| Transcript |
ontroseVoice THE NEWSPAPER OF MONTROSE 0 CIIommunitu Jubli!il~ing CIIompnnu 0 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1.988 0 ISSUE 410
HOUSTON WEEKEND WEATHER: Fair but with 30% chance afternoon thunderstorms. Day highs 92, night lows 73.
Gay
Cruisin',
1930's
Life In the Big City Way Back
When
0 THE HEAL TH CRISIS
Officials Discuss 'Problents' A Cure Will
Cause
0 THE MONTROSE NEIGHBORHOOD
A Not So Antique Dealer on Wooodhead
s
Pe
Wat
•
s
Rebel With A Cause ~-
FOR THE MOST HOUSTON BAR ADS, SEE UJC[iJ E3CC[iJ IN THE BACK OF THE VOICE
2 MONTROSE VOICE I SEPTEMBER 2, 1988
BENEFIT CONCERT
REG BRAND
WITH REBECCA TELEP
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1988
3:00 p.m. or 8:00 p.m.
- 3620 WASHINGTON
TICKETRON: 526-1709
DEBI DOYLE: 522-7839
AN OPPORTUNITY
TO CONTRIBUTE
TO AIDS
PATIENT CARE
IN HOUSTON
$20.00 RESERVED SEAT
$100.00 RESERVED TABLE
CASH BAR
BENEFICIARIES: AIDS INTERFAITH COUNCIL
THE OMEGA HOUSE
I I •
Fortunes
By Mark Orlon
Your Horoscope from The Montrose Voice
For Friday avan1ng, Saptambar 2, through Friday
aftarnoon, Soptombar 9, 1988:
ARIES-Last time's obsession is tempered.
You have so many friends around
that t he re's simply not time to indu lge
your private intrigues. All these welcome
people surrounding you gives your life a
happy feeling. Celebrate!
TAURUS- All of that incredible sexual
energy that started out has become inspirational.
Your desires may not be lessened,
but your mind is working overtime
on c reative projects. You've been blocking
them up 'til now! Create your own life!
GEMINI- Brothers and sisters can
best help you work out the problems
you're faced with. You're reaching out for
acceptance; if you didn't want it so much,
th ings might be a lot easier, but certainly
a lot less interesting. Be able to reach in
for acceptance.
~~~~~~~~~
CANCER-If you hadn't planned on
seeing your oldest out-of-town friend in
the coming months, you should; otherwise,
you'll miss out on what union and
reunion can really feel like and mean.
There's some tension, even frenzy in a
sexual relationship you're having. A
break from that couldn't hurt, could it?
LEO- You will be acutely aware of how
you are seen and known by others. From
that awareness follows the realization of
the positive and negative limits that
define your life. You will want to communicate
your deepest self to one you
love deeply. It can only lead to good.
VIRGO- This yearning for adventure is
now taking shape, and if you're not in
flight or at least on your way somewhere
while you read this, I' ll be surprised.
Whether the journey is long or short, an
outward or an inner one, you're well on
your way. Bon voyage!
LIBRA- Deeper questions of existence
occupy your mind. You feel c leansed
with the fire of passion, and your mind is
clear now. You observe, as if an outsider,
the wonderful world you live in. With your
new-found love, you'll discover more and
have more questions.
SCORPIO-Someone is looking to you
as the authority, as the one with the
knowledge. You're a father figure now,
regardless of your sex. Don't play any
strange numbers on this person. Be who
you are and assume the role gracefully!
Daddy's home!
SAGITTARIUS- What belongs to you
and what belongs to another may come
into question. Do not get involved in any
kind of legal entanglement. Let your
quarrel remain a personal matter, and
treat the situation fairly. Selfishness ain't
gonna get you nowhere with this one.
CAPRICORN- The spirit of entertainment
continues, and now you're willing to
allow others on the stage with you. Be the
party giver and come up with something
completely different. Be bizarre, if you
must. You can carry it off right now.
AQUARIUS- You're concerned with
the finer and deeper points of relationships.
Self-centeredness is out the window,
and you're embarking on a journey
that will bring you back as a more complete
individual. With the right partner,
you'll discover a brave, new world.
PISCES- Changing careers in midstream
could be what you're thinking of.
And it could work. You'll probably be getting
some kind of offer that will seem hard
to turn down. Think long and hard on this
one; retreat from the hustle and bustle
and consider the facts.
.... tAe Mo'Ntlibse vo1C£
SEPTEMBER 2, 1988 I MONTROSE VOICE 3
RESCUE
JESIJ5!
"HE 15 NOT HERE-HE 15RISEN!"
Report: Censorship Groups Are
Shifting Tactics
By Tamara Henry
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
WASHINGTON (UPI)-Leaders of the
book-banning movement, unable to win
ideological battles in court, have begun
to work from within the public school
system to influence what children are
taught, according to a report released
Wednesday.
People for the American Way said
"would-be book banners"-many of
them fundamentalist Christians-have
shifted complaints about literature
taught in schools away from traditional
far-right scare words, such as "secular
humanism" or "globalism," to new
vague categories, such as "offensive
language" and "the occult."
Instead of trying to remove books already
placed in classrooms or libraries,
the report said opponents now are involved
in the policy process. "They have
taken an especially active role in school
boards and textbook selection," the report
said.
People for the American Way, a
250,000-member civil liberties organization,
said the report, titled "Attacks on
the Freedom to Learn," is the sixth annual
nationwide study on censorship
and other ideological attacks on public
education. It was based on news reports
from around the country and on independent
research by the organization's
staff.
The group said the shift in tactics is
due to two decisive court rulings stating
public schools are not to be the agents of
any particular religion or sect.
"Organized national groups are less
obviously involved in local challenges
this year," the group said. "In light of
their defeats in the courtroom during the
past year, they have refocused their efforts.
They have opted to pursue their
agenda through conventional channels
of participation- mainstreaming their
tactics, but not their goals.
"Their goals-forbidding discussion
of any views outside their own narrow
sectarian perspective-remains unchanged."
The report singled out the national
groups Concerned Women for America,
headed by Beverly LaHaye; Eagle Forum,
headed by Phyllis Schlafly; National
Association of Christian
Educators/ Citizens for Excellence in
Education; Educational Research Analysts,
headed by Mel and Norma Gabler;
and, National Legal Foundation, headed
by Pat Robertson.
According to the report, "Censorship
attempts remain a persistent problem
nationwide and a serious threat to the
integrity of our public schools."
Censorship attempts occurred in 42
states and in every region of the country
during the 1987-88 academic year, said
the report. The South had 50 censorship
cases; the Midwest had 46; the West, 42;
and the Northeast, 19, the group said.
Welcome To The
Big Time
Folk singer Tracy Chapman, starring
with Bruce Springsteen and Sting on
the upcoming Amnesty International
tour, is being touted as the top new artist
of the year and her self-titled album is
No. 3 on the billboard chart, but she's
not totally comfortable with fame.
"If somehow I could just walk around
invisible when I'm not on stage .. .,"
Chapman says in Rolling Stone.
Chapman is unsure what to think of
the fortune that is coming with her new
fame.
"I've got to figure O)Jt some way not to
give it all to the government because
they deserve it least of anyone," she
says.
"But I'm going to be very careful
about all this financial stuff and there
aren't many things right now that I
want or need."
In more than one-third of the incidents,
books or programs were removed
or restricted. The book, "Of Mice and
Men" by John Steinbeck was the most
frequently attacked this past year, and
the young adult novels of Judy Blume
and Robert Cormier continued to draw
attacks, the report said.
The report said the teaching of creationism
as science remains a major
source of controversy and national religious
rights groups are focusing efforts
on censoring sex education.
To fight censorship attempts, People
for the American Way recommended local
communities form review committees
that are broadly representative and
that focus on assessing the educational
merit of challenged material. School districts
should publicize the criteria and
procedures for selecting textbooks and
other instructional materials and allow
parental involvement, officials said.
Battle Royalty
Brenda Lee just started a big legal battle
with MCA Records, suing for $20 million
and claiming she is owed royalties
for a 20-year contract she signed in 1962
when she was 17.
The suit cites the New York accounting
firm of Prager & Fenton as taking
MCA to task for failing to cooperate
with attempts to audit the label for Lee.
The accountants' report does say
there is a documented difference of more
than $236,000 in Lee's favor between
MCA's figures and theirs.
In another singing suit, former Supreme
Mary Wilson is being sued by
Ahrgus Juilliard, who wrote the book
"DreamGirl: My Life as a Supreme"
about Wilson.
Juilliard wants $300,000, objecting to
certain expenses Wilson listed in an accounting
of the costs of producing the
book, including Juilliard's $650-a-week
salary and Wilson's wardrobe expenses.
4 MONTROSE VOICE I SEPTEMBER 2, 1988
Montrose Soap
Buzz-Are you modeling off a new shirt or just rehearsing for your next
number?
Lulu (Q.T.'s): When are you going to let
the baby out to play?
What's going on? Floyd G. and Jack
H. coming into the bar together at 7:00
a.m.
We hear that Shimmer's clothes really
fit him now since he stayed in the water
all day Sunday at Mary's. Who was
sponsoring the free balls to throw?
How about a cocktail while doing your
laundry? You can nave one at The Off
Beat.
Get ready for Bacchus' Pirate PartyComing
Soon.
Has "Juicy-Lucy" been up all night
chasing Vodoos again?
The one and onlv Miss A.
No one does it better.
PHOTO BY AON MATHIS
Certainly. Anytime.
PHOTO SY AON MATHIS
Miss Montrose, Pickles Polanski,
(right) at last weekend 's Trouble Fund
fundraiser at Mary's.
Community
News from Neighborhood & Community Gr oups
.. Mayor Whitmire To Proclaim "Houston
Art Against AIDS Month"
Houston Mayor Whitmire will officially proclaim September as " Houston Art Against Al DS
Month" on Tuesday, September 6, 11 :30 a.m. during a luncheon at The Men ii Collection.
The "Houston Art Against AIDS Month" kick- off event will be hosted jointly by the Cultural
Arts Council of Houston (GACH). Business Volunteers for the Arts (BVA). and the "Houston
Art Against AIDS" Committee.
Adan A. Rios, M.D., AIDS Expert
Joining Mayor Whitmire as keynote speaker
for the program will be noted AIDS expert Adan
Rios. M.D. and Houston Ballet Executive Director
Gary Dunning. The speakers will discuss the
medical. social and political issues associated
with Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
(AIDS).
According to BVA's Executive Director Martin
Cominsky. representatives from AIDS primary
care provider organizations will be at each table
to answer questions about AIDS patient care
and services in Houston, Bering Adult Day Care
Center, Bering Dental Clinic and AIDS Interfaith
Alliance. Tenneco Oil Company is a partial underwriter
of the luncheon.
All "Houston Art Against AIDS" monies will be channeled through the AIDS Care Fund, a
program established in May, 1988, by the Houston/Harris County AIDS Panel with the
initial seed money and staffing provided by the United Way. The AIDS Care Fund coordinates
fund raising and the distribution of funds in an effort to increase needed resources to
care providers. The AIDS Qare Fund also assists care providers in applying for grant
monies that are available from many sources. "Houston Art Against Al DS" will be the first to
distribute its proceeds through the AIDS Care Fund
The "Houston Art Against AIDS" Committee is comprised of Frank Carrell, Jeff Cowie,
Ben C. Crump, Barbara Davis. Susanne Demchak, Paula Fridkin, Bill Graham, Rachel
Hecker, Sharon Kopriva, Bob McClain, Sandy Parkerson, Michael Peranteau, Robert
Rosenberg, Sally Sprout, Betti Maldonado and Nancy Dukler.
The committee will publish a Calendar of Events to be available September 1. To obtain a
calendar or further information, please call 524-7883. For luncheon reservation call BVA.
658-2483.
The Montrose
Voice
HOUSTON, TEXAS
ISSUE 410
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1988
Published weekly
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The
Montrose
Voice
It's The Place to
Advertise
J!n llJ!fomorium
( 10/5/50-8/26/88)
A memorial service was held August 30, 1988
at Bering Methodist Church to bid farewell to a
beloved friend. Roger was a hair dresser in
Houston for ten years. He was also a platform
artist and a Designer for plays. A winner of
numerous trophies and awards for his work
with beauty pageants and contests. Roger was
a generous man who always had a kind word
and a helping hand for anyone in need. He was
a loving man and a constant guide and
inspiration for his family and many friends and
will never be replaced in our hearts.
He is survived by his mother and step-father,
Ruth and Verne Wiggins of Tulsa, Oklahoma,
his dear sister, Linda Rozell of Corville.
Arizona, four step- brothers, David, Perry, and
Nathan of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Les of
Rosenberg, Texas, Deborah Payne of
Surfside, Texas. and Martha Bare of San
Antonio, Texas. And many nieces and
nephews.
Despite his lingering illness Roger never lost
his sense of humor, his love for life, his dignity,
or his faith in God Heaven is a brighter place
because of our loss
Staff, management and patrons of Chutes
will miss you, Roger
The Montrose Vo.ce 1s honored to commemorate the lives of
our readers. and f11end1 or relatives of our readers. with an
announcemenl Ob11uary informi1ion shoukl be furnished by
a relative. friend or funeral home m person (not by mail or
phone) There 11 no tee
SEPTEMBER 2, 1988 / MONTROSE VOICE 5
============================================== Ault reflected on the past-in 1985,
$70 000 B 1 I A S • whensome peoplebegantalkingabouta
'
a ance S Urpnse march. He says, "There was a growing
need to release anger. We could sense
W • df 11 F G G there was a sort of community coming In a Or ay roups to~e~~:ga;::~a::~~khundredsof
thousands began to arrive, and it took
me half an hour just to get through the
people to my D.C. office. The TV cameras
filled the hallways and the print media
was always on the phone. There was
close to one hundred related events going
on that week, and we had to tell
everyone where they were. Amidst all
this, there were no arrests-accept
where we wanted them, at the Supreme
Court."
By George Mendenhall
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
When the final Lesbian and Gay March
on Washington (Oct. 1987) expenses
were paid last month the bank account
had a sizable balance from the $400,000
that had been raised-over $70,000. Embarrassed
over the riches, march executives
met in San Francisco last week
and mulled over 280 request for funds.
With an emphasis on dispersing
funds where it would best further the
lesbian and gay movement, they granted
$66,500 to 34 groups. Those who will
benefit are 14 gay and lesbian organizations
(27,500), eight conferences
(15,000), five AIDS causes ($9,000) and
six special projects ($10,000) a minimum
of 25 percent of the grant went to people
of color.
No funds will be retained to plan another
march. "We do not have to have
marches like regular rituals," co-chair
Steve Ault explained. "The march was a
means to an end. It was an extraordinary
successful event, but it was only a
tool to activate new people into the
movement and to get action on AIDS.
We never planned to continue. It was an
ad hoc operation with no responsibilities
or power attached. Once we distribute
the money, we will disband."
The march co-chairs are Pat Norman
of San Francisco, Kay Ostberg of Washington,
D.C., Nicole Ramirez Murray of
San Diego, and Ault of New York City.
Ault explained that in making the
grant selections an attempt was made to
assist groups in a broad geographical
area that might not otherwise be funded.
A minimum of25 percent of the total
grant money went to people of color. The
activist said an attempt was "to find a
real diversity. We did not want to concentrate
on the West and East Coast and
we tried to evaluate those getting the
funds to determine if the money would
be properly spent."
Diversity was evident in the selections:
Hen trick-Martin Institute ($3,500)
will develop a comic book, "Tales from
the Closet," directed at teenagers who
are coming out. The National Association
of People with AIDS received $2,000
to begin monitoring people with AIDS
in the workplace. Lesbian and Gay
Rights of Texas ($2,500) will organize a
gay rights march in Austin. NOW of
New Jersey ($1,000) will continue to get
a state gay rights bill passed. Womyn's
Braille Press ($2,500) is translating lesbian
and gay literature into braille.
TV Skirmish
Scuttled
Syndicated television talk-show host
Morton Downey won't be arrested for
scuffling with a weekly newspaper editor
during a stage show in New Haven,
Conn.
State prosecutor Burton A. Kaplan
said he rejected a warrant charging
Downey with breach of peace because he
wanted to devote his resources to more
serious crimes.
Downey scuffled with Paul Bass, editor
of the New Haven Independent, during
a stage show Aug. 14.
At one point during the show, Bass's
sister walked on stage and slapped Downey
in the face.
March organizers gave $2,500 "seed"
money for a National Lesbian and
Rights Congress, an idea they had long
supported. Two hundred attended its organizing
meeting during the 1987
march. Representatives are to be chosen
from across the country to attend the
Congress, set tentatively for the Fall of
1989.
A national communications network
is being set up. It will utilize the march
mailing list of over 11,000 organizations
and leaders. The Lesbian/Gay Rights
AIDS Action Emergency Response Network
had been formed with a $2,500
march grant. Using mailing lists and
computers, it will allow for a quick national
response in a lesbian or gay crisis.
There was some disappointment.
"There were so many worthwhile en-deavors,"
Ault said. "We just did not
' have enough money to go around." He
adds that after a final march and a resolving
of a few business matters any
remaining money will be granted tooth-ers.
Criticism that the march organizers
should set aside several thousand dollars
for another march is rejected by
Ault. "We wanted a sense of closure,"
Ault urges, "by giving the balance back
to the community. If the money remained
we would have to set up a whole
new organization to deal with that. The
march started with no money. If there is
again a mandate-and that is a big ifthen
the money will be there. Tip as to
whether there is enthusiasm for another
march will be whether new money can
be raised."
Ault concludes, "A lot of us who were
involved for two years with the march
are still trying to calm down. There was
so much tension and mental exhaustion."
He believes the next major event
may be the 25th anniversary of the
Stonewall riots in 1994. With mixed
emotions, he added, "We should start
thinking about that. It will take a lot of
planning."
Art: Rodney Greenblat's A
Colorful Blast
Rodney Alan Greenblat's "Treasure Ox," courtesy of the Gracie Mansion
Gallery
By Bill O'Rourke
Montrose Voice A&E Editor
The world created by the works of Rodney
Alan Greenblat might remind you
of Pee Wee Herman. Both have taken
influences from the daily world and
combined them with influences from art
which forms a fantasy world and left the
viewer with the feeling that the artist is
caught somewhere between the two. Or,
more likely, is somehow able to travel
between all three places but likes the
border area best.
The title of the Greenblat exhibition
currently at CAM, "Reality and Imagination:
Two Taste Treats in ONE!" is
taken from a slogan painted on one of
the works. Its flavor of Certs commercials
captures the true middle-class
Americana of his "reality" influences:
T.V. (including Star Trek and Mr. Rod-gers'
Neighborhood), motels, jewelry
boxes, curio cabinets, miniature golf
(His one hole gold course carries the
mottoes, "Realize your full potentialplay
miniature gold," and "Putt-putt
players always get it in the hole."), suburbia.
The fantastic side of his art sends
roots deep into, among other places,
Fantastic Planet (a huge statue does
double duty as a motel), Peter Max, Mad
Magazine and the kind of plaster art
dentists used to give good young patients
to take home and paint.
All of his works are semi-practical.
The huge "Treasure Ox" straddles a
steam and a highway like a freshly
minted ancient colossus. Inside its back
is a small space for storing what-haveyou.
There's an installation of an entire
room from his universe. Another work
features clearly marked hidden drawers.
This is one show where it's difficult
for even the adults to keep from using
the art physically.
"Allyouwant Mall" includes stores
named "Toys or Else" and "Cookie Monsoon."
Another work has a sign reading
"Kids Welcome." They certainly are.
There's even a small corral for them to
go into and make their own art.
But I don't see how they could hope to
catch all of the allusions.
If you know the difference between
"childlike" and "childish," you'll love
this young (only 27) man's art.
NOUVEAU: Visual Arts Alliance
(O'Kane Gallery, 29-September
16th)-mixed media.
Make My Day
Who can forget Doris Day in '50s steamers
like "Teacher's Pet" co-starring
Clark Gable, but not much is heard
these days about the perpetually blond,
perky Girl Next Door.
That's because she is out of the limelight
heading The Doris Day Animal
League, a 250,000-member strong animal
rights lobbying group based in
Washington. Day, an animal lover with
lots of dogs and cats, is also involved in
another non-Hollywood project.
She recently become part owner of the
historic Cypress Inn in Carmel, Calif.
One of her first executive moves was
to change the Inn's policy of "No Animals
Allowed."
Although she's currently out of the
film industry, this thrice-married, now
single veteran of show business would
consider a return.
"When and if the right script comes
along," says Day.
Her son Terry Melcher is carrying the
entertainment torch for the family.
Melcher wrote and produced the song
"Kokomo" recorded by The Beach Boys
and featured in thenewTomCruisefilm
"Cocktail."
6 MONTROSE VOICE I SEPTEMBER 2, 1988
SHEAR MADNESS
IS COMING
TO TOWN:::
SHEAR MAD~. the comedy Whodunit currently the longest running play In the
history of Boston and Philadelphia Is schedullng Prlndpal Audlttons for a Houston Productton
to open In November.
Audlttons will be held on September 12 and t 3 from t 0:00 AM to 1 :00 PM and from 2:00PM
to 6:00 PM at Theatre Under The Star.;, 4205 San Felipe. Prepare a 2 Minute contemporary
monologue.
NIIDED: aever, brlght, aeattve, "per.;onallty" type actor.; at home with lmprov and lots of
audience part1dpat1on. This Is NQI a musical.
NICK ROSETTI-Undercover cop responsible
for sofv1ng the "Shear Madness" murder. A
real gumshoe. Likeable, vulnerable yet with
a take-charge per.;onallty. Must be able to
tum on the charm. Quick with an audience.
(30-45).
TONY WHITCOMB-Madcap proprletor of
"Shear Madness· salon. High energy. Very
likeable, lots of comedy both physically and
vocally. His feet never touch the floor.
(25-40).
BARBAJtA DEMARCO-a streetwise, gumchewing
manlcurlst cum hairdresser. Comedienne
who has a nice dramattc tum.
Cross between Madge the Manlcurlst and
Medea. (30-45).
MDCE THOMAS-Rosettt's partner. Hair
washed and drled each night. Quick thinker.
Tough when necessary.
EDDIE LAWRINCir-Ex-con turned antlque
dealer. VIiiain of the piece. Lots of d eadpan
comedy. Good looks help, strong voice es(
30-45). senttal. (35-50).
MRS. SHUBERT-Very soda! blueblood customer.
Lots of chatter. Hair Is shampooed
and set each night. Gassy good looks help.
(40-60).
- Also seeking a Stage Manager and Assistant Stage Manager. -
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SEPTEMBER 2, 1988 I MONTROSE VOICE 7
ACT UP Zapped
Bush's Grand
Riverboat
Entrance
By Rex Wockner
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
New York's AIDS Coalition To Unleash
Power (ACT UP) zapped Republican
Presidential candidate George Bush in
New Orleans August 16 just moments
after Bush made a grand riverboat entrance
into the city for the Republican
National Convention.
About 25 ACT UP members had managed
to infiltrate a homogeneous crowd
of thousands of Republicans awaiting
Bush's arrival on the riverboat Natchez.
Less than one minute into Bush's
speech, the demonstrators hoisted
"AIDSGATE" and "Silence equals
Death" posters which they had kept concealed
inside a large laundry bag.
Immediately, some hundred TV cameras
swung off Vice-President Bush and
onto the protesters who chanted,
"40,000 dead from AIDS: where was
George?"
Takin' It To The Streets
To protect themselves, activists had
joined arms and formed a large circle
around the five persons hoisting the
signs.
Additional protection was provided
by New Orleans police, who had been
informed in advance that ACT UP intended
to infiltrate the riverboat entrance
event.
By Rex Wockner
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
Mayor Barthelemy was only the first in
a long string of public figures to "get
what they deserved" from ACT UP
members in New Orleans. On Sunday of
convention week, and ACT UP kiss-in
began at the Marriott hotel and ended in
front of the Catholic cathedral at Jackson
Square just as New Orleans Archbishop
Philip Harinan emerged from
Sunday mass to greet departing parishioners.
NGLTF's Urvashi Vaid spotted
him first and used her megaphone to
urge Hannan to challenge the anti-gay
activism growing inside the Catholic
church.
ACT UP members, accompanied by a
hoard of reporters, quickly surrounded
the archbishop, shouting, "Shame,
shame, shame." HRCF's Robert Bray
and ACT UP's Jack Ben-Levi stood in
the cathedral entrance and kissed as the
archbishop made a hasty retreat.
As the convention formally opened on
Monday, the California activist group
March On staged a "die-in" at New Orleans
city hall. About 150 persons helped
chalk human body outlines on the plaza
in front of the building while explaining
to the media that government foot-dragging
on AIDS is causing the unnecessary
deaths of thousands of Americans.
Following the die-in, two heterosexual
Republican women whose sons died of
AIDS marched to the convention security
checkpoint and asked to deliver to
President Reagan a letter pleading for
his assistance in the AIDS crisis. The
women-Sue Caves of Long Beach, California,
and Barbara Cleaver of Los Angeles-
-were denied entry to the
Superdome, and thus made their plea to
the press.
"We're trying to bring AIDS home,"
said Cleaver. "This weekend is certainly
a push beyond for us, from what we're
used to. But we hope to represent mothers
who are too frightened to speak out
or are at home caring for the children."
"My son's illness brought me here,"
said Caves. "It was the first time I
looked at a bigger world than my own.
At the hospital I saw another man's
mom enter the room gloved, hatted and
booted. I knew I had to get involved."
The "mother's action," as it came to be
called, was organized by San Francisco's
Mobilization Against AIDS in an
attempt to demonstrate that the disease
is "all-American."
"This is a complete dream zap," said
HRCF's Robert Bray in reference to an
Aug. 15 party at the New Orleans Museum
of Art sponsored by Phyllis Schlafly's
Eagle Forum, a homophobic,
pro-"traditional-family" activist group.
"Known homophobes" scheduled to attend
the "Good Times Party" were former
Secretary of Education William
Bennett, Judge Robert Bork, Senator
Phil Gram, Congressman Jack Kemp
and Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick.
Although prevented from enteringthe
museum, a coalition of activists from
ACT UP, NGLTF, and HRCF stood
about 100 yards away with a megaphone.
"Bush AIDS policies: No cure, no
care,no comment," they chanted.
"Hey, Phyllis," yelled John Thomas of
Dallas, "we have seen your son and your
daughter in gay bars. Send them out
join our protest ... You have a whole hall
offame of Republicans who have died of
AIDS and you ignore it."
Dignitaries arriving by car were greeted
with "Welcome Bigots for Bush"
shouts from protesters.
Gay/Lesbian leaders at the convention
were also highly critical of George
Bush's choice of Sen. Dan Quayle as a
running mate. "The selection
of.j ... Quayle ... raises serious concerns
about the commitment of Vice President
Bush and the Republican Party to fighting
the nation's major health crisis,"
VOICE '88 said."Quayle has not supported
responsible AIDS policy and has
opposed gay and lesbian civil rights."
Specifically, activists said, Quayle
vote five times to censor the content of
AIDS educational material, opposed
providing money for A'Cf to indigent
people, opposed federal money for education
programs that state homosexuality
is "normal, natural or healthy," and
voted to weaken the D.C. human rights
law protecting lesbians and gays from
discrimination.
Quayle In Hand
Is A Thom For
Bush
Some feminists, irked by what they view
as the Republicans' attempt to capture
the female vote by running Hollywood
handsome Sen. Dan Quayle on the ticket,
·are sarcastically calling themselves
"Chicks for Quayle."
Willie Banned At
Baylor
The folks at Baylor University don't
think much of Willie Nelson's lifestyle.
Nelson once. attended the Baptist
school in Waco, Texas, but university
officials canceled a concert he had
scheduled on campus for Nov. 14 to benefit
a good cause-the people who lost
money in the demise of an uninsured
bank in the small Texas town of Leroy.
University President Herbert Reynolds
issued a vague statement saying,
"As a widely known and popular entertainer,
Mr. Willie Nelson has had an unusual
opportunity to influence the
people of this state and nation, and particularly
young people, to be responsible,
law-abiding citizens.
It is our hope that he will use his influence
in the future to strengthen the moral
fiber of our nation."
He said the school sympathized with
the people of Leroy but said, "Our concern
for the health and well-being of the
American people is an overriding one."'
At a zap of President Reagan two days
earlier, ACT UP members were elbowed
and punched by angry Republicans
shouting such things as "AIDS scum"
and "You deserve to die."
"This very beefy, jocky, blond, Arian
Nazi-type guy kept elbowing his arm
right into my neck," said ACT UP's Marion
Banzhaf. "A woman with him
punched me in the stomach too."
"They were an organized group of
young Republicans," said ACT UP's
Charles King. "The whole two hours we
were waiting for Bush to arrive, they
were jockeying their biggest people all
around us. The pushing and shoving
kept up the whole time. Then when we
finally raised our signs, they started trying
to kick and elbow me. Luckily, I got a
cop jockeyed in between us."
ACT UP members were able to hold
their signs aloft for about five minutes
before deciding they were imminent
danger and requesting a police escort
out of the crowd. As officers hustled the
protesters away, people along the corridor
grabbed for the "AIDSGATE" sign
and punched at the demonstrators.
"It was so awful," said ACT UP's
Heidi Dorow. ''This one guy with an umbrella
just crashed it down on Bill
Blum's head."
One ACT UP member was arrested
during the fracas. Bobby O'Malley reportedly
attempted to hit a Republican
and was charged by New Orleans police
with disturbing the peace.
"This is really turning out to be some
week," commented an ACT UP organizer
afterwards. "I've been called a 'fag'
down here more times in three days than
in the whole rest of my life. This town is
full of Republicans, and we've been on
the news enough that they see our
"AIDSGATE" and "Silence equals
Death" t-shirts, they know we're gay.
It's really not safe to walk in this city
this week."
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BOYS' T0\91,,
WEST
HOLLYWOOD
Scout deYoung and his lifelong
best friend, Nash Aquilon, decide
to make Boys' Town, West Holly·
wood, their hometown. Their first
goal: "to find lasting love in a time
of disposable everything." But that
pursuit is sidetracked by both the
ridiculous - like the burglar who
steals their porn and re-arranges
the furniture - and by the harsh
realities of AIDS and anti-gay
violence. Through it all, Scout,
Nash, and their friends create a
family to help each other with a
joke, a hand on the shoulder, and a
warm, loving place to call home.
"Boys' Town is fresh and distinctive. There's an honest laugh on nearly
every page, a caring insight into gay life in the 1980s on every other," writes
Richard Labonte, in the L.A. News.
BOYS' TOWN
by Art Bosch
$7.95 in bookstores, or use this coupon to order.
D Enclosed is $8.50 (postpaid) for one copy of Boys' Town.
Name ---------- Address ----------
City---------- State Zip - ----
ilYSON PUBLICATIONS
Dept. P-5, 40 Plympton St., Boston, MA 02118
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How do you make a will?
First, see your lawyer. It's not all that
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state, and probably enough of your
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You may change your will whenever
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You may also include provision for
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SEPTEMBER 2, 1988 I MONTROSE VOICE 9
================================================ straight movies, but that's better than Houston's Gay Thirties
By Richard Van Allen
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
They are old now, retired and a little
aching here and there. But their memories
are good, down to names and places
that made life for Houston gays in
1930's times to remember.
There was the Rathskeller and the Old
Vienna, the Capitol Bar and Rex's, the
glory holes in the Old Milby Hotel's
basement men's room. And cruising in
Sam Houston Park by the still-standing
Central Library. There was "window
shopping" along Main Street where you
could meet a newcomer in town. And
always there was the Rice Hotel corner.
"We didn't have gay bars in those
days," said John, now 69 and born in
Houston. "Everybody was in the closet,
real deep. We met in the straight beer
bars like the Rathskeller. And they
didn't ask our ages. When I came out I
was only 16, but they always let me in."
The "gay circuit"-they didn't know
the word "gay" -was downtown Houston,
between Franklin and McKinney
and Main Street east to San Jacinto. You
could not tell a queer or a fag (the words
they used then) from the straight, which
is the way the gays wanted it, being fearful
for their lives and their jobs. No Jong
hair, no leather, no cross-dressing in
public. Some, however, were brave
enough to have a spot of purple somewhere,
like the corner of a handkerchief
peaking out of the pocket or some purple
in their tie.
"I don't know how we got into purple,"
said Jay, now a 79-year-old "married"
gay. "But even then we didn't flaunt it.
Not that the cops would pick us upthey
left us alone except when they
kicked us out of the public bathrooms.
Saturdays could sometimes be rough because
of the Heights Gang. They used to
come down and beat up queers. Me and
my friends never got caught because a
friend of mine was one of the Gang. He
was straight, but I had tricked with him
a few times. He used to call me and let
me know when to stay home."
Jay came to Houston in '31, back in
the days of trolley cars, when he was 21.
"We worked hard then. There was
none of this 40-hour-a-week business so
we didn't go out much during the week.
Just on weekends. We'd drive our cars, if
we had one, downtown in the afternoon
and park them along Main Street, then
take the streetcar home and come back
later. That way we could trick in our
cars. Parking downtown on weekends
was bad even then."
Main Street looking north, 1939, with Rice Hotel at left center
One of the favorite bars was the
Rathskeller, on Main between Franklin
and Congress. It was run by a nice German
woman who loved to dance with
the boys.
"It was oom-pah-pah music. We sure
had a blast," Jay said.
Dan is 76 now and cruised downtown
after 1938.
"Of course, we didn't know the word
'cruising' then. We called it 'window
shopping' and just like now, you knew
who was gay and who wasn't without
asking. You could feel it, whether they
had a limp wrist or not. There was this
post down in front of Levy's department
store. It had mirrors on four sides and
queers would stop and comb their hair
there. Oh, you could spot them. If we did
want to trick, we could get a room at the
Milby or the Texas State Hotel. More
often we went home to our apartments."
According to Dan, John and others
who reminisced about the 30's, there
was no such things as hustling, although
some of the kids had sugar daddies.
John explained."! think that's the big
difference between then and today, except,
of course, for AIDS. Back then we
wanted friends and relationships. We'd
meet in people's homes or apartments
and run around together. If we has sex,
it was kind of secondary to just knowing
each other. Today, at least in the bars,
it's hello and jump in the sack. People
are too sex conscious today."
What kind of sex did they have?
"The usual," Jay said. "Just the simple
things. Nothing kinky like today . ...
I suppose there was some kinky stuff
going on, but no one ever mentioned it
even at private parties."
"There weren't as many things to do
back then," Jay went on. "No bookstores,
no porno books, no discos, no gay
sports. We went to the movies a lot, especially
in the cheap theaters like the
Irish, the Texas and the Uptown. You
could pick up a trick there. One of the big
thrills was riding the interurban trolley
to Galveston on Saturdays. Go down in
the morning, come back at night, burned
beet red."
Then there were parties and celebrations.
·The best then as now was Halloween,
about the only time gays could cross
dress, but then, only in private homes.
And for those who had the right connections,
there were stag movies in the fraternal
orders like the Eagles and
Shriners. Of course, they were all
nothing. At least half of what you saw
was delectable.
Both Dan and Jay had lovers. John
didn't until after World War II when he
met David. They've been living together
40 years. Both are now on Social Security.
"I was young and horny, then, John
said. "And pretty damned cute, if I do
say so myself. I really hit the bars, especially
Rathskeller and the Capitol. I reme.
mber once meeting two Catholic
priest there-priest could wear sport
shirts then. I went to bed with one of
them-he was one great trick. Then
there was Rex's. It stayed open until 3:30
a.m. Real good pickins' there."
They had names for various kinds of
people. There was the "trade," straight
or bisexual men that only liked to get
head. "Rough trade" were guys who
beat up queers. The "A" gays were those
who met only in private homes or apartments
and didn't go to bars.
World War II was the beginning of
change in gay Houston. Most gays got
drafted, not admitting their gayness
like today.
"I never ran into so many gays in my
life until I joined the Army," said John.
"Today, they just admit they're gay and
stay out."
Jay was 4-F and remained a civilian.
"When Ellington Field got going strong,
the servicemen poured into Houston on
weekends. We once had a gay party at
the Texas State Hotel and it got so wild
the police raided it. They took some 15 of
us down to jail. Somebody sprung the
Ellington kids so they didn't get in trouble.
I had to pay $10 bond to get out.
Nothing ever came of it except there
were no more wild parties at the Texas
State Hotel, at least not until the 80's."
Other things happened as the war began.
Girls came out of their homes to
work in the shipyards and other industries.
Slacks were acceptable and pretty
soon, lesbians began showing up in the
bars.
Eventually shipyard workers took
over the Rathskeller and they were not
friendly to gays. The Rex closed down.
Then in 1943, and event occurred that
would change gay life forever in Houston.
A man named Pete opened The Pink
Elephant "way out of town" on Bell
Street (it later moved to Leland). It catered
to gays.
Things were never the same again,
but the memories of the 30s are warming
to those who cruised through them
downtown on Main at the Rice Hotel
corner.
10 MONTROSE VOICE I SEPTEMBER 2, 1988
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Se habla Espafiol
SEPTEMBER 2, 1988 I MONTROSE VOICE 11
Gay America
Gay Community Events Nationw i de and Wor ldwide
.. AIDS Activist Mobilization Planned For
October
ACT NOW (AIDS Coalition To Network, Organize, and Win) is organizing a four-day,
national AIDS activist mobilization, including a teach-in and conference and an AIDS-related
rally and civil disobedience, October 8-11 in Washington, D.C.
The conference will begin on Saturday, October 8, with a National AIDS Activist Teachin,
featuring workshops, round-table discussions, and caucuses concerning the building of
AIDS activism at the local national levels.
ACT NOW member organizations will meet Sunday, October 9, to develop strategies and
plan future actions. Both days are open to all individuals working in or interested in joining
the AIDS activist movement.
A rally demanding a compassionate, comprehensive, and informed government response
to AIDS will be held at the Department of Health and Human Services on Monday,
October 10, 4-6 p.m.
"Seize Control of the F.D.A.," a massive civil disobedience action will take place at 7 a.m.
on October 11. at the Food and Drug Administration headquarters in Rockville, Maryland.
Protesters will be demanding the release of all promising AIDS treatments and equal
access to those treatments for all affected communities. Individuals not wishing to be
arrested are asked to work as support for those who will risk arrest.
" It's time to show the people in power, the bureaucrats, and the nation that we will not
politely accept excuses and death anymore. We want treatments released now," asserted
Margie Edouardo, a member of ACT NOW's conference planning committee.
ACT NOW is a coalition consisting of over 30 AIDS activists organizations from across
the nation including numerous local ACT UPs (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power). Chicago
for AIDS Rights, OUT! in Washington, D.C., and others. ACT NOW coordinated the Spring
AIDS Actions, nine days of nationwide protests and education focusing on the epidemic
held in May.
For more information on participating in and organizing in your community for the
conference, the direct action, and joining ACT NOW, please call 202/234/ 8801 or write ACT
NOW, PO Box 73275, Washington, DC 20056-3275 .
.. Until That Last Breath: Women With
AIDS
NGLTF brings first-ever exhibit on subject to Washington.
A dramatic and poignant photographic exhibition depiction the rage, resilience, and raw
emotion of a hidden population - Women With AIDS, opens for an exclusive Washington ,
D.C. showing, in conjunction with the return of the National Memorial AIDS Quilt. Until
That Last Breath will show at the Collector Gallery and Restaurant from October 3rd
through 10th.
Nationally acclaimed documentary photographer, Ann Meredith, offers an intimate look
into the lives of women with AIDS - with their families and friends. alone at home, on the
street.
Meredith has combined the inevitable tragedy of this disease with the courage and
strength each woman exudes as she lives out her commitment to living the life that she left
in a meaningful way.
Through photography, video and sculpture the exhibition portrays the personal struggles
hopes and fears experienced by Women who have AIDS. Until That Last Breath
consists of 50 bold black and white portraits ranging in size from 16 x 20 x 40.
"Until That Last Breath draws attention to a forgotten element of the AIDS crisis," said
Kimberly Moore Webster, Director of Development at the National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force, the exhibit's sponsor. The percentage of Women with AIDS has doubled in the past
six years. and Meredith's photographs call attention to the fact that the AIDS epidemic is
taking a severe toll among women and children as well."
Webster continues, "The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is proud to bring Until
That Last Breath to Washington during the week when the NAMES Project Quilt makes its
return to D.C. By adding this photographic depiction of Women with AIDS, lives to the
activities and events of this week, we hope to offer another dimension of awareness to
people's consciousness about the full impact of what AIDS is doing to our world today."
"What we see through these portraits is how AIDS is changing the lives and hearts of
these women," explains Ann Meredith. "More importantly, we see the commitment that
these women have made to continue on with their lives in a meaningful way"
An opening reception will be held on Thursday, October 6th, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the
Collector Restaurant and Gallery, 1630 U Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. For more information
on the exhibit, call Kimberly Moore Webster, NGLTF, (202) 332-6483.
Activists Accuse Medical
Society Of Bribery
By Rex Wockner
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
Members of the Illinois Gay and Lesbian
Task Force (IGLTF) and Chicago for
AIDS Rights (C-FAR) demon strated outside
the Loop offices of the Illinois State
M edical Society (ISMS) Aug. 25, pr otesting
an A IDS bill which t hey say the
I SMS bough t from the Illinois legislat
ure. A t t he same time, the AIDS Fou n dation
of Chicago, a m ain stream
fundraising organi zation, h eld a press
confer ence to denounce the legislation.
House Bill 4005, which awaits action
by Governor James Thompson, would
allow doctors in Illinois to test for HIV
antibodies without a patient's knowledge,
"completely gutting," activists
say, Illinois AIDS Confidentiality Act.
Currently in Illinois, and HIV antibody
test requires informed written consent
from the patien t.
The section of the legislation allowing
secret testing was tagged onto HB 4005
by conservative anti-gay legislator (and
Presidential HIV Commission member)
Penny Pullen during the final two days
of the legislative session. IGLTF's legislative
chair, Tim Drak e, says the amendmen
t br eezed through the legislature
because the ISMS, the largest lobbyist
in the state, contributed over $415,000 to
legislators and the governor last year.
")~ q 'l rrrq:i
12 MONTROSE VOICE I SEPTEMBER 2, 1988
AIDS FOUNDATION HOUSTON, INC.
Presents
Performed At
Chocolate Bayou
Theatre ·
4205 San Felipe
Sept. 8-11 Sept.15-18
Curtain 8:00pm
(NO LATE SEATING)
Tickets $5.00
For Ticket Information
623-6796
This production has been underwritten by Aids
Foundation Houston, Inc. as part of its
educational outreach. Educational
presentation and discussion will
follow each performance.
Letters to the Voice
From the Readers of the Montrose Voice
r:EJRainbo De Klown Tells His Side Of
The Story
From Rainbo de Klown
As LGPW Parade 88 Co-chairman, it is now time for me to tell my side of the story.
First, I would like to thank all the beautiful people who participated in the '88' parade.
Every unit of the lesbian Gay Pride Week Parade was great and I appreciated the work of
the artsy-crafty minds of this community who took time to build floats: I hope all units will
plan to participate again next year.
My objective for the '88' parade was to make it a fun parade, a celebration of PRIDE, with a
host of variety with no discrimination against anyone (concerning our gay and lesbian
lifestyles).
As parade co-chairs, we refused no one who wanted to participate. We even accepted one
entry while the parade was moving down Westheimer. Not one lifestyle of the gay/lesbian
community took priority.
The '88' pride parade had variety including; leather, western, everyday street wear,
serious and camp comedy drag, political. religious and non religious. community services,
business, and entertainment.
The best "Part Of" the parade was the largest contingent of people ever, with many
people participating for the first time
Comments from these people were positive. "The adrenalin of (their) pride accelerated
as (they) made (their) way around the curve and seen all the beautiful people, cheering".
That has been said to me many times.
The sad.des! part of planning the event was those having lack of interest in participating
and then hearing and reading their criticism.
There has been an issue made in the editorials concerning the campy drag queens and
the porno star. The word used in the editorials in IMAGE. As a former state news reporter, if I
would have covered the parade, I would have done research on the Montrose area community
and find that camp comedy drag is "A Part Of" the gay lifestyles. Yes, I would have
found camp drag in the local two gay medias year long, and not just on three special
holidays.
We criticize the state media for their coverage of the parade, but do you remember the
photo on the front page post parade issue of the local gay press, sssshhhh yes it was the
Garden Party unit. Also concerning the porno star, two gay medias accept full and half page
advertising for the local porno theater.
I ask you, as parade co-chairman, how can I discriminate and be hypocritical and not
allow those people in the parade, when they are "A Part Of" us, like it or not.
The statement, camp drag is offensive to women, I say that is hogwash.
I have never heard of a woman or woman's group protest Benny Hill, Ms. Divine, Brathon
Winters, Miss 'Be Sweet' sister KILT, Uncle 'Miltie' Searle drag antics and the multitudes of
others. I have never read an editorial about how offensive it was to see three men with
beards and moustaches, wearing pink tutu's participating- in the annual Foley's Christmas
Parade.
One thing I learned recently from clown school, there are all types of clowns. They
include the whitefacP, auguste. and character. Camp drag is considered as a character
clown. The Ringling E os. and Barnum Bailey Circus have a couple of camp drag character
clowns. Clowns are as ,ed to be involved in parades to provide entertainment and fun for the
viewers.
There were 50 plus units in the parade, and 5 flamboyant drag units.
I believe the people who are out and about know that those units are involved in the
community besides holidays.
They are the same people who raise money through out the year for the many organizations
that preceded them in the parade route; including the AIDS Foundation. Omega
House, Stone Soup, Montrose Clinic, and the like.
Underneath the big pink triangle representing their lifestyle they have the biggest Red
Heart of love for our community and its needs. The funds they raise supplement what the
city of Houston and other government and non-profit organizations "could not or would
not'', provide.
The image of the 84 parade did not influence the city of Houston to vote for the
controversial referendum in January 1985.
At the recent committee meeting for the '89' Pride Week, after my report of the parade, I
opened the meeting for comments, I was ready for anything.
Only one comment was made-it was from a woman in the back row.
She said concerning the 88 parade "It was Wonderful" ... and applause from the overflowing
crowd, came later.
I busted my butt, but I hope the applause wasn't just for me, but for all the people who
participated in LGPW PARADE-I just organized it.
Thanks to parade co-chair Ray Hill who gave me advise on city permits, insurance, and
the like.
Any comments about future editorials please call 781-6407. I will address any issue.
Jte'!1s here are opinions of readers. Publlcat10n does not infer a concurrmg view by the publisher of the
Voice. When sending letters for publ1cat1on. please keep bflef and mail to Letters. Montrose Voice, 408
Avondale. Houston, TX n006. All must be signed and include address and phone (which will not b6
published) to venfy authenticity. Name can b8 withheld.
§AME DAY
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Rt 'l'VJ>ES'l'VI.ES
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Pick Up and Delivery Available (SS charge)
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SEPTEMBER 2, 1988 I MONTROSE VOICE 13 ================================================ gave us 15 years ago. We're now going to Rebel With A Cause: Arniy Sgt.
Perry Watkins
By Rex Wockner
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
U.S.Army Sergeant Perry Watkins was
thrust into the gay/lesbian spotlight
last Feb. 10 when a federal appellate
court in San Francisco ruled that discrimination
against gays in the armed
services wrongly "caters to private bias."
The ruling-the first ever opposing
military discrimination against gaysfurther
defined gay men and lesbians as
a "suspect class," like women racial minorities,
and aliens.
Gay activists immediately hailed the
decision as "earth-shattering." Leonard
Graff of National Gay Rights Advocatt>.
s said, "the court said that there are
constitutional protections for lesbians
and gay men. The court rejected all the
reasons offered by the army to keep gays
and lesbians out of the service."
Watkins had informed the Army he
was gay when he enlisted in 1967, and
several times thereafter. Despite being
an "admitted homosexual," Watkins re'
ceived consistently glowing evaluations
from his superiors during his 15 years of
service. "One of our most respected and
trusted soldiers," wrote his commanding
officer.
For reasons unexplained, Watkins
was nonetheless discharged in 1984 for
being gay. The army has appealed the
recent ruling in Watkins' favor and the
matter is expected to be reheard later
this year.
Rex Wockner: What's the exact status
of your case at present:
PW: The Ninth Circuit has agreed to
rehear it with an eleven-judge panel
rather than a three-judge panel. The earlier
decision has been nullified, not reversed,
just nullified. Once they agree to
rehear a case, it's like the case has not
been heard at all. So, basically, we're
right back where we were when I was
put out in 1984.
RW: When might the rehearing be?
PW: We ought to know by the beginning
of October. Since the government is
requesting the rehearing, it'll probably
be expedited.
RW: Do you have any information on
the mindset of those 11 people?
PW: I have no idea whatsoever. I don't
event try to speculate. It's not worth
worrying about. All I can hope is tha,
people will come in with the attitude t.o
judge facts. It was a big problem for me
my first three years out of the military
being very, very concerned about what
was going to happen. I worried a lot, !'nd
wasn't motivated to do anything. N0w,
at least, with Rebel with A Cause foundation
(a national speaking tour featuring
Watkins), I've got my mind on :ither
things.
Most important, though, is that because
of the "suspect class" rnlir.g, this
is not just about me. It now affe-:ts every
gay man and lesbian VI oruan in the
United States of America. It's much
more that whet\ler Perry Watkins get
retirement.
RW· -• .:m've said that all of the people
you worked with in the Army knew that
you were gay. You even did some drag
shows on base. How is it that this came
to a head when it did?
PW: You know, I have no idea. You'd
simply have to ask the military. I do
know for a fact that people in the Pentagon
were calling Fort Lewis, Washington
and ordering my commanding
officer to do things. He told me so himself.
He also told me he'd never go to
Perry Watkins- U.S. Army Sergeant
court and admit that because it would
end his career.
RW: It was 1981 that they originally
started harassing you?
PW: Yes, it was 1981 that I first went
into court, I didn't get diGcharged until
1984.
RW: What happened in 1Y81?
PW: They wanted to revoi':<! my security
clearance because I was ;Jay. It's ir.teresting
to note that they didn't decil ~
that my being gay was important
enough for me to be thrown out until I
actually took them to court. As long as I
was willing to sit back and let them r>7
voke my ckarance, it was all right for
me to be gay and remain in the Arll7y.
RW: What was the purpose of your
security clearance?
PW: It was just a routine requirement
for my job.
RW: Were you completely out of the
closet outside of the Army? I ask because
the military always brings up the
issue of susceptibility to blackmail.
PW: If you tell someone that you're
gay in 1967, and they don't draft you
into the military until 1968, and they
themselves repeatedly address the issue
specifically of you're being gay, and put
information in writing into your records
that, yes, you are gay but it obviously is
not detrimental, how can you possibly
be a blackmail threat?
RW: There was continuous information
in your files?
PW: Continuously, repeatedly. That's
what was interesting about the revocation
of my security clearance. It was the
fourth time they had done this to me.
The first three times they did it, I didn't
say anything, and then they would
come back three months later and say,
"Never mind, you can have it back.
Since you're an admitted homosexual,
you're not a security risk." The Army
made that determination themselves,
that I was suitable for military service.
Then, when they decided they wanted
to put me out, their argument in court
was, "Well, we have no idea how the
man managed to avoid the system." It's
absolutely ludicrous. In addition to not
being happy with the military, I'm also
not very happy with the judicial system
that will look at the military and say it's
my fault that I managed to be in there
for 15 years and the Army owes me nothing.
That bothers me.
RW: You seem to have them in a logical
bind.
PW: Of course I do. That's why the
courts are batting.this back and forth.
There's nothing to substantiate the
claim that I can't function in the Army.
The Army is the one that kept saying I
could.
Also, please remember, I requested
discharge three times because I was gay
and the Army said no every time. This
was during the first six months I was in
the service. Once, I gave them a statement
admitting that I'd had sexual relationships.
They investigated the
statement for three months, and then
came back and said, "Well, we can't
prove that this ever happened, so you
have to stay in." Then in 1984, they said,
"Well, we have this staterr,ient that you
say that it's true that you co=itted
these acts and now you're gone." I find it
abhorrent that our justice system lets
this through.
RW: What have you been doing since
1984?
PW: I file<! bankruptcy. I lost my
house. I worked for a while for the Social
Se-::urity Administration for $5.77 an
hour and decided that wasn't really
what I wanted to do. Every time I applied
for a mid-level management job,
however, the first question out of their
mouths was, "Well, gee, you're perfectly
qualified for the position, but why didn't
you stay in the Anny five more years
until you could have retired?"
Then I have to go through the whole
thing of what happened, and I never get
called back.
RW: What do you hope to accomplish
with your Rebel With A Cause foundation?
PW: It makes me feel real good that we
might be able to do something to improve
life for everyune in America, but
particularly for gays and lesbians. That
has, after all, been my life all along. I
didn't know anything else. I was n~ver
in the closet. I don't know what it's really
like to be in the closet. The gay and
lesbian community has never deserted
me. They've always accepted me as I
am-bizarre and strange and with my
quirks. But, we as a community, accept
people like that. 'Ve are a wonderful
group of people ar.d we're getting the
short end of the stick. Rebel With A
Cause is out there trying to make that
not happen anymore.
Rollins Enters
Plea
Television and movie actor Howard Rollins
Jr. has pleaded innocent in Louisiana
state court to charges of speeding,
driving while intoxicated and possession
of cocaine.
The plea was made Aug. 24 through
his attorney, Jim Boren.
Boren said a status conference on the
case was set by Judge Freddie Pitcher
for Sept. 22.
Rollins, who is filming a TV remake of
"In the Heat of the Night" with Carroll
O'Connor, was stopped March 27 in Baton
Rouge after a state trooper said he
clocked the actor's car at speeds in excess
of 100 mph.
Happy Hooker
Debra Murphree, the streetwalker involved
with the Rev. Jimmy Swaggart,
has some bright financial prospects
even though she's just been packed off to
jail on her fourth prostitution conviction,
her lawyer says.
Murphree was sentenced to six
months and fined $500 for her latest
prostitution conviction.
The case doesn't involve Swaggart
but Judge Wallace LeBrun in Baton
Rouge, La., said he imposed the harshest
sentence allowable because Murphree
had "a lot of notoriety around the
country and because she has three previous
convictions."
Murphree's lawyer, Thomas Weyman,
intends to appeal the sentence.
Weyman says Murphree already has
capitalized on the Swaggart affair -
recreating the poses she said the preacher
had her strike in the pages of
Penthouse-and isn't through yet.
Weyman says he is negotiating a book
deal that will pay a minimum of$25,000
and a movie deal also might be in the
works with an asking price of $150,000.
14 MONTROSE VOICE I SEPTEMBER 2, 1988
Gay Lib Gains Strength In
Latin America
By John Hubert
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
The past five years have seen a significant
Lesbian and Gay development in
most of Latin America. The oldest
groups such as the Grupo Gay de Bahia
(GGB), the Grupo Acao Lesbica Feminista
(GALF), both of Brazil, the Grupo
Orgullo Homosexual de Liberation
(GOHL) of Mexico and the Movimiento
Homosexual de Lima (MHOL) of Peru,
are all seven to eight years old.
In Argentina, the Comunidad Homosexual
Argentina (Argentina Gay Community)
was founded in 1984 upon the
end of the military dictatorship and the
ascension of the democratically elected
President Raul Alfonsin. Homosexuals
had been forced to either leave the country
or go underground during the years
of the military dictatorship. Since 1984,
CHA, which is made up of eight Argentinean
lesbian and gay groups, has grown
in strength as they have had to battle
continuously the anti-gay opression and
intimidation carried out by the police.
In 1987 the Alfonsi,1 government attempted
to enforce a 1946 law which specifically
denied the right to vote to
homosexuals. An international letter
campaign headed up by CHA and the
International Lesbian and Gay Association
(ILGA), headquartered in Sweden,
resulted in a flood of letters to the Casa
Rosada, Argentina's White House,
which ended the attempts to revive the
anti-gay law and a government promise
to repeal it.
BRAZIL has two of the oldest groups
in Latin America. The Grupo Gay <la
Bahia (Gay Group of the State of Bahia)
is located in northeast Brazil in the city
of Salvador. GGB in their eight years of
existence have taken the lead in Brazil n
promoting knowledge of AIDS and safe
sex practices. They have worked to overcome
the police and mass media prejudice
against gay people and were in the
forefront of the national fight to get the
Federal Health Code amended in 1985
so that homosexuality would no longer
be classified as a disease.
GGB, which has a majority of Black
members, was the first group in Latin
America to join the International Lesbian
and Gay Association and for two
years served as the ILGA Latin American
Secertariat. In 1987 the ILGA decided
to regionalize Latin America into
four areas with GGB being one of the
official Information Pools, the other
three being CHA of Buenos Aires, Argentina,
MHOL of Lima, Peru, and
GOHL of Guadalajara, Mexico., Grupo
Acao Lesbica Feminista (the Lesbian
Feminist Action Group) is also eight
years old and is the oldest Lesbian
group in Latin America. They published
an information magazine in Portuguese
and are very much involved in the feminist
movement in Sao Paulo.
Two other groups, both about three
years old, are Lambda Sao Paulo and
Triangulo Rosa (Pink Triangle) of Rio
de Janeiro. These two groups recently
led a national campaign to get Congress
to include a clause to explicitly forbid
discrimination on the grounds of sexual
orientation in the new Federal Constitution
as it was being written.
CHILE suffers under a right wing military
government that views homosexuality
as a threat to the State. Gay
establishments are often raided by the
police in order to obtain names which
they will use for later searches "for reasons
of danger to public health and morals."
The 1980 Constitution dictated by
the military government states, "Any
person, or persons, organizations or
groups that upset the establishment order,
the Family, the State, or Private
Property will be treated with all the severity
of the law as an act of subversion
and terrorism against the present system
of authority."
Under these circumstances, it is extremely
dangerous for Lesbians and
Gays to get organized. The only group in
Chile is the dynamic three year old
Colectiva Lesbica Feminista Ayuquelen.
"Ayuquelen" means "joy" in the
language of the Mapuche Indians. Ayugelen,
with financial help form European
and USA groups, has participated in
the First Latin American Lesbian Information
Service Conference in 1986 in
Geneva and the 1988 International Lesbian
and Gay Association Conference
held in July in Oslo, Norway.
PERU, on the South American west
coast, sports two organizations, one a
mixed male and female organization,
the Movimiento Homosexual de Lima
(MHOL), and the other a lesbian feminist
group, called Grupo de Autoconciencia
de Lesbianas Feministas
(GALF).
MHOL has served one year as the
ILGA Latin American Secretariat and
presently they are continuing their international
involvement as on of four
Latin American ILGA Information
Pools. MHOL publishes a magazine covering
political and consciousness raisin,
health, international news and cultural
activities. They also work with the political
parties to gain their open support
for gay rights.
The Women's Secretariat provides
support and activities of special interest
to women. Their library of publications
from around the world is used for research
by students in Peru. Recently
MHOL has added two new workshops; a
Spiritual Workshop which meets weekly,
and a Music Workshop, which teaches
music theory and practice, both voice
and instruments.
GALF has been very active in the national
feminist movement as well as internationally.
They attended the 1985
ILGA World Conference in Toronto as
well as the 4th Latin American Feminist
Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil. They
also participated in the ILIS Conference
in Switzerland in 1986 and the Latin
American Lesbian Conference in Mexico
in 1987. GALF organizes Consciousness
raising workshops for lesbians and
they publish a bulletin called Al Margen.
COLOMBIA has a number of groups
with the oldest and most active being
the Colectivo de Orgullo Gay (Gay Pride
Collective). CORG, founded four years
ago by a group of students, publishes a
magazine called De Ambiente.
VENEZUELA has only one active organization
today, called the Citizen's
Action Committee Against AIDS which
mainly works with Venezuela's television
and radio stations, as well as the
major newspapers. They have also prepared
an informative bulletin about
AIDS for the general public. URUGUAY
presently has a small group,
Grupo Somos, who are trying to do
something to improve the situation for
lesbians and gays in their country.
Assassinations In Brazil, Singapore Threats
Gay Happenings Worldwide by
John Hubert
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
The Grupo Gay da Bahia (GGB), the
eight year old gay activist group, located
in the city of Salvador in the State of
Bahia, in northeast Brazil, reports that
the rash of murders throughout the
county continues.
GGB has detailed the names, ages, occupations
and manners of death of278
gay victims so far, all motivated by antigay
sentiments and AIDS-phobia. Included
are the rich and famous,
professionals and street people.
The latest issue of the "Boletm Do
GGB", which comes out 3 times a year,
dedicated two of its eight pages to detailing
the macabre facts about the 35 gays
who were victims of macho violence in
Brazil since their previous issue. GGB
says the anti-gay violence in increasing,
especially in Sao Paulo and Rio de
Janeiro. During the past year several
people killed on the streets of Rio's
slums had notes attached to their corpses
saying, "Now I can no longer spread
AIDS." In Sao Paulo, police estimate the
rate of anti-gay murder is double that of
a year ago.
At least twenty well-known gay men
have been murdered in their homes in
recent months, 8 in Sao Paulo and 12 in
Rio de Janeiro.
Theater director and actor Luis Antonio
Martinez Correa was one of the
most recent victims, whose death has
provoked a public response to the antigay
violence. Luis Antonio's brother, Jose
Celso, also a theater director, has
gathered the support and signatures of
200 artists and intellectuals for a manifesto
protesting the attacks.
"It's a political crime to intimidate
gay people by these organized terrorist
death squads, which are backed by the
authorities," stated Celso.
According to the ILGA Bulletin the
manifesto was delivered to Rio de
Janeiro city council by a group of 150
people. Fernanda Montenegro, one of
Brazil's best known actresses, read the
manifesto aloud to the council. The
manifesto protests the brutal anti-gay
murders as well as the indifference with
which the authorities have investigated
the crimes against homosexuals.
Officials in Singapore have warned
that victims of AIDS can be fired from
jobs, charged with murder or face civil
lawsuits should they spread the deadly
virus. According to "The New Straits
Times", the principle. newspaper of
Malaysia, which is connected to the island
state of Singapore by causeway,
the witch hunt is very real for AIDS sufferers.
In a crackdown on homosexuals
to thwart the spread of AIDS and for
homophobic "morality" reasons, police
have banned gays from nightclubs,
lounges, bars and discos. The production
of a play about AIDS was halted by
the government due to its sympathetic
treatment of homosexuality. Additionally,
police are now picking up suspected
gays in parks and other long time cruising
areas and requiring blood tests. Letters
of protest can be sent to Prime
Minister Lee Kuan Yew, Government
House, Singapore, Singapore.
In Hong Kong, the government has
started discussing the decriminalization
of gay acts/sex which presently
carry a life term. Recently, despite the
unreasonable penalties, more people
have been willing to "come out" and
confront the anti-gay propaganda. Lesbians
and gay men have been inter-viewed
on television and some gay plays
have been performed.
The Hong Kong 10 Percent Club is
still going, but lacks organization and a
sense of activist direction according to
reports from Hong Kong. Apparently
they prefer cruising activities to liberatiqn
strategies. The city's other group,
the Long Yang Club, is chiefly social.
More From
Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen is coming out with a
four-song live record that will benefit
Amnesty International, the human
rights organization.
It will include the Bob Dylan song
"Chimes of Freedom," which was recorded
at a Stockholm concert, and three
tunes from a stand in Los Angeles last
spring-"Tougher than the Rest," "Be
True" and "Born to Run."
The record will appear in early September,
which is when Springsteen goes
on tour for Amnesty International with
Peter Gabriel, Sting and Tracy Chapman.
Video Reviews:
'Broadcast News'
By Jack E. Wilkinson
United Press International
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
What's new on the home video scene .. .
MOVIES
"Broadcast News"-A sunny sashay
through the high-energy, glitzy world of
television news and its tricky mix of
press and pizzazz. Jane (Holly Hunter)
is the TV network's brilliant young
Washington producer, totally committed,
totally in control. Complications set
in, though, when she meets Tom (William
Hurt), a dense but handsome hunk
imported as the new correspondent.
Completing the rather hopeless romantic
triangle is Aaron (Albert Brooks), a
crackerjack reporter but without the
necessary on-camera tools, forever in
the wings with both the network and
Jane. Add Jack Nicholson in a funny
cameo appearance as his highness, the
network anchor. All in all, writer-director
James L. Brooks has fashioned a
bright, breezy comedy with exceptional
acting and some sharp jabs at TV and
the folks who put the muse in the evening
news. 1987. 132 minutes. CBS-Fox
Video. Rated R. $89.98.
"Frantic"-Harrison Ford plays an
American doctor in Paris for a convention
when his wife (Betty Buckley) is
suddenly kidnapped for no apparent
reason. Convinced neither the American
consulate nor the police is doing
enough, he takes it on himself to find the
kidnappers. Learning an airport luggage
mixup triggered the abduction and
with the help of a pretty Parisian
(Emmanuelle Seigner), he delves deeper
into the disappearance only to find himself
in the midst of a dangerous hightech
smuggling scheme. This Roman
Polanski thriller has its moments, but
unfortunately, it also has a tendency to
go leaden. 1988. 120 minutes. Warner
Home Video. Rated R. $89.95.
"18 Again!"-Another of those body
swapping yarns. An 81-year-old swinging
bachelor, Jack (George Bums) has
everything but youth. His wish comes
true when, during an auto accident, he
switches bodies with his 18-year-old
grandson David (Charlie Schlatter.)
Though many of the man-boy situations
are familiar, this one strives for more
insight than the others. Jack, as David,
now discovers what people really think
of the old man and sets out, with a narrow
deadline, to put some things right.
It's mostly Schlatter's picture since
Bums is not on long. 1988. 100 minutes.
New World Video. Rated PG. $89.95.
"Consuming Passions"-In this British
black comedy of the "Eating Raoul"
school, a bumbling junior executive accidentally
dumps three workers into a
revolving vat of chocolate, thus creating
a new taste sensation. The bumbler, Ian
(Tyler Butterworth), is immediately promoted
for saving the chocolate factory,
but is now expected to keep the new ingredient
coming. In an odd bit of casting,
Vanessa Redgrave plays a
flamboyant, over-sexed kook, a widow
from that original batch, who also is
Ian's responsibility. Amusing in a weird
sort of way, based on a story by Michael
Palin and Terry Jones of the old Monty
Python troupe. 1988. 98 minutes. Virgin
Vision. Rated R. $79.95.
COMEDY
"Jackie Mason On Broadway"Jackie
Mason is a hoot with his unique
brand of rapid-fire ethnic satire, edited
from his hit Broadway show, "The
World According To Me." And, accord-ing
to him, there's a chuckle behind every
foible. His targets include Jews and
gentiles, Poles and Italians, dating rituals
and the Reagan administration.
