Mike Nichols bio coming from Mark Harris

Nope.

"Harris (the husband of Tony Kushner) only gingerly touches on Nichols' sexuality, despite assertions by Richard Avedon, one of his closest friends, that the pair had a longtime love affair and the essentially long-distance nature of Nichols' relationships with his quartet of wives. I wasn't hoping for anything lurid or salacious, but this volume just doesn't dig as deeply into what made Nichols tick."

Oh wait I forgot Nichols directed the TV version of Angels.

I guess Harris couldn't be honest out of loyalty to Kushner.

Sort of hypocritical though.

What are you babbling about R2?

Mark Harris is a good writer and journalist but I wish he had explored this side of Nichols more, if that early report is true. I don't think it's just a minor side thing. So many of these great American cultural figures of this period were gay - almost all of them New York Jews and almost all of them closeted and married to women (Nichols, Avedon, Leonard Bernstein, even Jerome Robbins for a time etc.). I just think leaving out that context misses something. The Nichols oral biography released earlier this year - which also glosses over all this stuff - suggested he was pretty infatuated with Matthew Broderick IIRC.

Speaking of Avedon, Donald Brooks, the 7th Avenue couturier and B'way and Hollywood costumer, told me Avedon would suck any cock he could get his lips around.

Oh please--in this day and age, "protecting" someone's "reputation"? What is Mr. Harris afraid of? The wrath of Diane Sawyer?

When the son was on Dame Edna's show she called him a Nancy Boy to his face, but it was framed as a double entendre where she says that he's closer to his mother, Nancy, than his father, Ronald.

Ron Reagan is not a "junior."

When Dame Edna was on The View, she called Whoopi by her real name "Caryn".

Mark Harris is a good, honest and perceptive writer. I expect the same in this new work.

He was gay?

Did he finish his book about his wife Martha yet?

different one r12. That one is dead.

Diane Sawyer.

Is this the Mark Harris who was married to Martha Raye? The one who was like 19 when she was like 150?

no r15

Martha Raye’s Mark Harris is dead?

Bisexual Mark Harris is not dead.

Yes, r17.

R19 No he’s not bitch

Bitch back at you r20. Mark Harris, Martha Race’s husband, is dead.

[quote] Kushner outed Ron Reagan Jr. in Angels in America

Err, he has a fictional character suggest that Ron is gay.

That’s “outing” someone?

Yes.

The book was published earlier this week but I haven't read it yet. If it is true that Harris doesn't really discuss the rumours about his bisexuality and the relationship with Avedon, then I am quite surprised, Harris is a very good journalist and usually very open about LGBT issues, so I wouldn't have thought he would be evasive about it when writing on Nichols. Has anyone had a look at the book and seen exactly what was said? Also, had Nichols been rumoured to be bi before the Avedon book in 2017 which discussed the story between the two of them?

CBS Sunday Morning did a segment on Nichols and the biography with the author. Apparently, he lost all his body hair for life at four as a reaction to a vaccination. He must have had the best wigs and hair pieces of all time, as it’s not that noticeable even when looking closely at pictures and video. I wonder if he was interested in performing because of having to wear a wig and I assume draw on eyebrows and the idea of stage makeup extended it to a career.

Ron Reagan, life long atheist, is not afraid of BURNING in hell.

I've heard rumors of the Mike Nichols/Diane Sawyer marriage being lavender for many years. Long before the Richard Avedon affair book came out.

It's been a popular topic here on DL.

I trust Mark Harris. I hope he doesn't give us a white wash

I don’t know a lot about Nichols, but now I want to read this book. I must say, his hairpieces are the beat I’ve ever seen! His eyebrows look so real! If he had had a way to replicate eyelashes, the illusion would have been fully realized.

I have watched 60 Minutes for most of my life, so I have seen Diane give interviews discussing their marriage. They seemed very very happy, must have been a lovely friendship — it seems special, like a true bond they shared which was likely based on intellect and interests, not sexuality. My Ancient Greek escapes me, is it called “agape”? And there is something beautiful about that, probably because I haven’t had relationships that were that clear of a match. He was a lucky man to have her support but still have lovers.

[quote] When the son was on Dame Edna's show she called him a Nancy Boy

I don't understand, R7, whose son was on Edna?

r30 Nancy Reagan's son, Ron Jr.

Isn't it kind of scandalous that he had a strong relationship emotionally and physically throughout his life with Avedon and the photographer is discussed as nothing more than a good friend? What is this 1970?

