Brian Ferrari's Blog

She Knew Something About Love: Brenda Reid (1945-2026)

Brenda Reid, the lead singer and last surviving member of the original Exciters, passed away on April 29, 2026. She was 80 years old.

In the liner notes for The Exciters’ Something To Shout About! CD compilation, Malcolm Baumgart and Mick Patrick wrote, “If Brenda Reid was a foodstuff, she’d be jalapeño peppers. If she was a chemical compound, she’d be nitro-glycerin. A color? Why, flame red! That woman’s voice was the distilled essence of heat. Never was a group fronted by such a torrid vocalist, and never was a group more aptly named than The Exciters.”

It was a voice that stopped a young Dusty Springfield in her tracks on Broadway one night in 1962, when she heard “Tell Him” blasting out of Colony Records. On her way to Nashville to record a country album with her group The Springfields, Brenda’s vocal hit Dusty at such a visceral level that she was forced to rethink her career trajectory. Legendary songwriter/producer Ellie Greenwich was quoted as saying; “Brenda has one of the best voices I’ve heard. As far as I was concerned, she could do no wrong – she would only add to the song, make it greater.”

The Exciters were a trio of Queens schoolgirls (Brenda with Carol Johnson and Lillian Walker) harmonizing with sole male group member Herb Rooney. Although technically not a girl group, Brenda is widely regarded as one of the signature voices of the girl group era. On the strength of their recordings of “Tell Him,” “He’s Got The Power,” and the original version of “Do Wah Diddy,” the group was chosen for the Beatles 1964 American tour. They went on to release a string of excellent records through the 1960’s and 1970’s that have become staples of the Northern Soul scene.

I got to know Brenda through Words With Friends. We were connected on social media – or rather, I had fanboy friend-requested her in 2011 after the group performed at Lincoln Center for She’s Got The Power! A Girl Group Extravaganza . But the WWF algorithm paired us up – possibly because we both seemed to suffer from insomnia and played the game at all hours of the night.

One day as I was listening to my recently acquired copy of The Exciters rare 1971 Black Beauty LP, the app pinged that Brenda had played a word. I sent her a message to tell her that I was listening to her album and that I was very much enjoying it. She responded that she didn’t have a copy of it anymore, so I volunteered to burn a CD and send it to her. I added some rare bonus tracks to the disc that I mailed off, including the sole single by her first group The Masterettes, which morphed into The Exciters.

She later said “When I heard that Masterettes song that you put on there, I said ‘Ok. This guy knows his stuff.'”

After a few servings of liquid courage, one day I sent a message to ask if she would be interested in doing an interview for my East Village Radio show, 60 Degrees. This was in the fall of 2012 – just in time for the 50th anniversary of the release of “Tell Him.” She agreed and invited me to have lunch and conduct the interview at her home in Huntington, Long Island.

I packed up my laptop and microphones and borrowed my mother’s car to head over. Her daughter Trisha cooked a spaghetti lunch and we had a great afternoon talking about music.

During the interview, when we were discussing The Exciters recording of Gilbert O’Sullivan’s weepy 1972 ballad “Alone Again (Naturally),” I mentioned that I had never been able to find a copy, to which Brenda says with a laugh “I will give you a copy to-DAY.” After the interview was finished, she played the recording on her computer and began to sing along. We were sitting at her desk in her home office, but vocally this turned into a full-blown performance, matching the recording she had done 40 years before. I thought I might just die right there.

On paper, the idea of the Exciters recording a song like “Alone Again (Naturally) or a disco version of “I (Who Have Nothing)” sound like terrible ideas. But with Herb’s arrangements and Brenda’s voice, they always knocked it out of the park. In his book Girl Groups: Fabulous Females Who Rocked The World, John Clemente writes, “Two important facts are a testament to the Exciter’s musical integrity; that they lasted longer than most vocal groups, especially when chart success was not always forthcoming; and that they were able to weather stylistic changes in popular music, never once sounding awkward or stale in the mix.”

*Sheet music for “Reaching For The Best”, a Northern Soul hit co-written by Herb Rooney with Ian Levine. (1975)*

One of the lyrics of “Reaching For The Best”, their 1975 UK hit was “I want an evening gown… I can’t afford a house dress… All my life I’ve been reaching for the best…” I am reminded of a story that Brenda shared before we started recording the interview that afternoon. The Masterettes has scored their first gig at the Hillside Theatre in Queens. They were at the bottom of the bill with a half dozen other artists, including Baby Washington. Brenda was a fan and Baby had been a big influence on her. She recalled Baby arriving backstage at the theatre, making a star’s entrance: beautifully dressed and acting aloof.

Brenda was quite intimidated and upset about her own inexperience and her group’s simple costumes. She was crying in a corner backstage when Baby came over to ask her what was wrong. She told her that she was embarrassed at her own appearance, that Baby looked so beautiful and she wished that she could afford to look that way. Baby comforted her and assured her that one day, she would achieve it.

*A Family Affair: The 1980’s Exciters featured Brenda and Herb with their children: Tracy & Cory, and Herb’s son Jeffrey.*

When I knew that we had recorded plenty of material to fill a 2-hour program, I ended the interview. I had decided beforehand that I would not pry into the later years, when she had to get a retail job after she and Herb split. Brenda looked surprised that the interview was over. She later conveyed to me that she WANTED to talk about it the lean years. She wanted to talk more about the ups and downs of their relationship, and also the loss of their daughter Tracy to leukemia. She was inspired by Tina Turner’s memoir and wanted to tell her own story in her own way. She had been working on a book for quite some time – speaking on tape to get her thoughts down. Her son Cory, now a very successful producer and record executive, had put her in touch with a writer to assist. Nothing ever came of it and she was still without a publisher. We agreed to meet again for another interview, which would hopefully coincide with the book coming out.

