Season 2 · Episode 8
Journalist and co-founder of OutWeek magazine · ACT UP · Queer in America
Released 26 Sep 2022 · 1:02:35 as a podcast
Every name, club, book, song, night and look from the interview - 120 references and 375 mentions in this episode. James arrives with five pages of notes and a lightning round through Brooklyn, Staten Island and Syracuse. Then PR jobs found in the phone book, column planting at Mike Hall Associates and the gossip columns of Liz Smith, Suzy and Cindy Adams; the Gaultier lookalike contest at the Palladium, won - as James tells it - with a pair of fake Prince Charles ears; James turning Michelangelo away at The World's opening night; Suzygate; ACT UP and a first protest at Cardinal Ratzinger's speech; OutWeek, the Malcolm Forbes cover and the birth of outing; and a Martha Graham luncheon at Halston's where Lovey Howell stole the show. Wow!
Navy V-neck sweater over a black T-shirt, black rectangular glasses, close-cropped grey-blond hair and a short grey beard
A home office with a dark bulletin board full of lanyards, press passes and photos, a framed picture and a wooden shelf
Bold all-caps type
Randy jokes that Michelangelo invented them - his all-caps OutWeek style
Society columnist known as Suzy. Michelangelo says the agency wrote items in her style and that copy delivered even five minutes early meant trouble; James adores her and dreams of a compendium of her columns. See Suzygate
Heard as “Aileen / Susie”
Gossip columnist the agency sent pages of items; Michelangelo says she sometimes used all the gossip and only one plug. James and Randy recall her writing about her own companion Iris Love in the column; Michelangelo says she stayed sore with him but did come out
Heard as “Liz / liz”
Publisher whose outing in OutWeek, soon after his death, caused a scandal. Michelangelo says what enraged him was conservatives holding Forbes up as an icon after he died. James wrote an angry letter to the editor - and was invited to write for the magazine
Heard as “Forbes / Malcolm”
The guest: journalist, former nightlife and gossip columnist, ACT UP media committee member, OutWeek editor and Sirius XM radio host. Links to his Night Fever episode
FashionWalked the Gaultier runway in Paris after the lookalike contest (see Mood)
Heard as “Michael Angelo / Michael Hanchlos / Michael Hangelo / Michelangelo”
Host; arrives with five pages of notes, runs a lightning round through Michelangelo's first 20 years and digs their friendship out of his diaries. Links to his own Night Fever episode
Heard as “James / Katie James”
Michelangelo's city: born in Brooklyn, back after college to find work through the phone book; James says the whole of New York stopped for Suzygate
The AIDS activist group that changed Michelangelo's life. He joined the media committee straight away, bringing his gossip-column know-how to get AIDS into the mainstream
Heard as “ACT UP / ACT Up / ACTUP / Act Up”
One of the largest boardwalks in the world, as Michelangelo says, and part of his coming-of-age story; Fenton wants to make a documentary about it
Heard as “Bergworks / South Beach / boardwalk”
Old-time Broadway press agent who, as Michelangelo describes him, had become a 'column planter' by the 80s - getting clients into the gossip columns by trading gossip for plugs. Michelangelo found Mike Hall Associates in the phone book
Heard as “Mike Hall / maestro”
James combs them for the day he met Michelangelo; one Paradise Garage night fills six pages
Heard as “Diary / diaries / diary”
Part of a threesome of friends with James and Michelangelo. James recalls Musto not speaking to them for weeks after they vogued behind him during a TV interview; Michelangelo says Musto went to the first ACT UP meeting with him and wrote one of the first big pieces on the group in his column
Heard as “Musta / Musto”
Co-host; brings his hardcover Queer in America and remembers Michelangelo at the Limelight during his and Randy's show, comparing his change to the road to Damascus
Heard as “Benton / Fenton”
Columnist who, Michelangelo says, wanted her items full of schmaltz - so that's how they wrote them
Heard as “Cindy Adams / the Adams”
Newsday columnist from the Revlon family whom Michelangelo dated. Michelangelo says he told him Suzy's columns were written for her; Revson's column about it became Suzygate and made his name
