AUTHOR KEVIN SESSUMS' LONG, STRANGE TRIP FROM THE VALLEY TO "THE MOUNTAIN"

My old friend, Kevin Sessums could be my older brother. We’ve had similar lives, both being gay, from the south and moving to the big (New York) City at a young age. But he’s honestly had a FAR more glamorous life than I (I’m not being falsely modest) and he’s had to be MUCH braver than I could ever be…

On his 53rd birthday he woke up in the hotel room he kept at the Chateau Marmont in LA, wondering how he would get through his interview with Hugh Jackman. For years he had interviewed everyone from Madonna to Courtney Love and everyone in between, but that hardly matter a blip as he knew his life was starting to unravel. We know this because he’s laid it all out in his new memoir, I Left It on the Mountain. I’ve honestly not read enough of it to give you a good review, but the Daily Mailwas doing their dishes in it last week. Here’s what they wrote:

Sessums was one of a few celebrity interviewers who was treated like an insider by stars while writing for Andy Warhol’s Interview, Vanity Fair in the 1990s, as well as later interviews for the Daily Beast, Allure and Parade.

Michael J. Fox discovered the magnitude of Sessums’ sexual obsessions after discovering a piece of paper the author accidentally left behind during an interview with every written word being sexual: ‘P****. D***. C***. F***’.

At an Oscar after-party in 1995, Tony Curtis was checking out Sessums and confessed that he once had a crush on Yul Brynner.

‘I think that’s why you’re making me feel so odd. You kinda look like him. I haven’t slept with a man in decades, but the night is young’, Curtis told him.

Daniel Radcliffe, who became a star through the Harry Potter films, revealed how ‘more collegial and camp and…well, let’s face it: gay’ – working in the theatre was versus making the Harry Potter films.

He said: ‘For a lot of straight guys and I know I’m guilty of it sometimes. When you know a gay guy has a crush on you it is the most flattering thing.

‘Yeah, I’m a fag hag, to use your term.

‘I know I definitely caught it. Absolutely. My mom was a casting director and my dad was a literary agent and I was surrounded by gay men from a very young age. And I was the only boy in my class at school who had that kind of relationship with gay men.

‘That’s one thing Harry Potter has done if nothing else. It has restored the reputation of the English boarding school. It has made it something other than a hotbed of sexuality.’

Pretty juicy, huh? Granted, they picked out the bits a Daily Mail audience is after, but the book isn’t all celeb gossip, Kevin also talks openly openly about LOTS of anonymous sex, his HIV Positive diagnosis and his descent into addiction. And finally his spiritual redemption that he found while climbing to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. It’s been a rough few years and it would be a tough story to tell, even to a close friend but he’s told the world now, which after asking celebs to do their dirty laundry in public for years, is kind of fair play.

Kevin and I first met X thousand years ago while both working at Vanity Fair, but most recently when he first got into town about ten days ago, we had breakfast at SoHo House to catch up. He lives in San Francisco now, the editor of the glossy quarterly, FourTwoNinemagazine. His latest is the “Conceptual Issue” and he was here to promote it. He asked me to do something for it a few months back, but after the artist Joseph Kosuth turned in 10 pages instead of 6, I got bumped at the last minute. No hard feelings – we are working on something for his next issue. When you’ve worked in magazines for years, as I once did, you know how it goes, and there’s ALWAYS another issue –well, until there’s not, which has been increasingly the case of late. Kevin was in a whirlwind of activity while in New York giving talks, doing interviews promoting the book (he was on Watch What Happens Live as the bartender last week and Jane Lynch asked for an autograph copy, btw) Believe it or not, he was also finalizing the magazine we held last night at the party to celebrate the James Franco issue (the straight James interviews the gay Franco… I know. THAT one everyone will be reading and talking about…) Anyway, I was lucky enough to have Kevin take me through the mag from cover to cover. He, the proud, and exhausted, editor throwing out asides as he flipped: 

“…here’s a Charles Busch original playlet…” “Amy Fine Collins and her daughter, Flora. LOVE them…” “this fashion story that made no sense, so I wrote the head and deck to make it sexy. He’s cruising now…” 

It was a fun flip through… and it’s a really good issue, although, I think it might have been made 15% better had that page-hog Joseph Kosuth just stuck to the assignment.

