Battle of the ’80s Icons

Another blast from the past is O-Town.  The band constructed on the television show Making the Band has been in the headlines before – mostly regarding allegations against their Svengali Lou Pearlman, who had a penchant for watching footage of Ashley Parker Angel in the shower (and who can fault him for that).  People forget that after three seasons on ABC with O-Town, Making the Band did 9 more seasons on MTV… with Sean “Diddy” Combs.  With all the scandal surrounding Diddy, the O-Town boys (who have reunited sans the aforementioned Angel) want to set the record straight.  Their management said, “The corporate events O-Town does tend to be the strongest offers for the group,” a statement that speaks volumes.  “The offer was pulled due to the perception of the group being attached to Diddy…Since the Diddy news, we’ve received questions and hesitancy from several talent buyers, especially for soft tickets like fairs and theme parks, as well as city-funded events.”  What I got out of this is they do a lot of county fairs, amusement parks, and events sponsored by Tang.  For the love of Pete, let O-Town sing!

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Speaking of oldies but…well, oldies, how many of you remember Robin Byrd?  Even if you know where she ended up, you probably don’t know where she came from.  She was born and raised in NYC, studied marketing, dropped out of school to be a nude model and eventually appeared in some porno films – including Debbie Does Dallas (so that gives you a rough idea of her age).  In the late ‘70s, public access cable was starting, and Robin paid to host her own weekly talk show on the city’s infamous Channel J – which had no censorship and regularly ran nudity.  Robin became notorious by sitting down and chatting with straight and gay porn stars, having them strip, and provoking “Mr. Cameraman”.  She became a viral sensation – long before there was a cure!  Robin also became a very visible gay activist in the NYC community in the ‘80s and ‘90s.  Now she’s trying to get a documentary made about those heady times.  And, as usual, she wants to hear from you.  She says you can call (347) 829-4959.  If you call, tell me what she says – I’m afraid to find out how much a minute she charges.

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Jonathan Bennett is also going back to the future.  Just after the new year, he took what some are referring to as an “iconic commercial” (which I, inexplicably, never saw) for Carnival Cruises which featured Kathie Lee Gifford singing, “Ain’t We Got Fun”.  Oh, good – three reasons why it doesn’t ring any bells!  Apparently it was iconic enough for the Mean Girls star to do a kinda shot-for-shot recreation with himself as a latter-day Kathie Lee (sans Cody and Cassidy).  The result – a viral video (there’s a lot of that going around this winter, so bundle up).  It got the attention of Kathie Lee, who said, “I suppose imitation is the best form of flattery, so thank you @jonathandbennett.  Although, I do look a whole lot better than you do in a bikini!”  Curious ‘cause he ain’t wearing a bikini, or a monokini.  Decide for yourself when you see both videos on BillyMasters.com.

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