Lady Bunny
Adrian Lester
Ana Matronic
Antonio Fargas
Carl Lumbly
Catherine Bell
Christopher Gorham
Danielle Steel
David Crosby
Halle Berry
Jackée Harry
James Horner
Jay Manuel
Jennifer Flavin
Magic Johnson
Marcia Gay Harden
Mila Kunis
Sarah Brightman
Steve Martin
Spencer Pratt
Susan Olsen
Susan Saint James
Tim Tebow
Wim Wenders
The post August 14th: It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch! appeared first on The WOW Report.
Horst by Hoyningen-Huene, 1931
August 14, 1906– Horst P. Horst is another photographer and another gay artist. Celebrating the birthdays of Horst and Herb Ritts within 24 hours is an embarrassment of artistic photographic riches.
I would give myself a grade of B- as an artist. I can draw and paint with more skill than most civilians. I can place objects in a space with smart aesthetic judgment and my gardens have been artful enough to have been published several times. Although I take many pictures and receive a bunch of Likes on Instagram, I could never be a real photographer because I would never be able to master the nuances and mechanics required for a 35mm camera and darkroom, and that’s because I am an idiot. Thankfully, because of digital photography and my trusty iPhone 5, I am now able to take photographs that are not out of focus or without some interest. Remember taking your film for processing and paying $12 to discover that only five of your 24 photos had turned out and one of those was of your thumb?
In the history of 20th century fashion and portrait photography, Horst’s contribution is among the most artistically significant and long-lasting. He had an active career from 1931-1991. He would become so legendary that like only a few other Gay Icons: Cher, Madonna, Liberace; he is known by just a single word name. Horst’s work is the epitome of elegance and effortless glamour.
In 1930, Horst met Vogue photographer Baron George Hoyningen-Huene, a Russian, and Horst became his photographic assistant, model and lover. With blond hair and a trim, muscular body, Horst was an ideal male model. He traveled to England with the Baron where they visited photographer Cecil Beaton, who was working for British Vogue. In 1931, Horst began his own association with Vogue. His first photograph in French Vogue was published that year.
Horst had his first show of photographs at La Plume d’Or in Paris in 1932. It was reviewed by gay writer Janet Flanner in The New Yorker and Horst was made instantly famous. Horst shot a portrait of Bette Davis the same year, the first in a long series of celebrities he would photograph during his lifetime. In 1932 alone he shot: Noël Coward, The Lunts, Cole Porter, and Elsa Schiaparelli.
Horst met Coco Chanel in NYC in 1937. Chanel:
“Horst was the queen of the whole thing”.
He would photograph Chanel’s creations for the next 30 years.
After they moved to Hollywood, Hoyningen-Heune became obsessively jealous over Horst’s success which resulted in an ending to their relationship. With the Baron out of the picture, Horst began an affair with Italian filmmaker Luchino Visconti. When that relationship fizzled, Horst hooked-up with Valentine Lawford, a British diplomat, in 1938 and they lived openly as a couple until Lawford’s passing in 1991. The couple adopted and raised a son, Richard J. Horst, together. This was in the 1930s!
Horst was born as Horst Paul Albert Bohrmann, in Germany. In 1941, Horst applied for US citizenship and he soon joined the US Army. He became an Army photographer, with much of his work printed in the Armed Forces’ magazine Belvoir Castle. In 1945 he photographed President Harry S. Truman, and they became fast friends. Horst photographed Truman’s wife Bess and then shot every First Lady of the post-war period, always at the invitation of The White House.
In 1947, Horst moved into a house of his own design in Oyster Bay, NY. The white stucco home was inspired by the houses that he had seen in Tunisia during his love affair with Hoyningen-Huene. It was furnished with the help of his pal Chanel.
In the 1960s, encouraged by Vogue editor Diana Vreeland, Horst began a series of photos of beautiful high society types: Consuelo Vanderbilt, Marella Agnelli, Gloria Guinness, Baroness and Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Princess Helen of Greece, American princess Lee Radziwill, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Doris Duke, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. They were collected in a book with text written by Lawford.
