Long before Ellen, Boy George, “Will & Grace,” and RuPaul, there was Bruce Vilanch.  You may know him from writing the most memorable moments on the Academy Awards, or from touring as Edna in “Hairspray,” or from being front and center on “Hollywood Squares,” or from writing for Bette Midler. 

No matter how you know him, and even if you don’t know him by name, one thing is certain — Bruce Vilanch always leaves you smiling.

To this gay boy growing up in a Boston suburb, that weirdly wonderful creature who regularly popped up on television brought endless joy – and promise. It proved that somehow, somewhere, there were more people like me; that I could fit in, thrive, work, and more than anything else, have a fabulous time. 

It seemed like it was a party wherever Bruce showed up. “Donny & Marie,” “The Brady Bunch Variety Hour,” “The Paul Lynde Halloween Special” and “The Star Wars Holiday Special.” 

Was it as much fun as it seemed? Vilanch sighs. “Even sex sometimes isn’t as fabulous on the inside as it seems from the outside!”

He regularly uses his gifts to benefit causes close to his heart. He’s been a tireless advocate for gay rights, raised countless dollars for the fight against AIDS and regularly participates in Pride events – you name it and Bruce has done it. When I ask what drives him, he says, “Renting my body was not an option.”

I remember being part of the invited audience for the dress rehearsal before he hit the road in “Hairspray,” slipping into Edna’s slippers. The first person in his dressing room afterwards was his beloved mother, Henne – who was immortalized in the 1999 documentary about Vilanch, “Get Bruce!” Bruce was still in full makeup (see photo).  Henne gushed, “You were WONDERFUL.”  She turned to me and said, “Isn’t my son wonderful?”  He certainly is!

How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?   

I’ve never been in. Before Stonewall, the concept of being publicly out didn’t exist. And I’ve been around since before Stonewall. Shocking, I know. In addition, I was always fooling around with girls, until I realized that any woman I wanted to make a life with deserved more than a guy who would be trolling around looking for other guys. I chose to live an authentic life. When they say homosexuality is a choice, that’s the choice they’re talking about.

Who’s your LGBT hero? 

If I have to pick just one out of the herd, I guess it would be Noël Coward. He lived the life he wanted to live and nobody seemed to make a bother about it. Plus he was funny as shit.

What’s Los Angeles’ best nightspot, past or present? 

I am of the Studio One/Rose Tattoo era. I was too late for the Coconut Grove in its prime and now I don’t last as late, so I can’t enjoy Reflex in its prime, which is about 5 a.m.

Describe your dream wedding. 

It’s a thrupple. I’m not sure who the other two guys are, but one of them dresses left and the other dresses right and I’m the centrist.

What non-LGBT issue are you most passionate about? 

I’m a tribal Jew, so I’m concerned about my tribe. Working on AIDS-related causes for so many decades has made me more interested in other minority health issues, and being on the board of the LA LGBT Center has certainly gotten me involved in that. Of course, I am dogged about the arts and censorship and preservation and restoration.  And I worry — Tiffany Haddish — she really ready?

What historical outcome would you change? 

I try not to indulge in magical thinking. Magical drinking is enough.

What’s been the most memorable pop culture moment of your lifetime? 

Probably Woodstock, but that’s just because I am a boomer. I wasn’t really a hippie, I wasn’t really a rocker, I wasn’t really a stoner, but the idea of half a million people hiking into the woods to hear music and to tell the previous generation that there was a new world hatching is still pretty memorable. 

On what do you insist? 

Pleasure. And free WiFi.

What was your last Facebook post or Tweet? 

Probably a postcard eulogy of a friend.  They’re thick on the ground now…again.  But this is not because of a plague. This is Mother Nature and Father Time, who are both non-binary.

If your life were a book, what would the title be? 

There was a documentary about me called “Get Bruce!” Maybe the book will be “Had Bruce!”  With a much larger cast.

