Actor/writer Ryan O'Connell created and played one of the most huggable, lovable and complicated gay characters I've ever seen in a series. I blogged about him back in May of last year. He played Ryan Hayes, a Southern California intern at a hipster website in SPECIAL, an original Netflix series.
The character, like his creator and the actor who plays him, is a young gay man with cerebral palsy. The series and the delightful, talented, smart Ryan O'Connell have not received anywhere near the attention they should be getting from gay media. He is an original and a most creative trailblazer. But does he get the attention of an Andy Cohen, a Carson Kressley or a Lil Nas? No.
Rarely do we see current gay life through the eyes of someone with a physical disability. Let's face it -- the gay male community can often make a newcomer feel like he's on a rollercoaster that's constantly going down while he screams. No matter how good your manners are, no matter how spiritually substantial you are, if you're not a "hot-looking guy," you're not on the A-list of dating. Good looks are currency in the gay male community. You could have saved a half dozen orphans by pulling them out of a burning building. But, if you're not hot-looking and young...you could catch on fire while sitting at the bar and the bartender would not pick up the seltzer gun to put you out. In the last 25 years, I've had that feeling in some Manhattan and West Hollywood bars. Ryan Hayes is a guy who wears thick glasses and has cerebral palsy.
His mother, wonderfully played by Jessica Hecht, loves living with her gay soon. However, he needs to step out and became an independent citizen. And she clings to him because he's her buffer against loneliness. She's unmarried and afraid to step out into the world, meet a guy and start a new life for herself. We follow Ryan in his workplace and see the co-workers who become friends and we see him on some awkward dates. Ryan knows what the emotional and social obstacles are in his case, but he bravely moves forward.
Last season, in the spring of this year, Ryan O'Connell was absolutely charming and funny as a guest on CBS MORNINGS one weekday morning. He was on to promote his new book, a novel called JUST BY LOOKING AT HIM.
I don't recall seeing gay media giving him lots of attention for his book. In the touching final episode of Season 2, Ryan says to his mother "We deserve big, gorgeous lives." So does Ryan O'Connell. As I wrote earlier, he is a trailblazer actor, writer and activist. I recommend you go to Netflix and watch the two seasons of SPECIAL. Those episodes are entertaining, enlightening and provocative. He gives us a fresh view of gay life that you can relate to even if you're straight and feel like an outside on the field of love.
Ryan O'Connell is someone who deserved to be in the spotlight for Pride month. Here's a peak at the show's Season 2.
She had a scene with Tom Hanks in the movie BIG. She had a scene with Geena Davis in the 1994 romantic comedy, ANGIE. She was a regular on the ABC TV drama series, CHINA BEACH. Nowadays, Nancy Giles is a familiar face on national TV as a contributor on CBS SUNDAY MORNING. Nancy does some great interviews.
Nancy Giles now has a podcast and I was a guest on it for one show this month, I'm about to give you information on how you can hear us on her THE GILES FILES podcast now in Season 3.
When you get there, look for *Search* in the upper right corner. Type Giles Files in Search. When you see Nancy, click on her to enjoy our June 23rd chat.
If you have time to listen, PLEASE write Nancy a short review or comment.
We talk about entertainment news of this year and classic films of yesteryear. One thing we talk about is my 1989 visit on St. Patrick's Day with TV sitcom legend, Lucille Ball. She invited me to her home for cocktails. I was working on VH1 at the time. She'd seen my interview of Sally Field on my weeknight celebrity talk show and liked it.
While I was there, having a vodka tonic, I mentioned that my favorite film of hers was 1942's THE BIG STREET co-starring Henry Fonda. I told her that, if I had a revival movie theater, I'd make it a double feature with MIDNIGHT COWBOY.
She loved the idea and got why I'd pair them. THE BIG STREET is a drama with Lucy as a tough, self-absorbed Manhattan nightclub singer. She winds up crippled, wheelchair-bound and somewhat of a New York City down-and-outsider. She's forgotten by her upscale friends. She learns about friendship from Fonda's character who's also somewhat of an invisible citizen. He's a busboy. Now disabled, the singer dreams of going to Florida but that seems to be an impossible dream. The busboy gets her there.
