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Andrew Rannells posts pics of “sweet Gavin” Creel
FILE UNDER: Broadway
Monday Round-Up: Omar Apollo; Lil Nas X; Sarah Paulson; Sam Salter; JoJo Siwa & more!
As steamy ‘Queer’ scenes leak online, Daniel Craig says Omar Apollo wasn’t nervous about baring it all Queerty
Shirtless Lil Nas X teases new song AND new album dreamboy coming very, very soon Out.com
Sarah Paulson hilariously reacts to fans calling her ‘mother’ Advocate
I Need You To See Me’s Sam Salter: ‘I’m thrilled my acting debut is a queer story’ Attitude
JoJo Siwa Explains Viral ‘Bulge’ Photoshoot, Compares Image to Infamous Harry Styles Moment Just Jared
Transgender Icon Film ‘Granny Lee’ Set to Shoot in 2025 Variety
FILE UNDER: Morning Round-Up
Showtune Sunday: All About Hugh Jackman!
Hugh Jackman may be a huge box office star at the movies – as evidenced by this year’s Deadpool & Wolverine – but he is also a great Broadway star with a Tony Award to show for it.
Yesterday was Hugh’s 56th birthday so it seemed like a good idea to remind us all of what a great song and dance man he is.
Enjoy!
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WATCH: Shirley MacLaine on a life in pictures
Singer, dancer and actor Shirley MacLaine has lived many lives, and she’s documented them in her new memoir, “The Wall of Life,” a photographic account of the Academy Award-winner’s remarkable journey from Broadway to Hollywood and beyond. The actress talks with CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Lee Cowan about her family; how dancing led to her breakthrough role in “The Pajama Game”; becoming the “mascot” of Hollywood’s famed Rat Pack; and how she has never stopped inhabiting memorable characters.
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Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka celebrate the 14th birthdays of twins Gideon & Harper
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Weekend Round-Up: Jim Parsons; Elton John; Christian Siriano; Nicola Coughlan & more!
Jim Parsons not interested in doing a The Big Bang Theory reboot… for now EW.com
Can you feel the love tonight – Elton John calls Elon Musk an ‘a-hole’ Out.com
Laura Linney, Alex Newell, Laverne Cox & Rosie Perez Join Christian Siriano to Celebrate His New Book ‘The New Red Carpet’ Just Jared
Tim Walz joins Andy Cohen and Jesse Tyler Ferguson to warn of Trump’s threat to LGBTQ+ freedoms Advocate
Ryan Reynolds Celebrates Hugh Jackman’s 56th Birthday with Sweet Message Just Jared
Nicola Coughlan Teases Queer Romance in ‘Bridgerton,’ Talks Role She’ll Play in Season 4 Just Jared
FILE UNDER: Morning Round-Up
We will never forget Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard who died 26 years ago today
It was 26 years ago today that Matthew Shepard died from severe head injuries after being abducted and tortured by two men who left him to die – tied to a fence – near the town of Laramie, Wyoming.
The college student was just 21.
The attackers were arrested and eventually sentenced to two-consecutive life sentences each for one of the most notorious hate crimes in U.S. history.
‘October is always a very difficult month because it’s the anniversary,’ Shepard’s high school friend, Michele Josue, said in 2016 after a screening I was at on the Paramount Studios lot of her outstanding documentary Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine.
‘He was a wonderful human being and we miss him terribly.’
His parents, who created The Matthew Shepard Foundation shortly after their son’s death, gave their blessing and cooperation to Josue as she began work on the film in 2010.
It debuted on the film festival circuit in 2014, won numerous audience and jury awards and received the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Special Class Special.
At the screening for Paramount’s LGBT employee group, Josue fought back tears as she talked about her friend.
‘(His death) devastated me. I was not only traumatized but so angry. I’ve learned that it’s okay that I’m not over it and I’m still so angry and still so tearful every time I see the film – and I’ve seen it a thousand times.’
The film tells how Shepard had only recently returned to his hometown in Wyoming to go to college after a post-high school spiral during which he dropped out of college in North Carolina then spent a year living in deep depression in Colorado.
Once outgoing and upbeat, Shepard had struggled after being raped by a group of men in Morocco during a trip there with friends from high school.
‘He battled depression, he wasn’t perfect,’ Josue said. ‘He had a lot of joys but a lot of struggles.’
But by the time of his death, several friends interviewed in the film say he had regained his footing.
