ZeitGAYst

The Village People Appear on the Cover of "Rolling Stone" (April 12, 1979)

A few months after rocker Rod Stewart succumbed to the Disco Fever sweeping the nation in 1979 with his disco smash Do Ya Think I'm Sexy? (four weeks at #1), the world of rock capitulated further when Rolling Stone put the Village People on the cover of its April 19 issue (it hit newsstands today). The magazine had run earlier cover stories on the Bee Gees in 1977 (posing in their famous white disco suits) and Donna Summer in 1978, but the Village People cover was an indication of how gay culture was being slowly integrated into that of mainstream America.  Soon their song YMCA would be played at wedding receptions and performed by ground crews at baseball games.  The commercial below for Old El Paso salsa was set to the song Macho Man: 

 

 

 

Unlike most novelty groups, the Village People managed to chart three songs in the top 20 of Billboard's Hot 100: YMCA went to #2; In the Navy peaked at #3; and Macho Man topped out at #14.   

 

However, the Rolling Stone cover may have been the straw that broke the camel's back as a backlash against disco music soon began - culminating in the infamous "Disco Demolition Night" riot at Chicago's Comiskey Park in July.  But 30+ years later the mention of the Village People is still likely to put a smile on most faces.   

 

Other ZeitGAYst posts about the Village People:

Coming Out with the Help of the Village People

The Village People Appear on American Bandstand

Creator of the Village People Dies of AIDS

Glenn Hughes, Village People's "Leatherman" Dies

The Village People's "Leatherman" Dies (March 4, 2001)

Glenn Hughes, the Village People's furry chested, handlebar-mustachioed leatherman died on March 4, 2001 from lung cancer at the age of 50.  The other five members of the original group are still alive and range in age from 55 to 65.  (The group's creator, Jacques Morali, died in 1991.)  The following video clip of Hughes is from the Village People's awful 1980 movie Can't Stop the Music:

 

    

 

I thought about Hughes when watching the 2010 World Series because Giants relief pitcher, Brian Wilson, reminded me of him - except he doesn't have a hairy chest or naturally black hair (Wilson dyes it to give him an intimidating look).

 

 

 

 

 

The Village People Appear on "American Bandstand" (January 6, 1979)

The mainstreaming of gay culture began on the afternoon of January 6, 1979 when the Village People performed their hit song YMCA on American Bandstand (the Good Housekeeping seal of approval for pop music).  Then in April they would crash that bastion of rock'n roll, Rolling Stone magazine, by appearing on its cover. 

 

Having the Village People embraced by the general public was similar to when Wonder Bread came out with a line of whole wheat bread.  Indeed, their Bandstand appearance may have been the beginning of gay culture infiltrating the mainstream - the song made it all the way to #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.  Such acceptance by the masses was what conservative politicians and the religious right feared (and was one of the driving forces behind the rise of the "Moral Majority").   

 

Was the public so benighted that the innuendo-laden message of this and other VP songs such as Macho Man and In the Navy completely eluded them?  (Then again I was also surprised that the "milk moustache" campaign took off because from the very start I thought it had a pornographic connotation.)  Or had they suddenly developed an appreciation of "camp"?  Whatever was behind it, their fascination faded the following year when the Village People "jumped the shark" by appearing in the dreadful movie Can't Stop the Music (featuring Bruce Jenner, long before plastic surgery). 

 

Regardless of this fiasco, it can't take away from the accomplishment of our merry band of troubadors in introducing some gay culture into that of the mainstream zeitgeist.  

A Gay Nightlife Milestone: Flamingo Disco Opens Its Doors (December 14, 1974)

Before 12 West (1975), Paradise Garage (1977), Studio 54 (1977) or the Saint (1980) there was Flamingo.  Although the Sanctuary (1969-72) laid claim as the first gay disco it attracted a good number of heteros as well.  By contrast, Flamingo was promoted as the first discoteque for an exclusively gay clientele and it opened on December 14, 1974.  It was located on the 2nd floor of a non-descript building at the corner of Houston St. and Broadway in New York.  It closed in the winter of 1980/81 shortly after the Saint opened its doors.

 

Disco and its many iterations was the lifeblood of gay clubs in the 70's/80's and for a while it even attracted a mainstream audience.  But after a brief flirtation the general public rejected disco at the close of the 70's.  The gay community's strong allegiance, however, never wavered; after all, it was our music to begin with.  Gays embraced disco culture for the escape into fantasy it provided while straights gravitated to rock (and later to rap) to immerse themselves in the grim reality of their world.   

 

Jacques Morali, Creator of "The Village People", Dies of AIDS (November 15, 1991)

Music producer Jacques Morali, creator of the Village People, succumbed to AIDS in Paris on November 15, 1991 at the age of 44.  He also wrote classic disco hits for the all-female group the Ritchie Family, including Best Disco in Town, Life Is Music and African Queens.  Morali died one week after Magic Johnson announced he was HIV+ and a week-and-a-half before Queens' Freddie Mercury died of AIDS.

 

Part of the burgeoning gay scene of the late 70's, The Village People were embraced by gay men with the release of their song San Francisco/Hollywood.  Despite lyrics filled with gay double entendres they crossed over to the general market, which got a kick out of the group's "camp pop".  First came Macho Man followed by the ubiquitous YMCA, which spent three weeks at #2 on Billboard's Hot 100 in the winter of 1979.  Their third album Go West was released in the spring and the single In the Navy went to #3.  Rolling Stone Magazine even put them on its cover.  However, overexposure soon ensued and the group "jumped the shark" in 1980 with their embarassingly bad movie Can't Stop the Music.

 

The late 70's happened to be my formative coming-out years.  I bought the Village People's eponymous first album (right) during the spring of my junior year at Penn State.  I'd get a frisson of excitement listening to the lyrics of songs such as Key West and Fire Island - places I'd yet to experience.  The dorm complex I lived at in University Park was where many members of the football team lived and some on my floor occasionally asked to borrow this LP for parties. 

 

Unfortunately, Village People videos from You Tube aren't available for sharing but here's one of the Ritchie Family peforming African Queens.  From it you can see/hear the origins of the Village People sound/costuming.

 

 

 

 

 

Gay & Lesbian History Timeline: The Newsworthy, the Frivolous & the FABULOUS

ZeitGAYst's history timeline lists more than 700 events that speak to the lives of LGBT individuals.  These noteworthy events run the gamut, from campy to deadly serious, encompassing politics, entertainment, AIDS, disco music, scandals/controversies and career highlights of gay icons.  A date that is hyperlinked indicates that an article has been written in ZeitGAYst about the event.  (If you'd like to see these events arranged by year, double click here.)

 

JANUARY 1

Jan 1, 1962 - Illinois is the first state to repeal its sodomy laws.

1979 - Ethel Merman's infamous disco album is released two weeks shy of her 71st birthday.

2013 - The first same-sex marriages take place in Maryland.

JANUARY 3

Jan 3, 1948 - The Kinsey Report is published. 

JANUARY 5

1970 - Lily Tomlin makes her first appearance on Laugh In.

JANUARY 6

1974 - Front Runners, a newly formed gay running group, holds its first "fun run" in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

Jan 6, 1979 - The Village People perform YMCA on American Bandstand.    

Jan 6, 1986 - "Growing Up Gay" is the cover story of this week's issue of Newsweek.

1993 - Ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev dies from AIDS complications at the age of 54.

JANUARY 8

1992 - On Seinfeld Elaine gets stuck on the subway on her way to a lesbian wedding where she was to be the "best man".

JANUARY 10

Jan 10, 1994 - Tales of the City airs over three nights on PBS stations.

2009 - Patti LuPone stops in the middle of her performance in Gypsy and has an audience member thrown out for taking photos.

JANUARY 11

1944 - Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat, starring Tallulah Bankhead, opens in theaters. 

Jan 11, 1970 - Carol Channing performs during halftime at Super Bowl IV.

Jan 11, 1973 - An American Family, PBS's pioneering reality series about the Loud family of California, debuts and includes a gay family member, son Lance (standing, far right).

JANUARY 12

1964 - Ethel Merman is a guest on Judy Garland's variety show.

1980 - Dan Hartman's classic Vertigo/Relight My Fire begins its first of six weeks atop Billboard's dance chart.

1986 - That's What Friends Are For, recorded to benefit AMFAR, begins the first of four weeks at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100.

1999 - Gay figure skater Rudy Galindo guest stars on Will & Grace in an episode titled "Will on Ice."

2011 - The U.S.'s first gay history museum opens in San Francisco.

JANUARY 13

1958 - The U.S. Supreme Court issues its first pro-gay decision, ruling that homosexuals have a First Amendment right to send magazines published for them through the U.S. mail. 

1973 - On the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda goes on a date with landlady Phyllis' brother, who turns out to be gay.  Phyllis is greatly relieved by this news because she feared the prospect of Rhoda becoming part of her family.   

2013 - At the Golden Globes Jodie Foster kinda/sorta comes out while accepting a lifetime achievement award.

JANUARY 14

Jan 14, 1984 - Madonna performs Holiday on American Bandstand.

JANUARY 15

1983 - The gender bending singer known as Boy George gains mainstream popularity as his group Culture Club's first single, Do You Really Want to Hurt Me, enters the Top-40.  

2013 - 80-year old actor/singer Jim Nabors, most famous for playing the title role in the 1960's CBS sitcom, Gomer Pyle, marries his partner of 38 years in Seattle.

JANUARY 16

1964 - Hello, Dolly! opens on Broadway, starring Carol Channing.

1993 - Madonna is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live and performs two numbers from her Erotica album, Bad Girl and Fever.

JANUARY 17

2005 - Oprah's interior design guru, Nate Berkus, recounts his harrowing experience during the catastrophic Christmas tsunami of 2004, which took the life of his partner, Fernando, in Sri Lanka (his body was never recovered). 

JANUARY 18

1982 - The first episode of the mini-series Brideshead Revisited airs on PBS.

Jan 18, 1996 - On Friends, Ross' ex-wife and her girlfriend get married.  

Jan 18, 2004 - The L Word debuts on Showtime.

JANUARY 19

1962 - Yves Saint Laurent introduces his first collection for his newly opened House of Laurent.

Jan 19, 1997 - Madonna wins a Golden Globe for her role as Eva Peron in Evita. 

1999 - Bill Clinton is the first president to mention LGBT issues in a State of the Union Address.

JANUARY 20

1993 - Rock singer Melissa Etheridge comes out as a lesbian during the Triangle Ball, a LGBT-sponsored party to celebrate Bill Clinton's inauguration.  

Jan 20, 1996 - Rudy Galindo becomes the first openly gay winner of the U.S. Men's Figure Skating Championship.

 

JANUARY 21

1978 - 25-year-old French songwriter/record producer Cerrone's Eurodisco hit Supernature tops Billboard's Dance chart.

2005 - The anti-gay group Focus on the Family alleges that popular cartoon character Spongebob Square Pants promotes homosexuality.

2013 - In his second Inaugural address, President Obama makes a reference to Stonewall and then becomes the first president to mention LGBT rights in an Inaugural address.

JANUARY 22

Jan 22, 1984 - Barry Manilow sings the National Anthem at the Super Bowl.

JANUARY 23

1991 - A massive ACT UP protest disrupts the evening commute at NYC's Grand Central Station; a banner reading "One AIDS Death Every Eight Minutes" is hung over the arrivals board.

JANUARY 24

1991 - The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announces that AIDS is now the second leading cause of death among men between the ages of 25 and 44.

Jan 24, 2009 - The TV movie Prayers for Bobby airs on Lifetime, starring Sigourney Weaver.

JANUARY 27

1995 - During a radio interview Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey calls Barney Frank, "Barney Fag", and later apologizes, saying that he simply mispronounced his name.

