Photograph from Minnesota Press

“Life is not so bad if you have plenty of luck, a good physique, and not too much imagination”

Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986)

The post #QueerQuote: Christopher Isherwood appeared first on The WOW Report.

Before her recent Philadelphia concert, married Miss Gay America pageant owners Michael Dutzer and Rob Mansman presented Lady Gaga with the Miss Gay America crown, making her the first ever honorary Miss Gay America in the pageant’s 45 year history.

“We love Gaga for all she’s done for the LGBTQ community,” they said, “Especially our youth, so we thought this would be a great way to honor her for championing self-acceptance, diversity and the beauty in everyone’s mirror.

When told that she was not only the first honorary Miss Gay America, but also the first without a penis, Gaga saucily quipped, “How do you know I don’t have a penis?”

Gaga was also presented with a $5000.00 donation to her Born This Way Foundation.

The Miss Gay America Pageant is the world’s first, longest running, and most prestigious female impersonator competition.

Miss Gay America 2018 happens October 4 – 7, 2017 at the New Orleans Hyatt, where forty contestants from across the U.S. will compete for the Miss Gay America crown.

More information here on the pageant and how to attend here.

The post Condragulations! Lady Gaga Wins Honorary Drag Pageant Crown appeared first on The WOW Report.

At the Loewe fashion show in Paris this week, Jonathan Anderson showed an outrageously pointy-toe sneaker in various shades of green, sand, and mahogany reptile skin with tips that had a distinctive upward curve that I just LOVELOVELOVE.

Locomia´s training shoes. #PFW #SS18 #Loewe

A post shared by Ignacio Alen (@ignacioalen) on Sep 29, 2017 at 10:38am PDT

He was perhaps referencing the pointy Trivial boot worn by the men in the town of Matehuala, Mexico who have these fabulously bizarre shoe battles showcasing their boots, pointed to the nth degree, every weekend. You can watch a video about them below – and trust me – it’s worth your time.

I always wondered if THEY were referencing the Crackowes and poulaines of the 14th century. Those were the pointed, upturned toes that were introduced to Europe by the soldiers of the Crusades, returning from the Middle East. To the survivors of the Black Plague, who just wanted to feel a little hope and joy in their lives again, frivolous fashions like these silly shoes were just what they wanted to wear. Which explains every picture of every court jester you’ve ever seen.

via the Fashion Encyclopedia:

As well as showing that the wearer was at the height of fashion, crackowes also showed that those who wore them belonged to a wealthy leisure class, since little work could be done while wearing the long-toed shoes. Many conservatives, or those who emphasize traditional institutions and resist change, as well as church leaders and political rulers, considered the new fashion ridiculous and disgraceful, calling the long, pointed toes “devil’s fingers.”

So, anyway, yes, DEVIL’S FINGER shoes are BACK! And these new versions aren’t SO outrageous that you couldn’t actually wear them. I think they’re cute, but then I’m a fiend for medieval trends. What do you think? Will you be rocking a pair anytime soon?

(Poulaines pic by Laura Park via VICE)

The post Trend Alert! Long and Pointy Sneakers Are About to be ALL THE RAGE! appeared first on The WOW Report.

It’s the celebrity feud nobody saw coming. The eternally elegant Lynda Carter and frequently problematic director James Cameron have become involved in a high profile social media war. You might recall, last August Cameron randomly critiqued Wonder Woman as an “objectified icon.” He then doubled down like a Trumpster this week in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter saying

the summer hit was a “step backwards” for female representation in Hollywood because, in comparison to his gritty protagonist Sarah Connor in Terminator, it relied on familiar tropes of sexualizing female characters to attract male audiences.

He told the British newspaper Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman was an “objectified icon,” adding that “it’s just male Hollywood doing the same old thing” and that “Sarah Connor was not a beauty icon. She was strong, she was troubled, she was a terrible mother, and she earned the respect of the audience through pure grit.”

Well. The original Wonder Woman, Lynda Carter, was having none of it and took to Facebook to tell Mr Cameron he doesn’t know WTF he’s talking about:

To James Cameron -STOP dissing WW: You poor soul. Perhaps you do not understand the character. I most certainly do. Like all women–we are more than the sum of our parts. Your thuggish jabs at a brilliant director, Patty Jenkins, are ill advised. This movie was spot on. Gal Gadot was great. I know, Mr. Cameron–I have embodied this character for more than 40 years. So–STOP IT.

Yes, Cameron. Just STOP IT.

Don’t fuck with the OG Wonder Woman, dude. She will clock yo ass.

(Photos: Pacific Coast News)

The post TV’s Wonder Woman Lynda Carter Goes OFF on Director James Cameron: “Stop Dissing Wonder Woman!” appeared first on The WOW Report.

Just in time DracConNYC tomorrow, I’m posting this absolutely fascinating interview I did Sasha Velour about a week after her historic Drag Race win, then promptly lost on my computer desktop. Whoops. In our far-ranging discussion, we touch upon her recent birthday, the multitude of projects she’s currently involved with, and most interestingly, the production of her drag ‘zine Velour. I hope you enjoy it.

James: Well, first of all, condragulations! I bow down to our new bald overlord!
Sasha: (laughs) Yes, it’s the take over of the baldies.

J:You just celebrated your 30^th birthday too, didn’t you?
S: Yes, on Sunday – on Sunday of New York Pride. I was on the float waving to people.

Well that sounds like the best 30^th birthday, ever. Right?!
It really was, I couldn’t think of anything better.

Then you performed that night in Brooklyn?
Yea, I put on a little “thank you” show to the whole community and used some of the performers that I’ve been working with for years. Along with Peppermint and Ongina and we kind of had a big celebration all together.

Have the other girls been just absolutely wonderful to you since your win? Is everything in the honeymoon period right now?
(laughs) Yes, it is. It’s all sunshine and rainbows.

And how do you think your life has changed since the finale?
There’s definitely been an influx of positivity and encouragement. I get the thing that people are really curious about what I’m going to create this year so I’m just driven to put stuff out there as quickly and as high quality as possible.

And speaking of high quality things you’ve put out there, there’s your magazine, Velour.
Yes, indeed. Velour, Issue 3

Issue 3. Can you believe it? I just found a copy of VYM, the first issue, on my desk the other day.
You did? Yes! We’ve been sending them to you every year.

