"This is such a loss for the world. But, more importantly, what a huge loss for QVC."—Jimmy Fallon pays tribute to Joan Rivers, who he brought back to The Tonight Show on his first night taking over the venerable talk show.
Even in death, Joan Rivers was controversial. One of her biggest passions was Broadway. She wrote and starred in Fun City and later replaced Linda Lavin in Broadway Bound. In 1994, she starred in Sally Marr ... and her escorts, for which she earned Tony and Drama Desk nominations for Best Actress. A little known fact is that she also reviewed Broadway shows for the Beverly Hills Courier—and paid for her own tickets.
So one might think that the dimming of Broadway marquees ( which is done in tribute to fallen artists ) would be a given. Not so fast—the Broadway League determined that Joan did not meet their criteria. "People need to have been very active recently in the theater, or else be synonymous with Broadway. We love Joan ... but she hasn't acted on Broadway in 20 years," they said. Of course, one needn't look too far for an exception—the lights were dimmed for Robin Williams, whose sole Broadway acting credit was the 2011 production of Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo. ( He also filmed a 2002 special called Robin Williams: Live on Broadway. )
Well, Joan's fans weren't going to stand for this snub. The Internet blew up with outrage. People like Audra McDonald, Donna Murphy, Hugh Jackman and Harvey Fierstein supported honoring Joan. Nick Adams even recalled another Rivers' Broadway connection—she was an investor for Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. First, the Jujamcyn Group announced it was dimming the lights on its five theaters anyway. Then Disney announced that the New Amsterdam Theatre ( where Aladdin is playing ) would do the same. Then the Helen Hayes Theatre ( where Joan starred in Sally Marr ) followed suit. Ultimately, the Broadway League reversed its decision, saying, "Joan Rivers loved Broadway and we loved her." It took long enough!
Sara Gilbert made an impromptu announcement last week on The Talk. When turning down the opportunity to lie on a bed of nails, she surprised her co-hosts with this statement: "I really do believe in facing your fears and doing things that make you uncomfortable, but I actually can't do the dare because I'm pregnant." This would be Gilbert's third child, and her first with new wife, Linda Perry.
One of our biggest supporters, Fran Drescher, walked down the aisle for a second time. Her hubby, Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai, is widely touted as the creator of email—so we all owe him a debt of gratitude for giving us a pain-free way to end relationships!
Meanwhile at the U.S. Open, Martina Navratilova got engaged to Russian model Julia Lemigova. The well-orchestrated proposal took place during an interview which was being broadcast on the big screen at Arthur Ashe Stadium. "I was very nervous," says Martina—but probably not as nervous as when she wore those red fringe pants!
Lance Bass and beau Michael Turchin celebrated the one-year anniversary of their engagement by getting engaged all over again. Turchin wrote, "Who gets proposed to a second time on the first anniversary of the first proposal?? This guy!!" He also posted a photo of what appears to be a brand-new engagement ring.
And that brings up an important point. When Lance first popped the question, he had enormous difficulty finding a token of his love. "It's impossible. They don't make guy rings. Someone needs to start some kind of line for gay men's rings." Someone has. Sam Street and Jonathan Tack are a gay couple who got married in San Francisco but are now living in NYC. They started Proposition Love Jewelry, classy baubles perfect for your special day. Not only that, but 10 percent of profits goes back into our community. They have engagement gifts ( including their "EnGaygement" ring ) and a wide range of bling for any special occasion. Check out their line at Macy's or at PropositionLove.com .
Here in Europe ( Did you forget I was on the continent? ), Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka tied the knot. Details emerged, courtesy of the couple's dear friend, Kelly Ripa. She said it was a private, quiet, family affair. "I'm probably not even supposed to talk about it," she stated, which didn't stop her from spilling more details. The couple rented a castle in Perugia for the event, which included fireworks and a performance by Elton John. Their twins also took part in the ceremony. "Harper was going to be the flower girl and Gideon was going to be the ring bearer. But he said, 'I don't want to be the ring bearer—I want to be the orange boy.' So he passed out oranges to everybody as he came down the aisle." I like a little snack at a wedding.
My "Ask Billy" box was flooded with many of you asking the same question. The first query came from Patrick in Florida: "Once and for all—Jared Leto? Does he really have a big dick? Or is it just a lot of hype??"
Since Jared Leto is hot—both as a subject and as an object—this comes up occasionally. The fires were stoked, so to speak, when transgender personality Alexis Arquette recently gave an interview to drag comedian Jackie Beat: "I had sex with Jared Leto back when I was presenting as a man. And, yes, it's not only massive; it's like a Praetorian Guard's helmet." Tabling the issue that sounds like it could hurt and tickle at the same time, what are we left with? The boasting of a sexual encounter by someone who is less than credible—at least in my opinion. The situation exploded a few days later. Footage from a 30 Second to Mars concert showed Jared grabbing what appeared to be a ponderous package in his penile region. Check out BillyMasters.com and decide for yourself.
When Leto can pinch significantly more than an inch, it's definitely time to end yet another column. I must confess that I'm slightly concerned about being in eastern Europe. What a time for me to forget to pack my Isis costume—if I end up next to a guy with a sickle, I wanna go out in style! Whatever happens to me, www.BillyMasters.com will go on. And as long as I have breath in my body, I'm here to answer your questions. Send them along to Billy@BillyMasters.com and I promise to get back to you before I finish saying the following incantation ( feel free to join in—I know you want to ): "Oh zephyr winds which blow on high, lift me now so I can fly." Until next time, remember, one man's filth is another man's bible.
