3/25/11

"I COVERED THE WATERFRONT"



ON MARCH 26TH, 2011- TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
woud be 100 years old!

Tennessee Williams, March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983) was an American writer who primarily worked in American theater writing plays. He also wrote short stories, novels, essays and occasional screenplays. His professional career lasted from the mid 1930s to his death in 1983; during this time he wrote many plays that have become regarded as classics of the American stage.

According to theater scholar Charlotte Canning, of the University of Texas at Austin, "There is no more influential 20th-century American playwright than Tennessee Williams. . . He inspired future generations of writers as diverse as Suzan-Lori Parks, Tony Kushner, David Mamet and John Waters, and his plays remain among the most produced in the world."


Williams was born Thomas Lanier Williams III, of Welsh descent, in Columbus, Mississippi to Edwina and Cornelius Williams.
His grandfather was Walter Dakin, the local Episcopal priest, and his maternal grandmother was a music teacher. His father was a hard-drinking traveling salesman who spent most of his time away, while his mother, Edwina, was considered a "Southern belle," with beauty and social inclinations, often performing as a singer.

He had one brother, Dakin, and a sister, Rose. He became closest to his sister, their ages only sixteen months apart. Theater scholar Allean Hale notes that they were "as inseparable as twins, sometimes referred to as 'The Couple.' She adds that they were so close that "when one was ill, the other developed symptoms;" she would become his "only companion" as a child. Hale speculates that his growing up in a female-dominated environment gave Williams the "empathy" for his woman characters as a playwright. Rose would become a prominent feature in much of his fiction.

Tennessee was less robust as a child and his father thought him effeminate. His mother Edwina was a borderline hysteric. Tennessee Williams would find inspiration in his problematic family for much of his writing.

In 1918, when Williams was seven he moved with his family to St. Louis. He was reported to have lived in 29 different homes while growing up in St. Louis.
In 1927, at age 16, Williams won third prize (five dollars) for an essay published in Smart Set entitled, "Can a Good Wife Be a Good Sport?" A year later, he published "The Vengeance of Nitocris" in Weird Tales.


When the Great Depression affected St. Louis in 1932, his father found him a job at a shoe factory. Although Williams, then 21, hated the monotony of the blue-collar world, the job "forced him out of the pretentious gentility" of his upbringing, which had, according to Hale, "tinged him with [his mother's] snobbery and detachment from reality."

His dislike of the nine-to-five work routine drove him to write even more than before, and he gave himself a weekly schedule of writing one story a week, working on Saturday and Sundays, into the night. His mother recalls his intensity:
"Tom would go to his room with black coffee and cigarettes and I would hear the typewriter clicking away at night in the silent house. Some mornings when I walked in to wake him for work, I would find him sprawled fully dressed across the bed, too tired to remove his clothes."

A STREET CAR NAMED DESIRE

As a result, by his twenty-fourth birthday, he suffered a nervous breakdown and left his job. But he later used his memories of this period when he developed the character of Stanley Kowalski, from a factory co-worker, in A Streetcar Named Desire.



His first Pulitzer Prize in 1948 for A Streetcar Named Desire. He reached larger world-wide audiences in 1950 and 1951 when The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire were adapted as major motion pictures. Later plays adapted as motion pictures include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (for which he had earned a second Pulitzer Prize in 1955), Orpheus Descending, The Night of the Iguana and Summer and Smoke.


A STREET CAR NAMED DESIRE

Although his plays were now winning major awards and others being made into movies, his "prodigious output" took a toll on Williams, writes author Margaret Bradham Thornton. She notes that "Williams was losing his way." He wrote in his journals that "the best way to have new days is to travel or be sexually promiscuous or work with intensity on a long creation."
However, Thornton adds that while "sex was a diversion, . . . it was work Williams needed in order to live." In 1953, Williams notes in his personal journal, "What fearful admission do I have to make that after 'Streetcar' I haven't been able to write anymore except by a terrible wrenching of the brain and nerves?"

Tennessee was close to his sister Rose, a slim beauty who was diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age and later institutionalized, where she spent most of her adult life in mental hospitals. Her illness, along with her having a lobotomy, may have contributed to his alcoholism and his dependence on various combinations of amphetamines and barbiturates.



His first sexual affair with a man was at Provincetown, Massachusetts with a dancer named Kip Kiernan. He carried a photo of Kip in his wallet for many years. Having struggled with his sexuality throughout his youth, he came out as a gay man in private. When Kip left him for a woman and marriage, Williams was devastated. Williams was outed as gay by Louis Kronenberger in Time magazine in the 1950s.