In the 1970s, Horst spent most of his time traveling and photographing. He began working for House And Garden as well as for Vogue and he did cover shots of noted gay A-Listers and #BornThisDay favorites like Andy Warhol, Yves Saint Laurent, and artist Cy Twombly.
Horst’ career reached Old Master status when the most famous person on the planet, Madonna, created her celebrated hymn to classic fashion photography with her monster single Vogue in 1990. In the video directed by David Fincher, she poses in a recreation of Horst’s most iconic fashion image, a model seen from behind, wearing a partially tied, back-laced corset made by Detolle.
Horst knew and photographed most of the major figures of the 20th century. He left this incarnation at his home in Palm Beach when he was 93 years old, a nice age to make an exit, unlike Herb Ritts, who was taken away when he was way too young. Horst lived a life creating beauty while fiercely, openly gay. That is a life well lived.
Horst directing Schiaparelli
“Fashion is an expression of the times. Elegance is something else again.”
The post #BornThisDay: Photographer, Horst appeared first on The WOW Report.
Editor and writer Glenn O’Brien, just left as GQ’s “Style Guy’ to become the new editor-in-chief of Maxim magazine. After 40+ years in Manhattan, he’s amassed quite a collection, and Nowness‘s feature video, My Apartamento gives us a little tour with the future grumpy old man,
“I think it’s good to be crotchety. I’m actually too youthful. I’m trying to become more grumpy and old.”
He serves up sage advice like,
“Carbon Dating; Never date anyone not containing carbon.”
A compulsive collector (of mostly books) he shows us a rare collection of sketches. Seems the late artist Jean Michel Basquiat would come over to chat while Glenn was working and there was always a clean stack of white paper to draw on. Oh, and there’s more too…
Watch.
(via Nowness)
The post #RealEstatePorn: Maxim’s New Editor, Glenn O’Brien, Shows Us Around His “Apartmento” appeared first on The WOW Report.
On tranquil and protected stretch of Connecticut coastline, the Thimble Islands are the rarest collection of private islands on the Eastern Seaboard. Over two decades they were acquired, restored, updated and expanded. A total of 8 private islands with 8 separate residences, multiple guest houses & outbuildings.
One with an historic Victorian home with guest and staff quarters that features a private commercial-grade dock and landing service the islands for guests.
Rogers Island is set high atop an eight-acre island of bedrock beautifully landscaped with rolling lawns formal gardens along the rocky shore. A restored turn-of-the-century manor house sits on the island’s highest point overlooking ¾ of a mile of coastline and out to Long Island Sound. The ten-bedroom estate is complemented by a state-of-the-art pool complex, guest houses, a greenhouse, tennis courts and, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf hole. The island estate also offers a private cove with two granite piers along with floating docks that can accommodate larger yachts.
Each of the islands has their own character and offers a array of homes and cottages with landscaped grounds, accessed by private docks. The Thimble Islands are within 10 minutes of shore from either private or town launch. Access by helicopter is just 20 minutes from Manhattan or 10 minutes from Tweed National Airport in New Haven. Cost: $78 million
The post #RealEstatePorn: Dream of Your Own Private Island? How About 8 of Them? appeared first on The WOW Report.
We’ve known of Tom Ford‘s Tadao-Ando designed home for a bit, but it’s news that he’s put on the market. It’s called the Cerro Pelon Ranch, located in the Galisteo Basin not far from Santa Fe, New Mexico. Yes, it covers over 20,000 acres, and includes it’s own landing strip, equestrian facilities like you’ve never seen before, and even its own old west town used in such movies like Lonesome Dove, All The Pretty Horses, and Wild Wild West. The wild, wild west of Tom Ford’s vision has been tamed and it can be yours for $75 million. (All the pretty horses, not included.)
The post #RealEstatePorn: Tom Ford’s 20,000 Acre Ranch Has Its Own Wild West Town appeared first on The WOW Report.
The administrators of Prince‘s estate have promised they won’t sell his beloved Paisley Park but they’re ready to sell the late icon’s multi-million-dollar villa in the Caribbean. According to an order signed by probate Judge Kevin Eide this week in Carver County, Minn.,the Turks and Caicos villa is one of seven properties the estate administrator, Bremer Trust, is planning to offer this month.
