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Source: The Gay Metropolis: The Landmark History of Gay Life in America by Charles Kaiser

ANew York TimesNotable Book of the Year and winner of a Lambda Literary Award,The Gay Metropolisis a landmark saga of struggle and triumph that was instantly recognized as the most authoritative and substantial work of its kind. Filled with astounding anecdotes and searing tales of heartbreak and transformation, it provides a decade-by-decade account of the rise and acceptance of gay life and identity since the 1940s. From the making ofWest Side Story,the modern Romeo and Juliet tale written and staged by four gay men, to the catastrophic era of AIDS, Charles Kaiser recounts the true history of the gay movement with many never-before-told stories. Filled with dazzling characters — including Leonard Bernstein, Montgomery Clift, Alfred Hitchcock, and John F. Kennedy, among many others — this is a vital telling of American history, exciting and uplifting.

 


Leroy "Roy" Aarons (December 8, 1933 – November 28, 2004)

Bella Abzug (July 24, 1920 – March 31, 1998)

Edward Albee (born March 12, 1928)

James Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987)

Tallulah Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968)

Richard Barr (September 6, 1917 – January 9, 1989)

Cecil Beaton (January 14, 1904 – January 18, 1980)

Arthur Bell (November 6, 1939 – June 2, 1984)

Allan Bérubé (December 3, 1946 – December 11, 2007)

Otis Bigelow (June 2, 1920 - October 6, 2007)

Dirk Bogarde (March 28, 1921 - May 8, 1999)

John Boswell (March 20, 1947 – December 24, 1994)

Paul Bowles (December 30, 1910 – November 18, 1999)

William S. Burroughs (February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997)

Paul Cadmus (December 17, 1904 – December 12, 1999)

Truman Capote (September 30, 1924 - August 25, 1984)

Robert Chesley (March 22, 1943 – December 5, 1990)

Lige Clarke (February 22, 1942 - February 10, 1975)

Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990)

Christopher Cox (August 27, 1949 - September 7, 1990)

Mart Crowley (born August 21, 1935)

Stormé DeLarverie (born December 24, 1920)

John D'Emilio (born September 21, 1948)

Patrick Dennis (May 18, 1921 – November 6, 1976)

Martin Bauml Duberman (born August 6, 1930)

Jack Dunphy (August 22, 1914 – April 26, 1992)

Jules Elphant (July 6, 1924 - May 5, 1999)

Sir Arthur John Evans (July 8, 1851 – July 11, 1941)

Robert Ferro (October 21, 1941 - July 11, 1988)

E. M. Forster (January 1, 1879 – June 7, 1970)

Barney Frank (born March 31, 1940)

Jared French (1905 – January 15, 1988)

Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926 - April 5, 1997)

Barbara Gittings (July 31, 1932 – February 18, 2007)

Peter J. Gomes (May 22, 1942 – February 28, 2011)

Farley Granger (July 1, 1925 – March 27, 2011)

Michael Grumley (July 6, 1942 - April 28, 1988)

Bob Hattoy (November 1, 1950 – March 4, 2007)

Harry Hay (April 7, 1912 – October 24, 2002)

Magnus Hirschfeld (May 14, 1868 – May 14, 1935)

Andrew Holleran aka Eric Garber (born January 1, 1944)

George Hoyningen-Huene (September 4, 1900 – September 13, 1968)

Laud Humphreys (October 16, 1930 - August 23, 1988)

Christopher Isherwood (August 26, 1904 - January 4, 1986)

Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930)

Philip Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005)

John Kander (born March 18, 1927)

Lincoln Kirstein (May 4, 1907 – January 5, 1996)

Bill Kraus (June 26, 1947 - January 25, 1986)

Arthur Laurents (July 14, 1917 – May 5, 2011)

Audre Lorde (February 18, 1934 – November 17, 1992)

Lance Loud (June 26, 1951 – December 22, 2001)

George Platt Lynes (April 15, 1907 – December 6, 1955)

Armistead Maupin (born May 13, 1944)

Gordon Merrick (August 3, 1916 – March 27, 1988)

Harvey Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978)

Bill Miller (1921-1995)

Joan Nestle (born May 12, 1940)

Jack Nichols (March 16, 1938 – May 2, 2005)

Rudolf Nureyev (March 17, 1938 – January 6, 1993)

Laura Nyro (October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997)

Frank O'Hara (March 27, 1926 – July 25, 1966)

Johnnie Phelps (1922 - December 30, 1997)

Felice Picano (born February 22, 1944)

Paul Popham (October 6, 1941 - May 7, 1987)

Robert Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008)

Ned Rorem (born October 23, 1923)

Vito Russo (July 11, 1946 - November 7, 1990)

Randy Shilts (August 8, 1951 - February 17, 1994)

Michelangelo Signorile (born December 19, 1960)

Thomas B. Stoddard (1949 - February 12, 1997)

Roy Strickland (April 30, 1918 – July 28, 2003)

Andrew Tobias aka John Reid (born April 20, 1947)

Donald Vining (June 20, 1917 - January 24, 1998)

Bruce Voeller (May 12, 1934 – February 13, 1994)

Bruce Weber (born March 29, 1946)

Glenway Wescott (April 11, 1901 - February 22, 1987)

Monroe Wheeler (February 13, 1899 - August 14, 1988)

Edmund White (born January 13, 1940)

George Whitmore (1946 - April 19, 1989)

Randy Wicker (born February 3, 1938)

Oscar Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900)

Tennessee Williams (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983)
real name Thomas Lanier Williams

Donald Windham (July 2, 1920 – May 31, 2010)

William M. Wynkoop (January 26, 1916 – May 24, 2003)

Craig Zadan (born April 15, 1949)