Buddy Beaverhausen's Random Thoughts: Reinventing One's Self

I heard a young starlet bandy about the term "reinventing" herself and it made me ponder what that actually means anymore.

Seriously, we all reinvent ourselves throughout our lives. But she didn't mean it in that sense. She meant taking on a persona.

I speak to you as Buddy Beaverhausen, so I suppose I've "reinvented" myself by the above standard. As Buddy B, I can hide behind a snarky persona that's actually very cathartic.

Bette Midler reinvented herself as The Divine Miss M, but it was the genuine Bette who grew, evolved and, then, doffed her persona when it was no longer  necessary.

The late David Bowie was Ziggy Stardust but he quickly found that persona no longer suited his needs as an artist.

I suppose we all mature and move on, as will the interviewed actress if she's lucky to have long enough of a career in Tinseltown -- itself a reinvention of L.A. to make it sound all the more glamorous.

Please share your thoughts on "reinventing" yourself and what that term means to you. Meanwhile, we all move on, changing as we go. Hopefully.

Bette Midler Arrives on Our 2015 Christmas Countdown!

This was an ideal song for Bette Midler to sing on her 2006 Cool Yule Christmas album. After all, she was raised in Hawaii!

This is a cover song originally recorded by Bing Crosby and The Andrew Sisters.

Beautifully arranged and sung, led in by "optimistic voices"! Simply click on the Youtube link below.

Enjoy, as my 2015 Christmas Countdown continues!











https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7ED-wvHNW8

On the Town with Sue, Lloyd, Sophe & Me @ Cinema Village

Susan, me & Loyd

I attended the first screening of the documentary The Outrageous Sophie Tucker high noon at the venerable art house, Cinema Village, on the big screen. Ok, it was Cinema Village, as I said, so it was a medium-sized screen.

I already reviewed a press video of the movie http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2015/07/cine-beaverhausen-outrageous-sophie.html
and interviewed the filmmaking couple, the Eckers as well. Get them a reality tv series somebody!
http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2015/07/exclusive-q-with-eckers-on-their-sophie.html

Susan and Lloyd Ecker are tirelessly doing Q&As after every screening to help promote the film. It was wonderful to finally meet them in person afterwards in the lobby, as you can see by the photo. Directed by William Gazecki, The Outrageous Sophie Tucker's executive producers are Phil Ramone and Gene Schwam.

During the audience Q&A, I asked the Eckers if they had any reservations or regrets after they saw the final edit of this film. They allowed as to how their only regret is, to get their documentary into a basically 90-minute format, so much footage was edited out. No worries as they promise deleted footage will be on the upcoming dvd.

The filmmakers also said that some of the talking heads during the closing titles sequence (Kaye Ballard, et al.) had no more footage or they'd have loved to include that in the film itself.

Brilliant summer afternoon. The Eckers are, in person, warm, kind and a privilege to have met. The film has already garnered many award nominations (including a Grammy) and is certainly worthy of New York Film Critics and Oscar consideration. And there's always a potential HBO deal. Wishing Susan and Lloyd lots of well-deserved luck. This film has a lot of commercial potential.

Bette Midler Grows in Brooklyn

LGBT Pride was extended this year as Bette Midler brought her new show, Divine Intervention, to the stage at Barclay's Center tonight. She even mentioned Pride and congratulated her gay fans on the marriage-equality victory. More than any other single entertainer, Ms Midler -- who started as a chanteuse and comedian at the Continental Baths -- brought a gay camp sensibility into mainstream entertainment. It remains undiminished at age 70.

Gone are the platform shoes and Depression-era dresses, replaced now with chic New Bohemian-styled frocks and stilettos. She looks good! Ok?

Bette was born Paterson, NJ as was I. We met once, when I was working in the box-office at the old Bottom Line in Manhattan. I mentioned the Paterson connection and she lit up with that famous smile of hers, asking if I had something to write on. I slipped her a cocktail napkin (all I had at the time) and she wrote: "Charles, your b.o. is my b.o. -- Bette Midler." We pinned it up on our bulletin board in our b.o.

What a pleasure it was, then, to see The Divine Miss M at Barclay's with her latest act, Divine Intervention! I mean, it's almost like we grew up together!

I met up with my friend Sharon, still very British though having lived in NYC for many years now. Love her accent and UK expressions, like "gob smacked." We haven't seen one another since we worked together at the office. So, this was a special occasion, indeed, as there is also no way of knowing if, after this tour, we'll ever have the chance to see Bette tour again.

Miss M was indeed an indefatigable ball of fire in this two-hour spectacular with no intermission. With only the briefest costume changes, the diva did several numbers included on her new album, It's the Girls as well as a litany of hits, many of which have become standards. Her Barry Manilow-inspired version of Do You Want to Dance? brought tears to our eyes. Has all that time really elapsed since this was a radio hit?

Bette was earnestly moved by the full house in Brooklyn and grateful to us all. "Brooklyn! Who knew! Maybe I'll come back and play the Bronx," she quipped. Twice, she broke into tears thanking us for supporting her.

Bette asked how many of us took the subway, cabbed it or drove in. "Great to see my older fans can can still see in the dark," she snarked to the drivers amongst us. Her patter has lost none of its brassy, bold and bawdy characteristics. Comedy highlight may have been the obviously doctored photos of her in bed with a variety of public figures including Cheney, Putin and Bruce Jenner ("We really just did each others' toenails and sang all my songs together!").

