Loretta Devine's smoky laugh and trademark "you did not just try to get away with that" delivery makes her stand out in every role, from all-knowing doctor's wife (Grey's Anatomy) to alcoholic mother (the indie film Dirty Laundry) to Jonny Lee Miller's ass-kicking assistant on Eli Stone.
We caught up with her to talk about George Michael, the disco days of Fire Island and what it would take to finally land a role opposite Morgan Freeman.
Out.com: Oh my God, you really do laugh like that! Loretta Devine: Yeah, what are you talking about? I laugh all the time. People always say, "You really talk like that?" and I say "What did you think I would be talking like?"
So what's George Michael like? He's kind of sexy and fun. He smokes cigarettes. He's fun, I like him. I didn't get to know him that well, we were just on set together.
You didn't ask him about his tearoom incident... Hell, no! I'm not the press. You would, huh?
Of course! In the movie Dirty Laundry, you play an alcoholic mother... LD: Yeah, I usually play these very sweet women but in this I play this alcoholic. I was really challenged by the script and I felt like I met the challenge.
What's the gayest thing you've ever done in your life? I was around pre-Dreamgirls when you could do all kinds of things in the limo and go to Fire Island and party.
What was it like? Well, that was pre-down low and all that so there were all these married men in suits that used to go to the island on the weekend. They'd have hose popper parties where they'd pop the poppers, and Phyllis Hyman would fly in. Then there was the bush where everybody would go make out.
Did you perform there? Hell no, I just went with my hairdresser to see what it was like.
Were you shocked? It was an incredible lifestyle, beautiful homes, partying into the night. Like a little wonderland.
What was your favorite disco song? I can't remember. Something Phyllis Hyman did. This was all pre-AIDS.
Do you think black men get too much of the rap for being DL? They say the whole down low thing is because black men stay in their neighborhoods, because coming out would be to out their whole family, whereas white men move away from their family. I don't know how true that is. The down-low thing is so scary, I wish there were more acceptance because of that. I think it's really sad when people have to live someone else's life and not their own.
Is there anyone gay in your family? I have people that are gay in my family, but it's very hard because it's also not accepted in my family. I have mothers and grandmothers who just don't understand it at all.
How do you explain it to them? You don't. You can't. They have the right to what they feel. All you can do is deal with the young people in your family and say "I understand this" and accept them.
If you could duet with anyone, who would it be? No one's asked me that question. I got a chance to sing with Patti LaBelle already, that was incredible. I always say I want to act with Morgan Freeman, but it looks like that not ever going to happen.
Why? You have to be younger. I'd have to be a secretary or some stuff.
Why don't you just ask Morgan if he'll make a romantic comedy with you. I think that would be hot. It would be hot. I should go to him with one. But to duet, Beyonce. Or Jill Scott. Erykah Badu. One of those divas.
"You're so well behaved for San Francisco it's kind of unnerving," exclaimed k.d. lang halfway through her first of two sold-out shows at the Palace of Fine Arts this week. And she has a point. San Franciscans -- particularly of the lesbian variety -- have typically shown their devotion to the singer with an outpouring of emotion, hormones, and outright solicitations for sex at her concerts with a fervency only second to Morrissey fans.
Back in the late '80s and early '90s, right before "Constant Craving" delivered her to straight mainstream America, lang shows in San Francisco were a queer ritual second in popularity only to attending the memorials of friends who died of AIDS. And there was undoubtedly a relationship between the two: The energy held respectfully in check during those times of mourning would come gushing out at lang shows to the point that she routinely had to hush the crowd just to get through them. And it wasn't just lesbians: With her square frame decked out in flashy suits and her pompadour reaching toward the stars, lang resembled the androgynous young Elvis and radiated a similar, all-encompassing charisma. The only gay men at the time who wouldn't admit to being turned by lang were liars.