Think of the crippled, ailing Ratso (Dustin Hoffman) in MIDNIGHT COWBOY who wishes he could get out of New York City and go to Florida. Hustler Joe Buck (Jon Voight), just as much an outsider as Ratso, gets him there.
I think THE BIG STREET has Lucille Ball's best big screen performance. Here's a trailer.
I hope you enjoy Nancy and me on THE GILES FILES podcast.
I was on Twitter and saw a positive tweet that caught my eye. A fellow had seen a short film, perfect viewing for PRIDE month (which June is) and he loved it. The short film is free to see on YouTube. I watched it -- and it is good! Although not a comedy, the title might make you think it is. Titled THE UNSURE MASSEUR, it runs only 15 minutes.
Human touch and the revelation of honest feelings between two gay men are at the center of this short feature.
A handsome, young Asian-American fellow has made an appointment for a legit massage. As he admits to the also young and handsome masseur when he's undressed and stretched out on the massage table, he's not just there for the rubdown. He says, "...I'm here to learn..." His love is landscaping. He learned the art from his grandmother in Sante Fe. She taught him about "...plants, garden design, what smells nice..." Her death left him heartbroken. He relocates to another city and considers becoming a masseur to make the money to pursue his landscaping dreams. He once considered working as a go-go dancer.
The masseur has them trade places for his tutorial. He has the client give him a massage so he could tell the client what to do, how to do it and what he might be doing wrong. He too opens up and reveals the challenge of keeping his work legit -- providing just a massage, no sexual services. The two lead actors are Jae Kim and Kevin Grant Spencer. The short film was written and directed by Reid Waterer. I loved the verbal intimacy that arises between the two gay men in addition to the physical intimacy of the massage.
THE UNSURE MASSEUR is well-shot, well-acted and well-written. There's a sad warmth that comes from the client. He's lonely and needs to be touched. That's exactly what led me to get my first massage a year after my partner died. Again, this 15-minute feature is free for you to see on YouTube.
That Englishman is a damn good actor. Mark Rylance won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Steven Spielberg's Cold War espionage thriller, BRIDGE OF SPIES. I first noticed him in the adult, emotionally engrossing 2001 film, INTIMACY, about two people who get naked and have sex as a medicine to heal from the wounding realities of everyday life. (Rylance has a lovely member.)
The way the world has been the last couple of years, we haven't really heard about or talked about a new "feel-good" film. Personally, I can't immediately think of a feel-good film that's been released in the last couple of years. Most of the mass market fare seems to be about comic book-based characters who wear capes.
I saw a feel-good film over the weekend -- and it stars Mark Rylance as a real-life character in a comedy based on a true story. He plays perhaps the worst golfer of the 1970s who somehow made it into the British Open Golf Championship.
Kind, gentle, smart Maurice (pronounced Morris) Flitcroft is an optimistic, 40-something working class family man. Sally Hawkins stars as his loving and supportive wife.
Two of his three kids are twins who want to be disco dance champs. Maurice stays up late one night and watches TV. A program about golf captivates and sparks something in his spirit. He wants to learn the sport and play in the championship.
Quick-thinking Maurice and his equally quick-thinking wife write letters that get him into the championship. He's an unknown, an underdog who will attract viewers because of his perseverance. The movie, now playing in some cities, is called THE PHANTOM OF THE OPEN. It's a film that teaches us "Practice is the road to perfection." It's also a sweet, warm film about family love and never giving up on one's dreams.
The Sally Hawkins character could've been just sort of a cheerleader to her husband, but there's more depth to it. She had fallen in love with a simple shipyard worker (Maurice). She's on the brink of getting a great opportunity. But she reveals to Maurice that she has an out-of-wedlock baby. She was abandoned by the father. Maurice commits to her and to being the baby's father. The newborn is their first of their three children. Maurice becomes the great love of her life. She loves and understands his hijinks as he plays golf against the wishes of the upper class championship organizers.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPEN has surprises. solid performances and plenty of warmth. It's great to know that feel-good films are still in production. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPEN is one -- and a truly entertaining one. It's a winner.
I loved her singing ever since I was a kid. She was one of the dearest and most down-to-earth stars I ever met and worked with. I met her through Rose Marie of THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW fame. Rose was in a revue show that toured the country. Another one of the 4 GIRLS 4 quartet was...Rosemary Clooney. I wound up writing some material for the show and that's how I got to meet and work with her. She gave me her home address. She even mentioned me to her nephew, George Clooney. I got that info from George himself.
