By Emily Richardson | Celebrity | November 14, 2023
Barry Manilow was on the latest episode of Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace and discussed his life, 60-year career, and sexuality. Barry officially came out as a gay man in 2017. He was 73. At the time, the singer-songwriter told People that he thought it would’ve been “disappointing” for his fans if they knew he was gay. Now, 80-year-old Barry says there was more to it.
Barry tells Chris Wallace that, back in the seventies, “you didn’t come out”:
“It wasn’t the same as it is today. Now being gay is no big deal. But back in the ’70s, it would have killed a career.”“The public was not ready for anybody to come out. And, frankly, it was just too personal. I just didn’t want to talk about my personal life anyway. I never did that. I was happy talking about music. But talking about my personal life was just kind of creepy to me. So I never did.”
Barry married his high-school sweetheart, Susan Deixler, in 1964. It lasted a year. Barry insists it was “a very nice marriage”, but he was simply too busy making music to be “a proper husband.” Chris asked Barry if he knew he was gay during his marriage, and Barry answered in the affirmative:
“Oh, we all do when we’re five-years-old or something. But I was very happy being married and I really did love her. But the gay thing was pretty strong. It was strong. I couldn’t deny it.”
In 1978, Barry met Garry Kief and fell in love. Garry became Barry’s manager, and the two finally got married in 2014. Chris asked Barry why he didn’t officially announce he was gay until three years later:
“I think it was a non-event for me. Really, Garry and I had been together for so long. You know, it just never dawned on me to ‘come out’. But when we got married it was a big deal, so we did…”
Barry adds that Garry essentially saved his life at the height of his fame. He says a celebrity can get into a lot of trouble “going back to an empty hotel room” night after night, and Garry was always there for him:
“But I met Garry right around when it was exploding. And I didn’t have to go back to those empty hotel rooms. I had someone to cry with and celebrate with.”
Awww, that’s sweet. Here’s a clip of Barry on Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace:
Also, while writing this article I went deeep down a YouTube Mani-hole. Here’s a fun video of Barry accompanying Bette Midler (aka Bathhouse Betty) at the Continental Baths gay bathhouse in 1971. Barry was the Continental’s house pianist:
Fun (actually, bummer) fact: you could go to the Continental’s live performances even if you weren’t a bath patron. Enter the straights! By 1974, the queer crowd had mostly disappeared cuz they didn’t like the public gawking at them like they were “part of the décor”. The baths closed for good in 1976.
