Michael Musto

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Michael Musto
Musto seated at a desk
Michael Musto in 2007
Born (1955-12-03) December 3, 1955 (age 68)
Brooklyn, New York, United States
OccupationJournalist, actor, author
NationalityAmerican
EducationColumbia University (BA)
Website
out.com/entertainment/michael-musto

Michael Musto (born December 3, 1955) is an American

Village Voice
, which returned as a print publication, with accompanying website.

His books are Downtown and Manhattan on the Rocks, as well as a compilation of selected columns published as La Dolce Musto: Writings By The World's Most Outrageous Columnist and a subsequent collection, Fork on the Left, Knife in the Back. He currently writes about pop cultural and sociopolitical issues for the Daily Beast and a monthly gossip column called "Read Now, Cry Later" for Queerty.

Early life

Musto was born in

Columbia Spectator.[3]

Career

Musto is gay and has been published regularly in several LGBT publications, including Out and The Advocate.[citation needed]

He contributes to

W,[citation needed] and Vanity Fair.[citation needed
]

Among Musto's first journalistic jobs were assignments covering culture for

Peppermint. A 1989 appearance in Slaves of New York—based on Tama Janowitz's book centered on the New York nightlife scene—was called the film's only moment of credibility by critic J. Hoberman of The Village Voice. Other cameos through the years were made in Garbo Talks (1984), Day of the Dead (1985), Jeffrey (1995), Death of a Dynasty (2003), The Big Gay Musical (2009), Violet Tendencies
(2010), and The Smurfs (2011). Larger film roles awaited for more recent films like Vamp Bikers, Japanese Borscht, The Duke of New York, and Mister Sister.

Musto was a great personal friend with the

videographer, Nelson Sullivan
who filmed much of the footage that exists of the "Club Kids", as well as obsessively chronicling Musto's exploits and those of RuPaul and Sylvia Miles.

Musto also used his column to lambast

The Advocate
 magazine referred to Musto's "legendary gossip column" and said, "Since 1984, shrewd and self-deprecating humorist Michael Musto has written his 'La Dolce Musto' column, tirelessly chronicling nightlife and celebrity culture. The bridge-burning blogger and baron of blind items has earned a position as both historian and spokesman for the gay community."

In the 1980s, Musto did nightlife-related segments for MTV, where his un-self-conscious gayness seemed radical. Videotographer Nelson Sullivan chose Musto as one of his favorite subjects and relentlessly followed the writer through clubs, appearances, and family get-togethers, many of the videos later surfacing on YouTube. From 1993 to 2000, he was one of the most prominent columnists on The Gossip Show, an E! program which featured colorful reporters relaying celebrity dish, and again, Musto was out and flamboyant on the show. He was featured on the cover of New York magazine in a 1994 "Gossip Mafia" story that spanned New York's most influential tattlers, including Richard Johnson, George Rush, and Jeannette Walls. In 1999, he cohosted "New York Central", a nightly magazine-format show on the Metro Channel.

Musto appeared in

(Hey Now) Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (1994). He has also done cameos in videos by TV on the Radio, Sherry Vine, Sharon Needles, Jinkx Monsoon, Larry Tee, and Gorgon City featuring Jennifer Hudson
, among many others.

Musto penned several writeups in

The New York Post's Page Six gossip column, the story took on even more prominence.[citation needed] A later Village Voice feature story acknowledged Musto's breaking item. The movie "Party Monster" (2003) includes reference to a Musto item, and Musto has appeared in many related documentaries, including "Disco Bloodbath" and A&E's "American Justice", as well as several Geraldo Rivera shows, where he had long been the expert on club kids. Discussing topics like gossip and nightlife, Musto also appeared on daytime talk shows hosted by Sally Jessy Raphael, Joan Rivers, Ricki Lake, Richard Bey, Gordon Elliott, and Mark L. Walberg
.

In 2001, Musto appeared in a groundbreaking ad campaign for Fortunoff in which he sported a wedding veil, campily promoting the possibility of same-sex marriage.

In 2010, Musto made a cameo appearance in Erasure's re-release of A Little Respect (HMI Redux)';[6] the proceeds of this release were donated to help students attending the Harvey Milk Institute. Also in 2010, LCD Soundsystem mentioned Musto in the song "Pow Pow" playfully urging him to "Eat it" (wacky retaliation for banter between Musto and the group's James Murphy at a Paper Nightlife Awards ceremony). That year, Musto also added "Theater Producer" to his resume, when he coproduced the musical comedy Perfect Harmony about the search for truth, love, and high school a cappella championship glory, which played Off-Broadway in New York City.[7]

In 2011, Musto was named one of the "Out 100" as one of the country's most influential LGBT personalities.[8]

In 2013, he played himself in a scene on the

Smash
", having also previously figured in a plot line involving his gossip writing.

