Allison Harvard
Amber Benson
Bob Eubanks
Carolina Herrera
David Bowie
Gaby Hoffmann
Harriet Harris
Jason Giambi
Jenny Lewis
Michelle Forbes
R. Kelly
Rachel Nichols
Sam Riley
Sarah Polley
Shirley Bassey
Stephen Hawking
The post January 8 – It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch! appeared first on World of Wonder.
January 8, 1937– Shirley Bassey
January 8, 1947- David Bowie
Bowie and Bassey, Together At Last! A good idea, don’t you agree?
They have given me a lifetime of listening pleasure & they share a birthday today. Like your host, they are both Capricorns, certainly the brightest birth sign. Unlike me, this pair of Brits has had decades-long super-careers in show biz. Bassey feeds my fantasies about growing old gracefully, epitomized in beautiful songs like Charles Aznavour‘s Yesterday, When I Was Young. Bowie encourages me to stay a Young American, bored with my external characters, daring to seek ideas within my alternative egos. He is an artist-hero who tosses off his past roles: Spaceman, Bisexual, Rebel, like out-dated clothing.
Both are beyond normal criticism, defying purely musical assessment. Bassey over-sings, but thrillingly, & cannot perform except with total commitment. Bowie over-plays, but rivetingly, & demands attention by his extravagant idiosyncrasy, which is as professionally unrepentant as hers. She devours the listener; he incites the listener. Each powerfully proves the power of personality.
Funny, but I seem to really fully embrace artists when they are at their core fans’ & the critics’ low ebb: The Beatles with The White Album, The Rolling Stones and Some Girls, U2– Achtung Baby, REM– Automatic For The People. I have listened to & collected Bowie since 1969 with the release of Space Oddity, a song I still listen to. That is 45 years of living with Bowie in his many incarnations & personas. But, my favorite era for Bowie was not Ziggy Stardust, The Thin White Duke, Alladin Sane, or the Brian Eno lean years of Low. No, I love the Bowie of the Let’s Dance era of the mid-1980s. That album, along with the next year’s Tonight were the soundtrack of the very best time of my life: Modern Love, Let’s Dance, China Girl, songs that mixed his blue-eyed soul with an industrial edge & a big dash of pop sensibilities. I thought Bowie was in his best voice & his sexiest during this time. I saw some serious moonlight in the 1980s.
There is a list of British acts that seem to have eluded pure pop music popularity in the USA: Celia Black, Lulu, & Robbie Williams come to mind. But, why hasn’t Shirley Bassey caught on in this country after 60 years of recording great pop music & being the #1 Female Artist in Britain? Why isn’t she especially loved by American gay people? The Husband & I really dig her. We love the Bassey sound of the 1960s & we were zany for her cover of Pink‘s Get The Party Started in the party summer of 2007.
Bassey won an entirely new generation of fans when she guested on a 1997 song from British techno act, Propellerheads. The terrific tune, History Repeating, charted in both Europe & North America, & appeared on the soundtrack to the popular film There’s Something About Mary (1998). Yet, Bassey had already enjoyed a 5 decade career as a performer before that point, recording a string of hit singles in the 1960s & garnering a devoted cult following for her torchy, often slightly risqué songs, glamorous looks, & compelling stage presence. Sometimes called “Bassey The Belter” for her strong distinctive alto voice, Bassey had already delivered a string of hits by the time she went huge with an international #1 song when she recorded the title song to the James Bond flick Goldfinger (1964). She went on to record 3 Bond theme songs, more than any other artist.
Bassey was born in a rough neighborhood of Cardiff, Wales. Her mother had 10 children from as many fathers. When she was 2 years old, her own father was sent to prison for 5 years and was then deported back to Nigeria. Bassey never saw him again.
When she was 15 years old, Basssey began to sing in local pubs. A music agent signed her up at 17 years old, by which time Bassey had a daughter who lived with one of her sisters. Within a year she had a record contract and was appearing in clubs in London.
Her act was perfect for London in that era. It was sexy, but not salacious, luxurious, but never vulgar, and her recordings like Hey, Big Spender and Diamonds Are Forever reflected Britain’s taste for swingin’ style.
