gay – Page 10 – Brian Ferrari's Blog

Tom Ammiano Gets His Letter

Tom Ammiano is nearly 80 years old and recently dyed his hair blue. Not your traditional “grandma’s rinse” – it’s a punk-ass electric blue. It suits him.

If you don’t follow California politics, you may not be familiar with the name of this San Francisco legend who served for years on the city Board of Supervisors as well as the State Assembly. But you may remember him from the Academy Award winning documentary The Times Of Harvey Milk. Or perhaps you caught the documentary See How They Run, about one of his two San Francisco mayoral campaigns. Or his appearance in the documentary To Be Takei. In Gus Van Sant’s movie Milk, he portrayed himself. In the miniseries When We Rise, he was played by Todd Weeks.

Suffice to say he has been in a lot of documentaries. Although he did not make the final cut of the groundbreaking 1977 film The Word Is Out, his 30 minute pre-interview surfaced online several years ago:

“I’ve never taken much shit but I do get the shit beat out of me because of it.”

In short, Tom the school teacher turned activist, politician, stand-up comedian, and pothead is always a compelling interview. His recently published memoir is titled Kiss My Gay Ass – a phrase he once yelled at then California Governor Schwartzenegger. The book reads like a private uncensored conversation with the author.

There’s a story from the memoir that has garnered Ammiano a surprising amount of attention as of late. 63 years ago, he was a 106 lb. effeminate teen trying to fit in at a Catholic High School in Montclair, New Jersey. Although unsuccessful at contact sports, he excelled at track – running from bullies had trained him to be fast. Among those bullies – the football coach who would physically assault him in the hallways along with the other jocks.

By the end of the school year, Ammiano had performed well enough to qualify for a varsity letter. But before the ceremony, the rug was pulled out from under him. The letter sweater – that symbol of athleticism and masculinity – could not be allowed on the back of faggy Tommy Ammiano. The powers that be – namely, the football coach – would not let that happen. So they moved the goalposts: The track meet that garnered him those last few points towards his letter was suddenly disqualified. And Ammiano’s dream of acceptance through that symbol of “normalcy” went unfulfilled.

He writes of the humiliating experience in his book; “Shame. I hate that. I think shame was a very big deal growing up. During those years everything was about controlling you through shame. Then struggling against that shame – knowing, somehow, it was all wrong. But what are your options?”

Ammiano chose to bury it away and move on with his life – getting as far away from New Jersey and the innumerable aggressions and slights that many a “weird” gay kid suffered while growing up. He moved to San Francisco – “Oz” he calls it – and seldom looked back.

But when you write your memoirs, you have to.

Ammiano recounted the story during a radio interview while promoting the book late last year. “It’s something that still hurts,” he said, “even a hundred years later.” A listener decided to try and correct this situation. He wrote to Immaculate Conception High School to request that they award Ammiano his long overdue varsity letter.

Unaware of this , Ammiano was floored when he received a letter from his alma mater in February of this year. “We most certainly would like to ‘right’ this ‘wrong’…… You truly posses the ‘heart of a Lion’…. You are an inspiration.”

Last month, the cameras rolled as Ammiano was presented with his sweater. At age 79, the man of many documentary appearances has one of his very own. Granted, it’s 7 minutes long, but it’s beautifully done. And it’s on ESPN. He must have had a laugh over that.

ESPN also has an excellent article here. See the documentary here:

http://www.espn.com/core/video/iframe?id=31622926&endcard=false

https://sfist.com/2021/06/14/watch-excellent-espn-mini-documentary-shows-tom-ammiano-getting-his-long-overdue-varsity-letter/

Remembering his time on the track team, Ammiano wrote; “I especially liked the long distance runs… I got really good at those.”

He had no idea.

More Dean Martin / Jerry Lewis Shower Pics Surface

Who would have thought that 2021 would be the year that nude photos of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis would drop… and keep dropping?

Well – I guess the guy who is selling them on eBay knew, but the rest of us continue to be surprised by the release of these playful pics. I first wrote about them here in a post that was picked up by a dozen websites around the world, including the Advocate. Since then, two other pics have surfaced.

This photo, which I added to the previous post, sold on eBay for a whopping $1,600:

The pictures were part of a 2018 Sotheby’s auction of items belonging to Frank Branda, Jerry Lewis’s driver and assistant. The auction description listed “4 candid photographs of Lewis and Martin in a steam room and shower, Lewis posing modestly, Martin less so.”

To recap – three of the four recently sold on eBay:

It wasn’t a complete surprise that the most recent photo popped up for auction, as it was partially visible on the Southeby’s website. Cropped, low-res versions of this shot and a couple of others are also on Pinterest, with captions that they were taken at the Palm Springs El Mirador Hotel in 1952.

While I was able to clean up the sauna and first shower shots by removing the eBay seller’s watermark, which was strategically placed over Dean & Jerry’s nether regions, this time around the cheeky monkey has opted for a post-it note on Dean’s dong.

Ah well. Nice pic nonetheless.

**UPDATE:** This photo sold for nearly $4,000.

This appears to be the end of this lot of photos… but it is possible that there are others out there….

On The Life Of Brian… During The Pandemic

Artist / writer Adam Donaldson Powell asked if I would contribute to his latest project, in which he invites artists, writers, musicians, and other performing artists from around the world to contribute essays about their work and lives during the COVID-19 pandemic and aftermath. Here is my contribution:

https://adam-donaldson-powell.blog/2021/05/11/on-the-life-of-brian-during-the-pandemic/

Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Let It All Hang Out

Photos of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis have recently come to light that are raising some eyebrows. A nude shot of the duo showering together sold on eBay for nearly $4,500 this past week, while a steam room photo sold for a modest $375.

These photos appear to have sold at Sotheby’s in 2018 as part of a collection belonging to Frank Branda, Jerry Lewis’s driver and assistant.

The auction description listed “4 candid photographs (8 x 10 in.) of Lewis and Martin in a steam room and shower, Lewis posing modestly, Martin less so.”

*Martin & Lewis have a schvitz and a smoke. And who are their co-horts?*

While I originally thought the guy on the right was comedian Morey Amsterdam, a reader wrote:

The guy on the right in the sauna photo is Mack Gray, who was Dean’s assistant, and later in life arguably his closest friend. Dean and Jerry met him when they first came to Hollywood; they attended one of George Raft’s parties, and Jerry referred to Gray as Raft’s ‘Man Friday’.

*Dean Martin sharing a meal with songwriter Sammy Cahn as assistant Mack Gray attends. (1958)*

Cropped versions of a couple of these photos can be found on Pinterest, although in poor quality jpegs, apparently scans of photos that ran in a magazine or newspaper at the time. I wouldn’t exactly call Pinterest a reliable source, but if the captioning is accurate these shots were taken in 1952 at the Palm Springs El Mirador Hotel.

I’m the first to call “fake” on photoshopped images found on the internet, but these new photos are very clear. The only pixel anomalies are the results of my attempt to remove the eBay seller’s name, which was strategically plastered across key nether regions, including Dean Martin’s uncut dong.

UPDATE: Other photos have gone up for auction – see a more recent post about those here.

Martin and Lewis in Sailor Beware (1951)

Photographer Lucas Murnaghan Has Died at 45

Dr. Lucas Murnaghan, a celebrated underwater photographer and orthopedic surgeon, passed away in his Toronto home on March 21, 2021. According to his longtime partner Antonio Lennert, Murnaghan succumbed to cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer).

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lucas Murnaghan (@lucasmurnaghan)

In a Ted Talk posted last year, Murnaghan charted his path as an uptight overachiever following the family tradition by becoming a doctor, coming to terms with his sexuality and the circumstances that led him to become a full-time photographer and entrepreneur in recent years.

I started following Lucas on Instagram a couple of years ago. I knew nothing about him but his photographs spoke for themselves: stark, striking images that often played with what he described as “the balance between vulnerability and confidence, pride and shame, solitude and connection.”

