After Dark May 1978 (Next to the last part)

That's right, I'm almost finished with this issue. It's been a long road to get everything I wanted to feature from the issue. Stars from early Hollywood and new Hollywood, to people yet to become stars, and finally to those that should have been stars, but just never had the luck to be famous. I say luck, because recently I was watching some Dick Cavett interviews with Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis. Each talked about their discipline and the work they were able to accomplish, but each also mentioned "luck". It seems that even they realized that sometimes the most talented person could not be famous without a little luck on their side. Speaking of Miss Davis, there were some other recent (as of 1978) movies that were featured in this issue. Bette Davis and David Niven were two of the many stars in the film version of Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile.

Also in the cast playing the unfortunate victim was the future Bond girl Lois Chiles.

The surfing movie Big Wednesday starred William Katt and Jan-Michael Vincent.

The film Looking for Mr. Goodbar featured Tom Berenger. In Praise of Older Women would pair him with Karen Black.

The film version of Broadway's A Little Night Music is one of my favorite films. Why? Well, it starred Diana Rigg and Elizabeth Taylor. Where else could you see Elizabeth Taylor sing "Send in the Clowns"? The other leading ladies were Hermione Gingold and Lesley Ann Down. Lesley had recently also gotten noticed for her role in The Betsy.

A Jackie playing a Jackie. The Greek Tycoon uses fictitious names, but the parallels between the lives Aristotle Onassis and Jacqueline Kennedy and the characters in the film are hard to ignore. In the Jackie-like role is the beautiful Jacqueline Bissett.

While hot pants are the rule of the day in 1978,

There was a time when a well-placed scarf was all you needed whether you were a woman...

...or a man.

Vegas showgirl Barbara Beverly knows a thing about well-placed articles of clothing. she was appearing at the Stardust Hotel in the 12th edition of Lido de Paris.

Out in New Jersey at the Paper Mill Playhouse you would find Rip Torn and Sandy Dennis in a production of Little Foxes, but playing the evil Regina Giddens was Geraldine Page.

While in London at the Globe Theatre, Jeremy Irons and Simon Ward were starring in Simon Gray's The Rear Column.

Before closing out this post, I wanted to show the way photos are often reused. Of course, only the best photos are reused, like this one of Randy Jones from the Village People. It was used in a previous issue for a fashion layout. The reused the photo for an ad to businesses to have them advertise in their magazine to reach a certain demographic. That demographic was the After Dark reader. I am surprised that 85.2% of the readers were single. I would have thought it would have been higher, like 99.44%.

After Dark May 1978 (Part 4 of ?)

Hey,
See the stars in his eyes,
And that music in you,
Tells you how you can find
(Your way to paradise)
Friday
(Thank God it's) Friday
Friday
(Thank God it's) Friday, Friday, Friday, Friday...
Hey,
Put a smile on your face,
Things are coming your way,
Out there somewhere tonight
(It's the right time and place)



That's right! Donna Summer was about to have her first acting role in Thank God It's Friday! She played (what else?) a disco singer. During the 80's, I was a big fan of the group Berlin. This was before they became semi-popular with that Top Gun ballad. Did you realize that lead singer Terri Nunn was in this film? Her she is with John Friedrich.

Before she became a regular on the TV series Fame, Valerie Landsburg appeared in Thank God It's Friday!. She and Chick Vennera danced in a contest while the Commodores played onstage.

I'd have love to have gone to a club like the Zoo which had a Tarzan waiter (played by Phil Adams) swinging and serving.

The film has since developed a small cult following. Speaking of cult films and stars, John Waters has directed a number of cult hits,

like Desperate Living which featured Liz Renay

and Pink Flamingos which starred the divine Divine.

Joe Dallesandro became a cult figure with roles in Trash with Jane Forth

and Flesh.

Thanks to Boys in the Sand, Cal Culver became a gay cult figure and will eventually be featured in a Monday's Man post in the future.

Another film developing a gay cult following was the similarly titled The Boys in the Band. The film was an adaptation of the play by Matt Crowley which starred many of the stage cast below.

The stage cast included Cliff Gorman, Frederick Combs, Leonard Frey, Keith Prentice, Reuben Greene, Robert La Tourneaux, and Laurence Luckinbill.

A couple of ads before I close out this part of the issue. The first is a full page ad for the Eugene O'Neill Theatre featuring Vincent Price as Oscar Wilde in Diversions & Delights.

This second ad intrigued me. I never knew that the HOLLYWOOD sign had ever looked that bad, but here was a chance to help restore the historic landmark. If you bought a T-shirt, the money would go to help the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to rebuild and restore the legendary monument.

Well that's it for this part of the issue! One photo for the road:
Gary Flannery was the lead dancer in the Shirley MacLaine Show at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas.

After Dark May 1978

Here's Bette Midler appearing on her third cover of After Dark! This issue also happens to be the Tenth Anniversary Issue! There is so much going on in this issue, I am going to have to break it up into multiple posts. There are the regular features, plus a look back at some of their favorite moments, films and people. In William Como's "Speaking Out" column, he talks about the demise of Ballroom Dance Magazine and how it was reinvented as After Dark. I really need to post that first issue of After Dark. Maybe next weekend.

Bette Midler interviews The Divine Miss M. That's right! It was a cute little piece that shows the natural humor of Miss Midler.



There was a bit on the Ruby Awards, which I mentioned in an earlier post. It had a photo of the previous seven winners that included Bette Midler,

her former accompianist and friend and star in his own right, Barry Manilow,

Peter Allen,

Ann-Margret,

Lucille Ball,

Mae West,

and Ruby Keeler (here with Dorothy Collins) for whom the award was renamed.