Yet, Bassey struggled with her personal relationships. Her first husband turned out to be gay and died of a drug overdose when he was 40 years old. Her second marriage, to a rich to hotel mogul, ended in a bitter divorce after 12 years. Her second daughter, rumored to have been fathered by actor Peter Finch, committed suicide. Tales of her tempestuous personality are legendary. Bassey claims that she can count her friends on her fingers.
“I’ve found happiness in my work, but not in my private life. I had to take from my private life to make my public life successful. I had to make a lot of sacrifices. I was happy in Cardiff. I had a great time. Every Thursday there was a factory club; darts, dancing. I was happy until success entered my life, and then it was all downhill. Success spoiled me. It took away my happiness. My success became a barrier with my family. They couldn’t relate to me, and I couldn’t relate to them.”
She has released 58 albums & 105 singles. Today, she lives alone, with homes in Monaco and London, still in superb voice and with plenty of misconceptions. She still gives concerts & at the end of 2014, Bassey released a really swell new album, Hello Like Before. It includes a 50th anniversary re-recording of Goldfinger and Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend.
Bowie has a brand new album, his 25th, which drops today, his birthday. Blackstar is jazz infused, lyrically enigmatic and thrillingly odd. His first try at composing songs for a stage musical, Lazarus, is based on the classic sci-fi novel The Man Who Fell To Earth by Walter Tevis. Bowie successfully played the lead role of a hollow-eyed alien in the film version in 1976, directed by Nicolas Roeg. Lazarus is currently playing Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop. Bowie is an accomplished stage & film actor, but Michael C.Hall plays the Bowie role in Lazarus, which is directed by hot gay experimental maverick Ivo van Hove.
“I’m an instant star. Just add water and stir.”
Bowie is a Style Icon and a Gay Icon. He does not give interviews. He doesn’t do much to promote his new releases. He does not do world tours playing the hit songs. In fact, he doesn’t do the things that rock stars are supposed to do, or explain himself in any way. Bowie lives with his gorgeous wife Iman in NYC & London.
The post #BornThisDay: Shirley Bassey & David Bowie appeared first on World of Wonder.
RuPaul’s DragCon 2016 is fast-approaching! May 7th and 8th! DO YOU HAVE YOUR TICKETS YET?
Every day between now and then, we’re going to be highlighting a wowlebrity that will be in attendance! Today, we celebrate that rare beauty and national treasure Detox!
She is the ONLY. She is EVERYTHING.
Detox has appeared in music videos with Kesha and Rihanna.
Detox modeled as part of the Tranimal Master Class Workshop at the Machine Project. The event was photographed by Austin Young.
Detox has also been a member of the bands Tranzkuntinental and DWV. DWV released several singles: “Boy is a Bottom,” a parody of “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys which debuted at number six on Billboard ’s Comedy Digital Songs, selling 3,000 downloads in its first week; “Silicone”, a parody of “Dancing on My Own” by Robyn; and “Blurred Bynes”, a parody of “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke. The accompanying videos all became viral hits with views in the multi-millions.
Follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
Watch her say her catch-phrase: “I’ve had it. Officially”
And check out her INSTANT holiday classic: “This Is How We Jew It”
The post RuPaul’s DragCon 2016: Come and Meet Detox! appeared first on World of Wonder.
Remember Aaron Schock? The anti-gay GOP Congressman who posed shirtless for Men’s Health, decorated his office to resemble Downton Abbey and then resigned in disgrace after being accused of misusing public money? Schock’s been lying low lately (on the down low?) but he’s back in the headlines! Gay porn company Titan Men is releasing a new film, Cauke for President, that features a hot, homophobic senator named Mike Cauke, who has a secret hookup that sets off a chain reaction of political intrigue and… of course, sex. The company Photoshopped its fictional senator into an office reminiscent of Schock’s old D.C. digs. Titan’s fictional character (Are you getting it Mike Cauke? My Cock?) has been trying to draw attention to himself by trolling Schock on Twitter.
“Hey @aaronschock, I think I left my watch at your place. Call me.”
Shock re-emerged from his self-imposed exile briefly to Tweet his decorating defense below.
You can visit the official Cauke For President website here, and follow his Instagram and Twitter but honestly, it’s he’s not that sexy or funny. You can see more explicit pics on Titan’s Twitter but the real Schock has a better bod but that one comes with a side of homophobia.
(via The Wrap)
The post Ex-Congressman Aaron Schock Gets a Gay Porn Parody, “Cauke For President” appeared first on World of Wonder.
