LAZER-CUT JEANS

BILLY HAINES: WISCRACKER

June is Gay History Month.

 Actor William 'Billy' Haines (Charles William Haines

)

 was born in Staunton, Virginia on January 2, 1900. His father was a cigar maker, and Billy had four younger siblings. He sang in the choir of the Trinity Episcopal Church, became interested in performing and obsessed over watching movies. At 14 years old, he ran away from home with a young boyfriend to Hopewell where they worked at the DuPont factory and opened a dance hall that catered to gays. His parents sent the police for him, but he refused to return home. In 1915, he moved to New York City. 

His father suffered a mental breakdown, and Billy returned home to help the family until his dad recovered.

 In 1919, Billy moved back to New York City and settled into gay friendly Greenwich Village. He took odd jobs, worked as a "model" and was kept by a rich older woman for a time. A talent scout found him in Samuel Goldwyn Company's "New Faces of 1922." He was offered a studio contract and moved to Hollywood in 1922. He worked at several studios before ending up at MGM. The first of his 51 films was Brothers Under the Skin, in 1922. His early silent films include Souls for Sale, Three Wise Fools, The Desert Outlaw, The Gaiety Girl, A Fool and His Money, Little Annie Rooney, Sally Irene and Mary, Show People, and Mike. Brown of Harvard (1926) made him a star. He played the handsome, arrogant, wise-cracking young man - which became the character he would play for most of his career. Billy became one of the biggest and most popular leading men in films. Hits continued with Tell It to the Marines, Spring Fever, and West Point. He successfully transitioned to talking pictures in Alias Jimmy Valentine and Navy Blues in 1928/29.

 Billy was "openly" gay. On a trip to NYC in 1926, he met a young man named James "Jimmy" Shields. He brought Jimmy back with him to Hollywood and the two shared Billy's house. In 1933, Billy was arrested for having sex in the Los Angeles YMCA with a sailor he had picked up on the street. MGM covered up the scandal, but studio boss Louis Mayer demanded Billy enter into an arrange "lavender marriage" or give up his lover, Jimmy Shields. Billy refused, and was fired. He made several more films for small, "poverty row" studies before retiring from acting in 1934. His final films included Young and Beautiful, and The Marines Are Coming. 

Billy and Jimmy began a successful interior design and antique business. Billy was a popular figure in Hollywood, and many Hollywood stars engaged his services to redecorate their homes. The business prospered (Billy served during WWII), and the couple moved to Brentwood. The men were favorites within the rich social circles of Los Angeles and Hollywood, and lived in comfort. 

On December 26, 1973, Billy died in Los Angeles after a short battle with lung cancer. Billy Haines was 73 years old. A short time later, his lifelong partner, Jimmy, committed suicide. His suicide note famously read, "Goodbye to all of you who have tried so hard to comfort me in my loss of William Haines, whom I have been with since 1926. I now find it impossible to go it alone, I am much too lonely." Billy and Jimmy are buried side by side at the Woodlawn Cemetery in Santa Monica. 

Joan Crawford, Billy's close friend and decorating client, said Billy and Jimmy were "the happiest married couple in Hollywood."

repost courtesy- Michael Michaud 

ALEXIS ARQUETTE: "A TEAR IN THE OCEAN"

ALEXIS ARQUETTE- RIP

     alexis arquette passed away this morning!

i've known alexis since the 80s when she was a handsome man..

i first met alexis way back in the mid 80s @ peanuts in weho. they had the best drag show of the time. 
i believe i was with rick owens & vaginal davis?
anyway alexis came up to me and just started talking. he was very nice, engaging and sexy!
i had a crush on him. over the years i would see him @ parties eventually realizing he was an actor when i saw him in down & out in beverly hills. i thought his small part in pulp fiction was fantastic.
years later i was filming for a britsh reality show and we went to his home in larchmont to film a segment. alexis demonstrated placing a dozen roses, (de-thorned) up is ass.
i always wanted alexis to have a part in my film that was never made- fey way: the robert opel story.

after transitioning to a woman alexis became a fierce advocate for transgender rights.
 alexis was always a trailblazer and presented herself to mainstream hollywood the way she wanted

RIP- DOLL- RIP

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TODAY IS MAE WEST'S 123RD BIRTHDAY

MAE WEST

 (August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980)

 American actress, singer, playwright, screenwriter, comedian and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades.

