May 27, 1937– Allan Carr was a True American Original. Mostly forgotten now, he once was a top power player in that business we call show. Certainly, in Hollywood Carr was the only power broker who was out of the closet in the 1970s. As a manager, Carr … [Read more...]
#BornThisDay: Singer / Composer, Peggy Lee
May, 26, 1920– Peggy Lee: "I knew I couldn’t sing over them, so I decided to sing under them. The more noise they made the more softly I sang. When they discovered they couldn’t hear me, they began to look at me. Then they began to listen. As I sang, I kept thinking: 'softly … [Read more...]
#BornThisDay: Sir Ian McKellen
May 25, 1939– Sir Ian McKellen: "I remember losing only one job because of my coming out of the closet. I was supposed to play one of the lead roles in Harold Pinter‘s Betrayal which eventually were given to Ben Kingsley and Jeremy Irons. The producer Sam Spiegel dropped a … [Read more...]
#BornThisDay: Patti LaBelle
May 24, 1944– When I consider the Gay Icons, I always consider Patti LaBelle. Born Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards in Philadelphia on this very day, Labelle was a member The BlueBelles, regulars on the bill at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. In the early 1960s, just one of several … [Read more...]
#BornThisDay: Dame Joan Collins
May 23, 1933- Joan Henrietta Collins: "I’ve never yet met a man who could look after me. I don’t need a husband. What I need is a wife." In my world, Wednesday nights in the 1980s were dedicated to killing a couple of bottles of champagne while watching Dynasty (1981-1989); in … [Read more...]
#BornThisDay: Harvey Milk
May 22, 1930– Harvey Milk, a middle-class Jewish guy from NYC, served in the US Navy during the Korean War and like so many other closeted gay people, he chose San Francisco in the 1970s as that place to open the door to his true self and be in the company of his tribe. Listen … [Read more...]
#BornThisDay: Actor, Raymond Burr
May 21, 1917– Raymond Burr: "Never gaining a good reputation is not nearly as painful as losing one." Perry Mason reruns have been playing on a Portland, Oregon television station every day for the past 49 years. No another American station has continuously broadcast Perry … [Read more...]
#BornThisDay: Cher
May 20, 1946– Cherilyn Sarkisian Bono Allman: Today is a High Holy Day in Gaydom: The Birthday of Cher. "Until you’re ready to look foolish, you’ll never have the possibility of being great." Cher and I have something in common, and I don’t mean sleeping with David … [Read more...]
#BornThisDay: Grace Jones
May 19, 1948– Grace Jones is one of the most creative and transgressive musicians of the 1980s; She gave voice to the oppressed by offering a bold example of what it means to be free. As late as the 1970s, it was illegal for two people of the same sex to dance together in most … [Read more...]
#BornThisDay: Artist, Don Bachardy
May 18, 1934– As I consider Don Bachardy on his birthday, three films come to mind: Cabaret (1972), A Single Man (2009), and the unexpectedly uncommon documentary, Chris & Don: A Love Story (2007). Christopher Isherwood has been one of my favorite writers since high … [Read more...]
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