It was an older incarnation of this same audience that turned up at the Palace to see lang perform her first album of self-penned material since 2000's lovely Invincible Summer. Like much of the crowd, lang is a bit rounder and more sedate. Decked out in layered black and silver, she revealed few of the New Wave and performance art influences she once wielded as freely as her commanding croon. Her new album, Watershed, is a subtle, often symphonic affair light on hooks and heavy on reflection, though repeated listening reveals dreamlike attributes that rank it among her best. She obviously agrees: Rather than playing it safe with the usual greatest-hits vet set, lang sang every single song from Watershed Tuesday night with lulling, hypnotic results.
Some of the crowd's reticence came down to the sound itself: It was astounding. As its name suggests, the Palace of Fine Arts is a swanky place with a wide, curtained stage upon which rockers rarely tread. Now I should point out here that acoustics in many San Francisco music venues are often downright awful, and the chatter from concertgoers can be so loud that I once saw Martha Wainwright nearly break down in tears from the din that drowned out a solo set. But here the sonics and the sound mix were so impeccable that it felt as though lang and her supportive five-man band were performing in a recording studio. The only thing missing was a producer to proclaim "That's a take!" at the end of every tune. No wonder the fans didn't dare utter a peep until she nudged them.
Although she alluded to her mischievous cow-punk past only during a Grand Ole Opry-style encore of "Pay Dirt" from her 1987 US debut Angel with a Lariat, lang can still command a stage. She's paid tribute to the old-school entertainers for so long that she no longer needs to give her famously grand hand gestures a sense of quotation. She's now old-school herself. And her voice: It's more superhumanly expressive than ever, particularly on her well-chosen covers. The first standing ovation came for her rendition of "The Valley" by Jane Siberry (the divine fellow Canadian singer who's recently undergone a name and identity change to Issa). The second ovation was for the very next song, a rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" that blew all others (yes, even those performed by Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, and American Idol's Jason Castro) out of the proverbial water that served as a recurring theme during the night's luminous new material. lang has always been a singer's singer blessed with both raw power and blinding technique. But her sense of dynamics is now so finely tuned than she seemed to embody a lifetime of emotions in the song's five minutes. Her "Hallelujah" was heaven itself.
> Sinead O'Connorhas been recruited to write songs for Rhianna.
In an interview with take40.com the on-again off-again lesbian Catholic
high priestess confesses, "I feel
daunted actually by it because I don't know how to write pop songs, so
it's a
challenge but I have to do it coz my son is in love with her!" It's
easy, Sinead! Just follow the simple formula. Household item +
sentimental schmaltz = mega hit! If you can figure out a way to throw
in a little syncopated grunting by a big name rapper -- even better.
> Apparently, having a baby doesn't mean a dirrty girl has to
clean up her act entirely. According to Star magazine, proud new mama Christina Aguilera is spending every possible non-breast pumping moment frolicking naked in her backyard pool with husband Jordan Bratman.
Nosy neighbors claim they don't just "splash around" but "laugh,
scream, swear" and get this -- "make sexy noises." Sexy noises? With
Xtina that could mean anything from gentle rhythmic cooing to the sound
of a troop of left-handed lesbian little people simultaneously
unsnapping the crotches of their rubber body suits. Give us the
specifics, Star, or get out of the gossip game!
> The soda sultans at Dr. Pepper have announced they will give a free can of their soft drink to every American if Guns N Roses
release Chinese Democracy -- the album going on 13 years in the making
-- in 2008. Dr. Pepper's Marketing Director Jaxie Alt says, "It took a
little patience to perfect Dr. Pepper’s special mix of 23 ingredients, which our fans have come to know and love. So we completely understand and empathize with Axl [Rose's]
quest for perfection -- for something more than the average album. We
know once it's released ... [it'll be] an instant classic." Which makes
us think A) at least one of the 23 ingredients in Dr Pepper must be
angel dust and B) Alt needs to stop sampling the company goods.
I am transgender, legally male, and legally married to Nancy. Unlike those in same-sex marriages, domestic partnerships, or civil unions, Nancy and I are afforded the more than 1,100
federal rights of marriage. Sterilization is not a requirement for sex reassignment, so I decided to have chest reconstruction and testosterone therapy but kept my reproductive rights. Wanting to have a biological child is neither a male nor female desire, but a human desire.
