VINTAGE/COOL/WEIRD/SAD/FUNNY/GAY STUFF

[Tonyko]

ACTRESS JANE POWELL (WHO I SAW A YEAR AGO ON LINE IN GOURMET GARAGE A VERRRRY TINY STILL ATTRACTIVE 80 SOMETHING LADY IN JOGGING SUIT AND SNEAKS) AND 2 OF HOLLYWOOD MOST FAMOUS HOMOS FARLEY GRANGER AND RODDY MCDOWEL (BEFORE THEY SLEPT TOGETHER) BUT SOOOO DEF LOOKING LIKE THEY "WANT" TO NO LOL??? THE 50'S OBLIVIOUS PUBLIC NEVER SUSPECTED. (THERE'S AN EVEN FUNNIER ONE OF THEM FROM A FAN MAG ABOUT HOLLYWOOD "BACHELORS" THEY'RE IN BATHING SUITS BOTH ON PHONES IT'S TITLED "CALLING ALL GIRLS".

 

THIS LOOKS VERY CONTEMP BUT PIC IS ACTUALLY OVER 80 YEARS OLD, BUSTER CRABBE, THE ORIG 30'S MOVIE SERIAL FLASH GORDEN.

 

 

ODD COUPLE, MARLON BRANDO, AND NERDY COMIC ACTOR WALLY COX WHOM BRANDO, LATER IN LIFE VERY OPEN ABOUT HIS BISEXUALITY, ADMITTED WAS HIS LOVER BACK WHEN THEY SHARED A NYC APT IN THEIR EARLY DAYS. WALLY DIED YOUNG (HE CAN BEEN SEEN IN THE RELEASED FOOTAGE OF MARILYN'S LAST UNFINISHED FILM) AND BRANDO SAID HE NEVER STOPPED LOVING HIM. PROOF IS THAT AFTER HIS OWN DEATH IT WAS IN HIS WILL THAT HIS ASHES BE PLACED BESIDE WALLY'S)

 

DIRK BOGARDE, WELL KNOWN (I BELIEVE KNIGHTED) ACTOR (MALE LEAD OPPOSIDE JUDY GARLAND IN HER NEXT TO LAST FILM) THOU HE REFUSED TO OFFICIALLY COME OUT EVEN AS AN OLD MAN WITH A LONG TERM LOVER, HE DID MAKE A BRAVE DECISION TO STAR IN "VICTIM", A FILM ABOUT BLACKMAILED HOMOSEXUALS WHEN ENGLAND STILL HANDED OUT PRISON SENTENCES FOR BEING GAY. THE FILM IS AHEAD OF IT'S TIME IN THAT, DESPITE THE THEMATIC "FAGGOTS PAY OUT OR BUMP THEMSELVES OFF RATHER THAN LIVE WITH THE SHAME OF EXPOSURE", HE PLAYS A MARRIED BARISTER WHO DECIDES TO FIGHT BACK EVEN THOU IT MEANS LOSS OF FAMILY AND CAREER. PRETTY HEAVY FOR 1960.

 

SELF EXPLAN:

 

 

WILLIAM HAINES, A HUGE (AND VERY "OUT") SILENT AND EARLY TALKIES BOY NEXT DOOR MOVIE STAR WHO REFUSED TO GIVE UP HIS MALE LOVER WHEN L.B. MAYER ORDERED HIM TO, AND WALKED AWAY FROM HIS CAREER AND BECAME THE HIGHEST PAID INTERIOR DECORATOR IN HOLLYWOOD FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS. (GREAT BIO BOOK ON HIM)

 

 

JUST A WTF ONE LOL. (IS IT ME OR DOES LIBERACE'S DUMMY NOT LOOK LIKE THE DEVIL ???)