‘I felt like it was my obligation to share with the world who he really was as a human being besides this horrific, violent act that happened to him,’ said Josue.
The film aired on Logo TV in 2016 and is available on Netflix.
Meanwhile, parents Dennis and Judy Shepard have worked tirelessly – and successfully – to get federal hate crimes legislation passed in the U.S.
Married for 48 years, they have also traveled to 18 counties in recent years for the US State Department to talk about equal rights and bullying and discrimination.
In an emotional interview with me in 2015, Dennis Shepard spoke of living with such a tremendous loss.
‘You feel the guilt that you weren’t there when he was out there in that field by himself, that’s the thing that really bothers me,’ he said. ‘Was he asking for dad to come take care of him like he used to?’
It’s clear that no matter how many years pass, the loss is ever present.
‘You never make progress, you’re always mourning,’ the father said. ‘You always have that hole. You don’t have the same joy when it comes to mother’s Day and Father’s Day and birthdays and Christmas. You always have that little bit of mourning that you’re doing and grieving. But you have to go on with your life. You can’t just shelter up in the corner. Matt wouldn’t have wanted that and I refuse to do it because then the bad guys win.
‘We were forced into (activism),’ he added. ‘We didn’t know anything about the gay issues. Matt was our son, that’s all we knew. We didn’t know that he’d have to fear for his life, that he couldn’t get a job if he was gay, we didn’t know any of these issues. It just really upset us to find this out – all these kids with no chance to succeed because they are considered different. That is just not right.’
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Former Nickelodeon star Carlo Arrechea on being out: “I just want to … live as my authentic self
FILE UNDER: Coming Out
Friday Round-Up: Pete Buttigieg; Tim Walz; Alex Temple Ward; Gary Goldstein; Jonathan Bailey & more!
Pete Buttigieg spells out how Trump is making things harder for hurricane victims Queerty
Tim Walz joins HRC and Out for Harris to kick off 10-day LGBTQ+ voter battleground push Advocate
Gavin Creel’s Partner Alex Temple Ward Breaks Silence After Broadway Star’s Tragic Death Just Jared
Gary Goldstein: Is coming out yesterday’s news? Why these stories still matter Out.com
Jonathan Bailey in tight leather pants with his belt undone has the gays howling Queerty
NFL donates $100,000 to honor gay player for National Coming Out Day Outsports
FILE UNDER: Morning Round-Up
Happy 47th birthday to Matt Bomer!
Wishing a happy 47th birthday to one of my favorite actors Matt Bomer.
Matt is due to begin shooting the new comedy series Mid-Century Modern with a cast that also includes Nathan Lane and Linda Lavin, among others. It’s been described as a gay Golden Girls which makes it already irresistible. It’s from Will & Grace creators David Kohan & Max Mutchnick as well as Ryan Murphy. I can’t wait to watch it.
Matt has already had such a first-rate year thanks to the success of the limited series Fellow Travelers which earned him and co-star Jonathan Bailey well-deserved Emmy nominations.
The Peabody Award-winning show followed the lives and volatile romance of two different men, through purges, wars, protests, and plagues, overcoming obstacles in the world including the “Lavender Scare” of the 1950s that most of us didn’t know much about before. Matt has never been better than in this complex role that called for him to age and to portray a character who became so good at compartmentalization and at living a secret life but also giving us glimpses of his heart and soul.
Matt is not one of my faves just because he’s so damned good looking or because he’s always been so sweet to met whenever I’ve seen him over the years. He’s a favorite because his work on television and in film has been so varied and superb.
The Golden Globe Award-winning actor was so captivating for six seasons on USA Network’s White Collar as con artist Neal Caffrey. I binged watched all the seasons during the pandemic and gained a deeper appreciation for Matt and the rest of the cast which included the late Willie Garson with whom Matt shared a beautiful chemistry. There is talk of a White Collar revival so here’s hoping!
Matt’s versatility was on full display in 2020 when he appeared in a recurring role on Will & Grace as Will’s boyfriend while at the same time playing a serial killer on the series The Sinner.
He was a revelation as a New York Times reporter dying of AIDS in 2014′s The Normal Heart and was robbed of an Emmy Award that year in my opinion. But he did win the Critics Choice Award that year and the Golden Globe.
Other strong and memorable work from Matt that I particularly liked were the films Papi Chulo, Anything, The Nice Guys, and Boys in the Band. He’s also fun – and very fit – as a stripper in Magic Mike and the sequel Magic Mike XXL .
