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Elton John honors Knuckles; Matt Bomer's married
Entertainment news: Special to the online edition of Windy City Times
by Andrew Davis, Windy City Times
2014-04-23

This article shared 7872 times since Wed Apr 23, 2014
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After the sudden death of house-music pioneer Frankie Knuckles last month, the Elton John AIDS Foundation announced it is creating the Frankie Knuckles Fund to help charities working with men at high risk of HIV in Africa, as well as African communities in the U.K. and the U.S., according to Chicagoist.com . According to the foundation, Black men remain at a very high risk of HIV, and are 40 percent more likely than white males to be diagnosed with HIV at a later stage.

Matt Bomer may have come out publicly two years ago, but he just revealed to Details magazine that he's been married to partner Simon Halls for three years, according to US. Discussing his latest role in Ryan Murphy's TV movie adaptation of The Normal Heart—in which he plays a gay man dying of AIDS during the early days of the epidemic—the actor acknowledges the original play's writer, Larry Kramer, helped pave the way for gay rights. The White Collar actor lost 40 pounds for the role, which he accomplished with the help of doctors and a 14-day alkalized-water, juice, tea and enzyme cleanse; Bomer also sought advice from Magic Mike co-star Matthew McConaughey, who similarly shed almost 50 pounds for his role in the film Dallas Buyers Club.

Lance Bass, Broadway actress Andrea McArdle and the Pointer Sisters will headline the Games' Opening Ceremony on Aug. 9 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, according to a press release. The Games will have more than 35 sports ( from darts to triathlon, bowling to DanceSport ) taking place in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, on Aug. 9-16.

When asked on Andy Cohen's Watch What Happens Live about her worst celebrity backlash, Joan Rivers said it was from Gwyneth Paltrow, according to The Huffington Post. Rivers said of Paltrow, "She came in and yelled at us, but she stood up, she can't sit down, because she's got a stick up her rear end. The 'World's Most Beautiful Woman,' voted by Hellen Keller and Stevie Wonder ... not my favorite."

GLAAD announced that singer Kylie Minogue will perform at the 25th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York on May 3 at the Waldorf Astoria New York, according to a press release. The organization also announced TV icon and LGBT advocate George Takei will receive the Vito Russo Award at the event. The award is presented to an openly LGBT media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equality; previous recipients include Elton John, Tom Ford, Cherry Jones and Rosie O'Donnell.

Neil Patrick Harris recently cursed out a fan—but he said it was in the name of work, according to CNN. While performing the lead in the Broadway production Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a fan yelled out, "I love you, Neil"—prompting the actor to say, "I'm doing something up here, motherf****r!" On Twitter, Harris told someone to "take a breath," adding, "I'm playing a character. Who is harsh. That's the show. That's Hedwig."

Following in the footsteps of last season's popular box-office draw, Motown: The Musical, producer Matthew Weaver has acquired first-class theatrical rights to Soul Train, the long-running television variety show that the late Don Cornelius launched in 1970, according to The Hollywood Reporter. During its 35-year lifespan in national syndication, which ended in 2006, the show introduced people to new music styles and dance moves each week, as well as R&B, soul, funk, pop, disco and hip-hop acts. Weaver acquired the rights from Soul Train Holdings, the franchise company chaired by businessman/NBA legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson.

Rosie O'Donnell is looking slimmer and younger these days, and she's sharing her weight loss journey with fans, according to People.com . O'Donnell Tweeted side-by-side before and after photos of herself, revealing the almost 50 pounds she's lost since last year. The actress/comedian, 52, had gastric sleeve surgery in July 2013, and has slowly been losing weight ever since.

Magic Mike XXL—the sequel to the male-stripper film Magic Mike—will be in theaters July 3, 2015, according to USA Today. Also, star Channing Tatum, who has co-written the XXL script, told MTV the movie will be a fun, road-trip flick. Tatum that most, if not all, of the original cast ( which included Matthew McConaughey, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Alex Rodriguez and Alex Pettyfer ) will return.

Angelina Jolie is starring in the movie Maleficent, along with Sharlto Copley, Elle Fanning, Sam Riley, Imelda Staunton and Juno Temple, according to a press release. The movie ( out in theaters May 30 ) explores the untold story of Disney's iconic villain from the classic Sleeping Beauty, and the elements of her betrayal that ultimately turn her pure heart to stone.

After Gwyneth Paltrow's "conscious uncoupling" with Chris Martin, she now faces another split: Seb Bishop, the CEO of Goop, has quit, The New York Post reported. Bishop is a leading British entrepreneur who was international CEO of AIDS-fighting charity ( RED ) before joining Goop in 2011.