January 9, 1911– Gypsy Rose Lee
My friends who care about such a thing understand that Gypsy is my favorite musical. I consider it a near perfect piece of theatre. I actually consider Gypsy to be the highest of human accomplishments.
I am well connected in Hollywood and my insiders tell me that Barbra Streisand continues with a plan to produce, direct and star in a new film version of this classic show. Streisand, too old to play the role of Gypsy Rose Lee’s mother by decades, states:
“Age is just a number; some people look old at 45. Some people look younger at my age… I saw CGI of an actor that made him go from 60 to 30, by the way. What they can do now, technically. It should happen, but it just takes forever.”
“Forever” must have meant waiting for Arthur Laurents to die. Laurents, who wrote the script for the original and had held rights to all productions, was not in favor of Streisand playing Mama Rose on film.
It has been filmed before, with Rosalind Russell as an effective, but the softest of Mama Roses. Hardcore Musical Theatre People love to opine on the subject of the casting of any Mama Rose. I admire Streisand’s talent as a director, but I am afraid that at nearly 74 years old, she is a tiny bit long in the tooth for a character that starts the story in her 30s. Streisand might break a hip. Still, Streisand doing that great sung monologue, Rose’s Turn, intrigues.
She was dismissed as “untalented” by her own mother, but Lee remains a source of inspiration 45 years after she took that final curtain call.
Born Rose Louise Hovick in Seattle to a teenage mother right out of a convent, she got an early start in show business, appearing with her little sister June in a vaudeville act when she was just 8 years old. It was apparent that the sister, Baby June, was the true talent of the siblings. From the start of their act, Louise was pushed to the background while June was moved to the center stage and given a special pink spotlight.
The family moved to Hollywood with an act named Dainty June, The Hollywood Baby, & Her Newsboys. Their mother, Rose had an overbearing determination to see her young daughters have successful stage careers and she soon divorced her husband to become the girls’ full-time manager.
In their teenage years, Louise & June had the responsibility of supporting the family. They traveled all over the USA, playing cheap vaudeville theatres, living out of suitcases, & skipping school. When June was 13 years old, she eloped with fellow vaudevillian Bobby Reed. The sister act was finished.
Louise was unable to generate much interest as a solo act. At 17 years old, and stranded in Kansas City without a booking, she was approached by an agent about appearing in a burlesque show when the usual stripper had landed in prison. Despite Mama Rose’s objections, Louise took the gig and was reinvented as Gypsy Rose Lee.
Lee made her NYC debut in 1931, at Minsky’s Famous Republic Theatre, the first burlesque house on Broadway. Comedians Abbott & Costello, Phil Silvers, and Red Buttons were on the same bill, but the strippers were the stars. At height of the Depression, a strip tease artist made more than $2,000 a week. Lee played 12 weeks in a row at The Republic, setting a record for the theatre. She was arrested during one of the many police raids on Minsky’s theatres. This only helped her become even more popular.
Lee didn’t perform the usual bumps and grinds of traditional Burlesque routines. She developed a slow strip which she accompanied with a smart patter song. Her patter was her biggest asset. In those days, women made up half of the typical Burlesque audience, and Lee became famous for her onstage wit and sophistication.
When she turned of 33 years old, Lee decided she wanted have a child. She told her sister June that she wanted to select the father, and he needed to be:
“The toughest, meanest son of a bitch that I can find, somebody who’s ruthless, and my child will rule the world.”
Her choice was the great Hollywood film director Otto Preminger. Lee slept with him just one time. When he was 18 years old, her son Erik demanded to know why she wouldn’t tell him who his father was. Her retort:
“Because it’s none of your business.”
Lee’s autobiography Gypsy: Memoirs Of America’s Most Celebrated Stripper (1957), plus that landmark stage musical and the film based on it, made Rose even more notorious than the daughter. Lee’s book was a bestseller, but she could have sold even more copies had she told the real story about herself & her mother. Rose hounded her daughters for decades, demanding money and credit for their fame.
June, the sister, became June Havoc. She not only starred in the premiere of the great Rodgers & Hart musical Pal Joey (1940), she wrote 2 memoirs that told the story of her long career as an acclaimed actor and stage director. Havoc took her final curtain call in spring 2012.
