Elvira Kurt was voted Funniest Female Comedian at the Canadian Comedy Awards and received a Gemini nomination for her one hour comedy special Elvira Kurt: I'm a Big Girl Now. That special also nabbed the Gold Award at the Worldfest International Film Festival. Kurt starred in The Comedy Network series...

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." ― Maya Angelou

April 15, 2013. An emotional day for all of us.

And for me on more than one level. Hell and heaven within hours of each other. Along with the entire world, I was horrified...

2013 marks the 30th anniversary of Norm Foster's career as a playwright. I had the good fortune to interview Foster just before he headed to Ireland and Scotland from here in London, Ontario. Here's my Q&A:

One of my favourite quotes of yours is: "I've never written a play that...

Mamie Van Doren, the American actress, model, singer and sex symbol was born Feb. 6, 1933. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7057 Hollywood Boulevard. This is an edited version my email interview with the now 80-year-old living legend from her home in Los Angeles,...

Last week a Grade 11 student, Evan Wiens, from Steinbach, Manitoba, says he'll do whatever it takes to ensure gay and lesbian students at his school are supported even though he believes he is the only gay student at his school.

Gays everywhere probably can relate or at least...

Hosting the Oscars is the toughest gig going. The ghosts of the best hosts of Oscars past haunt each person who braves the mission.

Before I go any further, I want to state upfront: I think Seth MacFarlane is one of the wittiest entertainers out there. His Family Guy...

"Does that mean we have to get married now, Maurice?"

That's what I asked my partner, tongue-in-cheek, after I read the first Canadian newspaper headline that read Same-sex marriages legal in Canada back in June of 2003.

"It's 7:30 a.m. Can I have my coffee first?"

People who know us...

On the eve of my birthday I shook hands with someone who might be Prime Minister of Canada one day. But it's such an odd thing -- in the time it took him to warmly shake my hand -- it was Justin Trudeau's birth that flashed through MY mind.

Award season is upon us and with it the often-heard complaints: awards are silly or they don't mean anything.

Those declarations are a tad presumptuous, aren't they?

After all, what is an award? A prize or other mark of recognition given in honor of an achievement. Who doesn't either give...

My '79 graduation yearbook entry was: "Anything girls can do, I can do better."

"Like to see you have a baby!" was my best friend's response.

Of course, at 17, since I was a feminist before I even heard that term -- let alone knew what it meant -- I...

"Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise." - Les Misérables

I've been writing reviews for 15 years. Theatre and film, 700+ short films alone. The only difference between me and most people is my reviews have been published for every time I leave a theatre of...

Tis the season to be jolly, right?

Any day I wake up above ground, I'm happy. I know too many dead men and women walking. Nothing reminds me more of this than Christmas time.

Last week, a few of my friends and I each bought 20 $5 Tim...

If the only thing someone must sacrifice in life is a poinsettia at your work place, he/she will have lived a blessed life indeed.

Not according to some peoples' reaction to Bell Canada's ban of holiday poinsettias at a large Mississauga office.

Six thousand employees at the...

World AIDS Day is Saturday. How will you remember and commemorate?

Last year alone, 1.7 million people worldwide died as a result of AIDS-related causes. Their deaths must not be in vain. In their memory let us take a more proactive stance in observing this special day this year....

When I was in secondary school in '74, my English teacher had me read this wonderful book called Lord of the Flies. (I know, who didn't?) William Golding's classic tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island left a lasting impression.

After our...

Whenever I hear someone state there are options for women when they are being confronted by a potential rapist, a shiver runs down the length of my spine and a knot forms in the pit of my stomach.

Nevertheless, I keep an open mind. Increasing public awareness is always a...

November 5 was momentous as the eve of a very important US election.

Two years to the day it was also an important date for 199 men I know. Let me explain.

"Hi guys!"

That was Oprah Winfrey's greeting as she popped in unannounced in stocking feet holding...

One of my childhoods was happy. The B&W movies projected on our small TV screen, more often than not, contradicted the drama I was living in my own home movie reels. But there were exceptions. In fact, the images of our television's B&W movies were very real to me. Sidney...

Where are the new generation of Rosie O'Donnells?

Gays that are fearless, not parsing words, not playing nice. I mean, we all love Ellen, but don't we all know more Ellens than Rosies?

My best friend is a self-declared big mouth like Rosie. Well he was, but you know...

Who among us doesn't remember loving the classic movie The Wizard of Oz growing up?
Oh, I'm sure there is someone out there that will say they were scared witless by the wicked witch, a mean tree or one of the ugly flying monkeys. Okay, so stop reading already.