Backup link in case the video doesn't play:
https://youtu.be/h0rDx-Fqq-E
Hello! In this week's bonus video, I've got some fascinating clips of a TV executive speaking more frankly than he probably should have about the unfair "double standard" that they applied to Ellen's sitcom after she came out. Also, some details about Ellen's attempt to mount a sitcom comeback that crash...
2023-04-30 16:00:03 +0000 UTC
View Post
Backup link if the video doesn't play:
https://youtu.be/01-MXyE7-xk
I'm trying something new with video embeds this week, but I'm not sure if it'll have any effect. Let me know if this works better/worse/the same!
Hi there! For this week's video, we're diving into a few of the multiversal appearances of George Takei, who's lent his talent to a...
2023-04-23 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
View Post
On this week's Sewers of Paris podcast, we’re diving into the archives to revisit my 2020 interview with Max Miller. He’s the creator of the Tasting History YouTube channel, and author of the new book Tasting History, which comes out this week. In Max’s video series, he shares historical recipes and intriguing stories about the origin of the foods that humans have eaten throughout history, and his...
2023-04-20 16:01:00 +0000 UTC
View Post
Backup link in case the video doesn't play:
https://youtu.be/kyz5-cSDq8k
Oh hello! In this week's bonus video, I'm tackling what's always been a bit of a mystery to me: Why is George Takei such a frequent guest on the Howard Stern Show? As it turns out, George's partnership with the shock jock goes beyond just occasional guest spots -- Stern actually help boost George's caree...
2023-04-09 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
View Post
My guest on this week's Sewers of Paris podcast is Andrew Rimby, host of the Ivory Tower Boiler Room podcast. Andrew’s career as an entertainer began at an early age as a stage performer, but then he took an unexpected swerve into academia, and he’s spent the last decade pursuing a PhD, exploring the work of Victorian poets and in particular the homoerotics of Walt Whitman and Oscar Wilde.
Also, a rem...
2023-04-06 22:09:06 +0000 UTC
View Post
(Hello! I'm trying something different video video embeds this week. Let me know if this works better or worse, and in case the videos are still giving you trouble, here's the backup link that should work: https://youtu.be/mbbzKYX0ais)
Nathan Lane just gave a new interview where he talks about the time that Robin Williams saved him from being outed on national TV before he was ready, so we'll...
2023-04-02 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
View Post
Author Christopher Rice is known for a lot of things, from his thrillers to his podcast to collaborations with his mother Anne Rice to his more recent foray into novels about gay romance. I spoke to him last year about his book Sapphire Sunset, and now he has a new book in that series coming out. It’s entitled ...
2023-03-30 19:07:53 +0000 UTC
View Post
Backup link in case the video doesn't play:
https://youtu.be/UGAR22FMKtQ
Hello there! This week I've got some ~thrilling~ news about my book (audiobook recording has commenced, and we've announced a few tour dates at gaysitcoms.com with more on the way) ... and also a look at a moment when a gay activist got rowdi...
2023-03-26 16:00:06 +0000 UTC
View Post
My guest on this week's Sewers of Paris is Harvey Brownstone, who in 1995 became Canada’s first openly gay judge. Focusing his career on family law, Harvey helped shine a spotlight on Canada as a destination for same-sex couples to wed before it was legal in the US. But before all that, he was a young gay kid who’d been thrown out of the house, struggling through school, living on welfare, and searching for others like him.
2023-03-16 20:22:46 +0000 UTC
View Post
Backup link in case the video doesn't play for you:
https://youtu.be/UorLMOzJ1Hc
Hello there!
Next Sunday (the 19th), I'll be releasing a video about the TV movie That Certain Summer, and how it transformed the way that television depicted queer characters (though not without a huge nasty fight behind the scenes, as always seems to happen). As part of that research, I'v...
2023-03-12 16:00:04 +0000 UTC
View Post
Backup link in case the video doesn't play:
https://youtu.be/g1r4jYPWkOM
Hello there!
In this week's bonus video, I want to show you some very clever visual effects in the opening shot of The Birdcage -- some crafty little tricks that you might never notice, but once you see them they're obvious. Staying with The Birdcage, I also want to show you a sup...
