When it comes to writing, prolific and hilarious gay scribe Bruce Vilanch has just about everybody else beat.
His distinctive comedic style has earned him two Emmy Awards for the multiple Oscar spectacles he penned. He also has long-standing creative relationships with top-notch artists, including Bette Midler, for whom he has written reams of comedic material. In his second book, “It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time” (Chicago Review Press, 2025), Vilanch shines a klieg light on some of his more infamous efforts including TV fare such as “The Star Wars Holiday Special,” “The Paul Lynde Halloween Special,” “The Brady Bunch Hour,” as well as the movies “Can’t Stop The Music” and “The Ice Pirates,” demonstrating his ability to have a sense of humor even in the worst situations. Bruce was generous enough to make time for an interview mere days after the book’s publication.
Bruce, there’s a 25-year gap between your first book “Bruce!: My Adventures in the Skin Trade and Other Essays” and your new book “It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time.” Why was now the time to write a new book?
During COVID, I found myself on a lot of lockdown podcasts with hosts who were born after I wrote all these shows but encountered them on the Internet. They all wanted to know how these curiosities happened. Who said yes? And did they escape jail on appeal [laughs]? I thought this was a new way to do a sort-of memoir.
“It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time” is full of vivid details. Were you a journal keeper, or was this all written from memory?
I do keep a journal, but a lot of the old ones were washed away in a flood. Seriously. So some of the stuff is just from memory and my haunted dreams.
Would it be fair to say that the book is also a Hollywood/show business history lesson? After all, there are footnotes.
I was afraid a younger audience wouldn't get many of the references to things that happened 40 years ago, but then I read Mary Rodgers’ memoir, which she died before she finished and was completed by Jesse Green, who added footnotes which are as entertaining as the book. So why not give it a twirl? It is a history of a certain kind of show biz, of sorts.
Did you ever think you’d write a book with footnotes?
I never thought I’d write one with explicit sexual positions, but that may be the next one.
Both of your books are nonfiction works. Do you think you might have a novel in you?
I would love to give it a go. Novelists tend to go away somewhere to a cabin where they are hobbled by their nurse and I’m not sure I’m that anti-social. I am a good collaborator, but I just have to carve out time to do a novel and nothing else. For the moment, I’m working on a play.
Being a Chicago native, I appreciated that you referred to Kitty Sheehan. Was Kitty Sheehan’s a bar you frequented when you lived in Chicago?
I would drop in now and again. Kitty's was a dress bar, as in shirt and tie. Clearly, I am not that type. Also, it appealed to the older crowd, and the younger crowd that was hoping to be "sponsored" by the older one, and I fell into neither demo — at the time [laughs].
You were the subject of the 1999 doc “Get Bruce!” and Allan Carr, whom you write about in the “Can’t Stop The Music” and “Oscar! Oscar” chapters, was the subject of the 2017 doc “The Fabulous Allan Carr.” Is there anyone else that you wrote about in the book that you think would make for a good documentary subject?
Everybody is a good documentary subject. I think reality TV has revealed that dirty secret.
Speaking of “Can’t Stop The Music,” the Village People were featured prominently in the movie. The current POTUS has an affinity for the Village People song “YMCA,” and Victor Willis, whom you also write about, claims that the song isn’t a gay tune. Do you have any thoughts about that?
Victor also probably thinks the world is flat and Justin Trudeau is Fidel Castro's son. He's a weird cat who I never really got to know. Now that he controls the Village People brand, he's doing it his way, and it's pretty funny/sad to the original fans who know exactly what the group was about.
In the “Platinum” chapter, you wrote about the tryouts at The Kennedy Center. How do you feel about what’s taking place there now?
It's tragic. Hopefully, it will recover in 2028, at which time the title “Country Music Capital of the World” will return to Nashville.
You had the good fortune to work with two of the “Golden Girls” – Bea Arthur and Betty White – on separate occasions. The new Netflix sitcom “Mid-Century Modern” is said to be a gay “Golden Girls.” What do you think about that concept?
It’s “Golden Girls” meets “Will & Grace,” courtesy of Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, creators of the latter. I saw the last episode taped, and it was hilarious. The characters are recognizable types but written with a real humanity that goes beyond stereotypical bitchiness. Also, it was Linda Lavin’s last work and she is magnificent.
In the “Oscar! Oscar!” chapter, you write about the notorious Snow White musical number. With that in mind, would you care to share your thoughts about the forthcoming live-action Disney “Snow White” movie?
Around town, they are calling it “Snow Woke,” and I’m not exactly sure what to make of that. But I will certainly go to see it before rendering a verdict, as unfashionable as that behavior seems to be.
Are there any upcoming creative projects that you’d like to share with the readers?
If you're in Australia in June, go see “Here You Come Again,” a musical using Dolly Parton's music authorized by her. I co-wrote it with Tricia Paoluccio, who plays Dolly, and Gabriel Barre, our director. Funny, sweet, and just off a very successful six-month tour of the U.K. You'll have a good time!
Photo credit: Louise Palanker, Wikimedia Commons.
