now and it has gotten to be a not-to-be-missed evening of music and laughs. This year’s musical performers were Sia, Natasha Bedingfield and Ozzy Osbourne and all sounded great!
It was a blast.
‘I’m the ‘A’ in LGBTQIA,’ Griffith said. ‘In my many, many interviews as a global superstar, (I am asked) why do you feel so connected to the community? I always say I feel we can learn so much from (gays) because as a woman, and as a woman in a man’s field, the gay community does a better job than straight women at sticking together.’
Griffin has long been an outspoken advocate for LGBT equality and against bullying.
She shared with the crowd that she is not fond of the word ‘tolerant’ when it comes to LGBT people.
‘I don’t like the word tolerant for you guys, I don’t find it acceptable. Imagine if you said, “Oh, maybe someday we’ll be tolerant of African-Americans.’ It wouldn’t be acceptable.” Goddamit, you’re lucky to have us!’
LA Gay & Lesbian Center Executive Director Lorri L. Jean, known for giving powerful and inspiring speeches at these kinds of events, did not disappoint on Saturday as she reminded people of the legislative and cultural victories LGBT people and their allies have achieved in the past year alone.
‘I think all of us would agree that we are living in extraordinary times – truly extraordinary times for LGBT people,’ Jean told the crowd.
Music producer Linda Perry has been the driving force behind the event in recent years and when she addressed the sold-out crowd after hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised, she grew emotional and at one point, barely held back tears.
She joked that after three months of down time, ‘the whole fucking thing starts all over again’ with planning for the next year’s event.
‘Kill me now, I can’t believe I’m going to do this again.’
But it’s a good thing she’s committed because Perry’s involvement has helped draw top-flight musical talent year after year from Cyndi Lauper to Christina Aguilera, among others.
This year’s trio of performers were outstanding starting with Sia who did an acoustic version of her song Titanium. I had not been real familiar with her music but now want to go out and buy a CD or download something!
Same for Natasha Bedingfield only I’d actually buy a ticket to one of her concerts after thoroughly loving every minute of her three-song set which included Unwritten and Purple Rain. I think she also sang Pocketful of Sunshine but not sure of the title.
Other stars I spotted either on the red carpet or in the ballroom were Meredith Baxter, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Peter Paige, Greg Rikaart, and Teri Polo and Sherri Saum who play a lesbian couple in the new ABC Family series The Fosters.
I’ll have to update later with how much money was raised last night. Besides tickets and silent auction items, I know that at least $62,000 was raised during the live auction (a trip to Bora Bora looked like a dream) and more than $130,000 was raised during the live fundraising drive which included a $10,000 contribution from Elton John via telephone.
Congrats to all involved including Kathy Griffin whose boyfriend is very cute and very young! I snapped a photo of them as they watched Ozzy perform on stage (see bottom photo).
Had so much fun putting this week’s Showtune Sunday feature together!
Smokey Robinson, the Motown legend, sure has a way with the ladies. From Jennifer Hudson at The White House a few years ago to Aretha Franklin on Soul Train decades ago, Smokey has dueted with most of the greats.
Here he is with Jennifer, Aretha, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick and Whitney Houston.
At last night’s An Evening With Women event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, one of the items up for auction was a portrait of a young Errol Flynn.
He looked so damned handsome that I made a mental note right there and then: Morning Man Classic!
Known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in such Hollywood films as The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Dawn Patrol, Dodge City, The Sea Hawk, Adventures of Don Juan, The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, Santa Fe Trail and They Died with Their Boots On, among others.
He co-starred opposite Olivia de Havilland in eight films and made two films with Bette Davis with whom he famously quarreled.
Flynn certainly lived life to the fullest writing several books (including a memoir titled My Wicked, Wicked Ways) and working as a war correspondent during the Spanish Civil War in 1937.
He was also known for his womanizing and heavy partying and died of a heart attack at the age of 50.
This is wonderful news: Outfest will present its 17th annual Achievement Award to writer/director Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry, Stop-Loss, Carrie).