THIS PROPERTY IS CONDEMNED

While living in New Orleans, Williams met and fell in love with Frank Merlo, a second generation Sicilian American who had served in the U.S. Navy in World War II. This was his only enduring relationship. Williams' relationship with Frank Merlo lasted from 1947 until 1962. With that stability, Williams created his most enduring works. Merlo provided balance to many of Williams' frequent bouts with depression and the fear that, like his sister Rose, he would go insane.


BABY DOLL

Williams died on February 25, 1983 at the age of 71.

Reports at the time indicated he choked on an eyedrop bottle cap in his room at the Hotel Elysee in New York. The reports said he would routinely place the cap in his mouth, lean back, and place his eyedrops in each eye.

The police report, however, suggested his use of drugs and alcohol contributed to his death. Prescription drugs, including barbiturates, were found in the room, and Williams' gag response may have been diminished by the effects of drugs and alcohol.


SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER


Williams' body was taken to Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel and Williams' funeral took place on March 3, 1983 at Saint Malachy's Roman Catholic Church in New York City. At his brother Dakin's insistence, Williams' body was interred in the Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri. Williams had long told his friends he wanted to be buried at sea at approximately the same place as Hart Crane, a poet he considered to be one of his most significant influences.


Williams left his literary rights to The University of the South in honor of his grandfather, Walter Dakin, an alumnus of the university, which is located in Sewanee, Tennessee. The funds support a creative writing program. When his sister Rose died in 1996 after many years in a mental institution, she bequeathed $7 million from her part of the Williams estate to The University of the South as well.
In 1989, the University City Loop (in a suburb of St. Louis) inducted Tennessee Williams into its St. Louis Walk of Fame.


The former home of Tennessee Williams was recently renovated and reopened in downtown Columbus, Mississippi.

on a personal note- i consider TENNESSE WILLIAMS the best american writer/playwright thus far.

his short stories- ONE ARM- (1948) and DESIRE AND A BLACK MASSEUR , (1949) have been huge influences on me as an artist.



THE ROMAN SRPING OF MRS. STONE

EARTH HOUR


TOMORROW @ 8:30 TIL 9:30PM- TURN OFF YOUR LIGHTS!

Earth Hour is a global event organized by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually, asking households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and other electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change. Earth Hour was conceived by WWF and The Sydney Morning Herald in 2007, when 2.2 million residents of Sydney participated by turning off all non-essential lights.

Following Sydney's lead, many other cities around the world adopted the event in 2008. Earth Hour 2011 will take place on March 26, 2011 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., at participants' respective local time.
FOR MORE INFO-

JUDGE THE BILLBOARDS



has anyone noticed these billboards around town recently?
this group must have the bucks, because these billboards cost $5000 each!

besides these advertisements, the bible thumpers have been going wild on hollywood boulevard as of late.

this one group runs down las palmas and hollywood blvd on a daily basis...

the leader behind this group is Harold Camping, and they definitely placed his group as a cult. this is not the first time Camping has made an end of the world claim. In addition to these end of the world claims, which he somehow deducts from Scripture, he also teaches that the Holy Spirit has left the church and he encourages people to leave their churches because of this.

check out his cult here- Airo-Cross.Blogspot.com

Aomin.org

www.gotquestions.org

May 21st, 2011, is supposed to be the rapture according to Camping. Then on October 21st, 2011, it's supposed to be the end of the world. so you have time to pay all your bills, feed the pets, go on that vacation you've always wanted to and then kiss your ass goodbye.

3/24/11

WARD OF THE STATE

this is a teaser- coming soon-
WARD OF THE STATE- TONY WARD ARTIST MUSE

for all you TONY WARD fans out there. mark down APRIL 15TH!

GREER GARSON MEETS ELIZABETH TAYLOR

is this gay enough for you?

on a scale from one to ten... how gay is this?

THE STAR OF LIZ

here are some beautiful images of ELIZABETH TAYLOR'S STAR on HOLLYWOOD boulevard




photos courtesy lawrence elbert

THE GOLEM



i had the most delightful time last night with my GF- ELLEN, (the H is silent) @ THE SILENT MOVIE HOUSE on fairfax ave.

this is what was playing-

THE GOLEM
(1920)
Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (original title)
85 min - Fantasy | Horror - 19 June 1921

In 16th-century Prague, a Jewish rabbi creates a giant creature from clay, called the Golem, and using sorcery, brings the creature to life in order to protect the Jews of Prague from persecution.