And then what happened? Life went on. We both moved on from our late night Words With Friends habit. 60 Degrees went off the air the following spring when East Village Radio shuttered. Over the next couple of years, we were reunited at events for the Piece Of My Heart Off-Broadway musical and a Bert Berns documentary screening in New York. Brenda eventually moved to California to be near Cory and his family.

*Opening night party for the Off-Broadway musical* Piece of My Heart: The Bert Berns Story. (July 14, 2014)

On some level I felt like I had failed her – she never got to tell the rest of her story. There was much more she wanted to say. “I really need help with it but I’m not going to give up,” she wrote in an email. I felt some responsibility to help her do that, even though she had other people in her life that felt the same way. And that’s how it was left.

After I heard that she had passed away, I listened back to a voicemail that she left me after our interview had aired in 2012. She said “I just wanted to thank you for such a wonderful interview. You made me feel very special today… you made me feel very proud of myself and I just wanted to thank you for taking the time out of your life to want to come over and interview me and let the world hear what I had to say… Thank you so much. God bless.”

Thinking back to our conversations about the book, I don’t recall the title she had chosen. In my mind, it could only be one thing: I Know Something About Love. The opening line of the song that introduced the world to that flame red nitro-glycerin voice bursting from a 17 year-old school girl from Queens. It was a declaration made in a voice so strong and unique that you can sing that line to people of any age and they will recognize it from someplace in their pop culture memories. They may not know her name or The Exciters, but they understand this: she knew what she was talking about.

The Exciters performed at Lincoln Center, NYC for She’s Got The Power! A Girl Group Extravaganza on July 30, 2011. Alongside original members Brenda Reid and Lillian Walker were Beverly Warren and Brenda & Herb Rooney’s son Cory Rooney. Backing them up (as The Boyfriends) were Jeremy Chatzky and members of Yo La Tengo. Among the backing singers: Barbara Harris (of The Toys), Delron Nanette Licari, Susan Collins, Mikie Harris, Jean Thomas, Lesley Miller, Toni Wine and Ula Hedwig.

60 Degrees will be re-airing the 2012 show with Brenda Reid on East Village Radio on Sunday 5/17/2026, 8-10am EST. It will be available for streaming shortly thereafter.

Madame Spivy: I Love Town

“This is my answer to a man who tried to induce me to live on a farm…”

Ladies and Gentleman, it is time once again to revisit that late great lady of song, Madame Spivy LeVoe (1906-1971), also known simply as Spivy. A lesbian entertainer, nightclub owner and character actress, Spivy has been described as “The Female Noel Coward” – to which I add “…. if he had been born in Brooklyn as Bertha Levine.”

*Spivy photographed by Max Ewing (1932)*

This is our 9th in a series of posts focusing on individual songs recorded by Spivy. Previously, we featured:
T he Alley Cat
The Tarantella
Auntie’s Face
100% American Girls
A Tropical Fish
I Brought Culture to Buffalo In The 90’s
I Didn’t Do A Thing Last Night
Why Don’t You?

“I Love Town” is an ode to urban living, specifically New York City. Decades before Alicia Keys and Madonna sang of their love of The Big Apple, long before Liza started spreadin’ the news, before Judy happened to like New York, Spivy loved town. The song appeared on her 78 rpm album Seven Gay Sophisticated Songs, first released in 1939 on the Exclusive label. Later reissues on Commodore and General Records switched out the original cover photo for a Carl Van Vechten portrait.

Of the15 songs Spivy is known to have recorded, 5 of them were written or co-written by John LaTouche. This is one of two that he co-wrote with Goetz Eyck, a German-born musician who would go on to a film career as Peter van Eyck.

Songwriters John LaTouche & Goetz Eyck, aka Peter Van Eyck

*Spivy photo by Carl Van Vechten (1944)*

I Love Town

I Love Town
Take your old hound dogs with their yelping litters
Give me Pekingeses that have the jitters
Take your old oaked buckets, I’ll have gin and bitters
I Love Town

I feel down
in woodlands lousy with deer and squirrels
Where the women get coy and the men get virile
Mother Nature’s a dirty old girl:
Think of rabbit’s habits

In the sacred portals of New York, the footmen stand in livery
There are no traveling salesmen offering Rural Free Deliveries

I want to live in town
where you hunt in Jaekal’s when you want a fox hide
And you see fair hair of purest peroxide
And you breathe fresh air of carbon monoxide
I Love Town

I hate farms
where the food is freshest and the life the crudest
Give me nightclub life though it seems denudest
Where a gal gets paid for going nudist
I Love Town

I love garbage
give me grapefruit rinds with coffee grounds in ‘em
As for athletics, I’m all again’em
Though I drink at bars, I never chin ‘em
Muscle gives you a bustle

I can’t sleep in lonely country rooms, I rush and buy a ticket
Yet I snore through the traffic swoons without a goddamn cricket

I Love Town
Where Carnation cows have contented faces
And you get your tan in a jar at Macy’s
And sand doesn’t get into awful places
I Love Town!

_________________________________

I highly recommend Ana Matronic’s Good Time Sallies podcast, which featured two episodes profiling Madame Spivy, with commentary by yours truly.

The Colorful World Of Carl Van Vechten

Carl Van Vechten wore several hats throughout his life: writer, literary executor of Gertrude Stein, patron of the Harlem Renaissance, and photographer. His portraits captured the most prominent figures of the Harlem Renaissance as well as New York’s top entertainers and literary elite.

L-R: Carl Van Vechten with Ethel Waters (1939), Langston Hughes (1939), Josephine Baker (1949), James Baldwin (1955)

While his images were not as meticulously lit or technically proficient as contemporary George Platt Lynes, his distinct style of low contrast, soft-focused images was consistent throughout his photographic career. Pictures snapped by Van Vechten in 1932 have the same tone as those taken shortly before his death in 1964.

L-R: Paul Robeson (1932), Truman Capote (1947), Marlon Brando (1948), Keir Dullea (1960)

His photographs have occasionally been featured here in posts about Madame Spivy and several Artist’s Muses.

L-R: Madame Spivy (1944), John LaTouche (1944), Sandy Campbell & Donald Windham (1955), Ted Starkowski (1956)

Given the level of continuity in his black and white photographs, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that he also utilized color slide film. Starting in 1940, he primarily used it for photo shoots with dancers from the American Ballet and later the New York City Ballet. The color slides beautifully captured their eye-catching stage costumes. He would sometimes use two cameras in these photo sessions, shooting with color as well as black and white film. The striking contrast of these photos provides further proof of just how vibrant the color images remain, 80 years later.

With certain male subjects – some of whom were part of Van Vechten’s bohemian social circle – the costumes would come off after the ballerinas had left the studio. Other photos have what are described as “improvised costumes” – sparkling fabrics and accessories paired with culturally appropriated props and patterned backdrops to further enhance these colorful images.

Alvin Ailey (1955)

Hernan Baldrich (1962)

Charles Blackwell (1955)

Robert Cohan (1955)

Robert Curtis (1955)

Anton Dolin (1940-41)

William Earl (1960)

Geoffrey Holder (1954)

Harald Horn (1956)

Hugh Laing (1940-41)

John Kriza (1949)

Claude Marchant (1947)

Arthur Mitchell (1955)

Francisco Moncion (1944)

Lenwood Morris (1940)

Donald Saddler (1941-1948)

Archie Savage (1942)

Paul Taylor (1960)

Claude Thompson (1959)

Allen Meadows & Hugh Laing (1940)

Van Vechten’s photos are now part of the New York Public Library Digital Collection and can be viewed online here.

Marianne Faithfull After Dark (1980)

“Like an apparition of decadence and dissipation, she is an all too appropriate picture of innocence fallen prey to the evils and excesses of that most glamorous unholy trinity – drugs, sex and rock-and-roll.”

Depending on your calculations, Marianne Faithfull was entering the second or third act of her career when she was featured in the March, 1980 issue of After Dark magazine. The willowy chanteuse first achieved fame as part of the British Invasion with her 1964 hit “As Tears Go By,” a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. She worked her way through the Rolling Stones – first with Brian Jones, then Richards and finally Jagger, to whom she was linked romantically through rest of the 1960’s.

Faithfull’s singing career waned as she transitioned into acting roles. She was a poster child for the swinging London set, and then a cautionary tale of its excesses. By the early 1970’s, her career had been eclipsed by a series of scandalous headlines detailing drug use, breakdowns, arrests, and then homelessness. She eventually kicked her heroin habit, although complete sobriety continued to be elusive. A foray into country music in 1976 was not well received.

In the beginning… Marianne Faithfull sings “As Tears Go By” (1964)

Then came the critical and commercial success of Broken English – her 1979 LP proved to be her definitive album. She emerged like a phoenix from the ashes of the 1970’s with a punk-infused declaration that she still had something to say. How she chose to say it – with explicit lyrics that got the album banned in several countries – certainly didn’t hurt her reputation as a rock and roll survivor.

The Guardian revisited the album in a 2013 review, with Alexis Petridis writing “…her husking vocals on Broken English seemed not merely ravaged, but imperious and defiant with it, a sensation heightened by the arrangements her rasp was set against… she sounded like she was telling someone to go fuck themselves even when she wasn’t.”

It doesn’t bode well that writer Brant Mewborn begins the After Dark feature with the observation, “Marianne Faithfull is nodding out.” She’s recovering from a car accident and exhausted from a European publicity tour. “Marianne seems overworked and over-sedated. She’s obviously not ready for an interview, and I’m definitely not ready to play interrogating nursemaid to a strung-out girl who may need to publicize her reemerging career but could use a bed even more.”

One can’t help but wonder if the reporter would have been as forthcoming if he was describing Mick Jagger or Keith Richards in such a state. But that holds true for most of the judgement hurled at Faithfull throughout her career.

She does pull it together though, and Mewborn later describes her as “surprisingly candid and coherent.”

It’s interesting to note that one of the quotes highlighted in the article is “I’m not a dyke, but I like to make love with young beautiful people. Whether they are boys or girls doesn’t make an awful lot of difference.” This is actually attributed to Faithfull in the lurid tell-all Up And Down With The Rolling Stones, a book purportedly written by the band’s drug dealer Tony Sanchez but ghost written by British music journalist John Blake. In any case, she does not confirm or deny the quote here.

Reporter Brant Mewborn went on to become a senior editor at Rolling Stone magazine. He was just 38 years old when he died in 1990. Marianne Faithfull passed away at age 78 in January, 2025.

Broken English is also the title of a new documentary about Marianne Faithfull. The film screened at the Venice Film Festival and will have a theatrical release in the UK later this month. Read more about it here.

Two other singers featured elsewhere in this issue of After Dark: Cindy Bullens and France Joli.

Although Bullens put out a dozen LPs throughout her career, she is probably best known for her contributions to the 1978 Grease motion picture soundtrack, singing “It’s Raining On Prom Night” and “Freddie My Love.”

Bullens came out as transgender in 2012 and is now known as Cidney. See a recent interview posted below:

A 2023 interview with Cidney Bullens:

France Joli had just turned 17 years old when this issue of After Dark hit the stands. She was still riding high on the strength of her debut LP and the disco hit “Come To Me.” Her performance the previous summer in the Fire Island Pines is the stuff of legend and previously covered here in New York City In Touch (1979).

Heated Rivalry’s Scott and Kip: A Game Changer Epilogue

I have a confession to make: I am a loon.

This is the term used to describe fans of the Heated Rivalry television show and Rachel Reid’s book series that it is based on.

The first book of the series, Game Changer (2019) focused on NHL captain Scott Hunter and barista Kip Grady. Their story is the subject of episode 3 of the Heated Rivalry television show. Because the whole book was condensed into a single episode, there is little about Kip’s home life in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. His mother and sister are not mentioned in the show, although his father, as played by Matt Gordon, is one of my favorite peripheral characters in the series.

*Kip & his dad as played by Robbie G.K. & Matt Gordon.*

Author Rachel Reid has always been very connected with her audience and generous about posting additional content online for free: sharing scenes and chapters trimmed from the books as well as short stories not featured elsewhere. You can find these on her website.

One piece that is a little harder to find is an epilogue to Game Changer that was posted as an epub file. I’m posting it below for those who want to easily read it online, or as a downloadable .pdf.

Dusting Off The Holiday Favorites (2025)

*Volunteer Santas, NYC (1977) photo: Susan Meiselas*

I know I am not alone when I say that I take comfort in the annual repetition of the holidays: revisiting holiday-themed music, films, television shows… and now internet posts. Dave Holmes’ account of Patti LaBelle’s disastrous performance at the 1996 National Christmas Tree lighting is worth an annual revisit. Trust me.

Not to get meta or anything, but the post you are currently reading has been reworked and updated each year since 2020.

While we’re mining the past and dusting off our chestnuts, here’s the intro to the 1999 holiday episode of Bri-Guy’s Media Surf, an NYC Public Access show that featured yours truly lip-syncing a little Esquivel:

Whenever the song pops up on my holiday playlist, I still do this.

I find it interesting that we immerse ourselves in certain pop culture favorites for exactly 6 weeks of the year and then pack them up in mothballs with the ornaments until next year. I mean, Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” is currently at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. Burl Ives, Bobby Helms and Andy Williams are also in the top 10. Are any of them on your 4th of July playlist? They aren’t on mine.

*Gabe Pressman (left) with Marilyn Monroe (1956)*

I used to look forward to the annual Christmas Eve tradition on NBC New York’s evening news when reporter Gabe Pressman would read “Yes Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus.” I taped it in 2011, knowing that the tradition wouldn’t last forever. The self-described “little Jewish kid from the Bronx” was 87 years old at the time and continued to work at NBC until his death at age 93.

NBC New York reporter Gabe Pressman’s annual segment on Virginia O’Hanlon’s 1897 letter to the New York Sun Newspaper.

But wait! There’s more: My other blog posts of Christmas past are back to haunt you like A Christmas Carol, Mr. Scrooge.

I recently updated Your Guide To Gay Disposable Holiday Movies, highlighting 16 of the gayest Lifetime/Hallmark/Netflix movies of the past few years:

We now have four 60 Degrees Girl Group Christmas playlists! These have been running each week this month on East Village Radio. Click here for streaming:

11/30/2025 Christmas Show #1: Holiday 60’s chicks and girl groups featuring lots of songs about snow and snowmen, winters warm and cold, blue holidays and Christmas trees.

12/7/2025 Christmas Show #2: The Classic Christmas Episode – our first holiday show from 2008. Featuring Darlene Love, Carla Thomas, The Supremes, Honey & The Bees and more.

12/14/2025 Christmas Show #3: British singers, obscure soul Christmas tracks, favorites from the Spector stable of artists, Motown and more!

12/21/2025 – Christmas Show #4: Featuring soul divas, duets, a boogie woogie Christmas, country ladies, Chess gospel soul and some ladies that really want a Beatle for Christmas.

I recently posted about Truman Capote’s classic short story A Christmas Memory, which includes the entire text, Capote’s 1959 reading of the story, and a link to watch the Emmy Award-winning 1966 television version starring Geraldine Page. Highly Recommended.

There’s a new Motown Christmas Special this year that has already aired in prime time this month, featuring Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Martha Reeves and The Temptations. Here is my take on the 1987 Motown Christmas Special – which featured very few Motown acts.

Here are 10 Things You May Not Know About March of The Wooden Soldiers, the Laurel & Hardy classic holiday film.

My Canine Christmas Tail is a true story about my dog Sunshine, a basset hound with an appetite for tinsel.

Have you watched Christmas In Connecticut yet this year? How about that delivery woman? After years of speculation, last year I was able to identify the actress as Daisy Bufford.

The original version of “¿Dónde Está Santa Claus?” is featured in “Llamacita,” a 2024 Amazon Prime holiday commercial. Here’s a little backstory on the song & Augie Rios, who sang the original version.

Also – would you like to hear my Spotify holiday playlist?

Way back in 2002, when Limewire was a thing and people listened to music on silvery discs, I started creating Christmas CD mixes that I would mail out or give to people. These were received with a heartwarming combination of feigned delight, veiled indifference and deafening silence. None of these CDs had a pressing of more than 20 copies. I’d like to call them “much sought after” – but no, that’s not really the case, although every once in a while, someone really got into them and would ask for copies of other volumes.

And so, I’m offering this simple playlist…. for kids from 1 to 92. Unfortunately some of the tracks on these dozen CDs are not on Spotify, but I keep adding songs that would be on the current CD volume… if there was one. And now the playlist is over 18 hours of holiday tunes. I recommend listening on shuffle – there’s something to irritate everyone. Enjoy!

Here’s one more nugget to stuff in your stocking: This vid went viral in 2011. Choreographed and performed by Alex Karigan & Zac Hammer of the Amy Marshall Dance Company, it was filmed in one continuous take at the New 42nd St. Dance Studios. There’s something infectious about it: the joy, the corniness, the celebratory queerness of it all. It makes me want to dust off my jazz shoes. Once a year.

Truman Capote’s Christmas Memory

“It’s fruitcake weather…”

A recent rerun of This American Life featured Truman Capote reading an edited version of his short story A Christmas Memory. Originally published in Mademoiselle magazine in December 1956, Capote’s reading was released on a 1959 LP:

The largely autobiographical story is set in early 1930’s Monroeville, Alabama and describes a holiday season in the lives of the seven-year-old narrator and an elderly woman who is his distant cousin and best friend. This classic holiday story has been broadcast, recorded, filmed, and staged multiple times.

You can find the entire text here.

A 1966 television version won the Peabody Award as well as Emmy awards for the teleplay and lead actress Geraldine Page. You can watch the entire 48 minute film on YouTube:

Biopics and the recent television series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans have focused on Capote’s later life and the mess that he became. It’s nice to revisit one of his finest early pieces of writing and remember what a brilliant talent he was.

*The infamous book jacket photo of Truman Capote from* Other Voices, Other Rooms. One critic commented, “He looks as if he were dreamily contemplating some outrage against conventional morality.” (1948)

Your Guide To Disposable Gay Holiday Movies (2025)

Since 2020, a few gay holiday films have dribbled out each December – not just on The Hallmark Channel but also on Lifetime, Netflix and elsewhere. I’m not here to crap on the genre, but there is a conveyor belt feel to these films. With the similar actors, sets, and plots, it can be difficult to remember which one had which fading star of yesteryear playing the mom. Obviously, if I didn’t get some enjoyment out of watching them, I wouldn’t tune in. But I don’t go all in for them, either. Please give me a combination of humor, wit, romantic chemistry, decent acting and/or a plot twist and I’ll stick with it. Check off more than a couple of those boxes and I might watch it again next year… if I can remember the title and what channel it was on.

In 2022, I put together a list of these movies to try and keep them straight, so to speak. What I didn’t realize at the time was that the following years would bring less, not more entries in the genre.

In December 2023, Queerty posted an article proclaiming, “The Hallmark Channel is gayer than ever this year!” As evidence, they had a massive list of exactly THREE movies that they considered gay. The first one, Catch Me If You Claus starred Luke Macfarlane in his 16^th movie for the network. Yes, the Bros co-star is gay in real life, but the character in the film is not. Kudos to him for continuing to be cast in straight roles, but… do we then count this as a gay film?

As a reminder: The Hallmark Channel premiered 42 – FORTY-TWO – new Hallmark Christmas movies that season. And we’re supposed to kvell because TWO of them are gay-ish? Honey, please.

The 2024 holiday season garnered even less results: A sequel to an ensemble film from 2023 with Hallmark’s resident gay Jonathan Bennett in the cast. He must have an ironclad contract.

In retrospect, 2020-2022 is beginning to look like the lavender age of inane gay holiday movies. Let the nostalgia begin!

Fortunately, with so many different streaming services, you can now find some of these movies on multiple outlets, giving evidence that maybe they weren’t quite so disposable after all.

1) The Christmas Setup (2020) – Lifetime, Hulu, Sling TV

Older star playing a parent: Fran Drescher
Romantic chemistry? Yes – this real-life couple generate a believable amount of TV movie warmth.

The Christmas Setup follows the story of New York lawyer Hugo (Ben Lewis) who heads to Milwaukee with his best friend Madelyn (Ellen Wong) to spend the holidays with his mom Kate (Fran Drescher). Kate arranges for Hugo to run into Patrick (Blake Lee), his high school friend and secret crush, who has recently returned after a successful stint in Silicon Valley. Hijinks begin.

2) Dashing In December (2020) – Amazon Prime

Older star playing a parent: Andie McDowell
Romantic chemistry? Some. I guess. It’s an enjoyable movie but I don’t see these boys staying together.

After Wyatt (Peter Porte) comes home for the holidays to try to convince his mother (Andie MacDowell) to sell the family’s Colorado ranch, he finds romance with the dashing new ranch hand (Juan Pablo Di Pace) who dreams of saving the property and its magical Winter Wonderland attraction.

It’s a nice surprise to see Andie McDowell here, but I am reminded of when comedienne Paula Poundstone described her face as “an egg with a smile drawn on it.”

3) Happiest Season (2020) – Hulu

Older stars playing the parents: Mary Steenburgen & Victor Garber
Sapphic chemistry? Yes, but not between the two that we’re supposed to root for.

This is the one with Kristen Stewart, Aubrey Plaza & Dan Levy. Stewart’s girlfriend invites her home for Christmas but fails to mention that she’s not out to her family and they must pretend to be friends. Hilarity ensues. A cut above Lifetime/Hallmark movies but I’m including it because it satisfies the same itch. Same genre, but overall higher quality thanks to the cast and Clea Duvall’s writing & direction. One caveat: I wanted Kristen Stewart’s character to end up with Aubrey Plaza. But that doesn’t fit the formula, does it?

Bonus points: Jinkx Monsoon & BenDeLaCreme are on hand for a couple of holiday songs.

