Tag Archives: obituary

Pulitzer Prize-winning openly gay playwright Lanford Wilson died of pneumonia yesterday at the age of 73. Wilson is considered to have been one of the primary figures in the creation of New York’s vibrant Off Broadway theater movement. Mr. Wilson’s work was first seen in such bohemian, downtown dens as Caffe Cino and Cafe LaMaMa E.T.C. His youthful colleagues included …

Details are sketchy, but it’s being reported that Elizabeth Taylor died of congestive heart failure this morning in Los Angeles. She was 79. Gay men will perhaps most fondly recall Taylor for her early and relentless work as an HIV/AIDS activist.

Disco legend and gay favorite Loleatta Holloway has died at the age of 64. One of the most powerful and instantly recognizable voices of the genre, Holloway got her start in the 60s as an R&B singer, but in mid-70s she become better known as “the” voice of Salsoul Records, where she fronted the famed Salsoul Orchestra on smash disco …

Jane Russell, voluptuous pin-up model and star of dozens of Westerns and musicals, has died at the age of 89. While her “scandalous” movies and photo shoots at times created controversies over censorship, in her later years Russell embraced far-right conservative Christian politics and openly accepted the label of “bigot.” Perhaps best known politically for her anti-feminism and battles against …

Perry Moore, 39, the openly gay executive producer of the wildly successful Chronicle Of Narnia movies, has been found dead in his Manhattan home of a suspected Oxycontin overdose. Moore was found unconscious in the bathroom at about 9:30 a.m. by his partner, Hunter Hill, inside the W. Houston St. home they shared, the sources said. “We’re in shock,” said …

Broadway star and Golden Globes-winning television character actress Betty Garrett has died at the age of 90. Most of you will probably best remember Garrett as Irene Lorenzo, the wise-cracking feminist plumber next door on All In The Family or as landlady Enda Babish on Laverne & Shirley. In the 1940s Garrett had been a popular Broadway performer, but her …

Five-time Oscar winning film composer John Barry has died at the age of 77. Here’s a few of my favorites from his lengthy filmography.

Legendary fitness guru Jack LaLanne, who pioneered televised exercise shows, has died at the age of 96. His agent Rick Hersh says LaLanne died of respiratory failure due to pneumonia Sunday afternoon at his home in Morro Bay on California’s central coast. Hersh says Lalanne ate healthy and exercised every day of his life up until the end. LaLanne credited …

Legendary producer and concert promoter Don Kirshner has died at the age of 76. I spent many, many Saturday nights glued to Kirshner’s Rock Concert series back in the 70s. The New York Times has posted a preliminary obit. Don Kirshner, who guided the course of Brill Building and bubblegum pop in the 1950s and ’60s as a music publisher …

Bobby Farrell, the male member of Germany’s legendary 70’s disco act Boney M, has died in Russia at the age of 61. While most of Boney M’s many hits were led by its female chorus, it was Farrell’s flamboyant dancing and stage antics that drew the most attention. Years after the band’s peak, it was revealed that Farrell had contributed …

According to the manager of 80’s R&B/dance star Teena Marie, the four-time Grammy nominee died in her sleep last night at the age of 54. No cause of death has been revealed. The protege of the late Rick James, Teena Marie was arguably the most successful white female performer of R&B. In 1982 her landmark lawsuit against Motown Records established …

Adele Starr, the co-founder and first president of PFLAG, has died in Los Angeles at the age of 90. In 1976, Starr founded the Los Angeles chapter of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, a gay rights and acceptance organization known then as Parent FLAG, now as PFLAG. In 1979, she spoke on the steps of the U.S. Capitol …

The body of Michael Portantino, the publisher of San Diego’s recently defunct Gay & Lesbian Times, has been found outside a local gay hotel. The San Diego County coroner is calling it an apparent suicide. The decedent was a 52 year old single White male who resided in a home in San Diego. On 12/08/10, he apparently jumped from a …

CNN has announced that Elizabeth Edwards, the popular estranged wife of 2008 Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, has succumbed to cancer. A family spokesperson has issued a statement requesting donations to her cancer foundation in lieu of flowers. Edwards was an ardent supporter of the LGBT community and often advocated on our behalf. Good As You reminds us of the …

Actor Leslie Nielsen of Airplane! and Naked Gun fame died this afternoon in Fort Lauderdale. His death was first reported in unconfirmed messages on Twitter late Sunday that suggested the actor had died in the hospital after suffering from pneumonia. His nephew Doug Nielson, told CJOB that Leslie had been in the hospital in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for 12 days …

Peter “Sleazy” Christopherson, member of the highly influenced industrial/experimental groups Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, and Coil, died yesterday in Thailand at the age of 55. No cause of death has been disclosed. I was never much into Throbbing Gristle, despite their clear and often-cited lineage to Nine Inch Nails, one of my favorite bands ever. But it was Coil’s horrific …

The Technics analog turntable, the most beloved and widely-used machine in the history of nightclubs, is no more. Sigh. If I had back all the time I’ve spent within earshot of a pair of SL-1200s, I’d still be in my 30s. I am not kidding.