This Day in Gay Utah History AUGUST 9th

August 9

1908 The Salt Lake herald. (Salt Lake City [Utah) 1870-1909, August 09, 1908, Magazine Section, Dramatic Brainstorms on Broadway BY FRANKLIN FYLES The best third of an hour in the ensuing olio is The Belle of the Barbers Ball  which contains three new songs and choruses likely to hit popularity hard It reminds me of the Harrigan Hart Illustrations of black life In New York thirty years ago so racily rough is Its humor and so catchily smooth are its tunes. It

Julian Eltinge

carries my memory still further back to the civil wartime when the Kelly Leon and Sam Sharply minstrel rivalry led to a murder because Sharpley’s brother defamed Leon for being a female impersonator.  Leon was a falsetto freak. Julian Eltinge who developed remarkable mimicry of girls in Harvard University burlesques amazes with the beauty of the Gibson coon girl whom he presents at the Barbers  Ball.  As I remember Leon, he was girlish, because effeminate. Eltinge saves himself from that aspersion by pulling off his girl wig discarding deportment of a belle and striding off the stage like a football athlete.

• ·     HOPE CHAPEL The place of amusement, if it could be so called, known as Hope Chapel, was formerly a church and was let for panoramas, lectures, and similar entertainments. There were two halls, known as the upper and lower halls. The building was situated on the east side of Broadway, just below Eighth Street. The house having been without a regular manager for some time. Kelly & Leon took a lease of the entire building for two years. They got possession May 1, 1866, and completely renovated and altered the premises, making a billiard saloon out of the

  

  Francis Leon in Drag

  lower hall and converting the upper one into a minstrel hall. They let out the dwellings over the hall, the stores on either side of the entrance, the billiard saloon and basement, receiving therefore, in the shape of rent, more money than they were actually paying for the entire premises, and leaving them the minstrel hall free of rent. They opened Oct. 1. In the company were Edwin Kelly, Francis Leon, Frank Moran, John Allen, Oberist, E. P. Fairbanks, George and Willie Guy, G. W. Jackson, George Christy (for a short time), Nelse Seymour, Dick Sands, Sam Price, William Butler, Sig. Bretano, Garatagua, and afterward Eph Horn. Frank Moran was on the bones end, Johnny Allen, tambourine, and Edwin Kelly, interlocutor. In their first part were thirteen performers and a pianist, besides the three mentioned above. They closed the season, June 22, 1867, and went on a brief travelling tour, returning and opened their second season July 29, 1867. They now had in their organization Delehanty and Hengler, F. Williams, Add Ryman, Nelse Seymour, Sam Pnce, Harry Stanwood, Hogan and Hughes, Kelly, Leon, and others. A. L. Parkes was the business manager. William Henry Delehanty died in this city May 13, 1880, of hasty consumption. His last appearance in public was at Harry Miners Theatre, this city, April 17, 1884, with his partner, Hengler. He composed many songs and dances, which became very popular, among them being " Little Bunch of Roses," " When Flowers Blush and Bloom," " Pretty Jessie," " Apple of My Eye," " I Hope I Don't Intrude," " Strawberries and Cream," and " Beautiful Pink and White Roses." His first appearance in this city was Aug. 12, 1867, with Hengler at Kelly & Leon's Minstrels. Thomas Michael Hengler died at Greenpoint, L. I., Aug. 21, 1888. In consequence of the shooting and killing of Thomas Sharpe (brother of Sam Sharpley, the well known minstrel performer) by Edwin Kelly, this house was closed for a while, but reopened Dec. 17 1867, when Geo. W. H. Griffin appeared as interlocutor. Rollin Howard, Dave Reed, W. H. Brockway, George Guy, Oberist, W. H. Butler, Heywood, J. H. Budworth, and G. W. Jackson made up the company. Leon made his reappearance Feb. 3, 1868. Joseph Murphy (the present Irish comedian) joined the company April 20. Mr. Murphy was the champion bone-player. Jas. Blamphin, harpist, appeared April 27, as did F. B. Naylor, a clever tenor. June 8 Edwin Kelly reappeared. He had been tried for the shooting of Sharpe at the Fifth Avenue Opera House, and promptly acquitted. The season terminated June 27, 1868.
• ·      Thomas Dilverd (1837 - 1887) female impersonator.  Thomas Dilverd (or Dilward) was a minstrel female impersonator. He was the rarity in black-face minstrelsy, an