Murnaghan’s photo *Suspended Animation* on the cover of Bruno Capinan’s 2018 CD.

When he began to promote his photography, his initial impulse was to hide his “day job” as a medical doctor, feeling that it prohibited him from being taken seriously as a photographer, or having an artistic point of view.

“I felt like I was entering the art world from the side door. Well, as it turns out, there is no front door. As an artist, that’s all we can do… gather up our entire lives and transmit it into our work. To do anything less than that is to not be honest with ourselves or our audience.”

For more images and information regarding his book Beneath The Surface, please visit www.lucasmurnaghan.com/

About Simon Baker in The Devil Wears Prada…

Sometimes when I’m channel surfing I am convinced that there is a Devil Wears Prada channel – one station dedicated solely to repeating the 2006 film. It is always on.

There are a handful of movies that have enjoyed a tenure of constant cable repetition. Some other favorites: The Notebook, Office Space and The Purge (which seems like a reality show as of late).

The Devil Wears Prada has been the subject of seemingly endless Buzzfeed lists and articles with all sorts of pro and con opinions.

Sample takeaways:

Andy’s friends are ungrateful hypocrites.
She should have never been hired for that job in the first place… and Emily deserved to go to Paris.
The “Cerulean Sweater” speech is really about cultural appropriation.
“$8 of Jarlsberg” is nearly a pound of cheese on a single nauseating sandwich.
Her boyfriend is awful, and
Adrian Grenier is a terrible actor.

*Does this burnt sandwich look like it has a pound of swiss cheese on it?*

Note that none of these observations have anything to do with Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly, which is why we all watch the movie repeatedly and her performance is beyond criticism, ok?

There is one thing that has bothered me since I saw this movie in its initial theatrical release. It distracts me whenever I watch it and I have waited 15 years for someone else to bring it up:

In the party scene where Andy first meets writer Christian Thompson, what the hell is going on with actor Simon Baker’s face?

For a movie that has undergone so much analysis and repeat viewing, I cannot be the only person who has noticed this.

This is only an issue in the first scene in which he appears.

When he comes back later, he has been color corrected and the Botox has relaxed.

This leads me to two theories:

A) Nobody realized what a terrible styling mistake had been made with the leading man until after they looked at the dailies for this party scene. The budget did not afford a re-shoot and they all thought “Well… it’s not THAT bad… onward and upward!”

B) They HAD to re-shoot or add this scene after production was completed and Mr. Baker was off playing a bleached, frozen-faced alien when they called him back to set.

When I started to do some research for this post, I typed “Devil Wears Prada Simon Baker” into Google, which then auto-populated “eyebrows”. So… it turns out, I am not alone in this.

The Detroit Metro Times panned the film and mentions “Simon Baker, whose bushy sage eyebrows look like they might help him take flight and flutter off in search of a better role.”

Other comments I found around the internet:

“Simon Baker’s eyes/eyebrows, especially in his first scene…. there was some weird grooming/Botox mojo going on that really distracted from the narrative.”

“….overly metrosexualized with the strangest blond eyebrows I have ever seen.”

“Simon Baker plays Christian Thompson in The Devil Wears Prada. Good actor, horrible eyebrows. I couldn’t take my eyes off of those creatures.”

I also came across a 2012 interview with Simon Baker in which he says ” “I had despicable eyebrows in that film so I always get comments about that!”

As a person with ample eyebrows myself (although not bleached, as my author photo can attest), I don’t find fault with his voluminous caterpillars throughout the film. It is just that first scene, when they appear to be overly bleached and perched atop a curiously frozen face..

Simon Baker later in the film. I have no problem with this look.

Artist’s Muse: Ted Starkowski

Although photographer George Platt Lynes passed away of lung cancer at age 48 in 1955, it took another 30 years before the majority of his male nude photographs were celebrated and widely released. Virtually every collection of his work now features photos of a model named Ted Starkowski. His nude images are featured on the covers of several collections of Lynes’ work – in solo shots or posed with Mel Fellini:

So who was Ted Starkowski?