This retreat on the island of Providenciales unmistakably belongs to Prince —it has a purple driveway. Beyond the grand entrance foyer is a hexagonal great room with views of the Atlantic Ocean. There’s also a dining room, a roomy kitchen, a spacious master suite, with a total of 10 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms over 10,000 square feet. Designed for indoor-outdoor living, the main public areas are connected to a terrace with space for dining and more relaxing. The oceanfront house has a 200-foot-long boat dock, and a two-story guesthouse. Price: $12 million
(via Architectural Digest)
The post #RealEstatePorn: Inside Prince’s Caribbean Retreat appeared first on The WOW Report.
Anthony Anderson
Belinda
Ben Affleck
Brad Goreski
Cris Judd
Debra Messing
Jennifer Lawrence
Jim Dale
Jim Lange
Joe Jonas
Julia Child
Kerri Walsh Jennings
Lady Miss Kier
Linda Ellerbee
Mike Connors
Natalia Kills
Natasha Henstridge
Princess Anne
Quinton Aaron
Rose Marie
Tom Colicchio
The post August 15th: It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch! appeared first on The WOW Report.
August 15, 1939– The Wizard Of Oz premiered at Grauman’s Chinese Theater, a cinematic event that changed many lives and altered pop culture forever.
Little Stevie Rutledge:
“Mommy, Mommy…please let me stay up and watch The Wizard Of Oz, please, please! I promise to be good!”
From 1956 to 1998 The Wizard Of Oz was an annual television viewing tradition at my house and for families all over the USA. Because of these broadcasts, it has become one of the most famous films ever made. The Library Of Congress names The Wizard Of Oz as the most-watched film in history. It is often ranks among the Top 10 Films in most critics’ lists and in popular polls. It certainly is in mine.
The Wizard Of Oz has provided enduring quotes for our popular cultural consciousness. Its signature song, Over The Rainbow, as sung by young Judy Garland, has been voted the Greatest Movie Song Of All Time by the American Film Institute.
The film resonates profoundly for gay people. At the very least, it brought us the term “Friend Of Dorothy”, codified slang for a gay guy that goes back to WW I. Plus, the screenplay by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf provided so many other catchphrases that have entered our lexicon:
“Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh, my!”
“Are you a good witch or a bad witch?”
“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
“I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!”
“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.”
“You have no power here! Begone, before somebody drops a house on you, too!”
Do gay people identify with young Dorothy, or is it with young Garland in her most iconic role? Do we think of ourselves as the self-proclaimed sissy The Cowardly Lion, The Tin Man in need of a heart, or The Scarecrow- the ultimate twink, or maybe even Toto?
If you are a gay person, you probably have spent a significant time in the closet, showing yourself to society as straight before seeking the opportunity to be your true self. Most of us needed to escape the lonely, authoritarian, oppressive, heteronormative, black and white world of Uncle Henry and Auntie Em’s farm, a stand-in for our hometowns. We get over that rainbow to the Technicolor Land Of Oz where we could be free to perform song and dance numbers, encounter fantastical creatures, enjoy narcotic poppies, and experience excitement and transgression. We even chose the rainbow as our symbol of pride!
But, it is also a terrifying journey, with a green-skinned Witch and deviant freaky flying monkeys. Permissive Oz might even be a bad drug trip. Even a singing, dancing chorus of small people might be an analogy for doing too much coke in the Emerald City’s hottest club. On her return to the monochrome, but safer Kansas, Dorothy says:
“If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own back yard.”
Much of the story was always confusing to me. What is so essentially evil about a wicked witch wanting those damn ruby slippers? Why, when water will kill her, does The Wicked Witch Of The West live in a place with a moat and leave buckets of water around? Residents of Oz are tough; Glinda The Good, played by Billie Burke, has no problem with murder and apparently neither does Dorothy.