  

  Thomas Dilverd

  actual black man. He was also unusual in being only three feet one inch tall. He sang, danced and played the violin. He started with the Christy Minstrels in 1853, and later worked with the minstrel troupe run by Francis Leon and Edwin Kelly, and billed himself as 'Japanese Tommy'. He popularized the expression ‘hunky dory’ in the 1860s based on the earlier ‘hunkum-bunkum’ and’ dori’, a Japanese word for street. He later worked with black minstrel troops. His final home was the Colored Home and Hospital on East 65th St in New York where he died of asthma.

Lionel Barrymoore

1936 The Devil Doll adapted from A Merritt’s fantastic novel “Burn Witch Burn” and directed by Tod Browning, who directed “Dracula” this new film spine tingle stars Lionel Barrymore, supported by a sast including Maureen O’Sullivan, Frank Lawton, and Robert Grieg. The Devil Doll gives Barrymore the role of a female impersonator in a tale of a scientist who reduces human beings to one sixth their natural size. It opens in Ogden today at the Colonial Theater. Ogden Standard Examiner.

Joe Orton 1933-1967

1967-John Kingsley (Joe) Orton was an English playwright and author. His public career was short but prolific, lasting from 1964 until his death. During this brief period he shocked, outraged, and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies. Joe Orton was murdered by his lover Kenneth Halliwell on this day and was  the subject of the film Prick Up Your Ears

Allen Ginsberg

1969 Saturday 15 New York Gay Liberation Front members contributed to the anti-war anti-draft activities of Hiroshima-Nagasaki Week. Bill Weaver helped unfurl the GLF banner and “you could hear cameras clicking-hundreds of cameras clicking. Allen Ginsberg came up to us and said, “On Wow far out!” It was the first contribution by GLF to a non-homosexual protest.

1973-Donald Cawley, NYC police commissioner, issued a directive prohibiting police officers from using derogatory terms to refer to homosexuals.

Union Building U of U

1977- Gay Service Center held board meeting at the Union Building on U of U campus. Attended were Bill G., Bill Woodbury, Ken Kline, Virgil Hyder, Ray Henke. Bill Woodbury was voted to be representative to the SL Human Rights meetings.  Chuck Harding voted as new board member.

1984- A general meeting held at the Salt Lake Library to determine the make up of the Steering Committee of the Utah Community Services Center and Clinic  It was decided to contact each of the 17 community organizations in the state to send representatives to the Steering Committee Mitchell Roy Beauchaine and Auntie De [Dean Walton]were the prime mover behind the Utah Community Service Center and Clinic.)

1985- A Three day Men’s Conference was held at the Pine Cliffs Resort east of Coalville, Utah for alternatives to chauvinism, racism, homophobia and violence behaviors. Conference sponsored by Dave Tuckett, Mack Gift and Peter Martin.

Gay Games II

1986-Gay Games II was held in early August, with opening and closing ceremonies again at Kezar Stadium. San Francisco Arts & Athletics added a program of cultural events to further include people of all walks and life and interests. The weeklong event was twice as large as in 1982, attracting about 3,500 athletes from 17 countries competing in 18 sports.

Tuesday, August 9, 1988 S.L. PHYSICIAN HONORED BY AIDS FOUNDATION Dr. Kristen Ries, a Salt Lake physician who specializes in the treatment of infectious diseases, was honored Sunday by the Salt Lake AIDS Foundation at its "First Annual Awards Banquet. "Ben Barr, foundation executive director, said Ries was honored for her "unwavering emotional support and dedicated medical care of individuals who either have AIDS symptoms or who test positive for the AIDS virus."Kristen Ries has gone above and beyond the call of medical duty in her care of AIDS patients and their families," he said. "She is constantly available to answer thousands of questions and to give endless emotional support to patients whose disease is still very much feared in this community. "Newsweek magazine recently presented Ries with its "Unsung Hero of 1988" award for her outstanding volunteer efforts in the treatment of AIDS patients and their families. She has also been named by Utah Holiday magazine, "the most compassionate physician in Utah."

1991 - Salt Lake Tribune article, "Of LDS Women, 58% Admit Premarital Sex."

1994-Kevin Tebedo, executive director of Colorado for Family Values, wrote a letter to the city of Manitou Springs Colorado's planning department objecting to the decision to name the civic works program the Rainbow Vision Plan. He said that the use of the word "rainbow" suggested a pro-homosexual agenda.

Lon Mabon

1996-Oregon judge Stephen Gallagher Jr. ruled that the state must offer benefits to the partners of Gay state employees. Lon Mabon, director of the anti-Gay Oregon Citizens Alliance which challenged the governor's executive order to grant benefits, said the ruling aided in the systematic destruction of the whole notion of family.

1996-The medical journal "Cell" published an article which said that about 1 in 100 white people have a genetic make-up which prevents HIV replication, making them immune to the disease.

1997- Second annual Lone Star Stud Contest held at the Trapp. Contest Coordinator was Chad Keller. Mark Meentz  won title for ‘97.

1997- Seven people from the Gay community were appointed to seven of the eight advisory and standing committees of the Utah Democratic Party. Bruce Harmon served as member of the Candidate Recruitment and Coordinated Campaign Standing Committee, the Education, Training and Outreach Advisory Committee and the Public Relations Advisory Committee, Ron Johnson served as member of the Rules and Election standing committee, Jane Marquardt served as a member of the Judicial Standing Committee, and the rules and Elections Standing Committee, David Nelson served as member of the Candidate Recruitment and Coordinated Campaign  Standing Committee, and the Platform and Policy standing Committee, Steve Peterson

The Trapp

1998 Drag Queen Car Wash and Drag Queen Mud Wrestling on the Patio held at The Trapp.

1998-Dr George Carey, Archbishop of Canterbury of the Anglican Church, issued an apology to Gay Lesbian and Bisexual Anglicans for the pain they experienced as a result of the Lambeth Conference of Bishops resolution against homosexuality.

Elder Callister

1999 In Newsweek (Aug 9 issue, page 6) the LDS church stated that if donations were being asked for to defeat the California Knight initiative, it was "unfortunate" and against church policy. Elder Douglas Callister, a California Area Seventy Authority 70, had addressed Stake Presidents, telling them to ask for funds, and how to do it.  A church spokesman earlier denied to National Public Radio, as well as the SLC Tribune that the church was doing this

Fay Wray

2004 FAY WRAY King Kong's 'queen', Fay Wray, dies at 96 August 9 2004  In Answer to Dr. Frankenfurter's question in The Rocky Picture Show, "What Ever Happened to Fay Wray, that delicate Satin draped dame?", here is the sad news. King Kong's 'queen', Fay Wray, dies at 96 The actress initially resisted, but then embraced the attention she received for the role By Claudia Luther Los Angeles Times Fay Wray, who screamed her way into movie history as the apple of King Kong's eye, has died. She was 96. Wray died Sunday night at her home in New York City, according to Rick McKay, a close friend. No cause of death was reported. ''She was fairly active up until the end,'' said McKay, who directed the documentary ''Broadway: The Golden Age,'' which included an interview with Wray. Her last public appearance was at the New York premiere of the film in June. Wray was already a silent screen and talkie star when at age 25 she was cast by director Merian Cooper as Ann Darrow - aka ''the girl'' - in the 1933 film ''King Kong.'' Although she made about 80 movies, her fame as a co-star to a giant ape - she referred to her unrequited lover simply as ''Kong'' - far outlasted the notoriety she got from her films with the pantheon of Hollywood's leading men, including Gary Cooper, Ronald Colman, Cary Grant and Spencer Tracy. For many years, Wray resisted the attention that came to her for her role opposite her ''tallest, darkest leading man.'' But Wray eventually embraced ''King Kong'' with good humor. ''I'm liking it better now than I did in the beginning, when it seemed to me that it was not Shakespeare,'' she told an interviewer in 1994. She called the movie ''my greeting card'' and said that everyone - even Shakespearean actor Laurence Olivier - grilled her about how one of the greatest special-effects movies was made. Well into her later years, Wray continued to travel to film events here and abroad where she was feted as the ''scream queen,'' although she remained surprised by the accolades she got for a performance that she hardly considered acting. ''I yelled every time they said, 'Yell,' '' she said of the role, for which she was paid 10,000 for 10 weeks' work -- good pay for Hollywood in

the Depression. RKO Pictures got more than its money's worth - the movie grossed nearly $90,000 in its first four days, a fortune at a time when movie tickets were 15 cents. What's more, Wray recorded some of her sensuous moans and shrieks for the studio, which were later used in other horror films. After ''King Kong'' found a new generation of fans when it became regular fare on black-and-white TV in the 1950s, Wray cheerily succumbed to her fate and even made a tribute to the lovesick gorilla in her 1989 biography, On the One Hand (the title is a playful tribute to the film in which Kong clenches her in his paw). In an open letter to King Kong, she said, ''To speak of me is to think of you. To speak to me is often a prelude to questions about you.'' The book party for her autobiography was held at the Empire State Building, the skyscraper that the ape scaled in order to rescue his writhing beauty from the flash-bulb popping crowd of journalists who were chasing him. His great power weakened by love, unable to swat away the pesky airplanes that were attacking him, King Kong finally falls to his death. ''The final scene is really moving, where Kong is shot as he stands on the Empire State Building, and clutches his breast, but then stretches out his hand to where I am,'' she told an interviewer 1998. ''A great piece of acting from that little fellow.'' And Wray did mean little - although King Kong was several stories high in the film, he was in reality 18 inches of cloth, metal and rubber brought to life by special-effects genius Willis O'Brien. The only part of the monster that actually was big was the 6-foot- long arm and paw. 

• Confessions of an old queen. When I was a little boy I wanted to be Fay Wray when I grew up and have some hairy ape maul and adore me too! Okay I know I have a fixation with Fay Wray who just recently died, but according to a SLTribune reporter she did have a Salt Lake City Connection. Vulture: Wray's SLC roots, a misspelling hoot and Mitt's bare-naked truth By Brandon Griggs Salt Lake Tribune Columnist Wray's pre-monkey days: Did you know that original "King Kong" actress Fay Wray, who died Aug. 8, spent much of her childhood in Salt Lake City? According to her 1989 autobiography, On The Other Hand, Wray lived in Utah with her family from about 1913 to about 1922, when the then-14-year-old moved to Hollywood. The book even lists two of Wray's Salt Lake City addresses. Being curious, I checked them out last week. Nobody was home at the small,wood-frame house at 814 Sherman Ave., which Wray's family rented for $12 a month. So I drove over to the brick bungalow at 236 Hampton Ave., where Wray once rode a pet horse up and down the street. Current resident Isaac Wolfe had no clue a famous actress once lived in his home. Nor did he know exactly who Fay Wray was. "She does sound kind of familiar," said the young man. I had better luck with next-door neighbor Eve Serenko. "She's the one with the gorilla? On the Empire State Building? That's something," said the elderly woman. But Serenko seemed miffed at the boorish suggestion (mine) that she might remember seeing her famous neighbor. "That's before my time," she sniffed. "And I'm 80."

2004 Dear All, On Monday August 9th, there will be a training session for people interested in learning how to use Benefits Check Up (an online program created by the National Council on Aging for seniors/low income folks that checks information against 1500 federal, state and local entitlement programs). If you work with GLBT seniors or are interested in GLBT senior issues, this is an important no-cost training opportunity. It will be held at the AARP office at 6975 Union Park Center in Midvale, Suite 320 from 6.30PM to 8.30PM. Please RSVP so we can tailor the catering and numbers of materials needed. If you need information, contact Donald Steward at 597-9844.

2004 We need to do all we can to make sure Jackie get's re-elected!!! Mike Picardi. Hello, My name is Chris Wharton and I am the Volunteer Coordinator for Rep. Jackie Biskupski's Re-election Campaign. We are looking for volunteers to help us walk door-to-door all over her district starting next week on this schedule Aug. 9-Monday: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Aug. 11-

Jackie Biskupski

Wednesday: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Aug. 12-Thursday: 5:30-7:30 p.m. Aug. 14-Saturday: 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. If you do not know Jackie, here is some information about her: She is the State Representative for the area around Westminster (Legislative District 30). She is a Democrat, an environmentalist, and is the only openly-gay legislator in the state. I have known her for a while and she has been given numerous awards for public advocacy, open government, education, GLBT issues, women's rights, etc. For more info, you can visit her web site. If you can't or don't want to, that's cool. But, if you are interested, please call me or e-mail me ASAP and I will give you the details. I hope to hear from you soon! Thanks, Chris Wharton P.S. Please forward this to someone who may be interested.