It does look bad for Harris considering his partner is Tony Kushner a famed gay rights advocate.

He should have picked someone else to write about rather than Nichols if he wasn't going to address all the issues.

many stories bout matthew broderick went round.... which brings up the issue of...wtf that old crow S J Parker???

Matthew always seems heavily medicated nowadays. I doubt he even knows who Parker is. Probably just thinks of her as the mean lady who picks up his pills from the pharmacy.

Of all people, he seemed like an odd pick for her as hubby, she must be the alpha in the relationship. I pity him having to live with such a person all these years. God knows she is no beauty...

SJP is the nonfailing Elizabeth Chambers Hammer.

Mark Harris you chicken shit asshole.

Mark Harris was recently on The Big Picture, my favorite movie-related podcast. I think the problem is, he was friends with Mike Nichols (or that's the impression I got), so he likely self-policed while writing.

I had no idea Harris is Kushner's husband...although in retrospect, he did give off a bitchy gay guy vibe.

Excellent essay in 'The New Yorker' by Louis Menand about Nichols and the new biography. ('Hugely enjoyable.') There's enough fascination for Menand to get into without touching on Nichols's sexuality; but he does mention how Nichols wouldn't necessarily take risks artistically, which speaks to a sense of insecurity, for all his lavish success.

Being more open about sexuality would have been unlikely for someone of Nichols's generation and traumatic early background. In the Avedon biography he doesn't deny the long affair, but just says that some things you want to keep for yourself.

There were occasional hints in DL over the years about Nichols which intrigued me. The long 'New Yorker' profile by John Lahr quite often mentioned Nichols in comparison with George Cukor, which I also took to be an elegant hint. It's as though there's a gentlemen's agreement not ever to pry to much into the complications of the great Mike.

Where did the Diane Sawyer lez rumors come from? Whom has she been linked with?

Stella Artois.

Hw was much more adventurous on stage. Streamers was tremendous and he probably made a pittance from it.

He didn't make a pittance from ANNIE, I'll bet.

[quote]Where did the Diane Sawyer lez rumors come from? Whom has she been linked with?

Can't think of her name. Attractive, blonde, crime novelist, involved in a messy scandal with a married woman.

I had heard Nichols was bald but had no idea he lost his hair at such an early age. His wigs were almost as good as Helen Lawson’s.

He seems queer in interviews.

[quote]Being more open about sexuality would have been unlikely for someone of Nichols's generation and traumatic early background. In the Avedon biography he doesn't deny the long affair, but just says that some things you want to keep for yourself.

So they have no problem admitting to him smoking crack, but being a (gasp) homosexual is not a "decent" topic of discussion? Smh. Shades of Whitney Houston.

I wonder what was it about him that made him such a beacon of great intellect among the artistic community? In Carly Simon's recent book, she talks about how Jackie Kennedy and her would fight over who Mike liked more. Others have gone on record about how he would make them think better.

R45 you're thinking of Patricia Cornwell.

Not so much his later wigs...

I bet he had a big cock. No other explanation for how quickly his star ascended in the mostly gay theater world.

This early wig looks... wiggy.

There are some May/Nichols' routine on youtube and while pleasant it is hard to see today why they were seen as so hilarious and managed to sell out a Broadway house with an evening of them. Some of the older Your Show of Shows is a lot funnier.

I think the best movie he did was Woolf. It's like he shot his wad with it. I don't think things like Postcards are quite as wonderful as everyone says they are. I though would have loved to have seen the original productions of Barefoot and The Odd Couple. I was surprised to see Odd Couple had half the run of Barefoot. I assume Plaza Suite was much better on stage. The movie is unfunny and charm free.

I still find this funny, r53.

Taylor as Martha always puts me at a remove. Martha is not supposed to read as a Hagsploitation lead.

It's amusing but predictable from the get go.

Well, ain't you the callous sophisticate!

And, btw, it wasn't predictable 56 years ago.

I had a look at the bio on Google Books and there is a limited preview but very little from the pages which discuss his bisexuality. It seems that Harris does acknowledge the rumours but regards them as unproven: one quote that came up was "Avedon's reported contention that they had once been lovers remains uncorroborated but they had indisputably been the" [the snippet ends there]. There is also a snippet from another page that mentions the Avedon bio which is one of the sources of the claim that Avedon and Nichols had a decade long affair, but the preview cuts off the page before getting to Harris' summary of it. He does note elsewhere that "Avedon was never at his happiest was Nichols was in a romance" so it seems he does regard the idea of them being lovers as a possibility at least.