ON THE AIR OFF THE PRESS
MAY 6, 1994 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 13
A real wedding and a TV one
by John DuAne Graves
Last issue I told you about the HBO Lifestories: Families in Crisis special, More Than Friends: The Coming Out of Heidi Leiter; the real-life story of Heidi Leiter and Missy Peters, a lesbian couple who went to their Manassas, Virginia high school prom together in 1991. According to Associated Press reports, Leiter and Peters are still together and are planning to get married to each other when they graduate from Radford University next year. In their lives, the women insist that they be treated the same as straight couples. When people notice Leiter's diamond engagement ring they usually ask about her fiance and, assuming it is a man, ask, "Oh, does he go here?" whereupon Leiter replies, "No, but she does." At the end of the program, Leiter herself tells viewers, "This is who I am. This is who I've always been. It's not a choice I made. It's not something I decided to be. The only choice I made was not to lie about it."
According to Entertainment Weekly, the gay wedding between Ron and Erick, the resident gay couple on CBS' Northern Exposure which aired May 2, did not generate the controversy that the lesbian kiss episode of Roseanne did even though it may be the first gay wedding to be broadcast on network TV.
With all of the out of the closet lesbian comics getting airtime nowadays, you should check out the debut of the Lifetime Channel's new stand up comedy series, Girls' Night Out.
The producers of The Open Closet, a local, gay television show on station WEYSChannel 22 in Key West, Florida, report that the show was cancelled due to pressure put on the station by the conservative, reli-
gious Trinity Broadcasting Network. WEYS owner David Drucker denied the charge saying that the show was dropped when he fired David Solomon, one of the show's hosts and not because of the show's content. Solomon was the target, along with several other Channel 22 programs, of protests organized by a local church. Solomon reports that local reaction has been mostly positive and that TCI-Channel 5 will pick up the show and begin broadcasting it May 12. The show will now reach a much larger audience than before, all the way from Key West to Key Largo.
Actor Tom Hanks stole the show at the Academy Awards with his moving acceptance speech after winning the best actor award for his role as a gay lawyer living with AIDS in Philadelphia. In the emotional and poetic acceptance speech Hanks thanked his high school drama teacher, Raleigh Farnsworth, and his former classmate, John Golkerson, both of whom are gay, and spoke tearfully about the toll AIDS has taken on the gay community. Hanks said, "I know that my work in this case is magnified with the fact that the streets of heaven are too crowded with angels. We know their names.
They number a thousand for each one of the red ribbons that we wear here tonight." In a later TV interview, Hanks reiterated with awe his admiration for the two gay men who turned out to be so influential to his life and his career. After the awards, Hanks got a big hug from gay rock star Elton John at John's AIDS benefit at Maple Drive Restaurant.
Sadly, Marlon Riggs, who won Peabody and Emmy awards for his documentaries on the African-American straight and gay experience, died of complications due to AIDS on April 5. His most recent showing here was the PBS presentation of Tongues Untied, a chronicle of the life and history of African-American gays. We also bid farewell to gay and AIDS author Harry Kondoleon and bisexual TV actor Dack Rambo, both of whom died of complications due to AIDS.
Finally, I'm happy to announce that two people, Kevin and Maggie, have joined the Gay Waves staff. ♡
John DuAne Graves is a co-producer of Gay Waves, heard every Friday morning at 11:30 am on WRUW 91.1 FM in Cleveland.
"I don't date because everyone I know is already involved with someone else"
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Be Honest.
Be Visible. Come Out.
Thousands of people around the world participat-
ed in National Coming Out Day 1993. These individuals told the truth about who they are on October 11 helping to turn ignorance into acceptance.
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National Coming Out Day would like to thank and applaud the courage of everyone who took their next step. The support of the following individuals, organizations, and businesses helped make National Coming Out Day possible.
Thank You for Taking the Next
Major Donors:
Courant Leonard Latham
Louis & Mary Patierno
Trust United Way
Heroes:
Step
The Advocate▾ AU
Morgan R. Pinney
Sylvia Almstadt David Crume & Jim Berg Gary A. Seidner
Sponsoring Businesses & Organizations:
V
The Alabama Forum Alternative Connection Baltimore Gay Paper ▾ BIG-Hawaii The BugleLas Vegas Bulletin of UCSD ▾ Cauldron * Central Coast Gay & Lesbian Alliance News Citizens for Equal Protection Coming Out Newsletter Community ConnectionsS.Appalachains Cruise Magazine Current News(Kansas City) ▾ Dyke Review Echo Magazine ETC-Atlanta The Front Page ▾ The Gazette Gay and Lesbian Resource Center-Cedar Rapids Gay People's Chronicle GLPCI Network Greenwich Village Press The Guide Identity Nordwiew In Step in the Life In Touch Island Lifestyle▾ Klondyke Kontact The Letter Mama Ragat The Marquise Mom's Apple Pie Mom Guess What The New Voice ▾ Our Own Out and About Indiana V OUT-Pittsburgh PFLAG Query and Some Reck River News San Fransisco Sentinel The Slant SMYAL Sound Out (Olympia, WA) Spank Stone Soup Seminars Tacoma Sounds The Texas Triangle The Triangle Triangle Journal Tri-State Tee UCLA-Ten Percent Uptown Cay & Lesbian Alliance News The Washington Blade The Wisconsin Light The Wishing Well
Sponsers:
Bonnie J. Anderson & Susan C. Harris Sara Boesser Allen Bourgeois
Jim Berg & David Crume
Paul Carey & Dan McNeill
YES, I want to help support National Coming Out Day! Please send me information about National Coming Out Day Enclosed is my contribution of
$15
□ $25
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PAYMENT: Fes make your tax deductible donatien payable to: National Coming Out Day. PO. Ban 34640, Washington DC 2004 1-4600
Category Six Books Winton Crane Michael Dively Norman Eichberg Lawrence William Falk Edwin Farthing Jay Fissette ▾ Michael Gaboury Ron Gelb, PhD. Kem Hainebach Michael J. Hetrick Roger Holley Robert Inglish Jeffrey Kaye David C. Lauri, Jr. Dennis Managers & Tim Whalen Bill Melamed jim Mustard Wes Nyberg & Tom Adkins ✓ Catherine Randolph Chris Schilling John David Thomas Honey Ward Eric Welgehausen Paul T. Wesselmann Steven Westort Robert C. Winton Wayne Robert Witzig, M. T., C.PA
Be Honest. Be Visible. Come Out.
National Coming Out Day, celebrated every year on October 11, is a non-profit educational project of the HRCF Foundation. For more information, call 1-800-866-NCOD or write P.O. Box 34640 Washington, DC 20043-4640
FROMTY COMING OUT DAY...