Harvey Fierstein, Actor, playwright and screenwriter

b. June 6, 1952

“Prejudice tolerated is intolerance encouraged.”

Distinguished by his signature gravelly voice, Harvey Fierstein is a celebrated playwright, actor and producer. He is the only entertainer to have won Tony Awards as an actor and writer in both dramatic and musical categories.

Fierstein was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a handkerchief manufacturer and a school librarian. He graduated from Pratt Institute of Art with a B.F.A. in painting.

Fierstein wrote “Torch Song Trilogy,” one of the first Broadway shows to feature a gay theme. It focused on a gay family and their struggle for acceptance and love. Anne Bancroft and Matthew Broderick starred in the film adaptation, which was among the first mainstream movies to address gay issues.

His play “Safe Sex” (1987), another trilogy, was written in response to the AIDS crisis. “Tidy Endings,” the third of the short plays, was adapted for an HBO television movie.

Fierstein narrated “The Times of Harvey Milk” (1984) and appeared in the films “Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993), “Bullets Over Broadway” (1994) and “Independence Day” (1996), among others. He was featured in the television series “Ellen,” “Miami Vice,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “Cheers.” He develops commentaries for the GLBT documentary series “In the Life” and writes op-ed articles on gay themes that have been published in The New York Times. Fierstein also authored “The Sissy Duckling,” a children’s book about a duck who is teased for being a sissy, but ultimately demonstrates his bravery. In 2001, its film adaptation won a Humanitas Prize. 

Fierstein has received four Tony Awards, three Drama Desk Awards and a Theatre World Award for acting and writing.

Bibliography
Clarke, Gerald. “No Opened Doors for Me.” Time. June 20,1983
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926075,00.html
Collins, Glenn. “In ‘Safe Sex’ Harvey Fierstein Turns Serious.” The New York Times. April 5, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE6DA153CF936A35757C0A961948260
Fierstein, Harvey. “Our Prejudices, Ourselves.” The New York Times. April 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/opinion/13fierstein.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
“Torch Song Trilogy by Harvey Fierstein.” The Gallery Players. November 2, 2006      
http://galleryplayers.com/plays/torch-song-trilogy      
Welsh, Anne Marie. “The Harvey ‘Affair’” The San Diego Union Tribune. September 16, 2007
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070916/21.html
Articles
“Times Topics: Harvey Fierstein.” The New York Times.
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/f/harvey_fierstein/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=harvey%20fierstein&st=cse
Books
La Cage aux Folles (1984)
http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=15824
Shows
Torch Song Trilogy (1983)
http://www.amazon.com/Torch-Song-Trilogy-Anne-Bancroft/dp/B0001HAGRE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1215004899&sr=8-5
Safe Sex (1987)
http://www.amazon.com/Harvey-Fiersteins-Safe-Sex-Fierstein/dp/0689708025/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215004985&sr=8-1
Hairspray (2003)
http://www.amazon.com/Hairspray-2002-Original-Broadway-Cast/dp/B00006AALQ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_6?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1215005399&sr=8-6
Hair (2005)
http://www.amazon.com/Hair-Actors-America-Benefit-Recording/dp/B000929ADW/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1219340816&sr=8-28
A Catered Affair (2008)
http://www.amazon.com/Catered-Affair-Original-Broadway-Recording/dp/B00170LCOA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1215005453&sr=1-1

Sherry Harris, Pioneer City Councillor.

b. February 27, 1965

All real and lasting change starts first on the inside and works it way through to the outside. Politically speaking, each person being the change we wish to see in the world is the only stance that can make a lasting difference. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.

Believing it impossible to win election as an out lesbian, many people warned Sherry Harris against running for Seattle City Council. In 1991, Harris proved her skeptics wrong. She defeated a 24-year incumbent councilman and became the nation's first openly lesbian African-American city council member.Prior to politics, Harris pursued a professional career in engineering. In 1980, she received a B.S. in Human Factors Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. She worked as a project engineer for PNW Bell Telephone Company. 


As Seattle City Councilmember from 1992 to 1995, Harris championed downtown interests. She promoted the expansion of the Washington State Convention and Trade Center and supported a downtown symphony hall. A native of Newark, New Jersey, Harris said, "I was raised in a city where the downtown died, and so did the rest of the city."

Harris has worked with Humanity's Team, an organization that emphasizes interpersonal connections. One volunteer who worked closely with Harris said, "She is truly a fine leader demonstrating great passion for humanity's well-being [who] displays uncompromising strength of character."

