Rumors have been circulating lately about the gender or shall I say the genders of Lady GaGa. Many people thought that The Princess of Pop (yeessh) is a hermaphrodite. For those of you who do not know what a hermaphrodite is, it is a person born with both male and female genitalia.

The picture that had everyone a-buzz, is the one below. It clearly shows a “bulge” of some sort in the crotch region.

People were wondering, if this was carefully placed “package” for shock value for her career? Or a photo-shopped picture? Or is Lady (I use the term lightly) more than just a lady?

Well Lady finally came forward and put an end to the rumors and said that “she was not offended, but her beautiful vagina was very offended”.  Thank God that is cleared up, I will no longer have sleepless nights. *snicker*

Wait….what did she say? Her beautiful vagina? Who the hell talks publicly (or at all for that matter) about having a beautiful vagina? (with the exception of the Vagina Monologues)
Wow!  Talk about being totally full of themselves.

The Examiner.com reported:

Since the hermaphrodite rumors started circling around Lady Gaga back in August, the singer has kept quiet about whether or not she has both parts.

Lady Gaga reportedly told an Australian radio station, “My beautiful vagina is very offended. I’m not offended; my vagina is offended. I’m not embarrassed. I sold four million records in six months; I’m not embarrassed about anything. I think this is society’s reaction to a strong woman.”

“The idea that we equate strength with men and a penis is a symbol of male strength, you know, it is what it is. But like I said,” the dance-pop diva reiterated, “I am not offended at all, but my vagina might be a little bit upset,” she added.

The singer has been flaunting her naked body in various magazines since the rumors began, hoping to disprove that she may have both man and lady parts, but we all know what a little Photoshop can do.

What do you think? Is Lady Gaga telling the truth or just deny, deny, denying?

My reply? Who gives a damn? Sorry, I could care less what she’s packing, and besides, what’s the difference? Are people saying if GaGa was a hermaphrodite that they wouldn’t be fans any more? Why, can’t a hermaphrodite be a diva too?

This story oddly peaked my interest and I decided to look more into GaGa’s music, since I wasn’t too familiar with it, and I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. What I discovered wasn’t much. I found an ok looking gal who loves to dress in kooky outfits and writes some really lousy songs.

GaGa is going the ol’ shock diva route because she basically needs those costumes and stage performances to hide her lack of talent. Her audience needs a lot of distractions. And now that she has a following, he crappy songs wont’ matter as much.
 
Her voice and song style comes pretty close to Madonnas, although Madonna’s songs were better written. Now I am not a fan of Madonna’s either, but nobody can deny that when Madonna blew up big in the 80’s that she was at least original and her songs were much better than GaGa’s. 

I have to say, that some of GaGa’s outfits are very cool, I will at least give her that. I love the way she sometimes meshes a vintage look with wackiness and forms some pretty outrageous get-ups. BUT…is that it? Yes, that’s it.

Let’s not forget this has been done a hundred times over in the music biz, and way before she strapped on that bubble suit for the cover of Rolling Stone.

Performers have been making names for themselves via shock for years. Way back when, Liberace was one of the first shockers and was the king of outlandish outfits. He was one of the first pioneers of  “putting on the dog“.

Although Liberace’s voice was far from good, he did play a mean piano. And look at Elton John, who started out as sort of a meek country bumpkin and ended up going all Liberace on everyone, once fame came knocking on his door.

Elton was not only an elaborate dresser, but he had quite the collection of outrageous glasses, which became a signature for him. So was Elton copying Liberace? It really didn’t matter, because he can sing and play piano to boot.

There was David Bowie who dressed up as Zigggy Stardust, and Cyndi Lauper who started an entire fashion craze with her gobs of costume jewelry, and her poofy crinoline slips.

But again like Elton, this girl can sing.

Take the band Kiss for instance, who was popular in the 1970’s. They rose up in the ranks due to their alter ego wild costumes, pyrotechnics on stage and Gene Simmons spewing blood and wiggling that long snake of a tongue. It was freaky to see a band dressed like that with full face paint back  in the 1970’s, and it was very innovative. (I was never a Kiss fan though, I think their movie ruined it for me *snicker*) But they did have some talent to back up their look.

