During a guest appearance on HBO’s Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace, the 80-year-old Copacabana singer said he didn’t think it was important to announce his sexuality during the earlier decades of his career.
Manilow came out in 2017, almost three years after he married his husband and manager Garry Kief in a private ceremony. The couple have been together for 45 years now, though they’ve kept much of their relationship away from the public eye.
When he came out to People magazine in 2017, Manilow — whose real name is Barry Pincus — worried he’d be “disappointing” some of his fans by revealing his sexuality. Instead, Manilow, who was 73 at the time, said the reaction from his fanbase was “beautiful.”
Despite his current feelings of nonchalance about his own coming out, Manilow said announcing his sexuality as his career was booming would have been a bad idea.
“Now being gay is no big deal,” he explained. “Back in the ’70s it would have killed a career.”
Regardless, the usually very private Manilow said he thinks “everybody knew that Garry and I were a couple all those years.”
“Really, Garry and I’ve been together for so long,” he said. “It just never dawned on me that we’re going to come out. But when we got married, it was a big deal, so we did.”
Manilow credited Kief for saving his life. He said he is thankful he had Kief to support him as his music career was taking off, despite keeping their relationship under wraps.
“As my career exploded, it was just crazy. And, you know, going back to an empty hotel room, you can get into a lot of trouble if you’re alone night after night after night,” Manilow explained. “But I met Garry right around when it was exploding. And I didn’t have to go back to those empty hotel rooms. I had somebody to cry with or to celebrate with.”
Manilow said he did not wish an isolated hotel room for any young people.
“It was pretty lonely until I met Garry. And then it was fun,” he smiled.
Kief is not Manilow’s first spouse. In 1964, Manilow married his high school sweetheart, Susan Deixler. They were married for one year.
Manilow told CNN’s Wallace he “really did love” Deixler, but added “the gay thing was pretty, pretty strong. I couldn’t deny it.”
The singer said he knew he was gay before marrying Deixler, but their marriage ended because Manilow couldn’t be the committed husband his then-wife needed. He revealed that his sexuality was not the reason his marriage failed.
“We had a very nice marriage, it was great, but I was away every night making music, as a young musician would be,” Manilow described. “It wasn’t good for me, and it wasn’t good for her.”
“I couldn’t be the proper husband,” he continued. “I was out making music every night, sowing my wild oats. I wasn’t ready to settle down.”
Brooklyn-born Manilow skyrocketed to international fame in 1974 after his release of the ever-popular pop-rock ballad Mandy. He became one of the biggest-selling musicians of all time. Prior to his success as a singer-songwriter, Manilow was behind a number of famous commercial jingles for brands like State Farm and Band-Aid — a gig that he has said helped him create catchy hooks for his own hit songs.
Puppy was left tied to park picnic table in the rain — rescuers save him
Although it is terrible that someone would be so callous as to dump a puppy, fortunately there are good people out there who are prepared to take action and save these abandoned pups.
That happened just now, when a poor dog was abandoned outside in the rain, tethered to a picnic table, until someone came to save him.
A small dog is shown in a video from Stray Rescue of St. Louis strapped to a table in a nearby park’s picnic area.
The footage shows the dog, who was afraid, alone, and drenched from the rain, yelping repeatedly as though pleading for assistance.
However, as Donna, a rescuer, untied the young dog and arrived on the scene, he immediately warmed up to her, as though he realized he was secure.
According to Stray Rescue of St. Louis, “he was so brave when we first approached, but as soon as we got in the Jeep he curled up on Donna’s lap and let out a deep sigh – that sigh said so much.”
“You’re okay, sweet little baby. We’ll take care of your sweet self in no time at all.
The dog was named Wilbur by the rescue. He was “covered in ringworm,” as they found, and they gave him medicinal baths as treatment.
Wilbur was in a caring foster home a few days after his rescue. The Dodo was informed by his foster mother that he was a “snuggle bug” and “doing great.” She remarked, “He wants nothing more than to be loved.”
Although Wilbur’s origins are unknown, it is obvious that he hasn’t been getting the love and attention he deserves. However, the little dog appears to have a bright future ahead of him.
Facebook said, “He’ll never have to be lonely or muster up that much bravery ever again.” This is from Stray Rescue of St. Louis.
I’m grateful that you saved this tangled puppy, pulled him out of the wet, and gave him a fresh start. The expression on his face indicates that he knows he’s in capable hands.
Kindly tell this story to everybody who enjoys dogs!
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