Snyde & Sneak

by Tracy Baim

Hundreds of teachers, students and lesbigay parents joined Martina Navratilova and others at a town meeting centering on homophobia in America's schools last Saturday in Manhattan.

Reuters reports that the Air Force has concluded Capt. Craig Button, 32, deliberately flew his bomb-laden A-10 Thunderbolt warplane into Colorado's Rocky Mountains to commit suicide; he had disappeared during a training mission April 2 when the aircraft veered off course after takeoff from Davis-Monthan Air Force base in Arizona. Calling it "unpremeditated suicide," they did not confirm or deny rumors that Button was a closeted gay man who feared being outed.

The Washington Post reports on homophobia where you'd most expect it: "After graduating from Catholic University in 1956, Joseph R. Sicari embarked on an acting career that took him from Broadway to Hollywood, with roles in such musicals as Dames at Sea and appearances on NYPD Blue, Seinfeld and other television shows. This spring, he was thrilled to learn that he had been selected to receive the school's 1997 Alumni Achievement Award in the field of performing arts. But when the awards [were presented last week] Sicari [wasn't] there. The university rescinded his prize ... citing his involvement with ACT UP ... . The withdrawal of the award has sparked a slew of angry phone calls from alumni, prompted Sicari to threaten a lawsuit and renewed debate on campus about social activism, AIDS, homophobia and respect for religion."

And some more non-surprise news from the church scene, according to USA Today, an Arvada, Colo., haunted house "with ghoulish scenes of a bloody abortion, a satanic cult murder, teen suicide and the funeral of a homosexual AIDS victim, made its debut in this Denver suburb two years ago amid controversy. Since then, more than 225 churches in 45 states and six foreign countries from Japan to the Bahamas have ordered $150 'outreach kits' to put on shows. ... Critics say the spectacle is offensive and un-Christian."

Michigan State University researchers say women hairdressers appear to be at greater risk of developing cancer of the salivary gland, reports UPI. It's possibly linked to exposure to permanent-setting solutions, hair sprays and dyes. It's not known how male stylists are impacted.

A recent episode of UPN's Good News showed a positive gay-inclusion on this Black sitcom. Charlene Cothran, publisher of the Black lesbian Venus Magazine, writes: "There's a 30-something Black minister who is pastor of a traditional Baptist church in an urban community. When a handsome, articulate young Black man comes out as gay TO HIS MOTHER, IN HIS PASTOR'S OFFICE, well that's cutting edge stuff for Black entertainment. What made this episode so exciting is that the mother (who is depicted as a no-nonsense 'don't fool

with me' pillar of the church that we all know), is co-star and supporting actress. (I hope this means we'll regularly see her Black gay son in church on the show.) In this episode the mother basically told her son that she already knew he was gay since he was nine years old, that she had no problem with his lover coming to church with him, and even invited the lover to Sunday dinner; that is until she found out the lover was white! She went on to finally embrace her son's lover IN CHURCH! Wow! What a statement this show's producers have made. I hope all Black clergy saw the show." Write UPN, Attn: Good News, P.O. Box 251735, Los Angeles, CA 90025.

The "Winners and Losers" in Time Oct. 20 calls Ellen DeGeneres a "Loser," saying "Yep, she's a prima donna. She comes out, lip locks a gal pal on air, and wants the kids to watch." James Collins in the Oct. 27 issue complains that in the new season, "Instead of being integrated into the show, Ellen's homosexuality has become the show. ... Ellen is now as one-dimensional as Bewitched, where every story line, every moment, every gag relies on the same device." But GLAAD asks how is this different from NBC's Mad About You, where every story line revolves in part around the heterosexuality of Paul and Jamie? Or Men Behaving Badly, where every gag relies on an assessment of masculinity? Meanwhile, the "Parental Advisory" is back on Ellen this week, when her potential new "galpal" is introduced to viewers (the previews also showed Ellen getting a near-kiss from a woman). ... Ellen has her revenge, being named to the "101 Most Powerful People in Entertainment" issue by Entertainment Weekly Oct. 31. She's No. 89. Other possibly queer folks are among those on the cover with Ellen. ... David Geffen (for-sure queer) is at No. 20; Rosie O'Donnell 43; Jodie Foster 53.

National Public Radio's All Things Considered Oct. 22 included David Shank saying "ABC's warning is pretty offensive when you think about it. The level of heterosexual contact and suggestive bedroom innuendo that passes for standard sitcom fare these days is breathtaking. Instead of bravely going forward with their support for sexual preference equity, ABC is beating a hasty, homophobic retreat." He adds, though, that DeGeneres' claim of "censorship" is off-mark; "Whatever else you could call ABC's action, the censorship label doesn't fit at all."

Ellen has been doing promos for her show during Monday night football games on ABC. One segment had her noting that viewers were watching members of the same sex pat each other on the butt-and implying that maybe those folks would thus enjoy an episode of Ellen. So where's the "warning" on football-for violence and same-sex affection?

Gospel singers Angie and Debbie Winans, following the release of their song "It's Not Natural," which condemns lesbians and gay men, continue to preach hate as a family value. GLAAD approached representatives of the sisters for a meeting, but representative Bill Carpenter now denies that such an opportunity for dialogue was ever planned between the Winans sisters and representatives from GLAAD, the National Black Lesbian & Gay Leadership Forum [NBLGLF] and Equal Partners in Faith. "Carpenter's denial [in the Oct. 24 issue of the Washington Blade] is simply absurd and false," said Liz Tracey, GLAAD Associate Communications Director. "The meeting, originally scheduled for Monday, Oct. 13 by the Winans' representatives, was canceled at the last minute because they had 'misunderstood' how many people would be attending."