Alice Copper, another unusual performer, used to hang himself on stage complete with an entire gallows set up on stage. He also would whip bloody plastic baby dolls on stage during his Dead Babies song… but again…Cooper had the talent to rock the house.

Let’s not forget Dee Snyder in Twisted Sister, ok… never mind, we can forget that one.

(Just have to mention, and way off topic, but I think Christina Aguilera definitely stole Dee’s look when she did the video for Moulin Rouge).

And what about Boy George? He started out rather tame with Culture Club (well sort of) and then showed up in an airport one day dressed like a Geisha girl, and got more outrageous from there. But nobody can deny that the man possessed decent set of pipes on him. We won’t get into where he is today.

Back to Madonna…
But wait, there’s more…

Three's Company, John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt

Three’s Company star, Joyce DeWitt who was well known for her role as Janet Wood, celebrated a little too much this past fourth of July. I decided not to show her horrible police mug shot. She looked like a scared frazzled deer in headlights, and sometimes I do have a heart. I think the vintage picture above from Three’s Company is just as appropriate. The looks on their faces say it all.
 
I guess the police thought her driving past a barricade was a big no-no, and rightly so. And then I heard a few days later, that Eddie Mekka, 57, known for his role as Carmine Ragusa aka “The Big Ragu” who starred on the Laverne and Shirley show, was also arrested for DUI after he got in an accident. What on earth is going on people? Geez! Take a cab or have a friend drive you home for cripes sake.

DeWitt who is now 60, and has been very active in theatre and charity groups, over the years. I checked out her website, but wasn’t very impressed. It is poorly made, with a skipping song loop, and she sells autographed pictures of herself for $25.00 plus shipping. I am not trying to be a biotch….. but I’ll pass. Sorry!

The Associated Press reported:

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – An actress who starred on the hit television series “Three’s Company” has been arrested in Southern California and cited for drunken driving.

Police say Joyce DeWitt, who played the character Janet Wood on the popular show, was pulled over Saturday afternoon after she drove past a barricade near a park in El Segundo.

Sgt. Danny Kim says an officer arrested the 60-year-old DeWitt after he observed signs she had been drinking and gave her field sobriety tests.

Kim says DeWitt was booked at the Police Department, cited and released on her own recognizance.

 

And on to Mekka… although Carmine was never one of my favorites on the Laverne and Shirley show, I used to love the way Shirley would shake her shoulders walking towards Carmine and would try to act sexy, so she could get her way.Worked like a charm every time! Even though they never did ”vo-dee-oh-doh”

Eddie Mekka who played Shirley’s beau Carmine on Laverne & Shirley, was arrested on suspicion of DUI in Las Vegas.
According to reports, Vegas cops arrived on the scene Friday after getting a call about a ‘’suspected drunk driver” who had been in an accident. The ”Big Ragu,” 57, is actually not a has-been. The Massachusetts native says on his official website that he’s been busy doing a nightclub act, Off Broadway theater and some TV stuff (The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia).

The "Big Ragu" Back In The Day

Now I don’t know what the story is behind these arrests. Perhaps DeWitt never got over the drama of the Three’s Company Suzanne Summers fiasco. It couldn’t have been easy playing second fiddle to Chrissy and her little bouncing boobs.
Or maybe Mekka is still struggling after not being on a hit sitcom any more. One can only speculate.

I used to watch Three’s Company and Laverne and Shirley religiously back in the day. With John Ritter gone, (miss you John!) Suzanne Sommers being a breast cancer survivor, and now the arrests of DeWitt and Mekka for drunk driving, it just made me feel very sad. Hopefully these arrests are just a case of a little over indulgence and not a serious problem for the two. But famous or not, there is never a good reason for anyone to drink and drive. PERIOD.

The lovely Farrah Fawcett, who was voted “Best Looking” in her high school class, had no idea back then, that she would be later posing for the most popular pin up gal poster in history.

Fawcett was a huge sensation in the early 70’s with her golden tresses and pearly whites and wholesome girl-next-door beauty, and before her acting career took off, she made a name for herself starring in TV commercials. Like the sexy one of her and Joe Namath for Noxema cream and also her famous Ulta Brite TV commercials, just to name a very few. 
Faberge, even came out with Farrah Fawcett Shampoo commercial. This commercial featured her HUGE hair, which became all the rage in the 1970’s and was simply known as “The Farrah”.

