March 19-March 25, 2015

Gay life in Chicago this week, back in ...

1976

Roger Chaffin's Top 15 Disco Hits from Gay Life: 1) "More, More, More" – Andrea True Connection; 2) "Mighty High" – Mighty Clouds of Joy; 3) "Street Talk" – BCG; 4) "Turn That Beat Around" – Vickey Sue Robinson; 5) "Heart Be Still" – Carl Graves; 6) "He's a Friend" – Eddie Kendricks; 7) "Love Hangover" – Diana Ross; 8) "Let's Groove"– Archie Bell and the Drells; 9) "That's Where the Happy People Go" – The Trammps; 10) "Strangers in the Night" – Bette Midler; 11) "I Hear a Symphony" – Hank Crawford; 12) "Disco Connection" – Isaac Hayes; 13) "Movin'/Changin'" – Brass Construction; 14) "Venus" – Frankie Avalon; 15) "Los Conquistadores Chocolates" – Johnny Hammond.

+++

IMAGE: Blacklines Cover – Blacklines Feb. 1999

Article on front page of Gay Life begins:

"One of Chicago has announced plans for their 12th Annual Banquet, to be held at the Como Inn, 546 N. Milwaukee Ave., on Saturday April 17th. Guest speaker for the event will be Sgt. Leonard Matlovich, well-known for his fight against the Armed Forces' discharge of him because he announced his homosexuality."

+++

Richard Pfeiffer in his Around Town column in Gay Life writes:

"A new baths, the Ohio and State Baths will be opening soon with full health facilities including exercise room and disco and will be operated by the owner of the Wacker Health Club.

"A new bookstore, the Bi-Way has opened at 1020 N. Clerk. They have a complete gay section including 8mm movies."

+++

Zolar, Chuck Renslow's disco at 936 W. Diversey, is struck by fire with considerable damage to the second floor dance area. The fire is thought to be the result of faulty wiring in the attic.

1985

In the bars and clubs, it's the first anniversary of Bulldog Road, 2914-16 Broadway; Chicago Cabaret, 4726 N. Western Ave. is where the girls are on Friday and Saturdaynights; every Wednesday there's a beer bust at the Lady Bug, 3445 N. Halsted; Lip Synch Contest featuring Andrea & Co. with a $1,000 Grand Prize at Normandy, 3400 N. Clark St.; there's a Bare Chest Contest at the Glory Hole, 1343 N. Wells St.; it's springtime in Tokyo at Berlin, 954 W. Belmont. Come to the orient for our Rites of Spring celebration,Saturday March 23 featuring the Insane Animal Whores! The party rolls on through April 7th; "1970-1985. Thank you for the last 15 years" – Jim Flint. The Baton, 436 N. Clark St. celebrates; Showcase One, 959 W. Belmont, hosts an Exotic Male Revue; and there's a Rocky Horror Dress-Up Party at Christopher Street, 3458 N. Halsted.

+++

IMAGE: Glory Hole – Gay Life Feb. 3, 1978

The Windy City Gay Chorus are in concert with Audio Express at People's Church, 941 W. Lawrence. Tickets: Main fl/mezz $10 ($9 in advance). Balcony $7 ($6 in advance) from Unabridged Bookstore, 3251 N. Broadway, the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport. Lawrence Bommer's review in Windy City Times read:

"To honor Handel's tercentenary, the concert began with an introit composed of three Handelian anthems, curiously run together, a virtual torrent of Baroque splendor enhanced by Eric Weimer's magisterial, crisp accompaniment. Music director Richard Garrin then conducted a flawless rendition of a piece I hadn't heard since high school, Randall Thompson's haunting, ethereal setting of Frost's "Choose Something Like a Star. ...The chorus then pulled out pastel bandanas (incongruously wrapped over their tuxedos) to launch a Western portion, which included a hell-for-leather 'Whoopie Ti Yi Yo.'"

1997

Lesbian sexpert Susie Bright signs her book, "Sexual State of the Union" at Barbara's Book Store, 1350 N. Wells.

+++

IMAGE: Touche – Gay Chicago September 12, 1991

In Billy Masters' GOTCHA in Gay Chicago, he writes: "Whispers on the set of ER report that on his recent down time, Noah Wyle traveled to Israel with a close male friend and the network publicist. Nothing worth whispering about 'cept that the publicist has been blabbing that Noah and his friend are so close ...so close that they didn't bother to get two beds when they shared a hotel room."

+++

Article in Gay Chicago begins:

"Gov. Edgar says he would have 'no moral objection' to extending family benefits to the partners of state employees.

"But the governor says he questions how much it would cost.

"Expense might lead him to oppose the move, Edgar said during a meeting with the Chicago Sun-Times editorial board recently.

'I'm not in favor of gay marriages,' Edgar said. 'I am old-fashioned, I guess. What I consider 'marriage' I would limit to male and females."

+++

IMAGE: Hot Pink at Roscoe's – Gay Chicago September 12, 1991

Windy City Performing Arts presents the Windy City Gay Chorus in "Beginnings and Endings," featuring the Windy City Slickers, at the Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Ave.

+++

Latinas ...Do you think you are, dulce? Join our model search for 12 Dulce Lesbian Latinas for the 1st Lesbian Latina Calendar, at the Rainbow Room, 4530 N. Lincoln.

+++

Nightlines reports that Showtime premieres their made-for-TV movie version of Jonathan Tolin's play "Twilight of the Golds."

"Suzanne Stein (Jennifer Beals) and her husband (Jon Tenney) discover that she is pregnant with a male child that carries the 'gay gene.' Suzanne's gay brother, David (Brendon Frasier) fights with the couple and his otherwise liberal parents, the Golds (Faye Dunaway and Garry Marshall), over whether or not they should keep the child."

Homework

What or who is Audio Express?

What's Lawrence Bommer up to these days?

Who owned the Wacker Health Club?

Gay Chicago Photo Rewind

Terry Gaskins photographs the guys at the Eagle for Gay Chicago January 30, 2003

Dan Di Leo takes photographs for Gay Chicago/Gay Life April 11, 1985

Jack Sitar asks "Is the government doing everything it should for AIDS?" for Gay Life April 4, 1985

Eli Burick at the IML Leather Market in Nightlines June 5, 1996

Thanks go to publishers Michael Bergeron for Chicago Gay Crusader, Ralph and Craig Gernhardt for Gay Chicago, Grant Ford and Chuck Renslow for Gay Life, Malone Sizelove for Babble/Gab, David Costanza and others for Chicago Free Press, Jeff McCourt for Windy City Times, Stacy Bridges and Mark Nagel for GRAB, and Tracy Baim for all the publications at the Windy City Media Group, which aided the above research. St. Sukie de la Croix is an internationally published reporter, playwright, photographer and historian. He is also the author of Chicago Whispers: A History of LGBT Chicago Before Stonewall published by the University of Wisconsin Press.