If science discovered a way to change sexual orientation, what would you do? 

By that time, I will be married to a Martian.

What do you believe in beyond the physical world? 

An ethical dimension. 

What’s your advice for LGBT movement leaders? 

Xanax. Just when we thought we had climbed the mountain, they moved the mountain. I don’t blame them for being depressed and a bit shell-shocked. Still, our enemies eat a lot of sugar and have boundless energy, and we have to shut down divisive politics amongst ourselves and confront the common orange evil. 

What would you walk across hot coals for? 

A swimming pool, and in a big hurry.

What LGBT stereotype annoys you most? 

Anyone who tells you if you disagree with them, you are worse than Hitler. And that’s an awful lot of gay people. We’re woefully intolerant of each other and rather than finding common ground, we carpet bomb. This isn’t new, but it is especially annoying in the era that began on November 9, 2016.

What’s your favorite LGBT movie? 

“Get Bruce!” of course, OK, that wasn’t even nominated for a GLAAD Award, even though part of the movie was my acceptance speech when I personally won a GLAAD Award. Aside from that, I am very partial to an indie drama called “Parting Glances,” which was the first AIDS movie that I can recall. If you don’t think you can handle it, know that the young Steve Buscemi is one of the leads and that alone should get you to Netflix and chill.

What’s the most overrated social custom? 

“How are you,”  “Thoughts and prayers,”  “Sorry for your loss,” referring to rich kids as “children of privilege.”

What trophy or prize do you most covet? 

The World’s Largest Penis, which is not the same as the World’s Largest Dick, which I have already been called.

What do you wish you’d known at 18? 

That pizza wouldn’t make me happy for more than a minute.

Why Los Angeles? 

I’m deeply shallow.

The post Long before Ellen, Boy George, “Will & Grace,” and RuPaul, there was Bruce Vilanch first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Join Boulder Jewish Family Service (JFS) for the fifth annual Reel Hope Boulder featuring award-winning writer, comedian, songwriter, and actor Bruce Vilanch on Saturday, October 14 at 7:00 pm at the Boulder JCC, 6007 Oreg Avenue. This fundraising event will include a wine and beer reception with substantial hors d’oeuvres and a first-hand account of Bruce’s storied decades-long career. Sponsors will enjoy an exclusive reception with Bruce at 6:30 pm.

All proceeds support the life-transforming work of Boulder JFS, which provides older adults, adults with disabilities, their families, and individuals in crisis with services to enhance their quality of life.

About Bruce Vilanch

With his unmistakable presence—characterized by a big-girl figure, oversized red glasses, a shaggy blonde mane, and usually a hilarious T-shirt—Bruce Vilanch has been one of Hollywood’s most colorful characters for decades. His campy presence and outrageous apparel only heighten his broad appeal.

He’s known to many as an onscreen character actor and comedian, but Vilanch achieved his biggest successes as a writer for stand-up comics such as Bette Midler, Billy Crystal, Lily Tomlin, and Rosanne Barr. For many years, he was the go-to comic for stand-up sets and a first-choice writer for events, including the Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, and Tony telecasts.

For more information about sponsorship opportunities and tickets, please contact Bonni Raderman, Boulder JFS development associate, at 720.749.3404 or braderman@jewishfamilyservice.org. Tickets will go on sale in September.

The post Save the Date for Reel Hope Boulder Featuring Bruce Vilanch first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Few television shows are as cherished in the gay community as The Golden Girls, which is why everyone is stirring over the prospect of a gay male version—a gay Golden Girls, if you will, though, somehow, that sounds redundant.

Two of the writers from the 1985 original series, Stan Zimmerman and James Berg, have penned a pilot for Silver Foxes, a series built around four older gay men. Zimmerman and Berg also have writing credits on Roseanne and Gilmore Girls, meaning we just might have an instant classic on our hands.

