My Lucky Star (novel) - Characters

Characters

• Gilbert Selwyn, an over-sexed gay New Yorker and best friend of Philip Cavanaugh. Gilbert is perpetually poor, but constantly scheming to make a quick buck. Gilbert longs to be a writer, but sloth causes him to never put pen to paper.
• Philip Cavanaugh, Gilbert's long-suffering best friend and fellow New Yorker. Once Gilbert's teenage boyfriend (until an unfortunate case of crabs, caught from one of Gilbert's many sugar daddies, broke them up), Philip is a struggling writer with only minimal talent. Reluctant to be part of Gilbert's schemes, he usually gives in because he longs for money, fame and "the good life."
• Claire Simmons, Philip's other (heterosexual) best friend. Claire is a struggling writer with a modicum of talent, a zaftig figure, and a deep loathing for Gilbert Selwyn. Claire is the most level-headed of Philip's friends, and usually gets him out of Gilbert-caused jams. Claire and Philip are constantly collaborating on the Next Big Novel or Play.
• Moira Finch, a fellow New Yorker and mooch. Moira has dreams of glory but no class (she once invested her entire trust fund in designer pasta). Although Gilbert, Philip and Claire hate Moira, they never quite seem able to avoid running into her and getting blackmailed into participating in her (often illegal) schemes.
• Monty Malenfant, the youngest Malenfant offspring. Monty was a child actor in the 1950s who enjoyed brief fame before his sexual affairs with various young men forced him out of the business. He became a successful real estate investor, and lives in Hollywood with his younger sister, Lily.
• Lily Malenfant, the second-eldest Malenfant child. Lily, too, enjoyed brief fame as a child actor, primarily in sickly-sweet melodramas. But Lily soon was eclipsed by her younger sister, Diana, and remains a has-been. She lives with Monty, spending her days getting gently drunk.
• Diana Malenfant, a former child actor and eldest of the Malenfants, she won her first Academy Award as a teenager and has had a strong career ever since. She married Italian actor Roberto Donato, who promptly died in an automobile accident and left Diana pregnant and single. She has thanked him ever since.
• Stephen Donato, Diana's son. The current reigning action-hero mega-hunk of Hollywood, Stephen made his film debut at age 10 and was nominated for an Oscar. His mother was not. She refused to let him act again until he was 22. His most famous role is that of Caliber, a James Bond-like super-spy. Although dogged for years by rumors that he's gay (he is), he recently married supermodel Gina Beach.