LANCE LOUD

TODAY IS LANCE LOUD'S BDAY
LANCE LOUD- was the first reality TV star — the eldest son in a family made famous by the groundbreaking 1973 PBS documentary An American Family.

(June 26, 1951 – December 22, 2001) was an American magazine columnist and new wave rock-n-roll performer. Loud is best known for his 1973 appearance in An American Family, a pioneer reality television series which featured his coming out, which led to his status as an icon in the gay community.

Loud was born in La Jolla, California, while his father was in the United States Navy.
He spent his early childhood with his parents and four siblings in Eugene, Oregon, and his later childhood and adolescence in Santa Barbara, California. as teenager, Loud discovered Andy Warhol, The Factory, and The Velvet Underground. He later became penpals with Warhol.
(it is said that Warhol responded to lance's letter with-" send me a naked photo of yourself." lance obliged.- RC)

As a teenager, Lance commandeered the family car and drove some friends to Haight-Ashbury to investigate the San Francisco neighborhood's renowned cultural scene. He hitchhiked to Altamont Raceway Park to attend The Rolling Stones concert, which later became the subject of the documentary Gimme Shelter.



Loud's fame came with An American Family, a documentary of his family's life, which was broadcast in the U.S. on PBS in 1973,
(THS WAS THE FIRST REALITY SHOW), drawing 10 million viewers and causing considerable controversy. The show was based in Santa Barbara, California. He moved to New York City, driven by his obsession with the Velvet Underground and everything related to Warhol. He became a regular at Max's Kansas City and attended Charles Ludlam productions at La Mama,
with luminaries such as Jackie Curtis
(who later became a close Loud family friend) and Holly Woodlawn. Shortly after the series ended,
Lance appeared on The Dick Cavett Show, performing with a working version of what would later become the band "Mumps" (which at that point included Delilah Michelle and Kevin in the line-up), under the name "Loud". He stated at the time that he thought the filmmakers had intentionally edited the series to make him seem obnoxious and grating.


Loud became a gay icon by having his homosexuality revealed to a national audience in the documentary series, although he never explicitly came out on the series. His sexual orientation became a topic of national controversy and media scrutiny after several appearances on Dick Cavett and other talk shows, but the overwhelmingly positive and grateful feedback of thousands of gay men led Lance to embrace this role with passion and flamboyant, often self-deprecating wit.

Loud regrouped his band, called Mumps, along with Santa Barbara High School friend Kristian Hoffman
(also featured in An American Family), Rob Duprey (later of the Iggy Pop Band), high school alumnus Jay Dee Daugherty
(later of the Patti Smith Group and The Church), and Aaron Kiley. Daugherty and Kiley were soon replaced in what would become Mumps classic long term line up: Lance Loud, Kristian Hoffman, Rob Duprey, Kevin Kiely, and Paul Rutner.

The Mumps were one of the most popular bands on the Max's/CBGBs circuit, as well as clubs all over America, for almost five years. Despite this popularity and two critically acclaimed, top-selling independent 45s, they failed to secure a contract with a major record label.

When Loud retired from music, he became a noted columnist for several magazines, including The Advocate, Details, Interview, and Creem.

Through journalism and sheer force of personality, Loud remained active in many cultural scenes throughout most of his adult life, giving occasional lectures on the impact of An American Family on American society at colleges around the country. He was present at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh when his teenage letters to Andy were officially entered into the Andy Warhol archive.

Lance Loud! A Death in An American Family, was a poignant depiction of Lance's physical decline, due to a combination of an addiction to crystal meth, which had lasted for over 20 years, and complications from HIV. It was shown on PBS in January 2003.


In 2001, Loud entered the Carl Bean hospice in Los Angeles, California, suffering from HIV and hepatitis C. Realizing he was dying, Loud called the Raymonds back to film again, expressing dissatisfaction with the way An American Family ended and how the family members were portrayed in it. His wish was that the Louds be portrayed as the loving family Lance knew them to be. While in the hospice, he wrote his final article, "Musings on Mortality".

On December 22, 2001, Lance Loud died of liver failure as a result of hepatitis C and a co-infection with HIV. He was 50 years old.

Subsequent to the showing of A Death in An American Family, Pat and Bill Loud moved back in together, granting Lance's dying wish. They live very close to their surviving children, Grant, Michelle, and Delilah, and keep in close contact with an out-of-state Kevin and his family.

“. . . F. Scott Fitzgerald once said that in America there are no second acts....I must say that I came up with this all on my own. There are plenty of reasons to be happy and proud of us Louds instead of being sad of my demise. Things have changed. And for the nay sayers that claimed American Family revealed us to be vacant, unloving, uncaring morons of the materialistic 60’s, this image will be proven wrong when Mom and Dad get re-married around the time of Grant’s wedding....Make no mistake...This is not to emphasize the sadness of my demise but rather emphasize the love of my family and friends. I also stand as a role model as to what not to do in one’s life.” Lance Loud - October 2001



At midnight, just as I was returning home from the Sparks concert, it became Lance Loud's birthday. What concert would be more apt to return home from? Happy birthday, dear lost loved one.-
Kristian Hoffman- band member & loving friend.

i had the pleasure of meeting lance many times throughout the years. he was sweet, smart, endearing and very sexy..

RIP MY DEAR BROTHER~ RICK CASTRO