Last year, according to NewNowNext, George Takei, Bruce Vilanch, Leslie Jordan, Todd Sherry, and Cheri Oteri all participated in a table read of the pilot script. No cast has been officially confirmed, but it’s hard to imagine a better lineup than that—unless of course you threw in Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart.

On the reason behind developing the story, Zimmerman told Party Foul Radio, “Every one of us is getting older…Especially with gays and lesbians and transgender, we create our own families—and that’s what The Golden Girls did. Those women came together and supported each other.”

Silver Foxes is currently being shopped around Netflix and Hulu.

The post ARE YOU READY FOR A GAY ‘GOLDEN GIRLS’? first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

One of the movies playing at SIFF I was most anxious to see when the lineup was announced was The Fabulous Allan Carr, a new feature-length documentary about the legendary Hollywood producer from director Jeffrey Schwarz. Schwarz has been a prolific documentarian over the past several years, most notably for films about John Waters’ muse Divine, and closeted 1950’s teen heartthrob Tab Hunter.

Allan Carr died in 1999 but he had left an undeniable legacy as the producer of Grease and groundbreaking Broadway hit La Cage Aux Folles, as well as the infamous 1989 Academy Awards spectacle that opened with a musical number of Snow White and Rob Lowe in duet, and the Village People vehicle Can’t Stop the Music (which trivia buffs will know as the first movie to ever “win” a Golden Raspberry Award for “Worst Picture”). The movie, though, details how Carr came to Hollywood without knowing anyone and became one of the most well-known and in-demand producers, until he wasn’t. Schwarz interspersed clips of Carr on talk shows with interviews with those who got to know him, and there are some deliciously fun Hollywood stories mixed in with a more complete picture of Carr than he let the public be privy to. I enjoyed, for example, Steve Guttenberg’s telling of how he was discovered for Can’t Stop the Music.

I spoke to Jeffrey Schwarz by phone, the day before he would fly to Seattle for the world premiere of The Fabulous Allan Carr.

I really enjoyed the movie, so I’m really glad I got the chance to talk to you about it.

Oh, I’m glad. I haven’t talked to very many people who are seeing it for the first time, so that’s great to hear.

It’s fantastic. I’m a big John Waters fan, so I became a fan of your work with I Am Divine. Every time you make a movie, I try to see it.

Thanks. So, this is another movie about somebody with a very big personality, like Divine, and so there’s this crossover with all the movies and this is another movie about a larger than life personality and somebody who invented themselves, so there’s definitely themes that are carrying through with all these movies.

Well, I guess that’s what I wanted to ask you for my first question is I asked you is there something, you think, in common with Divine and Tab Hunter and Allan Carr and the other subjects of your documentaries?

Yeah, I mean, I’m certainly interested in personalities who are larger than life, and people who have insecurities or ways or visions that they have and they sort of invent a persona to move forward in the world. A, sort of, larger than life persona to move forward in the world. And people who have big dreams and set about making those dreams come true and Allan Carr certainly fits into that category. I mean, he grew up loving movies, loving glamour, loving show business. He had no connections to Hollywood, but he envisioned the life that he wanted and he went about and did that. And part of going about doing that was to, sort of, invent a character, in a sense, that could empower him. And that’s- a lot of the other people that I’ve made films about have done as well.

Was there something- was there anything, maybe, that changed your perception of Allan Carr while making the film and researching him?

Well, I wasn’t too familiar with Allan’s inner life when I started the project, because, you know, the biography that inspired the documentary is terrific, and it did get into Allan’s inner life to some degree, but it wasn’t really until talking to his close friends that I started to get a sense of what was going on with him.

In particular, his reaction to what happened to him after the Academy Awards in 1989. I got a sense that that really hurt him very deeply and that he definitely withdrew and for somebody who was so exuberant and out there to withdraw into himself into such pain and depression was very hard to hear from his friends. So, I really appreciate that people who were close to Allan were able to give me that perspective and help me understand him a little bit more.

