Florence Henderson was born on this day 87 years ago. She went on to become a huge Broadway star (Oklahoma! . Fanny, The Man Who Came to Supper) before she was America’s mom in The Brady Bunch sitcom and all of its subsequent incarnations as a variety show, hour drama, spinoff sitcom and wildly popular Christmas movie.
Florence died in 2016 but lives on in our hearts.
I was so damned happy whenever I’d see her. In this photo we are at the 2009 TV Academy Hall of Fame ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel. I had first met her a few years earlier on the set of her talk show and she had absolutely no airs about her. She was a great showbiz pro and a great lady.
Below is a video I’ve posted before and in her honor I am posting it again. In fall 2011, I moderated an all-star book panel at the West Hollywood Book Fair that included Florence and a wonderful moment at the end. Enjoy!
Oscar winner Kate Winslet has some familiarity with the dangers of viral outbreaks, having starred in the 2011 thriller “Contagion.” Now, COVID-19 has affected how the Oscar-winning actress is promoting her latest film, “Ammonite,” by eliminating travel. And that, she tells socially-distanced CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Mark Phillips, is not a bad thing.
It’s been less than a week since Mary Wilson died so unexpectedly.
She’s the only singer who was a member of The Supremes from their beginnings as The Primettes in the late 1950s through their final performance in 1977. That means seven-plus years without Diana Ross and an opportunity to shine a bit more.
Even though the 1970s Supremes weren’t able to match the level of success of the 1960s edition, the line-up of Wilson, Cindy Birdsong and Ross replacement Jean Terrell had a nice run for a few years with a series of hit singles and high-profile TV appearances. That run continued for a bit longer with Birdsong-replacement Lynda Lawrence then faded after Terrell and Lawrence left and were replaced by Sherrie Payne and Susaye Greene with Birdsong returning for a few years in the mid-70s.
What seems clear in these videos is that the group rediscovered its joy and the spotlight was allowed to shine more on all the members instead of everyone but the lead singer being so marginalized.
In retrospect, had Ross and Motown founder Berry Gordy let the other members be treated with more respect instead of as background singers who couldn’t even answer questions in interviews, there would have been less drama and tension in the group. Ross still would have been a superstar but perhaps not have been perceived as being so imperious.
It’s Valentine’s Day so let’s feature a bunch of high-profile male couples.
What I like about this time that we are in in the culture is that there are so many famous pairs to choose from – and they are married! It wasn’t really that long ago that being out publicly was considered career suicide.
No more!
In these couples we have Oscar winners, Emmy winners, Tony winners, Grammy winners, an Olympic medalist, a US Secretary of Transportation, TV icons and more.
1. Tom Daley and Dustin Lance Black 2. Ricky Martin and Jwan Yosef 3. Billy Porter and Adam Smith 4. Pete and Chasten Buttigieg . 5. Benjamin Patterson and Mike Moody 6. Elton John and David Furnish 7. Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka 8. Jim Parsons and Todd Spiewak 9. Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita 10. Matt Bomer and Simon Halls 11. George and Brad Takei 12. RuPaul and Georges LeBar 13. Mario Cantone and Jerry Dixon 14. Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent 15. Quincy and Deondray Gossfield 16. Barry Manilow and Garry Kief
The winner of two Emmys and a Tony and an Oscar nominee for Six Degrees of Separation, Stockard Channing is one of our great actresses who is always terrific and interesting in all that she does.
It’s hard to believe that she turns 77 today because she still looks so young! But she always looked younger than her years as evidenced by the fact that she was 34 when she played Betty Rizzo in Grease.
The first time I ever saw her was in the TV movie The Girl Most Likely To …. which Miss Channing told me – when we spoke for a magazine profile I did in her more than a decade ago – is the movie people mention to her almost as much as Grease when she sees fans at airports etc.
She’s done so much from being a smash on Broadway in numerous plays to portraying the First Lady on TV’s The West Wing and been magnificent in it all.
This Aussie hottie is 21-year-old Alex De Minaur who has made it to the third round of The Australian Open and is still in contention to win the grand slam title Down Under.
He is currently ranked 23rd in the world and is coached by former world number one Lleyton Hewitt.
De Minaur has won four tournament titles in his pro career and last fall had his best grand slam performance yet when he made the quarterfinals of the US Open before losing to eventual champion Dominic Thiem in straight sets. For the past two years, he has been there runner-up at the Next Generation ATP Finals, the season-ending event for the best singles players that are age 21 and under on the 2019 ATP Tour.
He has dual Australian and Spanish citizenship. The player spent the first five years of his life in the south Sydney suburb of Carss Park before relocating to Alicante, Spain. He completed most of his early education in Spain before returning to Australia at age 13.