All the witches seem rather lesbian to me. MGM cast Margaret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch Of The West, an actor with a history of spinster roles, when first choice Gale Sondergaard refused to play an ugly green witch. “Spinster” was often a Hollywood cover for lesbian. Obviously, Almira Gulch, without a husband, is a stand-in for a dyke. Glinda is single also, but she is pretty and her costume is positively bridal. The Wicked Witch’s crime is that she’s unfuckable, and yet, even that doesn’t hold her back. She is even sexually predatory to the young femme Dorothy, stating:
“It’s so kind of you to want to visit me in my loneliness.”
It is all rather gay to me. Even as a child I picked-up that vibe.
Nothing about putting together the film version of The Wizard Of Oz came easily to producer Mervyn LeRoy and musical producer Arthur Freed. There were many rewrites. During filming, directors continued to add and cut scenes. Jack Haley and Bert Lahr wrote some of their own dialogue for the Tin Man and The Cowardly Lion. Because the screenwriters weren’t getting it, lyricist Yip Harburg (Harold Arlen wrote the music) wrote all the dialogue that setup the songs including the part where they give out the heart, the brains and the nerve. He was the final script editor, giving the film some cohesiveness.
Shirley Temple was originally attached to play Dorothy and W.C. Fields had been tapped to play The Wizard. Ray Bolger was originally cast as The Tin Man and Buddy Ebsen (most famous as Jed Clampett on the 1960s television series The Beverly Hillbillies) was to play The Scarecrow, but before filming commenced they convinced LeRoy to let them switch roles. Ten days in to filming, Ebsen had a severe reaction to the aluminum powder makeup he wore and it coated his lungs. Ebsen was hospitalized in critical condition. He was replaced by Haley. MGM neglected to tell Haley about the makeup, he thought Ebsen had been fired.
The original director, Norman Taurog, was replaced by Richard Thorpe who was replaced by George Cukor who didn’t actually shoot any scenes, but took on major artistic decisions and really set the tone for the film that we know. Cukor left to direct Gone With The Wind and Victor Fleming took over. Then Fleming left to take over Cukor’s work on Gone With The Wind and King Vidor became the fifth director of The Wizard Of Oz. Vidor shot the black and white Kansas scenes, including Garland’s singing of Over The Rainbow and the tornado.
Filming of the massive musical film was long, wild, difficult and dangerous. Half of the cast was either injured or nearly died during filming. Producers had to find and screen test hundreds of little actors. MGM designer Adrian had to design over 100 costumes for the Munchkin sequences. Then he had to photograph and catalog each small actor in costume so that the clothing and makeup would have continuity each day of production. Margaret Hamilton was severely burned making her entrance in Munchkinland and she spent six weeks in the hospital before returning to the set. The Flying Monkeys were nearly strangled by the wires used to keep them aloft.
For a month after the film opened on this day in 1939, Garland and her pal and MGM star Mickey Rooney would perform a live act for the audience, quite the deal for 25 cents a ticket (Toto also made more per week than most Americans did in the 1930s).
The Wizard Of Oz received enthusiastic reviews when opened, but it lost money in its initial release. It grossed about three million dollars (25 million was spent on advertising for the film’s re-release in 2013). It didn’t show a profit until it was re-released a decade later. Now it is recognized as a landmark achievement. It is also a bit of a mess: Dorothy’s hair changes lengths from scene to scene, props change or disappear, lighting necessary to shoot in Technicolor reflects back on the shiny sets. But, as the mayor of Munchkinland announces to Dorothy:
“From now on you’ll be history!”
An important film for queer people, The Wizard Of Oz should be seen by everyone on the planet at least once. Dorothy says it perfectly like this:
“Someplace where there isn’t any trouble? Do you suppose there is such a place, Toto? There must be. It’s not a place you can get to by a boat or a train; it’s far, far away, behind the moon, beyond the rain…”
The post #BornThisDay: The Wizard Of Oz appeared first on The WOW Report.