When watching the movie, I thought about it is that even though that was bad for him and bad for his career, it feels like he was kind of vindicated with the way the Oscars, and all the award shows, kind of have been since then, because, I mean, Billy Crystal always does a campy, musical number to open every time he hosts…

Yeah. Well, I think it’s- there had been musical numbers prior to what Allan was doing, but I feel that he was gonna do something other than anything that had ever been done, because that’s just who he was, you know, so even though there had been musical numbers before, he was gonna take that balloon and blow it up even further. And, you know, I guess he felt that the Oscars needed a gilt of energy and needed a gilt of fabulousness, which is what he did and they hired him to do that. It wasn’t like they were hiring somebody who was going to do something very stayed and low key. I mean, he was doing something crazy and insane and that’s why they hired him.

In fact, for all the criticism that that show got, it did better in the ratings than many of the shows previously and we’re still talking about it today. I mean, how many opening numbers do you really remember? I mean, I kind of- I love watching The Oscars. I watch them every year, but I don’t really, necessarily, remember the openings, but this one, I’ll never forget it. I don’t think the world will forget it. I think the Academy might like to forget it, but I hope that this movie leads to a reevaluation of that opening number. Not that it’s great art or anything, but that it’s so audacious and insane that I think people should give it props for that, for sure. And it’s, like sixteen minutes long, I think. I haven’t timed it, but I think it’s something like sixteen minutes long. It’s just crazy. And no one’s ever topped it, that’s for sure.

Like you said, it was really over the top, but I just thought it was brilliant and it was something that really did shake up the Academy and I could see why they might not like it, but, like you said, that’s what they hired him for, it wasn’t a surprise that it was campy and over the top.

Yeah, they hired the guy who produced Can’t Stop The Music I to make the Oscars.

Certainly at that time, people knew what they were getting when they hire Allan Carr. And he was really coming at it from such love and respect for the Academy. He just didn’t want to see the Academy take itself too seriously. And he wanted to have fun with it. And it definitely went off the rails, because, I think he just wanted- he had this in his mind, he had a vision. The people around him were doing everything they could to execute his vision and when they would tell him, “This is getting too big, this is getting too expensive, this is getting too insane,” he wouldn’t listen. I’m kind of glad that he didn’t listen, because, like I said, we’re still (talking about it today). Eileen Bowman, Snow White, could talk about her experience doing it, because she was right in the eye of the hurricane. She had some hilarious stories about working on that.

I mean, Allan did make some contributions to the Academy Awards that are still being done today, like- the biggest one is probably the change from, “and the winner is..” to, “and the Oscar goes to…” Which is something that he- that had not happened before his Academy Awards. He was hoping that that would change that would stay, and that would stick, and they’re still doing that today, and all the other award shows that copied that.

Yeah, absolutely. I feel like that’s definitely a such lasting impact and it’s a big improvement from just saying, “and the winner is…”

Yeah, and there were other things that he did too. You know, like the red carpet, and the, sort of fashion show aspect to the Academy Awards that, you know, there was a red carpet, but it was pretty utilitarian. It wasn’t- I mean, Allan came along and really wanted to make that an event and make that special and big and bring in designers and bring in name brands to dress up the stars and, you know, these were things that he definitely highlighted and- I don’t know.

I think it really, if you look at the rest of the show, you know, the opening number is all anybody talks about, but the rest of the show is terrific and there’s some- I had forgotten that that show was Bruce Vilanch’s first Oscars as a writer and he definitely changed the tone of the Academy Awards over the years that he was involved. There were some moments on that show, like Carrie Fischer and Martin Short walking on stage wearing the same dress. I’d forgotten that that was in that Academy Awards. Roger Moore and Sean Connery reuniting and Lucille Ball and Bob Hope reuniting and some really great, terrific, memorable moments aside from that opening.