 

ARREST REPORT OF A DRAG QUEEN WHO FOUGHT BACK AT THE STONEWALL RIOTS IN '69. (IT DOESN'T SAY DRAG QUEEN BUT SINCE THEY WERE ON THE FRONT LINES AND IT DOES SAY HE "KICKED" THE POLICE OFFICER, I'M FILLING IN THE BLANKS

 

THIS GUY: I MET "THIS" GUY, MY UNC WAS ON A SOAP AND I GOT TO COME TO THE STUDIO FOR A DAY, I WAS IN MY TEENS. I SAW "THIS" GUY WHO TO ME WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY I HAD EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. MY INSIDES JUMPED WHEN I SAW HIM. I HAVE NO MEMORY OF ANYTHING THAT DAY OTHER THAN STARING AT, AND BEING INTRODUCED TO "THIS" GUY. IT WAS ONLY YEARSSSSSSS LATER WHEN MY UNCLE AND I WERE TALKING THAT I DISCOVERED WHO "THIS" GUY GREW UP INTO. WOULD NEVER HAVE REALIZED IT. (HE STILL MAKES MY INSIDES JUMP BTW LOL)

 

 

EARLY ROCK HUDSON MAGAZINE SHOT (AGAIN IF ONLY 50'S FOLK KNEW WHAT HE WAS PROLLY THINKING IN THIS "TWO REGULAR MEN DOING "MEN THINGS" SHOT) IDK WHO THE OTHER IS BUT AGAIN HE LOOKS AMAZINGLY CONTEMP NO? LIKE COULDA BEEN TAKEN YESTERDAY.

 

 

HERE'S THAT OTHER ONE LOL

 

 

NUFF SAID

 

 

Amazing letter to another soldier named Dave one year after falling in love with him overseas in 1943. Keith recalls the time the two shared while stationed together. He writes about their chance encounter during World War II, waking up in his arms and the tears that flowed when they separated, and expresses regret that Dave never made it home after the war. The letter was reprinted in September of 1961 by ONE Magazine and the original is supposedly preserved in the Library of Congress.

 

LEOPOLD AND LOEB AT THEIR TRIAL. (look it up if you go "Wha..?")

 

 

AND TO END ON A HIGH NOTE, ANOTHER PRIV I TOOK OF T.B. IN HIS HOTEL ROOM :)

[bigvalboy]

ACTRESS JANE POWELL (WHO I SAW A YEAR AGO ON LINE IN GOURMET GARAGE A VERRRRY TINY STILL ATTRACTIVE 80 SOMETHING LADY IN JOGGING SUIT AND SNEAKS) AND 2 OF HOLLYWOOD MOST FAMOUS HOMOS TAB HUNTER AND RODDY MCDOWEL (BEFORE THEY SLEPT TOGETHER) BUT SOOOO DEF LOOKING LIKE THEY "WANT" TO NO LOL??? THE 50'S OBLIVIOUS PUBLIC NEVER SUSPECTED. (THERE'S AN EVEN FUNNIER ONE OF THEM FROM A FAN MAG ABOUT HOLLYWOOD "BACHELORS" THEY'RE IN BATHING SUITS BOTH ON PHONES IT'S TITLED "CALLING ALL GIRLS".

 

THIS LOOKS VERY CONTEMP BUT PIC IS ACTUALLY OVER 80 YEARS OLD, BUSTER CRABBE, THE ORIG 30'S MOVIE SERIAL FLASH GORDEN.

 

 

ODD COUPLE, MARLON BRANDO, AND NERDY COMIC ACTOR WALLY COX WHOM BRANDO, LATER IN LIFE VERY OPEN ABOUT HIS BISEXUALITY, ADMITTED WAS HIS LOVER BACK WHEN THEY SHARED A NYC APT IN THEIR EARLY DAYS. WALLY DIED YOUNG (HE CAN BEEN SEEN IN THE RELEASED FOOTAGE OF MARILYN'S LAST UNFINISHED FILM) AND BRANDO SAID HE NEVER STOPPED LOVING HIM. PROOF IS THAT AFTER HIS OWN DEATH IT WAS IN HIS WILL THAT HIS ASHES BE PLACED BESIDE WALLY'S)

 