Just about everything and everybody is
fair game. 60 minutes, from HBO Video,
$89.95.
VIDBITS
"Anna," for which Sally Kirkland
won an Oscar nomination, reaches
home video Nov. 2, as does a new version
of "And God Created Woman" with Rebecca
De Mornay updating Brigette
Bardot's starmaking role, from Vestron
... "Fatal Attraction" (Paramount) was
chosen best dramatic movie of the year
by the Video Software Dealers Association.
"Dirty Dancing" (Vestron) won
best musical, "Crocodile Dundee" (Paramount)
best comedy, "Lady And The
Tramp" (Disney) best children's movie.
Also, "Lethal Weapon" (Warner) actionadventure,
"Predator" (CBS-Fox) sci-fi,
"The Lost Boys" (Warner) horror and
"Hope. And Glory" (Nelson) foreign.
BILLBOARD'S Top 10 rentals
1. Good Morning, Vietnam- Touchstone
Home Video
2. Suspect-RCA-Columbia Home
Video
3. Wall Street-CBS-Fox Video
4. D.O.A.-Touchstone Home Video
5. Fatal Attraction- Paramount
Home Video
6. Eddie Murphy Raw-Paramount
Home Video
7. Empire of the Sun-Warner Home
Video
8. Full Metal Jacket-Warner Home
Video
9. Planes, Trains and AutomobilesParamount
Home Video
10. Action Jackson-Lorimar Home
Video
Dressed To
Pierce
Pierce Brosnan, who heads Us magazine's
most stylish list, has a simple formula
for looking suave.
"If it feels good, wear it," says the former
star of "Remington Steele," who admitted
using his wife's cosmetics.
"And always make sure your fly's
done up, whatever you're wearing."
Brosnan recently culled his wardrobe
after filming "The Deceivers" in India,
saying, "You see somebody live with a
pair of shorts, old shoes and a T-shirt
and you realize how much baggage you
have."
But his closet still sounds like it holds
enough to clothe a Third World country-
about 35 suits, 100 shirts, five tuxedos,
50 to 60 ties.
Joining him on the Us list of stylish
stars are singer Sade; Corbin Bernsen of
"L.A. Law;" actresses Anjelica Huston
Kirstie Alley and Farrah Fawcett; Mi'.
chael Douglas's wife, Diandra; comedians
Jay Leno and Arsenio Hall; and
Princess Caroline.
Baby Ross
Singer-actress Diana Ross gave birth to
a boy last Friday. Ross, 44, and husband
Arne Naess Jr. have three children from
previous marriages.
This was their second together. Ross
spokesman Elliot Mintz wouldn't say
where the birth took place.
SEPTEMBER 2, 1988 I MONTROSE VOICE 15
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For HIV testing in1ormation and
appointments
l _
785-8580
Monday through Friday
9:00am to 5:00pm ~--'"--~~~~~~~~~~~
16 MONTROSE VOICE I SEPTEMBER 2. 1988
'Hot, Fat, Sassy': Two Out Of
Three Ain't Bad
Delia Stewart Dance Co. (Miller Outdoor,
2 and 3 at 8:30).
Blue Notes at the Top Grill (Kuumba
House Repertory Theater, 2)-benefit
performance. ONO!
A Virus Knows No Morals (MFA, 3 at
8PM)-SWAMP also presents this movie
by German avant garde director Rosa
Von Praunheim. ONO!
Randy Jobe, Marsha Carlton and Michael Bailey in "Hot, Fat and Sassy-a
Totally Rude Revue" at the Comedy Workshop.
By Bill O'Rourke
Montrose Voice A&E Editor
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
Two thirds of "Hot, Fat and Sassy-a
Totally Rude Revue" are one of the better
club act/musical revues I've seen in
Houston. I onlyiope that the three stars
think of this as a work in progress. If so,
they'll jettison two bad numbers, find
better replacements and wind up with a
show that's a thorough delight from one
end to the other.
It might even have happened by the
time you read this review.
Marsha Carlton is one of my favorite
singers, and, I think, has a broad-based
appeal. (Take that one any way you
want to.) It would be extremely difficult,
though not impossible, for her to get a
bad review out of me for anything. She's
great here. Surprise, surprise.
Randy Jobe I have mixed feelings
about. He can be knock-you-dead dynamite,
but it requires spot-on aim. If he
misses at all, it's usually disastrous.
I heard through the grape-vine that
he's getting tired of doing drag. (He always
does two or three high-camp bits in
each show.) That may be true. He seems
to have lost some of his flair for the outrageous.
One of the two scenes that don't work
ends the first act with Marsha as Dolly
Parton artd Randy as Carol Chailning
as Dolly Levi. He's the reason it doesn't
work.
The other looser takes half the second
act to retell "Gone With the Wind." His
Scarlett O'Hara is not the reason it falls
flat. But he can't save it, either.
It has two problems. One, it is far, far
too long. Two, it uses the attempts to act
of two volunteers from the audiences.
Yucko. Bad idea.
But the basic idea-rewriting the lyrics
of old TV sitcoms to tell this story
could be real cute. (It worked for Mad
Magazine, didn't it?) Cut the audience
participation, trim the songs, makeitan
opera and it could be a smashing success.
Randy is very, very good as himself
and excellent as the mother superior of a
convent. Maybe he's just going through
a time in his life when he needs to develop
his quieter side. Not only is this a
good idea in itself, but when it is time for
him to cut loose again it'll come out even
better.
Randy and Marsha are nuns for the
last three songs in the show. They're
very entertaining and they do something
revue ought to do -0 introduce good
new music. These songs come from a
delightful small musical, "Nunsense."
It's been out a few years. I caught it in
Denver. But no-one's done it yet in Houston.
Houston audiences are good audi-ences
and deserve this show! Sample
these three songs and you'll begin to get
a taste for it.
Michael Bailey, the pianist, sings a lot
more here than I remember him doing
before. He has a rich, deep voice that one
might not have expected from his slight
fritzy, definitely with-it blond good
looks. I'd like to hear more of him in the
future.
In fact, I'd really like it if this trio were
to stay together and give us a new show
every six months or so.
NOTES: GAIL GERRARD and
Phil Hooper, a locally based lounge act,
are singing at a campaign party for
George Bush in Charlotteshall, Md. today.
The fundraiser is being coordinated
by Van Halen's manager.
Auditions: Tuesday Musical Club
Chorus-a women's group which sings
classical, spiritual and folk songs for
various groups. Rehearsals Tuesdays.
Child care provided at minimal fee. 464-
9874 or 521-2321. ...
ART AGAINST AIDS: This is the
first week of this month-long project.
The following events are allied with it:
Bright Eyes (MFA, 2 at 8PM)-a movie
presented by the Southwest Alternate
Media Project (SWAMP). ONO!
Only Human (MFA, 4 at 7PM)SWAMP
film. ONO!
Kick-Off Luncheon (Menil Collection,
6 at 11:30PM)-ONO!
Mike Le Febvre Trio (Radio Music
Theater, 7 at 8PM)-jazz! ONO!
As Is (Chocolate Bayou Theater Company,
8-18)-produced by AIDS Foundation,
Houston.
Joe Morris (Hermann Hospital, Crozier
Auditorium, 9 at noon)-stand- up
comedian. ONO!
OPENINGS: Labor Day Showcasethe
Best of Fitz's New Music (Zelda's, 2
and 3).
"True Colors" (Miller Outdoor, 2 and
3)-energetic American dance by the
Delia Stewart Dance Company. Freebies.
Rob Weinstein, Texas City Davis,
Doug Cooper (Comix Annex, 2 and 3).
Poetry Readings (Firehouse on the
Curve, 2 at 8:30PM).
Preston Thompson (MFA, 4 at 2)-Indian
stories and music. ONO!
Dante Garza, Cheryl Holliday, Mike
Emody (Laff Stop, 6-11).
As Is (Chocolate Bayou, 8)-an educational
effort by AIDS Foundation Houston.
There will be a moderated
discussion after each performance of
this taut drama about two lovers facing
the death of one from the pandemic.
Intrigue (Jonathon's, 8)-computer
music.
Health Officials Discuss
'Problems' A Cure Will
Cause
By Richard Luna
United Press International
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
World Health Organization officials,
claiming there is no single answer to the
AIDS problem, said Monday the longterm
benefits of a cure for the deadly
disease are still unclear.
Dr. Jonathan Mann, director of the
Globar Program on AIDS for the World
Health Organization, said when a cure
for acquired immune deficiency syndrome
is found, it will cause even more
problems for health officials all over the
world.
"We will be living with AIDS and its
consequences for the rest of our lives,"
Mann said at the 13th annual World
Conference of Health Education, being
held this year in Houston.
"If a (cure) drug is developed, it's not
over," he said. "The critical point is there
is no quick fix, something that will make
this go away, and that's what everyone
wants."
Mann said the price of making the
drug available would likely be expensive.
"The world can't afford (experimental
drug) AZT at the current price,"
he said. "Then there's the serious question
of making sure it is available to the
whole world and not just the rich."
Mann said another concern health officials
will have to deal with is the
"many people currently infected who
don't know. Once a drug is available,
many would try to find out (if they have
the disease). Could the health system
handle a large influx of additional people."
He said existing health services are
"stretched to the limit by existing demand."
He said another area that must be
studied is if a preventative drug is available,
would the general population take
it as required?
"When people get sick, they take
drugs for a cure," he said. "But when
people are healthy, it's difficult to get
them to take drugs."
Officials at the conference report the
number of AIDS cases and countries reporting
the disease is continuing to increase.
As of Aug. 1, more than 108,000
AIDS cases had been officially reported
to the World Health Organization,
which is based in Geneva. Nearly 70,000
of those cases are in the United States.
Officials contend the number represents
only a portion of the total AIDS
cases to date, which are estimated at as
many as 250,000. WHO estimates that
between 5 and 10 million people may
currently be infected with human immunodeficiency
virus, which causes AIDS.
Mann said he is optimistic a drug to
help stop the spread of AIDS will be
available by the end of the century.
"Education can be effective, also," he
said. "AIDS has showed it can explode
in all societies. There are ways to reach
out to everyone."
SEPTEMBER 2, 1988 I MONTROSE VOICE 17
day of shooting and just as obviously
has a long, funny career ahead of him. Hilarious Australian Film
Relieves Writer's Strike Boredom
Director and writer Stephen
MacLean's irreverent wit shows well in
this one quote from the PR packet, "To
me, nothing is like real but real life. A
movie is a movie."
By Bill O'Rourke
Montrose Voice A&E Editor
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
Have you noticed that there are no new
Hollywood movies opening this weekend?
Can it be that "Roger Rabbit" and
friends are taking up all of the available
screens? I doubt it. Can it just be the
traditional slow weekend the first weekend
in school? Well, maybe. But I think
that it may be that the writer's strike is
starting to hit home on the big screen.
Actually, that might be a blessing in
disguise. l'.m often telling you about all
of these really very funny foreign films,
but I'm often wondering if you're listening.
After all, why try something new?
We haven't seen all of the great movies
about people changing bodies with
someone of a different age, yet. For mind
deadening, which is what a lot of people
want from their comedies, Hollywood is
plenty inventive. But now, maybe you'll
have to try a foreign comedy and find
out that you're embarrassing yourself
by laughing so hard out in public.
Laugh right out loud?, I hear you
smirking. At one of those horribly sensitive
and subtle ...
"Around the World in 80 Ways" is
about as subtle as a Mel Brooks comedy.
Big brother Wally is scrounging for
money because the bank has repossessed
"Wally's Big Banana," his tourist
trap in Northern Australia. Little brother
Eddie has fallen hard for Nurse Ophelia
Cox. If you want subtle, you're in the
wrong theater.
Dad (Allan Penny) has lost his car
dealership to his unscrupulous neighbor.
Now it looks like he might loose his
wife to him as well. She's stuck him in
an old folk's home and run off on a trip
around the world. Only after it's started
does everyone realize that the neighbor
is the only other single on the trip (except
the tour guide). Dad insists on following
them. Maybe he can catch them
in Hawaii.
Except that he's psychosomatically
blind and lame. And broke. Wait a minim.
It turns out he's got money stashed
away . ... But it also turns out that he
can't touch it for four weeks. By that
time the errant spouse will be back. But
if Wally does a favor for the old geezer in
the meantime, maybe he can buy back
his banana.
And Ophelia Cox (Gosia Dobrowolska)
has a large number of ideas
about how the old gentleman might be
rehabilitated-basically that he's got a
better chance if he actually tries to do
something than if he vegetates and
waits to die.
So, the old gent is taken on a trip
around the world, all right. You know
how all Hilton's look alike? Well, they
also look like the insides of the neighbor's
tacky house. And about 15 of the
people that they meet along the way
look a lot like Wally (Philip Quast). The
inside car lot becomes Las Vegas and
the Vatican and the neighbor's collection
of sex toy dolls become the supporting
cast, at their best as a line of nuns.
Wally is the black sheep of the family,
not because he's gay (That's mentioned
in passing several times.) but because
he's so fiscally irresponsible.
Quast is a treasure, a quieter version
of Peter Sellers or Benny Hill (younger
and handsomer, too) or a louder version
Philip Quast as the gay big brother in "Around the World in 80 Ways."