4) The Christmas House (2020) – Hallmark+, Amazon Prime & Others

Older stars playing the parents: Treat Williams & Sharon Lawrence
Romantic chemistry? The gay married couple is peripheral here, so it’s not required. They’re fine.

This was the first Hallmark movie to feature a gay couple, even if they are supporting players. Jonathan Bennett is the gay son with Brad Harder as the devoted husband. They want to adopt kids – that’s their side plot. The straight brother has the romantic interest storyline, while the parents have decided to give up their traditional grand ole “Christmas House” which, like all the other houses in these movies, looks like a realtor’s model home with decorations recently purchased at Kohl’s.

5) The Christmas House 2: Deck Those Halls (2021) – Hallmark+, Amazon Prime & others

Older stars playing the parents: Same as above. R.I.P. Treat Williams. ☹
Romantic chemistry? Maybe I’m being a sap, but this couple grew on me.

The sequel to the above film. This time the brothers are competing on a reality show to create the best Christmas House. It’s harmless fun.

6) Clusterfünke Christmas (2021) – Paramount+, Roku, Amazon Prime

“A no-nonsense hotel exec buys a family inn in northern Maine, but the town’s Christmas spirit clashes with her cosmopolitan values.” This one’s actually a spoof of the genre written by and co-starring Rachel Dratch & Ana Gasteyer as the innkeepers. Out actor Cheyenne Jackson plays the straight romantic lead. If Queerty can claim the Luke Macfarlane movie as gay, then we get this one, if not for Jackson, then just for pure camp value.

7) Under The Christmas Tree (2021) – Lifetime Movie Club, Amazon Prime, Roku

Older stars playing the parents: Wendy Crewson & Enrico Colantoni. Ricki Lake is also on hand.
Sapphic Chemistry? Yes

As described in Vulture: Lifetime’s new and first-ever lesbian Christmas movie is a legitimately good queer film in which the main character, Alma (Elise Bauman), is not only accepted by her Maine-based, small-Christmas-business-owner parents for being a lesbian but encouraged to fall in love with out-of-town stranger Charlie (Tattiawna Jones). Cheesy as it is, the premise is as sweet as it is predictable with plenty of fun, memorable scenes and unexpected moments thrown in.”

8) Single All The Way (2021) – Netflix

Older stars playing the parents: Kathy Najimy & Barry Bostwick with Jennifer Coolidge as the diva aunt.
Romantic chemistry? Yes

Peter (Michael Urie) finds out his boyfriend is married. They break up and he invites his best friend home with him for Christmas to pretend they’re a couple. His mom tries to set him up with Luke Macfarlane anyway. You’ll never guess who he ends up with. This one beat out Under The Christmas Tree to win the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Movie. Probably the best of the bunch, and not just for this monologue:

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9) The Holiday Sitter (2022) – Hallmark+, Roku, Amazon Prime & others

Older stars playing the parents: NONE
Romantic chemistry? Not that I recall.

Another Hallmark movie with resident gay Jonathan Bennett. Now he’s a workaholic from the big city who gets stuck watching his sister’s kids because of a snowstorm and she’s pregnant and going into labor or something. He recruits hunky neighbor Jason (George Krissa) to shepherd the precocious children through an endless list of absolutely necessary holiday activities. Bennett’s first major role years ago was in the movie Mean Girls. He also co-wrote this script, in which he actually tells the family dog “Stop trying to make ‘fetch’ happen.” I have nothing more to say.

10) A Christmas To Treasure (2022) – Lifetime, Hulu

Older stars playing the parents: Nobody I recognize. Maybe they’re big in Canada?
Romantic chemistry? NONE.

A real-life gay couple with no chemistry try to find a hidden treasure… before it’s too late! 33-year-old Tyler Frey and 41-year-old Kyle Dean Massey are supposed to be high school sweethearts reunited with each other and their friends: two racially diverse straight couples. Everyone’s on an elaborate treasure hunt somehow engineered by a beloved frail old neighbor just before she croaked. However, nobody really needs the money except Frey, who wants to save the grand ole Marley house (again, a model home decorated at Kohl’s.) Someone actually says “I don’t need the money. I’m here for the cocoa.”

This one broke me. Who are these people? This movie is a painful reminder that a film can be racially diverse, but it certainly isn’t class-wise. If everyone’s so damn rich, why don’t they just give Frey the money to save the house? This one caused me to take a long break from viewing these movies. But now it’s a new season, and here we are.

11) Holiday Exchange (2024) – Tubi, Roku, Amazon Prime

Older stars playing the parents: Real Housewife Kyle Richards plays Mom.
Romantic chemistry? Varying between the two couples.

The aforementioned Tyler Frey wrote the screenplay and stars in this gay version of the Kate Winslet/Cameron Diaz rom-com The Holiday. There are two budding romances, with Frey’s real-life husband Kyle Dean Massey left to play his ex-boyfriend. Rick Cosnett plays the Winslet role – a Brit transplanted in L.A. Maybe it’s the wine, but I found this one rather enjoyable.

12 & 13) Christmas on Cherry Lane / Season’s Greetings From Cherry Lane (2023/2024) – Hallmark +

There are actually four of these Cherry Lane Christmas movies – all are centered on the same house is different eras. Omnipresent Jonathan Bennett plays opposite Vincent Rodriguez III in two of them.

14) Friends and Family Christmas (2023) – Hallmark+ and others.

This one centers on lesbian friends (Humberly Gonzalez & Ali Liebert) who must pose as a couple for the holidays… and you’ll never guess what happens!

15) A Keller Christmas Vacation (2025) – Hallmark+

This ensemble piece stars (surprise!) Jonathan Bennett as one of three adult siblings who reluctantly join their parents on a Danube river cruise for Christmas, leading to family bonding, unexpected romance, and resolving old issues amidst European Christmas backdrops. The movie focuses more on family dynamics than typical Hallmark romance.