You can get FourTwoNine here and I Left It On The Mountain, here.

With Mr. Sessums in NYC: We dropped into Vitra to get a pic taken after breakfasting at SoHo House where no pictures are allowed.

#LEGENDARY: KURT COBAIN'S CREDIT CARD, SINATRA'S DRIVER'S LICENSE & MADONNA IN MOUSE EARS BY...?

The Legendary auction on Paddle 8 has a lot of lots of legends memorabilia. This used to be Julien’s Auction‘s territory but Paddle 8 is now getting in on the act. I was surprised to see the (very famous) photograph of Madonna above listed online as “Artist Unknown.” Hello!? That’s by Herb Ritts – for SURE. If you can Google, you’ll find this out in less than one second. These sorts of obvious mistakes always make me a little skeptical that, A. auctions sell things they aren’t sure of ALL THE TIME, B. people buy things that are falsely attributed or not authentic ALL THE TIME. Having said that, everything else in this online auction is such fun to look at. I love pop star ephemera, it’s really just the junk of everyday life but with scribbling of a famous person’s pen or it came out of their junk drawer. These things, to me, are the real artifacts of popular culture. I have several such things in my “display case of life” like a bounced check from Courtney Love and the pajamas of Ray Bolger, the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz. But right now, the credit card of Kurt Cobain is up to $22,600so I’m staring to think …. hmmm. Maybe I’ll make a copy of that check and sell the original. I know, she was married to him, but Courtney ISN’T Kurt. I guess I’ll hang onto it for a while longer…

WHAT'S AT THE INTERSECTION OF JAMES FRANCO, COURTNEY LOVE, CINDY SHERMAN & LADY GAGA? KLAUS BIESENBACH

Is the art world the new black? If so, apparently MoMA’s Klaus Biesenbach is its celeb touchstone. The silver fox/ MoMA PS1 & Chief Curator at Large/ art star magnet had a little shindig in his tiny (but glam) NYC pad the other day. SO tiny that the tree had to go in the closet and the guests on the bed. But before guests James Franco, Courtney Love, Marina Abramović, an others arrived, Gaga sent flowers before she appeared (sans Tony Bennett) like a vision at his door. Viola! The next day Klaus and Gaga hit Cindy Sherman‘s Holiday party (bottom) and according to his caption;

“my plus1 was a huge hit at cindy’s holiday party”

It’s all just too fab for mere mortals but it’s fun to glimpse the glam, even if it’s just in pictures. Thanks, Instagram!

DIANA'S DRESSES, SINATRA'S GUN PERMIT & MARILYN'S CHEST X-RAY

I’m always amazed at what comes up for auction at Julien’s. The New York art auctions just happened and in one night, Sotheby’s brought in close to a billion dollars but at Julien’s, it’s not about the big bucks and in fact, most items are extremely affordable. And the best stuff is always the weirdest stuff, to me. (I have collected some oddities of my own, including Warhol signed tennis shoes and bounced check from Courtney Love. Don’t ask.) 

Anyway, Julien’s 2014 Icons & Idols Auction is being held on December 5th and 6th in Beverly Hills and there are mutiple collections offered in this sale including a group of dresses worn by Diana, Princess of Wales, property from the estate of Gypsy Rose Lee, items from the James Bond film franchise, property featured on Pawn Stars and much more. Other items in this auction include personal and film related property from Elizabeth Taylor, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Loni Anderson, Stella Stevens, Bruce Lee, Greta Garbo,Lucille Ball and Queen Elizabeth II. But with everything here, if I was going to go for something, I would seriously bid on the chest x-ray of Marilyn Monroe. THAT’S a conversation starter. Take a look at the nearly 1000 lots here.