Heard as “Redson / Revson”
Co-host; asks Michelangelo whether James makes his stories up - he and Fenton are always wondering
Heard as “Barbay / Randy”
Michelangelo's book; Fenton has the hardcover with the backwards map
Heard as “Inquiry in America / Queer in America / queer in America”
Michelangelo tipped off James Revson that Suzy's society columns were written for her; when Revson saw her write up a party she hadn't been to, his Newsday column made front pages across New York
Heard as “Susie Gate / Susiegate”
Club on Avenue C at Second Street. On opening night, as James tells it, he worked the door and turned Michelangelo away after a fight until Steve Lewis stepped in
Heard as “Avenue C / door of the world / into the world on / the world opened”
The magazine Michelangelo helped found and edit - in his words both his worlds coming together. Its Malcolm Forbes cover made headlines everywhere
Heard as “Out Week / Outweek / out week”
Outing posters styled on the Absolut vodka ads (made by the anonymous group OutPost) that went up around the East and West Village; Michelangelo thinks it was an offshoot of Queer Nation
Heard as “absolute ads / absolutely queer / posters”
James's favourite story: about 40 bleached-blond lookalikes in line, and Michelangelo in giant fake Prince Charles ears. As James tells it, Gaultier fell on the floor laughing and Michelangelo was flown to Paris to walk in his show
FashionLookalikes in bleached blond (see Mood)
Heard as “look-alike / lookalike / won me that contest”
Michelangelo's first protest, days after his first ACT UP meeting: he jumped on a platform, shouted at the cardinal and was arrested - worried only about missing a dinner party
Heard as “first protest / handcuffed / paddy wagon”
His TV producer's party was Michelangelo's first stop after his arrest; James puts him at Halston's luncheon for Martha Graham
Heard as “Andy / Warhol”
OutWeek founder who, Michelangelo says, wanted to put ACT UP's energy into a publication that covered all of it, nightlife included; he wanted to call outing 'equalizing'
Heard as “Gabriel / Rotello”
As Michelangelo tells it, even Larry refused to go on the record for one of his stories
Heard as “Larry / Larry Kramer”
Michelangelo says she was furious with him at first and later became a friend
Heard as “Rosie”
Liz Smith's longtime companion; James recalls Liz writing about her in the column as a world-famous archaeologist
Heard as “Iris”
Lovey Howell on Gilligan's Island. As James tells it, everyone at the Halston luncheon lost it when she rang the doorbell - the biggest star of the day
Heard as “Lovey Howell / Lovy Howell / Mrs. Howell / Natalie Schaefer”
Where Michelangelo studied journalism and went out to the gay bars in the early 80s
Heard as “Syracuse”
Michelangelo's first PR job, found in the phone book: three people in an apartment making magazine advertorials, including a Miss Great Face contest
Heard as “Phototeam / photo team”
One of the columns the agency fed; Michelangelo says they knew its barbs and one-liners
Heard as “Page Six / Page six / page six”
Held a lookalike contest at the Palladium to find a double for his Paris show. As James tells it, Gaultier laughed so hard at Michelangelo's fake Prince Charles ears that he fell on the floor, and Michelangelo was flown to Paris to walk in the show
FashionThe runway clothes Michelangelo was allowed to keep (see Mood)
Heard as “Gauthier / Gautier”
Where Gaultier held his lookalike contest, as James and Randy remember
Heard as “Palladium / palladium”
James teases that one 6am trip there with Michelangelo filled six pages of his diary
Heard as “Paradise Garage / the garage”
Save the Robots, where James and Michelangelo ended up the night they made up after The World
Heard as “Robots / robot”
Where Michelangelo says Suzy's column ran; he says the paper chickened out of the Forbes exclusive
Heard as “Daily News”
James Revson's family business
Nightlife promoter and former book publicist who, James and Michelangelo say, brought his club and publicity skills to ACT UP
James remembers the OutWeek Forbes story opening with a photo of Forbes with Michael and his mother at a Club Kid party
Heard as “Eilig / Elligan”
