ON THE AIROFF THE PRESS

Tales tale, acceptable colleges, Elton & RuPaul

by John DuAne Graves

The January 10 edition of People magazine ran a profile of TV veterinarian Steve Kritsick and his partner of three years, Art Campbell. Kritsick, who did pet segments on ABC's Good Morning America, CNN, Romper Room and PBS, announced that he was gay and was suffering with AIDSrelated lymphoma on Good Morning America last October. On January 17, Good Morning America reported that Kritsick had died and took time out from the then-breaking Los Angeles earthquake story to present a very moving tribute to Kritsick. Thank you ABC for your thoughtfulness and the respect you showed a gay employee who had lived with AIDS.

Tales of the City author Armistead Maupin tells of his struggle, since 1979, to get his stories on film in the January 8 edition. of TV Guide. Network and cable producers turned down Maupin's stories unless he would be willing to virtually eliminate the role of Michael Tolliver because the character was involved in an intense gay relationship including on-screen kissing of his boyfriend. Finally, in the early '90s, Channel 4, the British network that commissioned The Crying Game and Howard's End, offered to fund the six-hour miniseries exactly as the stories were written. Good news for those of you who enjoyed the PBS American Playhouse presentation. USA Today reports that plans are underway to film More Tales of the City, Maupin's sequel to the original novel.

USA Today columnist Deirdre Donahue reported that the recipe for best-selling magazines in 1993 included four things: love, lesbians, the leader of the free world and Rush Limbaugh. Donahue said that Newsweek's top selling story was its June 21 cover story on lesbians.

Jim and Dave, GayWaves field correspondents, report that Elton John and Ru Paul have a new `video remaking Elton John's song, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" which Elton John did originally with Kiki Dee. In the video, Elton John is dressed as Marie Antoinette and Ru Paul is dressed as Louis XVI.

Rapper Marky Mark, charged with being anti-gay lately, says he is not homophobic in a cover story interview in the January 25 edition of the Advocate. The Advocate was selected as America's best newsmagazine in 1993 by a panel of 29 mainstream magazine editors and publishers in the fourth annual Editorial Excellence Awards sponsored by Folio, a magazine industry periodical. The Advocate's competition included Time and Newsweek.

GLIPR, Gays and Lesbians in Public Radio, reports that radio KGAY, the first national lesbian and gay radio network, has gone off the air and is out of business. According to a report published in Outtakes, GLIPR's newsletter, the satellite station failed because of lack of trained staff, sporadic news service and insufficient listener base leading to a failure to secure advertising revenues necessary to run the network.

Cable's Comedy Central channel offers the best gay and gay-friendly programming on the air. Besides the hour-long all lesbian and gay comedy special Out There, openly lesbian, gay and bisexual comics perform gay humor regularly on the channel's standup comedy shows, Mo Gaffney's Women Aloud talk-comedy show has featured all gay and all bisexual shows and openly bisexual comic Sandra Bernhard hosts the A Line, a stand-up comedy show that showcases two top comics on each show.

The December 4 issue of TV Guide reported that the producers of CBS' Northern Exposure plan to have the town's resident gay couple, Ron and Erick, discover that Maurice, the town's resident anti-gay, has a

fetish for women's footwear. Ron and Erick are played by Doug Ballard and Don R. McManus. This December 4 issue of TV Guide also reports that Kin Shiner, who plays Scotty Baldwin on General Hospital, is leaving the show and will join the cast of Family Passions a German/Canadian soap opera that will include some lesbian storylines.

The January/February issue of the gay magazine 10 Percent reports that Villard Books has recently published the Princeton Review Student Access Guide the best 286 colleges that lists the top 20 colleges for "gay community accepted” and “gay students ostracized, discriminated against." Schools listed under "gay community accepted" included Bennington, Reed, Bryn Mawr, Vassar and Ohio's Oberlin College. Gay unfriendly schools included Brigham Young University, Holy Cross College, Notre Dame, Baylor, Villanova and the University of North Dakota.