Historic Pro-Gay Equality Shift Led by Millennials—Evangelicals Included

"The Public Religion Research Institute released on Monday “Generations at Odds: The Millennial Generation and the Future of Gay and Lesbian Rights,” a bookend to its June study on Millennials and abortion rights.

The report affirmed the steady upward trend in support among the general public for gay rights generally and marriage equality specifically, which PRRI CEO Robert P. Jones described as accelerating in the past two years. He said 2011, in which a number of reputable polls found majority support among Americans for marriage equality, marked a sea change in public opinion. Karlyn Bowman, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who commented on the new report, used historical data to highlight the dramatic change in public opinion on gay rights issues over the past quarter century, during which she said attitudes on reproductive choice, by contrast, were relatively stagnant. She said, for example, that the first poll in which she could find a question on marriage was in 1988, when only 12 percent agreed that gay couples should be allowed to marry and 73 percent disagreed."

- full analysis at Religion Dispatches

June 6th: Harvey Fierstein, Actor, playwright and screenwriter

b. June 6, 1952

“Prejudice tolerated is intolerance encouraged.”

Distinguished by his signature gravelly voice, Harvey Fierstein is a celebrated playwright, actor and producer. He is the only entertainer to have won Tony Awards as an actor and writer in both dramatic and musical categories.

Fierstein was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a handkerchief manufacturer and a school librarian. He graduated from Pratt Institute of Art with a B.F.A. in painting.

Fierstein wrote “Torch Song Trilogy,” one of the first Broadway shows to feature a gay theme. It focused on a gay family and their struggle for acceptance and love. Anne Bancroft and Matthew Broderick starred in the film adaptation, which was among the first mainstream movies to address gay issues.

His play “Safe Sex” (1987), another trilogy, was written in response to the AIDS crisis. “Tidy Endings,” the third of the short plays, was adapted for an HBO television movie.

Fierstein narrated “The Times of Harvey Milk” (1984) and appeared in the films “Mrs. Doubtfire” (1993), “Bullets Over Broadway” (1994) and “Independence Day” (1996), among others. He was featured in the television series “Ellen,” “Miami Vice,” “Murder, She Wrote” and “Cheers.” He develops commentaries for the GLBT documentary series “In the Life” and writes op-ed articles on gay themes that have been published in The New York Times. Fierstein also authored “The Sissy Duckling,” a children’s book about a duck who is teased for being a sissy, but ultimately demonstrates his bravery. In 2001, its film adaptation won a Humanitas Prize. 

Fierstein has received four Tony Awards, three Drama Desk Awards and a Theatre World Award for acting and writing.

Bibliography
Clarke, Gerald. “No Opened Doors for Me.” Time. June 20,1983
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,926075,00.html
Collins, Glenn. “In ‘Safe Sex’ Harvey Fierstein Turns Serious.” The New York Times. April 5, 1987
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE6DA153CF936A35757C0A961948260
Fierstein, Harvey. “Our Prejudices, Ourselves.” The New York Times. April 13, 2007
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/13/opinion/13fierstein.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
“Torch Song Trilogy by Harvey Fierstein.” The Gallery Players. November 2, 2006       
http://galleryplayers.com/plays/torch-song-trilogy       
Welsh, Anne Marie. “The Harvey ‘Affair’” The San Diego Union Tribune. September 16, 2007
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070916/21.html
Articles
“Times Topics: Harvey Fierstein.” The New York Times.
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/f/harvey_fierstein/index.html?scp=1-spot&sq=harvey%20fierstein&st=cse
Books
La Cage aux Folles (1984)
http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=15824
Shows
Torch Song Trilogy (1983)
http://www.amazon.com/Torch-Song-Trilogy-Anne-Bancroft/dp/B0001HAGRE/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1215004899&sr=8-5
Safe Sex (1987)
http://www.amazon.com/Harvey-Fiersteins-Safe-Sex-Fierstein/dp/0689708025/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1215004985&sr=8-1
Hairspray (2003)
http://www.amazon.com/Hairspray-2002-Original-Broadway-Cast/dp/B00006AALQ/ref=pd_bbs_sr_6?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1215005399&sr=8-6
Hair (2005)
http://www.amazon.com/Hair-Actors-America-Benefit-Recording/dp/B000929ADW/ref=sr_1_28?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1219340816&sr=8-28
A Catered Affair (2008)
http://www.amazon.com/Catered-Affair-Original-Broadway-Recording/dp/B00170LCOA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1215005453&sr=1-1

Gay PM for Italy?