Bestselling author, Forbes contributor, motivational speaker, and HUGE RuPaul fan Jackie Huba has been extolling Ru’s success story for a while now. Last year, she wrote a fab blurb in Forbes about RuPaul’s Drag Race, and what ‘smart businesses and America’s top drag queens have in common…building a loyal customer base that supports them long term.’ Today, Huba releases her latest book Fiercely You: Be Fabulous and Confident by Thinking Like a Drag Queen– a playful approach to the serious problems that people face regarding confidence and risk taking. Not only does Huba speak on self-esteem issues, she even created her own drag character Lady Trinity– who debuted at a TED Talk, teaching women and men how to gain confidence and create the person they’ve always wanted to be by performing simple acts drag queens do, such as dressing for power, striking a commanding pose, ignoring naysayers and taking risks. Fiercely You: Be Fabulous and Confident by Thinking Like a Drag Queen is available now on Amazon, and you can watch the original TED Talk, in full, below!
The post Book: How To Become “Fiercely You”? Get Yr A$$ In Drag, Duh!!! appeared first on The WOW Report.
Ah, love. Fleeting. Elusive. Often found in the most unusual of places. Sometimes it’s a chance meeting on the street, a fleeting glance across a crowded room… or maybe it’s as simple as finding your true love scrawled upon the wall of a public toilet. That’s what happened when a hopelessly romantic British 51-year-old trucker was on his way to meet his friends for a drink at a pub and decided to stop at a public restroom. While having a nice whizz, he noticed a message on the wall – “If you want a good shag call Donna on . . . [phone number]”.
Being the starry-eyed optimist he was, he took a chance on love and texted her.
“Hi. What are you up to?” he wrote. “I was curious to know if it was a real human being,” he recently told The Sun newspaper. “We still laugh about it.”
From Oddity Central:
Much to his surprise, Donna actually replied with a “Who’s this?”. They struck up a conversation, met three days later and eventually fell for each other. Donna Roberts, who works as a legal secretary, told The Sun that her partner only tell her how he had gotten her number days after they met. She was perplexed by his story at first, but later realized it must had been left on the toilet wall by her spiteful ex-boyfriend. “I should thank my ex — he did me a favor,” she said.
Mark and Donna have two children together, aged eight and nine. Whenever one of them asks how their parents met, their mom makes something up. “I usually say that he texted me by mistake,” Donna told reporters. Well, with all the attention their unusual love story has been getting lately, I doubt they’ll be able to keep it a secret from their kids for much longer. And why would you want to? It’s pretty darn special…
Aww. I’m getting all teary over here.
The post Trucker Finds True Love After Texting Number He Found on Bathroom Wall appeared first on The WOW Report.
The Summer Olympics are in full swing and Jake Thompson had to show his pride. Dressed in what we think is the opening ceremony outfit from the 1976 games, Jake is all about that first impression. His red poly pants paired with a sporty (literally, theres tiny people playing sports on his shirt, BUTCH QUEEN!) blouse have us chatting “USA! USA! USA!”. I’m beginning to believe that Jake’s torso is actually just that small and these haven’t been high waisted pants all along…. Check out the look below!
Where to get the look:
The post What Would Jake Wear?: Opening Ceremony Eleganza! appeared first on The WOW Report.
BE STILL MY HEART! My absolute ’80s IDOL, Marilyn, is back with a new single “Love or Money,” looking almost EXACTLY as fab as he did during his genderbending heyday, and sounding absolutely INCREDIBLE. Marilyn, of course, first became famous in the early ’80s alongside his more famous bestie Boy George. He had a number of UK hits, including my ALL-TIME fave “Calling Your Name,” which is STILL my go-to cardio jam (if I actually DID cardio). He also caused quite a scandal when he revealed that he had been, um, “intimate” with Bush frontman – and former Mr Gwen Stefani – Gavin Rossdale.
Anyway. His new single is a reggae-tinged love song that I INSIST you listen to right now.
Here’s hoping it’a huge, well-deserved hit for the comeback kid. (via BoyCulture)
Maz, below, back in the day.
The post ’80s Brit-Pop Genderbender Marilyn Is Making a Comeback! Watch His New Video “Love or Money” appeared first on The WOW Report.
If you are a fan of cosplay, then let me introduce you to Themed Injection! This WOWPresents partner is a cosplay and make-up artist GENIUS. From Heath Ledger’s legendary Joker look, to Jared Leto’s sinister take, he proves just how powerful make-up can be. Check out the looks below, as well as some other amazing looks he’s done. Don’t forget to subscribe to his channel here!
