People began to drift off and I stole into Mary’s office to check my messages. “But they do act like little drug fiends!” said the aide.Īs the hilarity died down, the novelty of seeing our two resident cats acting like clowns wore off even before the catnip did. “The cats don’t smoke it, David,” she said. “I’ve never owned a cat,” I said to the aide. I was joking but honestly, I had little idea what catnip was. “Don’t you know anything about cats?” asked an aide who overheard me. I looked at Oscar, who I had been thinking of as this wise, Sphinx-like creature with all the answers.  There’s some kind of chemical in the herb that gives them an almost sexual high.” Mary laughed, and then launched into an explanation, almost shouting to be heard over the yowling of the cats and the laughter of the staff and patients. Watching their whirling-dervish routine, my inner veterinarian took over. I pushed my way to the front where I found Mary. It was like watching a drug-fueled pas de deux, with cats instead of dancers.  Both cats were charging around the desk at breakneck speed, stopping occasionally to roll around, flailing their limbs in the air. All eyes were on Oscar and Maya who appeared to be in the throes of ecstasy. Like a small child trying to get a better look at a passing parade, I picked my way through the morass of walkers and residents. A small group of interested onlookers, residents, and staff had surrounded the front desk of the unit, blocking my view of the spectacle. It was as if I had stumbled on a scene from the Summer of Love.

Rounds with oscar

“When I decided that I was going to write the book, I was either going to be honest with myself and my experience or not do it at all,” he says. Even though reliving some of the most painful parts of his life so soon was difficult for the author, he was determined to tell the whole story. A few months after Cowan’s death in February 2015, Satyal approached Ausiello about expanding on the Facebook posts and writing a memoir.Īusiello completed the writing over 18 months. Among those reading was Rakesh Satyal, an editor at Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. Those poignant updates, often laced with the author’s trademark wit and humor, were widely read. And these two imperfect people found each other and fell in love.ĭuring Cowan’s illness, Ausiello would periodically post candid updates about his husband’s condition on Facebook for family and friends. But I’m grateful to be in a position to have a movie being made about the book because it means that people responded to it, responded to Kit and responded to our relationship.” “So, I often feel conflict about reconciling the feelings of sadness, remorse and pain with happiness, hope and excitement. “One of the tricky things is the story is born out of tragedy,” Ausiello says. He became well-known for getting the inside scoop on television shows and stars during his decades as a TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly columnist, then as founder and editor-in-chief of TVLine, a website devoted to information, news and spoilers of television programs. The film is titled Spoiler Alert, a phrase closely associated with Ausiello.  He was 42 years old, and his shocking stage 4 cancer diagnosis had come just 11 months earlier. Cowan, portrayed in the movie by Ben Aldridge, died in 2015 of a rare and aggressive form of neuroendocrine cancer. Like the book, the Focus Features film chronicles Ausiello’s 13-year relationship with his husband, photographer Kit Cowan, and the last year of Cowan’s life. In this case, the ball rolled all the way to Parsons eventually portraying him in a biopic based on the book. “I gave him the book to read in advance, which sort of got the ball rolling,” Ausiello says.  “I knew he’d do a great job at it, and a really fun time for me.” “Our rapport had always been easy and fun, so when I needed someone to moderate the Q&A, he was the first person I reached out to,” Ausiello says.  Five years ago, journalist Michael Ausiello ’95 asked Jim Parsons to interview him at a Los Angeles book signing for his bestselling memoir, Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Other Four-Letter Words.

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