Let’s talk a little bit about how it started as VYM and how it evolved into Velour
It started as a tiny little stapled ‘zine that we printed at a local copy shop using just the drag performers we knew and the visual artists that we knew. I’ve always kind of thought of myself as “the matchmaker” of this little project – so I try to pair up people who I think can create cool collaborative projects about drag together. And then I do all the layout and design because that’s what my day job was before I started doing drag full time. I did layout for books and magazines…

Oh! I did not know!
… but this magazine was kind of my passion project. I got to focus on this thing that I loved- drag- and I got to be a little more experimental and out of the box with the type of design I was doing instead of the kind of the corporate graphic design that I had to do for my job. And when we put together the first stapled issue, it just exploded. There was so much interest from both the drag side and the visual design side that we decided to create a fully, beautifully produced first issue. That’s the one I think you have in your office.

It is.
We ended up doing a Kickstarter for that issue. Basically, just friends and family and people in the community contributed to this really modern little publishing project and then it’s kind of grown a little bit every year. Last year, I started to learn a little bit more about my business fish qualities and I renamed it Velour. (laughs)

A little branding.
Exactly. So I think it’s just continued to a place where it is now – which I think is very… not just focused on the Brooklyn scene…. not just limited to the artists we know… but it’s a project that brings together all the people.

It seems like there is a lot of drag history in there. And a lot of just really thoughtful, interesting pieces… It’s not your usual drag fan ‘zine.
Exactly! We’ve always wanted to have something you could teach in classrooms as well as enjoy on the toilet. You know, the full spectrum.

I know that you have mentioned that (’90s-era drag ‘zines) My Comrade and Pansy Beat were real inspirations to you and that you’ve had the chance to talk to (their creator/drag legend) Linda Simpson. Tell me a little bit about that.
Yeah, I love that self-publishing and drag kind of go hand in hand because it’s the same idea of kind of creating your own world and not being limited by the financial limitations and just using what you have. Using the resources that you have to create something fabulous and treating it, perhaps, grander than it really is.

It’s also sort of a yearbook of the drag scene and in 10 years I bet you’ll be glad you have all these. I think they’ll be real collector’s editions.
Exactly. Yeah, it’s kind of cool to document drag outside of Drag Race, too. We have to write it into the history books.

So far, you’ve been publishing Velour twice yearly. Will you even have time to do it this year? I mean, I imagine things are at an accelerated pace for you right now.
I’m going to make time even if I lose sleep over it. The good thing is I’m going to meet all kinds of new people this year traveling around, so the opportunities for who can work on the next issue just multiplied overnight.

Is advertisement free? Don’t you need to compensate some of the artists? How do you subsidize it?
The good thing is costs are pretty low if you do it smartly. The sales of the issue can go directly to the artist. We take very little for ourselves just to make sure we can keep up with printing costs. The rest all goes to collaborators. You know, we have people shooting these drag performers on real film. So we pay for the development fees & all the materials. We do travel, we’ve had a couple of photo shoots where we have champagne and strawberries. We like living the full assemblance of the Vogue lifestyle for our people.

I love thinking of you as the drag Anna Wintour.
(laughs) I’ll take it!

Actually, you might be a little more Diana Vreeland…
There you go, yeah!

The theme of the current issue is “Sisters.” Tell us a little bit about the issue.
Yes! It’s about the idea of sisterhood in the drag world. I think the idea that queer people build their own families is kind of this magical bond that sustains us and helps us grow as artists and also protects us in certain ways from the kind of stresses of the world. So we looked at the way that people form those bonds. The way those bonds enrich people. The way that drag queens and drag kings and their brothers and sisters share certain things. It’s a nice entry point to talk about community.

It’s funny because when I’m doing Transformations, I start to notice little drag families around the country and how, like, there will be a little pocket of queens in Mississippi and they’ll all do their eyebrows the same way-
Yes, I love that!

I love how everyone influences everybody but it’s still kept in a tight circle of queens. That’s always so fascinating to me.
Yeah, I love that. I think they’re surface markers that you are a part of a tribe. That’s really beautiful.

One more quick question: Where do you see yourself this time next year and how are you going to change drag and what is happening with the future of drag?
Oh my God! Oh, just a small question. (laughs) I don’t know if I’m capable of changing drag but I definitely want to start some conversations about the directions that drag can go and the kind of conversations I’ve had with my people for a long time. I think that people are ready to talk and to ask questions and to argue, if need be in loving ways. I think that this magazine and the shows that I produce can help to do that and I’m excited to see how they can transform on a much larger scale.

Okay. Love it! That was very succinct!
(laughs)

Thank you, And next time you’re out here, I do want to have you in for Transformations. I would love to sit down and really noodle around in your brain
I already have, like, five sketches of your face.

Well, you basically just look in the mirror and subtract thirty years!
(laughs) I love it!

Thank you so much for giving us a little time!
It was lovely to chat!

Love you! Bye!
Sasha: Bye!

Be sure to check out Sasha’s booth at DragConNyc and pick up a signed copy of Velour!

The post EXCLUSIVE WOW INTERVIEW: JSJ Chats with Sasha Velour About Winning Season 9, Her Magazine “Velour,” and the Future of Drag appeared first on The WOW Report.

From Hollywood Boulevard, it’s The WOW Report for Radio Andy on SiriusXM! That’s right WOWers, World of Wonder Co-Founder Fenton Bailey, Executive VP of Development Tom Campbell, and WOW Report Editor James St. James have collaborated with reality TV guru and friend of WOW, Andy Cohen, on a weekly Top Ten Countdown of the things from the past week that make us go…WOW!

It’s a pop-culture obsessed hour complete with colorful diatribes, opposing opinions, and a dissection-like discussion that will make your drive home from work more fabulous!

You can now WATCH us recording the WOW Report in our gallery storefront on Hollywood Boulevard, just across the street from Hollywood’s oldest restaurant Musso & Frank!

We air TODAY at 4PM EST on SiriusXM, and again at 4PM PST (that’s 7PM EST). You can also catch it on the SiriusXM app!

Let’s get started…

10) Is Battle of the Sexes a Winner? 

Tom went to see the new film Battle of the Sexes starring Emma Stone & Steve Carell about the famous 1973 tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs.  Battle of the Sexes is in theaters nationwide.

