web1_Tiger-Cubs.jpg

Video: Orphaned tiger cubs nurse from rigged stuffed animal after rejecting bottles

Plains accepting applications for summer employment

<p>In the current issue of People magazine, Barry Manilow confirmed for the first time publicly that he is gay.</p><p>The music icon, 73, who shot to starmdom in the &#8217;70s with hits like &#8220;Mandy,&#8221; &#8220;Copacabana (At the Copa)&#8221; and &#8220;Looks Like We Made It,&#8221; said he&#8217;s been with his husband, Garry Kief, for nearly 40 years.</p><p>He met Kief in 1978 and the former TV executive soon became his lover &#8212; and manager. Early in his career, Manilow was married briefly to his high school sweetheart Susann Deixler.</p><p>&#8220;I was in love with Susan,&#8221; he insists. &#8220;I just was not ready for marriage &#8230; I was out making music every night, sowing my wild oats &#8212; I was too young. I wasn&#8217;t ready to settle down.&#8221;</p><p>Last year, during a concert at the Mohegan Sun Arena, <a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/521620/manilow-turns-city-into-wilkes-barry-for-one-night-at-mohegan-sun-arena" target="_blank">Manilow expressed his love for the Wilkes-Barre area</a> and its people, referencing his several trips to the region over his 45-year career and crediting &#8220;fans like you&#8221; for the reason he stood on stage before a near-sellout crowd.</p><p>Manilow&#8217;s wedding to Kief was reported in 2015 and confirmed by Manilow&#8217;s friend Suzanne Somers, but Manilow never talked about it until now.</p><p>Manilow will release his latest album, &#8220;This Is My Town: Songs of New York,&#8221; on April 21.</p><p>&#8212;-</p><p>Times Leader staff writer Bill O&#8217;Boyle contributed to this report.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_22420428-mmmain.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Barry Manilow performs in concert during his &quot;One Last Time! Tour 2016&quot; at the Giant Center on Thursday, March 17, 2016, in Hershey, Pa. (Owen Sweeney | Invision | AP)</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/web1_22420428-mmmain.jpg</photo0><caption0>Barry Manilow performs in concert during his &quot;One Last Time! Tour 2016&quot; at the Giant Center on Thursday, March 17, 2016, in Hershey, Pa. (Owen Sweeney | Invision | AP)</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Times Leader Staff and Wire Reports</p></bylineMeta></div>

Barry Manilow confirms for the first time publicly that he is gay