Ten years ago, when Nancy and I became a couple, the idea of us having a
child was more dream than plan. I always wanted to have children. However, due to severe endometriosis 20
years ago, Nancy had to undergo a hysterectomy and is
unable to carry a child. But after the success of our
custom screen-printing business and a move from Hawaii to the Pacific Northwest two years ago, the timing finally seemed right. I stopped taking my bimonthly testosterone injections. It had been roughly eight years since I had my last menstrual cycle, so this wasn’t a decision that I took lightly. My body regulated itself after about four months, and I didn’t have to take any exogenous estrogen, progesterone, or fertility drugs to aid my pregnancy.
> Inspired to expand your horizons beyond the safe confines of your favorite like-Details-but-even-gayer reading? Check out our five ways to be a trans ally.
DJ: So are you gay? JC: What? DJ: *laughter* JC: Uh, no... DJ: Ok, alright, thank you very much. Ok thank you for clearing that up. JC: No, not in the least bit. DJ: How do you even deal with tabloids? JC:
Uh, you know, that stuff is just stupid. Something like that is
literally just stupid. Here's the thing, it's like you can't win no
matter what. Years back you'd always see Brad Pitt running around with
George Clooney, you know like all those guys from Oceans 11.
Also JC and Chace have never canoodled in a cabana at the Roosevelt Hotel. So there. That totally settles that.
> Jesse Archer stars in A Four Letter Word as a sex shop worker with commitment issues whose driven into the arms of a sexual compulsives group when he falls for a new guy. He also co-wrote the film, which is something of a companion if not sequel to the movie Slutty Summer. Jesse (right, above) and his co-writer/director, Casper Andreas, will be attending screenings this weekend in New York City and next month in Los Angeles.
> Researchers at the New England Historic Genealogical Society discoverBrad Pitt is a distant cousin of Barack Obama and Angelina Jolie is related to Hillary Rodham Clinton. Aw, c'mon! Doesn't Brangelina
already have enough drama in their relationship to deal with worrying about fending off sneak
attacks by a -- as the tabloids portray her -- crazed, jealous, frothing
at the mouth Jennifer Aniston?
> The LA Times tracked downRick Astley
to discuss the peculiar phenomenon of "Rickrolling," when a web link promising
to send you to a particular site instead leads you to a clip of the
singer's 1987 hit "Never Gonna Give You up."
Thanks to Rickrolling, the video (and its remixes/spoofs/homages) has
been viewed over 10 million times, and the song has even been used to
generate excitement at anti-Scientology demonstrations. Astley -- who will tour with fellow 80's
acts Bananarama, Heaven 17, and ABC this summer -- is as puzzled by the
wacky cyber-sensation as anyone else. "If I was a young kid now
looking at that song," he said, "I'd have to
say I'd think it was pretty naff, really." We're pretty sure "naff" translates to "unbearably cheesy."
> Former NBA star John Amaechi reveals he "very nearly didn't" come out but that the seeing Sir Ian McKellen
serve as Grand Marshal of the Manchester Pride Parade changed his mind.
The 6'10'' hoops star says "the
sight of [McKellan] waving and looking at the reactions of people to
him
waving, the sight in people's eyes of 'That's Gandalf, international
superstar" made him realize "if ... I
could have an impact that would be a good thing." No word on what kind of special tingle he gets watching Mr. Sulu.
> Memo to Jay Leno: Do not fuck with a man who writes musicals. Avenue Q's creator lights into the late-nighter for making really un-funny gay jokes at Ryan Phillippe, who, to his surprising credit, didn't think it was a good time at all.
> Best/worst literary idea ever? Bret Easton Ellis is writing a sequel to his speed-fueled SoCal sexually ambiguous novel, Less Than Zero (as opposed to his other drug-fueled, East Coast, sexually ambiguous novels). Will the book's protagonist, Clay, like Ellis, finally see fit to talk about his queerness?
> Gossip Girl might maybe be getting a real gay kid character. (They already have a gay absentee dad.) My vote's for Eric, Serena's younger brother, who's been noticeably lukewarm about hooking up with Jenny and, well, tried to off himself. We know how to do network TV math. Suicidal, slender kids are obviously having a sexual identity crisis.
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