Skip forward to Is Battle of the Sexes a Winner? @1:06

9) Diva Doc – Gaga: Five Foot Two 

We discuss Gaga: Five Foot Two – Lady Gaga‘s new documentary that is currently streaming on Netflix. Is this Gaga’s Truth or Dare? Listen and see what we thought.

Skip forward to Diva Doc – Gaga: Five Foot Two @7:36

8) Two Incredible Edible Eggs! 

Fenton enlightens us on what’s going on in the world of eggs! Two big developments: scientists have developed a vegan egg called a V-egg-ie, and Taco Bell uses a fried egg as a taco shell in their new breakfast offering – the Naked Egg Taco – available at Taco Bell’s nationwide!

Skip forward to Two Incredible Edible Eggs! @14:06

7) Oprah Clocks in at 60 Minutes 

Oprah joins the team at 60 Minutes as a special contributor, but is this one-time media messiah as effective at getting through to the masses as she used to be?

Skip forward to Oprah Clocks in at 60 Minutes @20:47

6) Hot Doc: American Vandal 

American Vandal is Netflix’s new whodunit mock-umentary about a high school vandal who defaces cars by spray painting giant penises on them mocking their own hits like The Keepers and Making a Murderer. Watch it now on Netflix.

Skip forward to Hot Doc: American Vandal @26:12

5) Oreo Taste Test Part Deux 

If you’ve been a long-time listener of our show, you may recall us doing a segment last year where we tasted exotic flavors of America’s favorite cookie – Oreo – and tried to guess what they were. Fenton brought in a new round of fall-flavored Oreos for us test out! Who do you think guessed the most flavors correctly?

Skip forward to Oreo Taste Test Part Deux @31:30

4) Can I Be Me? Whitney Houston’s Heartbreaking Doc

She was a gorgeous model turned powerhouse diva with an even more powerful voice.  The Showtime documentary Whitney: Can I Be Me tells the story of Whitney Houston‘s extraordinary life and tragic death. Watch it on the Showtime app.

Skip forward to Can I Be Me? Whitney Houston’s Heartbreaking Doc @37:57

3) Teen Wolf Peen 

One of the stars of the recently wrapped Teen Wolf on MTV has had his nude pics leaked…AGAIN! Which one? You’ll have to listen to find out.

Skip forward to Teen Wolf Peen @43:43

2) Das Book: Soviet Bus Stops Volume II

From Amazon:

After the popular and critical success of his first book, Soviet Bus Stops, photographer Christopher Herwig has returned to the former Soviet Union to hunt for more. In this second volume, as well as discovering new stops in the remotest areas of Georgia and Ukraine, Herwig turns his camera to Russia itself. Following exhaustive research, he drove more than 9,000 miles from coast to coast across the largest country in the world, in pursuit of new examples of this singular architectural form.

Get Soviet Bus Stops Volume II on Amazon.

Skip forward to Das Book: Soviet Bus Stops Volume II @49:18

1) #TakeAKnee 

We discuss the #TakeAKnee movement in the NFL started by hottie Colin Kaepernick.

Skip forward to #TakeAKnee @52:42

Listen in at 4:00PM EST and again at 4:00 PST (7 PM EST) on SiriusXM! Or listen whenever you want on the SiriusXM App!

And be sure to give your ears the gift of THE WOW REPORT on Radio Andy SiriusXM EVERY Friday.

Do something this weekend that makes YOU go WOW!!!

The post Gaga’s Doc! ‘Teen Wolf’ Peen! #TakeAKnee! The Top Ten Things That Make Us Go WOW for Radio Andy! appeared first on The WOW Report.

Archival photograph by Nat Morris from WGPR-TV Historical Society

September 29, 1975- WGPR in Detroit becomes the world’s first black-owned-and-operated television station

WGPR-TV first aired on this day in 1975 via Channel 62 in Detroit. The station broadcast religious programs, R&B music shows, syndicated shows and older cartoons. The station did broadcast some locally-produced programming: Big City News, The Scene, and Arab Voice Of Detroit.

Big City News was a weekday newscast that focused on stories from an African American perspective, showcasing positive success stories. The Scene was a nightly dance show that offered young people a chance to show their dance moves. Arab Voice Of Detroit was a variety series aimed at the significant Arab American population in Detroit.

WGPR-TV was the first black owned and operated television station on the planet. At the time, it was hailed as an advance for African-American enterprises, with the “color line” having been broken by the station’s very existence. It was the owners’ vision that WGPR-TV provide African-Americans with training and experience in the television industry, allowing many local black people the opportunity to work behind the camera, doing the producing, directing and technical work that put together content that aired.

WGPR-TV failed to attract much of an audience outside the African-American community. After 1980, the station faced its most powerful competition from Black Entertainment Television (BET). With only an 800,000 watt signal compared with two million watts for other Detroit stations, WGPR-TV never reached an audience beyond Detroit.

The noble aims of the station did not translate into profit. During its tenure as an independent station, WGPR-TV was the lowest-rated television station in Detroit, with only a niche viewership even within its target audience. Viewers in Detroit were able to pick up Canadian-based CBC that had licensing rights to many American syndicated programs that would have otherwise likely aired on WGPR-TV. It did not help that it was located near the top of the UHF dial. This was before cable television, and most Detroit viewers never tuned past the local PBS station on channel 56.

But, from 1975 to 1987, The Scene introduced the middle part of the country to Disco, Techno, House and Hip-Hop. At its height, it was easily the hippest show around. It featured local young people as the integrated cast of dancers, and it brought in first-rate artists to perform live, no lip-synching. The show had Stevie Wonder, The Manhattans, Luther Vandross, Teddy Pendergrass,  The Spinners, The Supremes, Freda Payne, Curtis Mayfield, Billy Dee Williams, The O’Jays, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & the Pips, DeBarge, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Barry White as musical guests. They even booked a local girl named Madonna. The local kids became celebrities in Detroit.

The Scene had a strong loyal following that grew to include city and the suburbs, white and black,  young and old. Nat Morris, the executive producer and host, provided many unknown artists with their first exposure, launching careers that went on to international fame. The Scene had an impact on Detroit the same way Soul Train had on a national level.

By the 1990s, WGPR’s on-air look seemed quite primitive. It was the only local station in the country which still used art cards instead of CGI for its announcements and newscasts.

In 1995, WGPR-TV was sold to CBS with much controversy from the black community, which felt that the station should remain under African-American ownership. Two months later, CBS changed the television station name to WWJ-TV and targeted its programming for a general audience. Today, minorities own just six percent of television stations in the country, and only six percent of FM radio stations.

The post #OnThisDay: 1975, WGPR Becomes the First Black Owned and Operated TV Station appeared first on The WOW Report.

Tom Price, the Health and Human Services Secretary, resigned today amid the scandal over his use of private airplanes. Speaking less than an hour before the resignation was announced, Trump bemoaned the optics of the matter, which he said obscured what otherwise had been a cost-saving tenure. Trump said.

“I was disappointed because I didn’t like it, cosmetically or otherwise.“

But the appearance of a millionaire Cabinet secretary flying routes easily navigated by far cheaper means proved an optics nightmare for an administration already accused of being out of touch with regular Americans.

The resignation was announced as Trump flew aboard Air Force One for yet another weekend at his golf club in New Jersey, at the expense of tax payers. Price offered a rosy picture of his future just last night, telling CNN that he “absolutely” planned to stay on as health secretary.

Yeah, no. Buh-bye. (Photo, YouTube; via CNN)

The post #PriceCut!: HHS Secretary Tom Price Resigns Over Flying Private! appeared first on The WOW Report.

Last week we were treated to a triad of fabulous at the Emmys when Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton did a mini 9 to 5 reunion as presenters. Those three worked it OUT and the world ate it up.

If anyone knows about working it, it’s the original QUEEN of country. The icon is as famous for her look as she is her singing and songwriting.

Parton has learned and shared some very valuable lessons about self-image, self-respect, and the time-saving benefits of owning a wig with Vogue.

• Just Be Yourself

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose. A lot of people have said I’d have probably done better in my career if I hadn’t looked so cheap and gaudy but I dress to be comfortable for me, and you shouldn’t be blamed because you want to look pretty.”

• Whenever Possible, Avoid a Blowout

“People always ask me how long it takes to do my hair. I don’t know, I’m never there.”

• Don’t Worry About a Diet

“I tried every diet in the book. I tried some that weren’t in the book. I tried eating the book. It tasted better than most of the diets. My weaknesses have always been food and men—in that order.”

• Design the Woman You Want to Be

“There is no such thing as natural beauty. If I’m gonna have any looks at all, I’m gonna have to create them. I’m comfortable in my own skin, no matter how far it’s stretched.”

• Embrace the Art of Makeup Application

“You don’t need to buy expensive cosmetics; almost anything will do if you know how to apply it. Until I was a teenager, I used red pokeberries for lipstick and a burnt matchstick for eyeliner. I used honeysuckle for perfume.”

• Grow Your Nails Out

“My nails are my rhythm section when I’m writing a song all alone. Some day, I may cut an album, just me and my nails.”

(Photo, YouTube; via Vogue)

The post Dolly Parton Shares Her Top Beauty Tips –#4. “There Is No Such Thing as Natural Beauty” appeared first on The WOW Report.

Disney has made it official. A Hocus Pocus TV movie is in the works but the new project will have a new cast and new director.

Of course, the original Disney film starred three fabulous witches played by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy.

According to Deadline, the TV movie, in the early stages of development now, will be a “reimagining” of the original. Rumors of a remake or sequel have been bubbling for centuries.

(As for why it’s taken so long, Midler once joked that Disney was having “trouble finding a virgin.”)

The three original stars have all said they’d love to come back, so why not? SJP has said,

“I would love that. I think we’ve all been fairly vocal about being very keen, but that hasn’t created any ground swell of movement.”

Will Hocus Pocus still have some magic without the original Sanderson sisters? We shall see.

(Photo, Disney; via Vanity Fair)

The post #GoodNews! – Hocus Pocus is Getting a Remake! #BadNews: New Cast appeared first on The WOW Report.

Sarah Jessica Parker has confirmed that the third Sex and the City film will not go ahead. The Daily Mail revealed that the reason is co-star Kim Cattrall‘s demands.

SJP was asked at the New York City Ballet Gala last night and asked about the future of the film,

“It’s over… we’re not doing it. I’m disappointed. We had this beautiful, funny, heartbreaking, joyful, very relatable script and story. It’s not just disappointing that we don’t get to tell the story and have that experience, but more so for that audience that has been so vocal in wanting another movie.“

Parker’s confirmation came just hours after Daily MailTV announced that Cattrall had caused production to shut down just days before shooting was set to begin. Warner Bros had given the much-anticipated film the green light after months of speculation, and the movie was supposed to start filming in the coming days.

But the studio can no longer move ahead as Cattrall, 61, demanded they produce other movies she had in development or she wouldn’t sign up for the project and Warner refused to meet her demands. The company decided it wouldn’t be fair to fans to produce a movie with only three of the four main characters.

Actresses Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon had all signed on for the same upfront salaries. Neither Cattrall nor her reps could be reached for comment.

A source close to the production said:

“The only reason this movie isn’t being made is because of Kim Cattrall. Everyone was looking forward to making this movie but Kim made it all about her, always playing the victim.

Kim had the audacity to tell Warner Bros that she would only do this if they made other movies she had in development. Ridiculous. Who does she think she is – George Clooney?

This franchise made her and let’s be frank, it’s all she is really known for.

Cast and crew don’t just show up to make a movie, they have to rearrange their lives. People turned down other jobs, were in the process of relocating to New York but she kept stalling and was always unavailable when answers from her were needed.“

Cattrall said in an interview last year that there was a slim chance of a third movie ever making its way to the box office.

“Everyone is doing their own thing and if it was going to happen, it would have happened by now. It would be a challenge to do a third installment. It could be fun though. To say goodbye completely to Samantha would be pretty hard.“

Another source said:

“The script is fantastic. The fans would’ve loved the movie but Warner Bros couldn’t give in to her ridiculous demands.

Kim held everyone’s life up. Her behavior is beyond disappointing. We should’ve been shooting the movie and now everyone is wondering will this film ever get made.

Everyone is very sad that the fans will now miss out on what was a wonderful story about the lives of four of their favorite women.“

Much like her character Miranda, Cynthia Nixon was more pragmatic when asked by the Hollywood Reporter if there would be a third film?

“I think we had a wonderful ride. I think it’s fine to let it go.“

Bye-bye.

(Photo, HBO; via Daily Mail)

The post #Cancelled!: Third “Sex and the City” Movie Is NOT Happening Because of Kim Cattrall’s Demands appeared first on The WOW Report.

Amber Ellis
Brett Henne
Angie Dickinson
Ashley Hamilton
Barry Williams
Cissy Houston
Crystal Bernard
Dominique Moceanu
Eric Stoltz
Ezra Miller
Fran Drescher
Jenna Elfman
Johnny Mathis
Keisha Buchanan
Kieran Culkin
Lacey Chabert
Len Cariou
Marilyn McCoo
Marion Cotillard
Martina Hingis
Monica Bellucci
Patrice Rushen
Rula Lenska
T-Pain
Tony Hale
Trey Anastasio
Victoria Tennant

The post September 30th: It’s YOUR Birthday, Bitch! appeared first on The WOW Report.

Photograph from Columbia Records

September 30, 1935– Johnny Mathis:

“As a child all I knew was that people kept asking me to sing and because I liked to please I would sing. It wasn’t until my dad told me that my singing made him happy that I began to think my voice might be good.”

Remember the wonderful moment when the house shakes and an eerie glow appears under the front door as a record player fills the place with the sound of Johnny Mathis singing Chances Are as we have the first ET encounter in Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)?

Mathis was well represented in my parental units’ LP collection. I have loved his velvet voice for six decades. You kids know that I don’t go for the term “guilty pleasure”. I figure that in this world, we get to like what we like and I hold my Johnny Mathis Fan Club banner high.

In 1958, Johnny’s Greatest Hits was released after just a half decade of Mathis making records. His was the first ever Greatest Hits album in the music industry. It began the whole Greatest Hits thing copied by every record company since. Johnny’s Greatest Hits spent an unprecedented 490 consecutive weeks (9.5 years) on the Billboard album charts, a feat earning him a place in the Guinness Book Of World Records and not broken until the 1980s by Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon. Then in 1981, with the release of his 25th Anniversary Album, a double LP, it happened again with 500 consecutive weeks on the Billboard Top 100 album charts, staying there for a decade and giving him another record for the Guinness Book. Mathis has had six of his albums on the Billboard charts at the same time, an achievement equaled by only Frank Sinatra and Barry Manilow. He has recorded 66 albums, released 200 singles and had 72 songs charted around the world. Mathis is the third bestselling recording artist in this country. He had an album released in 1957 and he has a new one to be released in October of this year.

He has done 12 television specials and has appeared had over 300 guest appearances on variety series and talk shows, 35 on The Tonight Show alone. Johnny Carson named him the best ballad singer in the world. His 1998 Live By Request broadcast on A&E had the largest viewing audience of the series, bigger than Kurt Cobain’s.

He is Barbra Streisand’s favorite singer and one of mine.

Mathis was one of the first African-American pop singers to gain wide acceptance with white audiences in America. He also kind of came out of the closet in a 1982 US Magazine article where he said:

“Homosexuality is a way of life that I’ve grown accustomed to.”

I’ve grown accustomed to his face.

Mathis received death threats because of that 1982 magazine article and he no longer advertises his concerts, which somehow still continue to sell out. In the early 1990s, a group of Gay Rights activists were planning to “out” Mathis, when they suddenly discovered that he had already revealed his gayness.

Mathis has continued to live in the same house in the Hollywood Hills that he purchased in the early 1960s. He has been with the same record label Columbia for more than 57 years (he is Columbia’s longest serving artist). He has been my make-out music for 50 years.

In Barry Levinson’s Academy Award-nominated film Diner (1982), set in the postwar era, the character Eddie Simmons memorably asks his pals: “When you’re making out, which do you prefer, Sinatra or Mathis?”

Check out the chapter about Johnny Mathis in John Water’s terrific memoir Role Models (2010). In the Mathis essay, Waters remembers seeing a basement full of his friends French kissing to Johnny Mathis music. Waters explains:

“I knew then that not only did I want to be a teenager… I wanted to be an exaggeration of a teenager.”

Like me, Waters remains a fan of the singer and he writes that he was beyond thrilled to actually meet and interview the singer at his home. Waters positively gushes in his book.

Mathis was Texas born, but grew up in San Francisco and started doing gigs in the city as a teenager. Mathis was 19-years-old when he was discovered by famed jazz producer George Avakian who immediately sent a telegram to Columbia Records stating: “Have found phenomenal 19-year-old boy who could go all the way. Send blank contracts”.

 At San Francisco State University, Mathis was a celebrated track star. In 1956, he was invited to try out for the U.S. Olympic Team as a high jumper (that’s not a euphemism). He had to decide whether to go to the Olympic trials or to keep an appointment in NYC to make his first record. Things worked out for him.

Like many more he was not immune to career-wrecking perils, including becoming a favorite client of Dr. Max Jacobson. Dubbed “Doctor Feelgood”, the good doctor became notorious for administering his “miracle tissue regenerator” injections which were just vitamin B and amphetamines to his many famous patients. Mathis:

“I went to see him because I was doing five shows a night at the Copacabana in New York and got laryngitis. Everyone on Broadway went to him and so did the Kennedys. He gave me vitamin shots which brought my voice back beautifully but left me addicted. It was very traumatic but I just had to stop. I also drank too much, only champagne, and I never thought too much about it until I was talking to Nancy Reagan. We were sitting around chatting and having a drink and she asked if I always drank so much. I said yes and she said: ‘Well, don’t you think it’s bad for you?’ and I said: ‘Yes, but I don’t know how to stop.’ The next thing I know she collared the Chief of Staff and I’m on a plane to a rehab facility. I stayed three weeks and I haven’t drunk since. That was more than 30 years ago.”

He gives Nancy Reagan the credit for turning his life around, which is weird, because she made me do drugs. Wouldn’t you know it, an African-American gay Republican. But, he also has been vocal in his support Civil Rights and LGBTQ Rights, singing at the Salute To Freedom Concert in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. I’ve heard about them. It’s okay, because, for me, it was always about the records with Mathis.

He continues to record and do concert dates. He is doing a St. Valentine’s Day concert with The Portland Symphony next year. I have seen him live a dozen of times. Once, I saw him in concert at a symphony hall and later that night I also caught The Pogues at a club. How about that for diverse taste in tunes?

The post #BornThisDay: Singer, Johnny Mathis appeared first on The WOW Report.