2023-03-05 17:01:00 +0000 UTC
View Post
If you happen to be in Toronto this weekend, you may want to find your way down to Massey Hall on Saturday night for a one-night-only performance called Och and Oy!, starring actor Alan Cumming and NPR correspondent Ari Shapiro. Their collaborative show is a mix of cabaret and storytelling, and to mark its debut, I’m diving into the Sewers archives to revisit my 2018 conversation with...
2023-03-02 17:01:00 +0000 UTC
View Post
Update: I've heard from a few people that the embedded video isn't working. If you get an error when trying to watch, try this link:
https://youtu.be/xE0jbxYVyzc
Hello there!
The time has come when we must discuss the fiasco that was the 1989 Academy Awards, regarded by many as one of the more calamitous nights of television in American history. I've talked about this d...
2023-02-26 17:00:04 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello there!
Looking for bonus videos on a particular topic? Here's an index of popular subjects so you can click right over to them. (Bonus videos are available to Patrons at $2/month and up.) Send me a DM if there are other topics you want me to dig into, or if you have difficulty accessing the videos so I can troubleshoot for you.
Happy viewing!
TV SHOWS
2023-02-23 17:00:04 +0000 UTC
View Post
This week we’re concluding my conversation with filmmaker David Weissman (We Were Here, The Cockettes, Conversations With My Elders) with part 3 of our talk. Previously we talked about his background in hippie enclaves of Los Angeles in the 1960s, and then moving to San Francisco. We ended our last conversation on a pause, since it was moving in a direction David wasn’t prepared to talk abou...
2023-02-16 18:12:43 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello there! In this week's Bonus Video, we're taking a look at a trapeze that Broadway legend Jerry Herman had installed in his home, and how Harvey Fierstein paid tribute to this bizarre decorating choice in La Cage Aux Folles. And speaking of Harvey, I've got a goofy story to share about how a wig reveal (well, technically, a failed wig reveal) went so wrong he nearly went to jail. Plus: I've tracked down some hard-to-find footage that Alfred Hitchcock cut from the US release of Strang...
2023-02-12 17:00:03 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello there! In this week's bonus video, we're diving into some of the more obscure work by Victor Buono, the gay actor you may recognize as King Tut on Batman or as the uncomfortable pianist in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? As it turns out, in addition to being an excellent campy villain, he was also a very charming poet ... although Johnny Carson's audience clearly has NO idea what to do with him. Also this week: I'm taking a closer look at some clips sent to me by ...
2023-02-05 17:00:04 +0000 UTC
View Post
This week we’re picking up my previous conversation with filmmaker David Weissman, who started off in hippie enclaves of Los Angeles in the 1960s before moving up to San Francisco for the particularly adventurous 70s. In this part of our chat, we touch on SF’s counterculture scene, the music and nightlife, and also the political upheaval that soon followed.
Just as we were starting to talk about the 1980s … ou...
2023-02-02 19:31:48 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello there! In this week's bonus video, we're taking a loooooong historical look back at a gay (or I guess gay-affected) French hairdresser whose appearance in a 1966 film inspired the femme drag star of La Cage Aux Folles and, in turn, Nathan Lane's character in The Birdcage. Also: I'd like to introduce you to Doctor Doolittle's boyfriend. And check out Bea Arthur making a surprise appearance at a Chicago gay bar!
Backup link in case the video embed doesn't work:
2023-01-29 17:00:04 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello there! This week we're diving into the ~rumors~ about Cary Grant, from his relationships with fashion icon Orry Kelly and actor Randolph Scott to his flirtation with Arthur Laurents to the denials and confirmations from his family and friends. Also! A little peek at my next video, which is about the strange 20-year journey of a sweet little drag-queen family comedy, from a silly French play called La Cage Aux Folles to a major motion picture called The Birdcage.
Here's a backup li...
2023-01-22 17:00:04 +0000 UTC
View Post
My guest this week is documentary filmmaker David Weissman, who was in exactly the right place at the right time to have a front-row seat to one of the most revolutionary periods in American culture. In fact, he wasn’t just an observer of the Venice Beach LSD scene in the 60s, or of San Francisco’s chaotic drag cauldron in the 70s — he was an active participant, exploring and enjoying an explosion of music, live performance, and a rejection of institutions that once seemed unassailable....