HRH PRINCESS DIANA CATHERINE WALKER CHARTREUSE SILK GOWN, EST, $60-80,000

TWENTY THOUSAND LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA FIRST EDITION, EST. $10-15,000

PRINCE WILLIAM AND KATE MIDDLETON WEDDING CAKE, EST, $1-2,000

FRANK SINATRA LICENSE TO CARRY CONCEALED WEAPON, EST. $600-800

ANDY WARHOL SIGNED FARRAH FAWCETT & RYAN O’NEIL NAPKIN, CIRCA 1980, EST $6-8,000

JAMES BOND SIGNATURE FROM EVERY BOND FILM (150 ITEMS) EST. $4-8,000

SHIRLEY TEMPLE POOR LITTLE RICH GIRL JACKET, EST $40-60,000

QUEEN ELIZABETH II HANDWRITTEN LETTER, EST. $500-700

MARILYN MONROE FIRST ISSUE OF PLAYBOY MAGAZINE, EST. $3-5,000

MARILYN MONROE BLACK VELVET DRESS, EST. $40-60,000

MARILYN MONROE PRESCRIPTION BOTTLE, EST. $1-2,000

FAYE DUNAWAY PHOTOGRAPH BY TERRY O’NEIL, EST. $2-4,000

A MEMORIAL FOR PETER O'TOOLE

How do you untangle a life? I’m in London for Peter O’Toole‘s Memorial celebration. How do I tell you about why I’m here, somewhat briefly. The simple answer is Kate O’Toole invited me. So, we’ll start there. My good friend Kate, who’s father was the famous Peter, has been untangling her father’s life and tying up loose ends since his death last December at age 81. She has been working on this production like crazy and I wanted to come and support her and see her Dad off. I had met him a dozen years ago and we all had a fun time in LA in 2007 when he was up for his 8th Oscar and lost again (they gave him an honorary one a few years before.) Anyway, I’m staying in his house with her and a few friends and yesterday was the big day that Kate and legions have been working on non-stop.

The cover of the memorial program; the Old Vic in London; Kate O’Toole and the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins; the audience at the Old Vic, May, 18, 2014

It started with the arrival of Michael D. Higgins, the President of Ireland, who was an old friend of Peter’s, as well as Kate’s. Just looking at the lineup of speakers, and seeing the guests in the flesh was impressive, including Earl Spencer (Diana’s brother) Jeremy Irons (his wife, Sinead Cusack is in Other Desert Cities with Martha Plimpton, who is also there) Stephen Fry, but moreso impressive when the speakers got to speaking. Benedict Cumberbatch – who was at school with Peter’s young son, Lorcan O'Toole was first up. He said that Lorcan had brought Benedict (I think it's "Benny") over to meet his Dad at at school. In sight of all, but out of earshot, his classmates could see them talking away and suddenly Peter said "F*CKING C*NT!" really loudly. Afterward, everyone asked if Peter O'Toole had just called him a f*cking c*nt? – and he said, "No, but if he had, I would put it on my gravestone." Nice ice breaker.

Albert Finney, Kevin Spacey, Sinead Cusack & Sister Agnes Curley

In between, we got President Michael D. Higgins in a wonderful, personal tribute, and an overcome 79 year-old Albert Finney, who began by choking back the tears to say that he and Peter were together at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in ’53, which he asked to the ceiling “was just a week ago, right?” The theatre where the event was being held, The Old Vic, was where Peter worshipped and was worshipped through 5 decades. Kevin Spacey, the former artistic director there was in rare form (the President joked that he hoped that Francis Underwood, Spacey’s character on House of Cards, had no aspirations to his post, to which Kevin replied later in his remarks that the President had no worries, as Underwood was eying Vatican City and saw no reason there shouldn’t be a Francis the second. He had wonderful stories to tell about the Old Vic and interactions with P’OT over the years. I’ll tell you the best one:

When it was being announced that Kevin Spacey would become the new Artistic Director of the Old Vic in 2003, Kevin asked Peter if he would come to a morning press conference at the theatre, to which Peter replied, “Fuck off!!” So, he tried again by asking if he would possibly come to an evening performance to kick-off the announcement, to which he got, “There’s rugby this afternoon, if my team wins I’ll come, otherwise, Fuck off!” So, the morning came and went and Spacey got no word and the at the beginning of the performance that night the stage manager came to him to say, “Mr. O’Toole is here.” So, Peter came onstage and they had a nice interaction and they went off stage together. So, they are standing together in the wings, as Elton John and Courtney Love are now singing, “The Bitch Is Back”. Courtney has persuaded Elton to let her wear his 70s duck outfit. So, Kevin is watching Peter’s expression run the gamut from A to Z and back again as Courtney decides to, without mentioning to anyone prior, that she would do a strip tease out of her duck costume as they are singing. Peter after watching her for half a minute exclaimed, “SHE’S A GOOD DUCK!”

