“So today is Anal Sex Day.  If you’re into it, great, if not,
don’t feel pressured.  But if you were thinking about it,
I guess today is as good a day as any.”
– Dr. Ruth Westheimer Tweets her thoughts on April 18, 2024. 
She died three months later, forever remembered for promoting (safe) anal sex!

Time for our 29^th installment of the Year in Review.  The person I will remember most this year is Shannen Doherty.  In 2024, she reclaimed her power and spoke her truth.  True, she didn’t beat cancer, but she bravely faced it head-on.  Her podcast, Let’s Be Clear, became a living autobiography.  She and Holly Marie Combs explained what went down on Charmed from their perspective, she reunited with some 90210 co-stars, and talked with many loved ones.  She even planned her own memorial.  “There’s a lot of people that I think would show up that I don’t want there… So I kinda want to take the pressure off them and I want my funeral to be like a love fest.  I don’t want people to be crying or people to privately be like, ‘Thank God that bitch is dead now.’”

It was also the Year of Cher.  Sure, it ended with an induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and acclaim for part one of her autobiography.  But it began with her trying to control/save her son, Elijah Blue Allman.  Depending who you ask, Cher may have had him abducted from a NYC hotel room and put into an undisclosed rehab – while trying to become his conservator.  But then, Elijah dramatically appeared in court with on-again/off-again wife Mariangela!  After months of battling, Cher dropped her legal challenges.  After all, she had that book to promote.

Nicole Scherzinger kicked off the year wowing London audiences by starring in a radical revival of Sunset Blvd.  She repeated that feat on Broadway, a triumph which was short-lived.  She inadvertently alienated some fans with a social media post that was interpreted as pro-MAGA.  Will Patti LuPone’s effusive endorsement help, or has Nicole already lost the Tony Award 6 months before nominations?  With Audra in the race, it probably doesn’t matter.

One minute we’re told Celine Dion is at death’s doorstep, the next thing you know she’s onstage at the Grammys.  Then she’s singing at the Olympics.  And then at a fashion show.  Whether it was live or Memorex didn’t matter.  The fact that she walked out there unassisted was a victory.

The death of reclusive Richard Simmons shocked me – especially since Pauly Shore planned to star in a biopic.  Perhaps Simmons’ last words were “over my dead body”!  Gay baseball star Billy Bean, Madonna’s brother Christopher Ciccone, Mitzi Gaynor, Teri Garr, Gavin Creel and Ken Page were a few others that will be missed.