JANUARY 29

Jan 29, 1993 - President Clinton announces his intention to lift the ban on gay soldiers in the military.

JANUARY 30

1933 - Noel Coward is on the cover of this week's issue of TIME Magazine.

1958 - 21-year old Yves Saint Laurent introduces his first collection as head designer for Christian Dior.

JANUARY 31

1989 - AIDS activists in San Francisco block morning rush hour traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge for a few hours to protest the low amount of federal funding for AIDS research. 

1999 - Cher sings the National Anthem at the Super Bowl.

2002 - Rosie O'Donnell guest stars on Will & Grace as a lesbian mother. 

FEBRUARY 2

1985 - Brian Boitano wins the first of his four U.S. Men's Figure Skating National Championships.

FEBRUARY 3

1979 - The Village People's YMCA peaks at #2 on Billboard's Hot 100.

2010 - On Ugly Betty villainess Wihelmina (played by Vanessa Williams) is furious to discover she has a drag impersonator.  RuPaul makes a guest appearance. 

2013 - Beefy, gay, Hungarian porn star Arpad Miklos is found dead in his Manhattan apartment, apparently by his own hand.  He was just 45 years old.

FEBRUARY 4

Feb 4, 1985 - The TV movie Consenting Adult, starring Marlo Thomas and Martin Sheen, airs

1987 - Liberace dies from AIDS complications at the age of 67.

FEBRUARY 5

1981 - 305 men are arrested in a raid on four bathhouses in Toronto, the largest mass arrest of civilians in Canadian history.

1982 - The lesbian-themed movie Personal Best, starring Mariel Hemingway, opens in theaters.

2012- Madonna crosses off "Performing during halftime at the Super Bowl" from her bucket list.

FEBRUARY 6

Feb 6, 1995 - The TV movie Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story airs on NBC.  

2002 - The Boy Scouts of America adopts a resolution declaring that gay men and atheists are unsuitable role models to lead scout youth.  

2007 - Snickers causes a mini-controversy with its ad during the Super Bowl showing two blue collar types who inadvertently kiss each other on the mouth while eating a Snickers Bar.

FEBRUARY 7

1977 - The first LGBT film festival is held in San Francisco (now called the Frameline Festival.)

1977 - The U.S. State Department lifts its ban on the employment of homosexuals.

1991 - The first lesbian kiss in primetime is shown on NBC's hit drama LA Law (the lesbian character involved never makes another appearance.)

FEBRUARY 8

1980 - The controversial film Cruising, starring Al Pacino, opens.

FEBRUARY 9

Feb 9, 1971 - On tonight's episode of All in the Family Archie discovers that one of his bar buddies, an ex-football player, is gay. 

1999 - The Reverend Jerry Falwell claims that the purple-colored Teletubby named Tinky-Wink is gay because he carries a purse.

FEBRUARY 10

1976 - The comic strip Doonsebury introduces the gay character, Andy Lippincott.

FEBRUARY 11

1895 - The neighborhood of Georgetown becomes part of Washington, D.C.

Feb 11, 1993 - On Seinfeld Jerry and George are mistaken as gay lovers.

2010 - Celebrated British fashion designer Alexander McQueen commits suicide at the age of 40.

FEBRUARY 12

Feb 12, 1975 - Elton John and Bette Midler join Cher on her CBS special.

Feb 12, 1982 - The movie Making Love opens in theaters. 

Feb 12, 2010 - The movie Valentine's Day, which opens this weekend, features a largely unsung gay subplot about a closeted NFL star (played by Eric Dane) and his frustrated boyfriend (Bradley Cooper).

  

FEBRUARY 13

1886 - Painter Thomas Eakins resigns from the Philadelphia Academy of Art after using male nudes in a coed art class.

1972 - The movie version of Cabaret opens and makes 25-year-old Liza Minnelli a star.

FEBRUARY 14

1965 – The Denver Post begins a six-part series about the problems homosexuality poses to society.

1995 - Terrence McNally's Love! Valour! Compassion! opens on Broadway.

 

FEBRUARY 15

Feb 15, 1970 - The Supremes perform on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time without Diana Ross.

1991 - Bette Midler appears on the cover of the March issue of Good Housekeeping.

FEBRUARY 16

1985 - Bronski Beat, a British group fronted by openly gay Jimmy Somerville, has the week's #1 club hit, Smalltown Boy, on Billboard's dance chart.

Feb 16, 1990 - Famed graffiti artist Keith Haring dies from AIDS at the age of 31.

FEBRUARY 17

1965- 31-year-old Joan Rivers makes her first appearance on the Tonight Show. 

1994 - Writer Randy Shilts dies from AIDS at the age of 42.

FEBRUARY 18

1978 - Let's All Chant sits atop Billboard's dance chart.

2010 - The U.S.'s Evan Lysacek wins the gold medal in Men's Figure Skating at the Vancouver Olympics.  Johnny Weir finishes sixth. 

FEBRUARY 19

1986 - The AIDS drama Parting Glances opens in theaters.

FEBRUARY 20

Feb 20, 1966 - Nancy Sinatra's song Boots, which later becomes a camp classic because of its kitschy video, begins the first of four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

1967 - Rock Hudson appears on the cover of March's issue of GQ.

1974 - Cher files for separation from Sonny Bono.

1982 - The British medical journal The Lancet reports that amyl nitrate ("poppers") damages the immune system and might be a cause of AIDS.

1988 - Brian Boitano wins a gold medal in Men's Figure Skating at the Winter Olympics in Calgary.

Feb 20, 2005 - On The Simpsons Marge's sister Patty reveals she's a lesbian and gets married to her partner by Homer.

Feb 20, 2013 - In a new TV commercial for the Amazon Kindle, a woman reading at the beach informs a man, whom she thinks is flirting with her, that her husband is at the bar getting her a drink.  The fellow then replies that his husband is at the bar as well!

FEBRUARY 21

1972 - Liza Minnelli is the cover subject of this week's TIME Magazine.

FEBRUARY 22

Feb 22, 1987 - Andy Warhol dies unexpectedly at the age of 58 from complications after gallbladder surgery.

Feb 22, 1995 - Olympic diving legend Greg Louganis reveals he's HIV+.

Feb 22, 2004 - The final episode of Sex & the City airs.

FEBRUARY 23

1933 - Less than a month after Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany, the Nazi Party outlaws all homosexual rights organizations and clubs.

Feb 23, 1967 - Fortune & Men's Eyes opens at Actors Playhouse in NYC.

1987 - Bette Midler is the subject of this week's TIME Magazine cover story.

FEBRUARY 24

1998 - Elton John is knighted by Queen Elizabeth.

Feb 24, 1999 - 27-year-old Ricky Martin causes a sensation during his performance at the Grammy Awards.

2004 - President Bush announces his support for a constitutional ammendment banning same-sex marriage.

2013 - The Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles appears very briefly during the opening of tonight's Academy Awards telecast, joining host Seth MacFarlane in a song called I Saw Your Boobs.

FEBRUARY 25

Feb 25, 1962 - An acclaimed Judy Garland TV special with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin airs on CBS.

1982 - Wisconsin becomes the first state to pass legislation banning anti-gay discrimination.

2007 - Financial expert and frequent Oprah guest, Suze Ornan, comes out in the New York Times.

2013 - Gay divorce is the cover story of this week's issue of New York Magazine (cover date 3/4).

FEBRUARY 26

2009 - Dustin Lance Black wins the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Milk; Sean Penn wins for Best Actor for the same picture.

MARCH 1

March 1, 1994 - On tonight's episode of Roseanne, Roseanne accompanies her lesbian friend Nancy (played by Sandra Bernhard) to a lesbian bar and becomes unnerved when Nancy's girlfriend (Mariel Hemingway) plants an open-mouthed kiss on her. 

MARCH 2

March 2, 1965 - The Sound of Music, oozing with gay undertones, opens in theaters.

1999 - Cher's comeback song Believe tops the Billboard Hot 100, making her, at age 52, the oldest female artist with a Number 1 song.

MARCH 3

March 3, 2000 - The movie The Next Best Thing, starring Madonna and Rupert Everett, opens and is a bomb.

MARCH 4

March 4, 1969 - Cher gives birth to a daughter that she and husband Sonny Bono name Chastity.

1973 - Betty Friedan accuses "man-hating lesbians" of trying to take over the National Organization of Women (NOW).

1979 - Gloria Gaynor's gay anthem I Will Survive tops the Billboard Hot 100. 

1998 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules that sexual harassment in the workplace is illegal even if it occurs between members of the same sex.

March 4, 2001 - Glenn Hughes, the original leatherman from the Village People, dies from lung cancer at the age of 50.

2010 - After legislation was passed on Dec. 29, 2009, the first same-sex marriages are performed in Mexico City.

MARCH 5

2006 - Ang Lee wins the Oscar for Best Director for Brokeback Mountain, but the movie failed to win Best Picture.

2006 - Philip Seymour Hoffman wins the Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Truman Capote in the film Capote.

2013 - Mexico's Supreme Court rules that anti-gay expressions like 'maricon' are not protected under the constitution's Freedom of Expression.

MARCH 7

1967 - The CBS documentary The Homosexuals airs.

 

March 7, 1988 - John Waters' famed drag actress, Divine, dies from a heart condition at the age of 42.

March 7, 1990 - The TV movie Andre's Mother airs on PBS.

MARCH 8

1996 - The movie The Birdcage, starring Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, opens and becomes a big hit.  It's also the only movie in which Gene Hackman appears in drag.

2003 - The movie Testosterone, starring former Calvin Klein hunk Antonio Sabato, Jr. as a mysterious gay Argentinian, opens in limited release.

MARCH 9

March 9, 1989 - Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe dies from AIDS at the age of 42.

1996 - Jonathan Schmitz, a recent guest on The Jenny Jones Show, murders another male guest from the show who had revealed he had a crush on Schmitz.

MARCH 10

1985 - The AIDS drama As Is opens off-Broadway, six weeks before The Normal Heart had its premiere.

2007 - The iconic Roxy dance club on West 18th St. in Chelsea closes after 29 years.

MARCH 11

March 11, 1975 - A classic TIME Magazine cover shows Cher posing in a shear Bob Mackie gown.

March 11, 1993 - Outweek Magazine outs billionaire Malcolm Forbes a few weeks after his death. 

MARCH 12

1993 - Janet Reno is sworn in as the nation's first female U.S. Attorney General.

MARCH 14

March 14, 2002 - On the ABC primetime news program Primetime Live, Rosie O'Donnell officially comes out in order to offer support to a gay male couple trying to adopt in Florida. 

MARCH 15

March 15, 1972 - Burt Reynolds causes a sensation by appearing as Cosmopolitan's first nude male centerfold.

March 15, 2000 - Madonna is on the cover of the April issue of Good Housekeeping.

2013 - In a blow to the Republican party's anti-gay platform, Republican senator Rob Portman of Ohio reverses his stand against same-sex marriage in support of his gay son.

MARCH 16

March 16, 1992 - The TV movie Doing Time on Maple Drive airs on Fox.

2002 - Liza Minnelli marries David Gest in NYC amidst much hoopla.

2002 - Kylie Minogue is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. 

MARCH 17

1972 - John Waters' outrageous movie Pink Flamingos opens in theaters, introduces the world to Divine.

MARCH 18

March 18, 2001 - Paris elects a gay mayor, 50-year-old Bertrand Delanoe.

MARCH 20

1976 - Vicki Sue Robinson's Turn the Beat Around begins four weeks atop Billboard's Dance chart.

March 20, 1987 - The FDA approves the use of AZT to combat AIDS.

1988 - 28-year-old B.D. Wong gains acclaim with his starring role in M. Butterfly, a drama which had its Broadway opening tonight (pictured, right, with co-star John Lithgow).