For the first time, all 11 co-hosts of ABC's The View, present and past, will share the same stage, live, Thursday May 19 on ABC to celebrate the show's creator Barbara Walters, according to The Wrap. The following day, after more than five decades on the air, Walters will bid farewell to daily television with her final co-host appearance on The View that morning. Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Joy Behar, Debbie Matenopoulos, Lisa Ling, Rosie O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck will join Sherri Shepherd, Jenny McCarthy, Whoopi Goldberg and Walters for the goodbye show.

Actress Meryl Streep can add an honorary doctoral degree from Indiana University ( IU ) to her collection that includes three Academy Awards, according to The Associated Press. Streep told the audience that her advice to young women is to not worry so much about their weight, saying girls spend too much time thinking about it. Streep's husband, sculptor Don Gummer, grew up in Indianapolis and studied at IU's art school.

Former White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers is replacing Sue Fleishman as Warner Bros.' executive vice president of corporate communications and public affairs, according to The Wrap. Myers was the White House press secretary during the first two years of the Clinton administration.

Gay network Here TV announced the premiere of the first three episodes of the new webseries Guy Dubai: International Gay Spy exclusively on the network's YouTube Premium channel. ( Watch the first three webisodes for free at www.youtube.com/user/HereTVPremium. ) "Dubai" is the centerpiece of the Here TV series From Here on OUT, the network's first-ever original sitcom. On "From Here," a man attempts to have the show he's written ( "Guy Dubai" ) get made—with a straight actor ( played by TJ Hoban ) who pretends to be gay.

The studio Fox 2000 is developing a sequel to the 1993 hit Mrs. Doubtfire that would reunite director Chris Columbus and star Robin Williams, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The original Doubtfire starred Williams as a struggling actor and recently divorced father of three who, in order to be closer to his children, takes on the persona of a Scottish nanny, Euphegenia Doubtfire. The movie made $219 million in the United States alone.

IFC Films will theatrically release the acclaimed documentary Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia in New York on May 23 and in Los Angeles on June 6, with a concurrent national release, according to a press release. Directed by Nicholas Wrathall ( Abandoned: The Betrayal of America's Immigrants ), the film features the final on-camera interviews with the iconic writer, essayist and intellectual. There are also interviews with figures ranging from William F. Buckley to Sting to David Mamet.

Jodie Foster is reportedly dating Ellen DeGeneres' ex, photographer Alexandra Hedison—and sources say the relationship is getting so serious that Foster has given up alcohol, because Hedison is a recovering alcoholic who has been sober for more than 10 years, according to Newser. Hedison, 44, who dated DeGeneres from 2001 to 2004, reportedly had a hard time watching the talk-show host drink as Hedison tried to resist the temptation.

X-Men and The Usual Suspects movie director Bryan Singer reportedly is saying he was not in Hawaii during the time period of August and October 1999, when he has been accused of sexually abusing then-teenager Michael Egan, according to Just Jared. Egan filed a lawsuit earlier last week alleging that he was sodomized and forced to take drugs when he was 17 at a house in Hawaii. Egan, 31, has claimed that in addition to being raped, he was forced to take cocaine and other substances at so-called "sordid parties."

In a related development, Egan's attorney, Jeff Herman, announced Monday that he has filed three additional sex abuse lawsuits against prolific TV exec Garth Ancier, former Disney TV president David Neuman and Broadway producer Gary Goddard, The Hollywood Reporter noted. All three subsequently denied the allegations, with Ancier calling the charges "demonstrably untrue," The Wrap stated. The suits claim that the three men were part of the same Hollywood sex ring that allegedly involved director Bryan Singer.

Police issued an arrest warrant for Real Housewives of Atlanta's Porsha Williams after her altercation with costar Kenya Moore during the show's reunion special, People.com reported. Williams, 31, is being charged with battery after brawling with Moore, 43, during the March 27 taping. She surrendered to the Fulton County jail on April 17.

Conservative pundit Laura Ingraham, recently named an ABC News contributor, has a gay brother—but she's not exactly an ally on issues affecting him and other LGBT people, according to Advocate.com . Ingraham has frequently asserted her opposition to marriage equality; after last year's pro-equality Supreme Court rulings, she asserted that she supports civil unions for same-sex couples but worries that the advance of marriage rights might turn Catholics "into the persona non grata of the moment." This year, she criticized Guinness for withdrawing sponsorship of the New York St. Patrick's Day parade because of the ban on participation by LGBT groups identifying as such.

In celebration of the late gay poet James Baldwin, Beacon Press has just released Jimmy's Blues and Other Poems, a collection of all 19 poems from his original Jimmy's Blues, according to a press release. The original "Blues" was published a year before his death in 1987 and is now several years out of print. The new collection also features six poems from a limited-edition art book titled Gypsy, of which only 325 copies were printed.

