Thursday, October 22, 2015

Pat Woodell dies at 71; actress best known for 1960s sitcom 'Petticoat Junction'

From:  LA Time
Actress Pat Woodell, center, with Linda Kaye Henning, left, and Jeannine Riley
 in the hit 1960s sitcom "Petticoat Junction."
(Paul Henning Estate)
Actress Pat Woodell, who starred as one of a trio of sisters in the wholesome 1960s sitcom "Petticoat Junction" before she went on to be featured in a series of not-so-wholesome exploitation films, died Sept. 29 at her home in Fallbrook, Calif. She was 71.

Known as Patricia McDade off screen, she had battled cancer for more than 20 years, said her husband, Vern McDade.

She was born July 12, 1944, in Winthrop, Mass. Her initial aim in show business was to be a singer, and she had early gigs at resorts in the Catskills. In 1962, gossip columnist Harrison Carroll wrote, "Everybody wants to hear 18-year-old singer Pat Woodell."

Woodell, a statuesque brunette, was signed to a contract by Warner Bros., and her first network TV credit was on a 1962 episode of the western series "Cheyenne." She followed that up with appearances on "Hawaiian Eye" and "77 Sunset Strip," and had a role in a government-sponsored anti-communism drama, "Red Nightmare," narrated by Jack Webb.

Her best-known role came in the hit series "Petticoat Junction," set near the bucolic town of Hooterville. Many of the plots revolved around the misadventures of the three teenage daughters of widow Kate Bradley, played by veteran TV actress Bea Benaderet, as they tried to keep the slightly run-down Shady Rest Hotel afloat.

The show made its debut in 1963 on CBS, with Woodell playing Bobbie Jo, the smart, studious daughter. (The trio was rounded out by Linda Kaye Henning, who portrayed tomboy Betty Jo, and Jeannine Riley, who was boy-crazy Billie Jo.)

One of the better-known episodes that featured Woodell had her falling for a traveling-through beatnik type, played by Dennis Hopper. He spews over-the-top, angry verse that insults the townspeople. Yet a smitten Bobbie Jo tells him, "I think that was one of the most exciting poems I've ever heard." In the end, with her mother's help, she realizes he's more insane than artistic.

"The show has such a nostalgic note that it hits for so many people," Woodell said in an interview in the mid-2000s for a DVD compilation of the series. "Even today, after so many decades, I can be doing anything, anywhere in the world, by the way, and people will remember 'Petticoat Junction.'"

Woodell did some singing on the show — including in a Beatles parody group, the Ladybugs — with her on-screen sisters and the addition of actress Sheila Kuehl, now a Los Angeles County supervisor.

But Woodell grew tired of playing Bobbie Jo and left after two seasons of "Petticoat Junction," which ran until April 1970.

She had some success as a singer, including touring with comedian Jack Benny and recording an album, but stardom remained out of reach.

In the early 1970s she began appearing in low-budget exploitation films that thrived on nudity and violence, long before those were amply available on cable. Perhaps the best known of those films was the 1971 women's prison flick "The Big Doll House," which exclaimed in its trailer: "Their bodies were caged, but not their desires!"

"I have no delusions about this movie," Woodell said in a 1971 Chicago Tribune interview. But she didn't break through to more mainstream fare, and in 1973 gave up acting after attending a seminar developed by the controversial Werner Erhard. His est human potential programs were in vogue at the time, and Woodell went to work for his organization. She later co-founded a business consulting firm, retiring in 2013.

In addition to her husband — they were married in 1978 — she is survived by her stepfather, Joe Saveriano.

PANTSLESS IN FLANNEL: BEST TWEETS OF THE WEEK

From: Manhunt Daily
Here at MHD, we love twitter. It’s good for complaining about stuff, sharing dirty pics, and secretly stalking people you think are hot. All pros in my estimation. Needless to say, I spend an inordinate amount of time on twitter.com keeping up with folks so that I don’t have to actually muster the energy to put on pants and go outside and do things. Every week I end up with a pile of tweets that are too good for mere RTing. These are those tweets.

















Out Actor and Entertainer Leslie Jordan Shares Some Heartfelt Words About His Sobriety

From; Wicked Gay
I saw this on Leslie's Facebook page today and really love he opens up and shares some personal words and experiences and I wanted to share.