MARCH 21

1994 - Tom Hanks wins the Oscar for Best Actor in the AIDS drama Philadelphia, and Bruce Springsteen wins the Oscar for Best Song for Streets of Philadelphia.  During his acceptance speech Hanks thanks his gay drama teacher from high school. 

MARCH 22

March 22, 1962 - Barbra Streisand makes her Broadway debut in I Can Get It For You Wholesale.

1994 - Disco producer Dan Hartman dies from AIDS at the age of 43.

1999 - The cover story of this week's New York Magazine is "Gay Wall St."

 

2007 - On Ugly Betty, Betty agrees to play the role of gay co-worker Marc St. James' girlfriend when his mother comes to town (he was played by Michael Urie, mom was played by Patti LuPone).  However, when mom makes disparaging remarks about Betty's flamboyant 14-year-old nephew, Marc lashes out and comes out to her.

MARCH 23

1992 - The TV movie Twilight of the Golds airs on PBS.

MARCH 24

1979 - Sister Sledge has the new #1 dance record on Billboard's dance chart with He's the Greatest Dancer. 

1986 - William Hurt is the first actor to win an Oscar for portraying a gay character, in Kiss of the Spider Woman.

MARCH 25

1985 - The Times of Harvey Milk wins the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

1988 - Robert Joffrey, founder of the Joffrey Ballet, dies of AIDS at the age of 57.

MARCH 26

March 26, 1964 - Funny Girl, starring Barbra Streisand, has its Broadway opening.

March 26, 1977 - Gay activists meet for the first time in the White House.

1990 - Fashion designer Halston dies of AIDS at the age of 57.

March 26, 1997 - The TV movie Breaking the Surface, starring Mario Lopez as Greg Louganis, airs on USA Network.

2000 - Hilary Swank wins the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in Boys Don't Cry. while gay director Pedro Almodovar's movie Talk to Her wins for Best Foreign Film.

MARCH 27

1987 - ACT-UP stages its first major action, a "die-in" on Wall St. with hundreds of participants demanding access to experimental anti-viral drugs.

MARCH 28

1998 – Naked Boys Singing opens at the Celebration Theater in Los Angeles.

MARCH 29

March 29, 1990 - President Bush urges an audience of business executives not to fire employees or discriminate against any who are infected with AIDS.   

1994 - IKEA airs a commercial in East Coast markets depicting a gay male couple shopping for a dining room table.

2009 - Zurich, Switzerland elects a lesbian as mayor, 48-year-old Corine Mauch. 

2009 - The Oscar Wilde Bookstore in Greenwich Village closes its doors after 42 years (37 of those years were spent on Christopher St.)

MARCH 30

March 30, 1966 - Color Me Barbra is the follow-up TV special to Barbra Streisand's first acclaimed special My Name Is Barbra.

1981 - The Village People's movie, Can't Stop the Music, has the distinction of winning the first Golden Raspberry Award, as worst movie of 1980.

2003 - Actor Michael Jeter dies from AIDS at the age of 50.

MARCH 31

1980 - 30-year old Richard Gere appears shirtless on the cover of People Magazine (cover date of 4/7/80).  It was very similar to Gere's cover in After Dark back in 1978.

1994 - Madonna makes an expletive-filled appearance on the Letterman show.

 

APRIL 1

April 1, 1985 - The Harvey Milk School opens in New York, the first publicly funded school for LGBT youth in the U.S.

April 1, 2001 - The Netherlands is the first nation to legalize same-sex marriage.

APRIL 3

April 3, 1977 - Dancing Queen becomes ABBA's only #1 hit in the U.S.

APRIL 5

April 5, 1961 - Barbra Streisand makes her 1st TV appearance, on The Jack Parr Show.

1994 - Documentary filmmaker Marlon Riggs dies of AIDS at the age of 37.

2012 - Despite tepid reviews Ricky Martin is a big draw in the Broadway revival of Evita in his role as the narrator Che.

APRIL 6

2013 - Liza Minnelli makes a guest appearance as herself on tonight's episode of Smash.

APRIL 7

1979 - Electronica music producer Gino Soccio has his first chart topper on Billboard's dance chart with Dancer.  It stays at the top of the chart for six weeks.

April 7, 1997 - Ellen Degeneres comes out in this week's issue of TIME Magazine with the now-famous cover headline of "Yep, I'm Gay".   

APRIL 8

1987 - Princess Diana gains worldwide attention when she shakes the hand of an AIDS patient during a visit to the AIDS ward at London's Middlesex Hospital.

1992 - The first "Broadway Bares" begins humbly with seven dancers at the new bar, Splash.

1998 - Singer George Michael is arrested for "public lewdness" in a public restroom in a park in Beverly Hills.

2008 - A singer who goes by the name of Lady Gaga releases her first single, Just Dance.  Nine months later it reaches #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

APRIL 11

April 11, 1983 - This week's Newsweek cover story is "AIDS Epidemic - Search for a Cure."  

1986 - The movie My Beautiful Laundrette opens in the U.S., featuring Daniel Day Lewis in his first major film role.

1988 - Cher wins the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in Moonstruck.

APRIL 12

April 12, 1979 - The Village People appear on the cover of this week's issue of Rolling Stone.

APRIL 13

April 13, 1983 - On Dynasty, Krystle & Alexis fall into a swimming pool during a catfight.

APRIL 14

April 14, 1968 - The Boys in the Band opens on Broadway.

1972 - The first Dinah Shore Golf Tournament is held in Rancho Mirage, CA (thru 4/16).

APRIL 15

1979 - The Liberace Museum opens in Las Vegas.

APRIL 16

April 16, 1979 - "How Gay is Gay?" is the title of this week's TIME Magazine cover story.

April 16, 2004 - On Oprah, life "on the down-low" (or, "the DL") among black men is discussed. 

APRIL 17

April 17, 1965 - The first official protest outside of the White House by a gay rights group takes place, organized by the Mattachine Society.

1987 - Fashion designer Willi Smith dies from AIDS at the age of 39.

2013 - New Zealand becomes the 13th nation to legalize same-sex marriage.

APRIL 19

2009 - Miss California creates a controversy at the Miss USA Pageant when, during the Q&A portion of the pageant, she declares her opposition to same-sex marriage.

2011 - A revival of Larry Kramer's 1985 off-Broadway drama The Normal Heart opens on Broadway.

APRIL 20

1997 - The TV movie In the Gloaming, directed by Christopher Reeve, airs on PBS.

2003 – On tonight’s episode of Six Feet Under, David and Keith participate in a gay paintball competition between gay cops and the gay chorus and end up having a threesome with “Sarge”.

APRIL 21

1974 – Tommy Tune wins the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Seesaw. It is the first of nine Tonys he’d win in his career (encompassing acting, choreography and directing).

1985 - Larry Kramer's semi-biographical AIDS drama The Normal Heart opens at the Public Theater.

1987 - New York governor Mario Cuomo announces that companies doing business in the state are barred from requiring employees to take an HIV test in order to get health insurance.

APRIL 23

April 23, 1961 - Judy Garland gives an acclaimed performance at Carnegie Hall.

1984 - U.S. Secretary of Health Margaret Heckler announces the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS.

APRIL 24

2003 - Madonna makes her primetime acting debut on Will & Grace.

APRIL 25

1997 - 32-year old Alan Cumming has his first American movie role in the comedy Romy & Michele's High School, which opens in theaters today.  He played the nerd who became successful and fabulously wealthy as an adult.  

2005 - Spain legalizes same-sex marriage.

APRIL 26

April 26, 1970 - Stephen Sondheim's Company opens on Broadway, featuring Elaine Strich's classic number The Ladies Who Lunch.

1977 - Studio 54 opens.

APRIL 27

2009 - The first same-sex marriages take place in Iowa.

APRIL 28

April 28, 1965 - Barbra Streisand stars in her first TV special, My Name is Barbra.

1990 - A Chorus Line ends its 14-year run.  

APRIL 29

2013 - NBA veteran Jason Collins becomes the first active player of one of the Big Four sports leagues to come out.  He did it in an interview in Sports Illustrated, which hit newsstands today.

 

APRIL 30

April 30, 1988 - Closing night at The Saint.

April 30, 1997 - The coming-out episode on Ellen, a lightning rod for controversy, draws a large audience.

2009 - The off-Broadway play The Temperamentals opens, a drama about the founding of The Mattachine Society in the early 1950's. 

MAY 1

1981 - Billie Jean King's longtime female secretary files a palimony suit, making their relationship public.  

1992 - Singer Sharon Redd (In the Name of Love) dies from AIDS at the age of 46.

MAY 2

May 2, 1994 - On Northern Exposure, Rick and Erick are married.

 

2013 - Rhode Island becomes the 10th state to legalize same-sex marriage.

MAY 3

May 3, 1988 - Madonna makes her Broadway debut in David Mamet's Speed the Plow.

MAY 4

May 4, 1986 - The Pet Shop Boys' first single, West End Girls, tops the Billboard Hot 100.

May 4, 1993 - Tony Kushner's Angels in America: Millennium Approaches opens on Broadway.

2011 - "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty", a wildly popular retrospective of the late fashion designer's work, opens at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

MAY 5

1952 - The "Vitavitavegamin" episode airs on I Love Lucy. 

1968 - Ethel Merman sings There's No Business Like Show Business on The Ed Sullivan Show.

2011 - Lesbian surgeons Callie and Arizona are married on Grey's Anatomy.

MAY 6

1994 - Richard Gere and Cindy Crawford take out a full-page ad in the Times of London dispelling rumors of a divorce and to also proclaim that they are both heterosexual and monogamous.

MAY 7

1977 - Grace Jones sits atop the Billboard Dance chart with her international hit I Need a Man.

2013 - Famed club DJ and music producer, Peter Rauhofer, dies from a brain tumor at the age of 48.

2013 - Less than a week after Rhode Island legalized same-sex marriage, Delaware does the same - the eleventh state to do so (in addition to Washington, DC). 

MAY 9

May 9, 1992 - The final episode of The Golden Girls airs. 

2012 - President Obama announces his support of same-sex marriage.

MAY 10

May 10, 1991 - Madonna's documentary Truth or Dare opens.

1994 - Serial killer John Wayne Gacy, who murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men in his Chicago home between 1972-1978, is executed.

MAY 11

1990 - Longtime Companion, the first movie in wide-release to deal with AIDS, opens in theaters.

1991 - Madonna appears in a "Wayne's World" dream sequence on Saturday Night Live.

2008 - On ABC's Sunday drama Brothers & Sisters Kevin and Scotty get married. 

MAY 12

1956 - Actor Montgomery Clift is seriously injured in a car accident after leaving a party at Elizabeth Taylor's Hollywood home.

May 12, 1992 - Actor Robert Reed, best known as Mike Brady on The Brady Bunch, died from AIDS at the age of 59. 

MAY 13

1987 – Gay bon vivant, Quentin Crisp, makes a guest appearance on the CBS crime drama The Equalizer.

1994 - Opening weekend of the Andy Warhol Museum in Warhol's hometown of Pittsburgh.

MAY 14

2013 - Minnesota becomes the 12th state to legalize same-sex marriage (and the 3rd state this month, joining Rhode Island and Delaware).

MAY 15

1990 - Madonna's song Vogue goes to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

2008 - California's Supreme Court overturns the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

2012 – Gay gossip-blogger Perez Hilton has a cameo on tonight’s episode of Glee, appearing as a judge at the Nationals competition for acapella groups.

MAY 16

1987 - By order of the U.S. Public Health Service foreigners who are HIV-positive are barred from entering the U.S.

MAY 17

May 17, 2004 - The nation's first legally sanctioned same-sex marriages are performed in Massachusetts.

May 17, 2012 - Donna Summer dies from cancer at the age of 63.

