Sixteen Going on Seventeen

I'd always wanted to see this delightful scene from The Sound of Music played by a couple of gay men - and whaddaya know, somebody else finally had the same thought.  Here are Andrew Keenan-Bolger and Jay Armstrong Johnson flawlessly performing the scene at the Broadway Backwards benefit in 2017.  Both were about 30 at the time.  Johnson, the taller one, is a Texas native and rather studly, too.  Enjoy.

For comparison, here's the lovely 1965 original, played by Charmian Carr and Daniel Truhitte:

What I Say:  The lyrics don't quite work between two boys, though it's all in good fun.  But I dare say, they wouldn't work between a boy and a girl either, in this modern age.  For a couple of generations now, girls have been raised to be as tough and indpendent as boys.  How well that has succeeded, others may judge.

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In Memoriam: Richard Chamberlain, 1934-2025

Renowned actor and hearthrob Richard Chamberlain has died at his home in Hawaii, two days before his 91st birthday.  The handsome star of stage and screen came out as gay in his 2003 autobiography.

 

Excerpt from a Television Academy Foundation interview in 2010 about life in the closet and coming out: 

 

Watch the full 3-hour interview here. 

I well recall when Chamberlain was TV's popular Dr. Kildare from 1961 to 1966 - but I don't remember watching his show. My family watched the swarthy Ben Casey instead. 

 I liked Chamberlain a lot better with hair on his face, as in the costume dramas of the 1970s (The Three Musketeers, The Four Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Man in the Iron Mask). Now that was entertainment!

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Spotlight: Richard Chamberlain

Publicity photo, 1964.

I can hardly believe it's August already.  The year is speeding by, and the planet is speeding up - no wonder the world is going all to pieces.  When M.P. made Sunday dinner this week, everything seemed to go wrong - the hamburger steaks were tough, the onion rings too crunchy, the biscuits didn't rise, and the cake fell.  Now we know why.

If your nerves need steadying, here's a look at smooth and mellow Richard Chamberlain - yes, he's still alive and well, and living in Hawaii.  I can't say I was a big fan of his as a kid - we watched Ben Casey at my house instead of Dr. Kildare (swarthy and hairy has always done it for me), but I loved his swashbuckling performances in the 1970s:  The Three (or Four) Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and The Man in the Iron Mask.

In this first video, Chamberlain talks about coming out at age 68:

I passed on his big miniseries hits like Centennial, Shogun, and The Thorn Birds - but here's a clip of Richard with a gorgeous beard talking up Shogun in 1980:

Admirers of the male form will enjoy this compilation of Richard's shirtless pics - turns out, he's actually quite hairy when you get right down to it:

 

And if you just can't get enough of Richard, you'll enjoy this wide-ranging interview, circa 2013:

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In Memoriam: Tab Hunter, 1931-2018

Tab Hunter, the studly, golden-haired Hollywood heartthrob of the 1950's, died Sunday at his home in California of natural causes, three days short of his 87th birthday. Hunter is survived by his partner of 35 years, film producer Allan Glaser.  Hunter came out of the closet with his 2005 autobiography, Tab Hunter Confidential, which was followed by the eponymous documentary in 2015.  The latter is well worth watching, if you haven't seen it already.

In Memoriam: Jim Nabors, 1930 - 2017

Jim Nabors in 2008

Jim Nabors, a good-hearted Alabama boy with an amazing baritone voice, who made it big in Hollywood playing aw-shucks Marine private Gomer Pyle, has died at age 87 at home in Honolulu.

I well recall hearing - with great disbelief - that rumor back in my high school days that he and Rock Hudson had gotten married.  It was just too silly to take seriously:  I mean, really -- those two, obviously straight as a board?  They didn't fit the gay stereotype at all.  It was to laugh.

But little did I know that both Nabors and Hudson really were gay.  Sadly, Hudson died of AIDS in 1985, but Nabors lived a long, full, happy life with his partner of 40-plus years, Stan Cadwallader, happily running a macadamia nut farm on Maui and doing the occasional singing or acting gig.  The couple were married by a judge in Seattle in 2013, shortly after same-sex marriage was legalized in Washington state.

Nabors kept his private life private, and there's nothing wrong with that.  I suppose his modest, gentle style of humor is quite incomprehensible to the frenzied children of this harsh and vulgar age, but I remember his character fondly.  May he rest in peace.




In this clip from Gomer Pyle, USMC, Nabors displays his big, beautiful singing voice:

Center Square, Puh-leeze!

No matter the weather where you live, this compilation of quips by the outrageous Paul Lynde is sure to bring a smile to your face: