I was excited to attend the intimate book launch for N Is for the Nanny, a new book by Rebecca Kelly with illustrations by Gary Chestney and a foreword by Fran Drescher. The limited edition is sold here or here, and all proceeds benefit Drescher's Cancer Schmancer charity.
Having beat uterine cancer in 2000, it's a cause that means the world to her.
Drescher, looking like a million-dollar engagement ring from Mistuh Sheffield, was totally accessible. As the recently elected prez of SAG-AFTRA, she is poised, articulate and ready to speak on any topic, but was especially comfortable speaking about toxic chemicals and plastics and how she believes America needs to return to simpler eating and all-natural ingredients.
She also told a great story about working with Elizabeth Taylor on The Nanny in 1996 that referenced the magnificent Renée Taylor, who was on hand to vouch for it.
I asked Drescher about the Roe v. Wade debacle, and she was very forthcoming:
The author, Rebecca, was very sweet, as was — as Fran called him — Fran's gay ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson. Taylor asked me if I had a kid (the book is great for those), asked me to bring her food and made a comedic face when I said I'd get her something but was she picky? (I'm not sure if anyone ate the show-stopping cake!)
Fran with Peter Marc Jacobson & author Rebecca Kelly, Renée with that cake!
The book is lovely, and a great collectible at $24.95 for a great cause.
The inscription is as touching as the image. (Image via College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving)
Ryan White, the kid who in the '80s was the face of AIDS among the non-gay set — and yet who was hassled and rejected because of his diagnosis — inspired a Bill Mack sculpture that was once unveiled by White's mom and Elizabeth Taylor.
Since then, it disappeared, but was discovered by College HUNKS Hauling Junk & Moving, a moving franchise, in one of its warehouses at the bottom of a pile of stuff.
It's wonderful that they recognized the statue's significance and rescued it.
Now, exactly 30 years to the month after White's death, as we grapple with another pandemic, it's being displayed in their HQ in Tampa. Here is a pic of the piece in place.
Its inscription:
RYAN WHITE… HE HAD THE COURAGE TO TELL US HIS STORY AND GIVE US ALL HOPE.
Enter for a chance to win the Shout! Factory’s Pride month collectible edition Blu-rays! Write boyculturedotcom@gmail.com with the title of your favorite CAMP CLASSIC MOVIE of all time. I'll pick 1 of you at random to win at 5 p.m. ET 1 week from tonight. (U.S. entries only.) Good luck!
In honor of this year’s LGBTQ Pride Month, Shout! Factory is proud to present an eclectic slate of pop culture-defining movies arriving for the first time on Blu-ray.
On May 28, the hysterical and often heartfelt road-trip comedy TO WONG FOO, THANKS FOR EVERYTHING! JULIE NEWMAR, starring Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, John Leguizamo and Stockard Channing was released on Blu-ray. On the same day, the first-ever Blu-ray release of BOOM!, starring Hollywood icons Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Noel Coward, hits home entertainment shelves.
On June 11, 2019, fans saw the fabulous Blu-ray release of the popular rom-com classic JEFFREY, starring Steven Weber, Patrick Stewart, Michael T. Weiss, Bryan Batt, and Sigourney Weaver. Also released on June 11 was the ultra-camp 1980 musical CAN’T STOP THE MUSIC, starring Village People, Valerie Perrine and Steve Guttenberg.
Each Blu-ray edition sports exclusive new bonus content!