Sophie Tucker jokes were as saucy as ever, and the video tribute to Delores Del Largo (a character Midler is retiring) was oddly moving. Seems like Bette might want a motorized wheelchair at her age but, no, she seems to invite Lady Gaga/ Yumi to inherit the mermaid-in-wheelchair schtick for good.

Bette claimed to the crowd that she had never had work done. This was not intended as a joke. Clearly, the Divine has had some expert nip/ tuck; one only need look at her face in close-up. Taut face/not so taught neck. Still, as I said earlier, she looked good!

A Rose is a Rose is a Rose, after all. Bette's crowd pleaser included the theme song for that film, From a Distance and Wind Beneath My Wings, but also less-mainstream jazz hits like Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most and I've Still Got My Health. The opening number was the clever Divine Intervention, named after the show.

Though Friends and Rose's Turn got overlooked, unfortunately, this was still an enormous performance endeavor. The band and the new Harlettes (women young enough to be Bette's granddaughters) were top-tier and Miss M was in all her divine glory, doing what she does best: Putting on a show; an unforgettable show. We were gob smacked!

Thanks, Sharon, for the drink and the food afterward.

Midler on the Roof at NYC's Metropolitan Room

Carly Ozard is a cabaret treasure, and that she proved last night at the Metropolitan Room where she revived -- and revised -- her show, "Midler on the Roof."

I saw Carly perform this act at The Triad last October. It cleverly intertwines Miss M's songbook with autobiographical tales, the heartbreaking, uplifting and the completely inspiring.

The Divine Miss O -- who brought this show to town for LGBT Pride week and a day before Bette herself performs at Madison Square Garden -- was certainly in fine fettle last night with a powerhouse voice that sometimes felt like a refreshing summer storm had been unleashed. The crowed adored her and expressed as much with thunderous applause.

"Midler on the Roof" was directed by Kristine Zbornik and musically directed by Steven Ray Watkins (on piano). Tim Lykins was on drums and Daniel Fabricatore on bass. Back-up vocals were supplied by Karen Mack and Jennifer Haber. Kudos to all for outstanding work.

Ms Ozard is not a Bette Midler impersonator but a powerful interpreter of her idol's songs. Those songs included Midler favorites like "Delta Dawn," "The Rose" and "Shiver Me Timbers."  The "Hello in There/Wind Beneath My Wings" medley was extremely moving. Disco Bette Carly-style rocked the house with "Knight in Black Leather" "I'm Beautiful, Dammit!" and "Married Men." "I Put a Spell on You" (from the film Hocus Pocus) also excited the crowd with its ferociously upbeat energy.

Carly closed with "Friends" and belted "Rose's Turn" out of the park, so to speak, for an encore.

A delightful and, really, flawless performance right down to the technical aspects of light and sound. Thank you, Richard Skipper, for inviting my friend, Nick Lion, and I to the event. And thanks to the staff at the Metropolitan Room for providing first-rate, attentive service.

Exclusive Q&A with Carly Ozard about Midler on the Roof

Saw Carly's show in October at the Triad. Look forward, eagerly, to her show June 24 at Metropolitan Room. @ 7 PM  
Reservations highly recommended.
Box Office: 212-206-0440 http://www.MetropolitanRoom.com 
For press reservations, interview requests, or more information, contact Richard Skipper Celebrates at Richard@RichardSkipper.com or 845-365-0720

Also, Love Don't Need A Reason: At 54 Below July 1st 2015

Cover charge: $25 – $35
Premiums: $60
Food & Beverage Minimum $25
Wed, Jul 1 9:30 pm Doors 8:45pm Use Code Ozard5 TICKETS & INFORMATION:
(646) 476-3551
254 W 54th St, Cellar, New York, NY 10019

Here's my review of her Triad show: http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2014/10/carly-ozzards-midler-issues.html

Buddy Beaverhausen: I loved your act, Midler on the Roof, when I saw it at the Triad in Manhattan last October. Now you are back in NYC to perform it again at the Metropolitan Room. How has it evolved or changed?
Carly Ozard: Well, there's a song that I performed in San Francisco I loved that Bette did and it's called "I Know This Town," a country song, We've added it to this show. It's from the album Bette of Roses.

BB: Your show is just a few days before LGBT Pride Day in NYC. Coincidence?
CO: Not. Bette is performing at Madison Square Garden the next day and Pride is the following Sunday, so I felt it was the perfect time to bring this to NYC.

BB: Anything from the new girl-group album in your show?
CO: No. Unfortunately not.

BB: Any plans for Pride Day in NYC while you're in town?
CO: I'm meeting my friend from San Francisco, Roma. Don't know where yet. NYC's so big, don't know where we'll be.

BB: For the uninitiated, can you explain your obsession with Bette?
CO: Well, when I was going to school and going through a hard time then, her music gave me hope.
BB: She validated your dreams.
CO: Yeah I knew that somewhere in the world there was someone who'd understand me.

BB: Can you tell us about Love Don't Need a Reason, the show you're presenting with Richard Skipper on July 1st?
CO: In San Francisco, I did so many benefit concerts but this is so special to me. I looked so hard to find an appropriate venue in Manhattan and it was so hard. Finally, I discovered The Cellar (254 W 54th, Cellar, NYC 10019 | Tickets / Info: (646) 476-3551).

