Who is YOUR favorite gay or lesbian icon throughout history?

[im10ashus]

Let's face it, there have been some amazing contributions from the gay and lesbian community. My favorites are Da Vinci and Tennessee Williams. Living, I would say Pedro Almodóvar, Harvey Fierstein or Barney Frank.

Who would you add to the list?

[myrna minx]

1. Oscar Wilde. n/t

[im10ashus]

3. Another fave of mine.

Thanks!!!

[blm]

70. I'm with you on Oscar Wilde -

.

[EFerrari]

79. Me, too.

"Until yesterday I had no idea there were any families or persons whose origin was a Terminus."
-- Lady Bracknell

[warrens]

82. Either that wallpaper goes, or I do. Dying words...nt

[JackBeck]

2. I would add Harvey Milk.

He gave his life standing up for equality.

[im10ashus]

5. Brilliant!!!

Who could forget the "twinkie" defense?

[DixieBlue]

69. Seconded.

[rfranklin]

4. George Bush, Jr.....

Now, if he would just come out of the closet...

[im10ashus]

7. Ewwwwww!

We don't want him. :puke:

[demdiva]

99. Hasn't the gay community suffered enough?

[RedStateShame]

6. Freddie Mercury

An awesome songwriter, an unstoppable showman, and able to rock the balls off of any arena. Metallica's cover of "Stone Cold Crazy" isn't even close to as awesome as the original.

[im10ashus]

11. First concert I ever saw.

BRILLIANT performer! Sadly missed.

[wryter2000]

30. Cole Porter! n/t

n/t

[im10ashus]

32. And where would we be without his contribution to music?

:shrug:

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

140. To This Day I Say Often My Biggest Regret In Life Is Having Not Seen Him

perform live. My biggest regret.

I agree with your pick. Freddie Rocks.

[suffragette]

8. Sappho

Poetry that sings through the ages.

edited for typo

[datasuspect]

9. lemmy from motorhead

[RagingInMiami]

He's gay?!

[kwolf68]

23. I don't think Lemmy is gay

I believe the idea he is gay came from this rumor where he had someone give him a blowjob on stage...I thought the person doing it was a girl, but I've also heard it was a guy.

10. Ian McKellen - there are probably many others that were or are in

the closet.




http://www.mckellen.com/

[im10ashus]

13. LOVE Sir Ian.

That's a great painting too.

Thanks!

[ComerPerro]

12. Scott Thompson, Kids in the Hall

[Marnieworld]

33. Love him!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. Well, he's a republican

but the first person I thought of was Abe Lincoln.

[Blue Belle]

170. I don't think Abe Lincoln...

would claim to be one of today's Republicans.

[AndyA]

15. Dusty Springfield

She had a great voice, and was very matter of fact about her sexuality during her later years.

[im10ashus]

18. Good one.

Wikipedia actually has a list and she is on it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gay,_lesbian_or_bisexual_people

[soleft]

16. Who would I add....

Hmmmm, I'm going to have to think about that.

[im10ashus]

20. Here is a sort of list.

At Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gay,_lesbian_or_bisexual_people

So many to choose from. :-)

[BrklynLiberal]

37. self-delete wrong place

[soleft]

67. actually I thought my ICON would speak for itself

[im10ashus]

81. LMAO!!!

Sorry. I am not really a blonde. I just play one on DU.

[RagingInMiami]

17. Elton John

[kwolf68]

19. Michael Stipe

Lead Singer for REM is up there.

[im10ashus]

22. And he is a vocal opponent of this administration.

LOVE him!!!

[libnnc]

21. Rita Mae Brown

"Rubyfruit Jungle" got me through high school.

[im10ashus]

24. That's a new one for me.

Thanks!!!

Edited to add a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rita_Mae_Brown

[libnnc]

25. She was one of the founders of the Student Homophile movement

at NYU in the late 1960s.

