Bonus Video! The story of the disastrous 1989 Academy Awards

Thank you so much for making this! As a huge Oscars nerd (especially when it comes to the iconic moments from the ceremony) I love hearing others talk about the history related to some of the famous blunders. Especially when it comes from your awesome noggin! :)

Please come to Philadelphia.

That’s fascinating. Because even though it sounds incredibly raw 89 was closer to the Sonny and Cher / Paul Lynde variety hour than it is to today. So the format makes sense. And it seems like the template for a classic Billy Crystal or Whoopi Goldberg Oscars by which we still judge contemporary Oscars telecasts! Weird that he ruined his career and also set the standard at the same time!!!

You should come to to Florida the book store is called books and books

The theme of Beach Blanket Babylon was always Snow White looking for her true love. It took off from there. I suppose that's why this number started that way.

I was first taken to Beach Blanket Babylon by two native SF women, and it was so much fun and such spectacle that my partner and I took visiting relatives there more than once. I did not see it as a drag show - if that refers to men performing as women, because the women's roles were all (as I recall) played by amazing talented women singers - I was totally stunned by Val Diamond and Nancy Bleiweiss. The women were so glam and wildly costumed, though, that it did have a lot in common with elaborate drag shows. A Dolly Parton type character had a blonde wig that might have been 8 or 10 feet tall. Some headgear was so big and heavy that the actresses actually stood in place wearing headgear suspended from the ceiling. One major theme was setting up clever and silly situations where old standards or show tunes were sung with funny visuals - I recall one where a woman enters a stage populated by people dressed as pine trees and whispering to each tree which would then turn and run offstage. The song was "I Talk to the Trees (But They Don't Listen to Me)" The John Travolta character from Saturday Night Fever in his white disco costume was a major character. I saw the 1989 Academy Awards and assumed wrongly that Steve Silver, the producer of BBB had produced this also. I felt there were misses in the show at the awards but was shocked when I heard how reviled it was. I can't believe that it was bad enough to ruin the career of a man who had made Deer Hunter and Grease and the rest.

SF bay area!

I've been so confused because I did not realize Alan Carr and Allan Carr are different people

I’d love to see you come to my home city of Dallas it’d be so neat.

Please consider Portland, OR! I know more than a few places that would love to host you for a reading ❤

Is this the best Patreon? It might be...

When I click on the video it says it doesn’t exist .

Come to San Francisco! Fabulosa Books on Castro would be a perfect spot! (www.fabulosabooks.com)

Hi Matt, I'm seconding the suggestion for Giovanni's Room in Philly. Here's their site: https://www.queerbooks.com

I finally watched the birdcage the other day on youtube and I found it appalling. I can't speak to when it came out, but it hasn't aged well. Their son is such a jerk, an absolute ass who treats his lovely parents so badly, I just found him and the situation he created unacceptable and completely unbelievable by today's standards. As a view of the past it is extremely unflattering and the only thing that would have made me enjoy this movie would have been Robin Williams hauling off and slapping his cowardly, ungrateful child right in the kisser, which is what he deserved.

Still watching but I didn't realize Beach Blanket Babylon had closed! I lived in SF in the 90s and it was an absolute institution. Yes, for the tourists, but every local was kind of expected to see it at some point. I did and it was really funny. It was essentially a drag show with oversized hats. It was very much about the hats/headdresses. Like the ones on your video, they were often enormous landscapes. They would also change them often, retiring some and bringing in new ones. I remember that there was a big exhibition about it, probably celebrating 20 years or something, where they showed off years worth of different hats and costumes. I wish I could remember where, but I want to say the airport. SFO always had an art exhibit on one of the main areas. It could have been the art museum, honestly. It was very highly regarded. It was all VERY Gay, but also definitely for a straight tourist audience.

Another entertaining and educational episode! Love your new set-up, too, though I do miss seeing your ball winder. Note on the umbrella seen through the bakery window: Many of us use umbrellas as sun protection as the shade they provide is more than that provided by a wide-brimmed hat.

What about a stop in Philadelphia at Giovanni's 'Room, the oldest gay bookstore in the US?

Matt, for your tour you should consider a stop in Boston!