16) The Christmas Baby (2025) – Hallmark+

Hallmark’s singular gay-centric movie of 2025 is set to premiere on December 21st. Ali Liebert and Katherine Barrell play a lesbian couple who find a baby left on their doorstep. This leads them to explore fostering and adoption during the holidays.

Happy Holigays!

Some Thanksgiving Treats For You (2025)

Ok – I admit it: I am one of those people who started playing Christmas music last week. Yesterday the Christmas lights went up. I don’t normally rush this, but this rotted year has really done a job on me. However, I am comfortable enough in my middle-aged fruitiness to freely quote Auntie Mame at you: We need a little Christmas. Now.

One of my favorite holiday CDs of recent years is Tracey Thorn’s Tinsel & Lights – a smart collection of original and non-traditional holiday-themed songs perfectly suited to the Everything But The Girl singer’s melancholy voice.

The lead track, Joy (written by Thorn) has been on repeat in my home every December since its 2012 release. When I first posted this in 2020, the song felt like it was tailor-made for that pandemic holiday season.

The opening lyric:
When someone very dear / calls you with the words “Everything’s all clear.” / That’s what you want to hear / but you know it might be different in the new year. / That’s why / That’s why / We hang the lights so high: Joy.

Now, as 2025 limps to a close, it’s a different lyric that strikes a chord:

So light the winds of fire / and watch as the flames grow higher / we’ll gather up our fears / And face down all the coming years / All that they destroy / And in their face we throw our Joy.

Here are some other Thanksgiving-themed goodies I have previously posted:

When it comes to holiday music, unfortunately Thanksgiving is lost in the long shadow of Christmas. There’s a severe lack of Thanksgiving songs, aren’t there? All we’ve got is “Let’s Turkey Trot” by Little Eva, and even then it is not really about Thanksgiving at all. The song’s title refers to the Turkey Trot, a dance step popular back in the early 1900’s.

“Let’s Turkey Trot” was Eva Boyd’s third single, released in 1963 with the hopes of recapturing the #1 success of her debut platter, The Loco-Motion. It had a respectable showing on the charts, peaking at #20, although it should have been billed as Little Eva & The Cookies, as the backing group is as much a part of the success of the record as the lead. Group member Earl-Jean McCrea delivers solo lines echoing their own hits Chains & Don’t Say Nothing Bad About My Baby, which also featured Little Eva on background vocals.

Here’s an abbreviated performance by Little Eva on Shindig in 1965. Darlene Love and the Blossoms stand in for the Cookies in what must be one of the proudest moments of their career. Gobble Diddle It!

The Dollyrots also covered this track in 2014. Besides using footage of Little Eva’s Shindig performance throughout the video, they also namecheck “Little Eva back in ’63”:

Want some “Mashed Potatoes” with your “Turkey Trot?” Here’s Dee Dee Sharp with her own ode to a Thanksgiving staple / dance move:

Aaaaand some “Gravy” for your mashed potatoes:

Here’s a newly updated and expanded version of a post that originated in 2019: 10 Things You May Not Know About March of The Wooden Soldiers, the Laurel & Hardy classic holiday film that is required viewing on Thanksgiving morning.

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On the darker side… one of the faux trailers from Quentin Tarantino’s Grindhouse is the hilariously spot-on Thanksgiving, directed by Eli Roth. It is entirely plausible that someone would have jumped on the bandwagon of grade-z holiday themed horror films that followed the success of Halloween. But this one is a fake. In 2023, Roth did put out a full movie version of Thanksgiving. The original trailer retains it’s own seedy charm:

During the Thanksgiving episode of SNL in 1997, Lilith Fair stand-up comic Cinder Calhoun (a recurring character played by Ana Gasteyer) & singer Sara McLachlan paid a visit to Norm MacDonald and the Weekend Update desk, singing the Thanksgiving classic “Basted In Blood.” It would not be nearly as funny if they didn’t sing it so well.

Unfortunately this segment seems to have fallen off the annual SNL Thanksgiving Eve prime time special.

In 2019, Ana Gasteyer released a holiday album: Sugar & Booze. Highly recommended!

Happy Thanksgiving!

March of the Wooden Soldiers: 10 Things You May Not Know About The Classic Film

It’s hard to believe that the Laurel & Hardy holiday classic March of the Wooden Soldiers debuted 91 years ago. Originally released as Babes In Toyland on Nov. 30, 1934, the holiday perennial was based on Victor Herbert’s popular 1903 operetta. The film came out of Hal Roach studios and was co-directed by Gus Meins and Charles Rogers.

Here’s the trailer:

I originally posted this celebration of the film on the 85th Anniversary. Here is an updated and expanded version:

10 Things You May Not Know About March of The Wooden Soldiers

1) In addition to Babes In Toyland, the film was also re-released under several different titles, including Laurel and Hardy in Toyland and Revenge Is Sweet. This was sometimes due to the estate of Victor Herbert withholding rights to the original title. In the book March of the Wooden Soldiers: The Amazing Story of Laurel & Hardy’s Babes In Toyland, Randy Skretvedt writes; “Ella Herbert Bartlett detested the film and didn’t want the name Babes In Toyland to be further besmirched by its association with Laurel and Hardy.”

2) Although the 1934 film includes many of the characters in the original operetta, the plot is almost completely different. Six musical numbers from the original stage score are featured: “Toyland”, “Never Mind Bo-Peep”, “Castle in Spain”, “Go to Sleep (Slumber Deep)” and the instrumental “March of the Toys”. Additionally, an instrumental version of “I Can’t Do The Sum” is used to underscore many scenes.

