Afternoon Greg: Adam Lambert poised to be first gay idol; Jon Stewart wonders if Marion Berry is on crack; Remembering Rick Nelson

By Greg Hernandez on May 8, 2009 4:55 pm | Comments (0) |

Sorry for the delay in getting the afternoon post up. I worjked this morning out of a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf a few blocks from The Grove because Insomnia Cafe opened later today. I made the ill-fated decision to take a break after lunch to drive to Newport Beach where I’m hanging out until leaving for Palm Springs Saturday morning where I’m going to spend part of next week.

The plan was to get here and blog a few more items. That was before the commute stretched to TWO HOURS. I was about to absolutely lose my mind! But I’ve gathered myself enough to do one more post today and give you a heads uop that there will be at least some fresh material all weekend.

YEP, HE’S ADAM: A few years ago I did a cover story for The Advocate about whether there would ever be an openly gay winner of American Idol. Well, it looks like it;s going to happen in a few weeks if front-runner Adam Lambert can stay head-and-shoulders above the competition. He’s on the cover of the new Entertainment Weekly which pretty unheard of for someone who has not yet won but let’s face it, if he takes second or third he’s still going to be a huge star.

The story does not shy away from the issue of his sexuality. Even though Adam has not publicly proclaimed that he is gay, he has not seemed at all concerned about the photos of him making out with other guys that have been splashed around the internet.

The article by Mark Harris states that Adam is playing out the gay question “with a complicated mixture of caution and shrewdness.” He’s widely assumed to be gay but the most he would say to EW about the public scrutiny is ”I know who I am. I’m an honest guy, and I’m just going to keep singing.”

Another part iof the piece notes that: Adam isn’t talking about it. He’s handled inquiries with disarming jokiness. Ambushed recently by a TMZ reporter who said, awkwardly, ”So, you could be the first…,” Adam replied, smiling, ”The first what?” daring the reporter to finish the thought. He didn’t. But neither did Adam.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

M – Th 11p / 10c

Gaywatch – Marion Barry

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WHAT A CRACK UP: Jon Stewart’s “Gaywatch” segment on the gay marriage decisions in Maine and Washington DC is a real hoot. But the best line comes at the end when he gets to Washington DC city councilman Marion Berry, the former mayor caught on video doing crack during his mayoral term. Stewart shows footage of the drug use then cuts to Barry – the only vote against allowing the marriages – and he’s talking about how politicians need to be moral people and how, yes, he is a moral man.

Said Stewart: “Normally when you hear someone say something that oblivious to their own reality, you want to say, “What? Are you on crack?”

REMEMBERING RICKY: Beautiful Rick Nelson, one of those guys who was SUCH an early crush of mine, was one of the biggest rock and roll stars of the 50s and 60s and probably the first really big teen idol. He had more than THIRTY top 40 hits including I’m Walkin, Hello Mary Lou, Travelin Man, and Poor Little Fool. His last big hit came in 1972 with Garden Party but he continued to tour.

But Rick died way too soon when a private plane talking him to his next gig crashed and burned on New Year’s Eve in 1985. Because he had appeared with his parents and brother on the Ozzie and Harriet show for all those years, it did feel like a member of the family had passed.

He would have been 69 years old today.

Here are some clips of him performing. The first is from 1985, the year he died. Still so handsome and in terrific voice:

This one is from 1961 and Rick is singing Travelin Man. Sigh…