Maybe we can talk a little bit about putting the film together. How long did it take, because weren’t you just here at SIFF for your Tab Hunter movie two years ago?

I’ve been very lucky to have these films, sort of, come out every couple of years, but they all, kind of, overlap, so I’ve been working on this one really for about three years aggressively, but it’s been in development maybe for about five years or so. So, I always say that these films take anywhere from five to seven years to complete, so this one was pretty much right on track. From the first moment, that ah-ha moment after reading Robert Hofler’s book, it’s almost about five and a half years. We’ve been working on this, aggressively, for about the last two and a half, three years. Myself and my producer, John Boccardo, and the team that we put together to make the movie.

I think at the time that he was out doing his thing in the world, he was, I don’t know if he was a household name, but people knew who he was. I mean, he was definitely a brand. And then, you know, as time marches on, we have this problem with cultural amnesia. So, people maybe only remember, if they know anything about him, they’ll remember the Academy Awards, they might remember Grease. I don’t think many people really make all the connections between all the things that he did, but the same guy who did Grease did La Cage aux Folles and, oh, the same guy did Can’t Stop The Music and the Academy Awards.

I think there’s so much that can sort of, connect the dots for people, culturally, for people that are vaguely familiar with him, but definitely know his product. I mean, everyone knows Grease. That is one of the most iconic movies of all time. His vision for Grease is part of what makes that so memorable and so great. I mean, the candy colored aspect of it, the humor. They definitely transformed it from the original source material, which was much more gritty and tougher into something that has more of a candy colored camp feeling to it and that certainly was Allan’s vision and he brought along people to help him execute that vision, like, Randal Kleiser, the director, Pat Birch, the choreographer, and Bill Butler, the DP. You know, he was smart enough to bring on the best people to execute that vision for the movie.

Well, do you have a favorite story that you learned about Allan Carr from filming it, doing the interviews with people that were close to him?

Gosh, there’s so many. You never know what people are gonna bring to the table. You know, you think you know- when I do an interview, I have a pretty much of a sense of what I expect people to bring to the table especially after having read the biography, but then there’s some things that just totally surprised me, you know, when I was talking to a friend of his named Gary Putney who was a TV executive. He was talking about bringing Allan to Mexico for a vacation and while they were on that Mexican vacation, that’s were Gary bought Allan his first caftan. Allan’s so famous for his caftan. The genesis of all of that and where it all came from was this Mexican vacation.

Allan sort of crafted a persona around his look and the caftans were a big part of that. That was also the vacation where, apparently, Allan had his first experience with a man. Which I didn’t know that story. It says so much about Allan that he was in his early thirties by the time this happened, and so he seemed like he was so maybe uncomfortable in his own body that combination of sort of his experience with a man and getting his first caftan were things that actually really empowered him.

That’s not something I would’ve known going into it. It was really revealing. I mean, there’s so many hilarious stories that we couldn’t include in the movie, but I think that what we’ve got in there is a pretty well-rounded portrait of who he was.

I think I’ve probably taken up a lot of your morning already, but could you tell me what’s going on with the movie after it plays this weekend?

Well, this is a world premiere. So, I’m really excited about that. This is a thrill for me and our producers will be there too and then, right from SIFF were going to QDoc is Portland and then, we’re starting to book festivals all around the country and actually from other countries too. I’m looking for the roll out of this and getting to experience it with an audience for the first time. That’s the best feeling in the world for a filmmaker is to be sitting there after years of working on your project and sort of feel the energy in the room and hear the audience reaction. That’s my favorite part. It really makes it all worthwhile.

I think that people are really gonna love it and I’m really glad that I got the chance to watch it already and it’s really a great film and I have a feeling that everyone that sees it tonight will love it.

I hope that’s the case. I appreciate your enthusiasm for it. We’re living in a very strange time right now. It’s a time fraught with fear and anxiety. I’m certainly feeling that everyday, you know, and I hope that this movie will be a little bit of an escape valve. Allan Carr’s ethos was that movies can be a real source of joy and pleasure and can sort of help take us away from our daily problems for ninety minutes and I hope that this movie filled Allan’s requirements for what entertainment should be.