James's favourite story: a luncheon for Martha Graham at Halston's apartment that Michelangelo covered
FashionHis all-white apartment (see Mood)
Heard as “Boston's apartment / Holston”
Guest of honour at the Halston luncheon Michelangelo covered
Michelangelo covered it: Liza, Bianca, Diana Vreeland and the Warhol crowd on Halston's white couch, all bored - until Lovey Howell walked in, as James tells it. Michelangelo says it was staged for the press
Heard as “luncheon”
One of Michelangelo's books, listed by James (heard as 'The Senior Elliott Reports')
Heard as “Life Outside / Senior Elliott Reports”
Where Michelangelo was born
The nightlife magazine Michelangelo wrote his gossip column for (heard as New York Nightlife; his papers at NYU call it Nightlife magazine)
Heard as “New York Night Live / New York Nightlife”
Michelangelo says breaking into the nightlife columns was exactly like the show - keep turning up until someone finally talks to you
Heard as “Gilded Age”
Host of the dinner parties James says Michelangelo got invited to when James was off the list; identity and spelling as heard
Heard as “Alan Rich”
James on the door with a thousand people outside, Run-DMC and Public Enemy playing - and Michelangelo turned away after a fight, until Steve Lewis stepped in. By the end of the night, James says, they were best friends again
Heard as “opening night”
One of the stars James waved in at The World's opening night
Heard as “Joan Rivers / oh, Joan”
Another star James let straight in at The World's opening night
Heard as “Brooke”
Where Fenton remembers Michelangelo during his and Randy's show, all blond hair and blue eyes; Musto recalled meeting the ACT UP recruiters there
Michelangelo says it reported the Forbes outing weeks later without naming him
Heard as “New York Times”
Where, as Michelangelo tells it, a couple of hot recruiters invited him and Musto to come to ACT UP
Heard as “boy bar”
Where Musto wrote about AIDS and ACT UP in his column
Heard as “Village Boys / the voice”
The cardinal whose speech was Michelangelo's first protest: Michelangelo jumped up on a platform, shouted at him and was arrested. He later became pope
Heard as “Cardinal Reg / Ratzinger”
Michelangelo names him among the conservatives who praised Forbes after his death; the Buckleys were also among the society guests at Cardinal Ratzinger's speech
Heard as “Buckley”
The Lutheran church at the foot of the Citicorp building (no page of its own; links to Citigroup Center) where Cardinal Ratzinger spoke; Michelangelo says it was chosen as a neutral space
Heard as “City Corp / St. Peter's”
Director of Andy Warhol's TV shows; Michelangelo went straight from the police to a party for him the night of his first arrest
Heard as “Don Monroe / Don who did”
Where ACT UP's media committee wanted AIDS to be - on the cover, Michelangelo says
Heard as “People Magazine / people magazine”
Randy jokes that Michelangelo invented them - his all-caps OutWeek style
FashionBold all-caps type
Heard as “capital letters / shouty caps”
Died the same month as Malcolm Forbes; Michelangelo says OutWeek ran a big story on him too
Heard as “Keith”
Named by James among the stars activists wanted to see come out, who later befriended them
Heard as “Ellen”
Michelangelo thinks an offshoot of it put up the Absolutely Queer posters
The hosts see his freedom from shame as part of Michelangelo's legacy
FashionOut-and-proud pop star style
Heard as “Nas X”
At the Halston luncheon, as James tells it
Heard as “Bianca”
The sterile all-white apartment and white Ultrasuede couch where the stars posed for the press
FashionAll-white Ultrasuede interior
Heard as “ultra suede / white apartment”
Fenton and Randy's company, which makes Night Fever
One of Michelangelo's books, as James lists them
Michelangelo's most recent book on James's list
Michelangelo's first Catholic school on Staten Island
Heard as “St. John Villa”
The rougher public high school Michelangelo moved to after being asked to leave his Catholic boys' school
Heard as “New Dormp”
The apartment tower where Phototeam had its offices
Heard as “72nd Street”
Phototeam bought pages in magazines like Vogue for its advertorials
Heard as “Vogue or”
Another magazine where Phototeam ran advertorials
St. Louis Post-Dispatch gossip columnist at the end of the line for items nobody else used, as Michelangelo tells it