"Eighteen years ago today, I was in the back of a police car for the fifth time that year. I don't need to go on but I haven't had a drink since!
THE LESLIE JORDAN TODAY WOULD BARELY RECOGNIZE THE LESLIE JORDAN BACK THEN.
Has it been easy? Hell no. Have there been setbacks? Too many to name. BUT WE MUST ALWAYS RETURN TO TRUDGING THE ROAD OF HAPPY DESTINY. For this scarred, beaten up, sad alcoholic and crystal meth addict, sobriety is the only solution. I was a Golden Slipper in the early days.
I learned that we cannot make others happy unless we are happy with ourselves. Today, more than ever before, I am happy and proud of the man in the mirror. If you are not happy with who you've become then please make a change. You deserve it. You don't have to be "tore up from the floor up" and "sick and tired of being sick and tired". And, if you need help - don't ever be too proud to ask! There is a community out there that loves you - regardless of differences. Be Happy and Stay Different!
Thanks Joseph G. Daniels for the creative photograph you captured me at my best! J. Daniels Photo Studio
Love. Light. Leslie"

Olympic Freeskier Gus Kenworthy: ‘I’m Gay’

From: Towelroad
Olympic freeskier Gus Kenworthy has come out of the closet. Kenworthy, who won AFP World Championships overall titles in 2011, 2012, and 2013, won silver at the Olympics in Sochi, Russia and won his first medal, a bronze, at the X Games in Tignes, France in the slopestyle event, came out on social media and in an interview with ESPN:


Gus Kenworthy started coming out to his family and closest friends nearly two years ago. His mom said she knew. His brother said he was proud. His best friend 
voiced unrelenting support. And if Gus Kenworthy were an average 24-year-old, the announcement — the story — might have ended there. But Gus Kenworthy is not an average 24-year-old. He is the top freeskier on the planet, an Olympic medalist, a face of the X Games. He is an elite athlete competing in the world of action sports, where sponsors — and income — are inextricably linked to image. In other words, he is an athlete with a lot to lose. But Gus Kenworthy is ready to tell that world, his sport, his truth. And so, as we sit down together in Los Angeles in September, he begins the only way he knows how: “I guess I should start by saying, ‘I’m gay.'”


Kenworthy tells the magazine that he’s known he is gay since the age of 5, he has contemplated suicide, and he made a promise to himself after the Sochi Games to tell the world the truth about himself — but only after he had become the best free skier in the world.


Kenworthy tells ESPN that he felt a tremendous amount of pressure to conform to the macho world of skiing, particularly with women:


“In skiing, there’s such an alpha male thing about pulling the hottest chicks,” Kenworthy says. “I know hooking up with hot girls doesn’t sound like the worst thing in the world. But I literally would sleep with a girl and then cry about it afterward. I’m like, ‘What am I doing? 
I don’t know what I’m doing.'”


He says the dishonesty has often deeply affected his confidence in the sport:


“Part of [the stress] is the fact that I’ve never had a TV boyfriend,” he says. “That’s actually something I want so bad — a TV boyfriend.”


He says he sees the homophobia all around him:


Take, for instance, the former sponsor who made a crude anti-gay remark about why Kenworthy was once late to a competition. Take his physical therapist, who once told Kenworthy that he couldn’t even imagine talking to a gay guy all night. (“I thought, ‘You’ve talked to a gay guy for two hours a day, four days a week for seven months.’ “)


Take the constant drumbeat of living in a culture that uses the words “gay” and “fag” as commonly as “stoked.” A daily check of social media for Kenworthy means encountering posts written by friends or peers who, without knowing it, reveal what they think about his sexuality.


He’s nervous about how sponsors will react: “The industry isn’t the most embracing of someone who’s different. 
I’m nervous about that.”


But at the same time: “I want to be the guy who comes out, wins s— and is like, I’m taking names.”


Read the full story at ESPN. Continue below for Kenworthy’s social media announcements.



Kenworthy  also updated his social media accounts with the announcement, writing on Facebook:

I am gay.

Wow, it feels good to write those words. For most of my life, I’ve been afraid to embrace that truth about myself. Recently though, I’ve gotten to the point where the pain of holding onto the lie is greater than the fear of letting go, and I’m very proud to finally be letting my guard down.

My sexuality has been something I’ve struggled to come to terms with. I’ve known I was gay since I was a kid but growing up in a town of 2,000 people, a class of 48 kids and then turning pro as an athlete when I was 16, it just wasn’t something I wanted to accept. I pushed my feelings away in the hopes that it was a passing phase but the thought of being found out kept me up at night. I constantly felt anxious, depressed and even suicidal.