Photograph: © VPA/ PacificCoastNews

“I was like, am I gay? Am I straight? And I realized…I’m just slutty. Where’s my parade?”
Margaret Cho

The post #QueerQuote: Margaret Cho appeared first on The WOW Report.

By now we know that with Trump, EVERYTHING –even a natural disaster– is about him.

Last night on CNN, the Mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulín Cruz wore a black shirt that read:

“Help Us, We Are Dying.”

As she told Anderson Cooper,

“People are drinking out of creeks here in San Juan. You have people in buildings and they’re becoming caged in their own buildings — old people, retired people that don’t have any electricity.

We’re dying here. We truly are dying here. I keep saying it: SOS. If anyone can hear us; if Mr. Trump an hear us, let’s just get it over with and get the ball rolling.“

In a tweet this morning Trump took aim at her and Puerto Rico,

“The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump.

Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job.“

Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Maria rammed into Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm, millions in the US commonwealth remain without electricity and water, and limited access to gas and cash. At least 16 people have died as a result of the storm.

Mayor Cruz pushed back on Friday against acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke who said earlier that the government’s response in Puerto Rico,

“is really a good news story in terms of our ability to reach people.“

She said,

“It’s not a good story when people are dying, starving, thirsty, when people can’t go back to work. I don’t know who in their right mind would say this is a good story to tell.“

Duke, who traveled to Puerto Rico on Friday, said she was referring to how well everyone is working together.

“The end of my statement about good news was, it was good news that the people of Puerto Rico, the many public servants of the US and the government of Puerto Rico are working together and … it’s nice to see communities together trying to recover and support each other.“

Cruz said there’s a disconnect between the federal government plan and what’s happening on the ground.

“If you register for FEMA on the Internet, you’re OK. Well, we don’t have any Internet. We barely have phones. We don’t have power anywhere… this is not standard operating procedure. Everything has just gone away so you have to improvise.“

According to CNN,

Cruz said she and her family are staying at the Coliseum, along with more than 600 people seeking shelter there, sleeping in cots and eating the same food as everyone else after her house flooded.

For many in Puerto Rico, trying to get the basics like fuel has become a grueling, all-day affair.
About 675 of the island’s roughly 1,110 gas stations were working as of Friday evening, according to the Puerto Rican government’s website for information on the recovery.

In Loíza, residents waited for more than 10 hours for gas. The town’s deputy mayor, Luis Escobar summed it up as a chain that has been broken: “No fuel, no work, no money.”

Without gas or transport, people can’t get to work. Without work, there is no money to buy necessities.

After spending an entire day waiting for fuel, the following days are spent trying to get food and other basic supplies, residents say.

There’s also a cash scarcity. Many of Puerto Rico’s businesses, supermarkets and gas stations will accept only cash because credit card systems are down.

At least half of all bank branches remain shuttered, in part because they can’t get enough armored trucks with gas, or truck drivers, to deliver the cash safely. Roughly 90 open bank branches are limiting the amount people can withdraw per day, the governor said Friday, to ensure everyone can get some cash.

Despite all of the difficulties, Cruz said she had faith in the American people:

“I know what the US heart is all about. You are intelligent, daring people, so I just don’t understand why things have become so complicated and the logistics are so insurmountable.“

HERE ARE SOME WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

Hand In Hand
handinhand2017.com/
The Benefit for Hurricane Relief telethon raised more than 55 million so far for victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. You can also text GIVE to 80077 to donate $25.

American Red Cross
redcross.org

Mexican Red Cross
cruzrojamexicana.org.mx

The Salvation Army
salvationarmyusa.org

Puerto Rican Family Institute
https://www.facebook.com/PRFIORG/

Oxfam America
oxfamamerica.org

Oxfam Mexico
oxfammexico.org

Save The Children
savethechildren.org

San Juan mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz: “There’s a disconnect between what the plan says and what is really happening” https://t.co/2FL3khoaJa

— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) September 30, 2017

(Photo, YouTube: via CNN)

The post #Breaking: Puerto Rico’s Mayor Begs “Save Us From Dying” – Trump Responds By Slamming Her “Poor Leadership” appeared first on The WOW Report.

According to tape recordings, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr were apparently caught up in a battle to take away inheritance money from their sister, Tiffany Trump. A new archive of the conversations Donald Trump had on The Howard Stern Show.

Trump told Stern that Ivanka and Donald Jr. weren’t happy when they discovered they’d have another sibling. Stern’s co-host, Robin Quivers, asked, referring to the children’s inheritance,

“Do your older children get nervous every time you have another child?”

According to the tapes, Trump said to Stern,

“I have a friend who is also like a very rich guy. And he said how his children hate the new children coming along and everything else; I said, ‘Yeah, because every time you have a child, it’s 20 percent less to the people [Inaudible].’”

Stern asked Trump if Donald Jr. and Ivanka were trying to,

“bump off the other child.”

Trump responded by saying,

“Tiffany is great. I have a great child. And Tiffany, I have great children.”

Stern asked,

“Tiffany has taken out a hit on Melania’s new baby. Is there any truth to that?“

Trump shot back,

“Well, you know, it does cut up the pie as you keep producing.“

If Tiffany doesn’t lose her inheritance, Trump said she and the rest of the Trumps would receive at least Trump Online University and Trump Ice, according to the tapes.

(After multiple lawsuits, Trump University is now defunct, Trump Ice, a bottled-water brand with Trump’s face splashed across the bottle, however is still in business.)

Tiffany is the daughter from Trump’s second marriage, to Marla Maples. She grew up with her mother in California.

And this isn’t the only time Tiffany has been the odd one out in a family of Trumps. On Election Day, Donald Trump said he was proud of Tiffany “to a lesser extent” than his other children. He told Fox News.

“I’m very proud, because Don and Eric and Ivanka and—you know, to a lesser extent ’cause she just got out of school, out of college—but, uh, Tiffany, who has also been so terrific. They work so hard.”

Keep your distance Tiffany, you’ll be better off in the long run.

NOTE: Newsweek exclusively obtained this previously unreleased audio and transcript from December 2005 from The Howard Stern Show, along with 15 hours of Trump talking to Stern from 1993 to August 25, 2015. An anonymous person sent the audio file earlier this month of the individual Trump-Stern interviews by Dropbox to the website Factba.se. The site developers requested the Stern-Trump interview audio files on Stern fan sites and Reddit earlier this year. It was made searchable for Newsweek before they were public for the first time on Monday.