Directed by Carl Boese & Paul Wegener
Writing- Henrik Galeen & Paul Wegener

Cast -
Paul Wegener ... Der Golem / The Golem
Albert Steinrück ... Der Rabbi Löw / Rabbi Loew
Lyda Salmonova ... Miriam, des Rabbi Tochter
Ernst Deutsch ... Der Rabbi Famulus
Hans Stürm ... Der Rabbi Jehuda, der Älteste der Gemeinde (as Hanns Sturm)
Max Kronert ... Der Tempeldiener / Temple Servant
Otto Gebühr ... Der Kaiser / Emperor Luhois
Dore Paetzold ... Des Kaisers Kebse
Lothar Müthel ... Der Junker Florian / Knight Florian
Greta Schröder ... Ein Mägdelein mit der Rose / Little Girl with Rose
Loni Nest ... Ein kleines Mädchen / Little Girl
Carl Ebert ... Temple Servant (uncredited)
Fritz Feld ... Jester (uncredited)

Produced by Paul Davidson
Original Music by Hans Landsberger 7 Karl-Ernst Sasse

Cinematography by Karl Freund & Guido Seeber

Art Direction by Hans Poelzig & Kurt Richter
Costume Design by Rochus Gliese
Art Department- Edgar G. Ulmer
Robert Baberske .... assistant camera
Music-Douglas M. Protsik .... musician: piano

Watch The Golem: How He Came into the World in Entertainment  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com



THE LORE-
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated anthropomorphic being, created entirely from inanimate matter. The word was used to mean an amorphous, unformed material in Psalms and medieval writing. The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th century chief rabbi of Prague.



The word golem is used in the Bible to refer to an embryonic or incomplete substance.Psalm 139:16 uses the word גלמי, meaning my unshaped form, which then passed into Yiddish as goylem.
In modern Hebrew the word golem means "dumb" or "helpless". The Mishnah uses the term for an uncultivated person:
"Seven characteristics are in an uncultivated person, and seven in a learned one".
Similarly, golems are often used today as a metaphor for brainless lunks or entities who serve man under controlled conditions, but are hostile to him in others. Similarly, it is a Yiddish slang insult for someone who is clumsy or slow.

THE GOLEM (1914) Rare clip of Lost German Horror... by super8monsters
The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th century chief rabbi of Prague, also known as the Maharal, who reportedly created a golem to defend the Prague ghetto from anti-Semitic attacks and pogroms.


To protect the Jewish community, the rabbi constructed the Golem out of clay from the banks of the Vltava river, and brought it to life through rituals and Hebrew incantations. As this golem grew, it became increasingly violent, killing gentiles and spreading fear. A different story tells of a golem that fell in love, and when rejected, became the violent monster seen in most accounts. Some versions have the golem eventually turning on its creator or attacking other Jews.


The Emperor begged Rabbi Loew to destroy the Golem, promising to stop the persecution of the Jews. To deactivate the Golem, the rabbi rubbed out the first letter of the word "emet" from the creature's forehead leaving the Hebrew word "met", meaning dead. The Golem's body was stored in the attic genizah of the Old New Synagogue, where it would be restored to life again if needed. According to legend, the body of Rabbi Loew's Golem still lies in the synagogue's attic.

PUMP YUR ASSS

WHO PUMPS BEST?

TOM OF FINLAND-2011


if you are in LA and love TOM OF FINLAND and would also like to meet me- FACE-T0-FACE.

come on in to the TOM OF FINLAND 15 ANUAL EROTIC ART FAIR!

check out my artist booth where i will be presenting my vintage and latest photography, books, dvds etc!
here are all the gory details-

TOM OF FINLAND EROTIC ART FAIR
Saturday- March 26, 2011
1PM TIL 7PM

West Hollywood Park
647 N. San Vicente Boulevard,
West Hollywood, CA 90046

Parking: On street and
the West Hollywood Park parking structure.

Admission $10, good for both Saturday and Sunday.
(Foundation Members $8)

Symposium on Saturday: 3:00 – 4:00 PM- Is Self Censorship Really Self Loathing in Gay Culture?

MODERATOR: Bo Tobin. A roundtable discussion on the current trend within gay culture to curtail aspects of our own community’s cultural expressions.