BB: You're bi-coastal. How do your audiences differ?
CO: Oh, my God! San Francisco is smaller and easer to get around, In NY, it's harder getting around. Transportation is a nightmare. And the taxis! You can never get anywhere! I am so stressed all the time. Back in SF, it's all like one big community. In NYC, it's so dispersed. And here, some people don't get my humor.
BB: You were so well received at Triad.
CO: So many people talked to me after the show to say I was just mean. But I'm so happy to hear people who say they got my act, Living here, it's like everything is so hard; it's overwhelming. The work is good here but the service, getting around and all is just so difficult. I get lost in Grand Central. Here, you're not as supported by the clubs as you'd be in Feinstein's or the Razz Room! But, I have a lot of people here who support and respect my work.

BB: What's your favorite thing about doing a show and your least favorite?
CO: Favorite is knowing I'm making someone's day and, maybe, influencing how he/she thinks or feels. Least fave: how much freaking money it takes to put on a show.

BB: Your band, your back-up singers, other talent behind your show?
CO: Incredible people. A best friend of mine will join my back-ups. My band is fantastic; no attitude. Directed by Broadway and cabaret comedian Kristine Zbornik, Steven Ray Watkins as music director.

The New Nostalgia and the Triumph of Cabaret Culture

Songs from the American songbook of the 20th Century have made a major comeback over the past season, many of them selling briskly over the internet as cds or downloads, enough that a distinct trend can be gleaned. And that trend may be based on a sociological need for escape to times that seem better, at least, because we know how things resolved themselves, and based on our cravings for a bit of sentimentality to sweeten the daily, the predictable and the mundane. It is also, however, a renunciation of the au current styles of pop music and the state of music radio.

We have experienced this type of pop phenomenon once before: during the recession of the early 1970s, when Bette Midler brought back The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy and Chapel of Love, swing bands went disco a'la Dr Buzzard's Savannah Band and Vicki Sue Robinson, and the smooth retro harmonies of the Manhattan Transfer were in favor. Now, as our economy rebounds from another recessionary financial period, we find the New Nostalgia dominating pop music.

Lady Gaga certainly knows a trend when she hears one. She teamed up with Tony Bennett to record ballad and upbeat jazz and swing numbers like Cole Porter's "Anything Goes," and "It Don't Mean a Thing" on their album, Cheek to Cheek, which was a major financial and critical success this year. And Bette Midler returns to form with her all-girl group concept album, It's the Girls, bringing back tunes by The Andrew Sisters, the Ronettes, doing a duet with girl-group original, Darlene Love, and even reaching back to the 1930s to recreate that seminal girl-group, The Boswell Sisters.

Much of this material has been kept alive, largely here in New York City cabarets, through the decades, where it has evolved. I've been to several shows this past season where songs have mostly come from the doo-wop '50s through the house-music dance classics of the '90s. And disco nostalgia is all the rage! (We can, perhaps, thank Broadway's Mama Mia for that influence, and for finally making '70s disco legit.) Ronnie Giles' "Revenge of the Third-Rate Lounge Singer," received a very positive review from Broadway World! Kim Grogg's "Go Where the Love Is" (both these shows were at the venerable Don't Tell Mama cabaret) and Carly Ozard's musical bouquets to Bette, "Midler on the Roof" were also among the finest, and they played to full houses. And off-Broadway's Sylester musical, "Mighty Real" will return January 11 at the Gramercy Theater as a concert, further cementing the disco-era as part of the New Nostalgia.

Aretha's latest album, covering divas past and present, has Ms Franklin back in disco mode with classics like "I Will Survive." Kristin Chenoweth's recent Coming Home album includes Broadway show tunes and "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)!" If a gay sensibility runs through all the albums and shows I've mentioned, what could be trendier or more part of this tradition of quality music?

Easy listening and middle-of-the-road no longer are dirty words for me. Not necessarily, anyhow. It's been said, "nostalgia isn't what it used to be" but 2014 proved it's even better.

Audio Beaverhausen: Bette Gives Us a Great Big Kiss

Bette Midler's already done For the Boys, now it's time for the girls. It's the Girls gets released (on cd and available for download) today in the U.S.

Covering the girl-group oeuvre is nothing new for the Divine Miss M who, on her new concept album, returns to her roots. Why, she was singing these songs before they were back in fashion, ever since her performances at the Continental Baths in the early 1970s. She created the girl-group revival for crying out loud! Her debut album included covers of The Dixie Cups' "Chapel of Love," The Shangri-Las' "Leader of the Pack" and, quite famously, The Andrew Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B."

At the time, this was all done with a high camp flare. And it started a trend toward embracing vintage songs and the styles of pop music from previous decades, often with a sly wink. Forty years later, the public has come to love and to respect the girl-group sound. Time and tide has replaced the camp value of these songs with a new sense of esteem. The style of female harmonies in popular music has survived changing tastes throughout the many years. And so, it is no surprise that Miss Midler approaches the songs on It's the Girls quite differently than in her bathhouse days for the most part.

The album is Bette's first in eight years. It is produced by Marc Shaiman, who composed the songs for the Broadway musical version of Hairspray, and who obviously has studied the '60s girl-group sound scrupulously. Shaiman has produced tracks for Ms Midler in the past. No surprise, then, that this labor of love is such an effervescent concoction. In fact, it's the feel-good album of the season.

The Ronettes' "Be My Baby"  is respectfully covered by Bette and kicks off It's the Girls with a pleasant but rather middle-of-the-road arrangement (though given a Phil Spector-lite treatment with heavy percussion, Bette's harmonies on back-up vocals (as The Support Ho's) and castanets). The follow-up track, "One Fine Day," is done with similar obeisance.

