The coronavirus got serious while I was at Miami’s Winter Party – a fundraiser for the National LGBTQ Task Force.  They took it VERY seriously, doling out sanitizer and distancing precautions.  I hunkered down in the VIP area – which is not typically known for housing the hunks at a circuit party.  Happily, I found a baker’s dozen of lookers.  I have a theory: the hotter someone is, the less likely you’ll catch anything worse than crabs.  And like clockwork, I was itchy…but Covid-free.  I zipped back to Boston to undergo surgery for a completely unrelated incident.  The next day, all non-essential procedures were cancelled.  And so it began.

While I was recovering in a sling (which, ironically, is how I was injured in the first place), Seth Rudetsky and his hubby James Wesley started Stars in the House – a twice-daily chat show raising money for the Actors Fund.  I congratulated Seth, and he said, “So why aren’t you doing one?  We all need to keep people entertained,” like this was the Hollywood Canteen.

That’s how Billy Masters LIVE was born.  As we wrap up our first season, I’m proud to say we’ve done 75 shows.  It’s also taken roughly a decade off my life.  I’m not complaining.  Well, I am complaining.  It’s grueling.  Not as grueling as picking up trash on the side of the road after some public nudity with members of the Providence High School Handball Team.  But it’s grueling nonetheless.  We look back on 2020 this week – Tuesday and Thursday at 3PM Eastern / Noon Pacific on Billy Masters TV on YouTube or at BillyMasters.com/TV.

The best part has been spending time with people who are my actual friends – to say nothing of making some new ones.  It’s impossible to choose favorites – but if I didn’t mention Jenifer Lewis first, I would pay for it dearly.  The legendary Ed Asner was another.  Loni Anderson was incredibly honest – and funny!  Gloria Allred helped us make sense of this crazy political season.  Both Anita and Ruth Pointer were so exciting.  Charles Busch bailed me out on more than one occasion.  Sam Harris never disappoints.  Lainie Kazan and Michele Lee made history by talking – for the first time together – about the disaster that was Seesaw.  Fran Drescher dropped by to tawk – twice.  We sat down with Marilyn Maye – in person!  We did a series of drag shows with Frank DeCaro, and dished porn with Chi Chi LaRue and Bruce Vilanch.  And The Billy Masters Players performed scenes from Hairspray with members of the Broadway, tour, television, and film productions; Dreamgirls with an original Dream, and Jackie’s Back with everyone else.  I can hardly wait for season two!

Success in life is based on expectations.  All you expect from me are some witty quips and catty comments.  I end every show by saying, “If we’re here, we’re live”.  Not much to live up to.  Ellen DeGeneres, on the other hand, ends every show by saying, “Be kind to one another” – and apparently is anything but offstage.  The more you know…