Robin Quivers and Trump on the set of “The Howard Stern Show”

(Photo, YouTube, Howard Stern Show;via Newsweek)

The post Trump Told Howard Stern That Ivanka & Don Jr. Wanted Tiffany Cut Out of the Will!? appeared first on The WOW Report.

Lin-Manuel Miranda blasted Trump over his attacks on San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz who criticized the federal government’s response to the devastation that Hurricane Maria caused in Puerto Rico.

Trump hit back this morning on Twitter, slamming the mayor’s

“poor leadership ability.”

Miranda used Trump’s favorite means of communication to vent his anger at the commander in chief’s comments,

“You’re going straight to hell. No long lines for you. Someone will say, ‘Right this way, sir.’ They’ll clear a path.”

The Hamilton creator has family in Puerto Rico and is among a number of stars who have made emotional pleas on behalf of the territory.

Miranda has encouraged people to donate to the nonprofit Hispanic Federation, and is putting together an all-star charity single that will be available to buy on Oct. 6.

HERE ARE SOME OTHER WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

Hand In Hand
handinhand2017.com/
The Benefit for Hurricane Relief telethon raised more than 55 million so far for victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. You can also text GIVE to 80077 to donate $25.

American Red Cross
redcross.org

Mexican Red Cross
cruzrojamexicana.org.mx

The Salvation Army
salvationarmyusa.org

Puerto Rican Family Institute
https://www.facebook.com/PRFIORG/

Oxfam America
oxfamamerica.org

Oxfam Mexico
oxfammexico.org

Save The Children
savethechildren.org

(Photo, YouTube; via Huffington Post)

The post Lin-Manuel Miranda Blasts Trump for His Response To Puerto Rico “You’re Going Straight to Hell… No Long Lines for You!” appeared first on The WOW Report.

October 1, 1935– Julia Elizabeth Wells:

“Sometimes I’m so sweet even I can’t stand it.”

Andrews has been open in her support of LGBTQ and Gay Rights. In an interview with The Advocate, she said that despite being aware of prejudice against gay people as a kid growing up in 1940s Britain, she couldn’t understand it. Asked when she first realized she was a friend of the LGBTQ community, Andrews replied:

“That’s hard to answer, because…. just always! I have to say, though, in my hometown, in my community, I was very aware of bias and bigotry, and couldn’t understand it. “

Andrews began her career at 10-years-old, and she was around gay people from the start.

“Theatre, anyway, is such an open community and free. I was raised not to be that way and not to think that way, and it always seemed puzzling to me that the world wasn’t just embracing human beings. But it’s never been something that I stumbled on. It’s just always been innate, thanks I think to the professions that I am in. But also it’s the way I was raised.”

Her show for young people, Julie’s Greenroom, now streaming on Netflix, caused a stir with the Christian Right because of its inclusion of a gender-nonbinary character named Riley, who, by the way, is a puppet. The idea behind Julie’s Greenroom, was to teach children about the theatre world with the help of her puppet students. Another puppet character, Hank, is another example of the show’s diversity. Andrews:

“We tried to be as inclusive as we possibly could within the show. Hank has a handicap and yet it’s not really a problem, and he manages his life wonderfully and contributes so much.”

By the way, Julie’s Greenroom, produced by Andrews and The Jim Henson Company, is fun for adults. Guests have included Alec Baldwin, Sara Bareilles, David Hyde Pierce, Andrews’ pal Carol Burnett, and Adele Dazeem.

Now, I am not a big fan of The Sound Of Music, the film from 1965, the stage version, or the nearly unwatchable Sound Of Music Live!  which aired on NBC in December 2013. Unusual, because I like most musicals. All things Teutonic make me nervous, the story just rings false for me, and it is shameless treacle, in my opinion. I performed in it once, on stage in summer stock (I played a party guest and an off-stage nun). I took to calling it The Slime Of Mucus. Still, I am simply crazy for Julie Andrews, and her performance in the film. No one else could have made it work.

Andrews had quite the run of good movies at the start of her film career in the 1960s to early 1970s. Check out her acting chops in Alfred Hitchcock’s Torn Curtain (1966), Blake Edwards’ romantic The Tamarind Seed (1974), or the dark comedy, The Americanization Of Emily where she has combustible chemistry with handsome James Garner (1964). I am charmed by her singing and dancing performances in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967) and the iconic Mary Poppins (1964). I know it is a bit of a mess, but I love her as the great stage star of the 1920s-1950s Gertrude Lawrence in the musical film Star! (1968). In 1957, Andrews starred in the premiere of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s written-for-television musical Cinderella, a live, network broadcast seen by over half the households in the USA..

There is notable investment in the films that cemented her alleged squeaky-clean image, as much as, if not more, than in stuff like S.O.B. (1980) and Victor/Victoria (1981). Yet, I see many of Andrew’s film performances as transgressive, subversive and life-changing forces, rather than sugary nannies and good girls. In musicals, Andrews’ unique performance style, in the tradition of Mary Martin and Ethel Merman can be read as camp, and yet stands on its own.

In Camelot (1960), photo by Friedman-Abeles, Wikimedia Commons

In 1960, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe plucked her as a virtual unknown for the lead in My Fair Lady. Four years later, they cast her again, this time.as Guinevere in Camelot, opposite Richard Burton and Robert Goulet. However, because studio head Jack L. Warner decided Andrews lacked the name recognition for the 1964 film version of My Fair Lady, the role of Eliza Doolittle went instead to big star Audrey Hepburn. Warner:

“In my business, I have to know who brings people and their money to a cinema box office. Audrey Hepburn had never made a financial flop.”

Instead, Andrews took the title role of Disney’s Mary Poppins. Walt Disney had seen her in Camelot and thought she would be perfect for the role of the British nanny who is “practically perfect in every way!” Andrews turned it down at first because she was pregnant, but Disney firmly insisted, saying: “We’ll wait for you.”

Mary Poppins became the biggest box-office hit in Disney history. Andrews won the 1964 Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for her performance, plus a 1965 Grammy Award for the soundtrack album. Andrews closed her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes with:

“And, finally, my thanks to a man who made a wonderful movie and who made all this possible in the first place, Mr. Jack Warner.”

I was never fortunate enough to have seen her on stage, but the Original Broadway Cast albums of The Boyfriend (1954), My Fair Lady (1956) and Camelot (1960) were part of my parents’ LP collection and received plenty of play when I frequently had the house to myself.

