Bruce Vilanch (born November
23, 1948) is a U.S.
comedy writer and actor who caught the public eye
when he became a wisecracking regular on
the revamped Hollywood
Squares, with Whoopi
Goldberg.
Biography
Vilanch
attended Ohio State
University
as a theatre and journalism student and graduated with a BFA in theater, in 1970. In
1978 he was one of the writers for
The Star Wars Holiday
Special. In the 1980s he had a few brief television acting
appearance including a bit part in an episode of
Bosom Buddies and another on
Law & Order. His first television
appearance as himself was in 1988, on
Hollywood Today,
where he was interviewed by Chris Aable. The show aired in
forty-three cities on Century Cable and the Manhattan Neighborhood
Cable Network.
Vilanch was
adopted by
Jewish parents, is gay, and "a notorious meat
eater".
He has provided topical joke material for a number of awards show
hosts, notably for
Billy Crystal at
the
Academy Awards. He also wrote
material for
The Donny &
Marie Show back in the mid 1970's.
Vilanch has a musical comedy background (he co-wrote the book for
the flop
Platinum and
contributed to far more successful concert shows starring
Bette Midler,
Diana
Ross, and
Michael Feinstein)
and claims to have done every
Stubby
Kaye role ever written. In 2000 he had a one-man show
off-Broadway at the Westbeth Theater entitled
Almost
Famous.
In 2005 he starred on Broadway
as "Edna
Turnblad" in the musical Hairspray after originating the
role in the show's first national tour. He was on the third
edition of
Celebrity Fit Club
and lost 21 pounds over the course of the show.
Vilanch has been the subject of two documentaries:
Get
Bruce (1999) and
Laughing Matters...The Men, also
released as
Laughing Matters: Gay Comedy in America
(2007), where he shared the spotlight with
Alec Mapa, Bob Smith and others. He also has cameo
roles in
Tru Loved and
You Don't Mess With
The Zohan (both 2008).
Vilanch co-wrote the song "
Where Is My
Man" with producers
Fred Zarr and
Jacques Morali. The song was
popularized in 1983 after it was recorded by the singer/actress
Eartha Kitt and became both a dance club
hit as well as a
gay anthem.
Vilanch appeared on
GSN Live on
September 30, 2008.
As of March 2009, Vilanch appears on
truTV's
The
Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest... as a
commentator.
References
- according to an interview on the Ronn Owens show on KGO radio
in San
Francisco
- Vilanch bio at ujc.org
- Single release info for "Where Is My Man" at
discogs.com
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