Gay Men's Chorus Of Los Angeles
The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles (GMCLA) is an amateur choral group composed of gay men from the Los Angeles area. Established in 1979, GMCLA has grown in size, gained professional artistic and administrative staff, toured nationally and internationally, and released 16 CDs. GMCLA has appeared with numerous stage, film, and television celebrities including Billy Porter, Lily Tomlin, Angela Lansbury, Bea Arthur, Malcolm Gets, Doris Roberts, Jerry Herman, Melissa Manchester, Mary McDonnell, Levi Kreis, Joanna Gleason, Alex Newell, Amber Riley, Charles Pierce, Miss Coco Peru, Valarie Pettiford, Jane Lanier, Randi Driscoll, Margaret Cho, Michael Jeter, Stephen Schwartz, Liz Callaway, Lance Bass, Jennifer Holliday, Tierney Sutton, and LeAnn Rimes. The Chorus has appeared on several television broadcasts including the ''85th Academy Awards'', ''Access Hollywood'', ''Will & Grace'', '' $#*! My Dad Says'', ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', ''Mad TV'', and a six-episode arc on '' Six F ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages in the United States. History Most historical writings about West Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood begin in the late-18th century with European colonization when the Portuguese people, Portuguese explorer João Rodrigues Cabrilho arrived offshore and claimed the already inhabited region for Spain. Around 5,000 of the indigenous inhabitants from the Tongva people, Tongva Indian tribe canoed out to greet the ship. The Tongva tribe was a nation of hunter-gatherers known for their reverence for dance and courage. By 1771, these native people had been severely ravaged by the diseases brought in by the Europeans from across wide oceans. The Spanish mission system changed the tribal name to "Gabrielinos", in reference t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mary McDonnell
Mary Eileen McDonnell (born April 28, 1952) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She received Academy Award nominations for her roles as Stands With A Fist in ''Dances with Wolves'' and May-Alice Culhane in ''Passion Fish''. McDonnell is well known for her performances as President Laura Roslin in ''Battlestar Galactica'', First Lady Marilyn Whitmore in '' Independence Day'', and Rose in ''Donnie Darko''. She was featured as Captain Sharon Raydor during seasons 5–7 of the TNT series ''The Closer'' and starred as Commander Sharon Raydor in the spin-off series '' Major Crimes'' on the same network. Early life Mary Eileen McDonnell was born April 28, 1952, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, one of six children born to Eileen (née Mundy) and John "Jack" McDonnell, a computer consultant. She is of Irish descent and was raised Roman Catholic. As a child, McDonnell relocated with her family to Ithaca, New York, where she spent the remainder of her upbringing. After ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jennifer Holliday
Jennifer Yvette Holliday (born October 19, 1960) is an American actress and singer. She started her career on Broadway in musicals such as ''Dreamgirls'' (1981–83), ''Your Arms Too Short to Box with God'' (1980–1981) and later became a successful recording artist. She is best known for her debut single, the ''Dreamgirls'' number and rhythm-and-blues/pop hit, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", for which she won a Grammy in 1983. She also won a 1982 Tony Award for ''Dreamgirls''. Career Broadway actress Holliday landed her first big role on Broadway in 1979 at age 18, the same day she auditioned for the Broadway production of ''Your Arms Too Short to Box with God.'' Her performance in that musical earned her a 1981 Drama Desk nomination. Her next role, which she began to act at age 21, was the role for which she became best known: the role of Effie Melody White in the Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls.'' Holliday originated the role of Effie and remained with the show for ne ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lance Bass
James Lance Bass (; born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, dancer, actor, film, and television producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the bass singer for the American pop boy band NSYNC. NSYNC's success led Bass to work in film and television. He starred in the 2001 film ''On the Line'', which his company, Bacon & Eggs, also produced. Bass later formed a second production company, Lance Bass Productions, as well as a now-defunct music management company, Free Lance Entertainment, a joint venture with Mercury Records. After completion of NSYNC's PopOdyssey Tour, Bass moved to Star City, Russia, in a much publicized pursuit of a space tourism seat on a Soyuz space capsule. Bass was certified by both NASA and the Russian Space Program after several months of cosmonaut training and planned to join the TMA-1 mission to the International Space Station. However, after his financial sponsors backed out, Bass was denied a seat on the mission. In July 2006, Bass ca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Liz Callaway
Liz Callaway (born April 13, 1961) is an American actress, singer and recording artist, who is best known for having provided the singing voices of many female characters in animated films, such as Anya/Anastasia in ''Anastasia'', Odette in ''The Swan Princess'', Jasmine in the ''Aladdin'' sequels ''The Return of Jafar'' and '' Aladdin and the King of Thieves'', adult Kiara in '' The Lion King II: Simba's Pride'', and a dancing napkin ring in ''Beauty and the Beast''. She was also the original Ellen in the Broadway production of ''Miss Saigon''. Early life, family, and education Callaway was born in Chicago, Illinois to Shirley Callaway, a singer, pianist, and vocal coach, and John Callaway, a journalist. Her sister is actress, composer, and singer Ann Hampton Callaway, with whom she sang the theme song for the Fran Drescher comedy series ''The Nanny'', which Hampton Callaway also composed. Both sisters attended New Trier High School (New Trier East) in Winnetka, Illinois. Ca ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stephen Schwartz (composer)
Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theater lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin'' (1972), and ''Wicked'' (2003). He has contributed lyrics to a number of successful films, including ''Pocahontas'' (1995), ''The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1996), ''The Prince of Egypt'' (1998, music and lyrics), and '' Enchanted'' (2007). Schwartz has won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, three Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards, and has been nominated for six Tony Awards. He received the 2015 Isabelle Stevenson Award, a special Tony Award, for his commitment to serving artists and fostering new talent. Early life and education Schwartz was born to a Jewish family in New York City, the son of Sheila Lorna (née Siegel), a teacher, and Stanley Leonard Schwartz, a businessman. He grew up in the Williston Park area of Nassau County, New York, where he gra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michael Jeter
