Mary Treen. You know her. She was that actress who was in that TV show. You know the one. In 1930, 23-year old Mary made her motion picture debut in a Vitaphone comedy short called Surprise. She went on to land bit parts in numerous movies, often playing a nurse or a maid or a …
The singing Seegar Sisters were gaining popularity, prompting their father Frank to open a hardware store to support their budding career. Miriam was the breakout star of the group and soon found herself heading to Hollywood to try her hand at the motion picture industry. Miriam made her film debut in 1928’s The Price of …
I vaguely remember going to a drive-in movie in 1966. My mom and dad were up in the front seat. My dad, with an omnipresent cigarette dangling from his lips, would adjust the hook on the back of that big, gray, metal speaker so it hung on the driver’s side window to allow for optimum …
June is Pride Month. As an adolescent, Anita Berber was enrolled in traditional ballet classes in her native Berlin. She also learned acrobatics and gymnastics at the behest of her grandmother, by whom she was raised. Before the age of 20, Anita was performing regularly in Berlin’s burgeoning cabaret scene, often dancing nude. She favored …
June is Pride Month. Charles Silverstein was a respected author, lecturer and psychologist. In 1973, his presentation before the American Psychiatric Association led to the declassification and eventual removal of homosexuality as a mental illness from the organization’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. In 1977, he and writer Edmund White, co-authored the groundbreaking The Joy of Gay Sex. They …
June is Pride Month. Leelah Alcorn just wanted to be happy. At 14, Leelah came out to her parent as transgender. Doug and Carla Alcorn, devout followers of the Church of Christ, were mortified. They refused to accept Leelah’s identity. Leelah pressed and stood firm, despite her parent’s denial. At 16, instead of supporting Leelah’s …
June is Pride Month. How could you not love Leslie Jordan? He was a versatile actor, singer, writer, comedian… a jack of all trades. In reality, Leslie Jordan essentially portrayed one character and that character was Leslie Jordan. As an actor, he made guest appearances in a number of television series, stealing every scene with …
June is Pride Month. Arizona-born Sue Hardesty began her budding writing career as an editor, refining books for other authors. She collaborated on her first book, a collection of recipes, punctuated by commentary on gender roles and identity, entitled The Butch Cook Book. The book was likened to the old-fashioned church-issued cookbooks, but for a …
When teenage Anna Mae Bullock was picking cotton and cleaning the houses of rich, white families in Nutbush, Tennessee, did she ever imagine that her life would end as a Swiss citizen, having won twelve Grammy Awards and enjoyed success as a singer, actress, author and internationally-known and beloved public figure?
12-year old Bud Brisbois picked up a trumpet and his life was never the same. Mostly self-taught, he headed to Los Angeles after a brief enrollment at the University of Minnesota. Bud bounced around the LA music scene until he joined Stan Kenton’s band as lead trumpet player. He recorded ten albums as a part …