The musical Gypsy is a horror show wrapped up as a show biz fable. Rose Hovick is the scary monster. The musical & the memoir were, like everything else having to do with that family, highly fictionalized. It turns out that Rose, who wrote the book on how to be a stage-mother, was actually worse in real life. She was an epic bully, enabler, and manipulator, plus she was guilty of at least 2 murders, & possibly a third. And, most dreadful of all, she was probably a lesbian.
The essence of Gypsy is basically true though. Rose’s voracious, inhuman ambition, the early fame of Lee’s little sister who could toe-dance at the age of 2 as “Baby June” on the vaudeville circuit, and the desperation that set in when radio, films and the Depression made vaudeville extinct, those are all fact. June really did elope with one of the act’s chorus boys. It was true that Louise could not sing, dance or act, but she was willing to take her clothes off on stage and smart theater owners recognized that the way she did it was something special.
After one of her many arrests, Lee stated:
“I was completely covered… in a blue spotlight”.
Her talent for publicity made her a household name. The more famous & adored she became, the fewer garments she had to take off.
Through the decades, Lee & her sister continued to fight, then reconciled. Havoc helped Lee get through her final battle with cancer, gone at just 57 years old in 1970. But, when Lee was on her deathbed, she whispered to her son Erik:
“After I go, don’t let June in the house. She’ll rob you blind.”
If she interests you, and she should, I recommend American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare, The Life And Times Of Gypsy Rose Lee (2011) by Karen Abbott. Erik Preminger is in his early 70s. He works as an actor and writer, with a book titled G-String Mother: My Life With Gypsy Rose Lee. He says of his famous mother:
“She was a true-life Auntie Mame, only better.”
The post #BornThisDay: Gypsy Rose Lee appeared first on World of Wonder.
On this #AfterShow, RuPaul’s Drag Race season 7 queen Trixie Mattel and Edward Hansen break down EVERYTHING that happened on Wednesday’s episode 11 of American Horror Story Hotel!
The post #AfterShow: Trixie Mattel & Edward Hansen Recap ‘AHS: Hotel’ Episode 11 appeared first on World of Wonder.
Dame Edna Everage creator, 81 year-old Barry Humphries, is in some HOT water after a grossly offensive rant against trans women. The Australian comedian –who we liked up until now– is best known for his lilac-haired drag persona, Dame Edna. He defended recent comments made by his friend and feminist author Germaine Greer, who has been at the centre of controversy over the last few months. Students at Cardiff University launched a campaign to ban her from speaking at an event due to her history of transphobic remarks. Humphries told The Telegraph,
“I agree with Germaine! You’re a mutilated man, that’s all.
Self-mutilation, what’s all this carry on? Caitlyn Jenner – what a publicity-seeking ratbag. It’s all given the stamp – not of respectability, but authenticity or something.
If you criticise anything you’re racist or sexist or homophobic.”
Yes, Barry, you are two of those and you might be all three. Btw, thanks. The LGBT community has supported your tired drag for decades – who do you think has been going to your shows for the last 30 years? Speaking of ratbags…
Anyway, this all started when early last year, Greer said that,
“just because you lop off your dick and then wear a dress doesn’t make you a fucking woman…. [she]just wanted to take the limelight from his female family members.”
But The Danish Girl‘s Eddie Redmayne just refuted Greer’s comments regarding the reality star in his latest interview with British GQ. Affirming that his dismissal isn’t personal, the Oscar-winning actor said,
“I completely disagree with what she has to say about Caitlyn in relation to why she is making her show.
Of course, Germaine Greer is a woman with extraordinary strength and conviction, but I disagree.”
Me too on the disagreeing, Eddie. One might have problems with Jenner’s family or politics but this is what the trans community is up against from seemingly enlightened people like Greer and Humphries.
Redmayne in “The Danish Girl”; Germaine Greer
(via Attitude)
The post Dame Edna Calls Caitlyn Jenner, “A Publicity-Seeking Ratbag” appeared first on World of Wonder.
Kids, what is the ONE thing you would be sure to find on any AbFab set? Yes, you are correct. Drinking. But apparently, Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley were asked to STOP drinking on the set of Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, after their partying got “out of hand”.
Yass, ladies!! Producers were forced to ask the stars and crew to stop consuming buckets of booze during filming. A source told The Mirror:
“Cast and crew were acting like Patsy and Edina, there was lots and lots of partying.
It was getting so out of hand producers had to remind everyone that while they didn’t mind them drinking after the cameras stopped rolling, during filming was a big no-no.”
