Diva Dona Returns to Dish the Biz - January, 2011

Welcome dolls, to a brand new me! It's 2011 and I'm so excited! This joint we call Hollywood is jumpin! Let's see what there is to dish:

Woaa! Is that James Franco, aka James Dean, photographed by Terry Richardson for Candy Magazine? Yup, Franco, it is and what an elegantly handsome broad.... I mean woman he makes! Almost as seductive as the drag Patrick Swayze did on film in To Wong Foo... This is tres chique, charmante - a truly lasting look ... I will never see little Jimmy Franco the same way again ... without registering his other side! I'm a fine one to talk about other sides, but, darlings, they do exist, so why keep them hidden in the closet. It's psychologically damaging and creates gas. It'll kill you! You gotta let it out and Be Whatcha Are! No negative dish here, I love it!
And by the way speaking of glamorous dames, is there a finer singer/interpreter of song than Miss Toni Morrell who just closed her Remembering the Ladies at the El Portal Forum Theatre on New Year's Eve? She puts the wonder in wonderwoman...! Look below as she shares offstage afterglow with Don and friend Vicki Pacifico, who described herself as a friggin' midget next to the tall Toni...the dear! (photo by Toni's hubbie David Dial)

Anyway, what about more of the latest breaking - broken? - dish! That's right broken dish, where you get the knife in and turn it! We're not all perfect after all. Well, here are a couple of my predictions for 2011. Mel Gibson? Stop thrashing him! Ignore him! Maybe he'll eventually go away like the plague. Joan Rivers? That's right, dolls, she's got a brand new cable series - reality, of course - with her daughter Melissa. Who else? She's her best friend. Joan is one hilarious bitch! I love her endurance, lifts or not. She goes on and on and ... So what if she'll bend over one of these days and her face falls off; I'll still love her, so I predict her new show will be a great big hit! Rivers has spunk. She's the best! Go get 'em, girl!!
Sad, sad, sad! ATWT (As the World Turns) was cancelled in 2010. I'm heartbroken, my dears! Do you know, in 1956, at 10 years of age, I used to sneak in when my mommy wasn't looking and tune in to this soap - I mean daytime drama - to watch Penny (Rosemary Prinz) and Jeff (Mark Rydell), the oh so perfect couple of 1956? Their relationship was scandalous for those times. And those great writers kept ATWT going for 54 years. What mayhem; plots that could have been taken right out of my very own life! Well, no more, this show is gone! Less soap and more reality! That's what the people want! Less soap and more dirt! Yeahhh! ...
I predict ... Maybe I'll do ...  my own reality show...Diva Dona Agrees: Blondes Do Have More Fun...

no, no, no ...  absolutely not! C'mon, it's beneath me; I'm not a trash bucket like the Kardashians: I'm a class act and I want something classy and until I find the right vehicle - I hate that word; it's not a car... ACT that's it, act - you, my precious dolls, are stuck with me right here, so stay tuned for a fabulous New Year 2011 with columns that'll knock those socks right off of you.

Parting advice? Well, to quote Lady Gaga:

Tonight I will return all the fame and riches earned,
with you I'd watch them all be burned
 I'm Beautiful In My Way,
Cause God Makes No Mistakes,
I'm On The Right Track, Baby
I Was Born This Way 

 Don't Hide Yourself In Regret 

Just Love Yourself And You're Set
I'm On The Right Track Baby,
I Was Born This Way.

Who am I to contradict? It works for her!! She's really out there. Well, so am I and ... I'll be back in February with lots of hearts afire! That's right, dolls, it's LOVE month! xxx

One last comment. There seems to be at least one very good reason to go to Hair at the Pantages through January 23rd: Steel Burkhardt as Berger. Like the entire cast, he is very revealing at the Act I finale: He set my heart aflutter as he rushed past my seat several times throughout the evening.

