12 GAY PEOPle's ChroNICLE

JANUARY 1, 1999

EVENINGS OUT

TV magazine explores hate crime, gay and lesbian actors

by John Catania

In the Life is a bi-monthly television magazine series which chronicles the history and contemporary experience of the lesbian and gay community. It airs on nearly 120 public television stations nationwide, and can be seen in Cleveland, Akron, and Erie, Pennsylvania.

The December-January episode of In the Life introduces a new series to the show. For "Out Actors Speak Out," openly gay actors serve up public service information in one minute segments. Appearing for this episode are Lea DeLaria (On the Town), Wilson Cruz (My So-Called Life, Rent), Mitchell Anderson (Party of Five), Everett Quinton (Mystery of Irma Vep), and Lisa Kron (The Five Lesbian Brothers).

Correspondents Paul Mueller, Tanya Barfield, and Jonathan Capehart join host Katherine Linton for this episode of In the Life.

Lead story: "Targets of hate"

In the aftermath of the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard, gay men and lesbians have reacted with grief, shock, and anger.

In Washington, D.C. mourners gathered at the Capitol to call for the immediate passage of hate crimes legislation and in New York City, 5,000 marchers clashed with police on Fifth Avenue.

In the Life explores the rise in anti-gay hate crimes from the perspective of the media, the victims, gay civil rights advocates, and hate crimes experts, and look at how Shepard's death has re-energized activism in the gay and lesbian community.

Interviews feature New York City AntiViolence Project director Richard Haymes, Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation director Joan Garry, and Susan Muska and Greta Olafsdottir, directors of The Brandon Teena Story, a documentary on the 1994 murder of a young transgender man in Nebraska.

A day in the life of Paris Barclay

From directing the groundbreaking L.L.

Cool J video "Mama Said Knock You Out" to winning a 1998 Emmy for an episode of NYPD Blue, Paris Barclay has had a long and exciting career. In the Life spends a day with Barclay both on the set of NYPD Blue and at his home to learn what motivated him to turn from being a substance abuser to becoming one of the most successful openly gay men in network television.

Paris Barclay

The day ends with Barclay at Project Angel Food, where he works as a dedicated volunteer helping people with HIV and AIDS.

Breakthroughs in lesbian health

The medical establishment has historically been resistant to pursuing cancer research that pertains to the health concerns of lesbians.

However, the recently released study "Differences in Risk Factors for Breast Cancer: Lesbians and Heterosexual Women" concluded that lesbians have a higher rate of breast cancer risk factors. Moreover, a soon-to-be-published study will reveal that women can catch the human papilloma virus, a precursor to cervical cancer, from sex with other women. This story will focus on the progress of research and clinical breakthroughs in health care for lesbians.

Gay and lesbian health issues consultant Marj Plumb is also featured.

New ideas in AIDS fundraising

Events around the country use innovative ways to raise money in the fight against AIDS. In the Life profiles several of these events and looks at the controversy surrounding some of the nation's largest fundraisers.

The group Diving for Life goes scuba diving to raise money in the Caribbean. In New York, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has an easter bonnet competition, where theater casts raise money by competing in a contest for the most fabulous, most stunning headware.

Brandon Teena, right, with his girlfriend Lana Tisdel.

The show explores how these events are breathing new life into the concept of AIDS fundraising, while some fundraisers continue to draw fire. Ronald S. Johnson, acting executive director of the Gay Men's Health Crisis in New York talks about his agency's annual Morning Party, where some say drug use and unsafe sex is common.

The show also features Kevin Honeycutt, senior vice president of Pallotta Teamworks, whose AIDS Rides across the country have been accused of giving too little to the groups they benefit.

James Whale profiled

In the Life examines the life of openly gay maverick director James WhaleThe Invisible Man, Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein-and the upcoming film about the last days of Whale's life, Gods and Monsters.

The show includes interviews with actor Ian McKellen, who plays Whale, director Bill Condon, and Christopher Bram, whose book Father of Frankenstein was the basis for the film.

Gay Games replay

August 1998 brought Gay Games V to Amsterdam for the most heavily attended Games in history, drawing participants from 78 countries. In the Life celebrates personal stories and shows footage from the week's festivities, which in addition to competition in twenty-six sports, also included an international festival of music, theater and art.

In the Life shows images never before seen in the U.S. of Gay Games V, 1998's largest lesbian and gay event.

The December-January episode of In the Life will air January 3 on WQLN channel 54 in Erie, Pennsylvania, and on January 12 on WNEO/WNEO channels 45 and 49 in Akron, and Youngstown, which can be seen on many Cleveland area cable systems.

From the A-list, a look back at 1998's best, and worst

by Ed Karvoski, Jr.

You are cordially invited to attend a New Year's party with an A-list of gay and lesbian community celebs. Eavesdrop as they recall 1998's highlights and hurdles—from the rise and fall of TV's first gay leading character (Did somebody say "Too gay"?) to controversy at Amsterdam's Gay Games, to that hetero sex scandal in our nation's capital, as well as personal triumphs and disappointments.

Not surprisingly, the memory on the forefront of everyone's mind is the hate crime that took the life of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard. Dedicated to his memory, let's all resolve to do our part to challenge discrimination and secure our rights in the coming year.

Here's to a peaceful and progressive 1999!

Lynn Lavner

"My personal highlight of 1998 came in March, when I marked my 20th year in show business," shares comic-singer Lynn Lavner, whose career started by playing piano at a lesbian bar in New York City. "To celebrate the occasion, my lover nursed a light beer all evening and didn't tip me!"

The high point of '98 for the lesbian and gay community, according to Lavner: "We got to see Barney Frank passing judgement on somebody else's sex life."

Madame Dish (Steven J. McCarthy)

Prior to 1998's Gay Games in Amsterdam, Madame Dish—and other registered dance competitors--received a letter stating, "Transvestism is not appreciated at the competitions."

"How dare those people decide that transvestism was not a positive image of the community!" exclaimed Madame Dish,

who showed up at the event in a Mr. Blackwell original. "My battle for inclusion was for every man who dresses as a woman and for every woman who dresses as a man."

Finally, a formal apology was issued: “Regarding transvestism . . . please consider the rule as not existing".

"When I was introduced to dance, the audience went wild with support," reports Madame Dish. "This was better than any gold medal."

The performer's productive year also included the long-running stage show Strip! Bare-ly Legal, the independent film Leather Jacket Love Story, and a guest shot on the new UPN sitcom The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer.

Leslea Newman

"For me personally, 1998 was pretty fabulous. I'd rate it a 91⁄2," says prolific author Leslea Newman (Heather Has Two Mommies). "Most importantly, I celebrated my tenth anniversary with my beloved. I also got to live out my dream (courtesy of a poetry fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts) and take a three month sabbatical in New York City, where I finished my newest book of fiction, Girls Will Be Girls."

Newman had several books published in 1998: Pillow Talk (anthology), Matzo Ball Moon (children's book) and The Little Butch Book (humor/poetry).

Jason Stuart

Jennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky, and...Jason Stuart?

"I also had sex with Clinton when I was in D.C.," quips the comedian. “I had to, it was on the tour. Monica was there. I said, 'Forget it, it's not going to happen! Get up

and wash that dress!'” When not touring the White House, Stuart kept busy this past year with a gueststarring role on The Drew Carey Show and working on the forthcoming film Lost and Found with David Stuart Spade. Stuart's New Year's resolution: "To find a husband.”

Patricia Nell Warren

On a scale of 1 to 10, author Patricia Nell Warren gives 1998 a disappointing “2.”

"It was a year that the American people and the American media let the wool be pulled over their eyes by the Religious Right, about the presidential scandal," says Warren. "Clinton's lies under oath are only a small part of the problem. We need to know exactly what right-wing organizations are behind this move to win the next election through dirty politics-since they fear they can't win at the polls and how much of the taxpayers' money they spent in attempt to get Clinton impeached.

"We have yet to be told the whole storyand people haven't demanded it. Our news media focused so obsessively on stains and cigars to get ratings, that they haven't done their job as watchdogs for the public interest. In all, 1998 is a dark year for the American democratic process."

On the plus side, Warren notes that her personal highlight of the year was cowriting the screenplay for her classic novel The Front Runner with Barry Sandler, and seeing the project move into film development again. Billy's Boy, the sequel to The Front Runner and Harlan's Race, was released in paperback in '98.

Karen Williams

"Meeting the Gores at the Human Rights Campaign dinner in Washington, D.C., was definitely a personal highlight—for them,” says stand-up comic Karen Williams. “After all, it's not every event that provides an African-Caribbean-American-lesbianmom-comic-warrior in the house."

For the queer community, in her opinion, the highlight and low point was, ironically enough, the same: Ellen's coming

out.

"Somehow, the mainstreaming of a subculture kills the subculture, and that's ex-

actly what took place," says Williams. "As a comic, I still think that folks like Kate Clinton, Lea DeLaria, Marga Gomez, Robin Tyler, Tom Ammiano, Danny Williams, and myself (humbleness is not one of my character traits) should receive more accolades, job security, and magazine covers. These are folks whose activism and commitment to the community fuel their comedy."

Williams

Continuing on the subject of magazine covers, Williams adds, "We still seem so needy as a community to prove that 'we're just like everybody else,' so we put Sharon Stone on the cover of Out magazine because she made a pro-gay statement sometime in her career. Give it a rest! Put real LGBT folks on our mags and tell real stories about real people, puh-leeze!" ♡

Ed Karvoski Jr. is the author of A Funny Time to Be Gay. He lives just outside of Boston.