Bruce vilanch gay
Bruce Vilanch
Bruce Vilanch was born in 1948 in Fresh York City, and raised by his adoptive parents Jonas and Henne in Paterson, New Jersey. He developed an early desire for acting and was a child model for Lane Bryant. After upper school, he studied theater and journalism at Ohio State University.
Post-college, Bruce connected the staff of the Chicago Tribune in 1974, covering youth culture. Through this job, he met Bette Midler, who asked him to write some jokes for her. He went on to co-write several entire shows for Bette from Divine Madness (1980) to The Demonstrate Must Go On (2008). In between, Bruce wrote for Bette’s TV display as well as The Brady Bunch Variety Hour and Donny and Marie, and helped veteran funnyman Paul Lynde develop jokes for his unforgettable role on Hollywood Squares.
In 1989, Bruce wrote material for the Academy Awards, scoring consecutive Emmy Awards in 1991 and 1992 for his efforts. In the 1990s, he was hired to help launch a new version of Hollywood Squares. Starting off as the series’ head journalist, Bruce subsequently went on-camera ‘next door’ to Whoopi Goldberg. Overnight, Bruce became a phenom in his own right, breaking recent ground as one of the first o
If you’ve watched classic TV and full-on belly-laughed at keen zingers and expertly crafted punchlines, it’s a foregone ending that Bruce Vilanch has written more than a scant of them.
In a career spanning six decades and a list of credits as drawn-out as your arm, the comic legend has cemented himself as a go-to writer to punch up projects and give them added zest. A shaman of joke-telling, he has been trusted by the likes of Bob Wish, Robin Williams, and Lily Tomlin, just to name a few. In proof, since nearly the beginning of her career he has been the trick up Bette Midler’s sleeve, helping her to hone her brash, witty comic persona.
Many remember him fondly from the late ‘90s version of TV’s Hollywood Squares where he was Whoopi Goldberg’s on-screen foil. For many years he wrote patter for the Academy Awards as well, often saving the night and making presenters seem far funnier than they actually are.
Vilanch has been unapologetically gay from the outset of his career, prolonged before Ellen and Queer as Folk changed the conversation. Along the way he has been a tireless advocate for LGBT rights. He is a familiar face at Pride events and has worked to great success
When it comes to writing, prolific and hilarious gay scribe Bruce Vilanch has just about everybody else beat.
His distinctive comedic manner has earned him two Emmy Awards for the multiple Oscar spectacles he penned. He also has long-standing creative relationships with top-notch artists, including Bette Midler, for whom he has written reams of comedic material. In his second book, “It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time” (Chicago Review Apply pressure, 2025), Vilanch shines a klieg light on some of his more infamous efforts including TV fare such as “The Actor Wars Holiday Special,” “The Paul Lynde Halloween Special,” “The Brady Bunch Hour,” as well as the movies “Can’t Stop The Music” and “The Ice Pirates,” demonstrating his ability to possess a sense of humor even in the worst situations. Bruce was generous enough to build time for an interview mere days after the book’s publication.
Bruce, there’s a 25-year gap between your first book “Bruce!: My Adventures in the Skin Trade and Other Essays” and your unused book “It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time.” Why was now the day to write a new book?
During COVID, I found myself on a lot of lockdown podcasts with hosts who were born afte
Mister D: This shows you how out of touch I am with my own community. I had no notion it was GLBT History Month. Also in Nashville, I saw they added TWO or THREE more letters to GLBT…I can barely remember what the GLBT means. Anybody else seen this happen. I recollect one of the letters was “Q” I think I can get that one…. anyway, here is a excellent essay from Bruce….
365gay.com
Gays On The Silver Screen
by Bruce Vilanch
October 14, 2007
Gay feature history can be divided into two eras: before AIDS, when straight people rarely made movies about anyone same-sex attracted, and after, when gay people couldn’t stop making movies about ourselves.
Clearly, that sentence speaks to a lot more than just the state of the art, it speaks to the state of the movie business.
Back in the studio period, which ended for gay purposes in the 80s, They made a handful of movies about Us.
When the flood of independent production began taking over what used to be Hollywood and moved it to Soho, Sundance and Vancouver , We became Us and you just couldn’t terminate Us.
The means of production quite literally transferred from a small collective of individuals with an agenda of pro