Ellen DeGeneres received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Sept. 4, according to SheWired.com . Along with her current talk show, she has done everything from acting in a self-titled sitcom (1994-1998—where she came out) to judging on American Idol to hosting the Emmys and Oscars. The 10th season of Ellen's Emmy-winning talk show returns Sept. 10.
Out gossip blogger Perez Hilton will play the very fit GOP vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan in the off-Broadway musical NEWSical that features a revolving cast of performers skewering the news and the people in it, according to USA Today. "I get to play myself, I get to play some fictional characters and I also play some real-life people, and one of those people that I play is Paul Ryan," he told the publication at the Democratic National Convention. "I do a few push-ups and I run a marathon in 90 seconds backstage."
The game show The Price Is Right recently held an open casting call for its first male models, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Twenty-five men have made the first cut (including openly gay reality-TV veteran Ronnie Kroell), and there will be six finalists. Those six will then appear on a five-episode web series on ThePriceIsRight.com as they compete in various challenges; viewers can then vote for their favorites. The winner will then get a one-week trial period on the Drew Carey-hosted game show beginning Oct. 15 as the first male "Carey's Cutie."
Joan Rivers, Margaret Cho and Kathy Griffin will be the honorary grand marshals for the Las Vegas Pride Parade and will perform on Pride's main stage Sept. 7, according to Advocate.com . "We are very excited and proud to host an amazing trio of beauty and talent," says Las Vegas Pride President/Parade Chairman Ernie Yuen. Among the events scheduled are the Pride Night Parade (Sept. 7) and the Las Vegas Pride Festival (Sept. 8), according to Pride's website.
The Backstreet Boys—Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, AJ McLean and Kevin Richardson—performed Aug. 31 on Good Morning America's "Summer Concert Series," according to a press release. Over the next year, the group (known for such hits as "I Want It That Way") will embark on a global tour and will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The group has sold more than 130 million albums worldwide.
It's been revealed that just before they married back in June, Rosie O'Donnell had fiancee Michelle Rounds sign a pre-nup agreement that stated Rounds gets nothing if she cheats on O'Donnell, according to the Daily Mail. However, O'Donnell is reportedly very generous to Rounds in the agreement. O'Donnell's estate is allegedly worth $100 million, according to Inside Edition.
MTV announced that the upcoming sixth season of Jersey Shore will be its last. The final season of Jersey Shore kicks off Thursday, Oct. 4; however, MTV will commemorate the end of the show with farewell programming beginning Thursday, Sept. 6 with a one-hour retrospective called, appropriately enough, "Gym, Tan, Look Back." In addition, following the season six premiere, MTV will give viewers bonus programming each week.
Robin Roberts bade a temporary goodbye to Good Morning America Aug. 30, the Chicago Sun-Times noted. Roberts was making her final appearance before starting medical leave for a bone-marrow transplant, but she left a day early to visit her ailing mother in Mississippi. (Unfortunately, her mother, Lucimarian Tolliver Roberts, died Aug. 30 at the age of 88, E! Online noted.) Among those filling in for Robin Roberts are Oprah Winfrey and Chris Rock.
The conservative group One Million Moms—which had previously attacked Ellen DeGeneres, Archie comics and Skittles, to name a few targets—has now set its sights on Jennifer Lopez's new lesbian-themed series Meet the Fosters and the ABC Family network, according to SheWired.com . ABC Family is known for shows with out characters; those series include Pretty Little Liars and Secret Life of the American Teenager. On its website, Moms stated, "[B]ecause of family being part of the network's name, we thought a warning should still be sent out for anyone who continues to watch the channel."
The producers of Broadway's Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and Julie Taymor have reached a tentative settlement deal over her role in the musical, according to a Playbill item. Although settlement terms were not released, a document filed Aug. 30 in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan said the case could be reopened within two months if the agreement falls through. A jury trial on the case was originally scheduled to start early next year.
Glee guest-star Kate Hudson reportedly is not a fan of series co-star Lea Michele, according to US Magazine. Hudson allegedly found Michele to be "a total diva." Between takes, Hudson (who is in the season four premiere Sept. 13) hangs out with the entire cast except for Michele. Michele's rep said that "Lea has had a great time with Kate."
The late actor Sherman Hemsley—best known as George Jefferson on the TV classic The Jeffersons—has not yet been buried even though he died July 24, according to Advocate.com . Hemsley is being kept refrigerated until a local court determines the validity of his will. In the document, Hemsley named Flora Enchinton (called a "beloved partner") as sole beneficiary of his estate, valued at more than $50,000. A 2007 VH-1 story that listed allegedly gay Black actors from the past put Hemsley in the number-one spot.