Looking back, it’s crazy to see how far I’ve come. For so much of my life I’ve dreaded the day that people would find out I was gay. Now, I couldn’t be more excited to tell you all the truth. Maybe you’ve suspected that truth about me all along, or maybe it comes as a complete shock to you. Either way, it’s important for me to be open and honest with you all. Y’all have supported me through a lot of my highs and lows and I hope you’ll stay by my side as I make this transformation into the genuine me – the me that I’ve always really been.

I am so thankful to ESPN for giving me this opportunity and to Alyssa Roenigk for telling my story to the world. I think about the pain I put myself through by closeting myself for so much of my life and it breaks my heart. If only I knew then what I know now: that the people who love you, who really care about you, will be by your side no matter what; and, that those who aren’t accepting of you are not the people you want or need in your life anyway.

Part of the reason that I had such a difficult time as a kid was that I didn’t know anyone in my position and didn’t have someone to look up to, who’s footsteps I could follow in. I hope to be that person for a younger generation, to model honesty and transparency and to show people that there’s nothing cooler than being yourself and embracing the things that make you unique.


He later added:


It’s been a very emotional morning for me. Seeing my cover for the first time, reading the beautiful words that Alyssa Roenigk wrote about me and watching my piece on Sports Center has me completely choked up. I’m blown away by the amount of support I’ve gotten and I just want to say thank you, again, to you all! Your positive words mean the world to me.


And more:


And to think I was nervous about what type of feedback I was gonna get after my story came out this morning. I am truly blown away by the amount of love and support that I’ve been receiving! Thank you all so much for your kind words, I’ve never felt happier to be me! Love y’all.


The U.S. Olympic team congratulated Kenworthy:

ANGRY MUNCHKIN SAYS HATEFUL THINGS, RETRACTS THEM

From: Manhunt Daily
That John Cleese clip says everything. You can watch him summarize Fox News in 59 seconds here. Also, did we know Rand Paul still wanted to be president?? I would have assumed that ‘must be this tall to President’ sign had sent him on his way!

New Zac Efron Wax Statue Will Scare the Pants Off You

From: Fleshbot

I'll take an anatomically correct one to go, please! Wait, is that gross? Probably. Madame Tussauds' house of horrors unveiled their newest wax figure, this time in the shape of Zac Efron wearing a gray suit. It's located at the Washington D.C. museum and before its public unveiling was visited by bunch of fans, whose Insta followers are going to be JELLY. Remember a couple months ago when people started proving to Nicki Minaj's wax statue that they too can toss a salad like their name Romaine? Well, that is how I plan to make it onto the news with this new Zac Efron sculpture! 

 Real Zac Efron
 Wax Zac Efron
Obviously these things are creepy, but I think it's kind of cute that with all the going-ons in the world these days (I'm going to have this old man thing down pat), people still get excited about the unveiling of a new wax statue from Madame Tussauds. It feels so old-timey and innocent to me. Of course once a man starts munching on Nicki Minaj's wax butthole I get a little less nostalgic, but still, I hope the world never gets tired of these creepy as fuck statues!
 Wax On
 Wax (get me) off 

 \


 





Nazi Toy Soldier Named Bastian Looks Like Bastian Schweinsteiger

From: Busted Coverage
 Europe is buzzing today over the revelation that a Nazi toy soldier being produced in Hong Kong looks like Bastian Schweinsteiger, the German soccer legend who is now playing for Manchester United. Papers from the U.K. to the Czech Republic are reporting on the resemblance of the Nazi toy, named Bastian, to the 31-year-old midfielder.


This story is so hot right now in Germany that Bild, the most recognized German sports site on the Internet, has it’s Nazi toy coverage behind a paywall. The Daily Mail is reporting that DiD, the Chinese company behind the Bastian toy, says this situation is a coincidence and that “The figure is a member of a Wehrmacht supply unit, a so-called “kitchen boy.”
 Still,Schweinsteiger’s camp isn’t accepting that answer.


 “This is a clear violation of Schweinsteiger’s personality rights,” the media lawyer Ulrich Amelung was quoted as saying by Bild. “To see him as a swastika-bearing Wehrmacht soldier also constitutes a gross defamation and insult.”


DiD Corporation makes a variety of toys from U.S. military, LAPD, Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill and even Putin figurines, according to it Facebook.