Robert Michael Jeter (; August 26, 1952 – March 30, 2003) was an American actor. His television roles included Herman Stiles on the sitcom ''Evening Shade'' from 1990 until 1994 and Mr. Noodle's brother, Mister Noodle, on the '' Elmo's World'' segments of ''Sesame Street'' from 2000 until 2003. Jeter's film roles include ''Zelig'', ''Tango & Cash'', ''The Fisher King'', '' Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit'', ''Waterworld'', ''Air Bud'', ''Mouse Hunt'', ''Patch Adams'', '' The Green Mile'', ''Jurassic Park III'', ''Welcome to Collinwood'', ''Open Range'', and ''The Polar Express''. Early life Jeter was born Robert Michael Jeter in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee on August 26, 1952. His mother, Virginia (née Raines; May 6, 1927 – May 21, 2019), was a housewife. His father, William Claud Jeter (March 10, 1922 – March 1, 2010), was a dentist. Jeter had one brother, William, and four sisters, Virginia, Amanda, Emily, and Lori. Jeter was a student at Memphis State University (now the Un ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Margaret Cho
Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, actress, LGBT social activist, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and sexuality. She rose to prominence after starring in the ABC sitcom '' All-American Girl'' (1994–95), and became an established stand-up comic in the subsequent years. She has also had endeavors in fashion and music, and has her own clothing line. Cho has also frequently supported LGBT rights and has won awards for her humanitarian efforts on behalf of women, Asian Americans, and the LGBT community. As an actress, she has acted in such roles as Charlene Lee in '' It's My Party'' and John Travolta's FBI colleague in the action movie ''Face/Off.'' Cho was part of the cast of the TV series ''Drop Dead Diva'' on Lifetime Television, in which she appeared as Teri Lee, a paralegal assistant. For her portrayal of Dictator Kim Jong-il on ''30 Rock ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Valarie Pettiford
Valarie Pettiford (born July 8, 1960) is an American stage and television actress, dancer, and jazz singer. She received a Tony Award nomination for her role in the broadway production '' Fosse''. She is also known for her role as "Big Dee Dee" Thorne on the UPN television sitcom ''Half & Half''. Stage Pettiford began her career as a dancer and choreographer in Bob Fosse productions on Broadway. Alvin Klein of the ''New York Times'' wrote of her role in the 1983 musical revue ''Ladies and Gentlemen, Jerome Kern!'' that "You will not for a moment take your eyes off Valarie Pettiford, the show's standout: a sinewy dancer who can be sultry or sweet, measure for measure, as prescribed.... Miss Pettiford appears to be a superbly trained dancer, schooled in balletic finesse and Broadway-style razzmatazz - and a stunning presence." Leah Frank, also in the ''NYT'', wrote of Pettiford's appearance in ''West Side Story'' in 1987: "The mainstay of the supporting cast is Valarie Pettiford, w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Miss Coco Peru
Miss Coco Peru (born August 27, 1965) is the drag persona of American actor, comedian and drag performer Clinton Leupp, known for her role in the 1999 independent film ''Trick'' and for her series of live theater performances. Recognizable by her "trademark copper-toned flip hairdo", Peru also starred in Richard Day's '' Girls Will Be Girls'' (2003) and was one of six performers featured in the Logo original stand-up comedy series ''Wisecrack'' (2005). She has also appeared in a number of other supporting and guest-starring roles in film and television. For 20 years Peru has starred in various "one-woman shows" across the US and other countries, and hosted LGBT events. Since 2005 Peru has appeared in the "Conversations with Coco" series in which she "interviews and celebrates the lives and careers of the LGBT community's favorite icons." Peru's guests have included Bea Arthur, Liza Minnelli, Lesley Ann Warren, Karen Black, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda. Early life and the creation ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charles Pierce (female Impersonator)
Charles Pierce (July 14, 1926 – May 31, 1999) was one of the 20th century's foremost female impersonators, particularly noted for his impersonation of Bette Davis. Life and career Born in Watertown, New York, he began his show business career playing the organ and acting in radio dramas at station WWNY. He branched out into a comedy routine, attired in tuxedo, yet managing to evoke eerily convincing imitations of popular movie actresses. Eschewing the term drag queen, which he hated, he billed himself as a male actress. Initially playing in small gay clubs, his fame spread. He took up residence in San Francisco, where his act became well known to Hollywood stars. As he toured, his costuming became more elaborate, initially adding small props, later full costume and makeup changes. His imitations were imitated by other female impersonators, and his roles included Bette Davis, Mae West, Tallulah Bankhead, Gloria Swanson, Carol Channing, Katharine Hepburn, and Joan Crawford, and t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Amber Riley
Amber Patrice Riley (born February 15, 1986), sometimes known mononymously as RILEY, is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her portrayal of Mercedes Jones on the Fox comedy-drama series ''Glee'' (2009–2015). For her performance on the series, she and the rest of the cast won a Screen Actors Guild Award, and have been nominated for three Teen Choice Awards, three NAACP Image Awards, and a Grammy Award. In 2016, Riley originated the lead role of Effie White in the West End debut of ''Dreamgirls''. She won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical and Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical Performance in 2017 for her work. Riley won season 17 of ''Dancing with the Stars'' in 2013. In 2017, Riley appeared as a judge on BBC One musical theatre talent show '' Let It Shine'' and formed a musical theatre supergroup with Beverley Knight and Cassidy Janson, known collectively as Leading Ladies and signed to East West Records/Warner. Her deb ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |