Bruce Vilanch
Investigating why beloved fitness icon Richard Simmons hasn't been seen for over eight years. TMZ speaks to the people closest to him including Bruce Vilanch, Suzanne Somers, Dr. Phil, and Simmons' longtime costume designer, Leslie Wilshire.
You think you know Kong? Think again. Explore the wonders of Skull Island with 30+ interviews compiled by director Tom Grove. With a runtime of 250 minutes, this docuseries goes into detail about every aspect of Kong's cinematic history fom Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack's monumental 1933 original to the latest Adam Wingard blockbuster, "Godzilla Vs. Kong."
Documentary exploring The Advocate's role at the forefront of the LGBT movement in the U.S.
Celebrate the work of actor and comedian Bill Murray at the Kennedy Center, as the recipient of the 19th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.
Harris Glenn Milstead, aka Divine (1945-1988) was the ultimate outsider turned underground hero. Spitting in the face of the status quos of body image, gender identity, sexuality, and preconceived notions of beauty, Divine succeeded in becoming an internationally recognized icon, recording artist, and character actor of stage and screen. Glenn went from the often-mocked, schoolyard fat kid to underdog royalty, standing up for millions of gay men and women, drag queens and punk rockers, and countless other socially ostracized misfits and freaks. With a completely committed in-your-face style, he blurred the line between performer and personality, and revolutionized pop culture.
Scrooge & Marley is a modern variation on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Recounted from a gay sensibility with heart, comedy & music, the magic of Dickens' timeless tale of a man's redemption comes alive from a fresh perspective.
Senior citizens are being offed by a masked killer in their small retirement community.
Homophobic detective Mark Rima (James Vallo) must "partner" up with the very gay and flamboyant Detective Chris Riant (Shawn Quinlan) to stop a serial killing Nun (Judy Tenuta) from offing 5 band members otherwise known as "The Ex Choir Boys." But when it is determined that the detectives can't solve the case on their own, expert F.B.I. profiler Agent Peccant (comedian Ant) is assigned to the case. As the details of the case slowly emerge the police determine that that the "nun" may only be a silent witness to the grisly murders. The task force then turns its attention on the Catholic Church and a suspect group of Priests that have had a propensity for "cleansing the souls" of innocent young choir boys.
In the aftermath of Stonewall, a newly politicized Vito Russo found his voice as a gay activist and critic of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. He went on to write "The Celluloid Closet", the first book to critique Hollywood's portrayals of gays on screen. During the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, Vito became a passionate advocate for justice via the newly formed ACT UP, before his death in 1990.
Based on the novel by Andy Zeffer, "Going Down in LA-LA Land" is a riveting and uncensored look at Hollywood. It is a story that reveals how friendships sustain us and keep us going. It is a tale that reflects our celebrity-obsessed culture. It is a revealing look at some people's desire to be loved, adored, and adulated at any cost. Readers have grown to adore the flawed and imperfect, yet earnest and likable characters of Adam and Candy. Now movie audiences will have the same opportunity to follow their rocky ride through Hollywood, and all the laughs that go along with it.
Gay & Lesbian Comedy Show Hosted by the Oscars resident writer for the past 17 years and comedy satirist Bruce Villanch, "Pride" the Gay & Lesbian Comedy show brings together four of today's funniest Gay and Lesbian comedians; starring outrageously funny comics Alec Mapa (Ugly Betty), Sandra Valls (Latin Divas Comedy), Poppy Champlin (Logo), and Scott Kennedy.
Filled with plenty of girls and gags and an enchanting repertoire of her greatest hits, The Showgirl Must Go On was a concert residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas that starred pop diva Bette Midler. Showgirl premiered on February 20, 2008 and closed on January 31, 2010. Midler signed for 300 shows from 2008 to 2010 at a pace of 100 performances a year. Shows were presented five nights a week with the house dark on Mondays and Thursdays. On December 31, 2010, The Showgirl Must Go On was broadcast on HBO channels at 9 pm. The 70 minute special contained some of the performances from the 2 hour long show.
