A Zebra Mystery Puzzler #24 - The Sandcastle Murder

It has been sixteen books since we last saw aspiring actress Marilyn Ambers in a Zebra Mystery Puzzler, but book 24 sees the return of this amateur sleuth in the second mystery written by Elizabeth St. Clair, otherwise known as Susan Lois Handler-Cohen. This book marks the second of three books Handler-Cohen has in this series, and just like the first one (Murder in the Act), she offers up more suspects than one person can possibly keep track of!  And, just like the first one, it kept me guessing right up until that final chapter, and the big reveal turned out to be quite a surprise; not at all what I was expecting!

 

The Sandcastle Murder takes Marilyn and her friend Serena (who is also an actress) from Hollywood where they just finished their small parts in a film to the other side of the country for a relaxing vacation in Nantucket - at the Sandcastle Hotel (which is the "Sandcastle" referred to in the title - and here I thought it was going to be an actual sandcastle on the beach!).  It seems they are not the only ones with that same idea, as the VERY famous actress, Peggy de Beers, is also at the resort with her husband, Jack de Beers ... as well as a large number of her followers:  Hector and Florence Dorchester, owners of an art gallery in New York; Roy Andrews, an extremely over-confident and self-absorbed theater actor; Tom and Monica Cannon, a couple whose marriage is on the rocks because of Tom's affair with Peggy; and Eliot Foster, a life-long friend of Peggy's who knows everything about her.  Rounding out the rather large cast are Chuck Johnson, a drifter who has anchored his boat just off the island and shows an uncanny interest in the de Beers; Mrs. Hill, who is managing the Hotel while the owner is away, doing her best to keep all of the drama from escalating; Jimmy, the young bartender who seems to stay in the background and out of the limelight; and the late arrivals, Dr. and Mrs. Mathews, whose appearance at the hotel seems to have a very adverse affect on Peggy de Beers.

 

Marilyn becomes intrigued with the drama unfolding before her, since it seems that most, if not all, of the cast have some connection with Peggy de Beers.  Which, of course, makes it all the more difficult when the beautiful, but aging, actress is found dead on the beach.  It is assumed by everyone she drowned, having walked out into a dangerously foggy night and failed to see the incoming tide.  But Marilyn knows otherwise, and she sets about, with Serena's help, to unmask the killer.  As with any good murder mystery, all of the characters have secrets, and it is up to Marilyn to ferret them out, sift through them all, and figure out which ones point to the actual murderer.  There are certainly no short supply of motives, as it seems everyone had a reason to want the demanding actress dead.  The affairs, the lies, the betrayals, the threats, the hidden agendas - all the good makings of a great soap opera!  Handler-Cohen (St. Clair) can definitely write a super whodunnit, as my guess as to the killer's identity kept changing with each chapter I read.  At one point, I even had to wonder if Marilyn's friend Serena was in on the plot to kill the actress (and I'm not saying she isn't, but I'm not saying she is either...).

 

The cover art is provided by Bruce Emmett, who has provided the cover art for a number of the Zebra Mystery Puzzlers (books 6, 10, 11, 14, and 16).  The scene depicts the moment when Marilyn joins the crowd of people surrounding the body of Peggy de Beers on the beach.  The clue on the cover, as well as those in the internal illustrations, are very subtle and are not really clear until near the end, when Peggy de Beer's past is revealed and the identity and motive of the killer are made known.  Unfortunately, none of the internal illustrations are signed, so I have no way of knowing who provided the art for those; however, the first one bears a slight resemblance to the art of Paul Frame, who did a number of children's series back in the day (Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew, to name a couple).  However, none of the other internals resemble his work, so it is unlikely Frame provided the art for the interiors.  (One thing I did find odd is that the first illustration has a name plate for Mrs. Hill, but the lettering on the name plate is backwards, making me think the publisher reversed the image when it was printed, not realizing the lettering would be backwards!)

I am definitely enjoying the Marilyn Ambers mysteries, and it's a shame that there is only one left to read in this series.  I suppose I will have to track down the remaining Gothic books Handler-Cohen wrote (as St. Clair), so I can enjoy more of her writing!