DIRK BOGARDE, WELL KNOWN (I BELIEVE KNIGHTED) ACTOR (MALE LEAD OPPOSIDE JUDY GARLAND IN HER NEXT TO LAST FILM) THOU HE REFUSED TO OFFICIALLY COME OUT EVEN AS AN OLD MAN WITH A LONG TERM LOVER, HE DID MAKE A BRAVE DECISION TO STAR IN "VICTIM", A FILM ABOUT BLACKMAILED HOMOSEXUALS WHEN ENGLAND STILL HANDED OUT PRISON SENTENCES FOR BEING GAY. THE FILM IS AHEAD OF IT'S TIME IN THAT, DESPITE THE THEMATIC "FAGGOTS PAY OUT OR BUMP THEMSELVES OFF RATHER THAN LIVE WITH THE SHAME OF EXPOSURE", HE PLAYS A MARRIED BARISTER WHO DECIDES TO FIGHT BACK EVEN THOU IT MEANS LOSS OF FAMILY AND CAREER. PRETTY HEAVY FOR 1960.

 

SELF EXPLAN:

 

 

WILLIAM HAINES, A HUGE (AND VERY "OUT") SILENT AND EARLY TALKIES BOY NEXT DOOR MOVIE STAR WHO REFUSED TO GIVE UP HIS MALE LOVER WHEN L.B. MAYER ORDERED HIM TO, AND WALKED AWAY FROM HIS CAREER AND BECAME THE HIGHEST PAID INTERIOR DECORATOR IN HOLLYWOOD FOR THE NEXT 50 YEARS. (GREAT BIO BOOK ON HIM)

 

 

JUST A WTF ONE LOL. (IS IT ME OR DOES LIBERACE'S DUMMY NOT LOOK LIKE THE DEVEL ???)

 

ARREST REPORT OF A DRAG QUEEN WHO FOUGHT BACK AT THE STONEWALL RIOTS IN '69. (IT DOESN'T SAY DRAG QUEEN BUT SINCE THEY WERE ON THE FRONT LINES AND IT DOES SAY HE "KICKED" THE POLICE OFFICER, I'M FILLING IN THE BLANKS

 

THIS GUY: I MET "THIS" GUY, MY UNC WAS ON A SOAP AND I GOT TO COME TO THE STUDIO FOR A DAY, I WAS IN MY TEENS. I SAW "THIS" GUY WHO TO ME WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOY I HAD EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. MY INSIDES JUMPED WHEN I SAW HIM. I HAVE NO MEMORY OF ANYTHING THAT DAY OTHER THAN STARING AT, AND BEING INTRODUCED TO "THIS" GUY. IT WAS ONLY YEARSSSSSSS LATER WHEN MY UNCLE AND I WERE TALKING THAT I DISCOVERED WHO "THIS" GUY GREW UP INTO. WOULD NEVER HAVE REALIZED IT. (HE STILL MAKES MY INSIDES JUMP BTW LOL)

 

 

EARLY ROCK HUDSON MAGAZINE SHOT (AGAIN IF ONLY 50'S FOLK KNEW WHAT HE WAS PROLLY THINKING IN THIS "TWO REGULAR MEN DOING "MEN THINGS" SHOT) IDK WHO THE OTHER IS BUT AGAIN HE LOOKS AMAZINGLY CONTEMP NO? LIKE COULDA BEEN TAKEN YESTERDAY.

 

 

HERE'S THAT OTHER ONE LOL

 

 

NUFF SAID

 

 

Amazing letter to another soldier named Dave one year after falling in love with him overseas in 1943. Keith recalls the time the two shared while stationed together. He writes about their chance encounter during World War II, waking up in his arms and the tears that flowed when they separated, and expresses regret that Dave never made it home after the war. The letter was reprinted in September of 1961 by ONE Magazine and the original is supposedly preserved in the Library of Congress.

 

LEOPOLD AND LOEB AT THEIR TRIAL. (look it up if you go "Wha..?")

 

 

AND TO END ON A HIGH NOTE, ANOTHER PRIV I TOOK OF T.B. IN HIS HOTEL ROOM :)

 

Very interesting Tonyko...Nice post

[AdamSmith]

BEAUTIFUL POST!

 

...my ex, an interior architect & decorator, once bought at auction an exquisite little mid-century upholstered chair that Billy Haines had designed and then used in his own home.

[Meo]

Great post (especially the Tristan pic!). The Roddy/Tab pics remind me of Cary Grant and Randolph Scott in the 1930s--they lived together 11 years and had a beach house as well as a mansion in town and went everywhere together: http://www.homohistory.com/2013/07/cary-grant-and-randolph-scott-hollywood.html

[jawjateck]

Sexy is timeless.