A film rep “declined to comment”. Eddy reportedly said,
“Sweetie! Darling! SWEETIEDARLING!! Shall we have some more champers and some nimbley bits?!”
I made that last part up but you can be PRETTY sure that it happened just like that.
(via Gay Times)
The post #AbFab: “Out of Hand” Partying Has Cast & Crew Banned From Drinking On the Set!!? appeared first on World of Wonder.
Yes, I think this might be Nigel Zeff‘s territory but I got to the planet first, so tough jockstrap. Being that this came from Antitwink you can see why this is just 6 minutes of guys in spandex, wrestling, running, bulging and giving lots of VPL. Put on Spotify or something else because the music really SUCKS. Mute and watch.
(via AntiTwink)
The post #PackageDeal: Here’s 6 Minutes of Guys BULGING In Spandex appeared first on World of Wonder.
Powerball fever is sweeping the country! It’s almost as high as the record $900 million that might be won tonight. Yes, the chances of getting struck by lightning or being elected POTUS are all more likely than winning Saturday’s grand prize. Unless you are Richard Lustig who has won SEVEN lottery grand prizes and written a book about his methodology. Forbes got advice from Lustig on how to win the big jackpot;
1. Avoid the “quick-pick”
The “quick-pick” method works in number sets, which means every number doesn’t have the same amount of luck one would perceive.“Every time you buy a quick pick, you get a different set of numbers; therefore, your odds are always going to be at their worst in that particular game.”
2. Use the entire board
Many people use birthdates and anniversaries when filling out their cards. While your loved ones bring you priceless joy, using their special days to bring home the jackpot will likely mean you end up splitting the prize with 20-40 people. Instead of just playing numbers 1-31, use all the numbers available.“If you spread the numbers out across the whole track, you’ll either be the only winner or will split it with only one or two people.”
3. Stick with your instincts
Lustig has a specific way to finding the numbers you feel most comfortable with in his book, but ultimately, once you pick the group that you think will work, stick with it.“Remember, a set of numbers wins the grand prize, not individual numbers.”
If playing multiple cards, have some variety in the grouping of numbers chosen to maximize your odds.
4. Be consistent
Simply put: If you want to win a particular game, follow past and future drawings to get the hang of it.5. Don’t get carried away
While winning $900 million would ultimately grant you and your loved ones financial security, it’s important not to spend money you can’t afford to lose (i.e.: groceries, rent, etc.) on lottery tickets. If you can only buy one ticket or even 10 but not 100, that’s OK. “Set a budget of what you’re going to spend. Do not get caught up in what’s called ‘lottery fever,’ Lustig says. Spend what you can comfortably afford to on lottery tickets and no more.
Good luck! We won’t ask what you’d do with the money if you win. A reporter got a big shock when she asked this guy. Watch.
(T/Y Tad; via Statesman)
The post #PowerballFever: 5 Tips to Win the Big Jackpot Tonight (+ a Lifetime Supply of Hookers & Coke!) appeared first on World of Wonder.
“The six baddest b*tches in the Ballroom scene…” turn out a fab re-werk of Cell Block Tango from Broadway musical Chicago . Directed, choreographed and created by Kemar Jewel, who also did The Runway Museum and YouTube hit Voguing Train, Vogue Ball Tango takes a look at what happens when Broadway meets the Ballroom, using voguing as the main dance style. Hands, catwalk, spin dip, old way, duck walk…GENIUS!!!
The post Watch: “B*tch, I Was Voguing” (Cell Block Tango Re-Werk) by Kemar Jewel appeared first on World of Wonder.
Photo by Jake Thompson
If you’re like me and mulling over some red vino and basically being the real-life version of this Cher Horowitz quote this fine Saturday night:
Photo by Jake Thompson
Then you were there when Kendrick Lamar dropped his new song “Untitled 2” on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Feast your ears WOWers:
There’s not enough two hands up emojis in the world to save your soul.
With lyrics like:
“I love God/ But I’m scared of godspeed, sometimes,” he raps. And, “We all came on the boat looking for hope/ And all you can say is that you’re looking for dope.”
We can’t help but all be Jimmy Fallon’s face at the end:
Oh. My. God.
The post #TwoHandsUpEmoji: Kendrick Lamar Drops New Song on “Tonight Show” and You Will Lose Your Mind It’s So Good appeared first on World of Wonder.