She was also one of the founding members of the modern Women's Movement in NYC in the late 60s-early 70s.

[kwolf68]

27. Stipe rules

A brilliant musician in a brilliant band. And yes, Stipe uses his freedom of expression and I thank him for that.

[Warren DeMontague]

34. He's consistently avoided self-classification

but he's certainly a voice for pan-sexuality and the notion that things like orientation and gender don't lie on simple either/or cartesan points, but rather are a spectrum.

And AFAIK, his long-term SO is a man.

I've been an R.E.M. fan since about '84 (when Reckoning was the "new album")

I agree. They're brilliant.

[murielm99]

184. Don't forget her partner, Fannie Flagg,

actress and author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.

I like B.D. Wong, the psychiatrist on Law and Order SVU too.

[TriSec]

26. Liberace.

By god, but that man could play!

And my father almost joined his touring group in the late 1960s....but didn't. (bass player).

[OneBlueSky]

28. Walt Whitman . . . and Danny Pintauro . . . :) n/t

.

[Lautremont]

93. Danny Pintauro? The kid from Cujo?

[OneBlueSky]

187. that was then . . .

this is now . . . :)

[wryter2000]

29. Gertrude Stein

I don't know that she's my favorite, but no one's mentioned this Oaklander yet, so I thought I would.

Oooh! Oooh! Does Eleanor Roosevelt count? I don't know if she was a lesbian or bi or what, but she did have a female lover.

[im10ashus]

31. Love her too.

And her lover, Alice B. Toklas.

[Botany]

35. As a straight man I watched the gayest t.v. show ever as a kid.

Johnny Quest ..... please ...... just about a Gay Pride Parade.

Look at Dr. Quest and his big blond man servant "Race Bannan."

[im10ashus]

38. I always thought he was pretty hot for a cartoon.

:rofl:

[Botany]

Who?

Dr. Quest with his very neat beard and styled hair or Race?
Dr. Quest always looked like the stero-type of a gay hair dresser and
race looked like a "leather man."


BTW I "straight guy" have come up with the solution for the gay marriage problem,
if you are a man and opposed to gay marriage don't marry an other man.

Also I really do think that the other side "doth protest to much" how many queer
republicans?

Ken Mehlman
Karl Rove
Scott McCellen
Rush
Sheppard Smith (fox)
Rep. David Dryer
A certain 2nd level fox host who I want to out, so bad.
Norm Coleman

Funny, I really think these guys have some demons in their closets.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

108. That cartoon was an integral part of my boyhood...

...I never thought about Dr. Quest and Race in that way, though (not that there's anything wrong with that). I seem to remember a female character (Jane or Jade?) I thought she was Race's lady friend.

This was among the best of the adventure cartoons.

[obreaslan]

36. Paul Lynde

[Jade Fox]

63. Funny, funny man. :-)

[lpbk2713]

85. The perennial game show contestant.

He was a classic on Hollywood Squares.

[BrklynLiberal]

39. Bayard Rustin

http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2002/brotheroutsider/special_march.html

http://www.rustin.org/biography.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayard_Rustin

[im10ashus]

41. Good one!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayard_Rustin

Thanks!!!

[DBoon]

40. Alan Turing

without this gay man, modern computers would not exist

[im10ashus]

43. And WWII would have gone on much longer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Turing

[lectrobyte]

50. Seconded. Basically driven to suicide after all he had done for the

war effort.

[deFaultLine]

156. My Favorite too

This guy has not gotten enough credit for all he did...essentially he was punished for who he was and they forced him into estrogen therapy.

He grew boobs and still was gay :wtf: then he killed himself.

Shame on "modern" medicine for this atrocity.

[devilgrrl]

42. Dusty Springfield

[USA_1]

141. Dusty!

All these years have gone by and never once did I ever hear of her being gay. When I saw your post, I looked up a few links and now see that you are correct. Whether she was gay/bi/straight or whatever, she was a great singer/entertainer and is sorely missed.

[MinneapolisMatt]

44. Martina Navratilova. n/t

[me b zola]

128. Martina was the first lesbian that I ever had a crush on.

I grew up watching her dominate the tennis world, I loved her power & grace. :loveya:

I don't know how "normal" it is for a straight woman to be attracked to lesbian women, but I guess I don't really care. Martina was my first lesbian crush, but not my last.

[Catchawave]

45. Rosie O'Donnell

Love her or hate her....she brought the issue to the mainstream, especially gay adoption.

And that CRUISE for gay families, priceless.

[Catchawave]

56. Ellen Degeneres....

another well-loved daytime icon.

[im10ashus]

59. She has been amazing for our community.

She is well-deserved of the praise.

:hi:

[the other one]

46. Alexander the Great.

http://www.gayheroes.com/main.htm

[smoogatz]

47. Whitman and Ginsberg.

Whitman was a genius, of course. And Ginsberg's early work ("Howl" and "America" in particular, IMO) changed everything. At least in the poetry world.

[im10ashus]

51. I LOVED "Leaves of Grass" by Whitman.

I still read it from time-to-time. Such a way with words.

[ForeverWinter]

177. I can't believe I forgot Ginsberg!

And I went to Naropa even!

[ForeverWinter]

180. A saint and sage...

"...and the gray Sunflower poised against the sunset,
crackly bleak and dusty with the smut and smog
and smoke of olden locomotives in its eye--
corolla of bleary spikes pushed down and broken like
a battered crown, seeds fallen out of its face,
soon-to-be-toothless mouth of sunny air, sunrays
obliterated on its hairy head like a dried
wire spiderweb,
leaves stuck out like arms out of the stem, gestures
from the sawdust root, broke pieces of plaster
fallen out of the black twigs, a dead fly in its ear,
Unholy battered old thing you were, my sunflower O
my soul, I loved you then!"
~ A. Ginsberg

[Vanje]

48. Jesus of Nazareth

Pretty obvious

[Jade Fox]

65. LOL! The church just collectively fell over.....

in a dead faint. They haven't recovered yet from the idea of Jesus being married, and now this!

[Fleshdancer]

86. I think his wife and kids might object to that

Let's just compromise the point and say Jesus was bi. He totally loved his neighbors, right?

:rofl:

[progressivebydesign]

49. Oscar Wilde, by far. n/t

[yellowcanine]

52. The Washington Monument? Not strictly a gay icon, but.....

definitely phallic.

[smoogatz]

53. Not to mention the Coit tower in San Fran. And the Pilgrim Monument

in Provincetown. Hmmm...

[Initech]

54. What about Rob Halford (lead singer of Judas Priest)?

[MuseRider]

55. Billie Jean King

I have her autograph on a tennis shirt, it is a treasure of mine.

[lpbk2713]

89. Billie Jean dignified tennis by her presence.

A truly admirable individual.

[Minnesota_Lib]

57. Alexander the Great

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

58. Oscar Wilde

I still love his plays, and think what was done to him was horrible.

[mcranor]

60. James Baldwin n/t

[wryter2000]

145. Welcome to DU

:hi:

James Baldwin -- good call!

[nemo137]

173. w00t. Good start.

If you get a chance, see they play "Down from the Mountaintop."

[EVDebs]

61. John Maynard Keynes

[Idioteque]

169. Keynes was gay?

I guess that's why conservatives hate him.

[MrsCheaplaugh]

62. Truman Capote

[wryter2000]

146. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[quiet.american]

64. Rock Hudson! n/t

[Az_lefty]

66. Don't forget Jim Nabors

[JackBeck]

68. Gore Vidal. n/t

[IndyOp]

71. Seconding: Gore Vidal... Most Definitely!

Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace

[JackBeck]

77. An excellent read. And so was this...

On a lighter note

"Myra Breckinridge".

[Laughing Mirror]

138. He has been the greatest influence on me, without question

I don't want to imagine the confusion and doubt my life would have been like trying to understand the world around me if I hadn't discovered, at a young age, the marvelous Gore Vidal as my guide, during his historic commentary at the 1968 Democratic convention. His wit and intellect and work has only improved down through the years.

[JackBeck]

151. I discovered his writing about 5 years ago in my late 20's.

He is the main motivation for my involvement in politics. I can only aspire to be as eloquent and witty as the man I like to refer to as my "Poppy".

[Nye Bevan]

72. Mike Brady

Just kidding- I meant to say Nathan Lane.

[Catchawave]

92. "mike brady" was "gay", yes, indeedy....

And look how happy the Brady Bunch was....:loveya:

[AllNamesHaveBeenUsed]

150. Ward Clever

Wasn't "Ward Clever" also gay?

[Freedom_Aflaim]

73. Da Vinci was gay?

really? I've never heard that before

[im10ashus]

78. You are joking, right?

http://www.gayheroes.com/leon.htm

[EFerrari]

103. No WS at that site?

William Shakespeare : Sonnet 20

A woman's face, with Nature's own hand painted,
Hast thou, the master-mistress of my passion;
A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change, as is false women's fashion;
An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,
Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth;
A man in hew1 all hews in his controlling,
Which steals men's eyes, and women's souls amazeth.
And for a woman wert thou first created;
Till Nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting,
And by addition me of thee defeated,
By adding one thing to my purpose nothing.
But since she prict2 thee out for women's pleasure,
Mine be thy love, and thy love's use their treasure.


William Shakespeare (1564-1616) P. 1609

[im10ashus]

106. Are you being a troublemaker?

:-)

I know it's hard to believe, but there's no real proof the Bard was gay. Although, what straight man could have been so eloquent in his sonnets. Venus and Adonis, another of my favorites, is so beautiful, you can practically sense the Bard drooling over Adonis.

http://www.shakespeare-w.com/english/shakespeare/w_venus.html

[EFerrari]

117. Well, this SH geek thinks so.

Lessee, he writes poetry to young men, reproduces like a good son then spends most of the rest of his life in London with the guys, writing love scenes for men to play with each other, in and out of drag.

:)

[im10ashus]

123. Sounds like a duck to me.

:-)


And if it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck...

[smoogatz]

188. "what straight man could have been so eloquent in his sonnets"

Aherm. I must take exception to the notion that gender orientation has any bearing on the ability to write a decent sonnet--or any other poetic/literary form.

[Chiyo-chichi]

135. Well... considering that Shakespeare was actually Edward de Vere...

http://instruct1.cit.cornell.edu/courses/engl208/OxfordNYT_021002.html
http://www.shakespearefellowship.org/

[semillama]

74. I'm sorry, this thread is entirely too silly to continue

Hats off to Graham Chapman!!!

Still sorely missed.

[im10ashus]

75. LMAO!!!!

Nice one!

:rofl:

Thanks!

[yella_dawg]

76. John Von Neumann

One of the great mathematicians of the twentieth century. The inventor of computers as we know them.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

80. Ian Mckellan, Pedro Almodovar, Patricia Ireland, Barney Frank.

[JackDragna]

83. Quentin Crisp.

An irrascible, angry curmudgeon.

[Book Lover]

147. Seconded

I admire the hell out of him.

[im10ashus]

149. Loved him in "Orlando"

The best Elizabeth I portrayal ever. :-)

[OzarkDem]

84. Dr. Susan Love

http://www.susanlovemd.com/

[BIG Sean]

87. My Brother

He is simply the nicest, most caring person I know. I am proud that he is my brother. With the good that he does, he will surely be an icon one day.

[im10ashus]

91. Sweetest. One. Yet.

That is so touching. I am ready to cry. I hope my brother loves me as much.

:hi:

[demdiva]

101. Awwee

What a lucky guy your brother is to have you!

[Catchawave]

88. Rock Hudson !

HUGE romantic movie star in the 50's/60's....I still admire him :loveya:

[The Straight Story]

90. I always liked Paul Lynde

Actually met him once when I was a little kid and got to shake his hand. I was only 5 or 6 I think at the time, but I still remember seeing him at the airport here in Columbus while waiting on dad to get home.

[Seabiscuit]

94. Great people in history

I grew up listening to Cole Porter and I never knew he was gay but his music was heavenly. I met Leonard Bernstein (I was told he was gay) because I played classical piano as a child and thought he was genius. I studied history and felt Leonoardo Da Vinci was a man ahead of his time because of all his contributions to modern society ... didn't know he was gay until recently. I studied the Socratic method in law school and admired Socrates and I never knew he was gay. I read Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman and they were awe inspiring. I guess it doesn't matter to me if they were gay or not because they were people who I would have liked to have met and learned from. They were also people that contributed great things to our society and our thoughts as modern thinkers (at least some of us). They were exceptional human beings.

[Atman]

95. No one has said Peppermint Patty yet?

Well then, I will.

[Nikki Stone 1]

161. Don't tell the fundies. They'll outlaw Peanuts!

:evilgrin:

[dysfunctional press]

96. Tom Cruise.

nt

[im10ashus]

100. Ewwwwww!

We don't want him. Send him back.

[dysfunctional press]

139. sorry...

but once you crack crack, you can never go back.

[demdiva]

97. Ellen

She's sooooo funny and seems to be such a sweetie.

[StellaBlue]

98. Oscar Wilde. nt

[Crankie Avalon]

102. Michelangelo...

...if no one else has put dibs on him, yet.

[genieroze]

104. Liberace

[troubleinwinter]

105. My signature graphic tells it.

[im10ashus]

110. Awwwwwww!!!

Bless his heart. May he rest in peace.

:hug:

[eggman67]

107. Cole Porter n/t

[tjwash]

120. I second that one.

[ForeverWinter]

179. Damn straight!

Cole Porter! I love this thread! :loveya:

[Dr Fate]

109. Pete Townsend, Micheal Stipe, Little Richard, Bob Mould, etc. n/t

n/t

[DBoon]

166. Darby Crash

of the Germs

[Dr Fate]

111. Oh- cant forget George "Sulu" Takei from the original Star Trek. n/t

n/t

[AspenRose]

112. Rachel Maddow and Laura Flanders

They rock.

http://www.aegis.org/news/wb/2005/WB050201.html

Deceased: James Baldwin

Edited to add link

[gatorboy]

113. Does Billy Crystal's character from "Soap" count? n/t

[Lady Effingbroke]

114. Brian Epstein (Beatles manager).

Not the best businessman, but the world today would be quite different if not for his discovery and tireless promotion of the Beatles.

[Dr Fate]

116. great pick- What other rock & Roll icons are gay?

Elton John...Little Richard-tons of others I'm sure...

[ificandream]

164. I thought of him right away

If it wasn't for him, the Beatles wouldn't have conquered the world.

[lastliberalintexas]

115. Arthur Rimbaud

I don't know that I have a favorite "gay icon", since I don't normally think of people in those terms- just people. :shrug: (and that's not a criticism of the OP)

But I've always loved Rimbaud's poetry, and since no one else has mentioned him, I thought I would. One of the, uh, less bitter and more romantic of his offerings. :)


The First Evening

- She was very much half-dressed
And big indiscreet trees
Threw out their leaves against the pane
Cunningly, and close, quite close.

Sitting half naked in my big chair,
She clasped her hands.
Her small and so delicate feet
Trembled with pleasure on the floor.

- The colour of wax, I watched
A little wild ray of light
Flutter on her smiling lips
And on her breast, - an insect on the rose-bush.

