Hero to Zero

The latest Advocate pamphlet makes note of Robert Hofler's "Party Animals: A Hollywood Tale of Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n' Roll Starring the Fabulous Allan Carr," a new biography about the late Allan Carr, who was as well-known for producing the all-time blockbuster "Grease" and Broadway's "La Cage aux Follies" as he was for the flop "Can't Stop the Music" and the Rob Lowe-Snow White "incident" at the 1988 Oscars. The book says Carr was notorious for his orgies in his Beverly Hills mansion -- where wall-to-wall carpeting met wall-to-wall hustlers -- and Hollywood's closeted A-listers could be their "true" selves. Robert Leleux writes, "Carr's life and sexuality offer a unique illustration of his era's limitations and the extent to which it was possible to transcend them. He briefly endeared himself to Hollywood's elite by playing their fey jester, but they soon bounced him out of show business in a homophobic fit of pique." This finally explains why the audience at the Academy Awards reacted so coldly in 2000 when his photo was shown on the screen during the "in memoriam" part of the show, something that has always bothered me. At least he died having worked with dreamy Maxwell Caulfield, whose pornstachioed look seemed to mesmerize Allan back when as much as it is me now. (Amazon)