March 17-23, 2016

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

1988

The Top Five Bestselling Lesbian Fiction at Women and Children First, 1967 N. Halsted; 1) "Cherished Love" by Evelyn Kennedy; 2) "Shoulders" by Georgia Cotrell; 3) "Dreams of the Woman Who Loved Sex" by Tee Corrine; 4) "Secret of the Bird" by Camarin Grae; and 5) "Leave a Light on for Me" by Jean Swallow.

+++

IMAGE: Orbit Room – Gay Chicago May 21, 1987

Theatrical delights this week include "Last Summer at Bluefish Cove" by Jane Chambers at Footsteps Theater Company, 1234 N. Sherman; William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" at the Court Theatre, University of Chicago, 5535 S. Ellis; and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" at the Edgewater Theatre Center, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr.

+++

Articles from "Don't Miss: Events in the News" in Windy City Times:

"Alternative AIDS Therapies Presented

Mary Kay Ryan, co-founder of the AIDS Alternative Health Project, will discuss Eastern medicine, bodywork, massage, nutrition, and other alternative and holistic therapies for persons with HIV infection and AIDS. Jointly sponsored by Howard Brown Memorial Clinic, Horizons Community Services, and AAHP, the presentation will be held Thursday, March 17, at 7:30 p.m. at a location to be announced."

"Mishima's 'Love and Death' to be shown

The Experimental Film Coalition will show Yukio Mishima's "Rite of Love and Death' on Friday, March 18 at 8 p.m. at the Randolph Street Gallery, 756 N. Milwaukee Ave. Mishima cast himself in the lead role for a drama contrasting traditional Japanese ritual restraint against the emotional excesses of the poet/warrior's life. Almost biographical, the film graphically depicts the hebestod of a disgraced soldier and his wife in a grisly foreshadowing of the artist's own suicide three years later. Admission $4."

"'Evita' to Benefit AIDS Efforts

Proceeds from the Tuesday, March 22, performance of 'Evita' at the Marriott Lincolnshire will be donated to Actors Equity and the League of Chicago Theaters as part of the 'Season of Concern' series of benefits intended to raise $1 million for AIDS research, preventative education and the care of PWA's. Tickets are $25."

1994

Obituary in Gay Chicago reads:

"Richard Allen 'Rico' Chin, 41, died on Saturday, March 5, of a fast-growing Metastatic Cancer.

"Mr. Chin was born on September 11, 1952, in Kentucky, but Chicago has been his home for many years. He also has lived in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Puerto Rico, Evansville, and New York.

"As a youth, he was a gay activist since the time he was 12.

"In the early 1970s, he worked for the Barbara Beckman Center as a volunteer on a hotline. The Barbara Beckman Center later evolved into the Horizons Center. He was on the board of directors for the Rogers Park Gay Community Center, and later was a staff member for the Rogers Park-Edgewater Gay Alliance.

"In 1987 and 1988, he worked in the Spanish community as a street worker who helped with AIDS education. He was an AIDS buddy who helped more than a dozen dying men with household chores so that they could continue living at home.

"In 1971 Mr. Chin and his former lover John Cantrall, were arrested for kissing at the Greyhound Bus Terminal. Their simple act of affection became big news for that time and was the inspiration for the annual gay kiss-in, which took place at the Daley Center from 1971 to 1979 during Pride Week.

"He was politically concerned and was a staunch Democrat. He was very active in the first campaign to elect Harold Washington for Mayor.

"One of his hobbies was collecting newspaper clippings, many of which have been donated to the Chicago Historical Society and the Art Institute. He was a self-taught intellect who could hold a conversation with anyone and would. He loved Chicago architecture, language, writing, and the fine arts.

"Mr. Chin was a very special person who was a true individual. Best known for his warm-heartedness, he genuinely cared about all types of people and had many friends.

"He will be missed and remembered by many, especially his grandmother, two sisters, and his partner/lover Rafael Valdez.

"A memorial service will be held at a later date that is yet to be arranged."

+++

IMAGE: Manhandler – November 28 1980

In the bars and clubs, St. Patrick's Day Dublin Disco!! With DJs Danny Goss and Jungle Jorge, at Roscoe's, 3354-56 N. Halsted; Ah ...'Tis Glorious to be Irish. But if you're not, what the hell. Fake it for the St. Patrick's Day Party at Lucky Horseshoe Lounge, 3169 N. Halsted; the Fog performs live at Vortex, 3631 N. Halsted; and MSA softball team registration party is at North End, 3733 N. Halsted.

2010

An article by Lisa Keen in Windy City Times begins:

"Google 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' and you'll get more than 2 million hits. Add the word "repeal" to the search, and you'll get about half million. Add the words "this year," and you're down to 135,000.

That's probably a good illustration of how the actual repeal process is going these days: Lots of people are talking about it, but the chances for success this year rely on a lot more things converging just so, and not too much.

"The plan on the table right now is two-pronged: first, some sort of intra-Pentagon relaxation of the enforcement of the current policy by, roughly, the end of this month. And then there is the prospect of a repeal of the policy at some point in the future."

+++

IMAGE: Clark's on Clark – Gay Chicago July 8, 1993

Feminist comic Jessica Halem returns to Chicago to perform at Congregation Or Chadash's annual gala, which honors Howard Wax, Rob Pooley and civil-rights attorney Joey Mogul.

Homework

Who or what were the Fog?

Who went to the Barbara Beckman Center?

Where is John Cantrell these days?

Gay Chicago Photo Rewind

Dave Ouano photographs two Zorros for Windy City Times October 31, 1996

Steve Picon photographs a chili cook-off benefit for AIDS at Big Red's in Gay Chicago March 3, 1983

Israel Wright photographs Night of 100 drag queens at Sidetrack for Nightlines November 4, 1998

The Howard Brown Health Center black-tie/Halloween Gala for Outlines November 4, 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.