After watching hours of live news coverage, I needed something to sooth my ears and refresh my mind. So, let me share with you, a few of my favorite Rosemary Clooney vocals. One o my favorite albums in my old record collection was the jazz album she cut with the great Duke Ellington.
Here's Rosemary Clooney with Duke Ellington doing "You and Me."
Here she is doing Duke's classic, "It Don't Mean a Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing."
PEYTON PLACE was a racy, highly best-selling novel that was turned into a good, 1957 hit movie that got Oscar nominations. It spawned a 1961 sequel that was not nearly as good as the original nor did it have any of the original cast members. But RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE did have a couple of worthwhile elements -- the juicy supporting role performance from Mary Astor and the tune sung over the opening credits by Rosemary Clooney.
Here's Rosie singing "The Wonderful Season of Love" from RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE directed by her then-husband, Jose Ferrer.
That shimmering voice. The fabulous phrasing. How I loved the singing of Rosemary Clooney.
James L. Brooks. He won three Oscars in one night -- for producing, directing and screenwriting TERMS OF ENDEARMENT. It won the Oscar for Best Picture of 1983. Shirley MacLaine won for Best Actress. Jack Nicholson won for Best Supporting Actor.
Before that, on television, Brooks gave us ROOM 222, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, TAXI, the popular spin-offs from THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW -- RHODA, PHYLLIS and LOU GRANT -- plus THE TRACEY ULLMAN SHOW andTHE SIMPSONS. His other celebrated films are BROADCAST NEWS (1987) and AS GOOD AS IT GETS (1997).
Again, I was on Netflix. I discovered a series called THE HOLLYWOOD MASTERS. Directors and actors come on for a one-on-one interview. I immediately went into Season 3, Episode 2 to see the half-hour with James L. Brooks, a man who holds a very special place in my heart.
We learn about his origins -- his family in his youth and his first jobs in television. He was an usher, a news writer and he worked on documentaries. When he worked on TV as a writer and when he worked as a filmmaker, he always said the work as a team sport. He talks about his TV shows -- ROOM 222, TAXI, THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW -- and he talks about his films -- TERMS OF ENDEARMENT and BROADCAST NEWS. All those stories are wonderful. He's not asked about AS GOOD AS IT GETS, but the interviewer does mention it. I wish the interviewer had asked more questions about Brooks' flop, 1994's I'LL DO ANYTHING. Originally a musical, after folks started walking out of preview screenings and brutal advance word from The Los Angeles Times, he decided that the only way to save it was to remove all the musical numbers, which he did before the film's national release. I'LL DO ANYTHING starred Nick Nolte and Tracey Ullman. A satire of Hollywood lifestyles, the deleted music included new songs by Carole King and Prince.
The James L. Brooks warmth, wit, vulnerability and grace are evident in the interview. I wish I'd conducted it.
James L. Brooks was a guest on my VH1 show in 1987. He was promoting BROADCAST NEWS. He was a terrific guest -- gracious, honest and involved. He confirmed that classic film actress Jean Arthur was his muse for crafting the Mary Richards character on THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW. He was really talkative and involved when I asked him an openly gay character who'd been cut out of the BROADCAST NEWS final print. Brooks assured me the character was only deleted for sake of the film's running time.
The openly gay male character was one of the most important producers in the newsroom. He sees that handsome and straight Tom Grunick (William Hurt) is getting a lot of attention but he senses Grunick's true nature before producer Jane Craig (Helen Hunt) does. He pretends to flirt with and make a pass at Grunick to see if Grunick will accept the pass just to further his newsroom career ambitions.
Brooks was very impressed that I'd done my homework. When we were done, as he was leaving the studio, Brooks gave me a warm goodbye and said, "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again."
We did. I was invited to a party held after a screening of 1989's THE WAR OF THE ROSES, a movie Brooks had co-produced. Brooks was at the party. He remembered me and said that if he could ever help me with anything, contact him on the Fox lot in L.A.