Lynes biographer David Leddick wrote:

Ted Starkowski worked the streets. Hustling by night, he regaled Bernard Perlin and George Platt Lynes with his adventures while he posed for them during the day. They created unique images with his cat-like face and lithe body.

Perlin later recalled; “He looked like an old tomcat – you know, after the battle. But he just loved the way he looked…. he was a star whore, he aimed for people with money and he got it.”

(Above) George Platt Lynes photographed Ted Starkowski flanked by Bernard Perlin’s sketches.

Teodor Francis Starkowski was born in Hartford, Connecticut on April 4, 1927- the eighth child of Polish immigrants. When he was 6 years old, Ted was critically injured when he was struck by a car in front of his family’s home. He eventually made a full recovery, but the incident would foreshadow another auto accident forty-four years later.

His Army registration in September of 1945 indicates that he had attended three years of high school and was working at St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield.

After his stint in the military he relocated to New York City, where he became a favorite subject for Lynes and his circle of artist friends, including Paul Cadmus and Jared French.

(Above) Six images of Ted Starkowski by Jared French.

Thomas D. Baynes of The Univeristy of Western Ontario wrote extensively of one particular George Platt Lynes 1954 photograph in his thesis More than a Spasm, Less than a Sign: Queer Masculinity in American Visual Culture, 1915-1955:

Few other photographs by Lynes do as much to cast the model as an actor. In his tight jeans, bulging conspicuously at the crotch, fisherman-rib sweater worn without an undershirt, and workaday watchman’s cap relegated to the status of an ornament, Starkowski looks like a longshoreman snatched from the imagination of Tom of Finland … Lynes’s studio provides only the minimum furniture required to support Starkowski in a posture that manages to be solicitous and pensive at the same time, welcoming an evaluating view despite being absorbed in thought.

This photograph extends rough trade as a portable structure of fantasy that discovers erotic opportunities in ambiguities of dress and pose…. Evidently, Starkowski had a knack for acting like a straight man, or at least like a fantasy version thereof.

*Ted Starkowski as drawn by Paul Cadmus (Male Nude, TS5, 1954)*

*Ted Starkowski as drawn by Paul Cadmus (Male Nude, TS-7a) 1955*

*A reader sent a photo of this Paul Cadmus drawing titled “Ted Reading” – posted with permission.*

Another model who posed for many of the same artists was fellow ex-military man Chuck Howard, George Platt Lynes’ live-in boyfriend. After their split in January, 1951, Howard and Starkowski became involved in what David Leddick described as “a tempestuous affair.” Later that summer, the couple posed for a series of photographs shot by Paul Cadmus and credited to The PaJaMa collective. Taken in and around Carrington House on Fire Island, these photos capture a level of intimacy seldom seen among gay couples at that time.

The year after George Platt Lynes’ death, Starkowski was photographed by Carl Van Vechten. These photos are dated April 3, 1956:

Ted Starkowski by Paul Cadmus 1963 — *Portrait of Ted Starkowski at age 36 by Paul Cadmus. (1963)*

Thanks to a wealthy benefactor, Starkowski traveled extensively in the second half of the 1950’s. Perlin recalled; “There was this old boy who picked him up on 42nd Street. Ted enthralled him – kept him drunk and kept him out of money, with which Ted bought diamonds, which he wore. Both hands glittered with diamonds.”

Leddick relays a story of Starkowski showing off a new diamond ring to artist George Tooker. Asking if he thought it was too big. Tooker replied “Yes, it is too large for a woman to wear.”

And then… the trail goes dark for the next 14 years. If more images or information come to light, I will update this post. What we do know is that on Friday May 13, 1977, Ted Starkowski was leaving a New York City bar when he was struck and killed by a car. He was 50 years old.

An obituary ran in the Hartford Courant the following Tuesday, May 17th. He was buried in Mount Saint Benedict Cemetery in Bloomfield, Connecticut.

It was a sad end to a man who had inspired many artists.