 

This book, as with the previous three, has the misprints on the front listing and the order form in the back, with the titles for books 21 and 22 switched on the front list and book 28 incorrectly listed as book 25 on the order form (bumping books 25, 26, and 27 into the incorrect 26, 27, and 28 spots).  I can only assume that since these four books were published simultaneously, that is why the same misprint appears in all four books.  Unfortunately, glancing ahead, it seems the misprints continue into the next four books... 

 

RATING:  10 exotic colorful shells out of 10 for crafting another superbly-plotted mystery that is neither obvious nor unsolvable - all the clues are there if you just know how to look for them! 

 

Love in the Afternoon - the wild novel of a soap opera superstar!

Sometimes you come across some of the best books when you are not really looking for them.  Such is the case with this book.  I was combing through the paperbacks at the Family Bookstore in DeLand, when, as I reached the end of the section, my eyes glanced over the title to this book and had to take a second look.  The slogan "Love in the Afternoon" was used by ABC to market its soap operas for a decade, from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s - advertisements with a catchy theme, giving clips of the various soap operas in ABC's line-up - Ryan's Hope, Edge of Night, All My Children, One Life to Life, and General Hospital.  (It should be noted that NBC had used that same slogan to market their soaps in 1974, but gave up on it rather quickly, which is when ABC decided to take the banner for their channel.)  Because of this, the phrase "Love in the Afternoon" pretty much became synonymous with soap operas.  So, when I caught the title to this book, I figured it would have to be about soaps - and sure enough, it was!  Therefore, I shelled out the couple of bucks and bought it.

 

Love in the Afternoon gives two taglines on its cover: "Daytime TV will never be the same!" and "The wild, brilliantly hilarious novel of the on- and off-camera lives and loves of a soap-opera superstar."  Written by Ed Zimmermann, the book was originally published in hardcover in 1971, and the Pocket Books paperback came out two years later - and both came out before either NBC or ABC ever began their ad campaigns using that slogan!  Leads one to wonder if this book may have prompted the use of the phrase by NBC and ABC.  In any event, it turns out Ed Zimmermann, the author, was actually a soap opera actor himself, having played the role of Dr. Joseph Werner (the second actor to play the role) on the CBS soap, Guiding Light from 1967 to 1972.  He was only 39 years old when he died of a heart attack on July 6, 1972 (just a year after this book was first published).  He was also a stage actor, and he was in Ogunquit, Maine auditioning for a part in "Who Killed Santa Claus?" when he died.  He only authored this one book.  A huge Guiding Light fan, on her blog, indicates this book is based upon the behind the scenes experiences of Zimmermann while working on the soap.

 

The book tells the story of actor Steven Prince (which, to me, feels like a cross between Steve Trevor and Diana Prince from the Wonder Woman comics!), who takes a role on a television daytime drama, playing Dr. Harlan Cross on a soap opera that centers around Pinewood Hospital.  After acting on Broadway, making the transition from stage to the small screen is quite an experience for Prince.  For an actor used to months of rehearsals to a show where you get only hours of rehearsals before filming live - one can't even begin to imagine; however, Zimmermann does his best to provide the reader with just how much stress that can cause an actor new to daytime TV.  From being handed the first script, to meeting his co-workers, to learning where everything is in the production building - it is basically like being thrown into the water and being told, "Go ahead, now, and swim!" He even provides a schedule that Prince is given his first day on the set (from page 24):

8:00 - 10:00 - Dry for Blocking (First Rehearsal)

8:00 - 10:00 - Makeuip and Costume

10:00 - 10:30 - No Fax (Blocking on Set with No Cameras)

10:30 - 11:00 - Camera Conference

11:00 -12:00 - Fax 1 (Blocking with Cameras and Boom)

12:00 - 1:00 - Break

1:00 - 1:30 - Fax 2 (Run Through)

1:30 - 2:00 - Break and Film Check

2:00 - 2:30 - Dress

2:30 - 3:00 - Break

3:00 - AIR

I look at that schedule and realize just how tight it really is and how little time the actors have to get it right.  I've heard actors from Dark Shadows talk about how fast-paced daytime television is, and their experiences pretty much line up with what Zimmermann shares here.  It's evident he took his own experiences on the set of Guiding Light and integrated them into this story.  With frazzled nerves, Prince manages to make it through his first day, and as the days turn into weeks, he begins to enjoy playing the villain everyone loves to hate.  And his interaction with the cast is bound to have come from his real-life interactions - some actors who are laid back; others who demand attention; still others who rarely know their lines to those who make everyone else's life a disaster.   There is even the behind the scene attempts to seduce co-stars - thankfully, though, Zimmermann keeps his main character faithful to his real-life wife, for which I was happy to see.

 

One of the interesting tidbits I enjoyed in the book was how fans of Prince's on-screen character, Harlan Cross, could not see to separate the actor from his role.  Even his own mother was questioning his motives on the show, and Prince eventually gives up trying to convince her that he is not the character.  I have heard actors talk about these types of scenarios before (at General Hospital fan fests, several actors have talked about being berated by fans for the actions of their characters, as if they were the actual character), so reading about it in this book was not really much of a surprise. It makes me wonder if Zimmermann faced this same problem with his role on Guiding Light.  

 

Then there is the change in writers, which brings about major changes in the show - and for Prince, this results in his bad-boy doctor being redeemed and turned into a caring man searching for a real relationship, rather than breaking up all those around him.  Prince is not happy about the shift, but since it is his job, he must work with it.  Oh, and I loved the way the production had to accommodate Prince when he accidentally fractures his ankle - so they have to create work-arounds for all of his scenes.  The operating table is lowered so he can film the scene sitting down (but the cameras are angled to make it appear everyone is standing), and a body double is used when "Harlan" has to break down a door and rush into a room.  I can't tell you how many times I've seen actors in soaps with casts or crutches because they have injured themselves in real life, so the writers have to write that injury into the show somehow.  So, again, reading about this scenario feels like par for the course for a soap opera.

 

From what I have been able to gather online, the book apparently has a number of parallels with the Guiding Light, when it comes to characters and situations.  Having never watched that show, I cannot confirm such likenesses; however, I can say that much of what takes place behind the scenes in this story lines up with many stories I have heard from soap opera actors over the years.  I think it great that Zimmermann took his experiences and turned it into a comical story for fans to read.

 

One final observation is the opening paragraph to Chapter Eight.  Zimmermann discusses how soap opera writers have fun with time - "moulding it and stretching it and playing with it as if it were so much silly putty" (p. 156).  An entire season can pass by in just a few days, or weeks can be stretched out into months.  And yet, despite this stretching and contracting of time, all of the holidays still manage to show up at the correct time!  My friends and I have all made this observation about soap operas for years!  Passions, which ran on NBC from 1999 to 2007, was very bad about this.  One day on that show would sometimes last more than a month!  Thus, it was definitely appropriate for Zimmermann to make mention of this in the book, since any real soap fan would recognize this as a reality of daytime television!

 

Interestingly, the copyright page actually gives credit to the cover artist (which so few books from this era ever did!).  Lou Marchetti was well-known for his cover art for paperback books, but he also provided art for movie posters and magazines, such as Galaxy and Reader's Digest.  The cover gives us a scene with Prince and a fellow actress on what appears to be a crimson bedspread, with plenty of cameras and lights surrounding them.  More information can be found about Marchetti at the website run by his daughter, Louise (The Life and Art of Lou Marchetti).

 

While not exactly "brilliantly hilarious" as advertised on the cover, I would say the book does have some laughs and is a pretty good read - especially for anyone who enjoys soap operas!

 

RATING: 8 ankle-crunching slides into home plate out of 10 for a somewhat satirical look into what goes on behind the scenes of your favorite daytime drama! 

A Zebra Mystery Puzzler #8 - Murder in the Act

The eighth Zebra Mystery Puzzler brings us another new author into the series.  Elizabeth St. Clair is yet another pseudonym, but surprisingly, this time it is not for a male author.  St. Clair is actually a pen name used by Susan Lois Handler-Cohen, who utilized the name for eleven Gothic romances and mysteries (including three in the Zebra Mystery Puzzler line).  And she offers up a wonderful mystery with more suspects than you can shake a stick at - in fact, I think this is the first Puzzler that I was not able to figure out the identity of the killer before reaching that sealed final chapter!