It's a joy to hear Bette impersonate The Andrew Sisters once more ("Bei Mir Bist du Schoen") and rock out with "Baby, It's You," "Tell Him," "Too Many Fish in the Sea" and "You Can't Hurry Love." (Take that, Diana Ross!) I especially delighted in hearing Bette duet with her friend, legendary girl-group icon, Darlene Love, on "He's Sure the Boy I Love."

Bette makes "Mr Sandman" her own with a Hawaiian feel, "Come and Get These Memories" gets delivered herein as an achy-breaky ballad and 90's girl group TLC's "Waterfalls" is particularly heartbreaking as covered by our Miss M. Carol King's "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" is, likewise, poignantly interpreted.

Bette's virtually back at the Baths with her campy rendition of The Shangri-Las' "Give Him a Great Big Kiss." (Bette famously referred to them as "the toughest girls in show biz.") Her spoken end to this song is not to be missed!

Bette swings out, sisters, on the closing track, The Boswell Sisters' "It's the Girl." An upbeat end to a great 15 tracks.

Run, don't walk to snatch up It's the Girls. The cd has lots of nice photos of its star and liner credits. And tell them Buddy Beaverhausen sent you to their record stores. Not that it'll get you anywhere but you can spread my name around indiscriminately. I rather like the idea.

Bette will be touring in the summer, promoting her new cd. I plan to be there.

Beware! Halloween Countdown 2014 featuring Bette Midler

Bette Midler sings on today's Halloween Countdown (see link below)! A custom-made version of "Hocus Pocus," both song and film have become Halloween perennials. And Bette claims it's her favorite film to date.

Carly Ozard's Midler Issues

Part of Bette Midler's mass appeal will always be about the triumph of the underdog, the outsider; the ugly duckling who transformed herself into a swan as if by sheer will (and, of course, an uncanny knack for song and comedy). My LGBT readers will largely relate to the theme of a diva's rise to stardom by reinventing herself through a larger-than-life, outrageous theatrical persona.

Tonight, I returned to Stage 72 at the Triad on West 72nd Street to see "Midler on the Roof," a one-woman show featuring Carly Ozard and directed by veteran cabaret performer Kristine Zbornik. I was afraid it might basically be Patti Issues for Midler fans, but thank God that was not the case! Anyhow, Ben Rimalower couldn't sing Patti if his career depended on it.

To the packed house in the cozy upstairs cabaret room where the stage boasts an ornate, nostalgic prosthemeum arch, Carly prominently took center stage with a band of four men and two female backup vocalists (ok, make that one-woman show with band), not only to regale us with the divinity of The Divine Miss M songbook, but to entertain us as a monologuist. Perhaps one of my favorite, most articulate and well-spoken in years.

A self-described "glamazon," the tall, plus-sized Miss Ozard bears no resemblance to the petite Miss M (except for the Continental Baths-era hennaed hair) and makes no attempt to sing like her idol either.

Wonderfully music directed by Steven Ray Watkins for the most part, I really didn't think Ozard's big-belter voice was in need of so much echo. With a nod to the Halloween season, singing "I Put a Spell on You" from Hocus Pocus, the chanteuse clearly had her LGBT fans in love with her act from the starting gate, witness the thunderous calls, comments, hoots and hollers from last night's crowd. None of this was performed with slavish mimicry but with fresh approaches taken to each song.

I was enamored of Carly's healthy dose of disco covers of "I'm Beautiful" and two songs Mama Midler has disowned (along with most of the cult-hit album, Thighs & Whispers), "My Knight in Black Leather" and "Married Men." The superstar is unlikely to ever sing the last two live again in our lifetimes (though it would be divine if she did). Each song was tailored to details of Ozzard's life story, largely without labored comparisons.

While power ballads like "From a Distance," "Shiver Me Timbers" and "Wind Beneath My Wings" impressed us, most truly poignant were Carly's renditions of "Hello in There" and "Friends."

Her encore went unplugged with a powerful interpretation of "Rose's Turn" that you could probably hear all the way over at the old Rose's Turn in the Village.

Carly Ozard will be back at Triad and who knows where else. She has previously performed at venues like The Duplex and Laurie Beechman Theater. A talent that has to be seen and heard to be believed, expect this act to go seriously plus-sized in the near future and deservedly so! Special thanks to Richard Skipper for inviting me to this, frankly, fabulous cabaret event of the season. And it was a special night for me personally as I officially gave notice of retirement from my day job of 15 years. More nightlife, more shows to review. Cheers!

Diva Dish: Inaya, Idina, Zhana, Maya, Mariah & More!

What a week this was for diva birthdays! Stevie Nicks, Cilla Black, Gladys Knight, Kylie Minogue, Melissa Etheridge, La Toya Jackson, Scary Spice (Mel B), Idina Menzel. Idina's rendition of "Let It Go" was # 2 on the last Billboard club chart (with Cher's "I Walk Alone" right behind at # 3).

Of course, the tragic news this week was that of poet/activist/playwright Maya Angelou's passing. What a life this woman led! What brilliant people she befriended, and what an inspirational personality for the world. Of course, Westboro Baptist Church intends to picket her funeral. There's a special place in hell for those people, I am sure.

Mariah Carey received an Icon Award from the World Music Awards, and performed at the ceremony on May 27th. On the 29th, she was reluctantly (it appeared) videotaped by paparazzi (or was it really a p.r. team?) when she left the Fresh Air Fund at Chelsea Piers and headed home via subway. In a sparkly blue gown.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/30/mariah-carey-subway-new-york_n_5417056.html?utm_hp_ref=mariah-carey

Bette Midler's NY Restoration Project collected over $1 million when the beloved diva threw a benefit at Grant's Tomb. (Ullyses S., honeys, not Cary). Thank you, Bette, for your concern for our environment. Mayor Bill De Blasio showed up to place stong political support for the project.

June 10th is the release date for Chrissie Hyndes' new album. This diva can do no wrong and I so look forward to hearing this.

Most rousing song on the dance floor now is "Let the Music Lift You Up," by Matt Consola and LFP featuring fabulous diva vocals by the amazing Zhana Saunders.

And tonight, May 31, NYC Pride will kick off with the supreme Diva of House, Inaya Day. Will be there at Icon in Queens to report!

Buddy Beaverhausen Digs Earth Week!

Happy Earth Week, Earthlings! Are you ready to save the planet? Why, I'm feeling just as Eartha as Kitt! Global warming and other man-made ecological calamities threaten our world and that of future generations. We need to stop plundering Planet Earth. Can you dig it?

Rachel Carlson published the groundbreaking Silent Spring in 1962. The book brought environmental concerns to an unprecedented share of the international public. The late Ms Carlson testified before President Kennedy's Science Advisory Committee and that Committee supported her research. Whaddaya know?!

For decades, environmentalists have been trying to speak out on our destruction of the planet Earth. The ozone layer, Frankenfoods, strip mining, the Keystone XL pipeline, fracking, plastics, hairspray, the Kardashians! It seems like major industry pushes ahead despite the well-reasoned environmentalist position against reckless plundering of our planet, Janet! They argue the environmentalists are wrong; that they're crazy. They even scoff at scientific data.

And just when did environmentalism become a "liberal" thing? Why, I recall, in college, back in the bad old Nixonian era, that ecological matters were a concern completely across party lines. Today's Tea Party, of course is supporting and promoting industry over humanity and would have us believe that our concerns about the planet's health and ability to support life are ridiculous. Ah, those effete greenies and tree-huggers!

Well, I'm with the greenies! I'm with the tree huggers! Because of Earth Week, we carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. Kind of. Atlas shrugged. We mustn't.

Read what Chris Noth ("Mr Big") had to say to NYC's community free paper, Metro, in the rag's exclusive:
http://www.metro.us/newyork/news/national/2014/04/20/chris-noth-op-ed-please-join-protecting-climate/

I'm still not out of my parka at this point in April. This spring may not be silent on the Northeast but it sure ain't spring-like. Easter came late on the calendar this year and I found myself celebrating the planet's fertility in a freaking coat! Yet I'm so into the season, you can call me "Spring Byington."

"Every Day is Earth Day," environmental broad Bette Midler reminds us.

Keep calm, carry on and carry a big stick when it comes to saving planet Earth. Happy Earth week, people of the planet!

2013 Christmas Countdown Bonus featuring Bette Midler

The Divine Miss M brings back Optimistic Voices to introduce this song (originally by Bing Crosby & the Andrew Sisters), returning to her Hawaiian roots as well as her Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy ones. Mele Kalikimaka to y'all!

Bette Midler Goes West on HBO

The big buzz you've been waiting for, people! Surely you've heard by now that none other than the Divine Miss M herself will be assaying (and sashaying in) the part of droll diva and camp icon, Mae West. The HBO film (to be released theatrically outside the U.S.) is to be directed by William ("The Boys in the Band," "Cruising" and some little opus called "The Exorcist") Friedkin. And who is writing this biopic? None other than Harvey Fierstein ("Kinky Boots," "Torch Song Trilogy"), based on Miss West's autobiography, Goodness Had Nothing to Do with It, that's who.

Bette Midler has been having herself a grand time lately, coming hot off her Broadway hit, I'll Eat You Last (in which she assayed but pretty much stayed on her assets as famed Hollywood talent agent Sue Mengers) and now swirling into the role of Mae West.

I guess HBO had the urge to outdo themselves on the gay-o-meter after the success of their Liberace biopic. I first read the Bette buzz today via Playbill on-line. The next thing I knew, it was all over the Internet. Variety said it was actually Deadline Hollywood that first broke the news and wrote, "The performer who became synonymous with busty bravado, sex and sultry humor died in 1980 at age 87 after a long career on stage and screen." Doesn't that sound divinely perfect for Miss Midler, who just turned 71? "Pic focuses on West’s early years as a stage player in Gotham when she battled censors and faced legal sanctions for her risque Rialto show 'Sex,'" Variety informs. Well, Miss M looks good and can play younger, I suppose.

So, Bette in the Mae West biopic, Liza in the Sunset Boulevard movie! Sounds like things are shaping up for our cherished divas! Star vehicles at last, dahlings, for female stars not named Meryl!

"[Mae] West eventually moved from stage to screen and rose to super stardom in the 1930s when she became one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood at the time," Huffington Post touted.

Buddy Beaverhausen thinks Bette will be an ideal Mae West. In fact, she's notoriously gone West in her live stage shows from the start. The hair fluffing, her raunchy lines, her campy delivery, her knowing overtures to her gay fans, her petite but curvaceous figure. If there was no Mae, there might never be the Bette we know and love.

Mae West said, “I wrote the story myself. It's about a girl who lost her reputation and never missed it.” She was also quoted as quipping, "Good sex is like good bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand."

Sounds like HBO's holding a firm hand on this one.


 

Bette Midler, Birthday Girl!

The Divine Miss M just had her 68th birthday on December 1. The diva thanked her fans for their best wishes today on Twitter. Can you imagine? Sixty-eight?! But what a legend, what a career! And she looks damned good and is going strong, though she allowed, also on Twitter, "It annoys me when people call me lazy. Just because my only ambition in life is to continue breathing." I know just how she feels!

Ms Midler's career has lasted nearly a half century, garnering three Grammys, three Emmys, four Golden Globes, two Oscar nominations and a special Tony Award. She was indeed divine on Broadway this past Spring in I'll Eat You Last. http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/04/broadway-beaverhausen-youll-eat-bette.html 

That she was denied a Tony nomination for her sly and nuanced performance as Sue Mengers in that one-woman Broadway show is considered a snub by many fans and industry people.

Born in Honolulu after her parents moved from Paterson, NJ (where I was born and raised), she majored in Drama at the University of Hawaii but dropped out after her third year after she earned money as an extra in the 1966 movie saga, Hawaii.

Before her famed appearances at the gay men's bathhouse, the Continental Baths, which ultimately led to her recording career and subsequent fame, she was in both the Broadway casts of Fiddler on the Roof and the Hair-wannabe musical, Salvation. She then starred in Tom Eyen's off-off-Broadway play at the East Village's La Mama theater in Miss Nefertiti Regrets.

Said Miss M of her Continental Baths days, where she was accompanied on piano by her arranger, the then-unknown Barry Manilow, "I'm still proud of those days. I feel like I was at the forefront of the gay liberation movement, and I hope I did my part to help it move forward. So, I kind of wear the label of 'Bathhouse Betty' with pride."

In New York City, the bi-coastal Bette is also known for her charity work, having founded the New York Restoration Project in 1995, a non-profit organization that revitalizes neglected neighborhood parks in our city.

Today, we wish the ever-divine diva, an entertainment legend in her own time and in ours, a very Happy Birthday and we wish her many more!

Giving Thanks for Divas on Thanksgiving 2013

Posted on a fan's Facebook Page

Thanksgiving has arrived, my turkeys, gobble gobble! Of course, Buddy B has so much to be thankful for this year, especially not having to cook for guests! (Ain't nobody got time for that.) I'm thankful for going to Bay Ridge's Lighthouse Diner, Thanksgiving afternoon, two blocks away, with my friend who called in the rezzies. Give me a bloody mary and a plate of lasagne and I'll be grateful, pilgrim! And, hey, Plymouth rocks! But also, I am thankful to the harvest of contemporary divas who keep us dancing and inspire us with their awesome voices.

Martha Wash has been our divine diva for five decades now, as a solo artist and as the voice of Two Tons of Fun, The Weather Girls, Black Box and C&C Music Factory. I am truly thankful for Miss Martha! And I adore her current album, Something Good, which is a perfect ~ and very inspirational ~ gift for the holidays. Available at Amazon.com.

I'm thankful for Cher! What a legend, icon, superstar diva, with an outstanding six-decade career. Her new album, Closer to the Truth, is marvelous and I highly recommend it for the holiday season and beyond!

La La Brooks, Darlene Love, Ronnie Spector. 1960s girl-group divas who survived Phil Spector and continue to have vibrant careers today! All have albums available on Amazon; Darlene and Ronnie having Christmas cds. Our Ms Brooks has a new album this season on the indy Norton label.

Cyndi Lauper! What more do I have to say? One of the outstanding pop vocalists of our lifetime. And she even recorded a Christmas album. Guess where you can get it!

Madonna and Lady Gaga continue to impress, tantalize and titillate. (Though neither has yet done a holiday cd; get on it, girls!)

Bette Midler, Barbra Streisand -- both boasting Christmas cds no holiday collection should ever be without.

Dj Buddy Beaverhausen and Our City Radio are grateful for our enduring divas and give thanks unto them. Not a turkey amongst them.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, and may God bless us all this holiday season! Stay safe, stay warm, stay tuned into Queens Our City Radio.

Happy Birthday, Bruce Vilanch!

My idol, comedy writer Bruce Vilanch, celebrated his 65th birthday on November 23rd. I wish him a happy one! My God, Buddy Beaverhausen would be so much different if it wasn't for the influence of six-time Emmy Award winner Vilanch.

We're both Jersey boys; in fact, we both grew up in Paterson, NJ. It's even feasible our paths may have crossed though, naturally, he's much older than moi. Bruce is also an accomplished songwriter and performer; a triple threat. He writes for the Oscars, Tonys, Grammys, Emmys. He makes presenters sound amusing when they read their cue cards.

He was an adopted child by Dr. Jonas Vilanch, an optometrist, and his wife Henne, who, having her own theatrical aspirations, helped Bruce's show business career by getting him signed on with Lane Bryant's Charming Chub division as a chubby child model. But chubby model wasn't what Bruce had in mind for the future. "I was going to be Neil Simon, batting out one Broadway show after another," Vilanch said of his aspirations as a teen.

His career began by writing comedy reviews at The Chicago Tribune. He later met Bette Midler in her early cabaret days. They became friends and Bruce later wrote comedy material for Midler's 1974 Broadway show, Clams on the Half Shell Revue and co-wrote 1980's Divine Madness.

He has written for Whoopi Goldberg, Roseanne Barr, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams and many more. Openly gay, his sensibilities have infused America's entertainment scene with wit, camp, dish and high comedy.

He's written songs, most notably for Eartha Kitt, and appeared on Broadway as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray.

So, today I bow to him in honor of his birthday. Bruce Vilanch is God, trademark shagtastic blonde hair and red glasses and all! Happy Birthday, Bruce!

Oh, Toni, You're So Fine! Happy Birthday, Toni Basil!

Toni Basil (Antonia Basilotta) was born in Philly, PA. Her mom was an acrobatic comedian in her family's act, Billy Wells and The Four Fays. Toni became a cheerleader in her teen years after her family had moved to L.A.

A professional dancer since childhood, she became assistant choreographer and dancer on tv's Shindig and the classic rock movie, The TAMI Show. She choreographed David Bowie's Diamond Dogs tour in '74 and his Glass Spider Tour in '87. She choreographed Bette Midler in the film, The Rose, and worked with Miss Midler up through her Showgirl Must Go On tour.



She had a major recording career in the 1980s and had roles in the movies Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces.

Ms Basil's personal life has always been kept very private. She is an Emmy Award winner and best known for her single, "Mickey," which is installed in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She turns 70 today.



I especially love her club hit off her second and final album, "Over My Head."

War & Peace, Love, Religion, Lies, Sex, Videotape, Shoes, Music & Vodka

Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters & Susan Sarandon 

Thought I'd go over some of the events and gossip that interested me over this past week and that I thought my readers might enjoy as well.

Beloved columnist-superstar Liz Smith reported in the New York Social Diary, Huffington Post and Chicago Tribune on Wednesday's promotional luncheon to get the documentary film, 20 Feet from Stardom, nominated for an Oscar.

Wrote Ms Smith: "Girl, what the hell is the matter with you. How come you're having a heart attack? Explain this to me!"
 
That was the great Darlene Love, doing her best Bette Midler imitation (and it's very good!), telling what Bette phoned and said to her, a week after Darlene's heart attack several years ago. Bette knew Darlene was out of danger. She called her old friend to make her laugh.


Darlene told this story the other day at a celebration for Morgan Neville's fantastic documentary, "20 Feet From Stardom."


This tells the history of back-up singers -- you know, those girls who stand in the back harmonizing with the star, filling in notes the star can't hit, and sometimes -- as in Darlene Love's case, singing the whole damn song, and then seeing it released under some other group's name! So this is an extraordinarily poignant, life and talent affirming look at these women, some of whom -- like the majestic, incredible Lisa Fischer -- seem content not to have made it "big" as a solo performer. There are others who have regrets, but concede that perhaps they didn't have the stamina, confidence or "killer instinct" to go it alone.

La Liz ends by saying: I attend so many events, luncheons, celebrations of this and that. Many are amusing, some are valuable for gathering bits of news, a great many produce nothing but a pain in the ass and a ridiculous taxi fare. Very few hit you in the heart and soul. This did. And so will "20 Feet From Stardom." Remember this the next time you listen to your favorite singer. If you hear voices in the background -- though one hears less now, with the rise of technological post-recording gimmickry -- just realize those voices belong to women, and men, who give their all for somebody else. And maybe you'll realize that you too, are a "back-up singer" in life.

Meanwhile, a reporter from Showbiz 411 wrote: I asked Darlene if she ever talks to her “Lethal Weapon” co-star Danny Glover. They played husband and wife in the four Richard Donner films.
Darlene, ringed in Shirley Temple curls, said: “I don’t speak to him. Keep that man away from me.” That was a surprise because I thought she reserved such sentiments for Phil Spector only. What’s the issue?


“He wanted to sleep with me, it was a big problem. Once he called me at home and said, I’m looking at a picture of you right now. You don’t know what I’d like to do with you.” Love laughed, but she was dead serious.

Meanwhile, the new Pope, "Eggs" Benedict, was in the news this week with his generally well-received comments on the gay community that, at least, signals progress of sorts. Time magazine wrote:

...[I]t was a question [the Pope] was asked on the flight back to Rome, about homosexuality, that has come to define the trip and has sparked hope that the Roman Catholic Church might be softening its stance on being gay. (Even using the word gay, which Francis did in English while otherwise speaking Italian, is unprecedented for a Pope.)

Is there anything new in what he had to say? Well, yes, in terms of tone. And this is no small thing. Francis' immediate predecessors called homosexuality an "intrinsic moral evil" and branded homosexuals as "intrinsically disordered." Instead of mirroring those blanket condemnations, Francis offered kindness and compassion. Then, in an act of genuine humility, he asked, "Who am I to judge?" It is telling that this rhetorical question got so much attention, since Jesus, who Christians believe was the perfect revelation of God, warned, "Judge not, that you be not judged." Yet previous Popes have shown no hesitation in being judgmental about homosexuality. This change in tone is significant.

The gayest legal document ever came across my desk today. Louboutin lawsuit vs Yves St Laurant for infringing on their trademark for red shoes. The NYC-based, international firm hat represented YSL (& won the case in this dispute resolution document) even managed to bring Dorothy's ruby slippers into their argument! Favorite line in the Louboutin lawsuit: "Oral argument was held in early 2012 in a courtroom packed with dueling Louboutin- and YSL-wearing fashionistas." I can just picture it. LOL! (Don't often see the word "fashionistas" in a legal document.)

Alexis Carrington vs. Shirley Partridge. Says TMZ: 

80-year-old Hollywood legend Joan Collins is livid at fellow icon Shirley Jones, insisting she's NOT some porn-watching swinger pervert and never was -- despite claims in Shirley's new book -- and now, she's threatening Ms. Jones.