It wasn’t long until Farrah’s iconic beauty launched her into major stardom with a very sexy, but tastefully done poster of her in a bathing suit with a Indian blanket backdrop. This poster hung on many teen boys’ and college dorm walls world wide and still remains as the most remembered photo of Farrah today and also the top selling “pin up” poster of all time, beating out Betty Grable and the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. 

Charlie's Angels Then

Still Gorgeous Years Later

Farrah’s next big shot of stardom, was in 1976, when she landed a part in Aaron Spellings “Charlie’s Angels” as Jill Munroe along with Jaclyn Smith and Kate Jackson.  Charlie’s Angels action figures were also made and were on every little girl’s Christmas list.

Farrah only shot one season with the Angels (she was unhappy with her $10,000 per episode) and was replaced by Cheryl Ladd. But within that short time, Farrah already had oodles of fans. The show had quite an impact its popularity continues today spawning the lucrative remake of a Charlie’s Angels big screen action flick starring Drew Barrymore, Lucy Lui and Cameron Diaz.

Today, there are many websites dedicated to the Angels from Charlies Angels Forever to Jack Condon’s website who is the holder of the Guinness World Record for the biggest Charlie’s Angel memorabilia collection world wide.

Farrah also graced the cover of Playboy back in 1978, with wearing nothing more, than a white buttoned down shirt. Throughout her acting career, Fawcett won three Emmys and one was for her outstanding break out performance in “The Burning Bed,” the first movie to ever feature a live 800 hot line for abused women.

Her first marriage was to fellow 70’s star, Lee Majors who played the Six Million Dollar man, and that union lasted from 1973 to 1982. Farrah then went on to a VERY rocky 27 year on again/off again relationship with actor Ryan O’Neal that ended in 1997, only to be revisited later. O’Neal is best remembered for his Academy-nominated performance in the heart-wrenching film, “Love Story” and for playing opposite his young daughter Tatum, who won a Best Supporting Oscar in the film.

Though Farrah and O’Neal never married, they did have one child together, son Redmond. Unfortunately, both O’Neal and Fawcett have made tabloid news in the last few years because of Redmond repeated legal troubles stemming from a serious drug addiction, something which seems to have plagued virtually ALL of O’neal’s kids.

For the sake of Farrah, I won’t get into the abusive escapades of O’Neal’s temper, and his other two children, actress Tatum O’Neal and brother Griffith, from his former wife. That’s a whole other tawdry and sordid tale.

Despite a hiatus in their relationship, Farrah rushed to O’Neal’s side when he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2001 and nursed her old flame back to health. The two rekindled at that point, and as the story goes, Farrah simply showed up on his doorstep and wanted to lend support and a helping hand. I think that in itself, showed the class this women has.

Farrah went on to do “Chasing Farrah” a TV Land reality show that aired in March 2005. It followed Farrah in her every day life. The show was only 7 episodes long. During this time it was rumored that O’Neal and Farrah married on one of the episodes, this however was a RUMOR.

In 2006, to the delight of many fans, Farrah was reunited with her Charlie’s Angels co-stars for the Prime Time Emmy Awards, where they paid tribute to the late series creator, Aaron Spelling. Fans of the show were delighted to see the three reunited once again.

Son Redmond, Dad O'Neal and Mom Farrah 2003

Sadly, not all of Farrah’s life has been charmed, besides dealing with her sister’s death from lung cancer in 2001, O’Neal’s cancer and her son’s drug addiction, the blonde beauty also lost her agent and her Mom in 2005. Then the final blow came in 2006 when Fawcett was diagnosed with intestinal cancer.
 
Farrah heroically battled the disease emerging elated and hopeful, on her 60th birthday when she was told that she was cancer free and in total remission. The respite from tragedy was brief because three months later her health took a turn for the worse.

In 2007, it was reported Farrah was seeking holistic treatments for the disease in Germany, as the cancer had returned with a vengeance as rectal cancer. She had her journey filmed and chronicled, as she wanted the world to see her struggle in her terms, and her way, which will air in a two-hour NBC TV special.