Am I becoming trashy? Ah well, a little spice is good for the complexion!
Hurrah! There's still fire in the old girl yet!

lol

Dona

Diva Dona Bio

Dona Eduardo Gregorio was born in Brooklyn, New York to Madge McConnell and Donato Feliciano Gregorio in 1946. She claims to have burst into the world screaming "Brava, brava, brava!"

At least that's what her dear mother Madge told her at a tender age. Madge was known to throw back a few on a daily basis, so it's difficult to determine the accuracy of any of her statements.


(Dona at two months, already posing
 and flaunting her special tude)


An only child - rare for an Italian family, but Donato left Madge after a year - Dona attended the High School of Performing Arts but dropped out in her senior year due to artistic differences. She claimed her teachers abused her; they responded that she just couldn't cut the mustard. "If only Madge had been a stage mama and stood up and fought for me, I might have been a star today." Rejected by every drama school on the Eastern seaboard, Dona fled to Italy where she spent 25 years as a student of Roberto Fussolini, who, she insists, taught her good breeding and the means to support herself as a singer, actress and writer. She was quoted, "These years are the highlight of my life, and Roberto is an angel". She married Fussolini in 1988, but divorced him after a short six months. Soon after, Fussolini was arrested for illegal prostitution (Yes, even abroad, you can go too far!) and Dona fled the country. She refuses to discuss her marriage to him. To one interviewer, she was heard to shriek "Que bruto! Ugly c- - -  s- - - - - - pig!" Dona brought her ailing mother over to Italy and cared for her until her death in 1985. "If only mama had stayed off the sauce, she could have been something!"

                            (Mama in 1962 - in her prime!)

Back in New York, Dona persevered and her first tell-all book How I Learned to Survive My Brooklyn Neighborhood as an Underappreciated Child Prodigy was an instant bestseller in 1989. She topped that with her first film That Damned Homophobic Village in 1990, which earned her a Golden Globe for best screenplay and an Oscar nomination in the same category. In the 90s Dona wrote a column for the Village Voice on Broadway Celebrities and won a Peter Fuchs Award and garnered a Pulitzer nomination for her special at home, up close and personal interview with Patti LuPone - "A brilliant fellow diva, who has since won a second well deserved Tony Award for Gypsy." It is LuPone who christened her Diva Dona, as the two became bosom buddies. Dona yearns to play Vera to La LuPone's Mame, or is it the other way around?
                                                                                                                      
A vibrant woman and superb writer, Diva Dona will begin a second column right here in January, 2011. She asks that you forget her contributions from May - August of 2010, as they were "totally beneath my talent and expertise.  I was going through a rough time and friend Don Grigware offered me a chance to write for his website. I thought I really screwed up, but dear Don is giving me a second chance. Bless you, dear Don! You are number one and put the doll in dollcakes!"

"I am really looking forward to dishing in my new column. Love these new Hollywood celebs, but, watch out, if you do it, I'll report it! Dona's back in town!"

ps "I understand my pal Patti LuPone is possibly returning to Broadway in Hello Dolly. Great role for her; she was born to play Dolly Levi. Every diva should - even I have my claws...I mean feelers out!!!"

Avatar Freak

Dona is an Avatar freak: this is what she'd look like in full makeup:

Last Week in HOLLYWOOD

Dona Does Vegas

Just in time for New Year's, dolls!

The Whole Wide World Loves Diva Dona

Diva Dona Craves PR

When Hugh called and asked me to do the cover, I immediately thought "Nude centerfold!" Surprise, surprise...Nope! Well, it's just as well; there's enough tragedy in the world without my exposure adding to it. Happy, merry and come back for my first new column right here in January 2011! Let's dish the biz!!!!

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall!

Who's the funniest diva of them all? DIVA DONA, that's who!
Have a merry, merry December, dolls!

Merry Christmas from Diva Dona

Dona wishes everyone a "Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas! I'll be back in January 2011, dollcakes, with my brand new column."