Heath Ledger’s Joker:
Jared Leto’s Joker:
Sexy Demon (yes, please):
The post Cosplay Crush Alert: Meet Themed Injection! appeared first on The WOW Report.
Hidden Figures is the incredible untold story of Katherine G. Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe)—brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation’s confidence, turned around the Space Race, and galvanized the world. The visionary trio crossed all gender and race lines to inspire generations to dream big. Also starring Kirsten Dunst.
Watch the new trailer out now:
We can’t wait to see this! In Theaters – January 13, 2017
The post Taraji P. Henson, Kirsten Dunst, Octavia Spencer, And Janelle Monáe Lead “The Hidden Figures” appeared first on The WOW Report.
Angela Bassett
Ann Blyth
Cam Gigandet
Christine Cavanaugh
Chris Willey
Dee Hoty
Donovan Leitch
Emily Robison
Eydie Gormé
Frank Gifford
Greyson Chance
James Cameron
Julie Newmar
Kathie Lee Gifford
Laura Innes
Lesley Ann Warren
Madonna
Rumer Willis
Shawn Pyfrom
Steve Carell
Timothy Hutton
Vanessa Carlton
The post August 16th: It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch! appeared first on The WOW Report.
August 16, 1907– Edward James
Nestled between mountains in the deepest, darkest, dense lush heart of Mexico’s Huasteca Potosina area is the tiny town of Xilitla, meaning “the place of snails” in the ancient Aztec language. It is the home of the fantastic estate, Las Pozas, a magical man-made place 2,000 feet above sea level with 80 acres of rainforest, waterfalls, and natural freshwater pools (pozas means “pools” in Spanish) where there are reinforced-concrete bamboo shafts, petrified cascades, massive petaled columns, giant flowers, gothic arches, dramatic gates, pavilions with undetermined levels, and stairways to heaven to be found.
In the late 1940s, an eccentric British multi-millionaire and Surrealist Art collector, Edward James, left his family’s 300-room stately mansion in Sussex for Taos before settling in the Huasteca Potosina region. James was searching for his own personal paradise. He had first fancied farming rare orchids on his site, but by the early 1960s, after a freak frost destroyed most of his rare flowers, James chose a less fragile form of beauty.
James and his Mexican boyfriend, Plutarco Gastélum, a handsome young manager of the telegraph office in Cuernavaca, were exploring the Huasteca Potosina when they were surrounded by a cloud of butterflies while they were bathing together in a stream. James interpreted this event as a magical sign. So, in 1947, he began the construction of his vision.
Employing more than 100 laborers, he spent the next 20+ years transforming this very remote jungle location (the nearest airport is over three hours away) into a sensual Surrealist folly, funding the construction by selling off his world-class collection of paintings, including Carringtons, Dalís, and Magrittes.
Surrealism, whose sources of creation are found in the dreams and the subconscious, has rarely been used to build things in real life. James, described by Salvador Dalí as: “crazier than all the Surrealists together”, designed a place that defies any architectural label and gives a glimpse of something between fantasy and reality.
James used locally sourced raw materials of wax, clay, gravel, wood, and natural dyes to form a crazy world of purposeful ruins, surrounded by exotic birds, monkeys, anteaters, and armadillos. He experimented with formwork, casting techniques, and organic aggregates. James used an ancient tradition of monumental, geometric abstractionism and a pre-Hispanic aesthetic with a nod to Mexican Modernist architecture for his weird, wonderful world.
I first encountered Las Pozas in a feature in my favorite magazine, World Of Interiors, in the 1980s and I have never shaken-off those images or James’ story.
Edward Frank Willis James was born in Greywalls, Scotland. His father, William James, was a very wealthy American railroad magnate and his mother was the equally rich Elisabeth Evelyn Forbes. The couple rubbed shoulders with the richest and most famous people of their era. In fact, Edward James’ name was given in honor of British King Edward VII, who was a frequent guest at West Dean, the home of the James family. It was rumored that baby Edward not only inherited the name of the King but was his son.
