Bonus! The weird gay history of the "yesssss" guy
Added 2022-07-03 17:01:01 +0000 UTCHello there! In this week's bonus video I have a real weird web of gay connections, from Ellen to The X-Files to The Simpsons and Seinfeld and Jack Benny shows of the 1940s. Also, another Seinfeld mystery to stack on top of last week's! And a super bizarre comedy-beauty show from the 1970s that I cannot for the life of me make any sense of.
- Backup link if the embed's not working:
https://youtu.be/mEWnXBVzZ6M - The article about Club USA, the bizarre gay 90s nightclub in New York: https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/club-usa-dazzling-photos-1990s-glitziest-nyc-club
- The $1.98 Beauty Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF7yrbl_X6E
- My Sewers of Paris interview with Patrick Bristow: http://www.mattbaume.com/sewers-shownotes/2015/9/30/trust-it-thrust-it-ep-28-showgirls-ellen
Comments
Try: https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images1/1/0114/03/rolling-stone-magazine-787-seinfeld_1_7682c82da95f6fa19e4d3d21b6c40ad9.jpg or the auction link https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/rolling-stone-magazine-787-seinfeld-497601938
Phil Sowers
2022-12-25 04:43:01 +0000 UTCOMG. I was a HUGE X-Files fan from the premiere. That is one of (if not the single best) episodes. I knew who Charles Nelson Reilly was from his appearances on the shows I watched when I was home sick as a kid. I didn't learn his name until years after the X-Files was cancelled from a gay friend. I had absolutely no idea until now that that is who that was. Absolutely amazing. No wonder why that episode is so great. Thank you!
Zardogs! Zardogs!
2022-08-15 05:54:44 +0000 UTCGod, that X-Files episode, I swear I have the whole thing memorized.
DogBlud
2022-08-04 15:41:48 +0000 UTCLol we all work hard, so should they
Matt Baume
2022-07-20 21:33:16 +0000 UTCI love how anal you are, Matt, about NOT letting your monitors "sleep."
Bob Geise-Hoefer
2022-07-20 18:30:42 +0000 UTCOh we were kind of neighbors -- I lived in Southington.
Matt Baume
2022-07-17 00:16:00 +0000 UTCCan I ask where in Connecticut? I grew up in Westport from 1965 to 1985
Roy Peterson
2022-07-16 22:21:53 +0000 UTCI just happened to be watching a The Nanny rerun tonight and in the episode Fran references Charles Nelson Reilly and Rip Taylor in the same sentence. She's telling Mr. Sheffield that of course he's cutting edge as a producer because he Starred Charles Nelson Reilly and Rip Taylor in Love Letters. Just one sentence, one quick joke, and the scene continues.
Thomas Pileggi
2022-07-10 23:49:54 +0000 UTCRip and Charles were both on the "The Bobby Darin Amusement Co" (1972?) Followed by "The Bobby Darin Show" the following year. Rip had his funny traffic reporter character your post reminded me of watching that as a kid. Sadly Bobby died that same year. Thanks Matt...all the best.
Darren Simon
2022-07-09 20:49:40 +0000 UTCI remember everything covered here, and my family LOVED to watch the 1.98 Beauty Pageant. Please do a segment on Charles Nelson Reilly , who was SO MUCH MORE than a game show gay. Look up his theater experience. He was an incredibly talented man.
Lana Nieves
2022-07-08 23:47:44 +0000 UTCI'm getting a 403 error on the link!
Matt Baume
2022-07-08 19:15:43 +0000 UTCI have learned of an odd piece of Seinfeld-related media (not about 'the outing but intriguing nonetheless) Rolling Stone Magazine Issue #787 from May 28th 1998 must be seen to be believed https://thumbs.worthpoint.com/zoom/images1/1/0114/03/rolling-stone-magazine-787-seinfeld_1_7682c82da95f6fa19e4d3d21b6c40ad9.jpg
Sim
2022-07-08 03:30:24 +0000 UTCI wish there was still something like that, I bet it was SO MUCH FUN.
Matt Baume
2022-07-07 22:32:25 +0000 UTCI have *ALWAYS* wondered about that "Slide" line in Seinfeld, and it turns out it's almost exactly what I imagined it was! Fabulous!
Adam Hammack
2022-07-06 06:43:06 +0000 UTCYes please!