Sources tell TMZ, Joan -- famous for the '80s soap "Dynasty" -- is pissed over one anecdote in particular, which Shirley recounts in her book "Shirley Jones: A Memoir," a story about the first time Shirley met Joan in the late '60s and a 4-person sex party nearly broke out.

According to the book, Shirley and her then-husband Jack Cassidy were at the home of Joan Collins and Tony Newley for dinner ... and after dinner, Tony proposed they all get naked and watch porn together. Shirley writes, "It was clear what Tony was leading up to -- swinging."

I will add that the Anthony Newley wrote, directed and starred in a movie titled Can Heironymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? The film was a sleazy vanity project about the thinly disguised Newley, as character Merkin, leading a life of moral decay with real-life wife at the time, Joan Collins. Ms Collins sought divorce shortly after the release of this celluloid embarrassment.

And Jack Cassidy was bisexual; the jury's out on Shirley, who went from '50s/'60s honeydewed ingenue to hardened androgyny by the '70s.

Shirley Jones' book is now on sale. And Joan Collins will revive her club act at B. B. King's NYC in November (ironically, not long after David Cassidy is booked to perform).  http://www.bbkingblues.com/bio.php?id=3148

Today, as reported in the Los Angeles Times, there was a Russian-vodka-spilling protest in West Hollywood:

Several West Hollywood bar owners stood curbside Thursday, each holding a large Stolichnaya vodka bottle.

The men planned to pour out the containers, filled with water, in symbolic protest of anti-gay legislation that recently passed in Russia, Stolichnaya's home, banning "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" such as informing kids about homosexuality. 
 
“We do street theater to raise public consciousness about the issue,” said West Hollywood City Councilman John Duran.


Duran and the owners do not blame the vodka company, per se.
 
LGBT people are being beaten, jailed and killed for acts as small as holding a rainbow flag, said Alfredo Diaz, owner of Revolver Video Bar in West Hollywood. Diaz and others called for an immediate end to such abuse.

A similar event took place in NYC yesterday.

The winter Olympics must be moved to another country. It is unacceptable for the Olympics Committee and the world community to allow this event, where even gay Olympic athletes are threatened, to take place in Russia under current conditions.

Just say nyet!

Video Beaverhausen: Barbra and Bette, Guilt and Guidance

Back in January, the ever-fabulous gossip maven, Janet Charlton, wrote:

Barbra Streisand can’t be thrilled that her holiday release movie “The Guilt Trip” (with Seth Rogan) has been pretty much a flop while Bette Midler’s movie, “Parental Guidance,” with Billy Crystal is a hit. “The Guilt Trip” cost 40 million to make and has only taken in around 31 million. “Parental Guidance” was made for 25 million and is expected to take in 70 million plus. Both movies obviously appeal to the older generation, but Seth Rogan halfheartedly promoted “The Guilt Trip” to HIS generation. Billy Crystal tirelessly promoted “Guidance” to an older generation and it even landed on an AARP cover. Bingo. We figure that icons Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler are more than a teensy bit competitive and Bette couldn’t be happier.

I missed out on these films theatrically, released for the year-end holiday season, mainly because of being laid low with the flu during that time. Both films were recently released on dvd and it was the opportunity to catch up.

It's no mystery why Bette beat Babs in this round of their professional feud, however. Parental Guidance is an exuberant, lighthearted comedy while The Guilt Trip is a much darker, more complicated dramedy.

Part of the box-office problem with the Streisand flick from Paramount is that it was marketed as a cutesy comedy but is actually not one by any means.  In fact, clueless Paramount has released the same, warm-and-fuzzy image of Seth Rogan and Babs on the cover of the dvd.

My problems with The Guilt Trip are its stereotyping and, largely, its lack of likeable characters. A shrill yenta of a mother with a putz of a son are not exactly people I want to spend time with. Less than charming to be sure. I couldn't wait to get out of their car, in fact! I think it would be fair to say I wasn't very invested in the destination of this movie.

On a personal footnote, I want to add that, on 9/11, I flew out of Newark but was stranded in North Carolina when the attacks occurred. We had to get out of air space. I was headed to see my family in Florida, getting off in Sarasota, where President Bush was famously in the grade school there. Continental Airlines put me up at a nice hotel in N.C., however. My brother drove up to get me from Florida. He brought his hateful, obnoxious girlfriend and my mother. Driving back was a nightmare with my Mom and Shirley carping at one another all the way to Venice, FL just when a hurricane hit. One day, I'll write a screenplay about that!

Parental Guidance, on the other hand, is a lighthearted romp as promised. Directed by Andy Fickman, who did the delicious You Again in 2010 (with Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis), it's another campy, feel-good comedy focused on the interrelationships between generations.

The ensemble work by a great cast adds to the pleasure of this comedy starring Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Marisa Tomei and Tom Everett Scott (who I'd do in a nanosecond).

Artie and Diane agree to look after their three grandkids when their type-A helicopter parents need to leave town for work. Problems arise when the kids' 21st-century behavior collides with Artie and Diane's old-school methods is how IMDB sums up this movie, fairly accurately.

Of course, Miss Midler gets the best lines:

Marisa:"Mom, I'd like to think that you're listening to me."
Bette: "Oh, I'm sorry, honey! Did you just say something?"
(God, that was so my mom!)

Marisa (angrily): This entirely sums up your approach to parenting!
Bette: We had an approach?

And Bette's response to her granddaughter's haughty Russian violin instructor is priceless.

Highly recommended for laughter with a light touch even if it's obvious, early on, how it's going to wind up.