That's right, the Ruby Award was originally called the Starry Night Award, but more on the award and the parties that were given in other posts.
Back to the issue. Since it was the 10th anniversary, William Como and the staff got together for a group shot to show you the faces behind the monthly madness of After Dark.

In continuing their retrospective, they talked about some of the movies that made an impact with the newcomers of yesteryear now being the stars of today. Nudity in mainstream films like The Strawberry Statement which featured Bruce Davison,

Midnight Cowboy with Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman,

Jane Fonda as Barbarella,

David Bowie who appeared in The Man Who Fell to Earth and was going to be starring in Just a Gigolo,

Myra Breckinridge star Raquel Welch who would soon be appearing in The Sin and The Animal.

Who else is going to be featured in this issue? I'm afraid you'll just have to wait and see. Check back this week for more from this double-size issue.
Until then, will somebody order me a Gay Bob doll? I really, really want one.

After Dark January 1973

Bette Midler graces the cover of her second issue of After Dark. According to the issue, 1973 may witness the emergence of a new superstar in the person of Miss Bette Midler. Her New Year's Eve concert at Philharmonic Hall sold out immediately and Atlantic Records' "The Divine Miss M" was a top seller. Her appearance in this issue was in a fashion layout featuring her in a variety of furs.

She may have been raised in Hawaii, but she looks right at home in this Blackgama floor-length ranch mink.

Here's Bette in a flared black beaver short coat with silver fox trim.

Joining Bette in the fashion layout were friends Wayne Clark, who was the producer of the off-off-Broadway musical Twanger, and model-about-town, Tom Moulton. Wayne is dressed in a black and white Rolls Royce sweater with flared flannel cuffed trousers and Tom is in a black and orange short-sleeved wool pullover worn over a black knit shirt with patterned trousers.

Glamorous Bette is in a white shadow fox fur from Norway.

Here is Bette in a natural blue fox and leather circular design coat, while Tom is in a wool navy blue and white check walking suit and Wayne is in a brown suede cloth coat.

Here are the boys in body-hugging wool knit pullovers.

Tom is wearing a bold-checked amber and navy suit with navy cashmere turtleneck while Bette is in a Summer Ermine with lynx collar and border.


Henry Edwards did an article on the softer side of Alice Cooper.

Glenn Loney's article recognized up and coming star Jason Miller who won rave reviews for his stage presence in That Championship Season.

Interestingly, his co-star in That Championship Season was Paul Sorvino. Paul, who is also a sculptor, was commissioned by the city of Scranton to create a bust of Jason. The bronze statue was unveiled in December 2008. The article mentioned that he was about to appear in a new horror film called The Exorcist. He would eventually be nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in that.

Susan Hayward, star of I'll Cry Tomorrow, got a spotlight in an article from Don Lee Keith.

Susan appeared in many films with some of the top leading men, including Clark Gable in Soldier of Fortune...

...and John Wayne in The Conqueror.

Susan tried the stage in a Las Vegas production of Mame. She grew tired of the same old lines, the same old songs every night that she eventually left the production and was replaced by Celeste Holm.

Susan found she loved TV movies, because she worked like a slave for the thirteen weeks of filming and then could take some time off. One of those TV movies was Heat of Anger in which she played a lawyer. It was supposed to be a pilot for a series, but it wasn't picked up.

Up and coming stars making names for themselves in 1973 were Robin Lane, who was appearing in The Chronicle of Nine at the Mercer Arts Center,

Mark Lambert, who Hal Prince signed for a leading role in his new musical A Little Night Music,

and David Huffman who recently appeared in the Philadelphia Drama Guild's production of Moliere's Tartuffe.

Regular After Dark writer and editor Norma McLain Stoop featured two young men in her article. The first was Donn Whyte who was appearing in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at New York's Mercer Arts Center.

Donn also played the dead father of a ten-year old boy in the semi-horror film Killers of the Dream.

The other young man was Kurt Dawson who found his first New York play after studying at England's Royal Academy was the controversial off-Broadway play Futz!.

He then got a job as Keith Baxter's understudy in Sleuth and began appearing on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns.

Some other highlights this issue were the debut of Irene starring Debbie Reynolds and Monte Markham,

Deborah Kerr in The Day after the Fair with Julia Foster,

and a dramatic reading of Don Juan in Hell with Edward Mulhare, Ricardo Montalban, Agnes Moorehead and Paul Henried.

William Como's semi-regular feature "Editor's Out-Takes" featured dancer/model Wesley Kone,

swimmer George Krasowski,

and dancer Brian Destazio.

Another photo featured was one by Curtis Brown that appeared in an exhibit called "Four Phases Plus One".

Only a couple of ads to feature from this issue. The first is for the film Travels with My Aunt starring Maggie Smith. I have been wanting to see this film, but have not been able to find it on DVD. I just love this drawing of Maggie Smith. Interesting tattoo possiblility.

The next is for Leather 'N' Things. It seems that in order to order them, taking the measurements are quite complicated so you have to write for details. At least you get to choose which side you want your key loop on.

Last, but not least for this issue, is a photo by Kenn Duncan to spotlight four jewelers. Actor Douglas Reynolds on the left is wearing bracelets from Whitt Goldsmith's on his left arm and from Frank's Jewelers on his right. Actor/model James Hand on the right is wearing a selection from Uptight Ltd. on his right arm and Boutique St. Tropez on his left.

Only one more Bette Midler issue to go. Stay tuned.