Classic Televison - Prime Time

The CBS Thursday Night Movies
Original Air Date
1965 - 1976
Original Network
CBS
The CBS Thursday Night Movies television film series is similar to The ABC Sunday Night Movie, ABC Saturday Movie of the Week, The ABC Mystery Movie, and The Movie of the Week.

My Top Teenage and Twink Boyfriends

From: Tales of West Hollywood
 I don't really have an age preference, but it seems that when I was in my 20s and 30s, I usually ended up with guys 5-10 years older, and when I hit 40, guys 10 or more years younger. I'm over 50 now, but  I still get cruised by practically every twink I meet, even those who say "no older guys" on their profiles. 

Dating younger guys has some advantages: they're cute, they have boundless energy and enthusiasm, and they are constantly surprised by your stories of life in the 1980s.  

But there are disadvantages: they go out too often and stay up too late, they don't fit in with your friends, and even after extensive research, you still can't understand their pop culture references.

Here are my favorite teenage (or twink) boyfriends and hookups who were 10+ years younger than me.  Don't worry, they were all over 18.


 New York

1. 
Conrad,
 the 20 year old who came to my room Upstate to fix my computer, said "I'm not into older guys," and grabbed.  17 years.

2.  
Mario,
 a teenage model studying at Columbia University.  We went on one execrable date.  20 years.

3. 
Sibu,
 the hottest guy in the world, a seminary student met at a conference in South Africa.  Dark room hookup, and then "I'm not into older guys."  15 years


 4
Liam, 
who I talked to online for several years.  He waited until the exact moment he turned 18 to give me a birthday present.  21 years

5. 
Jermaine, 
the Biggest Guy on My Sausage List.  A Harvard undergrad studying political science, and planning to go to law school, we met when I was on a job interview in Boston.  18 years.

6. 
The Pizza Boy, an undergrad theater major in Rock Island. My friend Dick actually started dating him, but we shared at Christmastime. 18 years


 Florida
7. 
Victor,
 the Brazilian twink who turned out to be a drag queen, Miss Chita Taboo. 16 years.

8.
 The Young Republican, 
one of my ex-students who invited me to a Christmas party at his parents' country club.  We dated a few times in spite of his politics. 20 years.

9. 
The college freshman hitchhiking to Key West who David and I picked up.  20 years


 10. 
Jean in Paris, 
the violist who wouldn't let me touch his instrument. 22 years

11. 
The high school bodybuilder.  
We dated a few times.  I also may have hooked up with a couple of his friends, but don't worry, I made sure they were over 18, too. 26 years.

Dayton

12. 
Paul, 
the aspiring writer.  Boyfriend for about six months, lived with briefly, but he turned out to be too good in bed.  22 years.

13. 
The Emo boy who I picked up in London while visiting Yuri and Michael.  26 years.

14. 
Austin,
 the high school boy who hit on me in the park.  Of course, nothing happened, but I'm proud of the way I handled the situation by introducing him to other gay kids. 32 years


 Upstate

15. 
Chad, 
the Satyr's houseboy/boy toy, who worked as a waiter at the Neptune. We dated through the fall and winter.  21 years.

16. 
Malik: 
picked up by the boy and his dog. 23 years.

17. 
Troy, 
a 23-year old French major when we started dating.  We were together for about five years.   26 years.

18. 
Peter, 
who rejected me at the bath house the night I became a Creepy Old Guy.  He came around later.  28 years.


The Prairie

19. 
Andy, 
The boy with daddy issues who wanted to rip my clothes off, who I met at a comic book store.  Two dates.  30 years.

20. 
Scott, 
the youngest guy I've ever dated, a 22-year old theater major who wanted to try everything.  32 years


My Sausage Sighting List

From: Tales of West Hollywood
 A Sausage Sighting is a glimpse of a guy's beneath-the-belt gifts that doesn't go anywhere else -- no dating, no romance, no hooking up, not even a few minutes in the dark room at the Duplex Bar in Paris. 

Sometimes just looking is enough -- a good sausage sighting can be more memorable than a dozen nights of passion, especially when it's unexpected.

You can't count glimpses of strangers in the locker room or at the urinal, or actors getting excited during movie love scenes.  It's only a valid Sausage Sighting if you know the guy, if he's a relative, friend, co-worker, or acquaintance.  If you've at least had a conversation.

I'll use the same scale as in my Sausage List (the list of gigantic endowments belonging to guys I actually dated):

Bratwurst: memorable.
Kielbasa: super-sized.
Mortadella: the stuff of dreams.
Kovbasa: Are you kidding?


 Childhood

1. 
Cousin Joe.  
When I was 7 1/2 years old, we stayed with my Aunt Nora, and I caught a glimpse of Cousin Joe's Kielbasa+ in the bathroom.  It was the first I ever saw --many later ones were disappointingly small by comparison. Kovbasa, probably.

2. 
The Sanderson Brothers, 
a gospel group that worked as counselors at Nazarene summer camp.  I got to see one of them relieving himself. Kielbasa.

3. 
Brother Dino, 
my Sunday school teacher, and also a counselor at Nazarene summer camp when I was in junior high.  I saw him taking a shower.  Easily a Mortadella.

4. 
Verne, 
the preacher's son.  We  "dated" in eleventh grade. We didn't identify the relationship as romantic, and nothing physical happened, but I did see him nude. Bratwurst.


 College

5. 
Jurgen, 
the hipster poet from Augustana College. who I thought was gay until I met his girlfriend. 

6.
 Mark, 
the Boss from Hell during my senior year in high school and freshman year at Augustana.  We tricked him into running out of a urinal, where he had been reading Playboy and...you know.  Kielbasa+.

7. 
Mr. Kim, 
a Korean immigrant, a surprisingly buffed muscle bear.  When I was in college, he rented the the house next door with his family.  He only stayed about six months before buying a house in Moline, but he gave me a memorable Sausage Sighting.  Bratwurst.


 8. 
Jens, 
a slim, blond chemistry major at Augustana.  During my senior year, I joined the Baptist student union, and went on tour with them to perform at various churches.  When we had to all bunk down for the night in the same room, I had the bed, and Jens had a sleeping bag right below me.  He waited until the rest of us were asleep -- he thought. Bratwurst.

9
Andrew,  
the blond physics major from Indiana University who I saw during a heterosexual bonding activity known as a "circle jerk."


Texas

10. 
Chad, 
a soccer player from Australia who sat in my class in Hell-fer-Sartain, Texas.  One day he came in late and stripped down to change clothes in my class. OK, this one was in a jock strap, but I still saw enough. Bratwurst+

California

11. 
Brother Mike, 
a Baptist preacher who sat on the plane next to me on the way to a job interview.  Brother Mike was hot!  When our plane landed, we both headed to the bathroom -- along with 20 other guys.  We ended up standing side by side at the urinal.  Bratwurst+

12. 
Jake, 
a contractor.  My parents were having their kitchen remodeled one summer while I was visiting.  From my chair in the living room, I got an excellent view of Jake's front side as he stood on his ladder, doing things with wiring.  Except he didn't realize that his zipper was down -- and he was not wearing underwear.  His Mortadella was fully visible for several minutes before he noticed and zipped up.


 New York

13.
Huang, 
a fellow sociology student from Taiwan, one of my roommates during my first year in New York.  In 1998, at a conference in Montreal, I caught him in the act, and learned the truth about the Formosan penis.  Kielbasa.

14. 
Jason, 
the most homophobic of the grad students in my class on Long Island. We tricked him into revealing his Kielbasa.

Florida

15. 
Narveen, 
a Sikh guy who joined Barney's gym in Florida.  I tried to get a glimpse on several occasions, and finally he just let me take a peek.  Amazing. Mortadella+.


 Ohio

16. 
More of a sausage "feeling."  Azi, the Dutch Caribbean at the Horseman's Club in Amsterdam.  I felt his gigantic kovbasa before going home with him and realizing that he was straight.  He wanted me for his younger brother, Eli.


 17.  
Josh, 
an exceptionally buffed but straight waiter who often took my orders at the Lone Star Barbecue. I saw him all the time at the gym, too. In the sauna.  Kielbasa.

Upstate

18. 
Dr. Chester, 
a former professional wrestler who taught Sociology of Sports Upstate.  There was a private bathroom for faculty and teaching assistants -- one stall and one urinal.  One day I went in, and there he was, preparing to urinate.  He must have wrapped his faculty member around his waist a few times, like a belt. Easily a Kovbasa


19. 
Richard, 
the crazy bodybuilder downstairs when I lived in Upstate New York.  My balcony consisted of rough boards with wide gaps; you could look through them directly onto the balcony of the apartment below.  And one night...  Kovbasa++++.

The Plains

20. 
Tim, 
a physics professor who stripped down next to me at the gym.  Firm but small physique, but gigantic Kielbasa beneath the belt.