2012 - The off-Broadway play Cock opens.  Newspaper ads for the show require its title to be listed as C**k or Cockfight Play.

2013 - Michael Musto, the Village Voice's iconic entertainment and gossip columnist for nearly 30 years, is let go by the paper.

MAY 18 

May 18, 1986 -  GMHC holds its first AIDS Walkathon in New York City.

1992 - Record executive David Geffen donates $1 million to New York's Gay Men's Health Crisis.

1994 - On Fox's Melrose Place, the network gets cold feet and decides against showing Matt kissing his male date.  Instead the camera cuts away as their faces came together.

2013 - France becomes the 14th nation to legalize same-sex marriage.  With a population of 65 million, it passed South Africa as the most populous country where same-sex couples can marry.

2013 - On Saturday Night Live, a parody TV commercial airs for "Zanax for Gay Summer Weddings", formulated for heterosexuals attending gay weddings who feel insecure because of how perfect these weddings are.

MAY 19

May 19, 1962 - Marilyn Monroe sings a sultry "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" to JFK at a fund raiser at Madison Square Garden.

1979 - The Village People's In the Navy peaks at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

May 19, 1991 - Julie Andrews, Ann-Margret and Hugh Grant star in the TV movie Our Sons.

May 19, 2009 - A preview episode of Glee airs after American Idol.

MAY 20

1979 - David Gloss of San Francisco wins the first International Mr. Leather competition in Chicago.

1981 - March of the Falsettos opens off-Broadway.

1985 - Madonna is on the cover of this week's issue of TIME Magazine, with the headline "Why She's Hot".  

1996 - The U.S. Supreme Court overturns Colorado's referendum that prohibited LGBT residents from attempting to overturn anti-gay leglislation.

2008 - Portland, Oregon elects a gay mayor, 44-year old Sam Adams.

2009 - Cutie Kris Allen upsets gay glam rocker, Adam Lambert, to win American Idol.

MAY 21

1979 - The "White Night" riot breaks out in San Francisco in response to the light sentence given to Dan White, convicted murderer of Harvey Milk and SF mayor George Moscone.

  

MAY 22

1966 - Joan Rivers makes her first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.

1986 - Cher makes her first apperance on the David Letterman's Late Night show, and when asked why she waited so long to appear on his show, she replies that it was because she thought he was an "asshole".

May 22, 2002 - New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza calls a press conference to deny rumors that he is gay.

2007 - Vice President Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter Mary gives birth to a boy.

MAY 23

2013 - The Boy Scouts of America vote to allow openly gay youths as members, while continuing its policy of excluding openly gay adult leaders.

MAY 24

1976 - Armistead Maupin's newspaper column "Tales of the City" first appears in the San Francisco Chronicle.  It is later published in book form and then produced as a TV mini-series on PBS in 1994.

1989 - News reports suggest that an explosion aboard the USS Iowa in April, that killed 43 sailors, may have been an act of sabotage, carried out by a sailor who was incensed that his homosexual lover had married a woman.

2000 - In a first for a primetime TV show, two men are shown kissing each other, on WB's Dawson's Creek.

2005 – 17-year-old singer Rihanna releases her first single, Pon de Replay.  It will top Billboard's Dance & Club chart and peak at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

MAY 25

May 25, 1895 - English playwright Oscar Wilde is convicted of morals charges.

May 25, 1977 - A fire at New York's Everard Baths kills 9 patrons.

2007 - Rosie O'Donnell's turbulent tenure on The View ends after she has one last on-screen outburst.

MAY 27

2010 - The second Sex & the City movie opens and moviegoers are subjected to a cringeworthy performance of Single Ladies by Liza Minelli at Stanford and Anthony's wedding.

MAY 29

1993 - Vienna holds its first "Life Ball", which becomes Europe's premier AIDS charity event.

2000 - TIME Magazine publishes a cover story titled, "What Esctasy Does to Your Brain."  

MAY 30

1985 - Former L.A. Dodger baseball player Glenn Burke, whose career was derailed because he was gay, dies of AIDS at the age of 42.

May 30, 1986 - Fashion designer Perry Ellis dies of AIDS at the age of 46.

2008 - The first Sex & the City movie opens.

MAY 31

1959 - A fire destroys the original "Botel" in the harbor of Fire Island Pines. 

2001 - The Pet Shop Boys' musical Closer to Heaven opens in London's East End.

JUNE

June 1, 1987 - 47-year-old Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank comes out. 

June 1, 1991 - The first "Gay Day" at Disney World is held.

June 2, 1991 - The red ribbon for AIDS awareness makes its debut at the Tony Awards.   

June 3, 2001 - Six Feet Under debuts on HBO.  One of the couples portrayed is an interracial male couple in a tempestuous relationship.

June 4, 2006 - The animated series Queer Duck (which aired after episodes of Queer as Folk) has its premiere as a feature-length movie.

June 5, 1983 - In his acceptance speech at the Tony's for Torch Song Trilogy winning for Best Play, producer John Glines becomes the first person ever to acknowledge a same-sex partner on a major televised awards show.

 

June 5, 2010 - Elton John is paid $1 million to perform at homophobic, rightwing gasbag Rush Limbaugh's 4th wedding.

June 5, 2010 - Portugal becomes the eighth nation where same sex marriage is legal.

June 6, 1998 - Sex & the City premieres on HBO.

June 7, 1974 – The first performance of Beach Blanket Babylon takes place at the Savoy Tivoli restaurant in San Francisco.

June 7, 1977 - Dade County's referendum banning anti-gay discrimination is voted down behind the homophobic zealotry of orange juice queen Anita Bryant.

June 7, 2005 - Three players from the Boston Red Sox are subjects of makeovers on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.

June 7, 2009 - Neil Patrick Harris hosts the Tony Awards for the first time (he also hosts in 2011 and 2012).

June 7, 2012 - Moscow's City Court upholds a lower court's ruling banning all gay pride events in the city for the next hundred years. 

June 8, 1993 - RuPaul's debut CD, Supermodel of the World, is released. 

 
June 9, 1992 - In The Life, a 30-minute public affairs program about LGBT life and issues airs its first episode on six public TV stations.

June 9, 1993– In the movie Orlando, which opens today, Quentin Crisp plays Elizabeth I, Tilda Swinton plays a man for the 1st half of the film and Jimmy Somerville plays an angel.

June 10, 1982 - Five months after opening off-Broadway Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Trilogy moves to Broadway.

June 10, 1991 - The premiere issue of Martha Stewart Living hits newsstands.

June 10, 2001 - Beginning of a 3-episode arc on Sex & the City in which Samantha has a lesbian affair with a Brazilian artist from Charlotte's gallery (played by Sonia Braga).

June 11, 2009 - Chastity Bono announces that she plans to undergo sex reassignment surgery.

June 14-15, 2006 - Rufus Wainwright performs Judy Garland's acclaimed 1961 Carnegie Hall concert at Carnegie Hall.

 

June 15, 1945 - 23-year old Judy Garland marries closeted movie director Vincente Minnelli, nineteen years her senior.  It's her second marriage and it would last six years.  

June 15, 1997 - The first Folsom Street East festival is held in New York, sponsored by the group Gay Male S&M Activists.

June 16, 2001 - Berlin elects its first gay mayor, 47-year-old Klaus Wowereit.

June 17, 1961 - Acclaimed Kirov Ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defects in Paris.

June 17, 1966 - Angela Lansbury is on the cover of LIFE Magazine touting her starrring role on Broadway in Mame. 

June 18, 1992 - Australian entertainer Peter Allen (one of Liza Minnelli's ex-husbands) dies of AIDS at the age of 48.

 

June 18-25, 1994 - New York City hosts Gay Games IV.

June 20, 1980 - After 18 months of wild mainstream success, the Village People "jumped the shark" with the opening of their movie Can't Stop the Music.  It was so bad that it was the inspiration for the first Razzie Awards.

June 20, 1997 - My Best Friend's Wedding opens in theaters, co-starring Rupert Everett as Julia Roberts' gay best friend. 

June 21, 1993 - This week's Newsweek cover story is "Lesbians".

June 22, 1969 - Judy Garland dies in London at the age of 47.

June 22, 1988 - Leonard Matlovich, who appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine in military uniform in 1975 for the story "I Am A Homosexual", dies from AIDS at the age of 44.

June 24, 1973 – 32 mostly gay and lesbian patrons die in an arson fire at the Upstairs Lounge in New Orleans, a disaster met largely with indifference by city residents.

June 24, 1978 - Australia's version of the Stonewall Riot erupts on Oxford Street in Sydney.

June 24-25, 1979 - The Village People perform at Madison Square Garden.

June 24, 1992 - The BBC produced TV movie The Lost Language of Cranes airs on PBS.

June 24, 2011 - Legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in New York state is passed and signed by governor Andrew Cuomo.

June 24, 2012 - Gad Beck, the last known gay Holocaust survivor dies one week before his 89th birthday.

June 25, 1962 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that male physique magazines aren’t pornographic and can be sent through the mail.

June 25, 1989 - Alabama's first Gay Pride parade took place in Birmingham and 200 participated.

June 25, 2005 - A 20-year-old student from the Netherlands wins the first Mr. Gay Europe competition, held in Oslo.

June 26, 1982 - New York Front Runners holds its first 5K Gay Pride Run in Central Park.

June 26, 1988 - 20-year old Kylie Minogue's first single, I Should Be So Lucky, enters the top-40 on Billboard's Hot 100.

June 26, 2003 - The U.S. Supreme overturns Texas' same-sex sodomy law, thus voiding the sodomy laws in twelve other states as well.

June 27, 1978 - The rainbow flag is flown for the first time, at San Francisco's Gay Pride parade.

June 27, 1983 - "AIDS Hysteria" is the subject of this week's TIME Magazine cover story.

June 28, 1969 - The Stonewall riot in New York's Greenwich Village marks the beginning of the gay liberation movement.

June 28, 1970 - 2,000 participate in New York's first Gay Pride parade.

June 28, 2000 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Boy Scouts of America can bar gay members from being troop leaders.

June 29, 1984 - Rupert Everett stars in the movie Another Country, his first gay role.

June 30, 1975 - 25-year-old Elton John is featured on the cover of this week's issue of TIME Magazine with the headline, "Rock's Captain Fantastic."

June 30, 1986 - The U.S. Supreme Court upholds Georgia's sodomy law, ruling that states can outlaw homosexual acts between consenting adults.

June 30, 2005 - MTV Networks launches its gay-themed cable network, LOGO.  

 

JULY

July 1, 1934 - The Hays Code, a laundry list of guidelines to ensure "decency" in movies, goes into effect.  One of the guidelines strongly discourages any depictions of homosexuality (falling under the category of "sex perversions").

July 1, 1988 - During an appearance on David Letterman, Sandra Bernhard brings out "gal pal" Madonna and they proceed to gang up on Dave and act obnoxiously.

July 2, 1966 - Billie Jean King wins her first Women's Singles title at Wimbledon.

July 2, 1987 - Broadway choreographer and director Michael Bennett dies from AIDS at the age of 44.

July 2, 2012 - CNN's Anderson Cooper finally comes out.

July 3, 1981 - A front page article in the New York Times reports on "Rare Cancer Seen in Homosexuals."

July 3, 1990 - Former Major League Baseball umpire Dave Pallone, who was fired after being outed, publishes his story in Behind the Mask: My Double Life in Baseball.

July 4, 1976 - The first "invasion" of the Pines by drag queens from Cherry Grove takes place.

July 6, 1979 - Sydney, Australia holds its first Gay Mardis Gras.

July 7, 1978 - Martina Navratilova wins her first Women's Singles title at Wimbledon.

July 7, 2012 - Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank becomes the first member of Congress to marry a same-sex partner when he and Jim Ready tie the knot in Newton, Massachusetts.

July 9, 1993 - The U.S. military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy is announced.

July 9, 2007 - The Advocate announces that it will send its magazine through the mail without a plastic overwrap unless requested by a subscriber.

July 10, 1985 - Playboy publishes full frontal nude photos of Madonna in its August issue.

July 10, 2009 - Hx Magazine, one of New York's two weekly gay entertainment guides, publishes its last issue after being purchased by rival publisher, Next Media.

July 11, 1999 - On Sex & the City Charlotte considers becoming a lesbian but her new "power lesbian" friends lose patience with her reticence and reject her.

July 12, 1997 - Prison drama Oz debuts on HBO.

July 14, 1989 - Marlon Riggs' documentary Tongues Untied premieres at L.A.'s Outfest.

July 15, 1965 - Joan Rivers marries Edgar Rosenberg.

July 15, 1993 - The cover of Vanity Fair's August issue shows supermodel Cindy Crawford shaving lesbian singer kd lang.  

July 15, 1995 - The first DRA Fire Island Dance Festival is held in the Pines, overlooking Long Island's Great South Bay.

July 15, 1997 - Fashion designer Gianni Versace is shot to death outside his South Beach mansion.

July 15, 2003 - Queer Eye for the Straight Guy debuts on Bravo.

July 15, 2010 - Argentina is the first South American country to legalize same sex marriage.

July 15, 2012 - On the mini-series Political Animals, the Secretary of State (played by Sigourney Weaver) has a drugged out gay son.

July 17, 1991 - While on a visit to London, First Lady Barbara Bush asks Princess Diana to give her a tour of the AIDS ward at Middlesex Hospital.

July 19, 2006 - With not much of a career left to jeopardize, former N-Sync singer Lance Bass comes out in the pages of People.  His is perhaps the first case of an entertainer using coming out as a career move. 

July 20, 1971 - In the comic strip "Peanuts" Marcie addresses Peppermint Patty as "sir" for the first time.

July 20, 1983 - Massachusetts Democrat Gerry Studds becomes the first openly gay member of Congress when he comes out on the floor of the House after being censured for having sex with a Congressional page.

July 20, 2005 - Canada becomes the fourth country to legalize same-sex marriage.

July 21, 1983 - Diana Ross gets soaked during her free concert in Central Park.

 

July 23, 1599 - Italian artist Caravaggio receives his first public commissison.

July 23, 1966 - Tormented, closeted actor Montgomery Clift dies in New York at the age of 45. 

July 23, 2012 - Former astronaut Sally Ride, the first American woman to be launched into space, dies at the age of 61.  Upon her death it is revealed that she was a lesbian.  

July 24, 1994 - BBC sitcom Absolutely Fabulous debuts in the U.S. on Comedy Central.

July 24, 1998 - Three months before the debut of Will & Grace, Sean Hayes stars as a gay character in the movie Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss, which opened today in limited release.

July 24, 2005 - The 16th GLAAD Media Awards are the first to be televised (on cable network LOGO).

July 25, 1989 - Steve Rubell of Studio 54 fame dies from AIDS at the age of 45.

July 26, 1990 - President Bush signs the Americans With Disabilities Act which goest into effect on 7/26/92.

July 27, 1982 - The mysterious "gay cancer" is officially named AIDS.

July 27, 1983 - Madonna's self-titled debut album is released.

July 27, 1985 - The first AIDS Walk is held in L.A.

July 27, 2001 - The movie Hot Wet American Summer opens.  And although it is a huge flop at the box office (grossing less than $300,000), the movie is notable for a gay make-out session between Bradley Cooper (in his first movie) and Michael Ian Black.  (The movie has since developed a cult following.) 

July 27, 2004 – The group Scissor Sisters, fronted by openly gay singer Jake Shears,  releases its first CD, simply called Scissor Sisters.

July 28, 1991 - Actor Paul Reubens (better known as Pee Wee Herman) is arrested for indecent exposure at an adult movie theater in Florida.

July 28, 1993 - Wedding bible Brides Magazine runs a one-page article about same-sex weddings.

July 29, 1949 - 3-year old Liza Minnelli makes her screen debut during the closing moments of her mother's movie In the Good Old Summertime, which opened today. 

July 29, 1981 - Prince Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer.

July 29, 2003 - Reality show Boy Meets Boy joins Queer Eye for the Straight Guy on Bravo's Tuesday night lineup.

July 31, 2012 - Writer and political gadfly Gore Vidal dies at the age of 85. 

AUGUST

Aug 1, 1983 - This week's Newsweek gay-themed cover story is titled "Sex, Politics & the Impact of AIDS." 

 

Aug 2, 1986 - Closeted attorney Roy Cohn, who would be cast as a self-loathing villain in Tony Kushner's Angels in America, dies from AIDS at the age of 59.

Aug 4, 1996 - Amsterdam holds its first Gay Pride Parade.

Aug 5, 1962 - Marilyn Monroe dies from an overdose of sleeping pills at the age of 36.

Aug 5, 1985 - This week's TIME Magazine cover story is titled "AIDS: The Growing Threat and What's Being Done."

Aug 8, 1973 – In Houston the murders of 28 teen boys over the course of three years are uncovered.  The ringleader, Dean Corll, was shot dead by one of his accomplices, who then reported the murders to police.

Aug 8, 1974 - Two years before it was picked up by the San Francisco Chronicle Armistead Maupin's serial, Tales of the City, was first published today in the Bay Area by The Pacific Sun.

Aug 8, 2006 - Washington D.C.'s Gay Men's Chorus is the first gay chorus to perform at a professional sporting event when they sing the National Anthem at the start of this evening's Washington Nationals baseball game.

Aug 9, 1967 - 32-year old British playwright Joe Orton is murdered by longtime partner Kenneth Halliwell, who then commits suicide.

Aug 9, 1976 - Cherry Grove and the Pines were buffeted by Hurricane Belle, which made landfall on Jones Beach shortly after midnight.  Since the storm's approach was on Sunday, weekend activities were impacted due to a mandatory evacuation.

Aug 9, 2007 - Democratic presidential hopefuls debate LGBT issues on LOGO.

Aug 9, 2010 - After having an on-board altercation with a passenger shortly after landing at JFK Airport, a gay JetBlue flight attendant has a meltdown and exits the plane by one of its emergency slides.

Aug 10, 1987 - Famed gay porn star Casey Donovan (Boys in the Sand) dies from AIDS at the age of 43. 

Aug 10, 1994 - The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert opens in theaters.

Aug 11, 1995 - Unzipped, a documentary about out fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi, opens in limited release.

Aug 12, 1970 - 25-year-old Bette Midler gets her first national exposure when she appears on The Tonight Show.

Aug 12, 2004 - New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey steps down after revealing he is gay and had been carrying on an adulterous affair with a male staff member.

Aug 12, 2009 - Harvey Milk is posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama.

Aug 15, 1911 - Crisco shortening is introduced.

Aug 16, 1985 - Madonna weds actor Sean Penn on her 27th birthday.

Aug 16, 1986 - Madonna's Papa Don't Preach hits #1 on Billboard's Hot 100.

Aug 17, 1992 - Gay porn icon Al Parker dies from AIDS at the age of 40.

Aug 17, 2007 - Disney Channel's wildly popular High School Movie 2 premieres to record ratings and features perhaps the gayest musical number ever devoted to baseball (I Don't Dance).

Aug 18, 1975 - Released today, the album art of Hall & Oates second album (silver cover) has somewhat of a homoerotic look to it.

Aug 18, 1995 - The movie version of Paul Rudnick's play Jeffrey opens in theaters.

Aug 19, 1936 - Famed Spanish writer and poet Francisco Garcia Lorca is executed in the initial weeks of the Spanish Civil War.  He was 38.

Aug 21, 1983 - Opening night for the Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles, featuring George Hearn's show-stopping anthem I Am What I Am.

 

Aug 21, 1994 - Choreographer Michael Peters (Michael Jackson's Beat It video) dies from AIDS at the age of 46.  

Aug 21, 2000 - Ellen Degeneres and Anne Heche split after three years together.

Aug 21, 2008 - Hallmark introduces a line of wedding cards celebrating same-sex marriage.

Aug 22, 1972 - A man robs a bank in Brooklyn (and takes hostages) to pay for his boyfriend's gender reassignment surgery, an incident that the 1975 movie Dog Day Afternoon is based upon. 

Aug 22, 2008 - In a major upset, Australia's openly gay diver, Matt Mitcham, wins a gold medal in the 10-meter diving competition at the Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Aug 23, 2000 - Gay nudist Richard Hatch is the winner of the first season of Survivor.  

Aug 25, 1939 - The Wizard of Oz opens in theaters.

Aug 25, 1984 - Writer Truman Capote dies one month shy of his 60th birthday.

Aug 25, 2010 - Joe Miller, a gay philanthropist from Indianapolis, and owner of the company that produced the well-known line of Rush and Jungle Juice "poppers", commits suicide.  His age was uncertain, but he was thought to be around 60.

Aug 27, 1976 - Transexual Renee Richards is barred from competing in the U.S. Open as a woman.

Aug 28, 1982 - The first Gay Games is held in San Francisco.

Aug 28, 1985 - The lesbian-themed romantic drama Desert Hearts opens in theaters.

Aug 28, 1994 - The city of Tokyo holds its first Gay Pride Parade.

Aug 28, 2003 - Madonna and Britney Spears cause a sensation when they French kiss on stage at the MTV Music Video Awards.

Aug 31, 2007 - Princess Diana is killed in a car crash in Paris.

 

SEPTEMBER

Sept 1, 1939 - The movie The Women opens in theaters, one week after The Wizard of Oz had its opening.

Sept 1, 1964 - Susan Sontag's essay Notes on Camp is published in the Fall issue of Partisan Review.

Sept 1, 1968 - The gay-friendly entertainment magazine After Dark publishes its first issue.

Sept 1, 1977 - The first meeting of the Log Cabin Republicans is held.

Sept 1, 2002 - The New York Times publishes it first announcement of a same-sex union.

Sept 2, 1967 - The Advocate publishes its first issue.

Sept 2, 1971 - Liberace wears red, white & blue sequined hot pants during a performance in Minneapolis.

Sept 3, 1972 - The first Southern Decadence party is held in New Orleans. 

Sept 3, 1975 - This week's TIME Magazine cover story is titled "I Am a Homosexual" and tells the story of gay serviceman Lieutenant Leonard Matlovich.

Sept 3, 1977 - The Village People's debut album begins its first of seven weeks at the top of Billboard's dance chart. 

Sept 4, 1979 - Liza plays Carnegie Hall for the first time.

Sept 5, 2002 - Take Me Out, a drama about the impact an openly gay baseball player has on his teammates, opens at the Public Theater.

Sept 6, 1975 - Martina Navratilova requests political asylum in the U.S. while competing in the U.S. Open. 

Sept 7, 1930 - The movie Whoopie opens, introducing moviegoers to Busby Berkeley's grand geometry-inspired production numbers. 

Sept 7, 1967 - Ethel Merman appears as herself on That Girl.

Sept 8, 1292 - John de Wettre is put to death for committing sodomy in the Belgian city of Ghent, the earliest known case in Western Europe of an execution for this act.

Sept 8, 1504 - Michelangelo unveils his staute "David" in Florence.

Sept 8, 1966 - The sitcom That Girl debuts on ABC, starring Marlo Thomas. 

Sept 8, 2003 - Ellen Degeneres' daytime talk show debuts.

Sept 8, 2008 - The Rachel Maddow Show debuts on MSNBC.

Sept 9, 1999 - On Sex & the City Samantha gets an offer to have a threesome with two curious gay male friends but it doesn't go very well for her.

