Tennis Tuesday: Simone Bolelli

 

I was wondering why Simone Bolelli suddenly wasn't always playing doubles with Andrea Vavassori, who teamed up with Austrian Alexander Erler at Indian Wells. But I was fine with the open relationship once I learned that Bolelli was moonlighting as a fellow underwear model. More proof BELOW.

Three Drag Angels, One Slab of Beef and a Very Lucky Friday the 13th

 

As I mentioned, I really struck gold being in Los Angeles last week when two of my pals' long-running shows that I have never actually seen in person happened to be going on. On Wednesday, Damian and I drove over to the legendary Casita del Campo to witness the equally legendary comedy stylings of "Chico's Angels," featuring three angelic drag personas and one slab of beef paying homage to the "Angels in Chains" episode. I've heard that none of the actresses from the original series have any use for the parody -- either thinking they're being made fun or simply not being receptive to even hearing about it -- but it's hard to see it as anything but a love letter to the cultural phenomenon of the late 1970s. 

Learn more HERE.

Since I'm friends with Danny Casillas -- who plays delightfully ditzy Frieda Laye -- I sort of assumed I would enjoy his persona the most. But all three actors -- Danny plus Oscar Quintero as Kay Sedia, the self-absorbed and curvaceous former Miss Tijuana Natural Springs Water and Ray Garcia as Chita Parol, the smart and assertive Angel who has both a personal and professional rivalry with Kay -- have such chemistry that I pretty much forgot Frieda was my amiga and got swept up in their over-the-top antics ... which is to say nothing of Cade Christensen en los shorts de Peter Rison! 

On Friday my friends Greg and Jim met up with us at Marix, the famed West Hollywood Tex-Mex restaurant I frequented when I was residing down the street on Croft Avenue. Marix was closed for a few years after the pandemic due to a dispute with the landlord that also involved neighboring Basix, my old coffee hangout. So it was a real treat to see it thriving again -- in large part due to our adorable waiter named Bobby! 

Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd are slated to reunite next month in Los Angeles for the first time in ages -- and what a shame it is that their Latina counterparts won't be included in the festivities. 

Learn more HERE.

From there we headed east to the Renberg Theatre at the LA LGBT Center, where we got to see Dennis Hensley's fundraising laughfest "The Mismatch Game." As luck would have it, Nadya Ginsburg was there as Cher; Drew Droege was Tanya Roberts (speaking of Angels!); Julie Brown was the late Queen Elizabeth, a last-minute decision because it had just come to her attention that Bjork, whom she had planned to play, had been caught doing B(j)lackface years ago; as well as a gaggle of other hilarious performers. Because it was Friday the 13th -- and two days before St. Paddy's Day -- the theme was Bad Luck of the Irish, although the outsize amount of money raised begged to differ! 

I also met Frank DeCaro!

Remains of the Day (03/16)

 

Broadway World: Robbie G.K. and Eric McCormack attend Elton John's AIDS Foundation fundraiser

People: Maybe Dolly Parton's sister wasn't just stirring up shit for no reason

Gothamist: Mayor Mamdani creates LGBTQIA office, with NYC's first out trans agency head in charge

Japan Times: Survey finds no LGBTQ measures at half of workplaces in the Land of the Rising Sun

CNN: A harsh climate for many LGBTQ people in Africa is getting worse -- and some blame the U.S.

Page Six: In fairness, how could a mortal not sexually harass this one?

GLAAD: Honoring black LGBTQ voices across the 2026 Media Awards nominations

AFP: Nepal’s LGBTQ community celebrates first transgender woman lawmaker

Attitude: David Gandy beats the desert heat in Hackett’s latest campaign

GCN: Ronnie Eldridge, longtime LGBTQ ally, New York civic leader, and TV host, dies at 95

Deadline: Cannot wait to see Rachel Mason’s "My Brother’s Killer," which promises long-awaited closure in a notorious unsolved gay Los Angeles murder case

Attitude: Alan Turing and other historical figures could be replaced by animals on U.K. banknotes under a new design approach honoring the planet, though the proposal has drawn LGBTQ backlash

MetroWeekly: A South Dakota man was sentenced to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree manslaughter in the 2022 shooting death of a Two-Spirit person, claiming he acted in self-defense

Advocate: About 4 in 10 Americans still view homosexuality as immoral, survey finds. (It's even higher if you do it right.)

