Hopelessly Devoted to: Randall Edwards

Published January 10, 2020 by biggayhorrorfan

A mad man was threatening to freeze frame the world. Fair ingénues were being buried alive. And over at Ryan’s Hope, the comically conniving Delia was kidnapped by a gorilla in a daytime television take on King Kong’s love struck antics. Such was the world of the early ‘80s soaps and the game and lovely Randall Edwards was a huge part of that zany atmosphere.

Taking over the role of Delia from the incredibly popular Ilene Kirsten, Edwards eventually made the role her own while simultaneously thrilling old school horror lovers with her best Fay Wray impression. Purposely grabbing a lion’s share of publicity, this attention seeking storyline surely prepared Edwards for some theatrical scrutiny that was soon to follow. RandallPeople

After a successful showing in Neil Simon’s critically acclaimed Biloxi Blues, Edwards was cast as sassy showgirl Kiki Roberts in the 1988 Broadway production of Legs Diamond. The show, nicely, gave her an ample chance to show off her singing and dancing talents in numbers such as I Was Made for Champagne and Only Steal From Thieves. Expensively produced and starring popular singer-songwriter Peter Allen, this production eventually went down in history as being one of show business’ most notorious flops, causing the permanent closing of the theater in which it debuted.

RandallLegs Of course, time has thankfully brought out kinder reactions to the project. Allen’ score has been favorably reexamined and several of the songs were included in The Boy From Oz, the popular retelling of his life starring Hugh Jackman. Nicely, a 30^th anniversary concert recreation of the show even featured a still beautiful, dizzily potent Edwards.

Reportedly now a psychologist, it would definitely make her many fans “go ape” if this talented woman would continue to make occasional appearances in creative situations.

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Joan Crawford

Published January 5, 2020 by biggayhorrorfan

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The one time queen of MGM…and Warner Brothers…and the daytime soap scene, Joan Crawford has a special place in the heart of distinguished horror lovers everywhere. Allowing herself to be humbled for her art, she gave victimhood a special glow in the classic Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Her subsequent terror offerings may not have been as distinguished as this oft nominated chiller, but they sure were fun! From Strait Jacket to Berserk! to Trog, the lady Crawford always gave her professional best.

She was similarly committed when given a song and dance number to do in The Hollywood Revue of 1929.

Meanwhile, The Best of Everything: A Joan Crawford Encyclopedia covers everything else that this golden age superstar accomplished in her lifetime.

www.joancrawfordbest.com

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Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Kate Bush

Published December 29, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

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Music has that distinctive power to shoot you into various points in your timeline. A recent listen to Sad Day, the FKA Twigs’ track that owes much sonic inspiration to the genre hopping brilliance of Kate Bush, brought me back to my high school days. As with many LGBTQIA youth, those years weren’t my happiest. One fond memory does linger with me, decades later, though.

My parents always seemed to be late to pick me up from activities. Sometimes I waited for hours outside of buildings or, in happier and warmer circumstances, in lonely, darkened hallways. My senior year I was in a production of William Inge’s Picnic and, after opening night, I found myself all alone in the shadowy caverns of the school cafeteria waiting, once again, to be familially retrieved. I had a huge broken down cassette player with me and I spent the entirety of my waiting time listening to The Kick Inside, Bush’s glorious debut recording, which I had bootlegged from a bootlegged tape of a friend. Soaking in the genius of Bush’s nimble soprano fed lyrics in that solitary state, I realized the space I was in would soon be a distant memory. I felt profound and beautiful, inching a bit closer to the wild creative freedoms of adulthood.

Fans, of course, know that particular recording features Wuthering Heights, a beautiful homage to the world famous gothic novel. Bush would continue to explore those darker worlds in subsequent recordings, including Lionheart’s Hammer Horror. Detailing the travails of an actor being haunted by another while taking on the role of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, this single was a mild chart success in Britain, but is held in high regard by nostalgic horror lovers everywhere.

Bush, of course, is still continually evoking worlds of mystery and grace at http://www.katebush.com.

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Lorna Luft

Published December 22, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

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Best known for her enthusiastic portrayal of Pink Lady Paulette in Grease 2 and for her famous lineage, Lorna Luft also joined the ranks of horror goddesses with her role in the Tales of the Darkside episode The Shrine.

The veteran of countless musical theater productions, Luft also knows her way around a torch song as evidenced by her take on The Music That Makes Me Dance:

Of course, New Wave enthusiasts are aware that she also backed up the likes of Debbie Harry, most notably on the popular Eat to the Beat track Slow Motion, and Hilly Michaels in the early ‘80s, making this performing dynamo a true delight in almost every entertainment medium imaginable.

https://www.facebook.com/LornaLuftOfficial/

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Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Review: BETTE Xmas at the Continental Baths

Published December 15, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

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Bette Midler is many things. Her repertoire of songs alone includes rock and roll, MOR pop ballads, girl group classics and new wave energizers. Her role as the hysterically vengeful Winifred in Hocus Pocus also imbues her with a strong horror pedigree, allowing generations of outsiders to delightfully engage in their inner wicked witches.