Sept 10, 2007 – Gay judge David Young’s syndicated TV show debuts.   It’s tagline is “Justice with a snap”.  Despite the gay angle (however, plaintiffs/defendants were of all sexual orientations) the show was unable to make headway against the glut of judge shows already on the air and was cancelled after two seasons.

Sept 11, 1989 - Liza's ninth studio album, Results, is released.  Produced by the Pet Shop Boys, its most popular track is a dance remake of Losing My Mind from the 1970 Sondheim musical Follies.

Sept 11, 1993 - The acclaimed AIDS drama And the Band Played On airs on HBO.

Sept 11, 2011 - On Curb Your Enthusiasm Larry is captivated by his girlfriend's innocently flamboyant 7-year old "pre-gay" son and buys him a showing machine for his birthday.

Sept 12, 1992 - Actor Anthony Perkins (Psycho) dies from AIDS at the age of 60.

Sept 13, 1977 - Billy Crystal portrays gay character Jodie Dallas on ABC's new envelope-pushing sitcom, Soap.

Sept 13, 1986 - Pee Wee's Playhouse debuts on CBS's Saturday Morning Kids lineup.

Sept 14, 1984 - Madonna becomes a star after her performance at the MTV Music Video Awards where she rolled around on the stage in a wedding dress while singing Like a Virgin.

Sept 14, 1989 – ACT UP disrupts the trading floor of the NYSE to protest the high price of AZT.

Sept 15, 1952 - Lucy & Ethel run into trouble on the assembly line at the candy factory on tonight's episode of I Love Lucy.

Sept 15, 1973 - Sue Ann Nivens (played by Betty White) is introduced on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Sept 16, 1977 - Soprano Maria Callas dies at the age of 53.

Sept 17, 1979 - The newly formed New York City Gay Men's Chorus holds its first auditions.

Sept 17, 1990 – General Motors issues an apology after one of its commercials refers to trucks made by foreign companies as “little faggot trucks.”

Sept 17, 2009 - On Parks & Recreation the Deputy of Parks (played by Amy Poehler) unknowingly marries two male penguins at the town zoo and becomes a hero of the town's gay population.  

Sept 18, 1987 - The movie Maurice opens.

Sept 19, 1981 - Mommie Dearest opens. 

Sept 19, 1988 - U.S. diver Greg Louganis hits his head on the diving board while competing at the Summer Olympics in South Korea and still wins a gold medal.

Sept 19, 1997 - The comedy In & Out, about a teacher (played by Kevin Kline) who's unaware of his sexual orientation until he's outed on national TV, opens in theaters.  Tom Selleck plays a gay TV news reporter. 

Sept 19, 2006 - The temperature of the already homoerotic Nip/Tuck heated up a few more degrees in tonight's episode, which featured Mario Lopez showing off his beautiful butt cheeks during an exquisite shower scene.

Sept 19, 2011 - Chaz Bono competes as a man on Dancing With the Stars.

 

Sept 20, 1973 - Billie Jean King defeats Bobby Riggs in the "Battle of the Sexes", televised in primetime from the Astrodome.

Sept 20, 1980 - Opening night at "The Saint", New York's premier gay dance club of the 1980's.

Sept 20, 1980 - Love Sensation by Loleatta Holloway goes to #1 on Billboard's dance chart.

Sept 20, 2010 - At a political rally in Portland, Maine Lady Gaga gives a fiery speech demanding the end of the U.S. military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.

 

Sept 20, 2011 - After 18 years the U.S. military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy is no longer in effect.   

Sept 21, 1327 - Henry II is murdered in his prison cell supposedly after having a red hot iron thrust up his rectum (in reaction to his homosexuality).

Sept 21, 1994 - On Roseanne, husband Dan is embarrassed when his buddies discover he shaved his armpits when he had a cyst treated. 

Sept 21, 1996 - President Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) into law.

Sept 21, 1998 - Will & Grace debuts on NBC's Monday night schedule.

Sept 23, 2009 - ABC's new sitcom Modern Family debuts.  It features three couples, one of which is gay daddies Cameron and Mitchell.

Sept 24, 1924 - Leopold and Loeb, both 19-year-old college students from wealthy Chicago families, receive life sentences for the "thrill kill" murder of 14-year-old Bobby Franks four months earlier.  Their motivation was to commit the perfect crime.  They were thought to have had a homosexual relationship with one another.  The case was the inspiration for the films Rope (1948) and Swoon (1992).

Sept 25, 1979 - Evita opens on Broadway and makes Patti Lupone a star. 

Sept 25, 1990 - Chelsea bar/club, Splash, opens.

Sept 26, 1957 - West Side Story opens on Broadway, with quite the gay pedigree: Leonard Bernstein (Music); Stephen Sondheim (Lyrics); Arthur Laurents (Book); and Jerome Robbins (Choreography).

Sept 26, 1975 - The Rocky Horror Picture Show opens in theaters.

Sept 26, 1985 - Lily Tomlin's one-woman show Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe opens on Broadway.  It was written by her longtime partner Jane Wagner.

Sept 26, 1987 - The legendary Paradise Garage closes its doors after 11 years.

Sept 27, 1977 - Prison movie Short Eyes airs on CBS. 

Sept 27, 1985 - The roof of Calvin Klein's summer home in the Pines is blown off when Hurricane Gloria strikes Long Island.

Sept 28, 1961 - Dr. Kildare, starring Richard Chamberlain, debuts on NBC.

Sept 28, 2007 - Harry Potter author JC Rowland reveals that Hogwarts' chief wizard, Dumbledore, was gay.

Sept 29, 1948 - Rope, an Alfred Hitchcock film with a gay subtext, opens in theaters.  The screenplay was written by Arthur Laurents and two of the actors, Farley Granger and John Dall, were also gay. 

Sept 29, 1963 - Judy Garland's variety show debuts Sunday on CBS.

Sept 29, 1992 - Music producer Paul Jabara (Last Dance) dies from AIDS at the age of 44.

Sept 29, 2000 - The comedy Best in Show opens in theaters and among its cast of characters is a gay male couple and a lesbian dog trainer played by Jane Lynch.

 

Sept 29, 2006 - Closeted Republican congressman Mark Foley (from Florida) resigns after IMs of a sexual nature between him and a male Congressional page are revealed.

Sept 29, 2012 - California becomes the first state to ban reparative therapy on minors to "cure" them of their homosexuality.

Sept 30, 1955 - Actor James Dean is killed in a car crash at the age of 24, one month before Rebel Withough a Cause is released.

Sept 30, 1984 - San Francisco's BDSM and leather communities organize the first Folsom Street Fair.

Sept 30, 2010 - Rutgers freshman Tyler Clementi jumps from the George Washington Bridge after his roommate shows a video of him online kissing a man in their dorm room.

 

OCTOBER

Oct 2, 1981 - German film Taxi zum Clo ("Taxi to the Toilet") opens at the New York Film Festival.

Oct 2, 1985 - Rock Hudson becomes the first public figure to die from AIDS.  He was 59.

Oct 3, 1872 - Bloomingdale's department store opens in Manhattan.

Oct 3, 2003 - Roy of "Siegfried & Roy" is mauled by one of his tigers during their Vegas show.

Oct 3, 2004 - Desperate Housewives, created by openly gay showrunner, Marc Cherry, debuts on ABC's Sunday night schedule.

Oct 3, 2005 - This week's TIME cover story is titled "The Battle Over Gay Teens".

Oct 4, 1974 - John Waters' follow-up to Pink Flamingos, Female Trouble, opens in theaters.

Oct 5, 1961 - The movie Breakfast at Tiffany's opens in theaters.

Oct 5, 1967 - Ethel Merman makes a guest appearance as "Lola Lasagne" on Batman. 

Oct 5, 1969 - Peggy Lee's camp classic Is That All There Is? enters the top-40 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.  

Oct 6, 1963 - Judy Garland sings with Barbra Streisand on Judy's variety show, their only performance together. 

Oct 6, 1997 - Annie Proulx's short story Brokeback Mountain is published in The New Yorker.

Oct 6, 2006 - After 18 years as weatherman at New York's WABC, Sam Champion moves to Good Morning America.

 

Oct 7, 1959 - Pillow Talk, starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson, opens in theaters and becomes the 2nd highest grossing film of the 1950's.

Oct 7, 1989 - Bette Davis dies at the age of 81.

Oct 8, 1974 - Marcus Welby, MD airs a controversial episode about a high school boy who is raped by one of his teachers. 

Oct 8, 1975 - The movie Mahogany opens in theaters, starring Diana Ross in the title role.  It featured the song Mahogany's Theme (Do You Know Where You're Going To?) which was nominated for an Oscar (but lost to I'm Easy from Nashville).

Oct 9, 1957 - 22-year-old Johnny Mathis sings Chances Are on American Bandstand.

Oct 9, 2002 - Lesbian serial killer Aileen Wournos (7 murders in one year) is executed in Florida.

Oct 11, 1987 - The AIDS Memorial Quilt is unveiled for the first time at the 2nd Gay & Lesbian March on Washington, D.C.

Oct 11, 1988 - Ventriloquist Waylon Flowers (creator of the character "Madam") dies from AIDS at the age of 58.

Oct 11, 1988 - The first National Coming Out Day is observed.

Oct 11, 2009 - On tonight's episode of Mad Men, closeted art director Sal (played by out actor Bryan Bratt) is fired after he rebuffs the advances of the Lucky Strike client.  (This is Sal's last appearance on the series.) 

Oct 11, 2011 - Gay rights pioneer Frank Kameny dies in Washington, D.C. at the age of 86.

Oct 12, 1972 - Lady Sings the Blues opens in theaters, marking Diana Ross' film debut.  Her role as Billie Holiday would garner her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

Oct 12, 1985 - Andy Warhol appears on The Love Boat.

Oct 12, 1998 - College student Matthew Shepard dies five days after being beaten and tied to a fence post in Laramie, Wyoming.

Oct 13, 1950 - All About Eve opens in theaters.

Oct 14, 1930 - 21-year-old Ethel Merman makes a name for herself after belting out I've Got Rhythm in the Broadway musical Girl Crazy.

Oct 14, 1979 - The first National March on Washington for Gay & Lesbian Rights is held.

Oct 14, 1990 - Leonard Bernstein dies at the age of 72.

Oct 14, 1996 - Madonna gives birth to her first child, Lourdes Ciccone Leon.  The father, Carlos Leon, a personal trainer, is eight years younger than Madonna.

Oct 15, 1951 - I Love Lucy premieres on CBS.

Oct 15, 1967 - Vikki Carr's camp classic It Must Be Him enters the top-10 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. 

Oct 15, 2002 - Cher is on the cover of November's issue of Good Housekeeping.

Oct 16, 2003 - The Boy From Oz, starring Hugh Jackman, opens on Broadway.

Oct 17, 2010 - The Liberace Museum in Las Vegas closes after 31 years.

Oct 19, 1975 - A Chorus Line opens.

Oct 19, 2005 - Noah's Arc debuts on LOGO.

Oct 20, 1958 - Truman Capote's novella Breakfast at Tiffany's is published in the November issue of Esquire Magazine.

Oct 20, 1991 - Primetime's first same-sex marriage takes place on the Fox sitcom Roc.

Oct 21, 1985 – Dan White, who in 1978 shot to death Harvey Milk and San Francisco mayor George Moscone, commits suicide.

Oct 21, 1992 - Madonna's controversial book Sex goes on sale.

Oct 21, 1993 - Twilight of the Golds opens on Broadway.

Oct 22, 1986 - U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop calls for the  use of condoms to prevent HIV transmission.

Oct 24, 1937 - Cole Porter's legs are crushed when the horse he was riding while out in the Hamptons falls on top of him.

Oct 24, 1966 - Paul Lynde makes his first appearance on the game show Hollywood Squares.