Kris Olsen
2022-07-05 03:02:46 +0000 UTCHope you enjoy it!
Chris Weakley
2022-07-05 00:28:10 +0000 UTCI'm so glad that so many folks have responded warmly to my mention of him! I've definitely got him on my list for a more in-depth exploration.
Matt Baume
2022-07-04 06:11:15 +0000 UTCI grew up in Connecticut and I remember periodic tributes to the victims of that fire -- so strange to connect it to CNR!
Matt Baume
2022-07-04 06:10:20 +0000 UTCOof that's pricey but do want to see it! Looks like there's a version on YouTube, I'll content myself with that for now.
Matt Baume
2022-07-04 06:09:34 +0000 UTCOh that's so funny. Glad I'm not the only person who sees them in a similar light!
Matt Baume
2022-07-04 06:05:41 +0000 UTCOMG I did not know he was on Spongebob!!! That show hired EVERYONE
Matt Baume
2022-07-04 06:05:23 +0000 UTCCharles Nelson Reilly is lowkey one of the more fascinating gameshow contestants of the 1970s. As a child, he survived a circus fire.
Fred Maxon
2022-07-04 03:30:01 +0000 UTCOne of Rip Taylor's other standard shticks, besides the confetti, was snatching off his own wig and using it to gesture around pretending to be exasperated. He did it on nearly every show he ever guested on. About Charles Nelson Reilly - I don't know if it's still available, but several years ago, I watched a one-man biographical show of his on Netflix. Parts of it are still available on youtube. It's called "The Life of Reilly", which is a take off of the similar name of a 50s radio and TV show. In one particularly poignant moment, he described how he witnessed and narrowly escaped being a victim of the infamous 1944 circus fire in Hartford, CT. It had me in tears. It's incredible that such iconic comedians so often come from such terrible childhoods. Edit: while i was writing my comment, someone else was thinking just like me and posted about it, too. I'm leaving mine up though. I think the comments both offer different info.
Irisarc
2022-07-04 01:23:47 +0000 UTCAnd a tidbit on Charles Nelson Reilly: Not long before he passed, he had a one-man autobiographical show talking about his life, "The Life of Reilly". His life was so much more incredible than I ever imagined. My husband and I went to see it and were spellbound the entire time. It's on DVD available on Amazon. HIGHLY, highly recommend and well worth your (or anyone's) time: lhttps://www.amazon.com/Life-Reilly-Two-Disc-Special/dp/B003NI3H6K/ref=sr_1_4?crid=U20FVHG8H5RI&keywords=life+of+reilly&qid=1656897348&sprefix=life+of+reilly%2Caps%2C116&sr=8-4 Edit: Hmmm... looks like my links aren't "live" but if you copy and paste, they should work. Thanks! Edit Edit: Checking back, I see that the DVD goes for $100 bucks. Oops. Well, if you can write it off as a tax break....
Chris Weakley
2022-07-04 01:18:04 +0000 UTCBelieve it or not, writer Darren Morgan, who wrote "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" first wanted Rip Taylor for the role of the character. "Morgan wanted to cast Rip Taylor in the role, but he was unavailable, so the role ended up going to Charles Nelson Reilly." You can check it out here in the wikipedia page for the episode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Chung%27s_From_Outer_Space
Chris Weakley
2022-07-04 01:13:48 +0000 UTCWith regards to Frank Nelson, I wanna shout out Anthony Scibelli's Unsung Legends of Comedy videos on YT that includes one on Nelson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FQL_SxCA-s (additional shoutout to his video on Moms Mabley who was also gay but didn't come out as far as I know: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO1mCdrpxiQ). Also I'm putting in my vote in for Rip Taylor as the next video subject 😄
Justin
2022-07-03 22:11:03 +0000 UTCOh yes I touched on that one briefly in my video about commercials: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jlavonpaBY
Matt Baume
2022-07-03 18:38:30 +0000 UTCNot sure if you've ever seen or talked about this before but this is an Ikea ad from 1994 (the year after the 'not that there's anything wrong with that' episode) featuring an openly gay couple. This is credited as the first time an openly gay couple (as opposed to 'gay vague' couple) was featured in a television commercial. https://youtu.be/7qBDiIOP1P8
Steve McLean
2022-07-03 18:10:34 +0000 UTC