Cheyenne Jackson talks to Bruce Bozzi about representation on television, and getting criticism for playing a straight character on his new show, Call Me Kat. He also addresses the conversation around straight actors taking on gay roles.
TK is a firefighter and Carlos a cop. Both are red hot! But somebody is gun-shy about their parents knowing about their romantic relationship. Find out who!
In the Trump impeachment trial, a key element of the prosecution’s case is a dramatic video taken at the Capitol during the insurrection. Who were the actual faces in the crowd? Ronan Farrow has profiled three different rioters to learn more about their backgrounds. All three have been arrested and now face criminal charges. One made threats on Farrow’s life. Michel Martin speaks with the reporter about his investigation.
Josh Brolin turns 53 today and he is aging like fine wine.
Not only is Josh oh-so movie star handsome, he’s just one heck of an actor who I’ve been a big fan of since his performance as a bisexual dude with an armpits fetish in Flirting With Disaster.
With a face like that, it would have been easy for Josh to cash in on his matinee idol looks. But he has refused and instead taken on character roles such as George W. Bush in W, Dan White in Milk and the 2008 trifecta of No Country for Old Men, In the Valley of Elah and American Gangster.
In casting Brolin as Bush in the biopic W, director Oliver Stone said: It always seemed to me that he was the right person. Although classically handsome, I think he would consider himself a character actor first and foremost, and it was in this context that I thought of him as W. Josh certainly has star appeal and could be a leading man, but I don’t think he necessarily wants to be that. I think he really enjoys disappearing into a character.’
Broil’s career took on even bigger proportions in recent years with the villainous character of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. He also played Cable opposite Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 2.
GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics announced nominations today for its Dorian Film Awards. Winners will be revealed in the group’s Dorians Film Toast 2021 special set to air on the queer platform Revry on April 18.
The heartfelt Koreans-in-Arkansas drama Minari leads with six Dorian nominations, including Best Film and Best Foreign Language Film. Following with five nominations is the poetic tragicomedy Nomadland, with nods for lead Frances McDormand, two for director and screenwriter Chloé Zhao, and a shot at Most Visually Striking Film.
“It’s not a surprise that the films that came out in 2020, one of the country’s most tumultuous years, are fascinating works that feel both deeply personal and subversively political,” says GALECA president Diane Anderson-Minshall. “And I’m thrilled that unlike some other critics groups, our members have not relegated Minari—one of the year’s most quintessentially American films—just to the foreign language category. More than anything, Minari and Nomadland show what it means to live with autonomy and self-direction in America today.”
The Chinese-born Zhao is also up for the group’s Wilde Artist Award alongside actress and acclaimed first-time film director Regina King (One Night in Miami), Dolly Parton, Elliot Page and the late Chadwick Boseman, also honored with a posthumous Best Actor nomination for his dynamic turn in the period drama Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The Artist accolade, named in honor of GALECA’s patron saint Oscar Wilde, goes to “a truly groundbreaking force in entertainment.”
Emerald Fennell, writer-director of fellow Best Film contender Promising Young Woman (4 nominations), is a double-nominee herself. Woman’s star Carey Mulligan joins McDormand in the best actress race, alongside Miss Juneteenth’s pageant-mom Nicole Beharie, Never Rarely Sometimes Always’ pregnant teen Sidney Flanigan (also competing for the group’s Rising Star honor), and Viola Davis for her turn as a certain famed blues singer in Ma Rainey’s. McDormand is a past two-time GALECA nominee, while Davis earned a Dorian for her work in 2016’s Fences.
Along with Boseman in the Best Actor category are Anthony Hopkins for The Father, Delroy Lindo for director Spike Lee’sDa 5 Bloods, Riz Ahmed for the addiction drama Sound of Metal and Steven Yeun of Minari.
Rounding out the Best Film hopefuls are the indie fable First Cow and Metal, with three nominations each.
In the past, GALECA has named movies such as Moonlight and Carol both best film and best LGBTQ film, but this year the lists for those two categories are completely different. Aiming for best queer film are the Kate Winslet-Saoirse Ronan period romance Ammonite, the fact-based love story I Carry You with Me, the Stanley Tucci-Colin Firth tearjerker Supernova, writer-director Alan Ball’s dry comedy Uncle Frank and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
In the group’s signature Campiest Flick race: Bad Hair, Birds of Prey, Eurovision Song Contest, The Prom and Wonder Woman 1984.
