Revisiting an Old Friend

Kudos to Stephen Gutwillig, the executive director of Outfest, the Los Angeles LGBT film festival, who has made it his duty to make sure gay film classics are being preserved and restored so future generations can enjoy the works that have touched so many of our lives. One of his first projects happens to be a film that is very dear to me as well. In fact, it seems like every time I meet someone around my age who has seen "Parting Glances" they speak as lovingly about it as I -- and now Stephen -- do. (My best pal Mark even wrote a letter to Richard Ganoung, aka Michael, and nearly died when he got a reply!) There was something so comforting to a confused gay boy in Mesa, Arizona, seeing how normal the lives of lovers (and New Yorkers!) Michael and Robert seemed to be that really resonated with me. (Oh, and that brief scene in the shower ...)

A friend of mine recently told me that he would kill to photograph the cast of "Parting Glances" as they are today (if any of you are reading this, please contact me!), but Stephen was able to get a photo alongside Steve Buscemi and Kathy Kinney at Outfest this year, above, and the mere sight of Nick and Joan together again has me smiling from ear to ear. Read Gutwillig's full take on his gay film restoration project -- and his longtime love affair with "Parting Glances" -- here.

I wrote about getting Bill Sherwood's 1986 classic on DVD here. In the years since the film came out, we all know Steve Buscemi became a big film star and Kathy Kinney gained fame and fortune as Mimi on "The Drew Carey Show." The principals, however, have been a little harder to find.

Richard Ganoung (Michael) turned up in "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" back in 1998 and I haven't seen him since. I was elated when the man I dreamed of marrying from age 20 to 25, John Bolger, aka hunky Robert, popped up on a CBS sitcom the following year, 1987's short-lived "Everything's Relative," playing a young Jason Alexander's considerably more handsome brother (sort of a prelude to "Twins"). I've never seen him since, although a quick IMDB search shows he's been on "General Hospital" as recently as this year, so something tells me he's as husband-worthy as ever. (Odd fact: Did you know he's the great-nephew of Ray Bolger, aka the Scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz"?)

Related: Read Janet Maslin's 1986 New York Times review of the film here.

UPDATE: I just read on Matt's blog that the other principals were there and he posted this photo to prove it. Read more on my update here. Now we just need Adam Nathan! (Richard Wall just contacted me!)

P.S.

How lucky are we to have this rare interview with director Bill Sherwood, who died of AIDS a few years after the film was released.