Arts & Entertainment
Lily Tomlin to be honored with foot and handprint ceremony at Chinese Theatre


A bona fide LGBTQ icon is soon to join the ranks of some of the greatest stars in the history of Hollywood by having her hand and footprints imprinted in the world-famous courtyard of the TCL Chinese Theatre.
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) announced last week that it will honor veteran acress and comedian Lily Tomlin with a hand and footprint ceremony at the landmark movie house during the networkās upcoming TCM Classic Film Festival. The Tony, Grammy, eight-time Emmy and two-time Peabody Award winner will be honored on Friday, April 7.
The hand-and-footprint tradition began in 1927, when then-owner Sid Grauman honored stars Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford at the first ever ceremony. Since then, though the theater has changed owners, the ceremonies have continued, and the forecourt outside the main entrance has long been one of Hollywoodās most-visited spots for fans looking to stand in the footprints of their favorite stars.
TCM began holding ceremonies at the theatre in 2011, honoring actor Peter OāToole during their second annual Classic Film Festival. They have honored a different Hollywood legend each consecutive year since then, including Kim Novak, Jane Fonda, Cicely Tyson, and Billy Crystal.
Tomlin will be the tenth star to be honored by the network.
Ben Mankiewicz, TCMās primetime anchor and official host of the TCM Classic Film Festival, had this to say about the actress:
“Lily Tomlin’s talent has endured for fifty years because she knows who she is. She’s managed to play broadly drawn roles alongside more nuanced characters without a hint of falseness. Not long ago, Tomlin told The New York Times, ‘I wanted people to see the characters as human beings. And see themselves in them, too.’ The humanity she finds in the women she plays has enabled her to transition, seemingly with ease, from groundbreaking work on āRowan & Martin’s Laugh-Inā to four Emmy nominations for āGrace and Frankie,āwhere she co-stars alongside another seminal artist, Jane Fonda. There’s a consistent richness to her work, in comedy and drama, as well as on stage in her innovative one-woman show, āThe Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe,āand on the big screen. Whether your favorite Lily Tomlin performance is āThe Late Show,āor ā9 to 5,ā or āNashvilleā ā¦wait, I’m not done⦠or āAll of Me,ā āFlirting with Disaster,ā āI Heart Huckabees,āor āA Prairie Home Companion,āyou know all of those pictures were made more memorable because Lily Tomlin was among the cast. It’s hard to imagine a more deserving artist to have her hand and footprints cemented outside Hollywood’s signature classic movie house.”
In addition to her decades-long career as a performer, Tomlin has long been a respected and visible member of the LGBTQ community, as many LGBTQ media outlets, like LGBTQ Nation, have been quick to point out. She has been with her partner, film producer and writer Jane Wagner for nearly fifty years (the couple married in 2013), and they are staunch advocates and activists for LGBTQ rights and other causes. They are both benefactors of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. In December, the actress was arrested at āGrace and Frankieā co-star Fondaās weekly āFire Drill Fridaysā climate change protest in Washington, D.C.
The 2020 TCM Classic Film Festival takes place Thursday, April 16 ā Sunday, April 19, 2020. It will feature an extensive lineup of classic movies, appearances by legendary stars and filmmakers, presentations and panel discussions, special events and more.
For more information and tickets visit the TCM website.
a&e features
Meet the āCEO of Everything Gayā who just bought the Abbey
Tristan Schukraft, who owns Mistr, takes over iconic LA nightclub