Known for her lighthearted bawdy double entendres, and breezy sexual independence, West made a name for herself in vaudeville and on the stage in New York City before moving to Hollywood to become a comedian, actress, and writer in the motion picture industry, as well as on radio and television. 

For her contributions to American cinema, the American Film Institute named West 15th among the greatest female stars of classic American cinema.

One of the more controversial movie stars of her day, West encountered many problems, especially censorship. She bucked the system, making comedy out of prudish conventional mores, and the Depression Era audience admired her for it. When her cinematic career ended, she wrote books, plays, and continued to perform in Las Vegas, in the United Kingdom, and on radio and television, and to record rock and roll albums. Asked about the various efforts to impede her career, West replied: "I believe in censorship. I made a fortune out of it." While true, she also suffered greatly because of it, even going to prison for her right to freedom of speech.

On October 1, 1928, the police raided a production of Mae West's play

 "The Pleasure Man"

and arrested the cast, which included several drag queens. 

They were warned not to show up for the matinee the following day, but all of them went on anyway. Lieutenant James Coy raced down the aisle. 

He called for the houselights to be turned up, and ordered the cast under arrest....

the actors gave catcalls, booed and gave the police the raspberry. 

One of the drag queens delivered a speech about police oppression." 

This was forty years before Stonewall, dearie.

CELEBRATE MAE WEST'S 123RD BIRTHDAY@ 

ANTEBELLUM HOLLYWOOD

MAE WEST BIRTHDAY TEA SALON

WEDNESDAY

AUGUST 17TH

5PM

$5 COVER

tea & cake will be served

HAND-BLENDED TEA

RELAX &  HAVE A NICE CUPPA

VIEW ROMANTIC/SEXY ART

CHAT WITH FELLOW ART PATRONS

SING HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MAE WEST

TAKE A LOAD OFF YOUR SLING-BACKS

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”  

“There are no good girls gone wrong - just bad girls found out.”  ―

 “I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it.”  ― 

“Every man I meet wants to protect me. I can't figure out what from.”  ― 

 “I wrote the story myself. It's about a girl who lost her reputation and never missed it.”  ― 

 “Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.”  ― 

“Good sex is like good bridge. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand.”  ―

“I'll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure.”  ― 

“I'm single because I was born that way.”  ― 

“Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go everywhere.”  ― 

 “I'm no model lady. A model's just an imitation of the real thing.”  ― 

“Ladies who play with fire must remember that smoke gets in their eyes.”  ― 

 “A dame that knows the ropes isn't likely to get tied up.”  ―

 “Marriage is a fine institution, but I'm not ready for an institution.”  ―

 “All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else.”  ― 

 “Sex is an emotion in motion.”  ― 

“Cultivate your curves - they may be dangerous but they won't be avoided.”  ― 

 “I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it.”  ― 

“Those who are easily shocked should be shocked more often.”  ― 

 “Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!”  ―

 “It is better to be looked over than overlooked.”  ― 

 “I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.”  ― 

 “Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.”  ― 

“Love thy neighbor -- and if he happens to be tall, debonair and devastating, it will be that much easier.”  ―  

Mae West

TODAY ALLA NAZIMOVA IS A MERE 137 YEARS OLD

COME CELEBRATE MADAME NAZIMOVIA~

WISH SING TO HER HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND HAVE SOME EXOTIC CAKE

@ ANTEBELLUM HOLLYWOOD

4PM TILL 7PM

$ 5 COVER

MR. & MRS. LOVING

MR. & MRS LOVING, 1996)

A film about the effects of interracial marriage in the 1960s.

