Before Jason Collins

Before Jason Collins
The world is throwing a parade for Jason Collins, the 7-foot free-agent NBA center who came out last month. He was hugged by Oprah, celebrated by “Good Morning America,” and congratulated by President Obama.

But nobody seems to remember baseball’s Glenn Burke, who tried to come out nearly 40 years ago and was stuffed back in.

“How’s Jason Collins going to talk about being the first?” says Burke’s agent, Abdul-Jalil al-Hakim. “Glenn Burke was the first. And he wasn’t any free agent, either. He was in the lineup.”

Glenn Burke was a barrel-chested jokester, a singing, dancing, one-man cabaret. His teammates called him King Kong. In high school, the 6-foot Burke could dunk two basketballs at once, in street shoes. He roamed center field for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Oakland A’s in the late 1970s.

Burke was the pulse of the clubhouse. He wore a red jock. He’d jump in the backs of pink Rolls-Royces after games. He invented the high-five (with Dusty Baker). Oh, yes, he did.

He was as out as an athlete could be in the mid-1970s. It wasn’t that he was flaunting it. It was that he couldn’t keep it in.

“When we’d land at airports,” remembers Davey Lopes, the Dodgers’ second baseman. “There’d always be guys waiting for Glenn. We’d go our way and he’d go off on his merry way. We’d go to clubs and women would hand him their numbers. But he’d never call ’em. Didn’t matter to us. We loved him.”

In the famous 1977 Dodgers-Yankees World Series — starring Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, Steve Garvey, and Ron Cey — only one rookie cracked either starting lineup: Glenn Burke.

“Nobody tripped that he was gay,” says Burke’s longtime pal, Doug Harris, who produced the documentary “Out” about Burke in 2010. “The people who tripped off it were the Dodgers [management]. They didn’t want to talk about it. He was trying to tell the reporters, but they said they couldn’t write that stuff.”

Entertainment Jobs Oct.-Nov. 2011

There are some good entertainment industry job listings below and on the “Casting Page” with Executive jobs in Sports and Entertainment with casting calls, auditions, and internships on the front page at http://eX-whY.com!
We have a HipHop Ad Agency specializing in advertising, strategic planning, promotions and marketing targeting the hard to reach, but extremely lucrative, X-Y and Baby Boomer generations urban and suburban markets using Hip Hop culture, it’s sound, it’s fashion, it’s speak, it’s bravado, it’s image, it’s way, as the vehicle. We have registered the services of Hip Hop, Rap and RB’s elite artists, producers, directors, writers, choreographers, dancers, graff artist, B-boys, photographers, actors, models, and professional athletes to participate in this ¿eX-whY AdVentures?. We are producing commercial ads from concept, to creation, to production, to placement in media, – the entire process-, while owning our product!!!
We custom design, write, direct, produce, perform and provide all talent for the motion picture or television project, stage play, entertainment event, commercial ads, film trailers, soundtracks, the jingle, voice overs, and all promotions associated with the product.
We are developing jobs for actors, producers, directors, casting directors, and writers in the entertainment, commercial advertisement, stage, film and television fields.
To that end , our management agency would like you to provide us with a list of your castings calls that might fit this description for consideration in placement for jobs that you have.
We would be interested in any roles for anyone of our 10,000 Professional Athletes, Entertainers, Celebrity, Musicians, and Actors direct email recipients; our over 270,000 list members; and our over 21 million total readers of the publications we submit to.
As you can tell from our roster of talent, our Casting Division has a unique advantage in all forms of casting. With the growing popularity of ‘film and music video-style’ products, we have found that directors and producers value our ability to call in seasoned, serious talent from the film and television industries to add depth and quality to performances in stage, film, television and commercials.
More than two decades of feature film, television and commercial casting experience has provided us with strong relationships with agents, managers and talent which helps us to find the necessary talent to create innovative, creative and one-of-a-kind artistic product.
We can send Photos, Bios, videos, Comp Cards, CV with samples of work and salary requirements, where necessary. We are members of the Casting Society of America (C.S.A.), Independent Film Producers (I.F.P.), Screen Actors Guild (S.A.G.), and Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) to list a few.
There are some good entertainment industry job listings on the “Casting Page” with Executive jobs in Sports and Entertainment with casting calls, auditions, and internships on the front page at http://eX-whY.com!

SUPERSTARS ENTERTAINMENT and SPORTS NETWORK

SUPERSTARS ENTERTAINMENT and SPORTS NETWORK has over 270,000 subscriber/members with a reach of over 21 million readers! The Network offers FREE advice and help with your sports or entertainment career, FREE Casting calls for TV shows, films, and stage, Invites to Red Carpet and Celebrity A-List Events, FREE notices of Sports and Entertainment jobs, FREE tickets to concerts, films, sporting events, symphony, amusement, and entertainment events, To be part of a Professional Network that provides what YOU need to advance YOUR career. Receive FREE Information and Opportunities for Entertainers and Professional Athlete Representation, Entertainment and Sports Marketing and Business Management in all areas of sports, music and entertainment matters for professional athletes in Entertainment, Motion Picture, Television, Stage, Radio, and Record contracts, Casting opportunities, product endorsements, commercial ads, corporate sponsorships, personal appearances, acting, event production, job placement, branding, funding support, training, event planning and promotion, film and TV production, recording, publishing, concert promotion, talent management, and merchandising. Selling of sports, television, radio, motion picture, and advertising products as well as multimedia, music recording and literary publishing. Subscribe to Superstars Network here. To learn more go to the “SUPERSTARS ENTERTAINMENT and SPORTS NETWORK” page on Superstarmanagement.com.

Entertainment Jobs

SUPERSTAR MANAGEMENT 7633 Sunkist Drive, Oakland CA  94605-3032 (510) 394-4501,  Fax (510) 638-8889 https://www.Superstarmanagement.com https://www.Ex-Why.com https://amwftrust.org/ Abdul-Jalil’s Profile Ziggs Profile of Abdul-Jalil Linked In Profile on Abdul-Jalil Abdul-Jalil on Twitter Abdul-Jalil on FaceBook AIM, Video Chat Screen Name:  jalil@superstarmanagement.com Skype Video Chat Screen Contact Name: Superstarmanagement Portrait of Abdul-Jalil by Artist Buford Delaney in Paris, …
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