Miami fashion photographer Rubem Robierb: I proposed to GMA weather anchor Sam Champion

BY STEVE ROTHAUS, srothaus@MiamiHerald.com

Miami fashion photographer Rubem Robierb describes his engagement to Good Morning America’s Sam Champion: “I proposed to Sam. He said yes. It was really, really formal. I got the rings. It was kind of a surprise,” said Robierb, who moved from Brazil four years ago.

The couple met in Miami and will wed late December in New York and celebrate with a reception on New Year’s in Florida. Robierb, 34, and weather anchor Champion, 51, already are splitting their time between Miami and New York.

Ben Affleck said Monday on GMA he is “inspired” by their love story. Champion’s colleague, Robin Roberts, still recovering from her bone marrow transplant, tweeted she hoped she’d be well enough to attend the wedding.

As of 5 p.m. Monday, more than 30,000 GMA Facebook fans had "liked" the Robierb-Champion engagement announcement.

Robierb says he and Champion are excited to suddenly become inspirations for gay youths. “The times change and we think we can help other people. We’re happy to be a good example. You need to be who you are. If you are a good person, you’re a role model for the next generation. We want people to live their lives the way they want to live. No need to hide.”

Video | Miami attorney Elizabeth Schwartz honored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

Miami Beach attorney Elizabeth Schwartz on Saturday night received the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Eddy McIntyre Community Service Award at Sparkle, the 16th annual Miami Recognition Dinner.

Click here to read more about the dinner and view a gallery of photos.

Video provided by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Legendary lesbian singer Janis Ian ('At Seventeen') to perform at River of Grass Café

News release from the River of Grass Café in Davie:

Davie, Florida – September 14, 2012 - The legendary lesbian singer/songwriter, JANIS IAN, will be at the River of Grass Café for two shows in an intimate, coffeehouse setting (only 80 seats will be sold per show). The dates are Friday, May 3 & Saturday, May 4, 2013. Shows start at 8:00 pm. Tickets are $40.

Janis Ian began her mostly stellar, sometimes stormy, professional life at the ripe old age of 12 when she wrote her first song and was published by Broadside Magazine. At 14, she wrote "Society's Child,” which is also the name of her self-penned autobiography (Tarcher/Penguin), now available as an audio book (Audible.com). It traces her Grammy Award winning career and the many cornerstones she laid for others to build on.

In 1976 she received 5 Grammy nominations for the album Between the Lines and the single “At Seventeen” which has become a classic that is still revered today. She was one of only five solo female artists to receive that many nominations in one year. The others were Ella Fitzgerald, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin and Olivia Newton-John

She performed on the very first broadcast of “Saturday Night Live” and her first Grammy nomination came in 1967, for “Best Folk Album.” In addition to the nominations for Between the Lines, she was also nominated for “Best Jazz Duet” after she and Mel Torme recorded her song “Silly Habits”. She also won a Grammy for her work on In Harmony II, a Sesame Street album.

Both “Society’s Child” and “At Seventeen” have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Music and lyrics are about life experiences and, as Janis’ life has been full and colorful, so have her songs as evidenced by her multiple awards, nominations and commendations. Kathy Mattea says it best, “After finishing `Society’s Child’, I feel like I’ve had a front row seat to the soundtrack of my life.”

Ticket sales are limited to 80 tickets per show. See Janis Ian up close and personal in an intimate, small coffeehouse setting. Get your tickets now before these shows sell out! (No reserved seating.) Tickets will be held at Will-Call. Click here to purchase your tickets!

For more information or directions, please contact: concerts@riverofgrass.org.

River of Grass Café, 11850 W. State Road 7, Davie, Florida 33325

Gallery | 'BearCity 2: The Proposal' at the Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

BearCity 2: The Proposal director Douglas Langway and star Gerald McCullouch with Tony Lima of Miami on Sunday at closing night of the Fort Lauderdale Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

Attendance at the Fort Lauderdale film festival was up nearly 400 percent from 2011 and 17 filmmakers and actors attended, spokesman Richard Murry said.

For more pictures, click here. Photos by STEVE ROTHAUS / Miami Herald Staff.