- I kissed her delicate ankles.
She laughed softly and suddenly
A string of clear trills,
A lovely laugh of crystal.

The small feet fled beneath
Her petticoat : "Stop it, do !"
- The first act of daring permitted,
Her laugh pretended to punish me !

- Softly I kissed her eyes,
Trembling beneath my lips, poor things :
- She threw back her fragile head
"Oh ! come now that's going too far !...

Listen, Sir, I have something to say to you..."
- I transferred the rest to her breast
In a kiss which made her laugh
With a kind laugh that was willing...

- She was very much half-dressed
And big indiscreet trees threw
Out their leaves against the pane
Cunningly, and close, quite close.

[StellaBlue]

124. lovely

haven't read him in a while, thanks for that

:hi:

[im10ashus]

132. That's beautiful.

Thanks for sharing that!

:hi:

[KAT119]

118. MICHAELANGELO FOR SURE!!

[benburch]

119. Annie Sprinkle!

Well, she's bi, does that count?

[im10ashus]

129. Yes, it counts.

She is so fun. I loved the special on HBO's Real Sex. She's so ingenious.

[kiraboo]

121. Virginia Woolf.

She was marvellous.

[paparush]

122. Tom Cruise!! ; -)

[alfredo]

125. Bert and Ernie

[Duncan Grant]

126. Got to add Audre Lorde to this list.

The quotable Audre Lorde:


"When I dare to be powerful - to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid."

"I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood. That the speaking profits me, beyond any other effect."

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world."

"Your Silence Will Not Protect You..."

"The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house."

[tenshi816]

127. Tennessee Williams.

We're related (I guess that should be were related since he's long dead). It has always saddened me that by the time I was old enough to appreciate what a monumental talent he was, he was no longer with us. It never made an impression on me when I was a child and I regret that.

[im10ashus]

131. WOW!!!!

That would truly be an honor. I would probably tattoo that on my forehead were I related to him. He really is my favorite playwright. He and Eugene O'Neill.

[tenshi816]

134. He was a cousin of my grandfather's,

which made him a rather distant cousin of mine. When I first discovered the plays of Tennessee Williams (or Tom, which is how I heard him referred to when I was growing up), I was really angry at myself for being so slow in appreciating him.

Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black was another relative on the same side of the family, but that's another story for another day!

[porphyrian]

130. Rick Santorum. - n/t

[im10ashus]

133. If he were really gay that would be your choice?

:shrug:

We don't want him in our community if he is gay. :-)

[porphyrian]

192. Well, I was being a smartass, but I don't doubt that he's gay.

The gay community is only as close as it is because of the shared experience, and it still isn't really that unified (can anyone explain gay republicans to me?). Santorum is just one high-profile example of how homosexuality affects a fairly representative cross section of the population. Once outed, he will stand as empirical proof that sexuality is not a choice. Every community has members they would rather see gone (I know there are those who would rather I wasn't at DU). However, I think the more vocally insane he is, the more the noose tightens around his neck, and the closer we come to consigning his bullshit anti-gay crusade back to the wacko fringe where it belongs. So, in a way, I was serious.

[deaniac21]

136. Joe Namath

[dsc]

137. Armistead Maupin and Auden

Tales of the City is brilliant and who can watch Four Weddings and a Funeral and not cry at the funeral thanks to Auden.

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West.
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever; I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

-- W. H. Auden

[im10ashus]

143. Oh DAMN!!!!

That gets me every single time. LOVE that poem.

[notadmblnd]

142. Just Jack!

from the sitcom Will and Grace.

[JackBeck]

152. As a Jack, I get this all the time.

Right and left hands framing the face, with opposable thumbs underneath chin...."Just Jack!"

[goddess40]

144. My Great Aunt Ev

Even though much of the family can't admit she was lesbian, she was definitely my favorite of my great Aunties.

[im10ashus]

153. She'd be proud you say as much.

:hug:

[Deja Q]

148. Fred Schneider

[DBoon]

167. Another gay rocker

nt

[Sabriel]

154. Pedro Zamora, AIDS activist and educator

And subject of the excellent graphic novel Pedro and Me.

I'll also add kd lang, who stood the C&W world on its head a few years back.

[ForeverWinter]

178. Pedro from The Real World?

[Sabriel]

194. Yes, from the San Francisco season

Or so I've read. I never saw it, but I did read Pedro and Me.

[Cha]

155. I like Rupert Everett..

there's just something about him :D


Snip!

" In 1989, Everett openly declared his own homosexuality -- an announcement that could have mortally wounded his film career. Instead, over time, it seems to have had the opposite effect. His career revitalized as Julia Roberts' gay confidante in My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), and he has continued to impress notably in the classics area with Shakespeare in Love (1998) (as Christopher Marlowe), An Ideal Husband (1999) and A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) (as Oberon). Lately he has enhanced both films, with his royal portrayals in To Kill a King (2003) and Stage Beauty (2004), and television, with his effortlessly suave Sherlock Holmes in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking (2004) (TV). His predilection for smug and smarmy villains of late, such as the cartoonish Dr. Claw in Inspector Gadget (1999) has extended into voice animation with his "unprincely" Prince Charming character in Shrek 2 (2004)."

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000391/

And, in 2004 I happen to catch him on the view asking us to vote for Kerry!

[yewberry]

157. My mom. Heck, both of my moms.

They didn't live in a "right to work" state, and so dealt with fear of job loss (and consequently fear for their mortgage,) bouts of poverty, uneven & unfair insurance coverage, just all of the little things that straight families can take for granted.

They raised four kids. We're all adults now, and they're grandmas.

It's funny being the kids of a GLBTTQ family--we're always anecdotal. Both sides talk about us as though we only exist in the abstract. We're real, though, so the next time some idiot tells you that "children are better off in families with a male and a female parent," be sure to let them that their platitudes only hurt kids and ignore real, live families. We need legislation that deals with the real world, not with their narrow idea of what the world should be.

[Nikki Stone 1]

158. Gertrude Stein, Franz Schubert, Oscar Hammerstein

:)

[Shipwack]

159. Another vote for Wilde (hence the avatar), and if I may be permitted...

to include a transgendered person,

Danielle Bunten Berry. An early computer game designer whose credits include "Seven Cities of Gold" and "M.U.L.E" (allegedly one of the most pirated games of all time, at least in the early years).

Unfortunately, her memorial page seems to no longer be in existance... :/

[Disturbed]

160. TrumanCapote

Not a fave of mine but definitely an Icon.

[RedXIII]

162. King Richard the Lionhearted....

and Elizabeth Bathory.

[BlueIris]

163. Audre Lorde.

I think I spelled that correctly...going to check.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

165. Lots: Harvey Milk, Tammy Baldwin, Keith Haring, Francis Poulenc...

Urvashi Vaid,, Larry Kramer
Tony Kushner,Moisés Kaufman Pedro Almodóvar, Edward Albee,
Ani, Melissa Etheridge,

(and a Huge crush on Clea DuVall) :blush:

[BlooInBloo]

168. Odd question, since there are SO many we don't know were gay....

... it's not like being black ya know...


But I might choose Alan Turing for myself...

[petgoat]

171. Jesus Christ. nt

[killbotfactory]

172. William S. Burroughs

SMASH THE CONTROL MACHINE!

[Blue Belle]

174. Billie Holliday, Melissa Ethridge, Noel Coward, Montgomery Clift

[Phrogman]

175. Bob Hope, what a great gay comedian

And all the USO work he's done throughout the years.