Diva Dona WILL RETURN

Dona and I have patched things up and she will be here - with a brand new look - January 2011 - maybe sooner!

Dona Responds

Well, Don, I never, EVER! I can't say a peep around here. Happy 1--th, so what? It was a joke, doll cakes! Fire Island, huh? Well, I'll take you up on it, my dear! And if I return - who knows, I just might find my niche there - we have a lot of reconciling to do if you expect me to pick up all the trash you've strewn around and write another column for you!
Hasta la vista, Donsie wansie!
Fire Island boytoys, hold on to your tushies, 'coz here comes Dona!

Dona to Fire Island

I've had enough of your insolence and divaishness, Dona! You're nothing but a humongous Mammala! I've had one beautiful mother; I don't need another! Off to Fire Island with you for the month of September! All expenses paid, on me!! To the Pines? Hell, no! Cherry Grove is more your style. You'll slay those low-class bohemians!

Don's Birthday Bash @ McCormick & Shmick's

Don let me wear his birthday streamers (right) after the party. Don't I look disgusting and cute?

Happy 1--th Birthday, Don Dahling and cheer up! Grab your cherries and lighten up! (top photo)

amore,

Dona

Pals help him pop those cherries!

Happy Birthday, Don!

con amore,

dona

Diva Donna Not Diva Dona

This is Diva Do-nn-a (Mills), not moi, Diva Do-n-a! Since we're both such raving beauties, people constantly mistake her for me and me for her. It goes without saying!

Ah, the price of glamour in Hollywood!

August Madness

Where are the DIAMONDS? Yes, my darlings, DIAMONDS are a girls's best friend and there WERE DIAMONDS on this bracelet when Prince Charming gave it to me, -- friggin years ago when I played Cinderella in a bus and truck tour of the R&H wannabe opus. Now it's just a BAUBBLE!

Well, it's my friend Don G's birthday on the 17th ... what to get him? He hates jewelry, so that's out. Maybe, See's chocolates: no! he's started another diet... Let's see how long this one lasts! Ha! I know ... I'll call mutual friends -what friends, you query? - and throw him a surprise party...Oh, that's right...after his 40th surprise BDAY party, he told me if I ever threw him another surprise party with a room full of strangers and tired old queens, he'd kill me. OMG, I know the perfect gift...I'll fly him over to the West End to see some shows this fall...if he will get his ass on a plane...can't believe he's scared of flying... or crashing, whatever the case may be...He's one helluva guy, even if he is one helluva royal pain in the rear.

Have a great August, my dears, cherish every baubble that you have, and if you find my DIAMONDS, send them on FEDEX...I will roast the asshole alive that abducted them from me!

Happy, happy!!

ps And, oh, puleeze stop writing and telling me how much I look like Don G! He only wishes he had the fabulous skin tone that I have. I have the skin of an 18 year-old. Don't you dare tell me to give it back, because I'm wrinkling the bejesus out of it!!!

Bye-bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've told Don a Hundred Times...

... To get out of the bushes and stop trying to do an impression of me! I know he needs a new 8 x 10, but this is ludicrous! No shrub enhances beauty, charm and grace - at least the natural kind to which I am accustomed.

Diva Dona and the Kiss of Peace

Alan Cumming gave me the peace sign. He was actually saying "F- - - off!" to a barrage of autograph hounds and paparrazi. Well, can you blame him, my dahlings? I could get into celeb chasing pap stories that would curl your p - - - - hair! That's fodder for another time. See you in August with my monthly dish!

Enter July and Independance Merriment

Sometimes, dear ones, I get so angry I could just spit. People do not listen to me!!!!!!!
My friends Karen and Gerry (below) just cannot hold their sangria. If I've told them once, I've told them a thousand times "Don't mix!" Well, my dahlings, at the Tony party, they translated mix as nix and did they paint the town! Here's what they looked like after everyone else went home. Don photographed them before he left. He and I know when to stop. I'm foregoing my ususal column this month for a few words of advice. Take it from Diva Dona:there are these infamous 4th of July barbeques coming up, so be safe not sorry. DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE!

