(Image via handout)

The Go-Go's have announced one last farewell tour this summer.

Keep reading for the tour dates ...

Duke & Perez (Video still via James Duke Mason)

Belinda Carlisle and Morgan Mason's son James “Duke” Mason is probably working a lot of gay nerves this week—unapologetically loving Hillary Clinton (his mom's a Bernie, um, Bro), being sad that Nancy Reagan died (and attending her funeral today!) and now interviewing the blogger you love to hate, Perez Hilton.

But he does everything with such an open heart, even if he does something you dislike, it's hard to hold it against him.

Check him out with Perez after the jump ...

 

The 10 Republicans who made the cut to debate Thursday. Gulp.

Would you go to a filler party to look younger ... with no doctor present?

Jeb Bush wants to defund Planned Parenthood, U.S. citizens do not.

2 hot football jocks flash their balls.

Did the ghost of Marilyn break up Gavin & Gwen?

True Blood star goes full drag!

James Duke Mason's first new video in forever.

He's back!

Raymond Braun & Kyle Krieger talk about drugs & booze among LGBTs.

Eating machine Chris Christie thinks pot is addictive. Try this instead.

Brazilian hunk hangin' out by the pool.

Christie attracts boos. LOUD ones.

When Blond Ambition fans attack!

Colorado rep sez gays are molesters, has molester BFF.

Raymond & Lane's new vlog is coming (out).

He is BUTT-TASTIC!!!

Now Kim Richards is pulling a Hedy Lamarr.

Hear the amazing new Robyn song.

Chris Pratt welcomes your objectification.

Dylann Roof planned his racist mass murder for months.

There's a Go-Go's musical!

President Obama denounces E-Z gun access.

“Relentlessly gay” gardener crowd funding to gay it up more.

STOP-Homophobia.com fashions.

Neil Young is no Trump fan:

Cher hates him, too.

“Bitch! We Found Love,” an amazing mash-up. Billboard likes the video.

“Madonna, I don't know who you are?!” Madonna knows who Amy Schumer is.

New Edo Bertoglio book of Polaroids.

SNL star loathes Time Warner Cable.

1st Ghostbusters set pic. Could be fun, actually.

BI, FELICIA!: Still more bad news for Rachel Dolezal.

Phyllis Schlafly has a great idea: Feed nutty Evangelicals to the lions!

Lester Holt is the new NBC Nightly News anchor.

Bleach-bodied Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett for Hillary Clinton. Get tix!

Belinda was on this night in 1981 singing about small-town ennui on The Go-Go's “This Town”...

Oh, how the “Mighty Real” have risen!

Anthony Wayne brings Sylvester to Off-Broadway in Mighty Real.

Is What's the T? the trans Paris is Burning?

Jenny McCarthy's out at The View?

Chris Kattan's Mango returns!

For all you hairy chest lovers.

Belinda Carlisle's menopause miracle magnet.

Vuthy Sim's Old Glory Swimsuit...just in time for 7/4!

N. Hollywood facialist hires white supremacist to kill rival.

Via Queerty: Up Stairs Lounge survivors speak in new doc.

MUST-SEE: The Classical Nude and the Making of Queer History.

4yo white girl pokes hole in blame-the-black-man robbery claim.

Boy Scouts to break from helping old ladies to lead NYC Pride Parade.

Redhook Ale Brewery on Pride: “Rather be in the fridge than the closet!

Eat, drink and be...oh, Marrrry!

What follows is a list of 125+ household-name artists grouped by the last years in which they appeared on a single that hit the Top 40 of Billboard's “Hot 100” chart in the U.S.

As a recovering teen chart nut, I find this stuff fascinating. It speaks to their relevance as artists in some cases, but speaks to the relevance of having a “hit single” in cases where the artists are clearly still quite successful by other measures.

Most of all, it's just wow-inducing to see how long it's been for some of these artists, who have sold millions and millions of records in their storied careers. It's also interesting seeing the groups of artists who enjoyed their last Top 40 success in the same year.

Finally: This is updated as of March 31, 2020. However, that means some of my original 125 have died. The concept of the list is to choose living artists. Rather than add more and delete the dearly departed, I am indicating who has died. Also, I'm confused about J.Lo and Shakira; I'm sure they had Top 40 entries with old songs (as Mariah did) recently, post-Super Bowl, but not sure which ones would have been last.

(Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong on any; it's hard juggling artists' singles, featured appearances, etc.)

Enjoy...

My new pal Matt helps me prepare a Mitzi Gaynor sandwich

Last weekend, I went on one of my now monthly work trips to L.A., but had some time for a few very memorable playdates.

I was staying at the Beverly Garland hotel. If you're not familiar with her, Beverly Garland was a profilic TV actress perhaps best known for a stint on My Three Sons, but who was also a regular on Scarecrow and Mrs. King and 7th Heaven, along with appearing in countless other movies and TV shows. Her husband opened the hotels decades ago, including tributes to wifey's brilliant career in the lobby. Sadly, Garland died in 2008, breaking news I had not heard when I arrived until I Googled her. (Thankfully, I didn't ask the front desk if she might pop in during my stay!)