Director:

 Richard Friedenberg

Writer:

 Richard Friedenberg

Stars:

 Timothy Hutton,  Lela Rochon,  Ruby Dee 

ALLA NAZIMOVA WILL BE 137 YEARS OLD ON MAY 22ND

TO HONOR  MADAME NAZIMOVA ANTEBELLUM WILL HOST A BIRTHDAY TEA SALON 

PRESENTS

ALLA NAZIMOVA'S 137TH BIRTHDAY TEA SALON

MAY 22ND

4PM TILL 7PM

TEA &  CAKE WILL BE SERVED

$5 COVER

~on display and for sale~ 

3 rare original photos of alla nazimova by 

FLORENCE VANDAMM

Alla Nazimova  was born O.S. May 22, (or June 3. depending on the calendar) 1879.

 Between the years of 1917 and 1922 Nazimova wielded considerable influence and power in Hollywood.

Nazimova helped start the careers of both of Rudolph Valentino's wives, Jean Acker and Natacha Rambova.  she was involved in an affair with Acker, and there were rumors that Nazimova and Rambova were involved in a lesbian affair.

Of those Nazimova is confirmed to have been involved with romantically, the list includes actress 's  

Anna May wong,  Eva Le Gallienne, director Dorothy Arzner, writer Mercedes de Acosta, and Oscar Wilde's niece, Dolly Wilde. Bridget Bate Tichenor, a Magic Realist artist and Surrealist painter, was also rumored to be one of Nazimova's favored lovers  during the years of 1940 to 1942.

The two had been introduced by the poet and art collector Edward James, and according to Tichenor, their intimate relationship angered Nazimova's longtime companion, Glesca Marshall. 

It is believed that Nazimova coined the phrase "sewing circle" as code to refer to lesbian or bisexual actresses of her day who concealed their true sexuality.

Nazimova lived with Glesca Marshall from 1929 until her death in 1945.

her home eventually became the notorious hotel- THE GARDEN OF ALLA, (1927- 1959)

JOHN PALATINUS: THE END OF THE GOLDEN AGE OF PHYSIQUE PHOTOGRAPHY

John Palatinus was one of the few surviving leaders in the fight for the freedom to disseminate gay-photography and art during the 1950's and 60's. He is a legendary photographer from an era now called the Golden Age of Physique Photography. At that time in America, it was illegal to send even semi-nude photographs  through the U.S. mail. From 1954 to 1959, Palatinus worked in his studios in Northern Indiana and  New York City, photographing young male bodybuilders. His photographs were published in numerous bodybuilding magazines of the era, most notably Tomorrow's Man, a pocket-sized publication featuring males with posing straps or other coverings for their privates. In early 1959 his now classic photographs were driven from the market by zealous US Postal Inspectors aided by the New York Police Department. in highly-publicized raids. All of John's his cameras, equipment, photographs, negatives, and mailing lists were confiscated and never returned. After more than half a century, his almost forgotten work has been re-discovered, thanks to the work of archivist and curator of vintage physique photography Alan Harmon and me- Rick Castro. Back in 20010 Antebellum hosted John Palatinus's first photo exhibition. Thus introducing John to a new audience, allowed him to travel with his exhibit for the rest of his life.

John Palatinus was an original and a trail-blazer. He presented his art when it truly could cost you everything.

John passed away from a heart attack  on monday~ september 22nd, 2014.

He was one-of-a-kind and is now a permanent part of history.

RIP MASTER RIP.

check out john palatinus- TOMORROW'S MAN EXHIBITION @ ANTEBELLUM

HERE~

BISBEE: GAY MECCA

My favorite destination in the world~BISBEE, AZ has approved civil unions.

Bisbee's City Council voted 5-2 late Tuesday to recognize same-sex civil unions within the community, after hearing three hours of impassioned comments from residents and despite a warning from the state's attorney general. The ordinance makes Bisbee the first Arizona city to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples, giving them rights now enjoyed by married couples.

Bisbee City Attorney John MacKinnon says the ordinance's impact will apply only to things within the city's control, such as personnel policies.

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