Italian Silvio Berlusconi is clearly in trouble, and could be facing a new election early next year. This prompts Gay City News to put the intriguing headline "A Gay Prime Minister for Italy?". I suspect that this speculation is premature: Berlusconi is a survivor, whose political death has been exaggerated before, and Vendola is only one of the candidates who could end up leading the opposition against him. Still, it is worth taking note of this man: improbable as it may seem that Catholic Italy should elect a man who is not only openly gay, but a gay activist, consider his record so far. In 2005 he was elected President of Puglia, a generally conservative region, beating the candidate of Berlusconi's right-wing coalition. Polls show that his chances of leading the opposition slate in any election area certainly realistic - he is either leading or narrowly trailing his nearest rivals in popular support.

His political ascent is also another reminder of the remarkable rise of openly gay or lesbian politicians across Europe. Iceland has a lesbian Prime Minister, Germany has a gay Foreign Minister who is virtually Chancellor Merkel's deputy. In the UK, Peter Mandelson was one of the most senior minister's in the last Labour government, and even the Conservatives in their election campaign touted as a political asset the number of gay or lesbian candidates they were fielding. The US is lagging here, with only four out legislators in congress, but there are a steadily increasing number in other offices. The trend will continue as public acceptance expands. The ensuing visibility in turn will encourage further acceptance, and will also lead to greater priority for equality measures in legislative bodies at all levels, in Europe, in the US, and elsewhere.

The answer to Gay City's question must surely be "Yes, there will be a gay PM for Italy". It may not be Nichi Vendola, or not just yet - but it's only a matter of time.

It is also important to note that Vendola, a communist, identifies as Catholic, and states that his most important book is the Bible, reminding us that sexual ethics is not the only element in Catholic teaching, or even the most important. Social justice, spiritual life, and creating the Kingdom of God on earth are all more important.

Some extracts from the piece at Gay City News:

The 2005 election of Vendola, whose first name is pronounced “Nicky,” as president of Puglia (usually rendered as Apulia in English) surprised the nation. A well-known activist with ARCIGAY, the national lesbian and gay association, and also a leader of the Partito della Rifondazione Comunista (Communist Refoundation Party), Vendola beat the candidate of Berlusconi’s right-wing coalition in a southeastern region of 4 million people usually regarded as conservative and Catholic.

But Vendola is also a Catholic and said at the time that “the most important book for a communist is the Bible.” In 2009, Vendola founded a new national party, Sinistra Ecologia Libertà (SEL, or Left Ecology Liberty), and was triumphally re-elected as regional president earlier this year with a whopping 73 percent of the vote.

Today, the charismatic Vendola tops the public opinion polls as the most popular politician in the left opposition, and has declared his candidacy to become the head of its ticket at the next parliamentary elections. In polls, he either beats the Democratic Party’s lackluster leader, Pier Luigi Bersani, or trails him narrowly.

On the campaign stump, Vendola has not hesitated to confront the homophobes. In one re-election speech he said, “Do you really believe that happiness is only heterosexual? Do you really think a gay cannot be happy? No, it is not, it cannot be that way. What makes you miserable are hypocrisy, secrecy, fear of being what you are. Declaring who you are may be painful, even bring exclusion, even bring violence, but I’ve never been afraid to be who I am. And if there’s a thought that gives me more anxiety than that, it is to imagine living a lie. This is misery! Just this.”


Even if Vendola wins the contest to become the center-left’s leader, can he score a general election victory?

Homophobia is still alive and well in Catholic Italy, where attitudes are less tolerant than in many other Western European countries. A recent poll found that only 51 percent of the population believed that homosexual love should be regarded as equal to heterosexual love, while 35 percent believed that homosexuality should be tolerated as long as it’s not ostentatious and 9 percent defined it as immoral.

Nonetheless, Vendola does have admirers among the establishment.

In April, former center-left Prime Minister Massimo D’Alema said, “Nichi Vendola is the only one able to revive the idea of a modern left. The others seem too disoriented.”

And one commentator who believes that the clear contrast between Vendola and Berlusconi could turn the growing public disgust with the prime minister and the status quo into an enormous electoral strength for Puglia’s president is Curzio Maltese, a columnist for the country’s most respected daily, La Repubblica. Maltese, who last year authored a book on Berlusconi entitled “La Bolla” (“The Bubble”), pointing to Vendola’s strength in public opinion polls, said, “He has brought a sense of liberation — the idea of having a declared homosexual as prime minister!”

“We could be at the dawn of a huge rebellion,” Maltese added.

Read the full piece

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