Was Luther Vandross gay?

[Marcio**]

from
http://www.villagevoice.com/music/05...,65563,22.html



Image-obsessed MTV-era record execs were generally clueless about how to market a rapidly aging black crooner. A binge eater who swelled up if he lost a Grammy or a lover, Vandross rarely looked like the romantic lead his songs suggested. Execs likely stalled at his closetedness: like an r&b Cary Grant, Vandross wasn't the passionate heterosexual that his music suggested. Though he never came out as gay, bisexual, or even straight, you had to be wearing blinders--as many of his fans, particularly female, must have been--to overlook his queerness. The sequined Liberace suits were a clue, as were the highly publicized bitch fights he waged on tour with Anita Baker and En Vogue. The dead giveaway for me was his admission that his high school grades plummeted because he was in anguish over Diana Ross leaving the Supremes.

Vandross likely felt that confessing his sexual preference would destroy his crossover ambitions, and he was probably right. But those same crossover ambitions forced him into an exhausting two decades of spin control, warding off AIDS rumors, never able to bring preferred company onto red carpets. He admitted to biographer Craig Seymour that the taxing offstage maintenance of his open secret reinforced the onstage melancholy that made his records go multiplatinum--a vicious cycle, to be sure. Journalist Barry Walters tells the secondhand but probable story of how in the middle of the night Luther would seek phone advice from disco legend Sylvester, one of the few out gay black men in popular music. Vandross was lucky enough to have the kind of voice that conveyed truths that he kept unspoken: he instinctively knew that what gives love songs their zing is the subtextual terror of loneliness. Take another listen to his gravitas-ridden reconstructions of "If Only for One Night" or "Since I Lost My Baby" and you'll discover more than you may want to about the rent of living in a society that that relegates same-sex desire into the shadows, parks, and darkened subway platforms.



:)

[Disco Funk]

I've 'known' this for years. I forget where I first heard the rumor. There are apparently a lot of music performers that are closet homosexuals. I'm not just talking about The Village People, but well known people in disco, soul, and rap. I think most are afraid their fan base would disappear if they came out. But of those performers who've come out of the closet over the years, which ones have had hurt careers because of their revelation? It must be an awful burden to keep such a secret from the public.

Disco Funk

[Blooeyz2001]

Gay Artists

Elton John, musician
George Michael, musician
k.d. lang, musician
Melissa Etheridge, musician
Boy George, musician (Culture Club)
Ani DiFranco, musician
Brian Epstein, First manager for the Beatles
Liberace, pianist/entertainer
Aaron Copeland, composer
Johnny Mathis, musician
Iggy Pop, musician
Janis Ian, musician
Michael Stipe, (lead singer of R.E.M.)
Joan Baez, musician
Cole Porter, song writer
Leonard Berstein*, Composer (West Side Story, On the Waterfront)
Pete Townsend, musician (The Who)
Jimmy Somerville, musician (Bronski Beat)
Paul Rutherford, singer (Frankie goes to Hollywood)
Holly Johnson, lead singer (Frankie goes to Hollywood)
Emily Sailers, musician (Indigo Girls)
Amy Ray, musician (Indigo Girls)
Franz Schubert, composer
Peter Tchaikovsky, composer
Josephine Baker, singer
Andy Bell, musician
Benjamin Britten, composer
Bessie Smith, singer
Patty Schemel, drummer (Hole)
Dave Navaro, musician (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

[nrgbeat]

Johnny Mathis and Queen Latifah are allegedly gay too.

[Zef]

Isn't Nona Hendryx (Labelle/Material) an out Lesbian?

[Disco Funk]

Johnny Mathis and Queen Latifah are allegedly gay too.

I've dealt with Queen Latifah in person, before she started feminizing her public image. She gave off a lesbian vibe. Her female friend (companion?) was the same way. It's not like they held hands or kissed, but you can sometimes tell.

That's the first I've heard about Johnny Mathis being gay, but it wouldn't be a shock if it turned out he was.

Disco Funk

[nrgbeat]

Dave Navarro gay? He's married to Carmen Electra.

He might be bi, but I can't believe he's gay.

[Blooeyz2001]

Dave Navarro gay? He's married to Carmen Electra.

He might be bi, but I can't believe he's gay.

I found it odd he was on the list... http://www.gaysouthafrica.org.za/hom...ity/famous.asp

[Zef]

I'm sure I read an interview with Johnny Mathis years ago (don't ask me when), he had been outed and he then confirmed he was Gay and had 2 boyfriends on the go!

As for Luth, that was confirmed for me when I read an interview with him where he talked about going over to Gladys's and Dionne's houses to make fried chicken and dish dirt.

