No, Donna Douglas and Jo Anne Worley have not teamed up for a reading of “Love Letters.”
Those two savagely hot broads are Dee W. Ieye and Lotta Slots, “color commentators” at last night’s “Best in Drag” show at one of L.A.’s great movie palaces, the Orpheum Theatre.
This outrageously camp “beauty” pageant has been running since 1983, first as “Battle for the Tiara,” then as “Quest for the Crown,” and finally as its current incarnation, since 2003, as a fundraiser for Aid for AIDS, a non-profit organization providing financial support and services for people living with HIV and AIDS in L.A. County. Remarkably, 92% of every dollar raised goes directly to client services.
Kathy Griffin opened the show with a blistering monologue, and celebrity judges included Ana Faris, Linda Hamilton, John C. Reilly, Holland Taylor, Kathy Kinney, Lara Spencer, and “Glee’s” Jayma Mays and Dot-Marie Jones.
Actor and “Little People of America” founder Billy Barty was born on this day in 1924. He got his little break in show biz when director Jules White (of “Stooges” fame) was shooting a scene in his neighborhood when Billy was a toddler. He tugged on White’s leg and showed him how he could spin on his head. He had steady work from then on.
His early introduction to fame came in the early 1930s as Mickey Rooney’s brother in the “Mickey McGuire” er, shorts.
He has a few great bits in “Gold Diggers of 1933.”
Billy founded the Little People of America organization in 1957, after a meeting in Reno with about two dozen little people. He eventually served on the board that helped pass the Americans with Disabilities Act. The organization now has almost 7,000 members.
In the 1960s, he hosted a local kiddie show in L.A. that introduced a new generation to The Three Stooges. Moe made an appearance. Barty was also Sigmund the Sea Monster.
Many remember him as High Aldwin in 1988′s “Willow.”
Barty received his star on Hollywood Blvd. in 1981, it’s near Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.
In the early 1990s, I was working on the Warner Bros. lot and ran into him between sound stages — he couldn’t have been nicer. It’s not every day you meet a legend. He was 3’9″.
Former South African President Nelson Mandela’s new book, “Conversations with Myself,” a personal portrait of the 92-year-old’s life and struggles, has a foreword by President Barack Obama. And game show doofus Howie Mandel’s new book, “Here’s the Deal, Don’t Touch Me,” a personal portrait of the germaphobe’s life and struggles.
Eleanor Roosevelt was born on this day 126 years ago. She was First Lady of the United States for more than 12 years, and served as the US delegate to the UN for six years after that.
Mrs. Roosevelt courageously shepherded her pet causes; labor, civil and human rights. She died in 1962 at age 78, about a year after the below film with President Kennedy was made — early reality TV.
On the news of her death, UN Ambassador Adlai Stevenson said, “The United States, the United Nations, the world, has lost one of its great citizens. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt is dead, and a cherished friend of all mankind is gone.”
And here’s an excerpt of Mrs. Roosevelt speaking on human rights in the 1950s.
It’s Memorial Day weekend, so here’s some folks entertaining the troops.
Judy Garland, introduced by Bob Hope.
And here’s a few clips of Bob Hope and the soldiers over the years. In one of these clips, he’s 87.
Today would have been JFK’s 93rd birthday, so here’s his brother-in-law, Peter Lawford, and Marilyn Monroe to sing him Happy Birthday. Everybody! (for GL)
And here are the trailers for “This is the Army,” and “Hollywood Canteen.” Surprise guest stars!
Reconstituted Olympian/reality TV stepdad Bruce Jenner as he appeared last night at some restaurant launch in L.A., and former Superman and horse-jumping accident victim Christopher Reeve.