Bernard Perlin recalled, “Despite his nefariousness, he did good in the art world. My drawings are comparatively negligible, but many of George’s photographs are just absolutely wonderful.”

Gay Porn Stars We Lost In 2020

In August of this year, porn star Koldo Goran tweeted about three fellow performers who had recently died. In one of those instances, Goran’s tweet remains the only public notice that performer Dani Rivera had been murdered. “I realize nobody talks about it, we are unprotected and forgotten;” Goran tweeted “We are humans, people, enough of contempt.”

Most gay news outlets choose to ignore the passing of all but the biggest names in the adult film industry. Porn companies also seem reluctant to broadcast the passing of a performer who is still on their roster, forever young and present in their website content. An obit is a real boner killer, ya know? Why jeopardize the profit margin? Additionally, performers who abandon their porn personas and return to life with their real name often pass away unnoticed by former employers and co-workers.

Case in point: Roman Heart was about as big a star as you will find in gay porn: 2006 Freshmen of the Year, GayVN Best Newcomer winner, a Falcon cover boy with an exclusive contract and a career lasting over a decade. Yet he passed away unnoticed in September of 2019. It was nearly a year before anyone in the business became aware of it.

Here is a list of gay porn stars of note that were lost in 2020. I post them here to prove Koldo Goran wrong – they are not forgotten:

1) Although Goran mentions that Macanao Torres died of cancer in the above tweet, the 35-year-old Spaniard actually passed away in an apparent suicide on December 30, 2019. He had appeared in two dozen titles for Cazzo, Jalif, UKNM and other studios.

2) Scotty Knox was only 20 years old when he died in a car accident on January 13, 2020. The North Carolina native had already appeared in 24 scenes for Colby Knox over the previous two years.

3) Earlier this year I wrote about the passing of Terry DeCarlo after a battle with cancer on January 27, 2020. He worked primarily for Catalina and Robert Prion Studios in the early 1990’s before becoming an activist and community leader.

4) Justin Hawk, aka Demetri Saltz was a North Carolina native born on February 16, 1991. He appeared in a handful of films from 2011-2014, including the College Boy Physicals series as well as scenes for Bad Puppy, Club Amateur, Dirty Boy and Pride Studios. He passed away on February 6, 2020 – the week before his 29th birthday. An online memorial states that he “will always be remembered for living in the moment and living each moment to the fullest.”

5) Mike Austin, aka Paul Austin Alley was born July 14, 1972 in St. Louis, Missouri. He graduated from Truman State University with a degree in journalism in 1994. He made his adult film industry debut in 2001 and appeared in a dozen films for a variety of companies, including All Worlds, Catalina, Studio 2000, and Puppy Productions.

He went back to school after he retired from the industry and received his MBA from St. Louis University in 2013. He passed away at age 47 from an accidental fentanyl overdose in San Diego, California on February 11, 2000. An online memorial remembers “He had an infectious smile and personality that many were drawn to. He was creative, thoughtful and had a true passion for music. Carpe Diem. This is how he looked at life and was his favorite quote.”

6) Jack Hammer XL was 53 years old when he “died unexpectedly at home” on March 1, 2020. He identified as queer and appeared in scenes for Kink over a 10 year period. The ex-Marine noted that the “XL” in his name stood for the roman numeral 40: his age when he entered the industry.

7) One would have to overlook a huge pile of reprehensible baggage to still be a fan of Sebastian Young, aka Joshua Knowles. He met his end in a shootout with police after a high speed chase on March 11, 2020. The 37-year-old convicted sex offender appeared in close to 90 scenes over a decade for Bromo, Jet Set, Lucas, MEN, Next Door, Cockyboys and other studios.

8) London-based fetish performer Kan Rojas only appeared in a handful of studio films for Eurocreme and HungBritLads, but was quite active with online content. He died “suddenly” on March 18, 2020.

9) The news of Ryan Fields‘ suicide on March 29, 2020 was tweeted out by fellow Broke Straight Boys model Damien Kyle. Fields was 25 years old and appeared in approximately 50 titles for Broke Straight Boys over a 5 year period.