~\
Nineteen year old Kelly Dingwall plays the younger brother, who wins the
heart of Nurse Ophelia Cox (Gosia Dobrowolska).
of Woody Allen. Or Tim Curry. Or just ny and yet so obviously well seasonedhimself,
of course. It's wonderful to run an old pro we haven't seen too often all
into someone so new in our eyes as Pen- ready. Kelly Dingwall turned 19 the first
So learn, along with Dad, that the only
way to stay young is to take chances
and try new things, no matter how silly
they may seem.
3 1/2 out of 4.
TRAILERS: EVERY Saturday afternoon
in September, "Houston Grand
Opera Presents" (KUHF) will feature an
opera from Wagner's "Der Ring des
Nibelungen" as performed at the 1988
Beyreuth Festival. This Sunday's "Das
Rhinegold" begins at lPM The other
three will begin at noon ....
Channel 11 debuts a new one-hour
talk show featuring Regis Philbin and
Kathie Lee Gifford this Monday at 9AM.
CELEBRATE! September 4th,
1972-Munich, Germany-Swimmer
Mark Spitz won a record seventh gold
medal in the 400 meter relay.
B'days: 2-Cleveland Amory, Mark
Harmon, Linda Purl. 3-Sarah Orne
Jewett, Kitty Carlisle, Anne Jackson.
4-Craig Claiborne, Paul Harvey, Dick
York. 5-William Devane, Bob Newhart,
Jack Valenti. 6-Jane Addams, Marquis
de Lafayette, Jo Anne Worley. 7-
Valerie Taylor, Michael DeBakey,
Anthony Quayle. 8-Sid Caesar, Patsy
Cline, Peter Sellers.
"An angel doesn't make love; an angel
is love."-John Philip Law (born 9/ 7) as
an angel fighting off the advances of the
heroine, "Barbarella."
DAILIES: Bright Eyes (MFA, 2)Art
Against AIDS.
The Postman Always Rings Twice
(1946 version); Slightly Scarlet (Rice, 2).
I'm Allright, Jack; Two-Way Stretch
(Rice, 3)-These begin an every other
Friday series of early Peter Sellers movies.
His co-stars this week include Terry
Thomas and Wilfrid Hyde-White.
A Virus Knows No Morals (MFA, 3)Art
Against AIDS.
La Dolce Vita (Rice, 4)-Fellini.
Only Human (MFA, 4)-Art Against
AIDS.
Safer Sex Is
Back Vogue
"MALE MODELS WANTED": AIDS
Foundation Houston Inc.-Education
Department will be producing a safer
sex poster. Interviews for models will be
held through September 14, 1988. All
proofs and photographs shots for this
project will remain property of AIDS
Foundation Houston Inc. Interested
candidates should call 623-6796 Ext.
no.48, Monday thru Friday from 9 a.m.
till 6 p.m.
Freddy Ready
For Movie
Robert Englund, the actor underneath
all that fake scar tissue on the evil Freddy
Krueger, says his latest movie,
"Nightmare on Elm Street 4," is bringing
out more fans.
"They're always stopping me on the
street to say, 'I'd love to be your next
victim," Englund says.
In addition to his new rap song with
the Fat Boys and a television show
brewing, Englund is branching out by
directing a horror movie, "976-EVIL,"
that will open early next_year,
18 MONTROSE VOICE I SEPTEMBER 2, 1988
Bush's "Dirty Boys"
In just a little over two months
Americans will choose a new president.
What key issues will decide that
election-defense. child care, or some
yet-to-be disclosed matter of
substance? Not likely
George Bush, the man who never was
and long torn between his old handlers
such as Jim Baker and the "new" boys
headed by Lee Atwater, seems to have
fallen in with the latter camp of
right-wing activists.
Atwater and his later cohorts such as
Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and
Charles Black (not exactly household
names but neither were the names in
Watergate or lrangate) really began this
effort with the nomination of Barry
Goldwater in 1964.
Stone, at 19 in 1972, learned the ropes
as part of Richard Nixon's dirty-trick
operation. And we all should remember
1972-that was the year Nixon, who
probably could have won re-election
sitting on his hands, had to have a
landslide, a mandate from the people.
So he and his re-election committee,
including the highest law-enforcement
officer in the country-Attorney
General John Mitchell-embarked on
one of the most carefully planned, well
financed corruptions of American
politics. Even when the tip of the
iceberg emerged with the abortive
Watergate break-in. Nixon and his
cohorts. using the full weight of the
executive branch, covered up their
wrongdoing until the electoral mandate
was achieved.
The "Dirty Boys" are back-"Dirty
Boys, Part Ill." Atwater still pulls the
strings. He planted the stories about
Michael Dukakis' health (disclosed by
columnists Novak and Evans, not
known as liberals) and, in the true
fashion of this type of political
operative, put the blame on the
LaRouche forces who had
independently circulated the
depression story.
The extent of the Atwater network can
be seen in Reagan's "off-the- cuff"
comment-on the same day as the
breaking of the story-referring to
Dukakis as "that invalid."
Then a little-known senator from
Idaho, Steve Symns, announces that
somewhere-nobody knows wherethere
are pictures of Kitty Dukakis
burning the American flag in a '60s
protest. And by a mere coincidence
that same day, while addressing the
VFW in Chicago, Bush makes reference
to "flag burning."
But Atwater and his "Dirty Boys" are only
getfing warmed up. Unlike much of the
electorate, they study history-they live
it. And look what they found: In the
1920s and the 1950s Republicans
successfully corralled votes with the "red
scare," Commies everywhere after both
great wars. But this needs some
modern-day refinement-Dukakis is a
"card-carrying member of the American
Civil Liberties Union." (For those who
missed this bit of history in school,
Republican Senator Joe McCarthy went
on a witch hunt in the 1950s for
card-carrying Communists and
homosexuals in the federal governmentand
his right arm was Roy Cohn, a
recent victim of AIDS and a case history
of the worse possible kind of closet
case.) The ACLU-obviously a pinko
front organization-actually represents
right, left and center on any issue
involving constitutional rights, a fact lost
out on the huskings.
Now the "Dirty Boys" work best behind
the scenes, in fact, they prefer the dark
and to shift responsibility elsewhere. But
they do need that occasional lone voice
in the media. So now comes Patrick
Buchanan, one time hatchet man for
Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
When the news blitz surrounding Dan
Quayle reaches its peak (fueled,
interestingly enough, by the Quayle
family paper and several other
Republican bastions of the media)
Buchanan emerges to proclaim a press
conspiracy to discredit not only Dan
Quayle but all patriotic Americans. And
the Democrats are left standing by
helplessly as what they saw as an issue
against Bush (his first "presidential"
decision to pick "Bland Dan") turn in his
favor.
(Footnote: In case the relevance of all
this is eluding us, keep in mind that
Buchanan squarely places the blame for
the AIDS crisis on us "Sodomites." And
we already know the anti-gay agenda of
the rest of this right-wing hatchet
squad.)
' .
A brief note about the "Dirty Boys": This
is the crew that eight years ago branded
Bush a "pinko trilateralist" in New
Hampshire. They learned negative
advertising under Nixon and "plausible
denialability" from Ed Meese. Charles
Black started working with Senator Jesse
Helms (these certain few names of
gay-baiters do keep coming up) and
worked for Senator Phil Gramm's
election.
While adhering to a clear conservative
agenda, these "Dirty Boys" wage the
campaign against Dukakis as one would
fight a guerrilla war-from behind the
bushes (really, no pun intended). The
idea is to smear the candidate in such a
manner that no matter how false the
accusation, his credibility is damaged.
It is this same mentality, and in some
cases, the same personnel, that ran
Nixon's campaign and the lrangate affair.
(A new book by two senators, one of
each party, on the lrangate committee
conclude that the panel was
outmanuvered and put on the
defensive-but, of course, like Watergate
the trials will not reveal the final truth
until after the election.
What does the rest of the campaign
hold? Well, in a race in North Carolina
handled by the "Dirty Boys" they brought
up the Jewish question through a third
part. and Kitty Dukakis is Jewish. And
numerous times they have injected the
homosexual question (paradoxically, the
"Dirty Boys" have included the late Terry
Dolen and Carl Channel - so that's what
the term "Gay Republican" means) and
in an interview Kitty Dukakis
acknowledged that a couple of family
members are gay. It's like watching
coming attractions, or, in this case, future
hatchet jobs.
Leonard Frey, 49, who created the role of
Harold the birthday boy in "Boys in the
Band" off-Broadway and in the movie,
died last week in New York of AIDS. Frey
made his Broadway debut earlier in a
small role in "Fiddler on the Roof" and
later received an Oscar nomination as
best supporting actor as Motel in the
movie version.
What, a sane voice from a churchman on
"The Last Temptation of Christ"? In Larry
King's column this week he quotes Rev.
Billy Graham as saying, "I believe fu lly in
the separation of church and state, and I
totally believe in the First Amendment."
He noted that he intended to see the
movie since he couldn't understand how
anyone could "prejudge anything."
1424-C Westheimer (at Windsor) 522-5156
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SEPTEMBER 2, 1988 I MONTROSE VOICE 19
ALSO
NEW
FEVER PITCH
fromSeabag
20 MONTROSE VOICE I SEPTEMBER 2, 1988
Tallent On Woodhead:
The Not So Antique
Dealer
PHOTO BY JEFF BRAY
Dean Tallent: "This street really is turning into something. We work
rogether here."
By Jeff Bray
The Montrose Voice
The musty smell of pot pouri permeates
the atmosphere as stuffed pheasants
gaze almost languidly across the polished
antique lacquered table tops.
Clocks tick, traffic sounds muffled from
outside, and time seems to have stopped
in an incredibly eclectic and eccentric
drawing room.
It looks like a setting for a macabre
version of Salome. One could imagine
Oscar Wilde sprawled on the lavish
French Rococo furniture. Instead, one is
confronted by the tall, handsome figure
of Dean Tallent, who owns The Cottage
on Woodhead and Two Doors Downtwo
flourishing antique shops on the
2000 block of Woodhead.
"We had a 1965 Rolls Royce Silver
Cloud here yesterday on consignment,"
says the 40 year old blonde moustached
Tallent.
"It was priced at $36,000, and we actually
have a couple people interested. Of
course, that's really unusual here. We
tend to have more affordable merchandise,
but that's the fun of this place. You
never know what's going to come
through."
The idea of consignment is new to
many people who may occasionally
wander through Houston's many antique
shops. People sometimes grow
tired of old items in their homes, and
they'll take them to a man like Dean
Tallent, who will look it over and decide
whether or not to display them in his
store. Often, if he does not wish to display
them there, he will refer them to
another store where he feels the merchandise
will be more properly displayed.
It's a profitable occupation for those
who have the taste and the knowledge to
chose the right items and display them
in the right environment. That knowledge
and taste are evidently well represented
in Tallent, who's Cottage was
recently displayed in an article by Texas
Monthly Magazine.
"I've had the Cottage for about two
years," he explains, as he relaxes in a
gorgeous faux malachite chair. "I'm a
native Houstonian. I got my Masters at
Stephen F. Austin, then taught art in
Florida for about ten years before I came
back. I've always considered myself to
be a Texas boy, and I feel more comfortable
here."
When he came back to Houston from
Florida, Tallent busied himself by working
for designers in the city, painting
and decorating. Eventually, he developed
a skill for faux finishes-a form of
art he still prefers, and which is currently
enjoying a great popularity in the
world of architecture and design. As he
worked, he picked up contacts and skill
along the way. After sitting in many
other galleries and shops for other owners,
he finally decided to take a chance
and start his own shop.
"The things from New Guinea at the
Cottage are real things. They only
stopped head hunting over there in the
last 20 years or so. They're probably still
doing it in some places. The designs on
those war shields aren't just decorations.
They're magic for those people.
They mean something!
"We get tables where I look at them
and wonder what sort of transactions
took place on them in the centuries
they've been around. It's pretty interesting."
Perhaps the most beguiling of all Tallent's
objects is the $4,600 French Romantic
bed that once belonged to
Elizabeth Taylor. Surely one must wonder
what that bed has seen in its day.
"The people who owned it had had it
for about 15 years, so I guess Liz slept in
it around 1970."
Who was Liz with in 1970? Interestingly
enough, the bed requires special
linens because it is a king size length
and a queen size width. Speculation
runs rampant.
For Tallent, oddities of merchandise
aside, business has been quite good
since he first opened up two years ago.
The Woodhead location is turning into a
small antique district, and the prospects
seem exciting.
"This street is really turning into
something," he says, pleased. "We all
work together and refer people to each
other. I think it'll be the up and coming
thing. We plan to expand our hours because
customers complain that they
can't come here after work on weekdays.
We'll probably stay open late on Thursdays
soon. "The nice thing is that we
help each other. The new guy down the
street is going to contribute a lot to the
neighborhood. He's accepted. I think
competition is good. There are 10 shops
here within a two block radius. If you
don't find it in this shop, you may find it
in one of the others. It works for all of
us."
Because of the increased traffic, Tallent
has just recently opened his new
shop. It is named Two Doors Down because
it is literally two doors down and
across the street from The Cottage on
Woodhead. Two Doors Down is more up
scale than The Cottage, which will soon
specialize in Christmas items and contain
more eclectic material.
"September is a good time to start preparing
for Christmas," Tallent says,
smiling. "I've always loved Christmas,
so that's why I'm starting early. I make
wreathes and garland myself, and I
need a head start."
He points to the gorgeous garland
that drapes over the fireplace in his new
shop. It consists of thousands of dried
flowers, bows, ribbons, plants, feathers
and even swag tie-backs. Because it is
dried, it can last years if taken care of
properly, and he is justly pleased with
his work.
,,,
forces you otherwise wouldn't have to
use."
