AKA William

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Because the old school gay is fast becoming the new modern man, AKA William theater contributor Ben Rimalower will, now every Monday, document exactly how, when, and where everything old becomes new again.

Straddling the line between old school showbiz cheesiness and contemporary short attention span whateverness, Ben is the New Old Gay. He loves Patti LuPone.

It seems that in order to start writing, I have to exhaust everything on TV and eat all the food in the house. To get to that Carrie Bradshaw place of introspection at my computer, I have to have nothing else to do. 10 years ago, I had to have no one else to do as well, but now I can write without sating that appetite. I’m looking for something more meaningful now, not so interested in sleeping around anymore and it’s, thankfully, one less distraction in trying to do what I really want to do.

Last week, at Tivo’s end, I was still not ready to start writing, and I happened upon the Quentin Crisp later-years biography, An Englishman In New York, on Logo On Demand. I think I’ve always been somewhat vaguely aware of Quentin Crisp, although I think I may have confused him with Oscar Wilde.

I remember the VHS of The Naked Civil Servant looming at me in our video store growing up, although even in adolescence when I started aggressively renting anything that seemed even remotely like it might feature two men kissing, I never rented it.

Somehow over these years of kissing men myself, even as my mind has expanded beyond pornography (not to mention the chaste substitutes of my teen years), I neglected to notice Quentin Crisp – and, now, I’m severely disappointed that I didn’t bother to see him perform in my first years in New York, his last on Earth.

Watching An Englishman In New York whet my appetite for this incredibly witty, insanely droll and insidiously insightful raconteur, and I have spent quite a few hours this week researching his life and work and watching more movies and clips about him. As antiquated as he was in so many aspects, there was something so decidedly modern about him, and in many ways, ahead even of our time.

There is so much to take in on first glance of Crisp – particularly for one who had confused him with Oscar Wilde. It’s rare to see such an effeminate man, even in the queenier circles of New York, and it’s even rarer to see that kind of effeminate man.