News in the past month has stated her cancer has now metastasized into her liver. Family members have stated the star is battling for her life and down to a mere 86 pounds. And those famous locks she’s so well known for? Gone.

Her family is now gathering around her to try and comfort Farrah the best they can including her 91-year old father flew in from her home state of Texas to be by his daughter’s side. 

But wait, there’s more…

Anyone who is of a “certain age” (read: Old enough to remember when gas was a dollar a gallon…or less) remembers a little television show called One Day At A Time.  Groundbreaking back then, it featured a spunky single mom with two spunky teenage daughters trying to make it in the big, bad world, hopefully without killing each other.  Mackenzie Phillips, who got her first big break as the teenybopper who wants to hotdog in American Graffiti, co-starred on the show, until she was fired in 1980 and again in 1983 for drug-related offenses.

Since then, her life has been one up and down after another, most related to drugs and her attempts to kick them and then backslide and then try again.  Her most recent arrest has netted her a stint in what is called a drug diversion program:

Actress Mackenzie Phillips pleaded guilty today to a felony cocaine possession charge stemming from her Aug. 27 arrest at Los Angeles International Airport.

The 48-year-old former co-star of the CBS sitcom “One Day at a Time” was ordered to complete an 18-month drug diversion program, according to Sandi Gibbons of the District Attorney’s Office.

The cocaine charge, along with a felony count of possession of heroin and a misdemeanor count of unauthorized possession of a hypodermic needle or syringe, were filed against Phillips on Sept. 3. The other two counts were dismissed as a result of her plea, according to Gibbons.

A Jan. 22 progress report hearing date was set.

Phillips was going through security screening in Terminal 4 at LAX when she was “found to be in possession of what appeared to be a small amount of heroin and cocaine,” Sgt. Jim Holcomb of the Los Angeles Airport Police said shortly after her arrest.

The actress was released the following day on $10,000 bail.

Mackenzie comes from rock-n-roll wild child royalty…her dad is, of course, John Phillips of The Mamas And The Papas fame:

The daughter of rock legend John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas, Phillips was fired from “One Day at a Time” twice due to drugs and alcohol. She later admitted she had rolled joints for her dad as a child, tried marijuana at 13 and shot up for the first time at 17.

Kicking drugs is hard, hard, hard.  This ain’t no Sunday stroll in the park.  She’s been in rehab or some sort of program ten times now.  But, Mackenzie, if you’ve tried ten times, and you fall down ten times, get up eleven times.  Keep trying until you get it right, girl.

Hold on!  What am I thinkin’?  It’s fifty degrees out there.  No way I’m taking a walk outside.  Plus, I’m still in my pajamas.  The neighbors would think I was crazy.

Oh wait.  Never mind.

Anyway, to celebrate the launch of Maureen McCormick’s latest behind-the-scenes celebration of dysfunction and all things dysfunctionally Brady, I give you a weekend-ruiner for sure.  Just try to get this song out of your head while you’re attempting to get to first base.  Just try.  I dare ya.

Me…forget it, I’ve done rounded the bases, waved to the fans, and am headed for the dugout.  I’m outta here…Happy Friday!

Okay, so my title is kind of facetious, but come on.  Is there anyone that The Brady Bunch didn’t totally screw up?  It seems that everyone associated with this show has had problems of one sort or another over the past couple of decades.  I’m starting to think the only two to escape unscathed were Sam the Butcher and Tiger, and that was only because he was smart enough to pack his agent and his doggie dish before they gave him a verse on Time To Change.

Maureen McCormick, best known as eldest daughter Marcia Brady, has come out with a new book, where she reveals how her life totally went off the rails after the show ended and just what compelled her to tell her story now:

The book is a painfully frank account of a lifelong battle with a litany of demons: sex, drugs, depression, bulimia, paranoia.

But it is also a story of hope, because in the past two years, McCormick said, she has finally come to grips with those demons and found peace. [...]

Now 52, McCormick reveals all about a colorful but frequently troubled life: her romance with Williams, her dates with Michael Jackson and Steve Martin, cocaine binges and parties at the Playboy Mansion and the home of Sammy Davis Jr., two abortions, and trading sex for drugs.

“That was one of the lowest parts of my life,” she told Roker of the depths of her addiction. “It came toward the end of my doing cocaine … All I cared about was having sex and doing the drugs. I had sex to get the drugs.”