While working for others, however,
Tallent never really dreamed of his own
shop. He just decided to do it, and it
worked.
"You don't really think of it until you
do it," he explains. "Now I know what's
good and what isn't. Faux finishes are
really hot right now. I like to paint, but I
don't find the time anymore. I also have
a man who comes here and can carve
anything broken or gone and make it
look perfect."
Tallent shows off an ancient French
country table with rather delicate
curved legs. One entire leg had been
missing, and a large chip had been
gouged out of the side. His craftsman
had so perfectly replaced these parts
with matching wood and grain that it
was impossible to detect where the damage
had occurred.
"This table has been around for over a
hundred years," Tallent says, smiling
proudly. "Now it's good for another hundred
or more."
Tallent tries to be as versatile as possible.
His oldest piece is an ancient 2,000
year old Mezzo American Cholema dog
made of terra cotta. It snarls in primitive
eternal anger right next to a modern
stone sculpture by Hayes Parker. He
PHOTO BY JEFF BRAY
Tallent displays his wares outside his original Cottage on Woodhead,
across the street from Two Doors Down.
"I guess Christmas is the boy in me,"
he says shyly. "It's one of those things
you don't get over."
Does the shop owner ever tire of his
antiques, since he's surrounded by them
all day every day?
"Because I see things first, I get first
choice," he says. "My house has lots of
nice antique things. I love them. My
house has the same feel about it. I see the
craftsmanship and I respect it. Besides,
these shops are a little bit of escape. You
step off the streets of Houston and into a
Victorian drawing room."
When faced with the late summer beat
and the blinding subtropical light, a
Victorian drawing room can sometimes
be a welcome respite. The thick curtains,
the rich fabrics, the eccentric shapes,
the luxurious textures all draw prospective
escapees into the shops to explore
and wonder. The beauty is overlaid by
the seductive scent of pot pouri, but Tallent
laughs and tells us not to be too
drawn into the fantasy.
"Half the time, pot pouri is there to
cover the smell of Grandma's rugs."
"I started my shop when the economy
was pretty bad," he says. "I never really
experienced the good old days, and I
think that was actually good for me in
the long run. I never knew what it was
like to have it real easy, so I did well in a
very difficult environment. It made me
try harder. It makes you play a few more
likes to mix these items because of their
general texture, not necessarily because
of their age.
"You kind of start by being a shopper
and buyer," he explains, as he walks
among his beautifully equipped rooms.
"I love English, but as you can see, I
have French and American from different
periods. Since I do upper consignments,
I don't have complete control. I
do chose things from what is brought to
me. We're not really here to store things
as much as we're here to sell them.
"A good third of all our business is
from designers and decorators," he continues.
"It takes a lot of time to shop
around for items for clients, and a shop.
like this really saves time. We have
many of the little things they need."
He shows off a beautiful piece of jewelry
inside a glass frame. It is called a
Kootchie from Afghanistan.
"This is where the term 'KootchieKootchie'
comes from," he says, grinning.
"I'm serious!"
In a store full of unusual items, there
has to be a certain amount of eccentricity
involved.
"It's what I really enjoy about my
work," he explains. "everything has a
story to it. All these things have stories,
and I love hearing their history from the
people who bring them in to me. It
should make me an interesting old man
one of these days."
He laughs at himself, fully knowing
that. he 1-\as a long way 4> go.
'No Condom, No Sex'
Makes Safe Sex
Information Rock
Producer Randy Morrison (left) and songwriter Stewart Pfalzer take five
during the recording sessions for the Sire/ Warner Brothers 12" maxi-single.
By Bill O'Rourke
Montrose Voice A&E Editor
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
"You have the weapons within reach.
Take time and learn to use them."
Which weapons? It's all right there in
the song's title, "No Condom, No Sex."
Thousands of young people who
ought to know better are not using this
approach to safer sex. Why aren't they?
So far condoms have been sold as being
good for you. How many young students
eat cereal that is good for
them?Phooey. We have to make these
thins stylish. We need to convince each
other to use them for their own sake-a
national fetish.
As the producer of the record, Randy
Morrison, put it, "I think this song
makes the option of safer sex seem more
erotic, and that's the best approach. The
song is in no way depressing or fearful."
Billboard calls it "a danceable groove
and a host of workable mixes" and says
it exhibits "a spacious European feel."
They feels it has great chart potential.
I know it's going to be a hit locally. My
copy was stolen from my mailbox at the
paper, as near as I can tell, before I ever
got my hands on it. What better recommendation
can I receive?
Gary Weiss, who was nominated for
an MTV music video directing award
this year, recently directed a host of
stars in the video version. The roster
includes Katherine Oxenberg, Randy
Quaid, Paul Sand, Richard Lewis, Buck
Henry, Julie Brown, Toni Basil and
members of the group Fishbone.
The song, written by Stewart Pfalzer
and performed by Cruise Control, was
picked up by the Sire Records label. It
was executive produced by Craig Kostich,
Vice President of Contemporary
Music at Warner Brothers.
As Morrison wrote to me, "I believe
this is the first time a major record label
has been willing to release a record written,
performed and produced by gays
and one that is of special interest to and
will directly benefit the gay community."
In addition to money raised from the
video, 100 percent of the artists and producers
profits from the sale of the record
will go to AIDS education.
To quote the song again (I did get a
written copy of the lyrics), "Just remember
this is not 1981 ... "
Gumbel
Grumbles
Don't look for Cher or Garrison Keillor
to appear on NBC's "Today" show anytime
soon. Co-host Bryant Gumbel, in
an interview published in the Sept. 5
issue of Us magazine, mentions Keillor
as being foremost among the "real
jerks" he's had to interview.
"I feel sorry for him because he has
such a glorified opinion of himself,"
Gumbel says.
Nor is he a Cher fan. "I prefer people
less enamored of themselves," he says.
"I have an aversion to professional
celebrities who appear on the cover of
People (magazine) every six months and
who run and do every little cheap gym
ad."
Gumbel also knocks Joan Collins,
James Earl Jones and David Letterman,
with whom he's had a running
feud ever since Letterman used a bullhorn
to disrupt a "Today" prime-time
special.
Gumbel used a seven-letter profanity
to characterize Letterman and said he
knew plenty of people who had similar
assessments after appearing on the Letterman
show ..
SEPTEMBER 2, 1988 I MONTROSE VOICE 21
Community
News from Neighborhood & Community Groups
.. AIDS In Texas Symposium To Be Held
Oct. 22-23
AIDS cases in Texas are increasing, and health care providers who must help fight the
deadly epidemic are looking for updated information on diagnosis and treatment procedures.
A two-day symposium on "AIDS in Texas" may provide new insight. The seminar,
scheduled Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 22-23, is sponsored by The University of Texas
Health Science Center at Houston's Division of Continuing Education and Medical School
in cooperation with the Texas Academy of Family Physicians. It will be at the Westin Oaks
Hotel in Houston, 5011 Westheimer.
Advance registration is advised. For more information on registration fees contact
Beverly Osterloh, (713) 792-4671 .
.. Mayors Award $607,000 For AIDS
Education Targeting Racial And Ethnic
Minorities
The United States Conference of Mayors announced at the National Conference on the
Prevention of HIV Infection and AIDS Among Racial and Ethnic Minorities the awarding of
15 grants to community based organizations to conduct AIDS education/ information
programs targeting racial and ethnic minority communities. Funding totaling $607,000was
awarded to organizations in 14 cities in 11 states.
Between January 1981 and August 1988, over 70,000 persons have been diagnosed with
AIDS; a disproportionate number of these persons are black and Hispanic. With the
awarding of this $607,000, the Conference of Mayors has madeover65 grants to community
based organizations since 1985. Funding for this effort has now surpassed the $1.6
million level.
Projects in the following cities were funded:
Atlanta; Cambridge; Detroit; Evanston; Las Cruces; Los Angeles; New Haven; New York
(2); Providence; Richmond; Sacramento; San Diego: Washington, DC; and West Hollywood,
CA.
The Conference of Mayors also announced the availability of its Round 7 Request for
Proposals (RFP). Proposals for projects targeting racial and ethnic minorities. including
blacks and Hispanic, gays and bisexuals, intravenous drug users. and other persons at high
risk of contracting HIV will be funded in amounts ranging from $20,000 to $42,000 each
year .
.. "HOT, FAT, AND SASSY" To Benefit
The Gay Fathers Of Houston
There is a wonderful new production now showing at "The Comedy Workshop''. It stars
Randy Jobe, Marsha Carlton and Michael Bailey. The name of the production is "HOT, FAT,
AND SASSY". Thanks to the generosity of the players and "The Comedy Workshop" the
September 4th presentation has been set aside as a fund raiser for Gay Fathers of Houston.
If you can't attend that Sunday night performance the tickets could be used at any of the
following performances that week.
Jim Pate, President of Gay Fathers, has explained that the monies that are raised will be
the start of the "Seed Money" needed to bring the 1991 conference of Gay and Lesbian
Parents Coalition International to Houston. It is expected the conference will bring 350 to
450 people to Houston from all over the U.S. The GLPCI is an international organization of
Gay Men and Lesbian Women who find themselves in child nurturing roles. The Coalition
lobbies for equal rights for Gay and Lesbians fighting for parental rights. The Coalition has
had representatives on the Donahue Show, and many other local talk shows around the
nation, discussing the problems associated with being Gay/ Lesbian and a parent.
Gay Fathers will have an information and ticket sales booth at Grant and Pacific the
weekend of September 2. Stop by when you are in the area and learn more about Gay
Fathers, GLPCI, and buy a ticket or two for the comedy production.
His Fingers Did The
Walking To Vice Squad
By Michael Moline
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (UPI}-A man
who solicited sexual encounters with
other men by dialing telephone numbers
at random made one call too many and
was arrested after making a date with a
sheriffs deputy, officials said Wednesday.
"Yeah, it was great," said Dick Simpson,
spokesman for the Leon County
Sheriffs Department. "I can't think of
this ever happening before."
Robert S. Crough, 37, was arrested
Tuesday and charged with solicitation
for prostitution and making obscene
phone calls, Simpson said.
Simpson said Crough called numbers
at random and struck up conversations
with men who answered the phone. The
number he called Monday was the private
line of the sheriffs Special Investigations
office.
"He gets you fairly comfortable first,"
Simpson said of Crough's approach.
"Sometimes he asks for somebody who's
not there and he starts a conversation
with you. If the other guy feels comfortable
with him, he takes it from there.
"He tells you what he could do for you
and what you could do for him. The
phone call got pretty explicit at his end
of it," Simpson said.
The suspect and the deputy agreed on
a $60 fee and arranged to meet Tuesday .
afternoon at the pool at Crough's apartment,
Simpson said.
They met and Crough suggested they
go to his apartment. A short time later,
detectives moved in to make the arrest.
Although Simpson told Crough he
was not a cop, Simpson doubted Crough
could plead entrapment.
"He called us. We didn't call him,"
Simpson said.
22 MONTROSE VOICE I SEPTEMBER 2, 1988
David Scondras: Is He
Prophet Or Just A Dreamer?
By Rex Wockner
FOR THE MONTROSE VOICE
Openly-gay Boston city councilor David
Scondras is no ordinary interview subject.
Whatever the opposite of "pulling
teeth" is, that's how the interview feels.
Each question gets his full attention,
and a 15-minute, seriously considered
response.
Critics have suggested Scondras
sometimes gets lost in the clouds. Maybe
it just seems that way because most of
our politicians are overly down-to-earth.
Scondras is a bit of a philosopher, but
not in a way that's going to go over anyone's
head.
Unlike most of the 26 openly gay/ lesbian
elected officials in the U.S., Scondras
has carved out for himself a
national reputation. As much as any·
thing, it is the tone and style of his public
remarks that have got him noticed.
Rex Wockner: Most openly gay local
politicians don't have the national
name recognition that you do. What got
you there?
David Scondras: I think everyone has
different styles, and events lead them in
different directions. From the beginning-
long before gay and lesbian is·
sues surfaced in my life-there were
issues around arson that got me on national
TV.
I think, though, that you can't be a
good local leader in the long-run unless
you are working on a state and national
level too. So, I don't just deal with finding
an elderly person a place to live. I
also go to Washington to pressure the
federal government for an adequate supply
of housing for the elderly. You have
to go to Washington and tell people there
that they are misspending your constituents'
tax dollars.
It also seemed natural for me to go to
Washington and work on AIDS funding,
and natural for me to get arrested at
the White House-not only because of
my outrage at the insensitivity towards
human beings and their needs, but also
at the pissing away of our very hardearned
tax dollars in such irrational
ways.
People don't realize how little life is
divisible into local, state, federal and international.
Life is one thing and I
would fell remiss if I didn't take the
time-besides working on local issuesto
say to the federal government that it
is causing my constituents to suffer. I
have a philosophy of government that
when they're using my money, they
can't tell me to mind my own business.
Now, In many ways, the gay and lesbian
community has within it all the
elements of the dream of America- the
idea of a place where people who are
very different see each other as a family
who are willing to fight for each other
and willing to say that life is a celebration
and willing to remove the obstacles
to enjoying this extraordinary place and
this extraordinary thing called being
alive.
The gay community is male and female,
Black and white, Hispanic, Jewish,
bisexual; it has an extraordinary
diversity. It's the only community that
contains within it every other community
and every other community's issues.
We have the potential of dealing with
issues like racism and sexism in an effective
way because we have to. If we're
anti-Semitic, we lose our Jewish constituents.
If we're racist, we lose people of
color.
So, the gay |