When “Dykes on Bikes” are allowed to be the opening contingent in many Pride parades, they are asked to identify themselves as “Women’s Cycle Clubs and no longer permitted to be barebreasted.
Leathermen are not permitted to wear bareassed chaps or display actions such as bondage with rope, shackles or chains.
NAMBLA is not welcomed to participate in PRIDE events or activities, nor is discussion allowed of their philosophy.
Bathhouses and sex clubs are discouraged from participating in PRIDE festivals.
LOGO (a Gay cable network) routinely censors language, sexuality and drug use while attempting to represent the “Mainstream Gay and Lesbian Community”.
Promotion of the community’s own Erotic Art Fair Weekend is banned from being promoted at our own Gay & Lesbian Center.
Are we are willing to leave parts of our cultural heritage behind to gain acceptance in the larger culture? What are the tradeoffs? What do we really want?

Sunday- March 27, 2011- TOM OF FINLAND ART FAIR- DAY 2
Noon - 6:00 PM
West Hollywood Park
647 N. San Vicente Boulevard,
West Hollywood, CA 90046

Parking: On street and
the West Hollywood Park parking structure.

2:00 PM Welcoming Ceremonies- Meet Mr. L.A. Leather 2011
and Introducing "erotic furniture"

Admission $10.
(Foundation Members $8)

Symposium on Sunday: 3:00 – 4:30 PM

A DECENT STATE: Art & Policy
THEME: Govenment’s role in what is seen.

MODERATOR: SHARP. INVITED SPEAKERS: Ivy Bottini, Artist and activist; Greg Day, Southern California Coordinator, California LGBT Arts Alliance; Dallas Dishman, Commissioner, West Hollywood Art & Cultural Affairs Commission; Diane Duke, Executive Director, Free Speech Coalition; Leo Garcia, Executive Director / Artistic Director, Highways Performance Space and Gallery; and Abbe Land, Councilmember, City of West Hollywood. Co-sponsored by California LGBT Arts Alliance

The 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts’ “decency clause.”
The National Portrait Gallery removal of an important work.
Can our public-funded institutions be politically neutral spaces?

for more info-tomoffinlandfoundation


here are some of the artist from the fair


RICK CASTRO- GOOD EVENING- 2005


XAVIER GICQUEL


BELASCO


DAVID CROCKER


DYLAN


CAURO HIGE


PRINCEHERMAN


FERNANDO REYES

YOUNG WARD

stay tuned for WARD OF THE STATE- TONY WARD ARTIST MUSE. coming very soon!
this is a teaser.

photo- jim french- circa- 1984

I LOVED IT...

SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER


a remake of a classic- tennesse williams~ SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER

Jade Gordon as Katherine Holly- Sebastian's set upon companion
Lance Loud as Dr. Sugar- brought in to "cut that HIDEOUS STORY out of her head" by Mrs. Venable.
Vaginal Davis as Mrs. Venable- the obsessed, upset mother of the dead sea poet Sebastian.
Bibbe Hanson AS Mrs. Holly
Jason Majik as George Holly- the mercenary son
The Goddess Bunny as Sister Felicity, the Nurse/Nun

A psycho-sexual catharsis ensues when Katherine is given sodium pentothal and reveals what really happened
SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER!

produced, directed and adaoted for the screen by JOHN AHS-NIL
cinematography by jason majil and lawrence elbert

posted by jan klesse- berlin corespondent/antebellum blog

3/23/11

SUNDAY RAINY SUNDAY


last sunday after my chat @ ONE ARCHIVES,
(which went well, thank you very much) we stopped by the
VELASLAVASAY PANORAMA
one of my fave venues in los angeles and affiliate of ANTEBELLUM.
here are some beautiful pics-


photos courtesy - alex dimont

GAYS AGAINST GAGA


a new blog called GAYS AGAINST GAGA have some pretty sobering words for the current faux gay icon. check it out-

THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE GAGA & TARGET DEAL'S COLLAPSE
January 21, 2010. Supreme court ruling in Citizens United case, allowing unrestricted corporate donations.
July 23, 2010. News reports of Target donation to Tom Emmer
July 27, 2010. Mainstream media picks up news of Target boycotts.
August 4, 2010. Moveon.org joins and expands Target boycott.
August 5, 2010. Target CEO apologizes for anti-gay donations, announces “policy change.”
Dec 21, 2010. The Awl reveals Target Donations to Anti-Gay candidates have continued with donations to a wide range of anti-gay anti-worker candidates. Target declines to explain.
Feb 10, 2011 Lady Gaga Announces Target Deal. Deluxe edition will be available only at Target, and pre-orders will get free “Born This Way” single
Feb 11, 2011 Exclusive deluxe edition goes on sale.
Feb 11, 2011 Criticism of Target deal begins to spread online. Gays Against Gaga site launched with quote from Alex Blaze.
Feb 13, 2011 Grammy Awards performance features “Born This Way” to mixed reviews, some mentioning the Target controversy.
Feb 17, 2011. Target sends out press release to gay media, again claiming “policy changes.”
Feb 18, 2011 Billboard interview: Gaga first addresses controversy surrounding deal, claims policy changes were “part of the deal.” A Target representative interviewed for the same piece does not confirm this claim.
Feb 17-23, 2011 Bilerico, Queerty, The Awl all demonstrate once again Target has not promised to stop donating to anti-gay/anti-worker organizations, and “policy changes” are meaningless.
Feb 26, 2011 Target’s free “born this way” download promotion ends.
Feb 28, 2011 Born This Way video premieres.
March 8, 2011 MetroWeekly reports that then exclusive partnership with Target dissolved.

Now, you tell me. Does this look like a principled activist pressuring a corporation to change? Or does it look like a failed attempt to whitewash the anti-gay/anti-worker record of a major corporation—an attempt that was abandoned when the PR campaign wasn’t working and cries of outrage threatened to keep getting louder?
One thing’s clear: this change wouldn’t happen if there weren’t people like all you GAG readers and smart journalists and commentators asking critical questions. She did the right thing, but it’s up to people like you and me to put the pressure on!
READ MORE-


INTERVIEW LIZ



JOHNNY CARSON SHOW


DOCUMENTARY


LARRY KING


JOAN CRAWFORD


CLASSIC TO THE END


WILL YOU GET MARRIED AGAIN?


GENRAL HOSPITAL

MEMORIES OF LIZ








NATIONAL VELVET


LITTLE WOMEN




A PLACE IN THE SUN


CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF


GIANT


SUDDENLY LAST SUMMER



CELOPATRA-


WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLF


BOOM!


BUTTERFIELD 8


REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE


THE DRIVERS SEAT



SECRET CEREMONY


X, Y AND ZEE


LIZ- THE WORLD'S FIRST AIDS ACTIVIST


ELIZABETH TAYLOR- TONY AWARDS

TO CELEBRATE THE LIFE OF ELIZBETH TAYLOR- i am resposting the comments and images from my freinds on facebook-

Chris Schweska
She was one of a kind. God Bless!!

Mao Padilha
May Liz's entrance to the next life be as AWESOME as her entrance into ROME! RIP Elizabeth Cleopatra Taylor ♥ MAO

Waynescot Lukas ‎"I call upon you to draw from the depths of your being — to prove that we are a human race, to prove that our love outweighs our need to hate, that our compassion is more compelling than our need to blame." Elizabeth Taylor ♥

Laurence Hines
RIP Miss Taylor. :( The world has truly lost a great legend.

Karen Ocamb via LGBT POV
Rest in peace, Elizabeth. And thank you for all your kindness and work on behalf of people with HIV/AIDS.

Aman Chaudhary
Rest in peace great lady...

Thom Murray
R I P Elizabeth Taylor. The Greatest Star.

Vasilios Tanis
Farewell to a Legend....

Christopher Riordan
As in Life, news of Elizabeth Taylor sweeps all else aside. The TV was still on when I awoke; and they were just announcing the passing of 'my mother.' Though we had no scenes together, Ms Taylor was my mother in, "Raintree County." Through the years, our paths crossed many times, and in many ways. I was with her, the night she won her first Academy Award. Her house in Puerto Vallarta was just across the street from mine. And, in fact, just a week ago, I stood in front of both of those houses, collecting memories. At this time, my heart goes out to her real sons, and daughters, and the rest of her extended family. So many think that she received SO much in life. So few, know that she gave SO much more. Rest in Peace, Lovely One.

Cowboy-Dana Christian One of the best people in the world---very sad today

Eddie Walker
I LOVE YOU.

Wayne Mansfield
RIP Elizabeth. You are going to make a beautiful angel.

Luizo Vega
WE ♥ YOU LIZ

Robert Risko
Elizabeth Taylor 27 February 1932 – 23 March 2011