PS:

I didn't say stop partying altogether. Don't be a bore, just let your boring acquaintances drive you home!

Zandra, Her Classic Look

Girlfriend Zandra in her beauty pageant pose,
or is that her early Streisand/Egyptian look?

Diva Dona on Tony Night

Tony Award night - party, party! My friend Don took me to a party where I got a little wild. Did I dye the hair too purple!!?? Loved Sean Hayes in his takeoffs as Annie and Spidey. That kiss with Kristen Chenoweth should dispel any rude comments that a gay actor cannot play straight! HA!!! He played a pretty mean piano too, that cutie pie!!!! And that basket he's carrying (pictured above) - WOOF, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! Oh, sweet mystery of life at last I found you ... !!!!!!!!!

See you in July, my dears!

Katharine, dahling, Katie, Katie!! It's Katie Hepburn!

Who said that Katie Hepburn left us? They lied! She's here! My pal Don was photographed with her! I adore her and always follow her advice, my dears, about listening to the song of life! Don't miss her at the MACHA Theatre on Kings Road in WeHo through June 18 (selected dates - read Don's review!) and then she comes to NoHo for 2 shows only on the 19th and 20th at the Mayflower Club.

tadaaaaa!!!

OMG, it's June First!

I'm really a shy girl at heart!

My gal pal Zandra - what a doll and senior knockout!!!

I can't believe it. Don Grigware called last night to remind me that it's time for me to submit my first column on the BIZ, as I see it. What's happenin' around town and how I feel about it. Well, the theatre is really hurting in these sad economic times of ours. I go see waiver plays with my friend Don and I'm shocked to find only 10 people in the audience. You mean, the actors actually go on and do a show for 10 bodies, you may ask? Yes, they do, because they care about their craft and are there to entertain 100 or 50 or even 2 people. It takes a lotta love to be an actor, let me tell you.
Well, that aside, did you know that Rip Taylor is doing a one-man show about himself and his career? Did you read Don's review? Well, let me tell you, this man made us laugh until we practically shi- ... well, you know how the body reacts when you overdo it. And Rip always makes us laugh until we pe-... oh, shi- I can't use four letter words here. Anyway, he makes you cry this time around as well as laugh. Yes, I never knew how sad his life was particularly growing up in all those foster homes. He was taken advantage of by men - ohmygod, he was a mere child when he first - he--! And those backstage thank yous from all those strippers. Whoa, I wonder what turned him gay when I heard that!
Anyway, my dears, you must go lickety split before Rip departs the El Portal in NoHo
his show is GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check out the middle photo with my pal Zandra. Isn't she a looker? Dahlings, she dresses better than any 30 year-old chic I know. How would I know any women, you ask? Believe me, I've been around the block more than once. Sandra has my vote for

Miss Senior America 2010!
Do you believe that bottom photo with Mary Wilson and Don? She sure as hel- gets ticked off when you mention the name Diana Ross around her - he didn't mean to upset her! Anyway, she was dynomite in the closing of the Palm Springs Follies. As you can plainly see, she still has all the right stuff in place ... to s----

well, you know what I mean!
Bye for now!! See you in July - oh no, the heat, the bugs - they're coming: yukkiepoos!!!

Take refuge in an air-conditioned theatre!!!

Ciao to all my fans!

Don Grigware has invited me to do a monthly column here. I'm so excited, I'm practically speechless, if you can believe that, mi bambinos! I've been accused of having the longest case in medical history of diah...of the m....
Anyway, it's been a long time, but I've returned and expect some juicy tidbits to surface here about celebs in TV, film - and of course, the theatre: here, there and everywhere.
Hasta la pasta!
See you for my first official column in June! Trala, it's May, the lusty month of May...love that ditty!!!!

ps Like my Elphaba from Halloween 2009? Might be greener, you query?