Meanwhile, the sisters are set to be on Black Entertainment TV but they demanded that Keith Boykin from the NBLGLF be dis-invited or they would not come on the show. "I am shocked by BET's decision to allow two admittedly anti-gay entertainers to dictate the content of its programming, and I am looking to develop an appropriate response," Keith said. On Nov. 8 or 15, BET's Teen Summit will air the Winans show-including their "It's Not Natural." Contact Rene Turner, Executive Producer, BET, 1899 9th St., NE, Washington, DC 20018, (202) 608-2731; Deborah Tang, Vice President (same address), (202) 608-2312.

Paula Poundstone has signed to do a TV pilot for Fox TV. The sitcom, for fall 1998, will have her as a single TV reporter raising two foster kids, one white, one Black (like the kids in her real life-but will her "female friend" who helps in real life be part of the plot?).

TNT TV airs a documentary, Eastwood on Eastwood, Nov. 2. It looks at the making of Clint's new film, Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil, about a New Orleans gay businessman (played by Kevin Spacey) accused of killing his boyfriend, with Lady Chabliss playing herself (as a trans performer). The film opens Nov. 21.

GLAAD is encouraging readers to "save 413 Hope Street." On Oct. 22, Fox announced it would pull 413 Hope Street off the air during the November sweeps, which may do permanent damage to this gay-inclusive program. The show, normally Thursdays at 8 p.m., features HIV-positive Black gay youth Melvin (Karim Prince). Not only is Melvin one of only two openly gay non-white gay characters currently on TV (the other being Spin City's Carter, played by Michael Boatman), his character has dignity and depth, GLAAD says. Contact: Peter Roth, Entertainment President, FOX Broadcasting Company, P.O. Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90213, fax: (310) 369-7363; or call the viewer hotline at (310) 369-3066.

k.d. lang did an incredible rendition of Peggy Lee's "Fever" during her concert last Saturday -her next album should be red, hot and sultry.

Samba Bamba (who recently made an encore appearance on the Jenny Jones Show) was recently invited to open a sold-out show hosted by Hollywood Records at the Elbow Room. In fact, rumor has it SB founder and band leader "Monty Mattachine" (a.k.a. Richard Knight) will temporarily leave the band's weekly show at Rhumba to tour the country with the infamous "Steve (Lawrence) and Eydie (Gorme)" in support of Hollywood Records' new Loungapalooza CD. In Knight's absence look for local cabaret favorite Dan Gold to join Samba Bamba for the next two weeks as "Dante Infierno."

The Neo-Futurists release their first CD from Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind Nov. 4. There's a release party Nov. 5 at Tower Records, 2301 N. Clark, 7:30 p.m. The 60-minute recording of 30 short plays includes gay cast members Dave Awl and David Kodeski. 

The Women's Mags

Deep Inside Hollywood

by Miss Paige Turner

"I am the kind of guy who sings show tunes. And I'm not afraid to admit it!" so Casper Van Dien, the straight sexy new star of Starship Trooper, told me recently in Los Angeles. However, neither his singing nor his boyhood crush on Natalie Wood in West Side Story impressed his co-star Dina Meyer. With much eye-rolling, she confessed, "He sings show tunes all day long!" Van Dien plays Johnny Rico in director Paul Verhoeven's $100-million space battle epic Starship Troopers. The film follows a group of young Aryans from futuristic Buenos Aires(!), led by Van Dien, who join the military to fight an invasion by giant insects from outer space. While Verhoeven's previous sci-fi efforts such as Total Recall were well-received, his forays into films with gay themes (Basic Instinct, Showgirls) have been met with protests and worse.

Meyer told me she was thrilled to be working with such a top-notch sci-fi director as Verhoeven, though she admitted that his most recent work did make her wonder if she would end up in a love scene with the other female lead, played by newcomer Denise Richardson. Verhoeven did not include any overt gay material in Troopers, though gay moviegoers will find it hard to resist the sexy young cast, which also includes Jake Busey (son of actor Gary Busey) and Melrose Place hunk Patrick Muldoon. In true Verhoeven fashion, there is a prolonged co-ed shower scene which leaves little to the imagination and a public whipping scene of a shirtless Van Dien which should have fetishists coffee-talking into the next millennium. While the film often swings from camp classic to just plain awful, there is no denying the arrival of a new star in Van Dien. His likable and friendly demeanor off-screen, coupled with his hunky good looks on-screen, could make him the next big thing in Hollywood. Of course, it doesn't hurt matters that his next film (Tarzan and Jane) features the 28-year-old actor in little more than a loincloth.

Hollywood is just wild about Wilde, the new Oscar Wilde biopic produced by Peter and Marc Samuelson. While their previous work, Tom & Viv, scored two Oscar nominations, the buzz surrounding Wilde is even hotter. The film, which stars Stephen Fry as the notorious gay playwright and Jude Law (Gattaca) as his beautiful love interest, is already a favorite for Oscar nominations next year. Based on the enthusiastic reception the film has received at the Venice and Edinburgh film festivals, Wilde has been sold for distribution in all foreign countries and will open here in the U.S. at the end of this year. Actor Tim Robbins, producer/actor Michael Douglas, and the movie-producing Sheinberg family (headed by Hollywood Supports co-Founder Sid Sheinberg) are among those developing new projects with Samuelson Productions. With the Oscar sweep earlier this year by The English Patient, all of Hollywood is looking for the next great independent film to support. A century after his incarceration at the height of his career, could it finally be Wilde's time again?

Miss Paige Turner can be reached through this publication or by e-mail at paige@planetout.com.