Mel Bailey

2006 Angie Mettler, Mell Bailey's partner of over ten years, asked that I send out a notice of the services and after-party for Mell, who died August 4 Friday afternoon. A celebration of Mell's life will be held Wednesday, August 9th, 7:00 p.m. at Jenkins-Soffe Mortuary South Valley, 1007 West South Jordan Parkway (10600 So). Visitation with family from 6:00-7:00 p.m. prior to the celebration. After the services, a party at GreenStreet in Trolley Square will take place. In accordance to Mell's wishes, she will be cremated and her ashes along with the ashes of her beloved "Sugar" scattered. In lieu of flowers please make a donation to the fund Mell established, Q Cares for Canines, c/o Washington Mutual, 5664 So 900 East, Murray, UT 84121. We all loved her so much and will miss her always. God speed our "Free Spirit" we will be seeing you again!

2008 Capitol Hill Hate Crime The Salt Lake City Police Department is still looking for the person they have identified as the main suspect in the Capitol Hill hate crime that occurred Aug. 9. Police have described the suspect, who along with others beat and broke the eye socket of a gay man at a Churchill Drive party, as about 20 years old and Polynesian.  Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to contact the Police Department at (801) 799-3000.  Please reference case number 08-155753.

Tyler Barrick and Spencer Jones

2010 Mom of gay kids calls on parents to ‘come out’ By Rosemary Winters The Salt Lake Tribune Linda and Steve Stay march in the 2009 Utah Pride Parade in Salt Lake City, displaying their love for their gay kids. Scott Sommerdorf/The Salt Lake Tribune Linda Stay, a St. George mother of two gay kids, is calling on other parents with LGBT children to join her in fighting for equality for their sons and daughters. Stay, who was featured in the documentary film "8: The Mormon Proposition" along with her gay son, Tyler Barrick, has launched Moms for Equality and Dads for Equality with her husband. "Share who your children are with your friends, your co-workers, your siblings, with everyone," Stay advises on her website. "When you hear derogatory comments about gay or lesbian people ... all you need to say is, ‘I have a gay son or a lesbian daughter. If you knew them, you would love them.'" She was disappointed last week when she did not see other parents at a St. George rally celebrating a federal court decision that overturned California's gay-marriage ban. As a former member of the LDS Church, Stay acknowledges it is "not easy" to confront relatives, friends or church leaders who may disapprove of granting rights to same-sex couples. But she says, "Parents who refuse to embrace this part of their child, or choose to ignore it, miss a beautiful world of amazing people full of goodness and love."

2015 Q Lagoon Day! Our 12th Lagoon Day. Wear red to stand OUT. Bring your picnic an drinks and join us at the Pioneer Pavilion. Group photo at 4pm at the pavilion. Discount coupons are now available at Club Try-Angles, 241 W 900 S, Cahoots, Gray Whale Sandy/Taylorsville/Bountiful/Riverdale, Jam, No Frills Diner in Ogden and get you $9 off for up to 8 people at the gate the day of the event.

2017 Queer Friends host Intelligent Conversations "Faces of HIV" Purpose: Discuss the state of HIV from a clinical, research, and personal perspective. What is happening locally and nationally. The state of Ryan White CARE Act. PReP in Utah. Proposed Agenda: 7:00 to 7:10 - Welcome, Queer Friends Intro, Panel Introduction  7:10 to 7:25 - Dr. Harry Rosado, University of Utah Health Clinic 1A 7:30 to 7:45 - Dr. Adam Spivak, U of U Health Clinic 1A 7:50 to 8:05 - Dr. Susana Keeshin, Primary Children's Hospital 8:10 to 8:20 - Eric & Ray Kenney 8:20 to 8:30 - Benjamin Holdaway 8:30 to 8:50 - Q&A 8:50 to 9:00 - Snacks and M&G