Abigail Clancy
Al Goldstein
Alex Meraz
Cash Warren
Chris “Mac Daddy” Smith
Evan Handler
Frank Sinatra, Jr.
George Foreman
Gurinder Chadha
James Lapine
Jemaine Clement
Julie Moran
Lyle Menendez
Marina Hinds
Pat Benatar
Rod Stewart
Saleisha Stowers
Sarah Shahi
Shawn Colvin
Trini Alvarado
William Sanderson
The post January 10 – It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch! appeared first on World of Wonder.
January 10, 1927– Johnnie Ray Sounded So Sad On The Radio
With a steady string of Top 10 hits lasting for most of a decade, Ray influenced Elvis Presley and infuriated Frank Sinatra. He broke through more racial and musical barriers than any other artist in the 1950s. But 60 years after his electrifying entrance on the pop music scene, the name Johnnie Ray now evokes blank stares when I asked if people know of him. Not one person that I mentioned researching this post had ever heard of Johnnie Ray. He was a talented, tragic talent who sobbed & shook his way to international celebrity, & then experienced an equally explosive & inexplicable fall.
He was born John Alvin Ray in rural Oregon. Even through the terrible years of the Great Depression, his loving family always supported his musical aspirations.
As a kid, Ray was the victim a freak accident where he landed on hard ground during a blanket toss on a Boy Scout camp out. A single straw on the ground was driven into his left ear, puncturing the membrane of his eardrum. He instantly lost all hearing in his left ear.
He didn’t tell his parents about the accident. The formerly happy, outgoing little boy became a sad, lonely teenager. It was from this dark time of loneliness & bitterness that informed the shameless sadness and fierceness of his singing.
Ray found solace & strength from the popular black music of his era. Billie Holiday became his idol. After being fitted with his first hearing aid & regaining the ability to experience the sounds around him, his full focus went to music. Ray’s lifelong hearing problems provided his thundering, tumultuous, tearful vocal technique.
Ray became the tall, pale, skinny, young white guy, noted for performing in black clubs in Detroit, where his smoky, soulful voice with its sorrowful delivery became his trademark.
Ray didn’t write the dynamic 1951 smash hit Cry, but it made him a recording star. He did write many of his own songs though, including my favorite Ray tune, Whiskey & Gin, a gut wrenching ballad. The record industry executives who heard his soul inflected vocals thought that they were listening to a black female singer and the fact that the voice was coming from a gangly white farm boy from Oregon was shocking.
Ray got a recording contract to Okeh Records where he became the first white artist ever to release pop hits on a blues label, & one of the first to land on the R&B charts. In 1951, Ray was the hottest performer in America, & his buzz was felt by everyone, everywhere, on radio, TV, magazines and films. Ray worked with the most respected singers, arrangers, & producers: Doris Day, Frankie Laine, Ray Conniff, and Mitch Miller.
In the summer of 1951, just a few weeks after Cry went to number 1 on the charts; Ray was arrested twice by the Detroit Vice Squad for soliciting sex with a man at a notorious gay bar. The Vice Squad had been on to Ray ever since he played those black clubs earlier in his career, gaining a reputation as a gay bad boy. When the police report and his mug shots were released, the damage to his career was significant. Teen rebels without a cause and the bobbysoxers still held Ray as a hero, but to the establishment, he was the devil incarnate. A half decade before Elvis, Ray had the moms and dads of America fearing for the souls of their kids.
Ray’s ferocious, fierce stage shaking fervor made him a hit with the Brits. Even after his popularity faded and he was ridiculed in the USA, Ray would play to packed houses of adoring fans all over The UK.
The scandals around Ray’s notorious personal behavior, his fondness for booze and pills that lead to high profile public drunkenness arrests, plus the emergence of Rock N’ Roll, all diminished Ray’s popularity. He continued to have records on the charts but the material he was being given became increasingly irrelevant.
Despite her knowledge of the 1951 arrests, Marilyn Morrison, the daughter of the owner of the Mocambo nightclub in Hollywood, married Ray in 1952. Morrison was aware that Ray was gay, but she told her friends she could “straighten him out.” She didn’t. The couple separated a year later and divorced in 1954. Morrison tried to contact Ray many times in the decades that followed their divorce, sometimes talking on the phone with Ray’s lover/manager Bill Franklin. Ray always told Franklin to get rid of her on the phone. Morrison attended the LA memorial service for Ray a month after his death and she refused to talk about Ray for the next 4 decades.
