May 21-May 27, 2015

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

1981

An article in Gay Life reads:

"In a bizarre set of circumstances, a gay man reported being abducted May 7 on Illinois Street, raped, and dropped in a cemetery the following morning.

"Jim, 22, said he was leaving the Redoubt bar about 1 a.m. when he passed an alley near the parking lot of the Gold Coast bar, where two men grabbed him from behind, blindfolded, handcuffed, and gagged him, and forced him into a car. The car drove 'somewhere on the North Side,' he said, where the men lead him into a second-story apartment.

"During the night of terror, Jim said he remained blindfolded, gagged, tied up and cotton stuffed into his ears. He said the men proceeded to shave, rape, abuse, and urinate on him and placed a chain with a padlock around his neck.

"The abuse lasted all night, and the following morning Jim was dropped off (still blindfolded and tied up) in Graceland Cemetery, Jim said, adding that at no time did he see his attackers or the car they were driving. He managed to get himself free and returned home.

"Jim called Gay Life that morning for aid in removing the chains that had been left on him. An acquaintance of several staff members, he stopped by Gay Life offices and then was taken to Male Hide Leathers, where the chains were cut off.

"He did not file a police report."

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IMAGE: MSA Summer Tennis – Gay Chicago April 23, 1992

Another article in Gay Life reads:

"No, that wasn't a UFO you saw; it was Hardware's blimp. As part of their promotion for the 1981 International Mr. Leather Contest, the Hardware Liquid Aroma people raised a blimp.

"The blimp, which measured 15 feet by 8 feet, was anchored above the Gold Coast bar, 501 N. Clark St., during the May 9 contest. Due to the strong winds that night, it broke loose and is now thought to be floating somewhere over Chicago.

"A $100 reward is being offered for its return, so if you find it be sure to give Gay Life a call!"

1996

In the bars and clubs, every Thursday it's Hits and Dusties with VJ Bobby Marley at North End, 3733 N. Halsted; Precinct Night and No Hair Club for Men is at Cell Block, 3702 N. Clark St.; there's a Samuel Adams Party at Icon, a dance bar for women, at 710 N. Clark St.; Leather Buddies celebrates IML at Vortex, 3631 N. Halsted, honoring 1995's IML Larry Everett. DJ's are Mark Hultmark and Miami's David Knapp; the Young Professional Gay Men host a Memorial Day BBQ at Big Chicks, 5014 N. Sheridan; the "Nuts to Butts Climax Party is at Touche, 6412 N. Clark St.; and there's a Pansexual Memorial Day Eve Pleasuredome at Berlin, 954 W. Belmont.

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IMAGE: Pride – Gay Chicago April 23, 1992

In Billy Masters' Filth column in Gay Chicago:

"While filming her new video 'I Will Survive,' Diana Ross was upstaged continuously by supermodel Ru Paul. Was Diana angry? Everyone I spoke to said Di was a doll to work with. The video takes place on Santa Monica Bvd. where they painstakingly recreated a WeHo Gay Pride Parade. Ru and a bunch of other drag queens were on a float, lip-synching the song with Diana (who was the least feminine thing on board!) At one point, she dove into the crowd, where she is caught by fans. I was wondering–what if they all took a step back and she landed on her hair (which, I suspect, would have broken her fall?) Just so you don't think Diana has turned over a new leaf, she said she hopes her recording will become 'a new gay anthem.' Hello? Didn't Gloria Gaynor already do that?'

2004

Men of Onyx, Inc. sponsor a men's clothing drive through the month of May. Donations of white boxers/briefs, T-shirts/A-shirts, athletic socks, bath towels, slacks, jackets, shirts, ties, shoes and dress socks are needed. The drop off sites, include Touche, 6412 N. Clark; Taskforce AIDS Prevention, 1130 S. Wabash, Suite 404; and Southside Health Center, Men's Prevention Program, 366 E. 63rd St. All items will be donated to Community Supportive Living Systems.

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IMAGE: Gypsy – Gay Chicago January 4, 2001

Melissa Ferrick and Ernie Lijoi headline the Queer is Folk Festival at the Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln. Other GLBT folk performers from around the country include Wishing Chair, Coat, Andrea Bunch, and Blackberri, one of the first openly gay African American folk artists. Hosted by Scott Free.

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Dana Caprina interviews Morgan Fairchild in Gay Chicago:

DC: You seem to pick a lot of roles that no one ever would expect you for, like Sandra Bernhard's lesbian lover on 'Roseanne."

MF: That's what I thought. It was so interesting. When they called me, my agent at the time had some trepidation and I thought, my god, after the build-up that they gave that character, that Sandra has a new girlfriend, the last person they expect to walk through the door is Morgan Fairchild. I thought it was a hoot.

Homework

Did they ever find Hardware's blimp?

Who remembers the Redoubt?

Is Dana Caprina still around?

Gay Chicago Photo Rewind

Jack Sitar photographs Little Jim's "Bar Wars" team for Gay Life March 7, 1985

Eileen LaPierre photographs the ICON IML celebration of women in leather for Nightlines June 5, 1996

Kirk Williamson photographs the Hideaway for Nightspots April 30, 2003

The 25th anniversary of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund in Windy City Times July 2, 1998

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.