The Achievement Award is Outfest’s highest honor and is presented in recognition of a body of work that has made a significant contribution to LGBT film and media.
The Achievement Award will be presented to Peirce prior to the Opening Night Gala screening of C.O.G. on Thursday, July 11 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.
“One of Outfest’s principal goals has been to celebrate the many voices of LGBT storytelling on film, and we couldn’t be more excited to honor Kimberly Peirce’s extraordinary filmmaking career,” said Outfest Executive Director Kirsten Schaffer.
Outfest has previously given this award to John Waters, Jane Lynch, Bill Condon, Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, Don Roos, Donna Deitch, Kenneth Anger, Gregg Araki, Todd Haynes, Jane Anderson, Christine Vachon, Rob Epsteinand Jeffrey Friedman, Gus Van Sant, Ian McKellen, John Schlesinger, and Strand Releasing.
Many of you know that Outfest is one of my very favorite times of the year so I’m very excited to share that the opening night film has been selected: Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s “C.O.G.,” the first film adaptation of David Sedaris’s work.
Here’s the plot: Recent college graduate David (Jonathan Groff of Glee fame) decides to get close to nature, and the working class, by spending a summer picking apples in Oregon with his friend Jennifer. Even after she blows him off, he charges ahead on a picaresque journey that will take him from orchard to processing plant to an arts and crafts workshop, guided along the way by an increasingly eccentric and motley bunch of mentors.
Whether trying to interpret the possible flirtations of co-worker Curly (Corey Stoll of House of Cards) or resisting the religious hard-sell from Bible-thumping Jon (Denis O’Hare of True Blood), David finds himself on the most complicated path of all — figuring out who he is and what he wants.
The film is writer-director Alvarez’s follow-up to his acclaimed debut Easier With Practice. The film premiered in competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Anyone who spends time with a lot of gay people knows we come in all shapes and sizes and have all kinds of personalities.
Some of us are a lot like Cam and Mitch on Modern Family and some are more like Will and Sonny on Days of Our Lives and some are nothing like either couple.
Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson is aware there are those who think Mitch and Cam aren’t a positive representation of LGBT people.
He begs to differ.
‘We’re always coming up against the criticism that our characters are stereotypical and don’t represent what it is to be gay,’ Ferguson tells The Advocate in a new cover story. ‘But my argument has always been, I know so many people who are just like Mitchell and Cam, and so many people who are nothing like them.’
‘We’re representing a very specific couple in gay America and do not represent the entire gay community with those characters.’
Ferguson knows whereof he speaks.
‘Mitchell is basically me, so when people tell me I’m stereotypical and cliché in that role, then Jesse Tyler Ferguson is stereotypical and cliché because I’m basically doing no acting at all. We’re all clichés of ourselves.’
He’s proud of the work and aware of Modern Family’s impact on the culture.
‘[Mitchell] is a character that I play with dignity and one that I think has helped change the landscape of what it means to be gay in America right now. Certainly, it’s provided a dialogue and a pop culture touchstone for a lot of people.’
He adds: ‘I feel like there are a lot of people who still aren’t comfortable with gay characters on television. But what I admire about our show is that it has a plethora of characters for people to attach to, and slowly those people are becoming attached to Mitchell and Cameron as well. It’s kind of like a Trojan horse. We sneak into a lot of people’s living rooms when they aren’t expecting it and maybe change some minds through the back door.’
I did find it odd that Herndon Graddick did not do the big speech at the GLAAD Media Awards in LA last month but Wilson Cruz did such a wonderful job at it I didn’t give it much more thought.
I should have.
It’s just been announced that Graddick has resigned as president of GLAAD after just over a year on the job.
The reasons are vague at this point.
Read more over at Gay Star News where I have just posted a story.
Some of the biggest stars to ever come out of American Idol are the ones that didn’t actually win the competition - Jennifer Hudson, Chris Daughtry, Clay Aiken and, of course, Adam Lambert.
Adam returned for last night’s season finale and dazzled all.