Socialite Life: Male Model Monday featuring Saul Rodriguez, Giorgio Ramondetta, Will Ferraz and more

Hot Cat of the Day: Someone is very happy that his two dads are back home! 

They Do: Chaz Bono ties the knot 

Hunk Alert: Greg in Hollywood shares his top 12 tennis studs spotted at Indian Wells

Weekend Tennis Roundup

Sinner and Sabalenka were winners in the desert. Full report plus all the ATP beef that's fit to post BELOW.

The Ides of March

 

We lost our Billy nine years ago today and it’s every bit as painful as it was then. 🙏

Linda Holmes: Remembering Bill Walsh's Way With Words

Oh, Susanna!

 

As I mentioned earlier in the week, three very Kenneth events happened while Damian and I were on the coast, including a performance by Susanna Hoffs. Ironically, the last time I was in L.A. was exactly 10 years ago, when I made a special trip to see the Bangles beauty perform ... at Largo! 

That outing was nearly derailed by an epic snowstorm here in NYC -- my flight kept getting canceled and eventually I made it there for only one of the two shows I had tickets for, which both featured guest Belinda Carlisle.

This time around, we were fortunate that my friend and former roommate James was available to join us. He happened to work on (Susanna's husband) Jay Roach's "High Desert," so we chatted with him after the show and found it adorable how the famed director went out of his way to make sure James's selfie was to his liking. 

Before the concert, we ran into our mutual pal and film reviewer extraordinaire Glenn Gaylord, whose write-up is so spot-on I will just share it with you here. 

He writes:

I went to see Susanna Hoffs & Friends at Largo last night. She did a wonderful 14 song set of Bangles classics, a couple of new songs, and, to our delight, she and her small band performed the first 7 songs off of The Beatles' classic album, HELP! She sounded as good as ever, with that angelic yet raspy voice which always cuts through. If you've never been to Largo, it's a small, intimate 200+ seat venue and artists keep things SUPER casual. No photos or recording was allowed, which made it feel evern more special. 

Susanna, admittedly scattered, gave off a "you're in my living room" vibe, stopping and restarting songs, forgetting lyrics, changing tempos, all while being beyond adorable. In the biggest surprise of the evening, Conan O'Brien came out to workshop jokes from his upcoming Oscar monologue. If the jokes he told are any indication of what he's gonna do, this will be one for the books. I really hope he goes there with the Timothee Chalamet bit.

As much as I love The Bangles...and why, oh why, are they not in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame yet????...I have really worshipped her three cover songs albums she recorded with Matthew Sweet (another favorite of mine). Their voices blend together so well. Did I mention I'm a huge power pop fan?  Each album covers a specific decade in music....60s, 70s, and 80s.  

I have been hungering for their 90s collaboration, but tragedy struck Matthew in October 2024 when he suffered a debilitating stroke while on tour in Toronto. It's been a long, slow road to recovery and it's not clear he'll ever be able to play guitar or sing again. Visit his GO FUND ME page for more details and if you have felt he (and Susanna) have enriched your life with their artistry, maybe consider donating. 

In the meantime, here's the setlist from Susanna's concert last night.

  1. In Your Room

  2. None of Them Were You (The List)

  3. Bad Case of Loneliness

  4. Help!

  5. The Night Before  

  6. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away

  7. I Need You  

  8. Another Girl

  9. You're Going to Lose That Girl

10. Ticket to Ride  

11. Manic Monday

12. Hero Takes a Fall

13. Hazy Shade of Winter

14. Encore: Eternal Flame

Kenneth and James on the real Melrose Place, circa 1992

We finished the night off with James by cruising Melrose Avenue before getting a bite at Canter's. xo