For Barry Manilow, it all started when he decided to chase his dream of being in the entertainment industry. His love for music began when his mom, Edna, and his stepfather, Willie Murphy, bought him a piano for $800, which took them five years to pay off. It was a good investment, as Barry went on to build a long and successful career in music.
Before going to the New York College of Music, Barry went to City College of New York. Later, he studied musical theater at the Juilliard School and worked as a log clerk at CBS.
At that time, Barry fell in love with Susan Deixler, his high-school sweetheart, and married her when he was just 21. The marriage lasted about two years because Barry felt he wasn’t ready to settle down and was too busy with his music. “I wasn’t ready for marriage; I was out making music every night and too young to settle down,” he said.
For years, before his big break, Barry wrote songs for commercials. He was lucky to be in a Dr. Pepper commercial, which he said “paid the rent for years.”
Barry explained that when he started writing jingles for commercials, he knew he had to come up with the catchiest melody in just fifteen seconds. If his melody wasn’t the best, another songwriter would get the commercial.
“I always try to write catchy melodies because I enjoy it. When I started writing jingles, I won a lot of them because my melodies were catchier than the others,” Barry said.
He added, “This skill helped me later when I got into pop music. Pop music is all about catchy melodies and hooks, so learning how to create them while writing commercials was really helpful for writing pop songs.”
In 1973, Barry Manilow released his first album, but it didn’t become an instant hit. It wasn’t until a year later that he became famous with his single “Mandy.” After that, he had several songs that topped the charts, including the famous ones “I Write the Songs,” “Could It Be Magic,” and “Copacabana (At the Copa).”
Just five years after his first album, Barry had five albums on the best-seller charts at the same time and ten No. 1 singles. His fan base grew so much that they were called “Fanilows.”
For a long time, Barry kept a secret that weighed on him. At age 73, he decided to share it with the world. Barry Manilow came out as gay and revealed that he and his partner, Garry Kief, had been together for nearly 40 years. He also shared that they got married in 2014 at their Palm Springs home.
Barry and Garry first met in 1978 and started dating a few years later. They’re still together today, with Garry working as Barry’s manager and the president of Barry Manilow Productions.
Barry said, “I knew that this was it” when he met Garry. “I was one of the lucky ones; I was pretty lonely before that.”
Back in the day, being gay wasn’t as accepted as it is now. Barry said he didn’t want to reveal he was gay because he didn’t know how people would react and was worried about his career. Now, he’s glad he came out because nothing changed except that his fans are supportive.
Barry and Garry raised Garry’s daughter, Kristen, together.
Barry told the Chicago Sun-Times, “The miracle of our relationship is that it’s built on respect, and we’ve never had serious arguments. Garry is the smartest person I know. He’s a great manager, handling the business side of my career, while I focus on the music. We’ve made it through 40 years together.
“Maybe coming out will make people feel good and inspire young people to do the same. Our love story has been very positive. We’re still happy together!”
Barry Manilow also talked about his many plastic surgeries. He’s open about having had them but doesn’t want to be seen as overly obsessed with his looks.
When asked how he stays youthful, Barry told the British morning show This Morning: “It’s luck, just blind luck. I’m actually very old, so let’s not talk about it. It’s really depressing.”
Coming out as gay at his age took a lot of courage, but Barry is happy he did it.
Please SHARE this article with your family and friends on Facebook!