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. āĀ Tristan Schukraft laughs when I suggest heās building a gay empire, but he doesnāt deny it.Ā
When it was announced last month that the owner of the iconic Abbey and Chapel nightclubs in Los Angeles had entered into an agreement to sell the business to Schukraft, it seemed like a strange move for the jet-setting tech CEO.
But the portfolio heās building ā founder and owner of the telemedicine app for gay men Mistr, owner of the queer nightclub Circo and Tryst Hotel in Puerto Rico ā appears to be bent toward Hoovering up more pink dollars by getting involved in an ever wider section of queer life.
The Los Angeles Blade spoke to Schukraft at The Abbey during its annual tree-lighting fundraiser for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation about what he plans to do with the storied nightclub, and how he became one of Americaās most visible gay moguls.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
BLADE: Why the Abbey?
SCHUKRAFT: Well, I wanted to make sure it stayed in the hands of the gay community. You know, itās an institution. Itās a cornerstone of West Hollywood gay life, but more importantly, itās I think itās a cornerstone of the gay community far beyond West Hollywood, right?
BLADE: Looking at your background in tech companies, your recent shift into the nightclub and hospitality industry seems like a bit of a left turn.
SCHUKRAFT: You know, Iāve been drinking here for a long time. So now, after all that investment, Iām actually gonna start getting money back. I basically bought it so I can get free drinks.
You know, at the end of the day, Iām an operations guy. Iām a technology guy. I own hotels. With hotels, you have bars and restaurants, so itās not too far off the track. Itās a little off track. Why not? Right?
You know, after watching āThe Birdcage,ā I always wanted my own hotel [like Robin Williamsās character in the 1996 film] and somebody shattered my dreams the other day by telling me it was a nightclub. Iām like, what? It was a nightclub? And then I watched it, and itās true, it was a nightclub. So, now I have a nightclub. Yeah, so it all started with āThe Birdcage.ā
BLADE: Youāre known for being a disrupter of the things that you invest in. Is there a disruption plan for the Abbey, or for Weho? Are you planning to change things here?
SCHUKRAFT: Not a major disruption here at The Abbey. Iām gonna put my touches on it. But yeah, itās a pretty well-oiled machine. Weāre definitely going to focus on our values of being LGBTQ. I got some ideas for new nights and I definitely want to make it an epicenter of the gay community. And I think thereās opportunities to take it beyond West Hollywood.
BLADE: Can you give any kind of sneak peek at what youāre thinking?
SCHUKRAFT: East Coast. Thatās your sneak peek right now. East Coast.
I think youāll see in a couple months what Iām gonna do with the Abbey. But you know as far as taking it outside of West Hollywood, I see thereās opportunities on the East Coast right now.
I think thatās where David [Cooley, the founder and current owner of The Abbey] and I really we both appreciate the value of The Abbey brand. I think itās world famous, right? Itās the biggest gay bar. Itās one of the longest lasting. Obviously you have the Stonewalls of the world. But this is like a bar where people go on a regular night versus a tourist attraction. Maybe for some itās a tourist attraction, but I mean, it really is an institution. Itās a community gathering point. Itās a name that people recognize that we can bring into other communities.
BLADE: Do you have any plans to put a hotel somewhere here?
SCHUKRAFT: [Laughs] People are like, āAre you gonna paint it blue for Mistr?ā Or, āYouāre gonna make it a hotel?ā But no, weāre not building a hotel here. That would be terrible to build. I mean build a hotel and Abbey would be out. I donāt think the Abbeyās ever closed in 33 years, besides COVID. Minus that, itās never closed for construction. You know, when David did his expansion, it was always open.
I was looking at those old photos and Iām like, oh my God, I remember the wall of candles. Iāve been coming here a very long time.
So youāre more or less like keeping the same sort of operation going here, keeping the team in place?
The team, I mean, I think thatās what kind of really makes The Abbey unique. Itās like a place where everybody knows your name.
When I bought the hotel in Puerto Rico, obviously I donāt know anyone. Buying here. Iām like, oh, yeah. I know Todd. I know everybody, right? Not everybody, but a majority of people. And I think thatās why people come here. Because itās their staple. They go every Sunday. They know they have their favorite bartender. So, you know, everybody will be kept in place, no changes to personnel.
BLADE: You gave an interview to Authority Magazine where you said you promised your partner that you wouldnāt be starting up any new businesses. How did you get him on board with jumping into becoming a WeHo nightlife impresario?
SCHUKRAFT: I broke that promise two or three times since I said that. I mean, no, I just buy him gifts to make him happy.
I work long hours, right? And heās like, I donāt know why.
BLADE: Youāve created and run several tech companies. How did you get started in that business? Where did that money come from?
SCHUKRAFT: I started my very first company at 21 with a $10,000 loan. I was living in Hong Kong at the time. I think my father really wanted me to come back [to California]. My dadās a corporate guy, not a big risk taker, but heās like, āIāll give you $10,000 to start your company.ā It wasnāt enough to start the company, so I imported 437 Razor scooters and I thought I was gonna sell out in two weeks. It was very popular at the time ā this is like 23 years ago. It took me six and a half weeks. I was selling them out of my truck. I went to every swap meet in Southern California. Sold the last six on Christmas Eve and learned a couple lessons in business from that. But with the money I made from selling those scooters combined with the loan, I started my first company, which was like an Expedia for airline personnel.
And then I got into e-ticketing, and at that time, I didnāt know how to turn on the computer. So, I really surround myself with people that know what theyāre doing, that are experts. So, do I know how to run a bar? No, but Iām an operations guy and I hire the talent to make it happen. Thatās how I got started and I built that company and others along the way.
BLADE: Other than that first $10,000 loan from your parents, youāre basically self-made then?
SCHUKRAFT: Yeah. You know, I looked for investment. I did end up raising $18 million for my second company, but I put in a lot of money. I mean at 25, my first company was going really well, and there was this e-ticketing mandate and I said, oh thereās a real opportunity here. And I had a home and was doing good for a 25-year-old, and I kind of leveraged it all. And I thought, āOh my God, what did I do? I just fucked up my whole life. Why did I do this?ā Anyways, I got that first investor, got that first client, and it just kind of took off from there.
BLADE: And now with Mistr, The Abbey, your Puerto Rico clubs, are you starting a gay empire?
SCHUKRAFT: The CEO of Everything Gay, yes. I have a few more things. You know, all the businesses are very complementary, right? So, you come to The Abbey, then you go to the Tryst Hotel or Circo in Puerto Rico, and obviously all of the people that come here or the Tryst, theyāre all perfect candidates for Mistr. So yeah, so it looks a little weird. But it is very complementary to our various business units
Out & About
Film about queer icon to premiere in Virginia
‘Slayed: The Untold Story’ playing at Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse

The film premiere of āSlayed: The Untold Storyā will be on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. at Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse.
The film is a riveting documentary that charts the audacious journey of Kai āStud Slayerā Brown, a fearless queer icon who shattered taboos about Black masculine women in an unforgiving era.
Following the screening there will be a discussion panel and question and answer session. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.Ā

The Gay Menās Chorus of Washington will host a holiday singalong on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 5 p.m. at Hotel Zena.
The event will begin with drinks in the Hotel Zena bar followed by the singalong. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
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