[Reluctant Daddy]

Roddy McDowall was absolutely adorable!

[Tonyko]

Roddy McDowall was absolutely adorable!

I waited on him a few times when I moved to LA at 19-20, got a job at at this high end gay restaurant in Bev Hills called The Carriage Trade (the manager was a str8 old guy who thought I was 22 but the owner and oldr gay guy (who I think also had a porn house in P. Springs that was used for alotta movies) knew my real age so the deal was I could serve food but a busboy had to carry my drinks from the bar for me lol) Roddy was SUPER nice, very tan lol, smoked and drank A LOT, and a very good tipper. Ytube search his home movies there's hours of them from his 60's Malibu beach house parties, EVERYONE is in them, very profilic photog and home movie taker :-)

[BasketBaller]

In the pic with Jane Powell, that's Farley Granger, not Tab Hunter.

[Tonyko]

In the pic with Jane Powell, that's Farley Granger, not Tab Hunter.

You're right I was thinking ahead to the other pic lol but all else applies lol

[whipped guy]

Fascinating, but you did save the best for last!

[+ purplekow]

I barely recognized a young Brad Pitt. The letter brought me near tears. Okay nearer than near tears.

[Tonyko]

I barely recognized a young Brad Pitt. The letter brought me near tears. Okay nearer than near tears.

THAZ why I didn't remember the guy I met that I wet-dreamed about in my HS bedroom that night WAS him :-)

[Reluctant Daddy]

Ytube search his home movies there's hours of them from his 60's Malibu beach house parties, EVERYONE is in them, very profilic photog and home movie taker

 

Thank you for that information. I was able to watch several of them and they're really wonderful!

[body2body]

I waited on him a few times when I moved to LA at 19-20, got a job at at this high end gay restaurant in Bev Hills called The Carriage Trade (the manager was a str8 old guy who thought I was 22 but the owner and oldr gay guy (who I think also had a porn house in P. Springs that was used for alotta movies) knew my real age so the deal was I could serve food but a busboy had to carry my drinks from the bar for me lol) Roddy was SUPER nice, very tan lol, smoked and drank A LOT, and a very good tipper. Ytube search his home movies there's hours of them from his 60's Malibu beach house parties, EVERYONE is in them, very profilic photog and home movie taker

What a great thread. I was a habitué of The Carriage Trade, it was elegant and plush, and the waiters were always handsome. I know I risk being looked on as a reactionary, but I miss the days of Gay restaurants like the The Carriage Trade, The French Quarter, The Frog Pond, and The New York Company. They were all great places to go with a date in L.A. Back in the day.

[bigvalboy]

What a great thread. I was a habitué of The Carriage Trade, it was elegant and plush, and the waiters were always handsome. I know I risk being looked on as a reactionary, but I miss the days of Gay restaurants like the The Carriage Trade, The French Quarter, The Frog Pond, and The New York Company. They were all great places to go with a date in L.A. Back in the day.

 

 

I've been out of LA for a couple of years. The French Quarter is gone?

[body2body]

I've been out of LA for a couple of years. The French Quarter is gone?

In my list of Gay Restaurants of yore I meant to include The Garden District, another of the more upscale gay restaurants, where everyone entering would be greeted by Frieda the bartender with a cry of " Walter, Larry, Honey, it's so good to see you again" even if you'd never set foot in the place.

Yes, the beloved French Quarter is now closed and scheduled to be torn down and replaced with a 5 story building. People used to wait for an hour on Sunday for a table on the Patio to watch the world go by on Santa Monica Blvd.

Oh dear, I've become a nostalgic old queen.

[Tonyko]

What a great thread. I was a habitué of The Carriage Trade, it was elegant and plush, and the waiters were always handsome. I know I risk being looked on as a reactionary, but I miss the days of Gay restaurants like the The Carriage Trade, The French Quarter, The Frog Pond, and The New York Company. They were all great places to go with a date in L.A. Back in the day.