Three women in their thirties head to a popular Spring Break destination and try to relive the Spring Break they never had.
Twenty-five year old real estate agent Nelson Hirsch is having problems telling his overbearing Jewish parents, Martin and Shirley Hirsch, that he's gay, let alone in a loving relationship not only with a man, Angelo Ferraro, but a non-Jewish one at that. It becomes more crucial as Nelson and Angelo have made a time sensitive pact to tell their respective parents about their relationship. It becomes even more complicated as, out of circumstance, Nelson discovers that his mother and thus by association his father believe the new significant other in his life is not Angelo, who they assume is solely his decorator, but rather Nelson and Angelo's neighbor, Playpen Playmate of the month, Sybil Williams.
Recently relocated from San Francisco to conservative suburbia by her lesbian mothers, Tru struggles like all teens to fit in and find love, but her quest is complicated by sexual politics, closed minds, and closeted friends as she seeks to establish her school's first Gay-Straight Alliance.
Sex: The Revolution was a four-part 2008 American documentary miniseries that aired on VH1 and The Sundance Channel. It chronicled the rise of American interest in sexuality from the 1950s through the 1990s. The version shown on VH1 was pixelated to censor nudity including in discussions of censorship of nudity. VH1 Latin America aired the uncensored version.
An Israeli counterterrorism soldier with a secretly fabulous ambition to become a Manhattan hairstylist. Zohan's desire runs so deep that he'll do anything -- including faking his own death and going head-to-head with an Arab cab driver -- to make his dreams come true.
This whimsical Off-Broadway hit musical is aptly reworked and transferred to the screen. The self-descriptively titled Naked Boys Singing is a musical revue of songs that poke fun at gay life, body image, love, loss and yearning.
One hundred superstar comedians tell the same very, VERY dirty, filthy joke--one shared privately by comics since Vaudeville.
Celebrity Fit Club is a reality television series which follows eight overweight celebrities as they try to lose weight. This show is based on the British version, which aired on the ITV Network from 2002 until 2006. The American version was executive produced by Richard Hall for Granada in Seasons 2-5.
John is an ex-cop who leaves small-town life and provincial attitudes behind for a new existence in West Hollywood. As he seeks an open, accepting gay life, John is introduced to the fast-paced Circuit Party scene, featuring beautiful people and a tantalizing mixture of sex and drugs.
When Lucy Cullins, a successful but cranky producer at a home shopping network hires an actor named Nick to play Santa Claus on the network, she gets more than she bargained for.
Affectionate tribute to Bruce Vilanch, who writes material for celebrities who make public appearances, from Oscar hosts and award recipients to Presidents. We meet his mom and see photos of his childhood; in Chicago, he writes for the Tribune and then heads West. Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, and Bette Midler talk with him and to the camera about working with Bruce, and we also watch Bruce help others prepare for Liz Taylor's 60th, Bill Clinton's 50th, and an AIDS awards banquet where the hirsute, rotund Vilanch lets his emotions show.
Diva Las Vegas was a show at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas starring Bette Midler performing as singer and comedian. The one-time performance was filmed for television; HBO released it as a TV special originally broadcast on January 18, 1997 and repeated on February 2, 1997. Midler won the 1997 Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for the special. Among the songs performed were The Rose, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, From A Distance, Friends, Wind Beneath My Wings, Stay With Me and Do You Want To Dance?. Bette's daughter Sophie von Haselberg appeared for a short time during the song "Ukulele Lady". She sat with the rest of the cast and musicians on stage playing a ukulele and singing the words.
Feeling unneeded, a disillusioned Santa Claus (Charles Durning) quits Christmas. Through the selflessness of a little girl looking to reunite her parents for Christmas (and the help of his bumbling chief elf, Philpot (Bruce Vilanch), Santa and the child travel across America and Santa discovers that people really do need him and care about other people.
A special featuring celebrity guest stars and championship ice skaters from the United States and the Soviet Union. Notable for the Mario Ice Capades segment.
