June is Pride Month. Freddie Mercury was a complicated person. His wild and flamboyant stage persona was a vast contrast to his quiet, reserved, almost shy, demeanor off-stage. Raised in a strict Zoroastrianism family, he kept his homosexuality a secret from his parents, a decision that often troubled him. But young Freddie was somewhat of …
June is Pride Month. Barbara Gittings first heard the word “homosexual” when she was rejected for membership in the National Honor Society. She never considered her attraction to women unusual until a high school teacher informed her that, despite being an excellent student, her “homosexual inclinations” were grounds to keep her out of the National …
When she was a teenager, Arlene Golonka knew she wanted to be an actress. She appeared in small, summer stock productions in her native Chicago, before landing a role opposite Ben Gazzara in The Night Circus at a theatre in New Haven, Connecticut. After a successful run, the play headed to Broadway at the end …
Hank McKinnies, Jr. began his acting career on radio and in local theater. His big break came when he was spotted by talent scouts and offered a contract with 20th Century Fox. Using the stage name “Jeffrey Hunter,” he was cast in a bit part in a 1950 film adaptation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar with a young …
Using a nickname “Haji” given to her as child, the former Barbarella Catton worked as a topless dancer in her native Quebec, Canada at the age of 14. She was recruited by notorious sexploitation director Russ Meyer and in 1965, Haji made her film debut as “Rosie” in the campy cult classic Faster Pussycat! Kill! …
Gene MacLellan grew up in Toronto, raised in a traditional Presbyterian household. As a child, he contracted polio. Despite his illness, he was a determined singer and songwriter, using his music to overcome his physical ailments. As a teenager, he formed a band called The Consuls. They evolved into Little Caesar and the Consuls, a …
After performing with his brothers in a traditional Latin music group, Sergio Vega branched out as a solo act in 1994. An accomplished singer and accompanist on the bajo sexto, Sergio turned his musical focus to the Narcocorrido musical sub-genre, a style of narrative ballad that glorifies the world of drug smuggling, trafficking and other …
John Anthony Bailey performed in various college productions and improvisational theater as a student at Oakland’s Merritt College. He appeared in the Sun Ra science fiction film Space is the Place in 1972. John landed a regular role in the Sid and Marty Krofft children’s fantasy series Wonderbug in 1976. He also played the character …
Dorothy Short aspired to be an actress. She made her debut in 1935 starring alongside Noah Beery Jr. in the 12-part Universal Studios serial The Call of the Savage. Her next role was the one for which she is best remembered. In 1936, Dorothy was part of a cast of unknown actors and actresses tapped …
Judith Cohen was as smart as a whip. By the time she was in fifth grade, her classmates were paying her to do their math homework. Inspired by her natural ability with numbers, Judith set her sights on becoming a math teacher. She entered Brooklyn College on a math scholarship, but soon switched her major …