In May 2013, Musto was laid off from The Village Voice,[9] but in 2016, he was back as an entertainment correspondent, writing three cover stories that year. The Village Voice folded, but then it came back in 2021 as a quarterly print publication. Musto was writing for the paper (and the accompanying website) again.

Musto was a regular commentator on MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann where he sardonically skewered the antics of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and other scandalous celebrities du jour. Starting in 2015, Musto became a recurring panelist on Logo TV's "Cocktails and Classics", which involved showing well known films and offering campy commentary on them.

He has moderated Broadway talkbacks for shows like "Talk Radio" and "End of the Rainbow", and in 2016, was the celebrity guest star one night in the off-Broadway production of "Oh, Hello."

Musto has also dabbled in acting and singing. In 1980, he became lead singer of a

Angel Salazar. The film premiered in 2016 at Anthology Film Archives and in 2018 was released by the Orchard. Musto sang a pop/reggae/dance ditty, "I Got Ur Back", written and produced by Tyler Stone, based on Musto's idea, for Trax Records, released in 2017. A celebrity roast of Musto at Actors Temple on May 22, 2017—kicked off by Rosie O'Donnell and hosted by Bruce Vilanch-raised significant money for the Callen-Lorde clinic. The roast which was produced by Daniel DeMello and directed by Rachel Klein, featured Bianca Del Rio, Jinkx Monsoon, Judy Gold, Orfeh, Randy Rainbow, and Luann de Lesseps. In addition to doubling the take of the benefit, O'Donnell—after aiming some barbs at Musto's closet-busting mania—thanked him for pulling her into the community; in the 1990s, he'd urged her and Ellen DeGeneres in print to come out of the closet.[10]
[11] [12]

He has won eight Glam Awards for Best Nightlife

Blogger, as well as their Living Legend award. He was named one of Genre magazine's "Men We Love" more than once, won a Lifetime Achievement award at the Gay Expo at Javits Center (2015), was named one of Metrosource
magazine's "People We Love" (2019) and got a special award for his work from the Imperial Court of New York.

Published works

Jerry Springer, Lisa Lampanelli, Musto, Luann de Lesseps and Larry Storch at the 2011 launch party for Musto's book Fork on the Left, Knife in the Back

Books:

  • Musto, Michael (June 12, 1986). Downtown-V285.
    ISBN 0-394-74285-0
    .
  • Musto, Michael (September 1989). Manhattan on the Rocks.
    ISBN 0-8050-1032-7
    .
  • Musto, Michael (January 1, 2007). La Dolce Musto: Writings by the World's Most Outrageous Columnist.
    ISBN 978-0-7867-1879-5
    .
  • Musto, Michael (September 1, 2011). Fork on the Left, Knife in the Back. Vantage Point Books.

Contributed to works published by others:

See also

References

  1. ^ Lara L. Holson (January 29, 2010). "The Diarist of a Scene That Never Gets Old". The New York Times. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  2. ^ Rouen, Ethan (Winter 2013). "Stars Fade, Michael Musto '76 Keeps Shining". Columbia College Today. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  3. ^ Musto, Michael (August 16, 2017). "Michael Musto: What I Really Learned in College". The Village Voice.
  4. ^ a b Shapiro, Eileen (January 9, 2018). "Michael Musto:: Glam Awards Living Legend Recipient". HuffPost. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  5. ^ Hays, Matthew (January 22, 2009). "Gossip queen". Montreal Mirror. Retrieved January 25, 2009.
  6. ^ "Erasure A Little Respect - Hmi Redux". YouTube. December 9, 2010. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
  7. ^ "I'm Producing an Off-Broadway Musical!". The Village Voice. September 13, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  8. ^ Robinson, Charlotte (May 30, 2013). "Michael Musto Talks LGBT Issues and Journalism Trends (AUDIO)". HuffPost. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  9. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  10. ^ "Theatre Columnist Michael Musto in Crosshairs of Celebrity Roast May 22 | Playbill". Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  11. ^ "The Stars Came Out to Celebrate (and Roast) PAPER's Own Michael Musto - PAPER". Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  12. ^ "Bruce Vilanch Emcees the Michael Musto Roast". May 25, 2017.

External links

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