USA Today reported that Philadelphia, Jonathan Demme's film about AIDS and homophobia, was the top money making film in the country for the week ending January 17, grossing an estimated $12.1 million. Plain Dealer film critic Joanna Connors, in her review in the January 14 edition of the paper, gave Philadelphia high marks but criticized the film for not exploring the gay relationship between the characters portrayed by Tom Hanks and Antonio Banderas adequately.

That infamous tabloid, the Star, reports that Drew Barrymore will portray a lesbian in the upcoming film Boys on the Side which includes a "sizzling love scene" with Whoopi Goldberg.

Poseidon Books has just published A Place at the Table: The Gay Individual in American Society, a new book by Bruce Bawer, a conservative gay man, about the "silent majority" of gay men in America who do not espouse "radical" politics.

The Plain Dealer recently ran side-byside articles about the national and local Log Cabin Clubs, a national organization of gay Republicans.

GLAAD, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is asking that we show our appreciation to the producers and sponsors of Other Mothers, the CBS Afterschool Special about a lesbian couple and their son which aired a few months ago. Write to the show's producer, Joe Stern Productions, 11811 Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90064. Be sure to send a copy to the show's sponsors who were targeted by the anti-gay American Family Association. Write to: David W. Johnson, CEO, Campbell Soup Company, Camden, NJ 08103 and to Michael A. Miles, CEO, Phillip Morris Companies, Inc., 120 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017.

Sorry to report that former GayWaves staffer Josette's show, Allergic to the Mainstream, usually heard Friday from noon to 2 pm, on WRUW 91.1 FM, right after GayWaves, will be on hiatus until May or June while Josette takes a break. Listen for her again at the start of summer.

GayWaves urges you to keep lesbian, gay and bisexual broadcasting and program content strong in this area by supporting WRUW, WCSB and WVIZ during their fund raising drives. Don't forget to tell the stations why you are giving your support and, while you're at it, urge businesses that you patronize, both gay and straight, to buy advertising on Buck Harris' show, The Gay 90's on WHK 1420 AM (and in the Chronicle too, of course!).

ནྟཱཏྟཾ

Finally, GayWaves thanks those of you who called the station to volunteer to help produce the show in the WRUW recording studio.

John DuAne Graves is a coproducer of Gay Waves, on WRUW 91.1 FM in Cleveland.

JANUARY 28, 1994 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

even productions PRESENTS

The 19th Annual

Womyn's Variety Show

355

Womyn Only Event SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 12th, 1994 8:00 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.)

The Great Hall, The Civic, 3130 Mayfield Rd., Cleveland Hts. followed by the Fabulous Variety Show Party

9

Tickets: $16.00in advance or at the door (more if you can, less if you can't)

Available in advance at the Bookstore on West 25th and Gifts of Athena Bookstore, 2199 Lee Rd. Refreshments, drinks and music available when the doors open at 6:30 p.m. Sober Support Womyn only, 18 years or older please Childcare available by advanced reservation only by February 5 Interpreted for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

To volunteer or for work exchange call 321-7799

APOTIOZ

For information call 321-7799

OMEGA CUT Call Now 221-9008 11833 Franklin Blvd. Lakewood, Ohio

PUT YOUR HAIR IN MOTION... WITH POTION 9 Wearable Treatment

provides deep

infuse the body building inigine no more.

the first wearable treatment Potion ? ent and cross-0.ef

treatment power

even dry, damaged

hair spring to life. A

essent

a

wearable treatment that restores and restyles!

SEBASTIAN

S

CMM

IM

Perm Special & Texture Cut

Now $35.00

With this ad. Expires 3/31/94

Body Language

Books, Magazines, Videos, Leather & Accessories

VIDEO SALE!

New Titles............ Sale! $19.95

Hours: Mon.-Sat. Noon 9PM

Originally $40. to $70.

Sunday Noon 5PM

3291 W. 115th (1/2 block North of Lorain Cleveland 251-3330