More on Rue

James St. James reports from the inside! Here's the, ah-hem, blow by blow....

WHAT: Rue McClanahan reading from her new book, My First Five Husbands...and the Ones Who Got Away.

WHERE: A Different Light bookstore, West Hollywood.

WHO: Every faggot in West Hollywood, sporting their Golden Girls T-shirts and shouting out Blanche-isms. Also there: Lenora Claire. And several totally fab Rue look-a-likes (of the real and non-real variety).

THE READING: Rue arrived to a thunderous ovation. She toddled through the crowd, waving and cackling and poking at fans, and being altogether as Blanche-like as you could hope for. She read in a hoarse little whisper that no one could hear, but that was fine. Nobody cared about the damn book anyway, as long as they got their T-shirts signed.

THE AWKWARD MOMENT: When Lenora Claire busted out her nude Bea Arthur oil-painting, and asked if Rue would mind posing with it. There was much back-and-forth between Rue and her publicist and various handlers, while Lenora happily posed with the painting and generally shifted focus away from Rue. Finally it was surreally announced that “Blanche would probably pose with it, but Rue will not.” And did not.

THE VERDICT: Definitely gayer than the Joan Collins book-signing.

– James St. James