Restored 'Cabaret' starring Oscar winners Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey coming to Blu-ray Feb. 5

News release from Warner Home Video (scroll below to watch Liza Minnelli win the Oscar in 1973):

Burbank, Calif., October 8, 2012 – Cabaret, Bob Fosse’s ground-breaking Oscar®-winning musical drama starring Liza Minnelli (Arthur, The Sterile Cuckoo), Michael York (the Austin Powers films), Joel Grey (TV’s “Oz”), Helmut Griem, and Marisa Berenson (I am Love), celebrates its 40th anniversary with a Blu-ray debut on February 5, 2013. Remastered for the first time in over 20 years, Cabaret is presented in its original aspect ratio (16 x 9 format). Winner of eight Academy Awards®, including Director (Fosse), Actress (Minnelli), and Supporting Actor (Grey), the film will be offered in a premium Blu-ray Book format ($27.98 SRP), which contains 40 pages of insightful photos and text. A new documentary, "Cabaret: The Musical That Changed Musicals" will be featured, along with vintage documentaries "Cabaret: A Legend in the Making," "The Recreation of an Era," a multi-part memory gallery and more. A DVD version will also be available ($14.97 SRP).

Cabaret was adapted from the Tony® -winning stage production, which was in turn inspired by Christopher Isherwood's Berlin Stories and the play and movie I Am a Camera. This remarkable musical turns the pre-war Berlin of 1931 into a sexually charged center of decadence. Liza Minnelli gives a bravura performance as nightclub entertainer Sally Bowles, and Joel Grey is the master of ceremonies at the nightclub, also acting as the storyteller for the audience, exposing the seediness of the cabaret world. The superb songwriting team of Kander and Ebb contributes a string of memorable songs that not only entertain but also provide social commentary on the events of the time. Under the helm of director-choreographer Bob Fosse (All that Jazz), Cabaret becomes both a devastating drama and top-rate entertainment, and the result is one of the most memorable and meaningful screen musicals ever made.

In 1995, Cabaret was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 2006, Cabaret ranked #5 on the American Film Institute's list of best musicals.

Synopsis:
Flamboyant and eccentric American entertainer Sally Bowles (Minnelli) sings in Berlin’s decadent Kit Kat Club, even as Nazism rises in Germany in 1931. She falls in love with a British language teacher (York) – whom she shares with a homosexual German baron (Griem). But Sally's insular, carefree, tolerant and fragile cabaret world is about to be crushed under the boot of the Nazis as Berlin becomes a trap from which Sally's German friends will not escape.

Special Features:
·  Commentary by Stephen Tropiano
·  Cabaret: The Musical That Changed Musicals New Featurette!
·  Cabaret: A Legend in the Making    
·  The Recreation of an Era
·  Marisa's Close-up Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Liza Minnelli Remembers...
·  Sally's Look Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Liza Minnelli Remembers...
·  Observing the Master Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Liza Minnelli Remembers...
·  Challenges Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Joel Grey Reminisces...
·  Collective Memory Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Joel Grey Reminisces...
·  Strange Inspiration Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Joel Grey Reminisces...
·  A Called Bluff Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Michael York Remembers...
·  Risk Taking Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Michael York Remembers...
·  Rush(es) Hour Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Michael York Remembers...
·  A Happy Accident Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Michael York Remembers...
·  Rock 'N' Roll Editing Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Martin Baum Reminisces...
·  Isherwood's Surprise Reaction Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Martin Baum Reminisces...
·  Smithsonian Honor Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Martin Baum Reminisces...
·  Tomorrow Belongs to Me Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Cy Feuer Remembers...
·  Taking on 'The Godfather' Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Emanuel L.Wolf Reminisces...
·  Timeless Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Emanuel L. Wolf Reminisces...
·  Playing 'What If?’ Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery; John Kander Remembers...
·  Almost a Nervous Breakdown Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: John Kander Remembers...
·  Sneaking a Peek Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: John Kander Remembers...
·  Play vs. Book Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Jay Presson Allen Reminisces...
·  Recruiting Hugh Wheeler Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Jay Presson Allen Reminisces...
·  Screening Blues Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Fred Ebb Remembers...
·  Screening Hues Kit Kat Klub Memory Gallery: Fred Ebb Remembers...
·  Theatrical Trailer

Academy Awards® Wins (1972, 45th)
Actor in a Supporting Role – Joel Grey "The Master of Ceremonies"
Actress in a Leading Role – Liza Minnelli "Sally Bowles"
Art Direction – Art Direction: Rolf Zehetbauer, Jurgen Kiebach; Set Decoration: Herbert Strabel
Cinematography – Geoffrey Unsworth
Directing – Bob Fosse
Film Editing – David Bretherton
Music (Scoring: Adaptation and Original Song Score) – Adaptation Score by Ralph Burns
Sound – Robert Knudson, David Hildyard

Updated video | Sally Field receives HRC Ally for Equality Award from her gay son Samuel Greisman

From HRC:

Actress Sally Field speaks at HRC's 16th Annual National Dinner and explains why she loves and supports her gay son Samuel Greisman.

Get involved and join the conversation at: http://www.HRC.org