Mar 5
Watch: Bruce Vilanch Says He Keeps Being Mistaken for Travis Kelce's Mom
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Out funnyman Bruce Vilanch made it a point to let America know that he's not, in fact, the mother of Kansas City Chiefs tight end (and Taylor Swift squeeze) Travis Kelce.
Known for his four years appearing on "Hollywood Squares" (where he was also head writer), his off-Broadway one-man show, "Bruce Vilanch: Almost Famous," and acting roles in cult classics such as "Ice Pirates," Vilanch, 76, made a guest appearance on "The View" on March 4. Whoopie Goldberg introduced him as a longtime writer for the Oscar awards broadcasts, for which the comic – famed for his novelty T-shirts, frizzy blond mop, and eyeglasses with brightly colored frames – won two Emmys.
Vilanch was on the show to promote his new memoir, "It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time: The Worst TV Shows in History and Other Things I Wrote." The book relates, in a series of breezy anecdotes, Vilanch's behind-the-scenes (and sometimes in front of the camera) roles in infamous misfires like 1980's disco catastrophe "Can't Stop the Music," the short-lived (and frankly bewildering) "The Brady Bunch Hour" from 1976, and, perhaps most notoriously, 1978's "The Star Wars Holiday Special."
But Vilanch had no sooner been introduced than he revealed an even more amusing role: that of ersatz Donna Kelce.
"I would just like to say for you football fans out there: I am not Travis Kelce's mother," said Vilanch, who was clad in a hot pink T-shirt emblazoned with the words EYE CANDY.
As he spoke, a photo of Donna Kelce appeared on the left side of the screen, giving viewers a side-by-side view of the two personalities. Donna Kelce's blonde hair and red-rimmed eyeglasses – a calmer shade than the vermilion eyewear Vilanch sported – served as a visual explanation for how the two might be confused, especially from a distance.
As the audience roared with laughter, Vilanch paused and then made a "look at me" gesture. "The resemblance is alarming, I will give you," Vilanch said. "People call me and say, 'Dude! At the Superbowl, what are you doing in a box with Taylor?' And I looked, and I thought: Yeah."
Brushing fingertips through his blond hair, Vilanch added: "We are each others' doppelgänger, so Donna..." He then put his hand up to his ear in a "call me" gesture.
The new book is a who's who of Hollywood's actors, producers, and writers, people Vilanch has worked with – and nearly worked with – over the course of his decades-spanning career. Recollections involving Paul Lynde, Charo, Alan Carr, Florence Henderson, Henny Youngman, and more spill from its pages, while the ones that got away – Cher, Christopher Reeve – also make an impression.
Could Kelce, his mother, and even Taylor turn up in an addendum?
Watch Bruce Vilanch's appearance on "The View" below.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