During a 1956 engagement at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas, Ray met the young Elvis Presley, who had just bombed at the same venue. Ray had been one of Presley’s biggest inspirations as a teenager in Memphis. The singers had birthdays within 24 hours of each other & they enjoyed a close friendship that lasted until Presley left this world in 1977.
Ray had a beard in news columnist and television personality Dorothy Kilgallen, despite the ire incurred on both of them by Sinatra. Ray’s conquest of the pop charts in 1951, holding the top 3 spots at once, enraged Sinatra. He was a little unhappy to be replaced by a raging, flaming fag cry-baby, and he was maddened by the fact that the love of his life, Ava Gardner, was obsessed with Ray. Sinatra held a lifelong grudge.
In 1964, Kilgallen, who had nurtured & supported Ray through his many ups & downs, was found dead in her apartment. It was speculated that she was murdered by someone who thought that she was delving too deeply into JFK’s assassination. She had supposedly uncovered the truth about the President’s murder.
After Kilgallen’s passing, Ray went back to booze, pills, & anonymous hookups with guys. His recordings & stage performances suffered. At 50 years old, Ray was diagnosed with cirrhosis.
In 1974, Ray gave a concert at the London Palladium. In an echo of his good friend Judy Garland, Ray had an unprecedented comeback culminating with a 15 minute standing ovation. Sadly, like Garland, Ray was one of those performers born to be back on booze & pills. He slipped into a coma on February 24, 1990, surrounded by his friends. When he slipped away for good, he was only 63 years old.
Ray was one the most controversial performers of the pre-Rock music era. He had taken his formidable handicaps and used the personal pain to bring out his heartbreaking voice. Ray was a gay man, who most people thought sounded like a girl. He performed with hearing-aid sticking out of his ear. Is there any way that Ray could have been any more an outsider?
Ray is buried in the pretty town of Dayton, in beautiful Yamhill County, the middle Oregon’s wine country. Some Portland friend should drive me out there to see his grave and taste some Pinot Noir.
Ray:
“Above all thing, a man must be masculine. But when he has the desire to express emotion, he suppresses himself because he doesn’t think it’s manly. Ordinarily a man can’t be as demonstrative as I am when I sing, people wouldn’t understand it. But I get fan letters from men. Women in my audiences see reflected in me all the emotion and tenderness and thoughtfulness that unfortunately the American male doesn’t have time for today.”
The post #BornThisDay: Singer, Johnnie Ray appeared first on World of Wonder.
Pritzker Prize winning starchitect Zaha Hadid is known for her incredible buildings but she’s added to her impressive portfolio with these super yacht designs. German builders Blohm + Voss recently revealed their collaboration with the designer for a mini-fleet of futuristic seafaring vessels. The largest, the 420-foot Unique Circle, will come with an area for underwater viewing and will have a swimming pool that is protected from natural elements by the deck. And if you have any “Titanic” concerns, never-fear – its hull can break through ice! Hadid said in a statement,
“As a dynamic object that moves in dynamic environments, the design of a yacht must incorporate additional parameters beyond those for architecture—which all become much more extreme on water. Each yacht is an engineered platform that integrates specific hydrodynamic and structural demands together with the highest levels of comfort, spatial quality, and safety.”
Hey, future Powerball billionaire, you could forgo any land residence at all and spend your days touring the globe on one of these beauties.
(via Architectural Digest)
The post #DesignPorn: Zaha Hadid’s New Super Yachts Are Like Nothing the Sea Has Ever Seen appeared first on World of Wonder.
Yes, future Powerball winner, you could be flying around in this private, flying $83 million plane from SottoStudios. Besides being more luxurious than any jet and most yachts (except for the previous post of Zaha Hadid‘s new super yachts) this vessel is WAY nicer than most houses or luxury condos. The Skyacht One has an impressive 4,000 cubic feet of cabin space and the deluxe amenities include a lounge with TV, cocktail bar and a master suite with shower and bathroom fit for any 4-star hotel suite. The conference room has engraved brass, gold, silver and platinum detailing, and there’s even a chartroom with a planetary clock. The skylights running along the roof has mood lighting that adjusts itself to the outside view. Yes, it’s compact, but you have everything you need and if you are lacking, just stop off in Paris or Dubai to go shopping. Can you imagine traveling the globe in STYLE in this beauty!?