Another excellent guest on my VH1 talk show was singer Bobby McFerrin. His song, "Don't Worry, Be Happy" was a huge hit and the album was a Grammy winner. His manager, Linda Goldstein, took home a Grammy for producing the Record of the Year. She was in the studio watching my interview. She and Bobby were both hugely impressed that I knew Bobby McFerrin's father was an opera singer and dubbed the singing voice for Sidney Poitier in the movie PORGY AND BESS. Linda, who turned out to be a fellow Los Angeleno, and I became fast buddies. We kept in touch.
When I was near the end of my VH1 contract, Linda called me and said she was interested in branching out as a manager. She was representing only singers and wanted to manage people in other performance areas -- like me. As it turned out, she and I would be in L.A. for a few days at the same time. I told her about James L. Brooks. She said, "Let's see if we can get a meeting with him while we're in L.A."
She faxed his office on the Fox lot. We expected to get a response perhaps the following day. Linda and I were both stunned to get a response about 20 minutes later. A "yes" response with a day and time for the meeting.
While Linda and I were still in New York and up to the time she was driving us to the Fox lot, we rehearsed how we'd get to the point for a 15 minute meeting because this Oscar and Emmy would surely have other things to do.
James L. Brooks gave us 45 minutes of his time coupled with some wise advice. He remembered our interview and had seen other episodes. By the way, THE ARSENIO HALL SHOW was a very popular, groundbreaking late night show at the time. Brooks said that my show was very smart and sophisticated and I should be getting offers to do another one. However, because Arsenio was so popular, white agents and producers would be seeking another Black guy kind of like Aresenio instead of realizing that there are different kinds of Black people just like Johnny Carson and Dick Cavett were both white guys, each one a different kind of talk show host.
I didn't kid myself when I was on VH1. Even though I had A-list celebrities and even though I got rave reviews from TV Guide, People magazine and The New York Times, that didn't mean I had an agent and it didn't mean I get offers to host another celebrity talk show. And that would be because of race. I never was offered another celebrity talk show opportunity.
Mr. Brooks told Linda, "Package him the way Tracey Ullman was packaged and pitched to me. When you get the package done, let me know and we can talk again." And he told me to take an acting class. He said, "Even if it's just for one season, it'll look good on your resume."
I took acting classes. A couple of years of acting classes. Linda got back to New York and she was pregnant with her first child. She decided not to take on any more clients and concentrate on her newborn. That was unlucky for me professionally but, personally, I totally understood.
I didn't get packaged and pitched to James L. Brooks, but I will never forget his kindness, advice and the time he gave me.
By the way, it's Helen Hunt's birthday. She won the Best Actress Oscar for AS GOOD AS IT GETS, directed and co-written by James L. Brooks. Jack Nicholson won for Best Actor.
(In my previous post, you can see a reel of clips from my VH1 talk show and a clip of Shirley MacLaine telling how Brooks rattled her nerves the day before shooting started on TERMS OF ENDEARMENT.)
Some of you who follow my blogpost may not be aware of the TV work I did. This post is about that.
Here's a question about me that came from an ABC News producer in 2000 and the producer of a national radio show in 2006: "Does he know anything about movies?" In both cases, I was pushing to get the job of film reviewer and historian on new shows about to make their debut. I had to push because neither producer had taken time to read my resume. However, I did get the jobs.
I've been a classic film enthusiast and student ever since I was a grade school kid back home in Los Angeles. My knowledge of classic films led to my first TV appearance. When I was in high school, I became the youngest and first Black contestant on a syndicated film quiz show shot in Hollywood. It was called THE MOVIE GAME and was hosted by a fellow from New York named Sonny Fox. I was nervous. But I won.
My first professional TV job, after I graduated from a Milwaukee university, was to be the weekly film critic and celebrity interviewer on a show called PM MAGAZINE that aired on the city's ABC affiliate. I also did print film reviews in local publications, I worked on Milwaukee's ABC affiliate for four years. Some of my celebrity interviews aired nationally and that led to me getting a TV job from New York City.
In New York, in the late 80s, I was approached to be a VH1 veejay. And I was given my own prime time weeknight celebrity talk show. I loved working there. Here's some of my VH1 shows.
After VH1, I was contacted to work on live morning shows in New York City.
I also loved hosting film shows on local cable.
When I was the entertainment editor for an ABC News production that aired on live Lifetime TV, I had the chance to do some film history in my weekly segments.