Corbin Fisher’s Christian (left) & Jayden (right)

10 & 11) Corbin Fisher lost two models in 2020:

Christian was born December 30, 1995 and filmed three scenes for Corbin Fisher in 2014 when he was 19 years old. An online memorial detailed his struggles with depression, anxiety and addiction. He was only 24 years old when he overdosed on June 18, 2020 in Arizona.

Jayden was born on January 17, 1994 in Osnabruck, Germany and emigrated to San Antonio, Texas before moving to New Jersey. He appeared in a half dozen scenes for Corbin Fisher in 2016-2017. He reportedly took his own life on September 6, 2020. An online memorial remembers him as “charismatic and always had a soft spot for those less fortunate. He also loved animals and worked as a vet technician for a short while.”

12) French porn star Christopher Smeyt aka Christopher Smeet, Christopher Smeyth was active in straight films for European companies from 2008-2015. He did appear in two gay scenes of Lucas Entertainment’s 2009 release Paris Playboys. He was 33 years old when he passed away on July 31, 2020.

13) Colt model Tim Kelly was 58 years old when he died on August 5, 2020. Besides Colt Studios, the troubled muscle daddy had also worked for MenAtPlay, MenOver30, HotOlderMale and Butch Dixon.

14) Spaniard Dani Rivera was relatively new to adult films, with just a handful of recent releases for Men At Play and Hardkinks. As mentioned by Koldo Goran in his tweet. Rivera was murdered on August 21, 2020, although no other articles have appeared to fill in the details.

15) Ridder Rivera was 33 years old when he passed away of unknown causes on August 29, 2020. Over the past 3 years, the Cuban muscleman had worked with TimTales, Kristen Bjorn, Fuckermate and Raw Strokes, among other companies.

I found this post on social media: “Born in Havana in 1987, he was a teacher and those who knew him stand out about him that he spoke several languages and that he took great care of his family, especially his mother. He loved to dance…. took great care of his body and liked to show his followers on Facebook his training routines.”

16) Nikk (Nick) Toretto, was also known as Manny Vegas, Rokk/Roxx, Tyler, Italian Stallion and Manuel De Gobbi. He was born on May 8, 1983 and died “suddenly” on September 8, 2020 in Aurora, Colorado. The 37 year-old emigrated from Italy as a child and was raised in South Dakota, Shreveport, Louisiana and finally Cheyenne, Wyoming. His interest in bodybuilding began while he was a high school student in Cheyenne. After graduating, he served in the Navy, and began appearing in films the following year. From 2001-2012, he worked for multiple studios, including Jake Cruise, Next Door, Bait Bus, and Dirty Tony.

17) Brazilian Theo Barone worked exclusively with the Hotboys website since 2018, although he had announced his retirement earlier this year. He was 27 years old when he succumbed to stomach cancer on September 27, 2020.

18) Mack Daddy aka Maximus Sky aka Leron Davis was 27 years old when he was killed in a Cincinnati, Ohio car collision on October 15, 2020. In the past two years, he appeared in two dozen scenes for Flava Works, Bromo and Raw Rods, among other companies.

19) Robert Harris, aka Randy Paul entered the porn industry in 1986. The bisexual performer was born on December 15, 1960 in Bay Shore, New York. He appeared in approximately 200 gay, bi and straight titles over a 20 year period. The Rialto Report interviewed him about his lengthy career just months before his death at age 59 on November 11, 2020.

20) Tony Axel, aka Alexandre & Tony Lemalice was 42 years old when he passed away on November 12, 2020. Originally from Annecy, France, he had been active in gay porn since 2011, working with Kristen Bjorn, Lucas Entertainment, HardBritLads, Tim Kruger, Citebeur, and Cazzo Studios, among others.