British singer Jessie J said she is not bisexual, and what she mentioned previously about dating girls was just a "phase," according to The Huffington Post. "For me, it was a phase. But I'm not saying bisexuality is a phase for everybody," Jessie J told the U.K. Mirror. The interview came after a series of tweets she posted April 6, seemingly addressing her sexuality.

James Franco was not pleased with the recent New York Times review of Of Mice and Men, in which he stars on Broadway, according to Advocate.com . The actor posted a photo yesterday morning to his Instagram account that promoted a positive Variety review and attacked Times critic Ben Brantley. The actor posted a photo yesterday morning to his Instagram account that promoted a positive Variety review and attacked openly gay Times critic Ben Brantley. In part, Franco posted, "BRANTLEY IS SUCH A LITTLE BITCH HE SHOULD BE WORKING FOR GAWKER.COM INSTEAD OF THE PAPER OF RECORD." The actor has since reposted the photo without the anti-Brantley quote.

Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black has slammed administrators at his former college in an open letter after the school withdrew an invitation to speak at an upcoming ceremony due to naked photos made public of the star in 2009, according to Pink News. Black was asked to be the speaker at this year's graduation ceremony for Pasadena City College ( PCC ); however, PCC Board President Anthony Fellow announced the college has rescinded the invite because of the photos. In part, Black ( who graduated in 1994 ) wrote, "If I was a heterosexual man or woman with this same painful injury in my past, would PCC's Administration still be rescinding such an honor?" Black is slated to speak at Illinois' Elmhurst College on May 8.

Singer Gloria Estefan and choreographer Kenny Ortega served as grand marshals to Miami Beach's gay-pride parade April 13, according to On Top Magazine. The annual celebration, now its sixth year, signals the start of Pride season, which peaks in June. "I'm very happy to be celebrating the fact that I think we're moving towards real equality," Estefan said. "Of all the causes that have been, this has been really coming at breakneck speed, which makes me very happy for the gay community, the LGBT community."

A Los Angeles judge ruled that BET did not unlawfully discriminate against transgender media personality B. Scott when the network ordered him to wear more masculine attire in the middle of the preshow for the 2013 BET Awards, according to Advocate.com . L.A. Superior Court judge Yvette Palazuelos determined that the First Amendment protected the network's decision, and trumped Scott's alleged discomfort and discrimiation. Scott plans to challenge the ruling. ( Scott identifies as a gay transgender person who prefers the use of male pronouns. )

Singer Deborah Gibson has said that her gaunt appearance is because of a battle with Lyme disease, according to Extra TV. The '90s star wrote on her website, "Last year, I was diagnosed with Lyme disease. It is an elusive disease that disguises itself as many other things, and creates a lot of pain and discomfort." As a side effect, shedding pounds so quickly caused deep lines on Gibson's face that she turned to Botox.

Pro-wrestling legend Stone Cold Steve Austin apparently took to the airwaves on his podcast in July to back gay marriage in news that has just emerged, according to MySanAntonio.com . "I'm for same-sex marriage," he said. "I believe that any human being in America, any human being in the world, that wants to be married … if it's the same-sex, more power to them." Austin won more than 20 professional wrestling titles in his career before retiring because of neck injuries in 2003.

On her OWN reality show, Lindsay Lohan recently revealed that she had a miscarriage while filming the series, according to The Washington Post. "No one knows this, and we can finish after this, I had a miscarriage for the two weeks that I took off," Lohan said on the verge of tears, during her final "confessional" with the producers. Lohan made headlines during the "two weeks she took off" when she held up production on the reality show, which was supposedly about her trying to get back on track after rehab.

The Lambda Literary Foundation has announced that Alison Bechdel will receive the Foundation's Trustee Award for Excellence in Literature and that Kate Bornstein will receive the Pioneer Award at the 26th Annual Lambda Literary Awards ( "Lammys" ), according to a press release. Bechdel and Bornstein will be honored, along with the winning authors of 24 separate LGBT literary categories as determined by over 90 judges. Kate Clinton will host the June 2 ceremony that will take place in New York City.

Actor Daniel Franzese—who played gay breakout character Damian in the film Mean Girls—has come out as gay, according to Advocate.com . He also did it in a unique way: by writing an open letter to his younger self, asking at one point, "So, why the hell did it take me so long to come out of the closet?" While appearing on the syndicated show Dish Nation, the 36-year-old Franzese said he hit a "gay glass ceiling" in casting after Mean Girls' release. He also said that the 10th anniversary of the film was the primary motivating factor for him revealing his sexuality.


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