Murder in the Act features an actress turned director turned amateur sleuth by the name of Marilyn Ambers.  Not gonna lie here, when I first saw that name, my mind automatically thought of a certain "actress" by the name of Marilyn Chambers (if you know, you know).  Not sure if St. Clair (Handler-Cohen) actually pulled the name from that actress, but considering Chambers' notoriety after that film of hers debuted in 1972, it would not surprise me if the author saw that name in the headlines and simply altered a bit for her main character here.  In any event, Marilyn Ambers, in this book, is an actress who is ting her hand at directing for the first time in a small town dinner theater.  The show is being financed by Silas Bishop, a rather wealthy businessman whose wife also happens to be in the starring role of the play.  But Bishop is a rather unlikable man, and every person in the cast has a distaste for him.  So, when Marilyn discovers him dead behind his desk at his cottage, she has no shortage of suspects from which to choose!

Handler-Cohen (a/k/a St. Clair) offers up a superb mystery that, quite frankly, kept me guessing up until that very last chapter, and even then, I didn't have it figured out.  She gives readers plenty of suspects, all of whom have good motives and opportunity, and just like Marilyn, it's almost impossible to narrow it down.  And I give Handler-Cohen credit for truly misleading the reader, as there some very subtle clues that come into play along the way that lead you to believe one particular character is pretending to be someone he is not, and that he is the killer, but the author pulls another twist, which left me quite surprised, but thoroughly pleased.  It's always a joy to read a mystery where the killer does not become obvious within the first few chapters, and it's even more exciting when the killer's identity remains a secret until the very end reveal!  Such is the case with this book.

Dalton Perez is the self-absorbed actor who thinks he is God's gift to the theater world.  Sally Bishop is the producer's wife who lacks talent and appears to be having an affair with Dalton.  Randolph Rivers is an aging actor, always on the brink of failure, who desperately needs this play to be a success.  Vana MacIntyre is an actress whose career is just starting, but who got the part solely because Marilyn did not want her in the play and Silas forced her to take her on just to remind everyone who was financing the show.  Peter Dennis only has eyes for Vana, and he will do anything to protect her.  Richard Riordan is a professor of drama at Yale who only acts part time simply for the fun of it, and he quickly becomes Marilyn's friend and confidant.  Then there is Evelyn Blake, who has been Bishop's personal secretary for the past twenty years and who has a few secrets of her own.  And poor Ed Simpson, who is the chief of police for this small town, bounces from one suspect to the next, although in his eyes, Perez makes the perfect killer - after all, it was one of Perez's handkerchiefs that was found at the crime scene.  Marilyn is not so sure, since Bishop was found clutching one of the programs for the upcoming play, The Executive Secretary, which has the word "secretary" circled.  This would point to either Bishop's wife (who plays the secretary in the play) or Evelyn Blake, who was his actual secretary.  But, as Marilyn eventually learns, one word can have more than one meaning...

No clue as to who provided the cover art for this book, but the interior art was provided once again by Luke Ryan (who signed his name to the last internal illustration).  I believe this is the third or fourth Zebra Mystery Puzzler that boasts his interiors.  He provides beautiful pencil drawings, and it is always fun to carefully comb over each illustration to figure out exactly what clue each one contains.  After all, as the cover says, it's up to the reader to find the clues in the story, one the cover, and in the illustrations - before you cut open the final, sealed chapter!  And it is somewhat amusing, because the final illustration actually has a key that someone is holding, and the key represents a "key" clue that will help the reader (and Marilyn!) confirm or eliminate at least one suspect.  I thought this was a fun visual "pun."

Handler-Cohen (St. Clair) does give readers an exciting payoff for the conclusion to the mystery, as Marilyn faces off against the killer in the very same place where she found Bishop's body. And once the killer's identity is revealed, certain moments in the story suddenly come together and make a lot of sense - which shows some excellent writing, as this person is actually presented as one of the least likely of suspects, if not the most unlikely of all the suspects.  But it works, although the motive is not something that the reader could pick up on throughout the story, as that revelation is completely out of the blue.  That's okay, though, because the writing is riveting, that climactic confrontation is well worth the wait!

Thankfully, Handler-Cohen wrote a few more Zebra Mystery Puzzlers in this series, so I know we'll get to see Marilyn Ambers pop up again to solve another murder or two before the series ends.

RATING:  9 loudly quacking birds eating bread crumbs out of 10 for an exciting, engaging, and expertly-plotted murder mystery that should definitely not be missed!

