Calvin Klein (born November 19, 1942)

Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer of Hungarian origin who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry.

Klein was born in The Bronx to Jewish-Hungarian immigrants. He attended the High School of Art and Design and matriculated at, but never graduated from, New York's Fashion Institute of Technology, receiving an honorary Doctorate in 2003. He did his apprenticeship in 1962 at an oldline cloak-and-suit manufacturer, Dan Millstein, and spent five years designing at other New York shops. In 1968, he launched his first company with a childhood friend, Barry K. Schwartz.

Klein was one of several design leaders raised in the Jewish immigrant community in the Bronx, New York, along with Robert Denning and Ralph Lauren. Klein became a protégé of Baron de Gunzburg, through whose introductions he became the toast of the New York elite fashion scene even before he had his first mainstream success with the launch of his first jeans line. Klein was immediately recognized for his talent after his first major showing at New York Fashion Week. Klein was hailed as the new Yves Saint-Laurent, and was noted for his clean lines.

In 1965, Klein married Jayne Centre Klein, with whom he had a daughter, Marci, who currently works as Talent Producer for NBC's Saturday Night Live. Klein and Centre Klein filed for divorce in 1974.

In 1986, Klein married Fashion Institute in NYC graduate Kelly Rector, who worked for Calvin Klein Inc. at the time. She later became a well-known socialite photographer. The couple divorced in 2006.


Calvin Klein is an American fashion designer who launched Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry. In 1965 Klein married Jayne Centre Klein, with whom he had a daughter, Marci. They divorced in 1974. In 1986 Klein married Fashion Institute graduate Kelly Rector. The couple divorced in 2006. Since 2010 Klein was in a relationship with former male porn star Nick Gruber. They separated in April 2012 when Gruber entered rehab.


Dresses, 1996

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Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Klein_(fashion_designer)

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More Fashion Designers at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Ramblings/Art

Jodie Foster (born November 19, 1962)

Jodie Foster began her acting career at age three, appearing in several Disney TV productions. By the time she achieved worldwide fame, at age thirteen in Taxi Driver, she had already made eight features, including Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and One Little Indian. She won a Best Actress Oscar for The Accused in 1988 and another for Silence of the Lambs in 1991. She has also won multiple Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and SAG Awards.

For many years, Foster was determined to protect the privacy of her personal life, despite persistent rumors going back to her college days. As a condition for journalists who wanted to obtain an interview, Foster would reportedly insist that no questions be asked about her sexual orientation.

Foster was critical of her brother Buddy, not only for writing about his suspicion that Jodie was gay or bisexual, but also for revealing that their mother had a long-term domestic partnership with another woman. “I grew up with two gay parents,” he wrote in his autobiography Foster Child. “I had my Aunt Jo and my mother.”

Foster has two sons: Charles "Charlie" Foster (b. July 20, 1998) and Christopher "Kit" Foster (b. September 29, 2001). Speculation is that their father was producer Randy Stone, one of the founders of the Trevor Project, which offers counseling to gay and questioning youth. Stone died in February 2007.

Speculation about Jodie Foster ended in December 2007 when she publicly acknowledged her “longtime friend” and roommate for fourteen years, film producer Cydney Bernard, as “my beautiful Cydney, who sticks with me through the rotten and the bliss.” Foster has done nothing to discourage the press and public from recognizing this as her coming out.


Jodie Foster began her acting career at age three, appearing in several Disney TV productions. She won a Best Actress Oscar for The Accused in 1988 and another for Silence of the Lambs in 1991. She has also won multiple Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and SAG Awards. In her acceptance speech upon receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards, she thanked Bernard, calling her "my heroic co-parent, my ex-partner in love but righteous soul sister in life".

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Stern, Keith (2009-09-01). Queers in History: The Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Historical Gays, Lesbians and Bisexuals (Kindle Locations 5029-5044). Perseus Books Group. Kindle Edition.

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David Leddick (born 1930)

David Leddick is an author, playwright and actor.

