Tennis legend Billie Jean King and her former husband, Larry W. King, were college sweethearts who met at Cal State Los Angeles and married in 1965. Together for 22 years, they were instrumental in building the WTA Tour and co-founding World TeamTennis.
They divorced in 1987 but remained lifelong friends until Larry King’s passing earlier today at the age of 81.
Billie Jean writes in a social media post: Larry was one of the unsung heroes in the establishment of women’s professional tennis in the early 1970s.
Larry and I met at Cal State LA, where Larry opened my eyes to feminism. We were married for 22 years and in business together for decades. He was involved behind the scenes when the Original 9 signed our one dollar contracts, and he and I co-owned several tournaments on the Virginia Slims Tour.
He was integral and did much of the important legal work to establish the Women’s Tennis Association and the historic Battle of the Sexes match in 1973; and the Women’s Sports Foundation and womenSports magazine in 1974. He also was a co-founder of World TeamTennis.
Larry’s intelligence, love, commitment, and humor helped me navigate my career for more than 20 years.
Ilana, my wife and business partner, and I are deeply saddened by Larry’s passing and we extend our deepest condolences to his wife, Nancy, and their children – our godchildren – Sky (his wife Caroline and daughter Athena) and Katie.
Dan Levy talks with Jimmy Kimmel about the new Martin Short documentary, not laughing at anything anymore because he grew up around such funny people, trying to be an Agent when he first started out, living in London, failing his drivers test 12 times in Canada, his new Netflix show Big Mistakes, playing a gay pastor, coming from a yelling family, learning how to snort cocaine, and Laurie Metcalf playing her mom.
Tony-nominated DEATH OF A SALESMAN star Nathan Lane and director Joe Mantello discuss friendship, fear and finding their way into Arthur Miller’s DEATH OF A SALESMAN.
“Death of a Salesman” tells the story of Willy Loman, a traveling salesman chasing the American Dream but never quite able to reach it. Now, the classic is back on Broadway in a new production that underscores the play’s enduring relevance. Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown sat down with actors Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf for PBS NewsHour arts and culture series, CANVAS.
This is from last week but I just came upon it. Since I’m doing some spring cleaning myself, thought I’d share. Interior designer and author Nate Berkus joins Drew Barrymore to share some helpful DIY spring cleaning tips.
Rosie O’Donnell, 64, Shares Unfiltered Before-and-After Photos of Her Pricey Facelift People
Colton Underwood replies to “Christian” who told him he feels “bad” for reality star’s son Queerty
Linda Perry calls Madonna a WHAT?!: “Everything about her seems weak to me” Queerty
Gayle King Speaks to Longstanding Rumors That She & Oprah Winfrey Are In a Secret Relationship Just Jared
Cynthia Erivo Reveals Her Truth About Friendship with Ariana Grande, Being Labeled Her ‘Bodyguard,’ & the Impact Singapore Had on Oscars Campaign Just Jared
Theo James & Aaron Taylor-Johnson flex their sexy abs in new film FuzeOut.com
My pal Eddie and I took in the musical Brigadoon – a new adaptation by Alexandra Silber, original dances by Agnes DeMille and directed and choreographed by Katie Spelman. The stellar cast of the Pasadena Playhouse production is led by the immensely talented Max von Essen and Betsy Morgan and includes the great Tyne Daly – Tony winner for Gypsy and six-time Emmy winner for various TV roles.
The synopsis: Two American travelers lose their way in the Scottish Highlands and stumble upon Brigadoon—a mysterious village that appears for just one day every hundred years. With its lush score, live orchestra, sweeping choreography, and a newly adapted book, this beloved classic is a heart-stirring journey into a world where time stands still, and love defies all logic. Featuring the Lerner & Loewe Broadway standards “Almost Like Being In Love” and “The Heather on the Hill,” let yourself be swept away by one of the most romantic musicals ever written, as timeless as the legend itself.
Adding to the magic of the evening was bumping into Robert Gant and Peter Paige whose friendship forged while making Showtime’s Queer as Folk all those years ago endures.
I’ve included in this post a recent TV interview about the show with Tyne Daly.
There was a real buzz Saturday night outside the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Village at Ed Gould Plaza as a sellout crowd lined up outside the Renberg Theatre waiting for the doors to open. I was among the first in line for Celebration Theater’s LA Premiere reading of the new comedy Pure Glitter by Douglas C. Lyons and directed by Emerson Collins.
Expectations were high wth an all-star cast set to perform: Alec Mapa (Broadway’s M. Butterfly and TV’s Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, Half & Half); Barrett Foa (12 seasons on TV’s NCIS: Los Angeles, Broadway’s Avenue Q,Mamma Mia); Rory O’Malley (Broadway’s Hamilton, Tony nominee for The Book of Mormon); Sachin Bhatt (TV’s Boots, Queer as Folk reboot); Chris Renfro (TV’s Queer as Folk reboot; Tom Swift) and Adrian Javier (TV’s Vida).
The writing is strong and this is is a wonderful comedic showcase for the oh-so-talented Mapa who has expert timing, brilliantly breaks into the first line of a showtune when the character feels it’s appropriate and when the time comes, has moments of vulnerability. I’ve seen Foa on countless episodes of NCIS: Los Angeles but not on stage before and he is a force as well. His timing and confidence are first-rate and I enjoyed his performance immensely. It was also my first time (I think) seeing O’Malley on stage (I think – he may have been in Mormon one of the two times I saw it at Pantages over the years) and he is so sweet, funny and wonderfully bitchy in Pure Glitter. You are right there with his character as he experiences a range of emotions over the course of an anniversary dinner party also attended by his recent ex (Bhatt) and the ex’s new boyfriend (Renfro).
I want to see this play produced with this cast! It will be a big hit. I hope it starts in LA so I can see it then makes its way to New York for an Off-Broadway run.
Podcast host Elizabeth Day writes about “Lovely, lovely, LOVELY Luke Evans. I think he’s quite possibly one of the nicest men in Hollywood – a bona fide A-Lister after star turns in Beauty and the Beast, The Hobbit, Fast & Furious, to name but a few. And yet, his early life was challenging. Raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, he was unable to be open about his sexuality for fear of banishment from the church and rejection by his parents. He left home at 16, moved to Cardiff to study singing, and eventually became a successful musical theatre actor before finally landing a movie role at the age of 30, which would change his life forever. He hasn’t stopped working since. Luke and I talked about being gay in Hollywood, his physical insecurities (despite being the embodiment of a certain kind of masculine perfection on-screen) and how his early days of knocking on doors with his Jehovah’s Witness parents prepared him for rejection in his career. His failures? To find a soulmate until his 40s, accepting success and a failure to learn what his dad knows. I also get to study his tattoo and ask him who his favourite Hollywood co-star is and why…”
To millions of viewers and readers, Fran Lebowitz is the iconic New Yorker, known for her sardonic wit and acerbic social observations. Like many of New York’s most brilliant denizens, she was from out of town, moving from New Jersey to the West Village in the 1970s, where, amongst other things, she worked for Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine. The author, commentator and Netflix star is in Australia this May for a series of talks, and joined 7.30’s Sarah Ferguson.
In the drama The Man I Love, Rami Malek plays a charismatic theater director in late 1980s New York, where the arts community is suffering from the new disease, AIDS. Director Ira Sachs (Passages) drew on his own experiences for the film, resulting in some truly beautiful scenes. For example, the one in which Malek delivers a heart-wrenching performance of Melanie’sLook What They’ve Done to My Song, Ma.
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