Most o'those places were out of my pocket reach at that age lol unless it was a REALLY good tip nite I was relagated to Yukon Mining Co lol.

[body2body]

Most o'those places were out of my pocket reach at that age lol unless it was a REALLY good tip nite I was relagated to Yukon Mining Co lol.

Alas, even Yukon is gone now, a big mixed use condo, retail is going up there. I always remember sitting at Yukon Mining Co.with a friend one night. One of the Trans Girls who still worked the Boulevard came in and was seated in the booth behind us. The waiter came over and she ordered "A Glass of Chablis and a piece of dry white toast".

[Tonyko]

Alas, even Yukon is gone now, a big mixed use condo, retail is going up there. I always remember sitting at Yukon Mining Co.with a friend one night. One of the Trans Girls who still worked the Boulevard came in and was seated in the booth behind us. The waiter came over and she ordered "A Glass of Chablis and a piece of dry white toast".

I remember it well. (for those who don't know it was a coffee shop/diner with a bar that sat inside a parking lot right on S Monica Bl in the heart of the street hustler district (inside the parking lot was designated for the "trans" working boys/girls) It was cheap tacky open all nite and in the wee hours usually full of hot street boys spending $$ they'd made on what was prolly their first good meal of the day I often eavesdropped on their story-swapping about their John's of that night what they did how much they got etc etc, it fascinated me. And saddened me at same time, hearing enough was made to finally get sneakers cause the flip flops he was wearing were all he had and it was cold, or didn't make enough for a room for the night, stuff like that. It's all different now, at least on my last trip 3 yrs ago. You occasionally see them, but way East on the Bl, not in the heart of it anymore.

[Tonyko]

AND A FEW FOR THE FOSSIL COLLECTION PROVING WE BEEN WALKING THE EARTH A LONG TIME

 

AND TO END TWO 60'S BOY-BABES (STR8 BOTH PHILLY ITALS BOTH START WITH "F".

[actor61]

Alas, even Yukon is gone now, a big mixed use condo, retail is going up there. I always remember sitting at Yukon Mining Co.with a friend one night. One of the Trans Girls who still worked the Boulevard came in and was seated in the booth behind us. The waiter came over and she ordered "A Glass of Chablis and a piece of dry white toast".

The Yukon was absolutely the BEST place to go for breakfast and hangover remedies after an all-nighter. The food was atrocious but nobody cared.

[+ purplekow]

Frankie Avalon and Fabian. Yes they had the girls swooning back in the day.

[edinbrooklyn]

,

[Tonyko]

Thanks to all for posting these pictures. Does anyone know if there's an effort to archive originals of material like this and hopefully put on display for the public? That would be very worthwhile.

Not too long ago here in NYC the NYC Historical Society Museum had an exhibit NYC in Wartime with an entire section devoted to gay servicemen on leave here during WWII, how they'd meet where they'd go how they'd find each other etc, with notes and artifacts. (there was a section of wall under the 3rd ave L (elevated train) where they'd grafitti messages ala pre-grinder, I'm (stats/branch of service etc) I'll be at the Astor Bar etc etc. Was really interesting. They also had some letters ala the one I posted between gay servicemen that families had donated. *Apparantly some breezed thru the war w/o detection or if discovered w/o consequence depending on the liberality of their superiors. While some, with less liberal commanders, were court marshal'd and sent home in disgrace. (there was a verbal history of one guy from Brooklyn who didn't know how to explain his discharge to his parents, so he didn't go home but instead went out west and shot himself in the knee (which left him with a perm limp) before going home and lying about being wounded)

[body2body]

Thanks to all for posting these pictures. Does anyone know if there's an effort to archive originals of material like this and hopefully put on display for the public? That would be very worthwhile.

The One National Gay and Lesbian Archive at USC http://one.usc.edu has a large amount of material like this available to scholars, authors, journalists, etc. They run exhibitions throughout the year. I'm not sure if they loan materials. The collection had its core materials donated by Jim Kepner who was a founder of One an early Gay magazine in the 1950s. He was also involved in the founding of The Gay Community Services Center of Los Angeles. The One Archives are an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the history of gay culture. Some of their videos with participants in events like The Black Cat riots of 1967 are available on YouTube.