In 1930, James married an Australian dancer/choreographer/actor/painter, Tilly Losch. James designed sets and costumes for her productions, including Les Ballets (1933), in collaboration with composer Kurt Weill, actor Lotte Lenya and choreographer George Balanchine. In 1934, James was divorced by his wife who accused him of adultery after he had a string of affairs with dudes.
During his life James sponsored several artists and writers. He funded the first book of poems by John Betjeman and he gave Dalí his first important exhibition in 1938 at a London gallery. He helped Dalí move into the art market by purchasing many works and by supporting him financially for two years. They also collaborated on two of the most enduring icons of the Surrealist Movement: The Lobster Telephone and The Mae West Lips Sofa.
James also was a patron of artist René Magritte, allowing Magritte to stay rent free in his London flat and paint. James is featured in two of Magritte’s works, Le Principe du Plaisir and La Reproduction Interdite.
James published Minotaure, a French magazine dedicated to Surrealism. He had Monkton House on his property at West Dean constructed in a surrealist style. It was made in collaboration with famed decorator Syrie Maugham, ex-wife of gay writer W. Somerset Maugham, one of his lovers. How surreal is that?
In 1940, James moved to Taos, as the guest of American Arts patron Mabel Dodge Luhan, where he was noted for his entertaining, eccentric, effeminate behavior.
After Taos, James traveled to LA where, in that city of dreams, he came upon the notion to build a “Garden Of Eden”, but instead, he decided to try Mexico, a more romantic and cheaper place than Southern California.
After that freak frost destroyed Gastélum and James’ orchid plantation (locals thought the frost was volcanic ash), the men began their construction of the 36 surreal buildings, with no utilitarian purpose, that were fully integrated to the naturalness of the place filled with lush native plants, waterfalls and natural pools.
The English eccentric and his hombre filled their property with fantastical structures: totem poles, hidden rooms, teetering towers, and those crazy staircases leading to nowhere. James gave them baffling names like House With Three Stories That Could Be Five and Temple Of The Ducks. James instructed the hundreds of artisans who’d worked for him over the years to leave them unfinished, leaving the workers mystified. A 1978 British television documentary showed James strolling beatifically around his domain: Big-bellied, wearing a caftan, with an unkempt white beard, and green parrots perched on his shoulders.
James left this world in 1984. He had already sold-off his considerable art collection and the properties in England. Las Pozas was then cared for by Gastélum, who had been a part of the dream for 40 years. He had married a local woman and they had four children, who had called James: “Uncle Eduardo”. James eventually adopted the kids, but his will did not provide for the upkeep and continuation of Las Pozas, and Gastélum could not afford to maintain it. The carefully cultivated plants died, the animals were released back into the rainforest, and the structures were soon overgrown with tropical foliage. No one was keeping it surreal.
A few dedicated fans of Surrealism would still make the tortuous trek through the mountains to Las Pozas, but the tales of the follies built by an eccentric multimillionaire in the beautiful remote place seemed more and more apocryphal.
Finally, in 2007, the estate was acquired by Fondo Xilitla, a charitable foundation formed to carefully restore James’s enchanted spot. Since then, what James called his Surrealist Xanadu has become slightly more accessible. You can visit, but it remains remote. You have to fly to Tampico, via Mexico City. From Tampico, take the bus to enchanting San Miguel de Allende and hire a driver to take you to Xilitla, a rough 6-8 hour drive. I hear it is worth it.
The post #BornThisDay: Art Patron, Edward James appeared first on The WOW Report.
After (literally) YEARS of trying to get her into the WOWPresents studio, we finally booked Latrice Royale to give me a lovely “Lady Turquoise” transformation. We had a blast, of course, talking about her upcoming album of jazz standards, her impending nuptials, how she met the love of her life, how she creates her looks, and even her unfortunate past incarceration. The end result had a bit of sea-witchiness to it (coupled with the Na’vi costume I wore underneath her sparkling caftan). You’ll just have to watch it all the way through to see.
The post Transformations: We Got Latrice Motherf**king Royale!!! appeared first on The WOW Report.