(via Details)
The post #DesignPorn: The $83 Million “Skyacht” Really IS a Yacht in the Sky appeared first on World of Wonder.
You guys. I sat in front of my flat screen (with a glass of sparkling white) at 6:45PM just like you. Eagerly waiting to hear Kirsten Dunst’s name get called for her breakout performance as nutty Peggy Blumquist on FX’s season 2 of mega-hit Fargo.
All the nominees were introduced, and I was like:
And the winner is…Not. Kirsten.
Breathe: “It’s gonna be okay,” I told myself.
(It’s NOT going to be okay):
Because:
#NoTeaNoShade but:
What happens when your bae delivered AMAZING performance after performance in EVERY episode?
Need proof?
Shout-out to the winner for so many reasons:
And (DUH) she looked stunning:
(So did Dunst):
Fingers crossed Kiki wins the Emmy:
This post approved by Leonardo DiCaprio:
The post And The Winner Is…Lady Gaga?! appeared first on World of Wonder.
It was the eye roll seen ’round the world. As Gaga approached the Golden Globe stage to accept her (surprise) award for American Horror Story (YOU WERE ROBBED, KIRSTEN DUNST!), her hip pad brushed against Leonardo diCaprio, which caused him to make a crazy face that immediately became the most-memed GIF of the night.
He spoke about his “viral catastrophe” to Entertainment Tonight. In the clip below, he is informed “Your reaction to Lady Gaga is trending.” Leo sheepishly smiles and says, “Oh Lord. That’s trending, huh?” – then explains: “I just didn’t know what was passing me, that’s all. I was like, oh!”
So there you have it. He didn’t know “what” was passing him.
Watch:
cx
The post Leonardo diCaprio Explains His Reaction to Lady Gaga: “I Just Didn’t Know What Was Passing Me” appeared first on World of Wonder.
I LIVE for some good bloopers, and Ms Alyssa Edwards delivers in this episode of Alyssa’s Secret!
The post Alyssa’s Secret: Bloopers Part 8! appeared first on World of Wonder.
Wowlebrity Chris Amos (of Dressed as a Girl fame) is in David Bowie‘s home town of Brixton where crowds have been gathering all day and all night. “We’re taking pictures with our WOW selfie stick,” he said over the phone. “The mood is more celebratory than sad. The thing that really stands out is that it’s all ages and all types of people coming together: Hipsters, little gay boys, older folks, foreigners, Brits, locals – there’s a real sense of community. It’s a bit of a party, actually.” Which is how it should be. It’s how you honor somebody who was so deeply important to so many people.
Crowds are gathering in three main areas, at the Brixton Academy, on the street where he was born, and in the public space in front of the Ritzy theater. Check iout the images below.
DJ Guy Williams is there, as well. “I was devastated this morning when I woke up to the news,” he said. “I wasn’t a super fan, but as the day went on, I became sadder and sadder. What he left was a just massive legacy, and what’s happening tonight on the streets of Brixton is a testament to that. There are literally thousands of people here to pay tribute.”
“My favorite songs?” he said. “‘Heroes,’ of course. I was at LiveAid in 1985….15 years old…. I was right there in the front. I remember those opening chords, they really hit me hard. This morning, I went to YouTube and watched the video and cried. It’s funny, my mom was in tears, too, that’s how generational it is. My other favorites: ‘Fame’ and ‘Let’s Dance.'”
Also in the crowd was Stuart Halton, right-hand man to Vivienne Westwood, who describes the unfolding scene as “amazing. It’s really unprecedented, isn’t it? An indication of the power of social media, that so many thousands of people could be gathered together in just a few hours.” The fans seem “joyful, not meloncholy, with people dressed up in glittery outfits. Even the police are being respectful. There are people jumping on phone boxes and whatnot but they aren’t reacting. It’s a good vibe.”
“Bowie,” he says, was massively important to him. “He got me into people like Warhol. He was a conduit to what was going on in New York and Berlin… he opened up all these worlds to me. I was just a boy from Manchester, and it was through Bowie that I got to hear about people like Boy George and Princess Julia… people I would later work with and be friends with. Her was the starting point… ”
Rest In Power, Mr Bowie. You were loved and you changed the world forever.
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