Exterior, biographical video in each room, room-service menu, career gallery & lobby of the Beverly Garland

It's actually a lovely Holiday Inn, even if one can easily be mesmerized watching the badly dated video loop of all her most memorable appearances that plays on the default channel of every in-room TV. (My definition of badly dated is that it refers to Garland being in her second 50 years in the biz and very much alive.) The hotel used to host autograph shows of the ilk that I attend far too regularly.

Loved spending more time at the French Quarter in my buddy Roy's Baby Jane of Hollywood, the place for movie memorabilia and naked pictures of leading men. He hooked me up with some Jane Withers photos—the explanation for why I needed those comes later.

But first, I was honored to be invited to have dinner with the great Billie Hayes, 80 this year, a respected stage actress with many TV credits to her name—yes, I am obsessed with her as Witchypoo from H.R. Pufnstuf (1969-1970) with cute (and now dead from oral cancer!) Jack Wild and as Weenie the Genie from Lidsville (1970-1973). Billie told us wonderful stories about her friendship with Alice Ghostley (when Alice died, Billie took responsibility for her dog), her charity Pet Hope (she's lost count of how many times she's pulled over to save an animal in distress), getting to meet The Wizard of Oz's Margaret Hamilton (meeting Hamilton for The Paul Lynde Halloween Special, the ultimate witch told Billie she was her favorite witch!) and hanging with Kate Hepburn.

Meeting Witchypoo was a magical experience!

Her Hepburn story was unique in that Billie was coming from a place of not wanting to meet the legend—too intimidating—and then being impressed by how friendly Hepburn actually was. Imagine seeing Hepburn in Coco at the Dorothy Chandler and then being summoned to the small cottage she shared with Spencer Tracy for a late-night, informal gathering? I couldn't, but Billie described it so vividly I felt I'd been there.

She also talked about her fabulous friends Charles Nelson Reilly and Paul Lynde (with whom she debuted on Broadway in New Faces of 1956), describing them as polar opposites—Reilly gregarious and easy-going, Lynde rather tortured and serious.

Billie was a doll, very attentive to all her dinner companions—a group of gay dudes fixated on a kiddie show she'd done 40 years earlier. She graciously signed my Li'l Abner cast album, ticking off what had happened (as far as she knew) to the entire cast. [Did you know Valerie Harper was in that? Her face is even (barely) discernible on the LP sleeve!]

If you click to enlarge, Val's the gal next to the boy in horizontal stripes

Are people who play witches always so the opposite?

On the red carpet and, for once, not wearing black

The next day, a group of us—myself, Don, Brian, another Matt and Julie—headed to The 25th Annual Gypsy Awards, a function of The Professional Dancers Society. This year, they were honoring Dame Julie Andrews and had attracted a lot of big names (and even more not-so-big names) to show up and in some cases participate. It was held at the Beverly Hilton and had a small red carpet but a medium-sized contingent of attendees who were strictly there to get autographs from and pictures of the old-time idols.

Some of the hardcore fanboys had items for people to sign. When I spotted one with an "Ann-Margrock" illustration, I figured Ann-Margret had to be coming.

But they had items for everyone from honoree Andrews to rumored participants who never even showed, like Debbie Reynolds. There were also multiple, still rather doable former-dancer gay menz in the house, many paired off like silver candlesticks. Any number of them could've been good candidates for work on IWouldntSayNoGramps.com. I was dying to pull them aside and ask them for all their stories from being sexy dancers in the Golden Age of Hollywood, but that will have to wait for an encounter I have set up for next trip.

With Miriam Nelson

The first luminary we pounced on was Miriam Nelson, a famed choreographer and Paramount actress who at 89 looks and acts a good deal younger. She was charming, and was later feted from the stage by Mitzi Gaynor as one of the most good-hearted human beings of all time. I see she has a memoir out called My Life Dancing with the Stars with a foreword by Andrews and the late Blake Edwards—bet that's a lively read considering the list of stars she worked with (Ingrid Bergman, Bette Davis, Bing Crosby, Gene Kelly) and the fact that she choreographed the opening day at Disneyland.

Let's hope we all live to 92 and look like this

When 92-year-old Marge Champion (the original model for Snow White, pictured) entered with her strapping, 55-year-old director son Gregg, half the lobby descended upon her. Once the wife of famed choreographer Gower, Marge is no slouch herself in that department, apparently still teaching after having worked as an actress and choreographer throughout the '30s, '40s and '50s. She looks amazing and was happy to sign and only slightly less happy to pose for pictures, asking my pal Matt if he'd been a dancer himself. Actually, I owe him for helping me to "get" Marge, as her dreamy son seemed keenly interested in making blond Matt's dreams of an autograph with Mama come true.

Marge and in charge!

I missed a wheelchair-bound Teri Garr, 64, who suffers from MS, because I had been in a mad dash to replenish my batteries (time for a new camera). Jane Withers, 85, and nightclub singer Barbara Van Orden (around 70?) were milling about, as was Honeymooner Jane Kean, 87 (whom I've met).