When I was an acting student at the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts ( AADA ) in NYC, I felt as if I were a target of discrimination. Virtually every one of my classmates except for me had been hired by the TV show Unsolved Mysteries to re-enact various bloody crimes. I started to get a complexperhaps nobody wanted to see me as a murder victim.
Well, I am in good company. Christopher Sieber has often joked that he is the only working actor in NYC that has never appeared on an episode of Law & Order. In fact, his Broadway bio ends with these words: "Mr. Sieber has not appeared on Law & Order." Well, he's gonna have to take that "not" out. Last week, Sieber appeared on an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Congrats! Meanwhile, I'm still looking for someone who wants to see me as a stiff. I already know dozens of people who enjoy seeing me stiff ... but that's another story.
One of my AADA classmates was Troy Garitythe spawn of Jane Fonda. I didn't know him well, but he did date one of my friends. Alas, Troy wasn't with his mom when she was honored at the 46th Anniversary Gala Vanguard Awards for LA's LGBT Center. This swanky soirée was attended by more than 1,200most of whom paid upward of $1K. And then there's mesince I was there to write about it, I was shoved into an empty seat. On my right was Greg Hernandez from GregInHollywood.com, a site I check out regularly. Every day he writes about things I enjoy reading, but clearly would not fit within the confines of a weekly column.
We kibitzed while Lily Tomlin paid tribute to her buddy Jane Fonda, whom she called a "vagina warrior!" This presentation took place shortly after we sat down and while they were serving the salad. Turns out Jane had to be out at 9 p.m. Better people, or a plane to Paris to catchI heard both stories. Lily stayed 'til the bitter end. Along the way, Linda Perry sang and auctioned off an autographed piano for the second year in a row. Miley Cyrus helped out by licking the piano until someone bid $50K. I don't know who I was more concerned forMiley, who could get a splinter, or the next piano player, who could get syphilis! But she got her bid, and the winner got a prescription for Cipro!
Then Miley talked about the Center. She's visited it. She's met with the youth. She seems to really connect with them because, let's face it, without Hannah Montana, she could have ended up sleeping under an overpass ( which is apparently where the well-off homeless live ). She appeared completely committed to the cause and moved by the work the Center does. And she vowed to stay involvedeven begging to be invited back next year ( which, I trust, is not a problem ). Once she wrapped up her rambling speech, I grabbed a couple of peach cobblers and left.
A paltry 40K have signed a petition for CNN to fire poor Don Lemon. What got this ball rolling was the video of that South Carolina student being dragged across a classroom by a cop. When asked for an opinion, Lemon said, "I think there's context to everything. It does look horrible. It does look like there's no excuse for what he's doing to her, but again, we don't know. It only shows a small slice in time of what happened. I'd like to know more before passing judgment." Would that more people waited to get all the facts before jumping down someone's throateven Don's!
Another CNN employee made news last week. Anderson Cooper walked a red carpet with his beauand they were holding hands! SHOCKING! Coop ain't often in the company of the dashing Benjamin Maisani, so that in itself was notable. And this wasn't just any red carpet. It was the Elton John AIDS Foundation's 14th Annual "An Enduring Vision" Benefit. Well, if you're gonna hold your boyfriend's hand, that's the place to do it. But they weren't joined at the hip. Andy Cohen made sure everyone knew that he's the one Cooper usually hangs withhe all but peed on him ( which he may or may not have enjoyed ). And they got to spend time with Gus Kenworthy. In a photo of the three of them, Andy looks like he's giving Gus the eyeor maybe it was Cohen's wonky eye. Either way, the newly out Olympian didn't seem to mind. In fact, he posted the pic on Instagram with the following caption: "For dinner at the EJAF gala they were serving up some silver-fox sandwich realness. Lol! Pleasure to be seated at a table with these two handsome gents."
You know what it means when someone calls you a gent? You ain't gettin' any ... that's what it means. But Andy-squared shouldn't take it personally. Kenworthy recently revealed that he's taken. He confirmed to People magazine that he's seeing someone. But he was quick to add, "It's still new." Stay tuned.
Our "Ask Billy" question sounded familiar. Cary from Dallas asked, "You never write about Chris Zylka. He's so hot on The Leftovers. And he even showed his penis. What more do you need?"
If this sounds familiar, it's because Cary from Dallas previously wrote to me about Chris Zylka almost five years ago to the day! Back then, Zylka was in The Secret Circle, a show I'd never heard of and one that quickly disappeared from TheCW. But I most certainly remembered the Hannah Montana alum from Gregg Araki's Kaboom, where he showed all as the hunky roomie of the delicious Thomas Dekker ( who, as it turns out, was also on The Secret Circle ). In the HBO series The Leftovers, Zylka not only continues to flaunt his fantastic physique, but also those extra inches. How many inches? A soft four, which could turn into a impressive amount once aroused. In addition to his penis, the 30-year-old is maturing rather nicely, as you'll see on BillyMasters.com .
When I'm picturing being in my own secret circle with Zylka and Dekker, it's definitely time to end yet another column. Since we ran long, I barely have time to remind you to check out www.BillyMasters.com, the site that will never leave you high or dry. If you've got a question for me ( even a repeat question ), send it along to Billy@BillyMasters.com, and I promise to get back to you before I get cast as a corpse on How To Get Away With Murder. Until next time, remember, one man's filth is another man's bible.