Barry Manilow - in Media

In Media

In 1989, Manilow told Us Magazine he was hoping for a dinner invitation from his new Bel-Air neighbors, Ronald and Nancy Reagan, but complained they cramp his style of sunbathing in the nude. "I thought it was pretty hot, but there is Secret Service all over the place. I always know when they are coming home because of all the helicopters. If I am out there sunbathing in the nude, I go, 'S---, the Reagans are coming home.' But, who knows, maybe they will invite me over for dinner one night."

In 1989 an American tabloid claimed he was engaged to porn star Robin Byrd. On a June 22, 1989 appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Manilow was asked by Carson about the headline story. He disputed the story telling Carson he is just friends with Byrd and an innocent picture was taken and that there is no truth to them being engaged. After he met Byrd, his band gave him a videotape of Debbie Does Dallas as a present for his birthday. Manilow added to Carson that he can't watch his friend doing that.

To help with the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, which affected the Charleston, South Carolina, area, Manilow held a benefit concert November 12, 1989 at the University of South Carolina's Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, where the $10 tickets sold out in three hours, and asked concertgoers to bring canned food to be donated to residents in disaster areas. Before his concert, Mayor T. Patton Adams named that day "Barry Manilow Day" and Manilow presented the Red Cross and the Salvation Army with checks of $42,500 each.

On February 27, 1992, Manilow was the Master of Ceremonies for friend Elizabeth Taylor's 60th birthday bash at Disneyland in Anaheim, California and sang "I Made It Through the Rain" to Taylor who was accompanied by her eighth husband, Larry Fortensky.

On January 15, 1994, 3 hours before showtime Manilow canceled a performance at an Ethnic Pride and Heritage Festival hosted at the Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Benefactors included the Community Foundation of New Jersey as well as United Hospitals Medical Center Foundation and Newark Museum in Newark during the pre-inaugural activities for then New Jersey Governor-elect Christie Whitman. Manilow said in a statement that he was specifically told in writing the concert would be part of a non-partisan event. Organizers approached Donald Trump who shuffled his entertainment schedule at Trump Plaza and dispatched Paul Anka to substitute for Manilow. Manilow refunded the cash advance paid, shortly afterward.

Manilow, on February 8, 1994, sued Los Angeles radio station KBIG (104.3 FM), seeking $13 million in damages and $15 million in punitive damages because their ad was causing irreparable damage to his professional reputation. The ad, a 30-second spot introduced that January 31, suggested that people listen to KBIG because it does not play Manilow's music. The lawsuit was filed in Orange County Superior Court by Manilow's attorney C. Tucker Cheadle of Hastings, Clayton & Tucker in Los Angeles. Two days later, KBIG/104.3 FM agreed to drop the commercial poking fun at the singer, but a lawyer representing his business interests stopped short of agreeing to withdraw a $28 million lawsuit.

On February 20, 1996, just after noon, Manilow wrecked his 1993 Range Rover in a four-vehicle crash on a rain-slick interstate in Los Angeles while heading to his Bel-Air home. No one was injured in the accident. Manilow, who wasn't hurt, stood on the shoulder of Interstate 5 signing autographs and posing for snapshots until an aide showed up and took him home, his spokeswoman Susan Dubow said.

In October 1996, it was reported that Manilow sold his gated, 2-acre (8,100 m2) Bel-Air home of 17 years with a recording studio for close to its $2.45 million asking price and was looking to buy another residence in the Los Angeles area. He had multiple offers on the 1950s home of 3,700 square feet (340 m2) with many pathways, a long driveway and city views. It finally went to a local television producer. The nearby Hotel Bel-Air supposedly regularly provided Manilow with room service.

Arizona Court of Appeals Judge Philip Espinosa, in another notable headline story, sued Manilow over the volume of a December 23, 1993, concert he attended with his wife. The judge said in a lawsuit he has had a constant ringing in his ears and nearly blew his ears out. Espinosa sought unspecified damages, and the trial was set for September 23, 1997. The suit also names Manilow's production company, an Arizona concert promoter and the city of Tucson, which runs the convention center where the concert was held. In July 1997, to settle the suit it was reported that Manilow donated $5,000 to American Tinnitus Association, an ear-disorder association.

In October 2001, Manilow visited Ground Zero in New York City.

To help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, for every US dollar donated by his fans to the American Red Cross through the Manilow Fund for Health and Hope website, Manilow personally matched, and the fund itself also matched, tripling the original donation. The fund delivered $150,000 in less than 48 hours to the American Red Cross, and hoped to raise a grand total of $300,000. On July 14, 2005, Manilow appeared on Larry King Live where the host alluded to the star's hushed social life. Manilow stated that he would hope fans concentrated on his music.

Manilow made headlines in June 2006 when Australian officials blasted his music from 9pm until midnight every Friday, Saturday and Sunday to deter gangs of youths from congregating in a residential area late at night. On July 18, 2006, Manilow released a tongue-in-cheek statement saying that the youths might like his music.

On October 27, 2011, Manilow visited Joplin, Missouri, six months after a tornado destroyed one-third of that city, including its only high school. His "Manilow Music Project" made a contribution of $300,000 to restore the musical program and instruments that were lost.