Let's go...
Last night I was working on the upcoming zine "Dead in Hollywood: The Crucifixion of George Michael (Issue #11) when I spilled a glass of water on my laptop, frying it. I lost everything! Or so I thought. Spending three dollars a month on iCloud storage space turned out to be quite the bargain. The laptop was not so lucky. I'm still hoping to finish the issue before the L.A. Zine Fest on May 26th. I pray to George Michael that I will. "The Crucifixion of George Michael" will focus on Michael's arrest on April 8, 1998, for a "lewd act" in a public restroom in a Beverly Hills park, forcing the pop icon out of the closet. Michael's helped me come to terms with my own sexuality. At 13, my conservative, Trump-loving uncle bought me Michael's "Faith" album for Christmas. He's never really spoken to me after I came out years later in 1998. It's not just pop icons and mythical religious figures who are shunned and crucified. BTW, that uncle also introduced me to En Vogue's "Funky Divas" album on a road trip to Mexico when I was 14. Maybe I'll send him a copy of the zine when I'm finished. Maybe it'll free his mind and help heal the pain. DEAD IN HOLLYWOOD: THE CRUCIFIXION OF GEORGE MICHAEL (ISSUE #11) COMING SOON TO THE WILL ROGERS MEMORIAL PARK IN BEVERLY HILLS.
Accepting Submissions!!!
Calling all Sal Mineo fans! What does Sal mean to you? Dead in Hollywood will be accepting submissions for the upcoming zine "Sal Mineo: The First Gay Teenager." The issue will focus on Sal's performance as one of the first gay teenagers in a major motion picture (Rebel Without a Cause) as well as Sal's groundbreaking 1972 interview where he comes out as bisexual. DM me for more details and feel free to forward this to any fellow Sal fans. Feel free to e-mail Dead in Hollywood at thehellfirepress@gmail.com for more info!
The Day I Met Carrie Fisher
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Last Christmas: George Michael
On April 8, 1998, pop god George Michael, is arrested in Beverly Hills for engaging in a lewd act alone in a public restroom. What follows is the crucifixion of George Michael. Coming Soon⦠(Instagram: deadinhollywoodzine)
Geneva Williams: A Footnote in a Footnote's Footnotes
Hard at work on Dead in Hollywood: Dorothy Dandridge (Issue #9) and Iβm finding it difficult to pull myself away from her mother, Rubyβs, story. Ruby was a successful radio and television actress in her own right who left her husband to live with her βcompanionβ in 1922 America. Can you imagine? Sadly, her companion, Geneva Williams, was not a good woman. She overworks Dorothy and her sister, Vivian, and sexually assaults Dorothy one night after Dorothy returns home from her first date with a boy. Iβd love to learn more about Geneva, but sheβs become a footnote in another footnoteβs footnotes.
Ruby Dandridge
Reading up on Dorothy Dandridge's life, I find myself drawn to her mother, Ruby Dandridge. Five months before Dorothy is born, Ruby leaves her husband, Cyril Dandridge, and moves in with her "companion," Geneva Williams. This was 1922! A black woman divorcing her husband was almost unheard of at the time and not to mention the fact that Ruby was also pregnant with Dorothy. But that's exactly what she does. She chooses not only to survive but to thrive in the repressed society of the 1920βs. I canβt even imagine what that must have been like for Ruby.
Boy on the Beach
Tab Hunter (born Arthur Andrew Kelm was a well-known Hollywood heartthrob in the 50βs and 60βs, known for his Malibu-styled clean-cut good looks. He comes out of the closet in his 2005 autobiography, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star.
Goodbye Natalie, Hello Tab
Saying goodbye to Natalie Wood and starting work on the Dead in Hollywood zine β50,000,000 Tab Hunter Fans Canβt Be Wrong.β
Dead in Hollywood: The River Jonny (issue 4.5)
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Free copy with every issue of Dead in Hollywood: River Phoenix (issue 4).
Sal Mineo: The First Gay Teenager
One moment Iβm sailing on a yacht off the coast of Catalina Island with Natalie Wood and the next, Iβm showering with Hollywoodβs first gay teenager, Sal Mineo. I have some really exciting Dead in Hollywood zines coming your way.
Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood
Hard at work on Dead in Hollywood: Natalie Wood (Issue #8).
Deathiversary Part 2: Rock Hudson
Throughout his career, numerous magazines declared Rock Hudson "Star of the Year" and βFavorite Leading Man.β Hudson appeared in nearly 70 films and starred in several television productions during a career that spanned more than four decades. In 1956 he was nominated for an Oscar for his role in "Giant" - alongside James Dean. Hudson died from AIDS-related complications in 1985, becoming the first major celebrity to die from an AIDS-related illness.
Deathiversary: Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson died on this day in 1985. While Hudsonβs career developed, Hudson and his agent Henry Willson kept the actor's personal life out of the headlines. In 1955, Confidential magazine threatened to publish an exposΓ© about Hudson's secret homosexuality. Willson stalled this by disclosing information about two of his other clients. Willson provided information about Rory Calhoun's years in prison and the arrest of Tab Hunter at a party in 1950. Hudson's homosexuality was well known in Hollywood throughout his career, and former co-stars Elizabeth Taylor and Susan Saint James claimed that they knew of his homosexuality, as did Carol Burnett
Sal Mineo: The First Gay Teenager
Sal Mineo's character in the 1955 teensploitation flick, "Rebel Without a Cause," is considered by many to be the first gay teenager in a motion picture. In a 1972 interview, Sal Mineo is one of the first actors to discuss his sexuality publicly, coming out as bisexual. In 1976, with Sal's career starting to turn around - thanks in part to the role of a bisexual burglar in the play "P.S. Your Cat is Dead" - he is murdered returning home from play rehearsals. Instead of finding Sal's killer, the police focus instead on Mineo's sex life. For all these reasons and more, I am working on "Sal Mineo: The First Gay Teenager" zine. It will focus on the largely forgotten contributions Sal Mineo made to the LGBTQ cause and I will cover the homophobia surrounding his death. I will be releasing this issue at the San Fernando Valley zine fest on September 29.
