Old pal Stephen Saban was lionized in today’s New York Times calling him “the pivotal scribe of 1980s New York clubland” and a “scene-maker and star-maker in the era of Madonna, Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat, when partying was a form of performance art.” The article describes him as “dapper, low-key and given to a mock-weary deadpan” – something I think we can all attest to, lol.
“In recent months,” though “dozens of downtown notables from that apogee of hedonism, including RuPaul, Karen Finley and Dianne Brill, have banded together to lend support and to raise money for Mr. Saban, who at 69 is living in Los Angeles on a fixed income and recovering from pancreatic cancer.”
A support page on GoFundMe, the crowdfunding site, set up by his daughter, Chloë Saban-Mayor, has raised more than $18,000 to help pay medical bills after surgery in February to remove his pancreas, gallbladder, spleen and part of his stomach.
The outpouring of support is hardly surprising, given his lingering influence in night life. “He was the daddy of the downtown scene, the one who made it cool to be cool,” said Mr. Musto, the former night life columnist for The Village Voice and a close friend. (Mr. Musto currently contributes to The New York Times. )
Mr. Saban, contacted at his home in Echo Park, said he deeply welcomed the support, but felt self-conscious to be the center of attention.
“It’s really weird, because I didn’t know anyone even liked me,” he said. “I’ve always been considered snarky and disapproving.”
Despite the dismal survival rates for pancreatic cancer, Mr. Saban, who until recently ran the blog for World of Wonder, a production company behind “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and “Million Dollar Listing,” said he remains optimistic.
“I have to have insulin for the rest of my life, because I have no pancreas,” said Mr. Saban, who with his flowing white beard now looks like a hipster Gandalf. “Other than that, I’m fine.”
Again: The support page to help Stephen pay for medical bills is here.
The post Stephen Saban Profiled in the New York Times Following Bout with Pancreatic Cancer appeared first on World of Wonder.