October 9-15, 2003

city beat

Fine Print

Not quite prime time: Butch shows off his doll Billy before interviewing Sharif Street for an upcoming show. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Less words, more story.

by Brian Hickey

On the Couch, Without Street or Katz

The first thing Butch wants everybody to know is that the bed is no more. "It’s not that I sold out or anything," he avers. "I’m at a new station and I’m hoping to get a better time slot. They told me it really wouldn’t work with me being in a bed, and not having a lot of clothes on, at 9 p.m., when the old biddies are still up."

Yes, these are the issues facing a gay man who used to host a talk show in his skivvies. But when that program is called In Bed with Butch, and the new set is a desk and a couch "made of the best microfibers money can buy," the question certainly must be addressed.

So that’s precisely what Butch Cordora did while taping the first five episodes of his new season at WYBE’s Roxborough studios last Sunday. (The show’s name remains the same even though he’s filming in new digs. No word yet, though, on whether he’ll get reruns shown during prime time.) Butch’s fans will undoubtedly notice when they tune in to the season premiere at 12:30 a.m. this Sunday -- fear not, he’ll address it -- but what they won’t see is the coup Butch nearly pulled off.

For six weeks, he’d been hoping Mayor John Street and challenger Sam Katz would appear. Calls to campaign offices were met with excitement at first. Yeah, we think it’d be great, Butch recalls hearing. But that changed a couple of weeks back when his calls were met with claims that the people he needs to talk to weren’t available.

Alas, dreams of landmark episodes -- each would have gotten a half-hour time slot on the Channel 35 program -- were dashed by cold shoulders and "scheduling conflicts." (Or, quite possibly, because the candidates had already sewn up endorsements from the gay, lesbian and transgender communities.)

"Oh my God, it would have been so great," Butch says. "Four and a half years I’ve been doing this and that would have been a signpost [show]. I even started telling people!"

In lieu of getting the mayoral candidates in bed, Butch turned to Mayor Street’s son, Sharif, who explained his father was busy attending church services and meeting community groups. Katz, according to a campaign press release, had a similar schedule Sunday.

Both Dan Fee and Maureen Garrity, spokespersons for Street and Katz respectively, humorously fended off the question of whether "their boss is afraid to be seen in bed with a gay man on television" (this before the set change was known).

"One thing that’s true about John Street is that he’s not afraid of anything," Fee responded.

"Sam is very secure and has no, uh, no, uh …," laughed an at-a-loss-for-words Garrity before noting Katz would have been fine in that situation since, "you know, he was the only candidate to do a Queer Eye makeover."

All was not lost, though, as Butch did elicit one scoop. But the announcement of whether Sharif wears boxers or briefs will have to wait until Sunday.