A suspensefilled thriller about a successful single woman who, on a deserted road, picks up a mysterious hitchhiker. Once back in the city, "The Drifter" follows her every move. Every attempt to free herself of his harassment fails until the shocking conclusion is revealed!
Failed actress Alex Sternbergen wakes up hungover one morning in an apartment she does not recognize, unable to remember the previous evening -- and with a dead body in bed next to her. As she tries to piece together the events of the night, Alex cannot totally rely on friends or her estranged husband, Joaquin, for assistance. Only a single ally, loner ex-policeman Turner Kendall, can help her escape her predicament and find the true killer.
The time is the distant future, where by far the most precious commodity in the galaxy is water. The last surviving water planet was somehow removed to the unreachable centre of the galaxy at the end of the galactic trade wars. The galaxy is ruled by an evil emperor (John Carradine) presiding over a trade oligarchy that controls all mining and sale of ice from asteroids and comets.
Jesse has to get out of Las Vegas quickly, and steals a car to drive to L.A. On the way he shoots a police man. When he makes it to L.A. he stays with Monica, a girl he has only known for a few days. As the film progresses, the police get closer to him, and the crimes escalate.
Divine Madness is a 1980 concert film directed by Michael Ritchie, and featuring Bette Midler during her 1979 concert at Pasadena's Civic Auditorium. The 94-minute film features Midler's stand-up comedy routines as well as 16 songs, including "Big Noise From Winnetka," "Paradise," "Shiver Me Timbers," "Fire Down Below," "Stay With Me," "My Mother’s Eyes," "Chapel of Love/Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," "Do You Want to Dance," "You Can’t Always Get What You Want/I Shall Be Released", "The E-Street Shuffle/Summer (The First Time)/"Leader of the Pack" and "The Rose".
Luke Skywalker and Han Solo battle evil Imperial forces to help Chewbacca reach his imperiled family on the Wookiee planet - in time for Life Day, their most important day of the year!
In 1977, Bette Midler's first television special premiered, featuring guest stars Dustin Hoffman and Emmett Kelly. It went on to win Bette her first Emmy Award for Outstanding Special — Comedy-Variety or Music. To make the show palatable to home viewers, the special featured heavily cleaned up versions of the material Midler was performing at that time on stage. The title of the show, Ol' Red Hair is Back, was a takeoff on the title of Frank Sinatra's recent album Ol' Blue Eyes Is Back.
Join Barry "live" on-stage at Ravinia Music Festival in Chicago...and "live" on the streets of New York City with special guest star Penny Marshall. The special was broadcast to record-breaking ratings on ABC in 1977 when more than 34 million people tuned in to see Barry's first national TV showcase. At the 1977 Emmys, Manilow and the program won Outstanding Special - Comedy-Variety or Music.
The Bette Midler Show is a HBO Video special of one of Bette Midler's tours entitled 'The Depression Tour', The video is of her show at the Cleveland Music Hall during February 1976. the show features many of Bette's popular songs, such as "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy", "Friends", "In The Mood", "Hello In There", and "Lullaby of Broadway" As well as dazzling the audience with her spontaneous wit with her 'Wonderful Sophie Tucker Jokes' and her special 'The Vicki Eydie Show'
The Paul Lynde Halloween Special is a Halloween-themed television special starring Paul Lynde broadcast October 29, 1976 on ABC. It featured guest stars Margaret Hamilton in her first reprisal of her role as the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. Also guest starring are Billie Hayes as Witchiepoo from H.R. Pufnstuf, Tim Conway, Roz Kelly, Florence Henderson, rock band Kiss, Billy Barty as Gallows the Butler, Betty White and, in an unbilled surprise appearance, Donny and Marie Osmond. The special aired only once.
The Academy Awards or The Oscars is an annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar. The awards, first presented in 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, are overseen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). The awards ceremony began in 1929 and was first televised in 1953, making it the oldest entertainment awards ceremony.
The first in-depth profile of legendary illustrator Richard Amsel (1947-1985), detailing the artist's remarkable body of work, while chronicling an enigmatic life marked with personal heartbreak, celebrity friendships, creative genius, and a tragic end at the age of thirty-seven.