3) The villainous Silas Barnaby was played by 22-year-old Henry Kleinbach. He later changed his name to Henry Brandon and appeared in over 100 films throughout his 60 year career.

Brandon played essentially the same character as an opera impresario who torments poor, poor Alfalfa in Our Gang Follies of 1938.

20 years later he played Acacious Page in film Auntie Mame.

Another fun fact: Brandon’s partner for the last 25+ years of his life was Mark Herron, who was briefly the 4th husband of Judy Garland.

In 2018, Bill Cassara and Richard S. Greene published Henry Brandon: King Of The Bogeymen.

You can also find out more about Henry Brandon here

4) Our Gang (aka The Little Rascals) also filmed at Hal Roach studios. Several of the kids appear as schoolchildren in Toyland, although not dressed in their Our Gang costumes as in this photo atop Mother Peep’s Shoe-house.

Laurel & Hardy introduce Spanky to “pee wees” in this promotional photo shoot.

One of the most popular Our Gang / Little Rascals shorts, Mama’s Little Pirate was filmed the same year and has an extended sequence shot in the caves of Bogeyland. Gus Meins directed both films.

Another Our Gang connection: two graduates of the silent era, Johnny Downs and Jean Darling appear as Little Boy Blue and Curly Locks:

*Johnny Downs and Jean Darling as Little Boy Blue and Curly Locks*

*Queen of Hearts Alice Moore with a couple of Little Rascals.*

5) Felix Knight played romantic lead Tom Tom and fell in love with co-star Alice Moore, who played the Queen of Hearts. They were married the following year.

Behind the scenes, l-r: Alice Moore (Queen Of Hearts) Charley Rodgers (Simple Simon and the film’s co-director), Felix Knight (Tom Tom), Charlotte Henry (Bo-Peep) and Henry Brandon (Barnaby). Note the Three Little Pigs masks and padding hanging in the background.

Knight also appeared with Laurel and Hardy in their 1936 film – The Bohemian Girl:

6) Marie Wilson makes an early film appearance as Mary Quite Contrary. Her later work in film, radio and television (most notably My Friend Irma) garnered her three stars on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

“NO, I haven’t seen them!” Marie Wilson as Mary Quite Contrary

7) Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf? An instrumental version of this song is used to underscore scenes with the Three Little Pigs. However, the song is not from the Babes In Toyland operetta – it was originally featured in the 1933 Disney short Three Little Pigs and has been covered by everyone (surprisingly) from Barbra Streisand to LL Cool J.

8) About those pigs…. Elmer, the kidnapped pig was played by a little person – 2′ 11″ Angelo Rossito. He appeared in 70 films spanning from the silent film era to his role as “The Master” in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985).

*Angelo Rossitto in* Freaks (1932) and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome *(1985)*

The two other pigs were played by child actors:

Payne B. Johnson has said that he was cast as Jiggs because, unlike the other children auditioning, he didn’t complain about the heavy mask and padding. Although only four years old, this was his eleventh film credit. He would later appear in a handful of Our Gang shorts, including Our Gang Follies of 1938 with Henry Brandon.

The last surviving major player from the film, Payne B. Johnson passed away at the age of 94 on June 30, 2024.

*Edward Earle Marsh toured as a child prodigy pianist/composer.*

And THIS little piggy…. was a porn star! Willie was played by Edward Earle Marsh, a child prodigy pianist/composer who later performed on Broadway with the stage name Edward Earle. In 1969, he reinvented himself as Zebedy Colt, a gay cabaret singer. He kept the name as he directed and performed in both straight and gay adult films through the 1970’s & 80’s.

Someone needs to write a book about this guy.

9) The film became a broadcast television staple on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day in the early 1960’s. I grew up watching the film on NYC’s WPIX Channel 11, which continues to air the film to this day. In 1990 they switched to the colorized version, and in 2018, due to viewer requests, they began airing restored black and white and colorized versions at different times during the day.

Some may remember a shorter version of the film airing on television years ago. This 73-minute edit was trimmed for theatrical re-release in 1950. Due to the objections of Victor Herbert’s estate mentioned above, the title of the film was changed and the opening sequence shortened to omit “Babes In Toyland” from Mother Goose’s book.

Motion picture censors in 1950 objected to the unmarried Tom Tom and Bo Peep snoozing together at the end of the song “Go to Sleep (Slumber Deep).” The whole sequence was cut.

This edited version of the film had fallen into public domain and was broadcast on television in the 1980’s. Any susequent restored prints or colorized versions of the film run at the original 79 minute length.

If it isn’t broadcast in your area, you can watch the full movie here:

10) Bearing in mind that the source material is the original operetta and not this film, there have been numerous wildly different versions of Babes In Toyland:

Between 1950 and 1960, there were three television productions broadcast during Christmas seasons, including one featuring Barbara Cook and Dennis Day in 1955.

Walt Disney’s Technicolor™ 1961 film version starred Annette Funicello and Ray Bolger.

A 1986 made-for-television version featured Drew Barrymore, Keanu Reeves and “a royal legion of tacky trolls” with only two songs from the Victor Herbert score, a new plot, and new songs by Leslie Bricusse.

Click the link to see the full movie on Youtube:

An 1997 animated film version, with a new plot and only one of the original songs, featured the voices of Christopher Plummer and Lacey Chabert.

These other versions come and go, but none feature Stannie Dum and Ollie Dee… a gay wedding… nightmare-inducing pig masks … a monkey inside a knockoff Mickey Mouse costume… or carpet-clad Bogeymen with visible zippers and padding.