Peter O’Toole backstage at The Old Vic watching Courtney Love and Elton John doing “The Bitch is Back” in ’98

There were SO many other great stories that this could become a 10,000 word New Yorker piece, so I’ll not go on and on but one story does start with actor John Standing, reciting Noel Coward‘s “I Went To A Marvelous Party”, and later contained John’s imitation of Peter saying in Ireland, just up the road from a convent, “Have you ever fucked a nun?” It finished by one nun, Sister Agnes Curly, all 4’10″ of her, refuting the story in front of an adoring crowd. If she were a stand-up, you would say that “she killed”.

It was a wonderful tribute with actual sword fights, bawdy humor, and tons of appreciation for a great man that we all loved. It wasn’t one of those show-off, one upsmanship affairs, which are tedious and annoying. Memorials are truly for the living because the dead don’t care, of course, but this one hit all the right notes and painted a picture of a life well-lived in every way possible. Omar Sharif was there (just barely) and several others could not attend because of work commitments like Dame Judi Dench and the great Derek Jacobi (who was in I, Claudius with Kate’s Mom, Sian Philips, as well as Laertes to Peter’s Hamlet at the Old Vic in '63) I was honored myself to be invited at all, let alone to be seated front row center. It WAS a memorial – but it was also one HELL of a show. Kate’s reprise of the eulogy she gave at the funeral put a deeply personal note on the symphony:

To prepare for the role of TE Lawrence, Dad had read Lawrence’s “Seven Pillars of Wisdom”, where Lawrence had written that “…the dreamers of the day are dangerous men because they may act out their dreams with open eyes. This I did.” “My father took those words to heart when he was studying for the role. But I am sure he understood them long before he ever read them. The world has lost a great actor, no doubt, but I’m not concerned about that – I have simply lost a great dad.” She went on to say, “I brought my father’s ashes home to Ireland where they are currently in safe deposit with the President, who is minding them for me until I get a chance to return home to fulfil his wishes. He’ll be buried near my place in Galway overlooking the sea and the islands where his roots lie. The west of Ireland was the most important place in the world to him.”

It was beautiful, moving and perfect. And as Ireland’s President, Michael D. Higgins said in his speech, “O’Toole was destined to be a star, and when he was a boy he had written in his notebook:

"‘I will not be a common man. I will stir the smooth sands of monotony.’”

Interior of The Garrick private gentlemen’s club, Covent Garden, London

Kevin Spacey, Sister Agnes Curley and Benedict Cumberbatch, photo by Casey DeFranco; Benedict with Albert Finney

Kate O’Toole and Ciara Martin; Lorcan O’Toole & Pat O’Toole, Kate’s half-brother and sister

Actor, Director, Texan and former championship bull rider, Barry Tubb; therapist, Joseph Bisoglio & I at the bar

Me with the new Peter O’Toole stamp outside The Garrick

Afterward, there was a great party for 100 or so at Peter’s member’s only club, The Garrick. Without too much explanation, suffice to say, if the Queen had a pub/ club, it would be The Garrick. (Although, she would be the only female member as it doesn’t allow women in as members, only as guests.) Look at the joint. The greatest actors of their time have belonged for nearly 200 years, and many of their portraits now hang in the rooms we were in, including Laurence Olivier and Noel Coward. We all ate, drank and chatted away 3+ hours in no time. And toward the end, when there were less than 50 of us left, we were treated to a song that Sister Agnes wrote and performed just for us. Watch it. And watch out – here comes The Singing Nun, 2014. (The audio is a bit bad at the beginning, but it gets better. Stay until the end if you think she's just a name-dropping nun.)

I’ll end this with a video commentary Peter made for TCM just two years ago when they did a tribute to his career and he put his feet in cement at The Chinese Theater. There were no clips of movies at the memorial or really much film talk at all, but if you haven’t seem some of his most remarkable performances in Lawrence of Arabia, The Lion In Winter or Goodbye, Mister Chips, or you want to revisit them, here is Peter Seamus O’Toole in his own words, with a very fitting ending. He’s gone, but we’ve got him on film, thank God. And, no matter how it was said, everyone that day was saying the same thing, essentially; “Wow. Wasn’t he GREAT and weren’t we damned LUCKY to have known him?” To me, that’s the best that any of us could ever hope for.