Thursday, February 13, 2025

On the Rag, Vol. 846


Fresh ideas for your favorite Valentine; marriage equality turns 10; empowering black LGBT businesswomen; and more in this week's rag 'n' mag roundup BELOW.   

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

When Frank and Mia Got Married


Dear Prudence: I’d like to introduce you to my Auntie Mame.

These delightful Sinatra-Farrow wedding-party photos got me thinking about Mia's younger sister Prudence -- who was born Jan. 20, 1948, in Los Angeles to film director John Farrow and actress Maureen O'Sullivan. Prudence Anne Villiers Farrow Bruns is an author, meditation teacher and film producer. 


From left: Rosalind Russell, Patrick Farrow (brother) and wife Susan, Mia and Prudence


Prudence Farrow (front left) with Ringo Starr (center) and Paul McCartney (right) and their wives at an Indian ashram in March 1968.

She was the subject of the Beatles song "Dear Prudence," which references her time studying Transcendental Meditation in Rishikesh, India, with the Beatles in early 1968.


Prudence Farrow and Robert Durst 

What many don't know is that like Mia, she also has great taste in men -- having been Robert Durst's other woman at the time first wife Kathie McCormack Durst "went missing" in 1982, never to be seen or heard from again.

The New York Post reports that she too was married (to Albert Morrill Bruns) during the three-year affair and lived in a Durst-family-owned brownstone on West 43rd Street. 


Prudence Farrow (far left) -- seen here with the Beatles, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and others in March 1968 -- recalls her interactions with the Fab Four in her memoir, 'Dear Prudence.'

“Prudence wanted Kathie to give Bob up,” Eleanor Schwank, a college friend of Kathie’s, told the tabloid in June 1982. She wanted him all to herself, friends said. Prudence is lucky Kathie refused as she might be one of the few women to be intimate with Durst who lived to tell about it.

Although Durst was never charged in his first wife's disappearance and was acquitted even after admitting dismembering onetime roommate Morris Black in 2003, the real-estate heir was convicted in 2021 of murdering longtime friend Susan Berman and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, at which point Woody Allen probably started to look pretty good. 


Follows appreciated on Threads, Bluesky and Instagram.

Remains of the Day (02/12)




Phonogenics: Discussing Deborah Harry's "Def Dumb & Blonde" track by track; my thoughts on what's considered her best solo effort HERE.









Hot Cat of the Day: Doja cat, meet Doha cat ...


Photo by Karen O'Connor: Margo Price, Emmylou Harris, Joan Baez, Rosanne Cash, Bonnie Raitt and Lucinda Williams at the “Sweet Relief Musicians Fund” concert event on Feb. 8 at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco. Sweet Relief Musicians Fund provides services and financial assistance for career musicians and music industry professionals. Grants are earmarked for medical and vital living expenses, including insurance premiums, prescriptions, medical treatment and operative procedures, housing costs, food costs, utilities and other basic necessities. Rosanne has more wonderful pictures HERE.



UPDATE: 


SHE'S BAAAACK ... and she may have a fur(ry) ball of her own!

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Names Nominees for 2025


I think we've all come to realize the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is problematic: Jann Wenner's outsize influence; who decides what is and isn't rock 'n' roll?; decades of misogyny; etc.


Vote HERE.

But if there's going to be one, I definitely want to see my favorite artists inducted. (Even Chrissie Hynde thought better of snubbing the honor, knowing how much it meant to her elderly parents.) 

So three cheers, and hopefully many more votes, for Joy Division/New Order and Cyndi Lauper -- and obviously Chubby Checker, Mariah Carey and Joe Cocker belong in a music hall of fame. 

And here's hoping the Bangles and B-52's finally get the recognition they so richly deserve. Anyone else you're rooting for? 

UPDATE:


OK, you caught me. I fan voted and couldn't not include Billy "Hot in the City" Idol! 

