Woe of the Fanilows!
Superstar’s shattered female devotees in tears after singer, 71, weds male manager
OVER the years there have been whispers that Barry Manilow wasn’t quite the ladies’ man that his legions of female fans believed he was.
Now those rumours appear to have been confirmed after it was revealed the 71-yearold has married a man – and his devotees, known as the Fanilows, are inconsolable.
The star, whose hits include Mandy, Copacabana and Can’t Smile Without You, tied the knot with his long-time manager Garry Kief, 66, in a secret ceremony last year.
It seems the couple’s 50 guests were taken by surprise as much as his fans, having only been told they had been invited to lunch at Manilow’s mansion in Palm Springs, California. The couple exchanged rings but there was reportedly no paperwork to formalise the marriage for fear that the details would leak.
Insiders said Manilow had been intensely secretive about the wedding because he was scared of the fans’ adverse reaction on learning he is gay.
Indeed the reception on social media yesterday was predictable, while others joked that Mandy, Manilow’s famous ode to a lover, should have been called Andy.
One Twitter user sympathised, writing: ‘Taking a minute’s silence for Barry Manilow’s female fans.’ A fan wrote: ‘Barry Manilow – GUTTED’, while another Twitter user said: ‘My mum can’t stop crying about Barry.’
One fan commenting on Manilow’s official website remained in a state of denial, writing: ‘Barry would not marry a man and that is definite he loves ladies.’
Manilow, who has sold 80million records worldwide, has not commented on the news. However, a source close to the singer told People magazine that he and Mr Kief ‘are committed to one another and have been for a very long time’. The insider said: ‘They have a great relationship. Garry has always been there for Barry.
‘He’s at a point now where he’s got his career and personal life in a great place and he really doesn’t care what people think. He’s in love and happy.’ Mr Kief himself hinted the reports were true, writing on Twitter: ‘ LOL [ laugh out loud] ... so how was YOUR day?’
According to reports, the couple have been together for more than 30 years.
Mr Kief has been president of Barry Manilow Productions since 1981 but also makes TV reality shows such as Taxidermy USA and Extreme Cougar Wives. The National Enquirer claimed he was once married to a woman with whom he has a daughter.
Manilow has also been married once before, to his high school girlfriend Susan Deixler in 1964 when he was 21. However, it lasted little more than a year before they filed for divorce.
He was also reported to have had a 20-year relationship with TV producer Linda Allen before they split up in the early 1980s.
Lorna Luft, Judy Garland’s daughter and a close friend, claimed she and the singer had been lovers.
And in the late 80s he was reportedly engaged to a former female porn star, Robin Byrd, but Manilow insisted they were just good friends. Manilow has always refused to confirm or deny that he is gay.
‘My mum can’t
stop crying’