judy garland

“I want to be up there with the greatest legends of showbiz: the Judys, the Sinatras, the Oliviers, the Clark Gables…”

He’s a prodigiously talented performer and composer who has battled addictions to drink and drugs. But for now the sun is all that’s frying Rufus Wainwright’s brain… Read the rest of this article here.

Poses (2001)

One of the more impressive people I’ve ever interviewed.

“I WANT TO BE RIGHT UP THERE WITH THE GREATEST LEGENDS OF SHOWBIZ: THE JUDYS, THE SINATRAS, THE OLIVIERS, THE CLARK GABLES…”

He’s a prodigiously talented performer and composer who has battled addictions to drink and drugs. But for now the sun is all that’s frying Rufus Wainwright’s brain… Read the rest of this article here.

THE KING IS DEAD (SLIGHT RETURN)

Perhaps the most depressing aspect of Michael Jackson’s demise is that, for all the singer’s peculiarities, his death so exactly echoes the deaths of countless of other troubled, prodigiously talented entertainment icons down through the years (Elvis, Judy Garland, Hank Williams etc. etc.) It has the same basic plot (the gift as the curse) and exactly the same cast of characters (sycophants, leeches, quack doctors.) There will, no doubt, be further revelations about Michael Jackson’s personal life in the coming weeks and months, and it’s safe to assume that it won’t be pretty.

But on a happier note for now, this personal remembrance, written by Deepak Chopra’s (wonderfully monikered) son Gotham Chopra, is among the more interesting tributes to Jackson I’ve come across in the last few days. In it, he talks about planned strip club visits, sacks full of cash and doling out sex advice to a man seventeen years his senior – on the occasion of Jackson’s marriage to Lisa Marie Presley. Read the rest of this entry »