Matt was also in TV’s Doom Patrol and Echoes and has appeared in several seasons of American Horror Story.
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Victor Garber & Rainer Andreesen celebrate 24 years
Related posts:
– Exclusive: How my interview with Victor Garber ended with him confirming that he is gay
– Commentary: On Victor Garber and breaking the story the first time Jodie Foster kind of came out publicly
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Rafael Nadal officially retires from pro tennis
Rafael Nadal is such a class act and it seems that he is officially retiring at the right time after getting as much as he could out of his body. He can truly say he did it all: 22 grand slam singles titles, Olympic gold medals in singles and doubles, world number one. The most astounding stat is 14 French Open crowns, four US Open titles, two Wimbledon titles and two Australian Opens. The only title to have alluded him was the ATP year-end championship which is played indoors – his worst surface.
Rafa has been a great sportsman, a class act, and his rivalries with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic delighted fans for nearly two decades.
Below are tributes from fellow players:
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Thursday Round-Up: Anderson Cooper; Bowen Young; Rosie O’Donnell; Dimitri Pavade & more!
Anderson Cooper Struck by Flying Debris from Hurricane Milton During Live News Report: ‘That Wasn’t Good’ People
Wicked star Bowen Yang says Fiyero has ‘bisexual energy’ in the movie EW.com
Rosie O’Donnell on becoming friends with Madonna at the height of her fame: “She had lost her humanity” Queerty
French para-athlete Dimitri Pavade gets ‘thank you’ message from 6th grader after coming out as gay at Paris Games Outsports
Pro soccer player Kevin Behrens asked to autograph Pride jersey said ‘I won’t sign that gay sh*t’ Outsports
FILE UNDER: Morning Round-Up
All Broadway theaters will dim their lights in honor of beloved Tony Award winner Gavin Creel
The death of Broadway and West End star Gavin Creel has been devastating on a personal level for so many people.
I never met Greel but I was a fan and I admired him for his openness. The closest I ever got to having contact with Gavin was an email interview I did with him back in late 2011 on my first day as US correspondent for Gay Star News. Since the site is now kaput and its archives not available, I can’t repost it now. Then last year, I saw Gavin posing with the cast of Into the Woods at the Ahmanson and enjoyed his performance with the national touring company. Many, like Gavin, had been in the Broadway production.
Anyway, this long-winded intro is to say that while I never met Gavin, in all my nearly 25 years covering the entertainment industry – full time and part time – I don’t recall ever seeing this level of loss articulated by so very many people. Gavin touched so many lives and so many people have been articulating how in Instagram posts. It has been something and it has given us a real picture of who this man was off the stage.
This level of loss publicly expressed by so many in the Broadway community made it a bitter pill when the Broadway League announced that Gavin would be honored with a partial dimming of lights of Broadway theaters. Only 11 of 41 theaters would dim their lights, one theater for every theater owner. Apparently Broadway League reserves a full dimming for only the most beloved people.
This immediately felt so wrong on a gut level, tone deaf and insulting to the legacy of one of Broadway’s brightest stars in his prime.
I reviewed Gavin’s Broadway stunning resume beyond Into the Woods and his Tony-winning performance in Hello, Dolly! He was Tony nominated for lead actor for Hair and Thoroughly Modern Millie (his Broadway debut), spent a year as Elder Price in The Book of Mormon, seven months in La Cage aux Folles as well as runs in She Loves Me and Waitress.
I’m not even getting into his triumphs on the London stage, Off-Broadway and other work. It’s a stupendous Broadway career for anyone much less a man who died when he was just 48.
An online petition demanding all theaters participate was signed by over 23,000 people.
The petition read in part: For younger fans in particular, he has been a key figure in the renaissance of musical theater in this century. His death at the age of 48 is a terrible loss.
We understand that full dimming is meant to be a rare thing. But special circumstances should be taken into account. The community’s sustained and profound outpouring of grief at his death—a testament not just to his youth but also to his character, his talent and his centrality in the Broadway world for the past 20 years—puts him in a different category.
Committee of Theatre Owners on Wednesday said all 41 Broadway theaters would dim their lights on separate nights for Creel, Adrian Bailey and Maggie Smith. The committee also said it was “reviewing their current dimming policy and procedures.”
Below are yet more personal tributes to Creel I came across today. I already posted many in recent days because I’m struck by how plentiful and personal they are.
What a life well-lived. What a legacy.
FILE UNDER: Broadway