The winner of the Society’s Timeless Star career achievement award—past recipients include Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep, Sir Ian McKellen and Lily Tomlin—will be announced in the group’s April 18 Dorians Film Toast special. GALECA’s previous awards special,
A nonprofit professional organization, GALECA consists of over 280 critics and journalists who write for legitimate media outlets in the United States, Canada, Australia and the U.K. For more info, visit GALECA.org. ]
Complete list of Dorian Film Awards nominees:
Best Film
FIRST COW
MINARI
NOMADLAND
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
SOUND OF METAL
Best LGBTQ Film
AMMONITE
THE BOYS IN THE BAND
I CARRY YOU WITH ME
MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
SUPERNOVA
UNCLE FRANK
Best Foreign Language Film
ANOTHER ROUND
BACURAU
I CARRY YOU WITH ME
LA LLORONA
MINARI
TWO OF US
Best Director
CHLOÉ ZHAO, NOMADLAND
EMERALD FENNELL, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
KELLY REICHARDT, FIRST COW
LEE ISAAC CHUNG, MINARI
REGINA KING, ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
Best Screenplay (original or adapted)
CHLOE ZHAO, NOMADLAND
ELIZA HITTMAN, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
EMERALD FENNELL, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
LEE ISAAC CHUNG, MINARI
RADHA BLANK, THE FORTY-YEAR-OLD VERSION
Best Unsung Film
DRIVEWAYS
FIRST COW
MISS JUNETEENTH
NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
SHIRLEY
THE ASSISTANT
Best Documentary
COLLECTIVE
CRIP CAMP
DICK JOHNSON IS DEAD
DISCLOSURE
TIME
WELCOME TO CHECHNYA
Best LGBTQ Documentary
A SECRET LOVE
BORN TO BE
DISCLOSURE
MUCHO MUCHO AMOR: THE LEGEND OF WALTER MERCADO
WELCOME TO CHECHNYA
Best Film Performance — Actress
CAREY MULLIGAN, PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN
FRANCES MCDORMAND, NOMADLAND
NICOLE BEHARIE, MISS JUNETEENTH
SIDNEY FLANIGAN, NEVER RARELY SOMETIMES ALWAYS
VIOLA DAVIS, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
Best Film Performance — Actor
ANTHONY HOPKINS, THE FATHER
CHADWICK BOSEMAN, MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM
DELROY LINDO, DA 5 BLOODS
RIZ AHMED, SOUND OF METAL
STEVEN YEUN, MINARI
Best Film Performance — SUPPORTING Actress
AMANDA SEYFRIED, MANK
CANDICE BERGEN, LET THEM ALL TALK
MARIA BAKALOVA, BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM
OLIVIA COLMAN, THE FATHER
YUH-JUNG YOUN, MINARI
Best Film Performance — SUPPORTING Actor
CHADWICK BOSEMAN, DA 5 BLOODS
DANIEL KALUUYA, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
LESLIE ODOM JR., ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI
PAUL RACI, SOUND OF METAL
SACHA BARON COHEN, THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7
Most Visually Striking Film
BIRDS OF PREY: AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN
MANK
NOMADLAND
SOUL
WOLFWALKERS
Campiest Flick
BAD HAIR
BIRDS OF PREY: AND THE FANTABULOUS EMANCIPATION OF ONE HARLEY QUINN
EUROVISION SONG CONTEST: THE STORY OF FIRE SAGA
THE PROM
WONDER WOMAN 1984
“We’re Wilde About You!” Rising Star Award
ALAN S. KIM
KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR
MARIA BAKALOVA
RADHA BLANK
SIDNEY FLANIGAN
Wilde Artist Award
(to a truly groundbreaking force in entertainment)
CHADWICK BOSEMAN
CHLOE ZHAO
DOLLY PARTON
ELLIOT PAGE
REGINA KING
This really cracked me up! Wanda Sykes visited The Ellen DeGeneres Show today and the hilarious part is her comparing former First Lady Michelle Obama’s style for the 2016 and 2021 Inauguration Days. Obama was a style icon for Joe Biden’s swearing in but was quite the opposite four years earlier when the only twice-impeached president in US history took the oath.
On The Ellen DeGeneres Show yesterday, Anderson Cooper talked about gearing up to be a guest host on “Jeopardy!,” and recalled the time he lost the trivia show to stoner comedian Cheech Marin. He also admitted to Ellen he just discovered the joy of coffee, and loves it for the first time in his life.
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Thinking of the loveliest of ladies today. 
The winner of two Emmys and a Tony and an Oscar nominee for Six Degrees of Separation, Stockard Channing is one of our great actresses who is always terrific and interesting in all that she does.
Josh Brolin turns 53 today and he is aging like fine wine.