He has 22 books published: many photography books about the male nude (including one of Taschen's top-ten bestsellers, "The Male Nude"), and the second edition of "In the Spirit of Miami Beach" (from Assouline Books).

Leddick has published six novels (including "My Worst Date" and "The Sex Squad"), and a biography of art figures from the 1930s and 1940s, "Intimate Companions."

The author's newest book, "Gorgeous Gallery," is a collection of homoerotic art published by Bruno Gmunder and will be available worldwide in June. Leddick's next book will be "Meaningless Hugs, Meaningless Kisses," an impressionistic "imagined memoir" about a gay man's life in his 70s.

He was born in 1930, and after graduating from the University of Michigan served as an officer in the U.S. Navy. He was at Bikini Atoll during the hydrogen bomb testing. Leddick moved to New York in the 1950s, and was a ballet dancer. He was with the Metropolitan Opera where he appeared onstage with great Divas such as Maria Callas.

Leddick has worked in advertising as the Worldwide Creative Director for Revlon in New York, and as International Creative Director for L'Oreal in Paris, through the 1970s and 1980s. He created some of the era's most iconic beauty campaigns (including the groundbreaking TV commercial for Jontue fragrance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDsPLNT2qq0).

He began a new career at the age of 65 as a writer, creating male nude photography books and writing novels. His first novel, "My Worst Date," was the most reviewed first novel from St. Martin's Press.

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Further Readings:

The Male Nude Now: New Visions for the 21st Century by David Leddick
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Universe Publishing; 1ST edition (November 3, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0789306352
ASIN: B000LC56KQ
Amazon: The Male Nude Now: New Visions for the 21st Century

As images of men's bodies have proliferated in pop culture and advertising during the past decade, many artists and photographers have taken up the male nude as a primary subject. Recent work has sparked controversy as well as praise for its shocking frankness, and the line between art and pornography has become increasingly difficult to define. New digital technologies have brought about new ways of representing the body, and we are now faced with a multiplicity of eroticisms, previously unexplored channels of desire, and more inclusive and varied body ideals.

Male Nudes Now offers an essential guide through this new territory with more than 240 fresh and provocative images. Featuring contemporary work, mostly unpublished, this important sourcebook showcases a dynamic mix of visionaries, from established masters to breakthrough newcomers.

Feature Artists Include: Lyle Ashton Harris, Marc Baptiste, Clive Barker, Cecily Brown, Chuck Close, John Dugdale, Todd Eberle, Eric Fischl, Nan Goldin, Greg Gorman, David Hockney, Patrick McMullan, Duane Michals, Pierre et Gilles, Jack Pierson, Rankin, Terry Richardson, Michael Roberts, Stewart Shining, Wolfgang Tillmans, George Tooker, Ellen von Unwerth.

More Spotlights at my website: http://www.elisarolle.com/, My Lists/Gay Novels

Rainbow Awards pre-party and 7th anniversary (Day 19)

November 2013 marks the 7th anniversary since I opened my first journal (and yes, I have an itch, but I will scratch it!), on LJ, and the 5th anniversary of the Rainbow Awards. So, of course I decided for a big bash party. 188 authors, all of them in the 2013 Rainbow Awards, have donated or an ebook, or a print book, and I will use them for a Treasure Hunt. Every day, for all November, I will post 6 excerpts (a random page of the book). No reference to title, or author, or publisher. You have to match it with the book ;-) comment on the blog (do not leave anonymous comments, if you post as anonymous, leave a contact email (comments are screened)), you can comment 1 time for more matchings (you can even try for all 6 books if you like, so 6 chances to win every day). Until the end I will not say which matching is right, so you will have ALL month to try. No limit on how many books you can win, the more you try the better chance you have to win. End of November, among the right matchings, I will draw the winners. So now? let the game start!

Be aware that these previous excerpts: 11, 23, 25, 86, 103 have not yet been matched, so if you go back there is good chance to win them! if at the end of the treasure hunt they will be still unmatched they will go to the one who matched more books.

The books are (Author - Title - Format of prize):

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Previous Post: http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/3931049.html

Today excerpts are:

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