Oct 24, 1969 - This week's TIME Magazine cover story is "The Homosexual in America."

Oct 24, 1978 - Diana Ross stars as Dorothy in the movie version of The Wiz, which opens in theaters. It's not nearly successful as the Broadway musical. 

Oct 24, 2002 - Pioneering gay rights activist Harry Hay (Mattachine Society; Radical Faeries) dies at the age of 90.

Oct 25, 2006 - On 30 Rock straight Liz (played by Tina Fey) is set up on a blind date with a lesbian.  And although Liz develops a platonic crush on her, the lesbian refuses to play the game of chasing after a straight girl.

Oct 26, 1974 - Never Can Say Goodbye by Gloria Gaynor is the first #1 song on Billboard's new Dance Chart.

Oct 27, 1964 - 18-year old Cheryl Sarkisian (aka "Cher") wears bell bottoms at her wedding to Sonny Bono.

Oct 30, 1992 - The issue of Entertainment Weekly that hit newsstands today, showing Madonna hitchiking nude, is one of the magazine's most notorious.  It coincided with the publication of her book Sex (which featured this photo).

Oct 31, 1962 - Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, opens in theaters. 

Oct 31, 1979 - Fire Island Pines' beloved disco, the Sandpiper, closes its doors after tonight's Halloween party.

Oct 31, 1981 - Producer Patrick Cowley's techno composition Menergy is the new #1 song on Billboard's dance chart.

NOVEMBER

Nov 1, 1934 - Lillian Hellman's lesbian-themed drama The Children's Hour opens on Broadway.

Nov 1, 1972 - The landmark TV movie That Certain Summer airs, starring Hal Holbrooke and Martin Sheen as a gay couple who reveal their relationship to Holbrooke's teen son.

Nov 2, 1986 - Liberace makes his final stage performance, at Radio City Music Hall. 

Nov 2, 2003 - The Episcopal church ordains its first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.     

Nov 3, 1956 - The Wizard of Oz airs on TV for the first time.

Nov 3, 1977 - 47-year-old Harvey Milk becomes one of the nation's highest profile individuals who is openly gay when he's elected to San Francisco's Board of Supervisors. 

Nov 3, 1984 - Jack Haber, former editor-in-chief at GQ from 1969-1983, dies from AIDS complications at the age of 45.  He brought a gay sensibility to the publication which later publishers sought to downplay in order to attract advertising from Detroit automakers.

Nov 3, 1998 - Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin becomes the first openly gay candidate elected to the House of Representatives. 

Nov 3, 2006 - Actor Neil Patrick Harris reveals that he's gay.

Nov 3, 2006 - Ted Haggard, founder of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs steps down from his evangelical ministry after a male escort/masseur/personal trainer revealed a 3-year affair with him.  

Nov 3, 2011 - Conan O'Brien officiates the same-sex wedding of one his staff members on his show.

Nov 4, 1998 - The movie Gods and Monsters, starring Ian McKellen as gay film director James Whale, opens in theaters.  McKellen received an Oscar nomination for his role and the movie won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Nov 4, 2001 – Ellen DeGeneres hosts the Emmys (delayed by the 9-11 attacks), and to open the telecast walks on stage wearing a swan costume, similar to that worn by Bjork at this year's Academy Awards.

Nov 4, 2003 - Ron Oden becomes the first openly gay African American elected mayor of a U.S. city, Palm Springs, CA.

Nov 4, 2008 - By a narrow margin, voters in California overturn the state's Supreme Court ruling that same sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, thus putting somewhat of a damper on Barack Obama's election as U.S. president.

Nov 5, 1974 - Lesbian Elaine Noble wins election to Massachusetts' House of Representative, the first openly gay person to be elected to a statewide office. 

Nov 5, 1980 - The Fifth of a July opens on Broadway.

Nov 5, 1987 - Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods has its Broadway opening.

Nov 7, 1972 - Bette Midler's debut album, The Divine Miss M, is released.

Nov 7, 1978 - California's Briggs Initiative, which would bar LGBT individuals from teaching in public schools, is defeated.

Nov 7, 1989 - Two men are shown lying in bed together on the ABC drama thirtysomething, a first for network TV.

Nov 7, 1990 - Gay film archivist, Vito Russo, dies from AIDS at the age of 44.

 

Nov 7, 2000 - Former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is elected to the U.S. Senate from New York.

Nov 7, 2012 - It was a momentous election day for LGBT Americans as voters in three states - Maine, Maryland and Washington - voted in favor of allowing same-sex marriage while Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay candidate to be elected to the U.S. Senate. 

Nov 8, 1997 - Bill Clinton delivers the keynote address at HRC's annual dinner, the first sitting president to speak before a LGBT organization.

Nov 8, 2012 - The new James Bond movie Skyfall, which opens today, starts with a homoerotic exchange between Bond and gay villain Raoul Silva, played by Javier Bardem.

Nov 9, 1955 - Rock Hudson marries his agent's secretary to squelch "rumors" about his sexual orientation.

Nov 9, 1979 - Bette Midler's first movie, The Rose, opens in theaters and leads to an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for the Divine Miss M.   

Nov 9, 1985 - Madonna is guest host of Saturday Night Live's season premiere (seen here in a skit as Princess Diana).

 

Nov 9, 2010 - On tonight's episode of Glee, Kurt (played by Chris Colfer) confronts a football player who's been bullying him, and in the heat of the confrontation the jock gives Kurt a passionate kiss.  In the same episode Kurt meets Blaine.

Nov 10, 1992 - On Roseanne, Sandra Bernhard plays the first recurring lesbian character on a sitcom.

Nov 11, 1950 - Five men in Los Angeles attend the first meeting of the pioneering gay organization known as The Mattachine Society.

Nov 11, 1974 - The New Yorker publishes its first gay-themed short story, "Minor Heroism", by Allan Gurganus.

Nov 11, 1985 - An Early Frost is the first TV movie about AIDS.

Nov 11, 1994 - Pedro Zamora, cast member of MTV's Real World: Miami, dies from AIDS at the age of 22.

Nov 12, 1992 - Techno music producer Patrick Cowley dies from AIDS at the age of 32.

Nov 13, 1976 - Carol Burnett's contribution to the "camp" Hall of Fame occurs tonight on her show with the Gone With the Wind parody Went With the Wind!    

Nov 14, 1943 - 25-year-old Leonard Bernstein becomes the first American to conduct the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Nov 14, 2006 - South Africa is the first country in Africa to legalize same-sex marriage.

Nov 14, 2006 - The most memorable image of the year is that of actor Daniel Craig, starring as the new James Bond in Casino Royale, walking out of the surf in a mouth-watering sky blue square cut swim suit.  The movie opened this weekend.

Nov 14, 2011 - An intense nighttime fire destroys the Pavilion dance club in the Pines.

Nov 14, 2012 - On Modern Family Matthew Broderick makes a guest appearance as a gay man who meets metrosexual Phil at the gym and thinks his invitation to watch football at his home is a date. 

Nov 15, 1991 - Music producer Jacques Morali, creator of The Village People and Ritchie Family, dies from AIDS at the age of 44.

Nov 15, 2008 - Beyonce performs a hilarious Single Ladies skit on Saturday Night Live with three men as her backup dancers, one of whom is Justin Timberlake.

Nov 16, 1964 - At London's Palladium Judy Garland and her 18-year-old daughter Liza perform together on stage for the first time.

Nov 16, 1981 - Olivia Newton John's single Physical begins its first of ten weeks at the top of the charts.  The song's video has a gay twist at the end.

Nov 16, 1986 - Susan Sontag's AIDS-inspired short story The Way We Live Now is published in The New Yorker (issue date of 11/23).

Nov 16, 2000 - Jack's idol, Cher, makes an appearance at the end of tonight's episode of Will & Grace and he thinks she's a drag performer.

Nov 17, 1963 - In their first professional pairing Judy Garland and daughter Liza perform on Judy's CBS variety show.

Nov 17, 1978 - Larry Kramer's best-selling novel Faggots is published.

Nov 18, 1922 - Closeted French novelist Marcel Proust dies of pneumonia in Paris at the age of 51.

Nov 18, 2003 - Massachusetts' Supreme Court rules that the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

Nov 20, 1948 - Tallulah Bankhead appears on the cover of this week's TIME Magazine.

Nov 20, 2012 - Kevin Clash, the voice of beloved Sesame Street character Elmo, resigns in the midst of a sex scandal involving two young men he had relationships with when they were teens.

  

Nov 21, 1987 - Cher is the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. 

Nov 22, 2002 - The movie Far From Heaven opens.  It stars Julianne Moore as a 1950's housewife who discovers her husband, played by Dennis Quaid, is a closeted homosexual.

Nov 24, 1980 - Eyebrows are raised as Ron Regan Jr. gets married.

Nov 24, 1991 - Freddie Mercury of the group Queen dies of AIDS at the age of 45.

Nov 25, 1992 - The gender bending move The Crying Game opens.

Nov 26, 1978 - A Question of Love, starring Gena Rowlands & Jane Alexander, is the first lesbian-themed movie on network TV.

Nov 26, 2008 - The movie Milk opens in theaters.

Nov 27, 1978 - Openly gay city supervisor Harvey Milk and San Francisco mayor George Moscone are shot to death inside City Hall by a disgruntled former officeholder.  

Nov 27, 2008 - A giant helium balloon honoring graffiti artist Keith Haring makes its first appearance at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Nov 28, 1986 - 27-year old comedian Ellen Degeneres makes her first appearance on The Tonight Show.

Nov 28, 1994 - Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is beaten to death in prison, six months after the execution of John Wayne Gacy.

Nov 29, 1984 - West Hollywood is incorporated as an independent, gay-friendly city.

Nov 29, 2005 - The Vatican issues an edict barring admission of gay men into seminaries.

Nov 30, 2008 - On a segment of 60 Minutes Anderson Cooper challenges Olympic swimming phenom Michael Phelps to a race but disappoints by wearing dorky swim trunks instead of a slinky Speedo like Phelps'.

 

DECEMBER

Dec 1, 1988 - The first World AIDS Day is observed.

Dec 1, 1989 - Choreographer Alvin Ailey dies of AIDS at the age of 58.

Dec 2, 1979 - The grim WWII drama Bent opens on Broadway, starring 30-year-old Richard Gere.

Dec 3, 1937 - Thoroughbreds Don't Cry is the first movie Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney appear in together.

Dec 3, 1957 - Tallulah Bankhead makes a guest appearance on the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour.

Dec 3, 2000 - Queer As Folk debuts on Showtime.

  

Dec 1, 2012 - West Point's military chapel hosts its first same-sex wedding.

Dec 6, 1979 - Gay dance club Heaven opens in London.

Dec 7, 1995 - The FDA approves the first protease inhibitor, a new class of drug that is very effective in fighting the AIDS virus. 

Dec 7, 2003 - Angels in America airs on HBO.

Dec 7, 2010 - Kurt and Blaine sing a saucy duet of Baby It's Cold Outside in a Christmas-themed episode of Glee.

Dec 8, 1949 - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes opens on Broadway and makes 26-year-old Carol Channing a star.

Dec 8, 1981 - The NYC Gay Men's Chorus holds its Christmas concert at Carnegie Hall for the first time (and would do so for the next 27 years). 

Dec 8, 1991 - 23-year-old Kimberly Bergalas dies from AIDS, one of six patients apparently infected by a gay HIV+ dentist in Florida (who died of AIDS in 1990).

Dec 8, 2002 - Washington's Gay Men's Chorus performs a tribute to Elizabeth Taylor at the Kennedy Center Honors (which airs on CBS at the end of the month).

Dec 9, 1975 - Former NFL player Dave Kopay comes out in an interview in the Washington Star, one of the first pro athletes to do so.