In a dream world, we would get Meryl Streep AND Amy Schumer in one film together, but alas, Streep was asked during a Huffington Post interview who she would want to play her in the movie about her life, and you’ll never guess who she said.
Find out after the cut:
Coyly, she murmurs, “Amy Schumer, of course.”
And what the queen wants, she SHOULD have.
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The queen of Vogue’s “73 Questions” (in my humble opinion), Victoria Beckham did some charity work over at Vogue’s office by demonstrating her five minute face. “I just gotta quickie put some eyes on, a bit of a lip, and then I’ll be there,” she chimes into a iPhone (with her own VB logo on it, because, of course). Who is she talking to on the other end? The other half of the Beckham empire, David? Or maybe it’s one of her Spice sisters discussing their reunion tour? (OMG). Either way, she shows you her beauty secrets in five minutes (really it’s a minute, so you can totally watch it). Do you think Posh really takes just five minutes? Do any of us?
WATCH:
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Austin Harrouff, an athletic and well-liked 19-year-old Florida State University student, was eating dinner with his parents at a local sports bar in Jupiter, Florida, when he apparently got angry about something (“possibly the restaurants slow service”) and stormed out in a huff.
He then walked toward his father’s home, but for unknown reasons, went to a different house, one street over, where he encountered Michelle Mishcon, 53, and her husband John Stevens III, 59. They were sitting in their garage with the door lifted open. Harrouff then allegedly stabbed the couple to death with a switchblade and other “weapons of opportunity,” meaning items around the garage. When a neighbor tried to intervene and called 911, he was stabbed, too.
But here’s the really creepy part, though. According to The Miami New Times:
When police arrived, they found Harrouff “grunting and growling” and “making animal noises” over one of the bodies — while also tearing chunks out of the man’s face with his teeth.
Cops discharged their stun guns at Harrouff — multiple times — but were unable to pull him from the man. A police dog couldn’t stop Harrouff either. Eventually, it took three cops to pull him away. The neighbor, who survived the attack, reportedly underwent surgery today.
“Grunting and growling” and eating the man’s face….?
Hmmm.
According to The Palm Beach Post:
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said the suspect in a double homicide this morning in Tequesta was exhibiting “abnormal levels of strength” when deputies arrived on scene and attempted to pull him off the male victim.
“The deputy arrived on scene and deployed her taser,” Snyder said. “The suspect was atop the male victim, who had substantial trauma to his face due to bite marks.”
Snyder said an initial test didn’t find traces of amphetamine and other substances, but that they took a sampling of blood to check for flakka or bath salts. He added that the suspect was under sedation at a Palm Beach County hospital.
Other reports, though, say that Austin’s body temperature wasn’t elevated at the time of the attack, which might rule out flakka, the synthetic drug that makes body temps soar.
According to Heavy, Harrouff was a happy, well-liked athlete at his school:
Harrouff was a high school football and wrestling star Suncoast Community High School in Riviera Beach, Florida. He played as a defensive tackle according to his Hudl page. He says on his Facebook page that he is a native of Jupiter, Florida. Local 10 reports that he lives with his mother close to where the killings took place.
One of his football teammates, Josh Lonsberry, told the Palm Beach Post that Harrouff “barely spoke, and when he did, it was always, ‘yes sir,’ or ‘no sir.’ He was a great kid and did a lot of good things for us on the D-line. It’s crazy to think that he was sober and did that. We had to beg him to be more physical on the field. He was a fun kid, and I was looking forward to seeing him up at FSU this fall. He certainly had an impact on me.”
Currently, Harrouff is in a Palm Beach hospital where his condition has deteriorated, and it is not known whether he will survive. Sheriff William Snyder spoke about the case today at a news conference late this afternoon. Snyder also said “we may absolutely never know” why Harrouff attacked John and Michelle Stevens.
Of course, one can’t help but recall the similar case in 2012 of Miami man Randy Eugene, who was caught eating the face of a homeless man near the local highway.
Two strange cases of face-eating zombie-like freaks with superhuman strength. Both in the South Florida area. Feels like the beginning of a horror movie.
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