Out actor Sir Ian McKellen helped open the Paralympic Games in London's Olympic Stadium recently by performing a scene from The Tempest, according to the Birmingham Mail. He later said, "I'm the least sporty person I know but thrilled to have a small part to play in the Paralympic opening ceremony in praise of endeavour and enlightenment." Among others at the event was Queen Elizabeth II, who smiled when the sell-out audience of more than 60,000 people greeted her.
The cast of the upcoming Logo series RuPaul's All Stars has been named, according to EW.com . The 12 contestants include Pandora Boxx, Raven, Manila Luzon, Mimi Imfurst, Shannel, Chad Michaels and Latrice Royale, among others. The six-episode series will premiere Oct. 22.
Oscar-winning songwriter Hal David has died of complications from a stroke at age 91, according to EW.com . David and singer/songwriting partner Burt Bacharach won an Oscar for "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" (from the movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), Grammys and Tonys for the songs from the Broadway musical Promises, Promises. They were also responsible for top 40 hits such as "That's What Friends Are For" and "Close to You."
Kristin Chenoweth is back on the TV show The Good Wife after an on-set injury forced her to leave the series, according to the Huffington Post. She recently tweeted, "I was able to go back a shoot a short scene with Alan Cumming on The Good Wife. #blessing!" The Emmy-winning actress—who was most recently on the ABC show GCB—was injured in July when a piece of falling scaffolding hit her on the head.
Legendary singer Stevie Wonder has apologized for insinuating that out R&B musician Frank Ocean may be confused about his sexuality. In an interview with the British publication The Guardian, Wonder said, "I think honestly, some people who think they're gay, they're confused. People can misconstrue closeness for love." However, talking exclusively with The Advocate, Wonder said he was sorry for those words, adding, "Clearly, love is love, between a man and a woman, a woman and a man, a woman and a woman and a man and a man."
Actor Richard Gere has said he accepted the role of a hustler in the 1980 movie American Gigolo partially because of the film's gay subtext, according to Advocate.com . Gere told Entertainment Weekly that after reading the script he thought, "This is a character I don't know very well. I don't own a suit. He speaks languages; I don't speak any languages. There's kind of a gay thing that's flirting through it and I didn't know the gay community at all." John Travolta was supposed to play the lead role of Julian but dropped out, and Gere stepped in just two weeks before filming began.
In reviewing some of the MTV Video Music Awards' wildest moments, MTV Music Group President Van Toffler said that Jennifer Lopez was almost part of the Madonna-Britney-Christina lip-locks at the 2003 ceremony, according to Entertainment Weekly. Toffler said, "This may be the first time it's been revealed: Originally, J.Lo was in the mix. That didn't happen. And Britney and Madonna, they had history so it was not easy to get them together on the stage. [But] Britney and Christina [Aguilera] obviously respected Madonna. Only she could pull that off."
Two-time openly gay Grammy Award-winning recording artist Matt Alber has released a new acoustic, self-produced album entitled Constant Crows. It's a follow-up to his debut album from 2009, Hide Nothing. Constant Crows features new original songs, a Madonna cover ("Take a Bow"), and a duet with his brother, Bryce. Alber first became known in 2009 for his song "End Of The World" and its accompanying music video set in a 1960s barbershop that features two men (including Alber) dancing together.
Actor Michael Clarke Duncan has died at age 54, according to the L.A. Times. He died after nearly two months of treatment following a heart attack. The 6-foot-5, 300 pound Duncan appeared in dozens of films, including such box-office hits as The Green Mile, Armageddon, 'Planet of the Apes and Kung Fu Panda. He was also unafraid of gay subjects (playing a gay virgin in Underground Comedy Movie, 1999—the same year as The Green Mile—and was in the lesbian film D.E.B.S.).
Pia Sundhage, the lesbian who coached the U.S. women's soccer team to a gold medal at the Summer Olympics, has stepped down to return to her native Sweden, SheWired.com reported. Sundhage has signed a four-year contract to coach the Swedish national team. She has been the U.S. head coach since 2007, and will coach two final matches this month before leaving the team.
Jillian Michaels has rejoined NBC's The Biggest Loser, SheWired.com reported. Michaels—who has two children with partner Heidi Rhodes—will be a part of the show's 14th season, which will feature the series' first-ever teenage contestants. "As a former overweight teen, I know firsthand how dramatically weight issues can affect every aspect of a child's life," Michaels said in a statement. "Having recently become a mother of two, I am more passionate than ever about helping empower children and families with the information and resources they need to live a healthier life."