Let me ask one other thing. Is there a way where people can watch your other documentaries? Are they on any streaming services or anything?

Yeah! Tab Hunter Confidential is currently on Netflix and I Am Divine is available on iTunes. Vito is available on iTunes. Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story is available on Vimeo. Wrangler, I’m not sure where you can get that one now. I’m pretty sure you can get that one on Amazon. They all end up in strange places, but most of them are on iTunes at this point.

{The Fabulous Allan Carr makes its world premiere at SIFF tonight!, Friday, May 19 at 7:00pm at the Egyptian Theater, and then again on Saturday, May 20 at 11:00am at the Egyptian Theater.}

The post SIFF Interview: Jeffrey Schwarz talks about his great new documentary, THE FABULOUS ALLAN CARR first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

Bruce Vilanch was toiling away in a perfectly adequate newspaper job in Chicago when Bette Midler came to town. She wasn’t quite famous at that point — an appearance on Broadway and some bathhouse concerts were her credits — but Bruce went to check out her show. Afterwards, he wrote a glowing review, and she called to thank him.

“You should talk more,” he told her.

“You got any good lines?” she asked. He did, and she hired him.

Forty years later, Bruce’s work has touched just about everyone in America. He’s written some of the most famous variety shows ever broadcast, crafted jokes for the Oscars and Emmys and Tonys for decades, and has appeared on everything from RuPaul’s Drag Race to Hollywood Squares to The Simpsons.

I interviewed Bruce Vilanch on my podcast The Sewers of Paris, where every week I talk to gay men about the entertainment that changed their lives. For Bruce, an important early influence were big movie and stage extravaganzas like The Greatest Show on Earth and a Carol Channing flop called The Vamp.

“I taught myself to read with the movie ads,” he recalled. He was obsessed with showbiz from an early age, though his parents tried to steer him toward more reliable work as a doctor or lawyer. They’d take him to films set in courtrooms and point out that attorneys get to perform; but he knew he needed a different kind of limelight.

“I used to have a routine in a hula skirt that was embarrassing to everyone,” he said. “I would have taken a job on the hood of your car, jiggling as you drove.”

An adventurous aunt told him stories of the world and accompanied him on trips into Manhattan. He attempted a career on stage, but discovered that his look and his skills were a little too idiosyncratic. So he went into journalism, and that’s where he had his big break when he wrote about Bette Midler.

“She found the beauty in trash,” he said of her at the time. She’d come out on stage looking a little disheveled and unpredictable, though “the talent was there.” Audiences loved it, particularly when she was on tour and told jokes about local landmarks and figures. The secret of those jokes was that Bruce would leverage his journalism connections to write them, calling colleagues at local papers to find out what the big scandals were before Bette arrived in town.

Eventually, he made his way to Los Angeles, where he’d get his start writing variety shows for Cher, the Brady Bunch, and the Manhattan Transfer. When he could, he’d slip sly queer references into the shows, though they always had to be coded.

“Did you feel exasperated that you couldn’t say gay?” I asked him during our chat.

“It was challenging,” he replied. “It wasn’t frustrating because it hadn’t been done. … That was a couple years off.”

Nevertheless, he still delighted in the sly gay references he was able to place in shows like Hollywood Squares. “It was ‘inside,’ we called it,” he said. “The ones who get it will laugh and the ones who don’t will say ‘what was that?’”

It’s a vastly different world now, of course. But the freedom that gay writers and comedians now have on television is only possible because of pioneers like Bruce.

Listen to the full interview with Bruce below or at SewersOfParis.com.

The post TV Writer Bruce Vilanch Tells Us How He Slipped Sly Gay Jokes Past the Censors first appeared on We Got Bruce!.