In BETTE Xmas at the Continental Baths, Chicago theater goddess Caitlin Jackson invokes many of those Midler personalities while also remaining uniquely herself. Based upon the Divine One’s ‘70s showcase at a NYC men’s club, this production is full of goofy energy and go-for-broke silliness, making it not only a seasonal delight, but one of the year’s best stage offerings as a whole, as well.

Jackson’s desire to make this a sort of performing arts fever dream is perfectly realized. For example, the corny jokes in Jackson and David Cerda’s fun script are often so obvious that they don’t land with the audience…at first. But the performer’s skilled reactions to the theater’s radio silence are truly hysterical, making the presentation as a whole an unmitigated delight from start to finish.

Of course, Jackson’s softly anguished takes on songs such as Superstar, River and I Shall Be Released are the evening’s master points. This go-for-broke yet subtle emotionality is her forte as a performer, making one pity those who will never experience this kind of brilliance in their lifetimes.

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Nicely, Jackson is ably assisted here by Terry McCarthy as Mr. Gerard, Midler’s game hairdresser, and Sydney Genco and Allison Petrillo as Laverne and Trixie, Midler’s backup singers. Genco and Petrillo get a chance to shine on their own during the show’s intermission/costume change. Their pert energy and spot on timing ultimately prove that they deserve a show of their own one of these days. Hmm…maybe next season!!!

But until then… give proper kudos to Jackson and co-director Marc Lewallen, by checking out this year’s festivities before closing night on December 31^st.

https://www.facebook.com/events/570448403729627/

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Atanas Ilitch

Published December 15, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

As the Driller Killer in Slumber Party Massacre 2, Atanas Ilitch made a definitive impression on slasher movie lovers worldwide. Radiating with hip James Dean swerve and a sense of New Wave cool, Ilitch made killing seem as quick and easy as a cheesy pop song here.

But Ilitch’s personal history is even more colorful than his best known onscreen role. The scion of a powerful Detroit based business dynasty, he was also reportedly considered for the role of James Bond in the ‘80s. His musicality was a prime consideration to the producers and, in preparation for playing the iconic spy, he recorded a number of songs with espionage style theatrics. Upon losing the role to Timothy Dalton, he took such imaginings as Dark Night, Crazy in the Dark and Shoot the Gun and put them on an album called Shadows. Let’s Live Together was one of the more romantic offerings on display there.

Surviving a battle with cancer in his early 40s, Ilitch is, assumedly, still providing the citizens of Michigan with interesting musical avenues via his various corporate undertakings.

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Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Dusty Springfield

Published December 8, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

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She is the essence of smooth British soul, making her the perfect soundtrack vocalist. Indeed, Dusty Springfield, one of the essential goddesses of sixties pop, has decorated the background of many a celluloid landscape. Nicely, her smoky version of Spooky highlights the first kiss between childhood sweethearts in 2017’s fun horror comedy The Babysitter. Countered by exploding bodies and cranial blood bursts, this tender moment could not have a more perfect aural illustration.

Springfield is also of special interest to the LGBTQIA community. Romantically linked with a number of women, including Rough Trade’s magnetic Carole Pope, she is one of the many exceptionally talented performers that we can claim as family. Her immaculate voice and silvery presence grandly live on despite her death in 1999, due to cancer, at the far too young age of 59. Emily-Alyn-Lind-and-Judah-Lewis-in-The-Babysitter-2017

http://www.dustyspringfield.co.uk/

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Chaka Khan

Published December 1, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

There is probably one scene in 1981’s The Fan that queer horror freaks remember even more than all those glorious Lauren Bacall production numbers. Of course, that is the moment when Michael Biehn’s twisted Douglas Breen picks up a similar looking man (Terrence Marinan) in a gay bar. While problematic, showing another instance of society’s perception of the homosexual male as a victim, it also truly resonated with a generation who wasn’t used to representation of any sort on the silver screen.

Playing, perhaps ironically, in the background as this deadly seduction occurs is the Junior Walker & the All Stars’ version of How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You). H-m-m…maybe not, Michael! But there is one thing we can all probably agree on. Chaka Khan’s version of the song, famously performed by everyone from Marvin Gaye to James Taylor, is truly killer – in the best possible way!

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Pearl Bailey

Published November 24, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

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From The Mummy to Thinner to Drag Me to Hell, gypsies have been colorful characters in the world of horror. While their predictions and curses have long generated trauma and ruin for the people they encounter in these films, the divine Pearl Bailey gave us a more jovial approach to their abilities with the amusing The Gypsy Goofed.

A powerful icon in her own right, Bailey commanded the worlds of film, stage and television. Famously replacing the (seemingly) irreplaceable Carol Channing in the Broadway production of Hello, Dolly, this undefeatable songstress is rightfully remembered, in perpetuity, as one of the giants of the entertainment industry.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pearl-Bailey

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Lissie

Published November 17, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

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Rob Zombie never sounded so beautiful! Acclaimed singer-songwriter Lissie’s cover of Zombie’s Dragula is one of the prettiest metal re-imaginings ever. You can take my word (but not my soul) for it! Directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods obviously agree as they use this version to play over the end credits of their fun 2019 horror throwback Haunt.

Of course, when she isn’t providing perfect movie mood music, the divine Lissie is always possessing sonic dreamscapes at http://lissie.com/.

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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