Young, Gay & Restless - the Scandalous On-Screen & Off-Screen Sexual Liberations of Soap Star Thom Bierdz

Young, Gay & Restless
by Thom Bierdz
Publisher: Thom Bierdz Inc.
Publication Date (November 2018)
ASIN: B07HTRGMZC
398 pages of story

Let me start off by saying that I don't read non-fiction. I get enough reality in my life that I don't want to read about it in my books (I think I read enough non-fiction in 12 years of schooling and 8 more years of college). On top of that, I don't read biographies or autobiographies because I tend to see them (particularly autobiographies) as nothing more than publicity for the celebrity who is writing it or who it is written about. The books never truly delve into the subject's psyche or hidden/secret thoughts, feelings, dreams, wishes, and desires. They are normally superficial and give only what the subject wishes people to know. So, when a friend suggested this book to me, I was hesitant. Yet, the idea that a soap star (and I'll unashamedly admit I have loved my soap operas through the years - starting with General Hospital, then Dark Shadows, All My Children, One Life to Life, Santa Barbara, Passions, and even Loving when it was first on the air) was going to write about his so-called scandalous "sexual liberations" - well, I was intrigued.

So, I did some searching online to find out exactly what this book was about. WHOA! The descriptions I found, not just about the book, but about Bierdz and his life and what he has gone through - well, it was enough to convince me to buy the book. And while I have a shelf of more than 70 books that I still need to read at this point, Young, Gay & Restless moved up to the top of the stack. There were certain elements that I was curious about, as some of the content opened up some questions and thoughts about my own life...

WARNING!!  This book contains graphic and honest descriptions of Thom Bierdz' search for sexual identity, independence, and validation through the years, and it is explicit.  While my discussion and review below will not be anywhere near as explicit, in order to give an honest and thorough review, there may be some discussion on topics that may make people feel uncomfortable (even though it shouldn't, as you'll see in part of my review.....)

There are so many words that could be used to describe this book. Honest. Surprising. Open. Revealing. Humorous. Heartbreaking. Shocking. Explicit. Brave. Real. Blunt. Touching. And I could go on with just about every adjective in the dictionary. This book is not at all what I expected, and way more than I could have possibly anticipated.  I expected, based on descriptions I had read, that Bierdz would talk about his sex life in this book - but this is way, WAY more than that.

This book is a memoir. Bierdz looks back at his life, from his time as a child, the separation of his parents, his desire to become a famous actor, his jaunt to Hollywood to pursue his dreams, his acting gigs that lead to a role on Young and the Restless, the numerous jobs he took to survive for the years after he left the show until he returned, his search for love and acceptance, his art, and his ultimate move to Arrowhead for solitude and self-contentment.

This book is also a story of loss and tragedy.  The death of his mother at the hands of his own brother.  The search for way to heal and forgive his brother.  The suicide of his other brother.  The friends and lovers who have come and gone.

But above all of that, this book is about exactly what it says on the front cover - sexual liberation.  Bierdz grew up being taught that sex was naughty, that his penis was private and naughty, and basically taught to repress those feelings of sexual desires for others.  Growing up in church, becoming a Christian at an early age, I was taught the same.  And for a gay man, that creates such confusion, which Bierdz addresses in his opening chapters.  As a child, pre-teen, and even early teen, I didn't necessarily realize that my attraction for boys was what was called "gay." But when I became old enough to realize what it meant, I had already been taught and indoctrinated with the belief that gay + sex = evil/bad/wrong. So reading this book where another man not only shares his experiences, but also his insecurities, his fears, his thoughts, his feelings, his explorations, his discoveries, and his sexual encounters with absolutely no holding back - particularly when that man is a Hollywood star (and let's face it - most of us have this unspoken belief that Hollywood stars don't really have dirty thoughts or look at others with sexual desires or get instant erections at the most inopportune times because we are dreaming about someone) - well, it opened my mind to the fact that maybe those feelings and thoughts and desires I had growing up aren't necessarily so uncommon or odd or perverse as I first thought. I mean, really? If a Hollywood star had these same thoughts and feelings, how many others out there have had them and are just to afraid to admit it?

Let's take masturbation, for instance.  Unless the term is being used in a joke, it is something that men (particularly straight men) are very, VERY uncomfortable talking about, and almost no one will ever admit they do it.  Despite the fact that nearly all men do it, no one wants to admit to it.  Why?  Because society has deemed it as "unmentionable." As something that is not normal or good.  Why?  What is inherently bad about it?  I'm not saying it should be done out in public, but why are people so afraid to mention it, let alone talk about it?  Bierdz has no problem talking about it.  He not only admits to it, but he talks about how often and even how he has done it at times.  Did I find it uncomfortable reading about it?  No.  Did I find it a sexual turn on reading about it?  Honestly, no.  Because it was not written to be a turn on.  It was written as an admission, as a release (so to speak) to everyone that it is natural and not something to be feared, hated, or frowned upon.