Dec 9, 1985 - In response to the AIDS crisis the St. Marks Baths is closed by order of New York City's Department of Health.

Dec 9, 2005 - The movie Brokeback Mountain opens in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Dec 10, 1983 - For the first time The New York Times mentions a same-sex partner, in the obituary for 53-year-old actor David Rounds.

Dec 10, 1989 - ACT UP holds a notorious demonstration inside New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral during Sunday mass.

Dec 12, 1968 - Tallulah Bankhead dies at the age of 65.

Dec 12, 1993 - Bette Midler stars in a made-for-TV version of the musical Gypsy.

Dec 12, 1995 - Roseanne's gay boss (played by Martin Mull) has a commitment ceremony with his partner on tonight's episode of Roseanne.

Dec 12, 2009 - Houston becomes the largest city in the U.S. with a gay mayor when it elects lesbian Annise Parker to the office.

Dec 14, 1974 - New York's first gay disco, Flamingo, opens its doors. 

Dec 14, 1988 - 6-1/2 years after opening on Broadway, the movie version of Torch Song Trilogy opens in theaters with Matthew Broderick playing the role of Harvey Fierstein's young lover.

Dec 15, 1928 - Radclyffe Hall's lesbian novel, The Well of Loneliness, is published in the U.S. on the same day that a court in England rules that all copies of it be destroyed.

Dec 15, 1952 - George Jorgenseon has a sex change operation and becomes Christine.

Dec 15, 1967 - The movie version of Valley of the Dolls, the best-selling novel by Jacqueline Suzanne, opens in theaters.

Dec 15, 1973 - The American Psychiatric Associaton removes homosexuality from its list of psychiatric disorders.

Dec 16, 1988 - Beloved disco diva Sylvester succumbs to AIDS at the age of 40.  

Dec 17, 1892 - Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker premieres in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, less than a year before his death.

Dec 17, 1963 - A front page story in today's New York Times carries the headline, "Growth of Overt Homosexuality in City Provokes Wide Concern."

 

Dec 18, 1969 - Coco, starring Katharine Hepburn, opens on Broadway. 

Dec 18, 1984 - Like a Virgin is Madonna's first #1 song.

Dec 18, 1985 - The movie version of Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple opens in theaters.  Many fans of the book are distressed that director Steven Spielberg chose to largely ignore the lesbian relationship between Celie and Shug, showing just one discreet kiss.    

Dec 18, 2010 - Congress votes to repeal the U.S. military's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Dec 18, 2012 - Nate Silver, the gay stats guru who made a name for himself by accurately predicting the outcome of the presidential election in a regular columm in the New York Times, is named Out Magazine's Person of the Year.  

Dec 19, 1961 - The movie version of The Children's Hour opens in theaters, starring Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn.

 

Dec 20, 1978 - The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, the world's first openly gay chorus, holds its first concert.

Dec 20, 1979 - Angela Lansbury appears on the cover of January's issue of After Dark.

Dec 20, 1987 - The Pet Shop Boys' collaboration with Dusty Springfield, What Have I Done to Deserve This? enters the top-40 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

Dec 20, 1981 - Dreamgirls opens on Broadway.

Dec 20, 1988 - ABC news anchor Max Robinson dies from AIDS at the age of 49.

Dec 20, 2006 - A nasty (and idiotic) feud between Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump begina.

Dec 21, 1932 - Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appear in their first film together, Flying Down to Rio. 

Dec 21, 1969 - Diana Ross makes her final TV appearance with The Supremes on The Ed Sullivan Show.

 

Dec 22, 2000 - Madonna marries British film director Guy Ritchie, her second marriage.

Dec 22, 2001 - Lance Loud, gay son of the family depicted on PBS's landmark reality series, An American Family, dies from hepatitis-C at the age of 50. 

Dec 24, 1993 - The AIDS drama Philadelphia opens in theaters, starring Tom Hanks.

Dec 24, 1994 - Author John Boswell dies from AIDS at the age of 47.

Dec 25, 1982 - It's Raining Men by the Weather Girls tops this week's Billboard dance chart.

Dec 27, 1958 - The movie Auntie Mame, starring Rosalind Russell, opens in theaters.

Dec 27, 1964 - The Supremes appear on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time.

Dec 28, 1986 - Terry Dolan, a closeted anti-gay Republican operative, dies of AIDS at the age of 36.

Dec 28, 2004 - Famed writer/essayist Susan Sontag dies at the age of 71.  Her death creates some controversy because her obituary in the New York Times doesn't mention her long term relationship with photographer Annie Leibowitz.

Dec 31, 2007 - Comic Kathy Griffin and CNN reporter Anderson Cooper bring in the New Year together on CNN for the first time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Silly Disco Songs - And What's Wrong With That?

When the first notes of a cheesy disco tune begin to play you may initially roll your eyes, but such songs can be a lot of fun on the dance floor.  They're likely to have a good beat, an infectious hook and catchy sound effects.  And with lyrics that are often non-sensical you can't help but chuckle.  Inane, yes, but irresistible to dance to.  (Of course, having a few drinks helps.)  What follows is my honor roll of lovably cheesy disco tunes. 

 

Ring My Bell (1979) - In my estimation, this is the silliest disco tune of all time and yet it was the nation's #1 song for two weeks.  It was sung by Anita Ward, who some friends still confuse with R&B chanteuse Anita Baker or Anita Hill (of Clarence Thomas fame).   

 

Macho Man (1978) - Actually, any song by the Village People qualifies for this list, but this one was their first top-40 hit.

 

Get Off (1978) - 30+ years later and you probably still can't get the constant "Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, oohs" from a synthesizer out of your head.

 

Honey Bee (1974) - Sung by Gloria Gaynor before she became the pre-eminent disco diva with her classics Never Can Say Goodbye and I Will Survive.  It was released in the early years of the disco era along with trifles such as Lady Bump by Penny McLean and Smarty Pants by First Choice.  Although these three songs weren't commercial hits they were popular in gay discos.

 

Shake Your Groove Thing (1979) - What exactly is a "groove thing"?  Based on the lyrics, "We put in motion every single part" and "We're bumpin' booties, havin' us a ball y'all", it appears it's any movable body part.

 

Instant Replay (1978) - Its opening countdown is one of the most distinctive of any song's.  (Interestingly, the album it's on has a song called Countdown.)  A very high spirited song, but what exactly is it about?  Produced by Dan Hartman, he released the huge club hit Vertigo/Relight My Fire the following year.

 

Boogie Oogie Oogie (1978) - Any song with the word "Boogie" in its title qualifies for this list: Boogie Nights; Boogie Wonderland; Boogie Woogie Dancing Shoes; Boogie Fever; and Boogie Shoes.  However, Boogie Oogie Oogie was the biggest of them all, spending three weeks atop Billboard's Hot 100.

 

Makin' It (1979) - Perhaps the "whitest" of any disco hit, it was sung by David Naughton (pictured, right), the star of the short-lived TV show of the same name.  However, Naughton's real claim to fame was being the Dr. Pepper guy in TV commercials from the 1970's ("I'm a Pepper, you're a Pepper...").

 

The Main Event (1979) - By far the cheesiest of any Streisand single, and even more embarrassing than Rod Stewart's entree into disco earlier in the year, Do Ya Think I'm Sexy (which spent four weeks at #1).  The Main Event, which made it to #5, was the title track from the equally awful movie Babs starred in with Ryan O'Neal.

 

Devil's Gun (1977) - The bass voice singing "Fee-Fie, Foe-Fum, you're looking down the barrel of the devil's gun" was especially catchy - in a Sesame Street sort of way.

 

 

Pow Wow (1979) - Its lyrics make reference to passing a piece pipe and a teepee being cold and empty; sound effects included Indian war whoops.  It was sung by Cory Daye, best known as the lead singer of Dr. Buzzard's Savannah Band, whose big hit was Cherchez la Femme in 1976.

Get Up & Boogie (1976) - By the German group Silver Convention, a follow up to their breakout hit, Fly Robin Fly, the year before.  The song is best known for its distinctive shout-out opening "That's Right!".

 

 

Funkytown (1980) - It has one of the most distinctive melodies of any song, with a great sax and strings interlude during the chorus.  It spent four weeks at #1 and was one of the ten most popular songs of 1980.

 

 

Copacabana (1978) - Delta Dawn with a beat, Copacabana became one of Barry Manilow's eleven top-10 hits.  It brings back fond memories of my college days at Penn State where on Friday evenings I'd go with friends to Mr. C's Disco to dance and drink tequila sunrises during happy hour. 

 

 

 

 

"Soul Makossa" Ushers In the Disco Era (July 22, 1973)

During the summer of 1973 Cameroon-born saxophonist Manu Dibango's Soul Makossa became the first "disco" record to enter the top 40 of Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart (peaking at #33).  A song with African rhythms and tribal incantations ("ma-ma-ma-sa, ma-ma-ma-kosa"), its mainstream success was a bit of suprise.  Since then a long list of artists have sampled parts of the song, the most popular being Michael Jackson's Wanna be Starting Somethin' and Rihanna's Don't Stop the Music.     

 

A year passed before disco songs began appearing regularly on top-40 radio playlists.  For the most part they had a more accessible "pop" feel than Makossa - Gloria Gaynor's Never Can Say Goodbye; Rock the Boat by Hues Corportation; KC & the Sunshine Band's That's the Way I Like It; and Vicki Sue Robinson's Turn the Beat Around.   

 

These mainstream dance hits were popular in gay clubs as well, but there was a list of "parallel" hits that never made it beyond gay circles, making them even more cherished - songs like Cocomotion, Spank, Puff of Smoke, I Need a Man, Hot Shot, and Hold on to My Love. 

 

Click here for a more in-depth account of Soul Makossa and its place in the disco-dancing pantheon. 

A Song Celebrates Promiscuity in the Early Days of AIDS (Summer 1983)

In the summer of 1983 the dance song So Many Men, So Little Time by Miquel Brown was a huge club hit.  However, its timing was peculiar as it was released in the early years of the AIDS crisis.  Hearing it always gave me a chill and I was surprised there wasn't a backlash over its questionable message - or the cruel irony of the phrase "so little time".       

 

 

To be sure, there were other songs that touched on a similar theme, such as Olivia Newton John's Physical and the Weather Girls' It's Raining Men, but they had more of a bubblegum feel to them and were popular somewhat before the full-blown AIDS panic took hold.  As for So Many Men, perhaps it seemed removed from the gay experience because it was sung by a woman - but it unsettled me nonetheless.

 

 

Disco Diva Grace Jones Born (May 19, 1948)

30 years before Lady Gaga, Grace Jones was making herself known with her striking presence, outrageous fashion sense, distinct singing voice and inventive performance videos. 

 

Born and raised in Jamaica (birth name: Grace Mendoza), she moved with her family to the snowbelt city of Syracuse in New York state when she was in her teens.  Before becoming a singer she was a model who became part of Andy Warhol's glam circle.  To me, she resembled an Amazonian version of Eartha Kitt.   

 

 

Every year between 1977 and 1982 Grace released an album (and ten overall), but none became big commercial hits.  Her highest charting LP, 1981's Nightclubbing, made it only to #32 on Billboard's album chart.  However, songs such as I Need a Man (her first); Do or Die; and Pull up to the Bumper were big club hits.  Besides those, other favorites of mine include La Vie en Rose; Nipple to the Bottle; Unlimited Capacity for Love; and Slave to the Rythym.  Her music style was hard to categorize - a bit disco, a bit new wave, a bit R&B.

 

 

In the 1980's, her Warhol years behind her, she tested her mainstream appeal by appearing in action movies such as Conan the Destroyer and was cast as the villain in the James Bond movie A View to a Kill.  She also appeared in TV and print ads for Honda scooters.