McCormick was 14 when “The Brady Bunch” debuted on ABC, running from 1969 to 1974. Despite her role as a sunny Miss Perfect, she struggled privately with anxiety and insecurity, the youngest of four children born to a mercurial father who abused and cheated on their mother.

Maureen says that beneath the sunny exterior, there was a hidden side, full of depression and fear, and after the show ended drugs took over her life:

“As a teenager, I had no idea that few people are everything they present to the outside world,” she writes in the book, published by William Morrow. “Yet there I was, hiding the reality of my life behind the unreal perfection of Marcia Brady … No one suspected the fear that gnawed at me even as I lent my voice to the chorus of Bradys singing ‘It’s a Sunshine Day.’ ”

When “The Brady Bunch” ended, she took up a hard-partying lifestyle in Hollywood, using drugs that included cocaine and Quaaludes. She struggled to regain her earlier success, landing some TV and movie roles, but developed a reputation for unreliability due to her addiction, even botching an interview with Steven Spielberg [for Raiders Of The Lost Ark] because she was high.

She missed an audition for “The Brady Brides” because she was up for three days doing cocaine. When her agent came to her home to find out what had happened, he had to climb a ladder to her bedroom to drag her out of the closet where she was hiding. “He tore my clothes off, threw me in the shower and told me we’re going to Paramount” for the audition, she told Vieira.

That, she said was rock bottom.

After interventions, stints in rehab and experimental therapies, McCormick began getting sober in 1985 when she married actor Michael Cummings, with whom she has a daughter, Natalie. She continued to fight depression through therapy, medication and the help of “Brady” castmates.

Think about how much different Raiders Of The Lost Ark would have been had Marcia Brady helped Indy!

And about those rumors of rampant, raging hormones on the set?  Yep, pretty much true, except not about that Jan part, which she made up:

The final bridge to be repaired is the one with [Eve] Plumb. McCormick told Vieira that her co-star stopped speaking to her years ago after McCormick appeared on a late-night talk show and got carried away during a conversation about the “The Brady Brides,” a reunion TV-movie that marked the first time the entire cast had been back together since “The Brady Bunch” ended its five-year run in 1974.

“It was all this sex with the Brady Bunch,” she said of the rumors at the time that set the tenor of the talk-show segment. “So I was on this talk show and I said I fell in love with everybody,” McCormick went on, naming her fellow cast members: Robert Reed, her TV father, and her TV brothers, Barry Williams [Greg Brady] and Chris Knight [Peter Brady].

She actually did have a crush on Reed, and she almost lost her virginity when she was 16 to Williams. (His parents came in his room and caught them in a passionate clinch and circling the bases, but not yet arrived at home plate.) In the spirit of fun, she told Vieira, McCormick added on the talk show that she was also in love with Florence Henderson, her TV mom, and Plumb, whom she said she kissed.

“I was having fun, something I was joking with, and she didn’t take it that way,” McCormick told Vieira.

Oh well, we always knew Jan was an old stick in the mud.  (Just kidding!  Eve, call her, life is too short.)

Now, normally this is the place where I get all cynical and say that she’s in it for the money and a tell-all biography featuring behind-the-scenes tidbits of one of television’s most popular series is the best way to make all the problems go away, put money in the bank, and/or get on the news.  And I’m sure there’s a bit of all that wrapped up in all this.  But I don’t know…maybe I’m just nostalgic, but I want to believe that Maureen really does want to share her story, that she really does have words of advice to give to today’s young people and the child/teen/young adult stars we see in movies and on TV.  After all, she’s been there and done that.  Maybe we shouldn’t be so quick to throw out these sorts of books just because there have been a few of them who are blatant money-makers for their authors.

Yet another example of why thrusting fame and pressure on young kids isn’t such a good idea.  But after all the revelations of the backstage drama that took place on the set of this one show, I can’t look at any episode the same way.  What am I saying?  I never really liked the show, although I wanted the house.  Now that was a cool house.  You can’t tell me you didn’t love that seventies staircase, although I think the designers used a bit too much orange.  My daughter loves the show, though, so I think I’ll let her live a few more years in innocence before spoiling it for her.