Love ya Luth! R.I.P

[Disco Funk]

Thanks for the list. I think most of those people were publically open about their homosexuality. It's not complete a complete list, as they missed the lead singer for Judas Priest as well as Freddie Mercury. What's also interesting is most of them are white. I don't know if black artists find it harder than white artists to come out of the closet?

Disco Funk

[dvdjamm]

Iggy Pop and Pete Townshend are gay? I've never heard that...I heard Rob Halford of Judas Priest is....

[nrgbeat]

Tom Hulce isn't gay, he's married and has a daughter.

[markydefad]

Tom Hulce is gay and kinda HEFTY...if ya get my drift...

He was a producer of that GAY movie with Colin Farrell..."A Home At The End Of The World"...he is behind the scenes now...but I've seen him in person...and he got real fat. Sorry if that offends anyone.

update:
Well, now I see that nrgbeat's info comes from imdb (whcih gives him a wife & daughter)...so all I can say is that I always was under the impression that Hulce was GAY....hmmmm

But then again so was Tony Perkins...married with kids and GAY--he cruised me!!! ...so did Johnny Mathis!!! (I musta been having a good hair days.) :P :lol: :roll:

However I can safely say that neither Colin Farrell or Brad Pitt have ever cruised me!!! It's a different generation, baby!!!

[DiscoMan]

Who gives a sh!t about who smokes the pipe or munches the carpet? I'm puzzled...
Why is it such a big deal? Is it really a matter for public discourse?

Or are you homos just publicly emoting over your own neuroses?

[markydefad]

from The Advocate:


Hulce and Parnell are two gay artists who have collaborated for many years. (Just before his splashy screen appearance as Mozart in Amadeus, Hulce starred in Parnell's off-Broadway play The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket.) Along with codirector Jane Jones, they have done a spectacular job of theatricalizing Irving's novel, a meditation.........

Moral: don't trust imdb.

And Discoman...we hear endless stories about your pussy-quests....and your seemingly endless charms to the LAAAAADEEEEEEEZZZZZZZ. :P

In fact all you ever wrote about are sex, drugs and disco --then we find out you're a big ole conservative Republican!!! Ain't that a bitch!!! :o

We have lives too. We will not be silenced by the likes of you.

[DiscoMan]

Weren't the '70s all about sex drugs and disco?

I usually vote Republican but I don't consider myself a conservative. :o Not by any stretch of the imagination would you consider me conservative if we knew each other.

I was active in the anti-war movement and was a true believer campaign worker for George McGovern in '72.

Then I had my epiphany about '74.

I understand you have your own lives, I'm curious as to why the sexual orientation of entertainers is such a big deal to you.

[Blooeyz2001]

Latest Celebrity Tell Ducks the All

Luther Vandross might be gay, but his biographer can’t acknowledge that

By BRANDON JUDELL

For centuries, biographers chronicled the sex lives of their homosexual subjects so cryptically that the subjects themselves might have been convinced they had never even had sex.

Then came gay liberation and suddenly nearly everyone was queer, from J. Edgar Hoover to Sir Laurence Olivier to Tallulah Bankhead—all of which is likely true.

These days if a biography is published about a totally heterosexual person, that is jaw-dropping news. Stop the presses! Tony Danza likes gals.

Fortunately, Craig Seymour, a contributor to The Village Voice and Spin magazine, has found an alternative approach in the celebrity genre. His brand new biography, “Luther: The Life and Longing of Luther Vandross” is about the acclaimed singer who constantly paints his bedroom pink when not wallpapering it in cashmere, yet refuses to reveal the gender of his love interests.

Yes, here is the first candidly out/closeted biography.

Seymour apparently wants us to understand that Vandross, who is still recovering from a stroke, is queer, yet, perhaps due to legal reasons, the author cannot confirm that.

Take this photo caption, please: “By the mid 1980s, Luther was the undisputed voice of black love, but he was also dogged by rumors about his health and sexuality. Luther poses here in a romantic shot with a female model, but in interviews he never revealed the name—or gender—of anyone he’s dated.”

Seymour writes that in 1985, when the chronically overweight artist shed many pounds: “[Luther] was in love for the first time in much too long. Though he never shared the person’s name or gender, Luther admitted that this love had turned him into a ‘basket case.’ Suddenly food lost its hold on him. There were other things on his mind—beautiful, rose-tinted, hope-filled things.”

Jump to May, 2001. While Seymour was interviewing Vandross for Vibe, he asked the Grammy-winner, “So, how come we know so little about your love life?” Vandross replied, “Because it is simply none of your… Because you’re not entitled to. Based on me making records, no one’s entitled to know any more than I tell them. That’s just my position on that.”

When someone else asked about his sexuality, Vandross joked, “What do you want to know? Am I bi-coastal? Yeah, I have a house in Beverly Hills and one in New York.”

So how do you write an engaging, informative book about a star whom you believe is gay, but you can’t say so in print without a possible lawsuit? To be fair, Vandross, who fought with Patti LaBelle over the last $12,000 pocketbook in a store, might be straight or even asexual. And yes, a heterosexual might design gowns for Aretha Franklin in his spare time.

Well, what Seymour did to fill in this void was write about the folks around Vandross, and Vandross knows everyone and has been everywhere. He sang backup on David Bowie’s “Young Americans.” Bowie had apparently told the press at the time, “I like boys and I like girls—they’re smashing.” This made the Bronx-born Vandross “very concerned.”

Luther then worked with Bette Midler, who on their first meeting bit him on the nipple. This got Luther very upset.

Given Vandross’ maddeningly coy posture, it takes some diva tales—about Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Quincy Jones, Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight and dozens more—to really bring the book alive, shifting focus off an exclusive look at Vandross. The Salvemini tragedy of the 1980, however, puts the spotlight squarely back on Vandross.

The singer spotted Jimmy Salvemini on “Star Search” and decided to place the boy under his wing. The two were soon inseparable, and Jimmy’s older brother was also often around for the ride. That was unfortunate because one night Vandross was speeding and got into a car crash that killed Jimmy’s brother. Seymour writes that the tragedy spawned scandalous rumors about Luther having a crush on one or the other of the brothers and later to unfounded gossip that Vandross was dying from AIDS.

The rest of the book is about the singer’s manic need to have a number one hit, his aching for love and his long wait for a Grammy. Whenever he fails in these quests, Vandross balloons up to over 300 pounds. When he’s happy, he goes down below 200. This happens in almost every chapter, ad nauseam.

But then Vandross had an odd start in life. When his mother was pregnant with him, she had a constant yen for pasta, but only for one brand, Ronzoni. When her little boy was born, she named him Luther Ronzoni Vandross. Happily, Ma Vandross didn’t have a bad back during those nine months, otherwise Luther might have wound up with Ben Gay as his middle name. It’s impossible to guess how he would have handled that.

[markydefad]

Luther was GAY...but had a very difficult time acknowledging that....it doesn't matter to me....even the women who were his fans must have "suspected" but then again Liberace kept saying "he just couldn't find the right girl" until he died...but that Scotty kid (his onstage chauffeur musta done it for him!!!!... in lieu of the right girl, I spose....) :oops: :P

It's generational....people are much more open about these things than when I was growing up. In another 20 years--maybe the stigma of being openly GAY and a male singer or actor will not be perceived as the kiss of death. In Hollywood, it's that "LEADING MAN" syndrome--of who you'd wanna ****--maintaining the FANTASY that you want to **** women is still crucial. Just ask Tommy Cruiser. :P

[Disco Funk]

Tom Hulce isn't gay, he's married and has a daughter.

Robert Reed was married long enough to have a daughter, and we all know how he turned out. I think even Rock Hudson married. Sometimes the pressure to look straight is stronger than coming out. Look at Tom Cruise. The rumors about his sexuality have been circulating for more than a decade, even though he was married to Nicole Kidman. He recently sued a guy who claimed he had an affair with Cruise, just to prove in a court of law that he wasn't gay. Who the heck does that? This whole insanity with Katie Holmes is just more publicity to squash those gay rumors.

Disco Funk

[remicks]

*****


Is Andy Pettitte gay ??? Yes, I really need to know this !!! ..... :P

*****

[nrgbeat]

Is Andy Dick gay? :lol:

[Salsoul1975]

There have been rumours for years about baseball Hall-Of-Famer George Brett being gay, which could probably explain the fact he got married near the tail-end of his career. I can remember he was interviewed on Jim Rome's sports show about homosexuality and sports, and from the way Brett was presenting himself through his words, it was as if a gerbil was let loose inside his butthole (no pun intended ).

[Salsoul1975]

Does anyone remember a while back, there was a thread here about the possibility of yet another "ladies' man" vocalist being gay--namely Teddy Pendergrass--who was getting it on with a tranny before getting injured and becoming a quadraplegic in the process?

[paul]

Wow! This thread reminds me of the old days when gay and lesbian stories dominated. I learned a lot 8)
My 2 cents. I heard Florence Henderson talk about Reed. She said they had a hard time making the kissing scenes believable. :lol:
As for Luther and Teddy, I've heard those rumors for 20 years. I also heard about Mathis about the same time. I was shocked when my sister told me about Mathis but then she told me, look at him

[nrgbeat]

I was shocked when I heard about Robert Reed. I never got a gay vibe from him as I did from someone like Richard Simmons.