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The most fun ever. Dick Richards and David Goldman have been broadcasting a funky cable show in Atlanta for the longest time. See many video clips on their site

Funtone.com

Tom and their mutual dear friend Nelson Sullivan, may he rest in peace, created hours of night and day videos in NYC.

Tom was a character in Scott Wittman's preview of his "Sound of Muzak." He played, Hans Soap. Later the musical was preformed on a larger stage and below is a clip from it shot by Nelson Sullivan.

Scott went on to produce hundreds of such shows. He's been teamed up with Mark Shaiman for over twenty years and they just wrote the music and lyrics for Broadway's smash hit "HairSpray."

 


Just when you thought it was safe
to sterotype racing fans ...

http://www.thatsracin.com/mld/thatsracin/sports/columnists/lisa_napoli/7020189.htm


By LISA NAPOLI
ThatsRacin.com Columnist


Betty Jack Devine

Betty Jack Devine


To call Betty Jack Devine a drag queen is a bit inaccurate. He's a guy dressed up in drag, but drag racing isn't his sport. NASCAR is.
It happened just a couple of years ago, after the death of Dale Earnhardt.

Betty Jack's alter ego, a gay man who lives in Atlanta, started to pay attention to racing. "This is true, honest-to-God emotion people are feeling," Betty Jack observed. "It drew me in."

He turned on the television to watch the next race and saw what the fuss was: "This is an interesting, fascinating thing."

From there, the natural trajectory of fandom occurred. "I thought, if I'm going to do this, I have to pick out a few drivers I like."

And thus was created the "Devine 9 and a Half," a sort of Dow Jones Industrial Average of NASCAR heroes comprised of Betty Jack's favorites - who happen to be the cutest, too. No. 1 on the list: "I just absolutely am crazy about Jamie McMurray. He's adorable, fresh, enthusiastic fun."

Many of the men of NASCAR are also alluring to Betty Jack, who hails from South Carolina, for another reason: They symbolize the celebration of Southern pride, all the good things Southern that often get obscured by what is bad.

He loves that racing "gives voice to the twang. I come from the country and am damn proud of it."

And then there's the seat of NASCAR, Daytona: a while back, Betty Jack and his friend heard from another friend that they should check out the beaches there, and off they went, in the hopes of one day buying a house.

They fell in the love with the place, not just because of the racing history rooted in the sands, but because "it's a working-class beach town where you can smoke where you want."

Being a smoker is one kind of minority, and being a gay NASCAR fan is another. The civic-minded Betty Jack decided to apply his talents as a writer - by day, he's a journalist and marketing professional - to create a community. So, he secured the domain name gaytona.com, vowing at the start of this season to watch each and every race and to then share his observations on the World Wide Web.

"Do you find it difficult to hook up with like-minded guys or/and dolls? he writes. "Do you want to talk track with some pals who really get how hot these speed jocks are? Well, darlings, Betty Jack Devine is here to lead all you gay NASCAR fans from the gloom of the closet out to the glory of the speedway!"

Betty Jack may be a campy drag queen with a fabulous hair-do, but Betty Jack's alter-ego is dead serious about his devotion to NASCAR.

"Growing up gay, I was never into sports. Everybody's not going to run out and catch a football, but everybody drives. When you see these guys doing stuff, you think, that's not that different from what I do every day.

"It's kind of educational. You can learn about your driving. It has more relevance to my life than horseback riding or jumping out of a plane."

Watching the race is just good, clean fun for Betty Jack.

His Web site is campy and fun, too: You don't have to be gay to appreciate that the boys of NASCAR are gorgeous, in looks and in spirit, even when they're not being the wheel.

"Theyıre having a good time, they're just funny, they know how to take a goof," said Betty Jack. "As the sport continues to grow, it's going to pull in a lot of different people."

Still and all, Betty Jack said it'll be a while before he puts on pantyhose to go to the races: It's more fun at the track when you just blend in.


Tell us your story. Write to Lisa Napoli at thatsracinfans@aol.com and send a phone number and a good time to reach you. We might feature you in an upcoming column.

 

 

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