Christmas At St. Mary’s Pre-Flight School

The sun is shining, the grass is green
The orange and palm trees sway
There’s never been such a day
In Beverly Hills, LA
But it’s December the 24th
And I’m longing to be up north…

That’s the rarely heard opening verse to Irving Berlin’s classic song White Christmas – originally released in 1942. The song popped into my head as I gathered these Christmastime photos of jockstrap-clad cadets in pre-flight training school at St. Mary’s College in California. Never mind that the school is actually several hundred miles north of Beverly Hills. It is still sunny California, where these strapping young men – many away from home for the first time – were training to go to war during the holidays.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I first became aware of these black and white 5″x7″ triptych photos a couple of years back through posts on a Facebook photo group.

Listings of these photos often turn up on auction sites, where they are sometimes include the index card used to record the physical training progress of the cadet.

The earliest photos feature the men completely nude, but all subsequent photos feature the cadets in jockstraps, standing behind some sort of grid fence to better detect posture misalignment and spinal curvature. All of these photos contain a visible U.S. Navy / St. Mary’s Pre-Flight School placard.

Fortunately for us, multiple photos of some cadets have surfaced, allowing for comparisons of their training progress:

Before / After 8 weeks of training: Fall, 1942

And while there is a lack of ethnic diversity, there is a variety of body types.

Before / After 3 weeks of training: December, 1942

My collection now includes over 300 jpegs of different cadets. Some did perish during WWII, but the largest majority that I have researched lived to ripe old ages. Any surviving cadets would now be in their late 90’s.

One thing these young men have in common, as they were documented in timeless photos of their physical prime: they were far from home during the holidays, training to fight for their country.

At this time of year, 75+ years later, cue up White Christmas as we again salute their fine forms and dedication.

See more here:
Men of St.Mary’s Pre-Flight School
Boys of Summer: St. Mary’s Pre-Flight School
Christmas At St. Mary’s Pre-Flight School, Pt. II
Christmas At St. Mary’s Pre-Flisht School, Pt. III
80 Years Ago: The Men Of St. Mary’s Pre-Flight School
More Men of St. Mary’s Pre-Flight School
1944: The Men of St. Mary’s Pre-Flight School
The Yale Posture Photos: James Franciscus
The Yale Posture Photos: Bill Hinnant

The Comfort of Repetition & The Ultimate Christmas Playlist

I am not alone in saying that I always take comfort in the annual repetition of the holidays – revisiting holiday-themed music, film, television… and now internet posts as well. This feeling is in overdrive this year, as I occupy myself at home and skip other annual holiday traditions that involve leaving my apartment. The Rockefeller Center tree looks very nice on my television – and that view will have to suffice this year, thank you very much.

I feel bad for this year’s Rockefeller Center tree – sacrificed to become the most famous Christmas shrub in the world at a time when nobody is allowed to actually go near it. It’s the Just Sam of Christmas trees, which makes the displaced owl Ryan Seacrest.

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, Bing Crosby, Brenda Lee and Johnny Mathis are rock stars from Thanksgiving through New Years. Are any of them on your 4th of July playlist? They aren’t on mine.

The film A Christmas Story has an even shorter (Elf on the) shelf life. We binge-watch the repeated broadcast for exactly 24 hours each year. I own it on Blu-ray and I’m not sure why: I have never opened it. To pop it in at any other time feels like a betrayal.

In keeping with this revisiting, blog posts of Christmas past are back to haunt you like A Christmas Carol, Mr. Scrooge:

This was my Canine Christmas Tail – a true story about my dog Sunshine and her appetite for tinsel.

Here is my take on the 1987 Motown Christmas Special – which featured few Motown acts.

Last year marked the 85th anniversary of March of The Wooden Soldiers – here are 10 things you may not know about the holiday classic.

Have you watched Christmas In Connecticut yet this year? How about that delivery woman?

Copyright issues kept my 60 Degrees Girl Group Christmas playlist out of commission but now it’s back! I plan to post other episodes of my old radio show in the new year.

If you prefer Spotify, I have this to share:

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 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 many 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 14 hours of holiday tunes. I recommend listening on shuffle – there’s something to irritate everyone. Enjoy!