Friends of P.

My parents used to let me stay up late when I was 9 to watch “All’s Fair” because of this one, who was equally adorable in “The Jerk.” Happy birthday, Bernadette!

“All’s Fair”: The Norman Lear sitcom aired one season on CBS (from 1976 to 1977) and starred Richard Crenna as a conservative political columnist and Bernadette Peters as a liberal photographer, showcasing their romantic mismatch because of age and political opinions. About a decade later I was interning in Washington while briefly considering a career on Capitol Hill before coming to my senses during the first Bush administration. 

Song of the Day: 'Tonight You Belong to Me' by Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters

An awfully tender moment from one of the funniest movies from my childhood, "The Jerk." Damian and I were reminded of this sweet ditty when we stumbled upon it after watching "Meet Me in St. Louis" over the holidays, and wondering what to make of the song "Under the Bamboo Tree"* ... which Steve Martin also performed in "The Man With Two Brains" and clearly wasn't his or Judy Garland's story to tell! 

*One could say that "Under the Bamboo Tree" is merely of its time, but here's what one commenter on YouTube had to say about it:

Here are reasons why these lyrics are racist and therefore offensive. 

"Down in the jungles lived a maid

Of royal blood though dusky shade" 

THOUGH dusky shade implies that the concept of royalty is opposed to the concept of dark skin. That is racist. 

"A marked impression once she made, 

Upon a Zulu from Matabooloo"

The Zulu tribe is South African. There is no Jungle in South Africa. This is willfully ignorant, flagrantly nonchalant racial stereotyping. 

There exists no such place as "Matabooloo". My best guess is that this is a bastardization of "Matebeleland" made up to rhyme with Zulu. 

If you're charitable, you might call the reference to a "bamboo tree" (bamboo being a member of the grass family and not a tree) a gaffe that any ignorant person could make. To me it represents more of the same: 

"We are permitted to appropriate enough of another culture so that our cute song is novel and exotic, but don't bother checking the facts, because they don't matter. They don't matter because this is a song about a race inferior to our own."

Then things become really offensive. 

The chorus is as follows:

"If you like-a me, like I like-a you and we like-a both the same 

I like-a say this very day, I like-a change your name. 

'Cause I love-a you and lov-a you true and if you-a love-a me

One live as two, two live as one

Under the bamboo tree"

It's a blatant mocking of an African English accent, with deliberately bad grammar for added emphasis. It has clear racial intent from the beginning. It's framed in the ostensibly innocent idea of a love story, but even this is race-driven: a picture of pseudo-love is patronising when viewed from the superior vogue of "sophisticated" romantic entanglement the rest of this movie portrays. The African love story is a mere caricature of the "real" thing. 

The rest of the song is in the same vein: the simple happy natives having their simple happy almost-love story. More racially offensive titbits ensue. 

The real tragedy of this song in African history is that it was written by two African Americans. This is a fact for a number of reasons, which you can start to read HERE: 

tl;dr: This song is full of racial stereotyping and ignorance. It should not be venerated.

Carol & Friends

Cass Elliot and Bernadette Peters popped up the other night on “As the Stomach Turns,” with Harvey Korman as Canoga Falls’ leading underground filmmaker, Randy Wahoo. Pretty sure the syndicated version of “The Carol Burnett Show” scrimped on the earlier seasons -- and I was only alive to watch the later ones -- so we’re loving the “Laugh-In” vibe and extra helpings of Lyle Waggoner!

Also have been enjoying all of Nanette Fabray's appearances -- she was the original Tim Conway!

On the Rag, Vol. 460

A weekly look at what's making news in the gay mags:

Gloss (SF): Steve Grand prepares to take it off (not work friendly) 

Out magazine: RuPaul to appear on new season of "Broad City"

QX (London): Say hello to Taycee

Attitude (U.K.): Andrew Garfield lipsynching to Whitney Houston at a "Drag Race" show will put you in a good mood

Get Out!: Nelly Furtado headlines Pride Island

Gay Times (U.K.): These college athletes came out to each other and then fell in love

Metro Weekly (D.C.): Broadway legend. TV star. LGBTQ rights supporter. Animal activist. Bernadette Peters has always lived by her own code of passion and compassion. 

Winq (U.K.): Emmanuel Macron challenges Vladimir Putin over Chechnya and LGBT rights

DNA (Australia): Are you ready for a 16-page spread of Lucas Escarcello?

MetroSource (NYC): Director Jim Fall is working on a sequel to "Trick," which is curiously missing from streaming services

Adelante (L.A.): Bombón Sexy  

Outlook Ohio: Camp Sunrise is a place for kids affected by HIV/AIDS

Passport Magazine: Do you have your summer vacation planned?

Attractive Men: What are your pre-date beauty routines?

Cybersocket: Summer pride guide (not work friendly)

HIV Plus: New AIDS activism movie "120 Beats Per Minutes" honored at Cannes Film Festival

Grab (Chicago): Raph Solo out front 

Salt Lake Magazine: Trump may not acknowledge LGBT month, but Utah's pride week has been officially kicked off

The Fight (L.A.): MedMen co-founder Andrew Modlin on reshaping the cannabis industry.  

Têtu (France): Ricky Martin reportedly disturbing as gay boyfriend of Gianni Versace in Ryan Murphy's "American Crime Story"

Rage Monthly: Congrats to the SoCal rag celebrate 10 years in business!

Gay Community News (Dublin): Maybe "Awful Gays" -- about gay couple Maurice and Kenny -- will be for me what "Difficult People" wasn't. Watch HERE.

Edge Media Network: Noted rent hustler Cyndi Lauper to receive Logo's 2017 Trailblazer Honor for her longtime advocacy work for the LGBT community

Flame (Detroit): Ran Diesel is serving up some Michigan hotness!

Attitude (U.K.): BBC News' James Longman on the reality of reporting in the Middle East as a (very hot) gay man

Edge (Boston): Parade or protest? 

Happy 86th Birthday, Stephen Sondheim!

I've never seen "West Side Story," "Gypsy," "Sweeney Todd" or "Into the Woods," but I've learned many of Stephen Sondheim's songs by way of cover versions by my favorite singers. "Not a Day Goes By" was the epic moment of Carly Simon's "Torch" album, which like the play from which it was taken was not appreciated when it came out in 1981. Still, it remains my favorite Sondheim song -- and probably every other person who has ever been a fool for love's too. 

Love, Courtney

Andy Warhol's death was especially hard on me because I had gotten used to spending time with him every week thanks to "Andy Warhol's 15 Minutes" on MTV right before he passed. The show, which heavily featured a "Rockbird" era Debbie Harry was chock full of good stuff, as evidenced by this interview OMG dug up of a pre-fame Courtney Love. While Boy Culture gets a Tina Yothers vibe, I see nothing but a young (bag lady) Bernadette Peters!