Tuesday, February 11, 2025

Remains of the Day (02/11)




Stolen HolidayDirected by John Brahm

Mug Shot HottiesPaul Newman at 21  







Hot Cat of the Day: Move over, Pizza Rat 


Reading List: "Passionate Outlier: Gay Writers and Allies on Their Work" features interviews with Edmund White, Andrew Holleran, Felice Picano, Martin Duberman, Salman Rushdie, Gore Vidal biographer Jay Parini, lifelong Vidal friend Michael Mewshaw, John Rechy and others -- and an afterword by Christopher Bram


Tennis Tuesday: Robert Hays


I've had a crush on Robert Hays since I was a boy -- first as Donna Pescow’s hunky hubby on "Angie" and then as Ted Striker in "Airplane!" (Surely, I can be serious!) Recently I blogged about my post-election television therapy and I can tell you those bootleg "Angie" DVDs were the best investment I've ever made, as evidenced by these screenshots of Dr. Brad Benson in his tennis whites. Plenty more plus his hot son BELOW.

Monday, February 10, 2025

Long Live the New Flesh


Based on first-hand experience, I would have to say David Cronenberg's "Videodrome," which this foolish 15-year-old Debbie Harry/Blondie fanboy thought would be great for the whole family! 




Not the poster we had in Phoenix



This is where Debbie -- and my mom -- got off! 


What's your most mortifying movie moment?


P.S. Much to my chagrin, some of Debbie's finest -- and least sexual -- moments were left on the cutting-room floor.

Weekend Tennis Roundup


Titles for Alcaraz, Shapovalov, Bencic and Potapova. Full report plus Boss underwear pics of Taylor Fritz, Matteo Berrettini and all the ATP beef that’s fit to post BELOW


Saturday, February 08, 2025

‘English Teacher’ Renewed for Season 2 on FX



I wonder how "accuser" Jon Ebeling feels having egg on his face this time instead of jizz. 


Variety reports:
“’English Teacher’ was one of the most critically acclaimed new shows of 2024 and we are grateful to the producers, writers, cast, directors and crew for the show’s creative excellence,” said Nick Grad, president of FX Entertainment. “We look forward to the new season.”

When the report was first published, a spokesperson for FX said: “We reviewed the allegations presented to us by another media outlet prior to the show’s launch. Mr. Ebeling never reached out to us with any concerns. We will have no further comment at this time.”

FX made no mention of the allegations in its announcement of the renewal.
Well done, Mr. Grad. That's exactly how to handle this pointless distraction. 

Friday, February 07, 2025

Remains of the Day (02/07)





Saturday 'Stache: It's like Mark Zuckerberg is looking into my soul ... or at least my groin 
 



Watermark: Shooter found not guilty in murder of Tampa gay man, or: Why I will never give Florida another dollar of mine





NYT: How Dad reconciled his God and his gay son ... how I feel for people who have to deal with this crap

Greg in Hollywood: “Mid-Century Modern” wraps filming -- all 10 episodes of the sitcom drop on Hulu on March 28 including a sendoff to Linda Lavin 












Three's a Clunker: Longtime fans of "Three's Company" are probably aware that there were a couple pilots shot with different women as the roommates and slightly different details. Recently I stumbled upon the first one in its entirety -- with Valerie Curtin in the "Janet" role and Suzanne Zenor in the "Chrissy" role -- and boy does it showcase just how much room for improvement there was. (Jack was David, an aspiring filmmaker who also happens to be able to whip up eggs benedict out of 100-year-old lunch meat!) Curiously, as I went down the Wiki Rabbit Hole including the page for "Man About the House," the British show on which it's based, I discovered that despite the fact the British show is a few years older, all three of the leading performers are still alive -- we only have Joyce DeWitt -- and its Mr. Roper only died last year! (Norman Fell died in 1998.) Have a watch before it gets taken down again and tell me what you think. 


Before settling on the final cast and character names, "Three’s Company" would go through a few changes. The original pilot starred John Ritter as David Bell, Valerie Curtin (Jane's cousin) as Jenny and Suzanne Zenor as Samantha. The second pilot starred John Ritter as Jack Tripp (getting closer), Joyce DeWitt as Janet Wood and Susan Lanier as Chrissy Snow. The third pilot featured the actors and characters as we all know them with Suzanne Somers as Chrissy. At the last-minute producers thought about replacing John Ritter because his portrayal of Jack made his character seem -- irony alert -- somewhat effeminate. Barry Van Dyke (Dick’s son) and Michael Lembeck (Harvey’s son) were floated as possible replacements. Ultimately network head Fred Silverman had confidence in Ritter and advocated for him to stay on the show.

Thursday, February 06, 2025

On the Rag, Vol. 845


Cooper Koch wants to change your oil; Murray Hill is leaning into love; my favorite dirty Emerick; and more in this week's rag 'n' mag roundup BELOW.