2023-01-19 17:00:59 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello there! Thanks to everyone who suggested leads for where I could find the restored version of Pleasure Garden -- the hunt is still underway! In this week's video, we're taking a look at some of Hitchcock's other queer characters, including Emlyn Williams in the lesser-known Jamaica Inn, in which the bisexual actor plays a character who seems ready to flirt with just about everyone. I've also got some fun behind-the-scenes stories about the making of Rope, inclu...
2023-01-08 17:00:05 +0000 UTC
View Post
My guest this week is Andrew Farrier, a New Orleans tour guide and podcaster who began his career in a small Louisiana town, giving tours of haunted houses as a kid. A child of hippies, Andrew was given wide latitude to explore creative pursuits, and it wasn’t long before he found himself in New Orleans, testing the boundaries of performance and exploring surprising histories — from early gay inhabitants to a close fri...
2023-01-05 17:00:59 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello and welcome to 2023! Let's get down to business.
In this week's video, we're taking a closer look at some of Hitchcock's most notorious queer killers -- and also one gay character who's often overlooked, a somewhat mysterious but highly fashionable gentleman from Hitch's very first film, Pleasure Garden, in 1925. We're also spending some time with Farley Granger, who gets cruised and picked up by a stranger on a train (what could go wrong?) and also exchanging glances wit...
2023-01-01 17:01:00 +0000 UTC
View Post
Look what you've done! No, wait, I mean that in a good way.
As 2022 comes to a close, I just wanted to thank you for making so many videos, podcast episodes, livestreams, and newsletter issues possible. Literally none of it could have happened without you -- yes, you personally!!! Every bit of your membership here allows me to focus my efforts on research, recording, and production, and I am so utterly grateful. Whether it's your financial support, sending me clips of s...
2022-12-30 17:01:01 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello there! This week we're taking a peek a some fun Christmas specials and commercials, spanning celebs from Bea Arthur to David Bowie. Also, after last week a few folks suggested I say a few more words about the show Gargoyles, and you don't need to ask me twice.
Backup link to this week's bonus video:
https://youtu.be/odkdUxjbvTo
####
Check out the VOD (that is, the recording) of our ...
2022-12-25 17:01:00 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello there! In this week's bonus video, we're taking a look at a ~mystery~ surrounding Batman: The Animated Series. Why did they replace Tim Curry with Mark Hamill to play the Joker? Well, that depends on who you ask. Also: how the team behind the show Gargoyles wanted to make their show more like Batman: TAS, and the very smart response of voice director Andrea Romano. We'll delve into the unlikely inspiration for the Joker's maniacal laugh.
AND! If you're a fan of m...
2022-12-18 17:00:04 +0000 UTC
View Post
We’re doing something a little different on this week’s episode — we’ve got TWO guests. Kaela Joseph and Tanya Cook are the authors of the new book Fandom Acts of Kindness, which is about how fandoms can change the world, from S...
2022-12-15 17:00:05 +0000 UTC
View Post
This week my guest is J.P. Der Boghossian, and I’m also his guest. JP’s the host of the podcast This Queer Book Saved My Life, where he talks to queer folks about their favorite books. And we’re doing a sort of podcast exchange — for the first half of the episode I’ll interview him about the entertainment that impacted him the most, and then he’ll turn things around and interview me about one of my favorite books. Let me know what you think of this little experiment! And check out...
2022-12-08 22:14:48 +0000 UTC
View Post
Hello there! Well, I've tracked down the story of the time Kevin Conroy (the voice of Batman) got into a physical fight with Brian Bedford (the voice of Disney's Robin Hood) live on stage during a production of the play Deathtrap... and you'll be happy to hear that the story is even wilder than we could have hoped. Also in this week's bonus video: Responding to your comments about Tiny Tim and Christopher Reeves (not together) and one more very nice tribute to the wonderful Leslie Jo...
2022-12-04 17:00:08 +0000 UTC
View Post
