Anita Mann and Acting Gigs
Facing Change
Thursday, March 25th, 2010
I recently made the move from my beloved Atlanta back to Fort Lauderdale, and it’s been tough saying goodbye to my friends, my doctor and my support system. And the physical act of moving is hard. I’ve had to decide what is worth keeping and what to finally give up.
In this video episode, I share the personal reason I chose Fort Lauderdale over Atlanta (it wasn’t the weather). And since I never can resist absurdity, something a bit surreal happens along the way. When you’re packing alone, you have to converse with something. (Thanks to my set decorators, Jenifer and Bobbin.) Are you traveling light these days? Are you holding on to old items (and behaviors) that don’t fit anymore?
I always welcome your comments and feedback. My next episodes will cover finding a new doctor; talking to HIV- men; drug addiction; and of course, there’s plenty in store when I head to Vienna, Austria in July for the international conference AIDS 2010!
Tags: Aging, drag, family, gay, help others, hiv, meth, physician, recovery
Posted in Anita Mann and Acting Gigs, Family and Friends, Gay Life, Living with HIV/AIDS, Meth and Recovery, My Fabulous Disease | 3 Comments »
Anita came out to play last night…
Saturday, March 20th, 2010
Sometimes the old girl busts out of her shell (how she breathes stuffed in a gym bag in the back of the closet I’ll never know) and takes the stage. She got her chance last night, when my drag alter ego brought some laughs to a group of friends in recovery with her infamous TV set number. They responded with love and applause, so she happily withdrew to her musty closet until another time.
It reminded me of her earlier exploits, when the show “Anita Will Recover!” was produced for a sober event in Atlanta. The first few minutes of the show include a interactive media number and then a sit-down before Dick (my actual gay brother) strolls in to deliver some withering remarks.
The first time Anita hit a stage to benefit those recovering from drugs and alcohol, she was pursuing the title of Miss Pink Cloud in Atlanta. After having performed with The Armorettes for a couple years back in the 90′s, I was grateful to resurrect Anita for the purpose of helping others who battles the same demons as I have. The oldest video I have of Anita is with the Armorettes, performing an interactive video rendition of Funkytown with a special appearance by the incomparable Mary Edith Pitts.
Sometimes the message is carried without high tech props. As a writer, I think I may be most proud of Anita sitting down and reading “Twas the Night Before Christmas” at a sober fund raising event. Of course, this being Anita, the story wanders off to places your daddy never explored!
Tags: acting, drag, gay, gratitude, help others, meth, recovery
Posted in All Other Video Postings, Anita Mann and Acting Gigs, Gay Life, Meth and Recovery, My Fabulous Disease | 3 Comments »
Anita Mann performs “Funkytown” with the Armorettes
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
Back in 1997, while performing with The Armorettes (who still have a weekly show raising money for people with HIV/AIDS in Atlanta), I created the first of Anita Mann’s signature act with this, a fun house freak-out of a number, “Funkytown” (also featuring the great Mary Edith Pitts). Producing this number helped me become familiar with what I could do with interactive video, and eventually led to Anita’s famous TV Set number, which I still perform today at events for gays and lesbians in recovery.
Tags: acting, aids, drag, gay, help others
Posted in All Other Video Postings, Anita Mann and Acting Gigs, Gay Life, My Fabulous Disease | No Comments »
Video promo for “Night of the Living Dead” on stage
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
My brother, Dick King, directed a stage production of “Night of the Living Dead” and asked me to re-create scenes from the movie on video, using the stage actors. What zombie horror movie fan could refuse? This project was a blast. Dick and I also did a television morning show interview that had the crew cracking up in the background.
This promo may be “home made,” but it suits the material perfectly, and I’m proud of my use of sound and music.
Tags: acting, family, help others
Posted in All Other Video Postings, Anita Mann and Acting Gigs, Family and Friends, My Fabulous Disease | No Comments »
Talking zombies on the morning news
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
Since helping re-create scenes from “Night of the Living Dead” is too much fun to pass up, I visited Shreveport, Louisiana to help my brother Dick mount a production of the zombie classic. Here, I’m interviewed on the morning news while Dick clowns around as the late, great director of the production.
Tags: acting, family, help others
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Anita Mann as “Miss Pink Cloud”
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
My drag queen alter ego first appeared while in recovery at this event, which raised funds for Hotlanta Roundup, an annual gathering of gay and lesbian folks in recovery from drugs and alcohol. Here, Anita vies for the title “Miss Pink Cloud,” and later in the evening performs her famous TV Set number. And yes, she won.
Tags: acting, drag, gay, gratitude, help others, meth, recovery
Posted in All Other Video Postings, Anita Mann and Acting Gigs, Gay Life, Meth and Recovery, My Fabulous Disease | 1 Comment »
Anita Mann’s infamous TV Set Number
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
Set to Nancy Lamott‘s “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore,” my drag queen alter ego battles herself locked in a TV set in this, her finest hour on stage. This performance was taped at a fund raiser for gay and lesbians in recovery from drugs an alcohol, since Anita (and I) are in recovery from crystal meth addiction.
Tags: acting, drag, gay, gratitude, help others, meth, recovery
Posted in All Other Video Postings, Anita Mann and Acting Gigs, Meth and Recovery, My Fabulous Disease | 4 Comments »
My television commercials from the 1980s
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
In my distant youth, I did television commercials as a young actor in Los Angeles (described in my book “A Place Like This”). I specialized in nerd, dorks and geeks, as this video clearly demonstrates.
Everything from McDonald’s (the director kept asking me to place less emphasis on the word “fabulous”), Denny’s (my favorite geek freak-out moment), and Golden Flake Potato Chips. But the real cheers should be the girl from the Barq’s commercial, who stands there patiently holding a 50-pound packet of root beer as I blather on and on!
My performance days are now limited to the occasional drag performance, unless you count the videos I produce myself for this blog (I’m most proud of the “mock Gay Pride PSA,” which skewers gay culture). But oh, in my day, I was the best dork in town!
Tags: A Place Like This, acting
Posted in All Other Video Postings, Anita Mann and Acting Gigs, Books and Writings, My Fabulous Disease | 5 Comments »
Winning a car on The Price is Right in 1980
Saturday, March 6th, 2010
I was a 19 year old gay man on vacation with my boyfriend Charlie (that’s him in the audience in the matching outfit), and Bob Barker asks, “Do you have a girlfriend?” It’s 1980, people, so don’t expect me to have come screaming out of the closet on national television. The experience is used as a narrative device in the prologue of my book “A Place Like This,” about my life in 1980′s Los Angeles and the dawn of HIV/AIDS.
Tags: A Place Like This, gay
Posted in All Other Video Postings, Anita Mann and Acting Gigs, Books and Writings, Family and Friends, Gay Life, My Fabulous Disease | 1 Comment »
Drag and Gratitude
Thursday, March 4th, 2010
My drag alter ego Anita Mann comes out to play in this video episode from December of 2009, when she read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” at a fund raising event for gay and lesbian friends in recovery. Just remember: we all have gifts in our bag. Why did I waste so many years in crystal meth addiction when I could have been having this much fun?
Tags: acting, drag, gay, help others, meth, recovery
Posted in Anita Mann and Acting Gigs, Gay Life, Meth and Recovery, My Fabulous Disease | No Comments »