Jerry Berger's paper, last stop for unused items
Heard as “Post Dispatch”
Michelangelo says the agency planted items about him with women, as part of keeping stars closeted in the columns
Columnist who, as Michelangelo remembers, took a long while to talk to a newcomer - James showed him how to handle him
Heard as “Saban”
Michelangelo jokes she might eventually say hello once you had been around the scene long enough
Heard as “Diane Brill”
James found a pair of giant fake Prince Charles ears at a costume shop for Michelangelo's Gaultier lookalike entry
FashionFake ears as a costume (see Mood)
James's costume trick for the Gaultier lookalike contest: giant fake ears from a costume store
FashionBleached-blond hair and giant fake ears
Heard as “ears”
James remembers the jacket Michelangelo brought back from Paris; Michelangelo says they let him keep everything he wore down the runway
FashionBlack neoprene-look scuba jacket
Heard as “scuba”
James jokes he is saving his best Michelangelo stories for a book, the way he says she held on to stories for hers
Heard as “Haberman”
Named by James with Save the Robots among their late-night clubs
As James tells it, he came out to the door of The World on opening night and told James he couldn't keep Michelangelo out
Heard as “Stephen Lewis”
Fenton's memory of Michelangelo at the Limelight: very exuberant, the blondest hair and the bluest eyes
FashionBleached blond, blue eyes
Heard as “blondest hair”
Where Suzy lived, off Central Park
Suzy's place overlooked the park, as Michelangelo describes it
Where James Revson's column broke Suzygate
Dubbed it Suzygate on its front page, as one of the hosts recalls
Heard as “Wall Street Journal”
The hot muscle boys who, Michelangelo says, were the honest reason he and Musto went to their first meeting
FashionGym-built club boys
Heard as “muscle boys”
Michelangelo says the scene split as AIDS spread, and Nell's came along, more sedate
Heard as “Nels”
One of the big ACT UP protests the media committee organised while Michelangelo's apartment filled with press kits
Heard as “FDA”
Michelangelo's apartment during the big ACT UP protests, lined with press kits and people coming and going
FashionActivist paper chaos
Heard as “press kits”
James's column in OutWeek - he got it after writing an angry letter about the Forbes story
Heard as “Diary of a Mad Queen”
Michelangelo says the agency wrote her up as Malcolm Forbes's girlfriend
Where the word 'outing' first appeared, as James asks and Michelangelo confirms
Heard as “Time Magazine”
Time magazine critic Michelangelo credits with coining the word 'outing'
Heard as “William Henry”
Michelangelo says the Daily News dropped the Forbes exclusive at the last minute and put Trump and Marla Maples on the front page instead
On the Daily News front page instead of the Forbes story, as Michelangelo recalls
Heard as “Maples”
Ran a story about outing that carried the Forbes story around the country, as Michelangelo tells it
Heard as “LA Times”
Picked up the outing story after the LA Times
Rosie O'Donnell called Michelangelo a moron on his show, as Michelangelo recalls
Where Rosie O'Donnell called Michelangelo a moron, as he recalls
Heard as “Larry King”
Natalie Schafer's show, which made her the star of the Halston luncheon
Heard as “Gilligan”
A home office with a dark bulletin board full of lanyards, press passes and photos, a framed picture and a wooden shelf
FashionNavy V-neck sweater over a black T-shirt, black rectangular glasses, close-cropped grey-blond hair and a short grey beard
His home library: dark wooden shelves of books lit by two lamps, a brass pig on a David LaChapelle book, a Tom Ford book and a framed landscape
FashionGrey-taupe half-zip knit cardigan with a pale blue and cream diamond pattern over a yellow T-shirt, dark rectangular glasses; bald
A room with 70s sunflower wallpaper in ochre and cream, striped brown, grey and orange curtains, shelves of books and Warhol Brillo boxes
FashionCoral-pink crew-neck sweater and rimless glasses with pink-tinted temples; close-cropped grey hair
His home library of packed bookshelves, with a framed Poe portrait and a vintage microphone
FashionSilver-grey satin funnel-neck top and teal-rimmed glasses; shaved head
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