[ForeverWinter]

176. Truman Capote! The Indigo Girls!!

Oh yeah, Elton John is pretty rad too.
Uh, mine are all recent pop culture types. Does this make me shallow? Should I say Sappho? :think:

[rucky]

181. Pete Townsend & Graham Chapman

:)

[Behind the Aegis]

182. Not a person...

...I saw many wonderful people, but the ones I love the most are the rioters at The Stonewall! They were the birth of the modern gay movement! They are the 'everyday' heroes!

Homo Nest Raided, Queen Bees Are Stinging Mad
Reprinted from "The New York Daily News," July 6, 1969
By JERRY LISKER

She sat there with her legs crossed, the lashes of her mascara-coated eyes beating like the wings of a hummingbird. She was angry. She was so upset she hadn't bothered to shave. A day old stubble was beginning to push through the pancake makeup. She was a he. A queen of Christopher Street.

Last weekend the queens had turned commandos and stood bra strap to bra strap against an invasion of the helmeted Tactical Patrol Force. The elite police squad had shut down one of their private gay clubs, the Stonewall Inn at 57 Christopher St., in the heart of a three-block homosexual community in Greenwich Village. Queen Power reared its bleached blonde head in revolt. New York City experienced its first homosexual riot. "We may have lost the battle, sweets, but the war is far from over," lisped an unofficial lady-in-waiting from the court of the Queens.

"We've had all we can take from the Gestapo," the spokesman, or spokeswoman, continued. "We're putting our foot down once and for all." The foot wore a spiked heel. According to reports, the Stonewall Inn, a two-story structure with a sand painted brick and opaque glass facade, was a mecca for the homosexual element in the village who wanted nothing but a private little place where they could congregate, drink, dance and do whatever little girls do when they get together.

The thick glass shut out the outside world of the street. Inside, the Stonewall bathed in wild, bright psychedelic lights, while the patrons writhed to the sounds of a juke box on a square dance floor surrounded by booths and tables. The bar did a good business and the waiters, or waitresses, were always kept busy, as they snaked their way around the dancing customers to the booths and tables. For nearly two years, peace and tranquility reigned supreme for the Alice in Wonderland clientele.

more...

[cosmicdot]

183. Andy Bell of erasure; Neil Tennant of the pet shop boys; k.d.lang

http://www.erasureinfo.com/

erasure just completed yet another tour (Accoustic)

US radio must think erasure's last 'hit' was 'Chains of Love' c.1988, but I admit "The Innocents" is one of my favorite erasure LPs.



"...who will be the next victim of the criminal dawn? - lyric from 'Hallowed Ground'


and, Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys (and, very likely Chris Lowe)

http://www.petshopboys.co.uk/

maybe I didn't treat you
quite as good as I should
Maybe I didn't love you
quite as often as I could
Little things I should have said and done
I never took the time
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind



What have you got to hide?
Who will it compromise?
Where do we have to be
so I can laugh and you'll be free?
I'd go anywhere
Baby, I don't care
I'm not scared
I don't care
Baby, I'm not scared


I came across a cache of old photos
and invitations to teenage parties
'Dress in white' one said with quotations
from someone's wife, a famous writer
in the nineteen-twenties
When you're young you find inspiration
in anyone who's ever gone
and opened up a closing door
She said we were never feeling bored


PSB performed at Equality Rocks, March on Washington, 2000


k.d. lang Miss Chatelaine




just to mention a few

[donheld]

185. k d lang & George Michael

:loveya:

[Jawja]

186. Greta Garbo.

EOM.

[clyrc]

189. I'm a big fan of Collette

She was bi, but I guess that counts. When I was in Paris, I was sick on the day we went to Pere La Chaise, but I dragged myself to Collette's grave so I could see it and get my picture made near it. I looked about like I felt, but I'm glad I went anyway.

[im10ashus]

190. She was so ahead of her time.

Not afraid of anything or anyone. I need to take a trip to Paris.

:hi:

[clyrc]

193. I imagine you do!

Any excuse for a trip to Paris, anyway.

191. King Faisal of Iraq

Beautiful.