And what about the penis?  The male genitalia?  That is something that has been taboo, more so in America that anywhere else, for so long.  We see ads with scantily clad women constantly.  We see women baring their breasts and more in movies all the time.  Breasts are even acceptable in PG rated movies any more. But a man's penis?  No way!  As a society we are uncomfortable with it.  Why?  Because we are taught from an early age (as Bierdz was, as I was, and as I am sure many of you were) that the penis is a naughty thing and should be hidden away.  But why?  It is just another part of the body - skin and tissue and blood vessels.  Bierdz does not shy away from talking about this in his book.  From his own manhood to the joys (and not so much joys) he has experienced through the years with other men's manhoods (menhood?  LOL).  Again, none of his discussions about this made me feel uncomfortable or weird; rather, it actually made me feel relaxed and normal about it, and about my own body for the first time in God knows how long.  I am certainly not the Adonis that Bierdz is - a long way from that, in fact! - but Bierdz, throughout the book, admits numerous times to his own self-consciousness about his body not being what he wanted it to be.  We, as fans and viewers of Y&R, see this actor and think, "Man, I wish I had HIS body!" And yet, here he is admitting that he has had issues with his body for years, not liking what it looked like, comparing it to others, and wishing he had their bodies.  Fame and popularity?  Clearly it doesn't make a man any different than the rest of us!

And one thing I should point out is the style in which the book is written.  It is not formal and stiff (again, no pun intended); rather, it is very conversational in tone and format.  It is not linear, jumping back and forth between the past and present, depending on the particular topic being discussed. It sometimes hops off on rabbit trails while talking about one subject, then jumping over to another that is not necessarily related, but is of importance to the general topic.  Quite honestly, the book read like a discussion.  I could almost feel myself sitting with Bierdz, listening as he talked about these different aspects of his life, his sexual adventures, his time spent "in the closet," his fear of being outed and losing his career in Hollywood, his freedom and release in Arrowhead, CA, his friends and neighbors, his family, his art, his dogs.  It makes the book easy to read and definitely brings emotions to the surface as you listen to his story.  (When I read the part of the book where Bierdz talks about his mother's death, and how he prayed for so long to hear his mother again, to have her speak to him, to reach out to him - it brought up my own sense of loss at my mother's passing - she died in December 2017 - and how over the past year, I have longed to see her, to hear her, to hug her, to have her reach out to me. I have no problem admitting that I cried as I read those pages, as I would not wish that type of longing and loss on anyone, and my heart went out to Bierdz having to go through that.)

For me to really go into everything this book has to offer, it would probably take me a month to write.  Bierdz offers so much in this tell-all book - and I do mean, tell ALL!  There is nothing he holds back (so much so that he admits even his father did not want to read the book), and in so doing - in sharing his life experiences, his dreams, wants, desires, disappointments, losses, regrets, guilt, fear, and everything else - Bierdz managed to make this reader feel normal.  After reading this book, I realized that my own desires, dreams, fears, regrets, guilt, and everything else are not any less "normal" than anyone else's.  They may not be the same, they may not necessarily agree with or compare with others, but that doesn't make then any less real, nor does it make them any less valid or any less important.  What it makes them is mine.  Just like yours are yours, Bierds' are his, and everyone else's is theirs.  None of them should make us ashamed, nor should we let anyone make us ashamed of them.  Own them, live them, embrace them - they are what makes us who we are.

And for that, Thom Bierdz, thank you.  Straight or gay, I would highly recommend this book to just about anyone, as I think it speaks volumes to who we are as individuals, as humans, as men, as gay men, as a society.  Some may disagree with my assessments and thoughts on the book, and you know what?  That's okay - I honestly believe that different readers will likely get different things from reading this book - which, to me, proves just what a success this book truly is.

RATING:  10 Phillip Chancellor III coming out stories out of 10 for daring to go where no one has gone before and to share the unedited, unabashed, blunt truth of a celebrity's life, bared naked for all to see (literally!).