Get Out! GAY Magazine – Issue 412 April 3, 2019

INTERVIEW
So, are you going to sit in levels as
though it was the real “Hollywood
Squares”?
Well, I think it’s only going to be three
people, instead of nine people. So we
don’t have to worry about different
levels, and worry about it collapsing.
It’s basically me as “center square,”
and then two guest stars, which will be
different every week. It could be Flotilla
Debarge, Ben Rimalower and so on.
Then in between the rounds of playing
the actual game the two guest stars will
get up and do their numbers. So you get
a full variety show-type entertainment.
It’s not just a game show. I always
wanted to be
center square;
I wanted to be
Paul Lynde.
Only I’m out of
the closet.
I think you
are the
reincarnation
of Paul Lynde.
Paul Lynde
was hilarious
and very
groundbreaking
for his time, and
he made a lot of
innuendos. Even
on “Hollywood
Squares” he was
making a lot of innuendos about being
gay. For example, the one about, “Why
do Hell’s Angels wear leather?” His
answer was, “because chiffon wrinkles.”
That’s a pretty gay answer. But he never
came out on the record and said that
he was gay. It was a different time; there
really weren’t out celebrities. Still, he
paved the way, and he was hilarious.
Years later Whoopi Goldberg was a
center square, Joan Rivers was a center
square, and these are all my idols.
MICHAEL MUSTO & HOST TIM CUSACK
So that’s so cool for you.
So I’m stepping into those shoes… on a
smaller scale, I would say. I always lived
for that show. You always lived for seeing
how those kooky celebrities are going
to come up with a one-liner to answer
the question, and then they had to give
a serious answer. Then you would see
if they had any actual knowledge, and
usually they were pretty smart.
They have that TV channel where they
just play those old game shows now.
Yeah, “Buzzers.”
Charles Nelson Reilly on the “Match
Game” was pretty gay.
He was the flip side of Paul Lynde.
He wore polyester and would flap his
arms around—it was hilarious. Those
were my gay
role models
growing up,
even though
they never
said they were
gay. Then you
always have
these fag-hag
types like
Brett Somers
on “Match
Game.” I loved
her.
It’s the only
channel I
watch aside
from weather.
I watch Carol
Burnett. It’s like a new show. I call my
friends to tell them who is on, and they
ask me if I’m aware that it’s a rerun. I
say, “Oh, it is?” I’m still living in the
60s. Well, we will see how witty I am on
the spot. I hope I can pull it off.
So how did the idea originate?
This guy named Tim Cusack is the one
who contacted me. He’s promoting the
show. He’s promoted shows for Bionca
Lee and Linda Simpson. He asked me
if I’d want to be the center square, and
I told him it was one of my dreams on
my bucket list.
PHOTOS BY JAMES EDEN