In her startling honest memoir Home (2008), Andrews writes about the bleak childhood that made her seem rather ruthless in real life. Her parents divorced and she was separated from her beloved brother. She lived with her remarried mother in dreadful poverty. Beginning in 1945, and for the next two years, Andrews performed spontaneously and unbilled on stage with her mother and stepfather. She would stand on a beer crate to sing into the microphone, sometimes a solo or as a duet with her stepfather, while her mother played piano:

“Then came the day when I was told I must go to bed in the afternoon because I was going to be allowed to sing with Mummy and Pop in the evening.”

Andrews’ big break came when her stepfather forced her to take a solo gig at the London Hippodrome singing the difficult aria Je Suis Titania from Mignon in the late night musical revue called Starlight Roof. She played the Hippodrome for a year.

At 13-years-old, Andrews became the youngest solo performer ever to give a Royal Command Performance before King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at the London Palladium.

In 1995, she starred in a stage musical version of Victor/Victoria. It was her first appearance in a Broadway show in 35 years. She was forced to quit the show towards the end of the Broadway run in 1997 when she developed a hoarseness in her voice. She had surgery to remove non-cancerous nodules from her throat. As it turns out, it was not nodules at all, just muscle strain on her vocal chords from performing in Victor/Victoria. The surgery brought permanent damage that destroyed her singing voice and left Andrews with a decided rasp to her speaking voice. In 1999, she filed a malpractice suit against the doctors who had operated on her throat. Originally, the doctors assured Andrews that she should regain her voice within six weeks, but it never returned. The lawsuit was settled in September 2000 for an undisclosed amount.

Her famous, four-octave soprano was reduced to a fragile, limited alto. Andrews:

“I can sing the hell out of Old Man River.”

Photograph by Eva Rinaldi, Wikimedia Commons

Still, her deeper voice brought her a warmth and strong presence and she continued to work steadily in films, dramatic, comedic and animated. She was the voice of The Queen in the Shrek franchise, and the Despicable Me series of films, including this year’s Despicable Me 3.

Andrews and her daughter Emma Walton are the authors of 16 books for children, all on the NY Times bestseller list.

That pure voice, the perfect posture and the prim, efficient British-ness of her performances brought her fame and awards. But, Andrews had an upbringing so appalling that it seems to have instilled in her a determination for success that led to her being both respected and feared in Hollywood in equal measure… or so I hear.

Andrews has long had something of a dual image, being both a family-friendly icon and a Gay Icon. She is notable as one of the few divas to enjoy a parallel popularization across both straight and gay audiences. Andrews has acknowledged her strange status:

“I’m that odd mixture of, on the one hand, being a gay icon and, on the other, having grandmas and parents grateful I’m around to be a babysitter for their kids…”

The post #BornThisDay: Julie Andrews appeared first on The WOW Report.

From Not Now Music

“He may have hair upon his chest but, sister, so has Lassie.”

Cole Porter

The post #QueerQuote: Cole Porter appeared first on The WOW Report.

Samuel Irving “Si” Newhouse, Jr., chairman emeritus of Condé Nast, passed away today after a long illness, a spokesperson for the family confirmed.

Newhouse, together with his brother Donald, owned Advance Publications, whose properties include Condé Nast and dozens of newspapers across the United States. The company was founded by their father in 1922.

Newhouse ran the company’s magazine division, Condé Nast Publications (publisher of over two dozen titles), and served as its famously exacting and faithful chairman for 40 years, as he painstakingly developed what would become the foremost magazine publisher in the world. He retired in 2015.

I started at Condé Nast at 21, my first New York, job, and “Si” as he was know, was the quiet Big Daddy upstairs and definitely in charge. But he defied what The New York Times called

“the image of the media baron driven by love of limelight, political influence, or money.”

He often wore simple slacks and a New Yorker sweatshirt to work. (For YEARS he carried a worn out silver bag with a Glamour logo on it. You’d often see him in the lobby leaving with it mid-afternoon.)

He long supported titles and projects that were often initially derided but eventually revered. Vanity Fair was for years a chronic money loser, it eventually became one of the company’s best-selling titles.

The New Yorker’s Editor in Chief David Remnick told New York Magazine,

“He loves magazines, meaning the whole and all of it, the variety of things published, the business details, the visions and actions and personalities of his editors, the problems, the problem-solving, the ink and paper . . . the all of it.”

Anna Wintour, Condé Nast artistic director and Editor in Chief of Vogue said,

“Si Newhouse was the most extraordinary leader. Wherever he led, I followed, unquestioningly, simply because he put as much faith in me as I had in him. Si never looked at data or statistics, but went with his instincts and expected his editors to do the same. He urged us to take risks and was effusive in his praise when they paid off.

Every time I’d preview the latest issue of Vogue with him, he’d encourage me to go for the less expected cover, the more compelling image. Yet there was nothing showy about the way Si led. This humble, thoughtful, highly idiosyncratic man, quite possibly the least judgmental person I’ve ever known, preferred family, friends, art, movies, and his beloved pugs over the flashiness of the New York media world. His personality shaped the entire company.

It might have been a huge global media entity, yet Si, who arrived at 4 a.m. every day in an unchanging uniform, ran it like his own personal and very benevolent fiefdom. We’d regularly have lunch—lunches which were scheduled by him six months in advance—and he’d arrive with a yellow legal pad, with maybe three words written on it. So few words, yet somehow, they encapsulated so many lessons, lessons which I still strive to put into practice every day I come to work.”

I have a funny secondhand story of Si, that by now I’ve repeated a dozen times. At Vogue‘s old offices at 350 Madison Avenue, there was a long hallway that ran down the editorial side. Assistants would sit in an outer office with no door, open to the hallway with their bosses, inside. (No, not like The Devil Wears Prada, but if you need a visual use a dingy, smaller 80s version…) The mailroom guys would deliver stuff up and down the hall to assistants all day long. You got to know them right away. A new assistant had started at Vogue and saw a short man in khaki’s, tennis shoes and a sweatshirt approaching and as he got near she stuck out her arm with a large mania envelope and said,

“Will you take this to the mailroom, please?“

The man stopped and looked at her, smiled and took the package. That man was her boss, billionaire, Si Newhouse.

Si Newhouse was 89.

(Photo, Wikimedia Commons; via Vogue)

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