There had been talk last year of him returning as a judge and, in hindsight, that would have been a terrific idea since the panel they did hire reportedly had no chemistry (or so I’ve heard – didn’t watch a single episode this season – and are all being replaced.
Ratings are down, down, down!
Anyway, Grammy nominee Adam, the first openly gay male to have an album debut in the number one position on the Billboard charts, returned to the show where during season 8, he finished as runner-up to cutie pie Chris Allen.
Last night, Adam and Top 3 finalist Angie Miller teamed up to perform Titanium by David Guetta and Sia.
Originally posted October 27, 2010 – here’s an encore presentation. Enjoy!
Mexican-Argentine actor Sebastian Rulli who has got to be one of the sexiest men on television.
I hadn’t heard of him until the other day when I saw him on another site and now, just like that, I think he’s the love of my life.
Here’s what I know about him: Before becoming the successful actor that he is today, Sebastián began his career modeling in many different countries in Europe, namely Spain, Italy and France as well as in Mexico and the United States.
In Mexico, he then enrolled in Televisa’s Centro de Educacion Artistica (CEA), where he studied acting. Rulli made his first appearance on Mexican television in the soap opera Primer amor… a mil por hora in 2000.
He has appeared in many other telenovelas, including Clase 406 (2002) and Rubi (2004), where he played “Héctor Ferrer.” His most recent role was in Televisa’s Un gancho al corazon as “Mauricio Sermeño,” one of the main characters, along with La Monita. Sebastian Rulli married his longtime girlfriend Cecilia Galeano on December 31st, 2007, in a small ceremony that was attended by about thirty friends and family.
First of all, I realize the photo I’m using has nothing to do with today’s scene and is more than two years old but isn’t it cute?
This scene has Sonny and Will having a couples talk and Will saying how sorry he is for bringing so much baggage into the relationship – especially, he says, since Sonny could have any guy he wants.
I’m going to be the first to admit that I don’t know a damned thing about the ins and outs of the NFL.
So I’ve heard from a few sports types that Chris Kluwe’s being let go from the Minnesota Vikings had nothing to do with his LGBT activism. It was all about salary caps and a subpar season last year.
I still don’t quite believe it.
But whatever.
Here’s the good news: Chris has been signed by the Oakland Raiders!
There had apparently been interested from the Cleveland Browns as well.
Twitter
Facebook
Congratulations to the lovely Chely Wright and her wife Lauren Blitzer-Wright.
There are so many of them now, thankfully.
Had a terrific time covering the 2013 Voice Awards yesterday and will have plenty of coverage from the event coming up.
This would not be the week to slack off on your Days of Our Lives viewing.
My friends over at 
From 60s pop star to 70s variety show headliner to 80s Oscar winner to 90s chart-topper to the endless farewell tour of the 2000s, Cher has continued to stay cool – and successful.
Last night’s An Evening With Women event at The Beverly Hilton was a star-studded affair hosted by Kathy Griffin to raise funds for the LA Gay & Lesbian Center’s programs and services.
Griffin has long been an outspoken advocate for LGBT equality and against bullying.
Other stars I spotted either on the red carpet or in the ballroom were Meredith Baxter, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Peter Paige, Greg Rikaart, and Teri Polo and Sherri Saum who play a lesbian couple in the new ABC Family series The Fosters.
Had so much fun putting this week’s Showtune Sunday feature together!
At last night’s An Evening With Women event at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, one of the items up for auction was a portrait of a young Errol Flynn.
This is wonderful news: Outfest will present its 17th annual Achievement Award to writer/director Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry, Stop-Loss, Carrie). 
Anyone who spends time with a lot of gay people knows we come in all shapes and sizes and have all kinds of personalities.
I did find it odd that Herndon Graddick did not do the big speech at the GLAAD Media Awards in LA last month but Wilson Cruz did such a wonderful job at it I didn’t give it much more thought.
Well, what would Sue Sylvester think of this?
First of all, I realize the photo I’m using has nothing to do with today’s scene and is more than two years old but isn’t it cute?
I’m going to be the first to admit that I don’t know a damned thing about the ins and outs of the NFL.
