Original subtitles

( Music playing )

HELLO, IF YOU'VE JUST JOINED US, I'M VITO RUSSO.

GOOD EVENING, I'M VITO RUSSO.

I'M VITO RUSSO.

I'M VITO RUSSO.

VITO WAS FIRST AND FOREMOST AN ACTIVIST.

THE GAY PEOPLE IN MIDDLE AMERICA ARE CERTAINLY READY FOR IT,

AND IF THE STRAIGHT PEOPLE AREN'T,

THEN THEY SHOULD GET TO KNOW WHO THEIR NEIGHBORS ARE.

IF YOU'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT, YOU'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT VITO.

Crowd: GAY RIGHTS RIGHT NOW! GAY RIGHTS RIGHT NOW!

Russo". WHEN I GOT INVOLVED IN THE GAY MOVEMENT,

I WAS FIGHTING FOR THE GENERATIONS THAT ARE GONNA COME AFTER ME.

SO THAT YOUNG GAY PEOPLE WHO ARE 14 AND 15

WON'T HAVE TO GROW UP THE WAY WE DID.

THESE PEOPLE ARE DEBATING WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIVE

AND YOU'RE NOT PART OF THE DISCUSSION.

Larry Kramer: VITO GOT VERY ANGRY,

BUT HE HAD THIS SPECIAL GIFT

OF BEING ABLE TO BE ANGRY AND YOU STILL LOVING HIM.

JUST FOR A MINUTE OR SO. WE'D LIKE TO TAKE YOU BACK EXACTLY 6O YEARS

TO WHAT MAY BE THE FIRST GAY CHARACTER

IN AN AMERICAN MOTION PICTURE.

Bruce Vilanch: HE WAS THE FIRST PERSON TO WRITE ABOUT

HOW HOLLYWOOD TREATED HOMOSEXUALS.

I HAVE LOVED YOU THE WAY THEY SAID!

Russo". NOW IT'S NOT SUCH A SHOCKING THING

TO SEE GAY PEOPLE ON THE SCREEN.

BUT, YOU KNOW, THE THINGS THAT YOU THINK

ARE GONNA TAKE 1O YEARS, TAKE 100 YEARS.

( Chanting ) WHERE WAS THE FDA?! 40,000 DEAD FROM AIDS!

Dr. Joseph Brewer: VITO HAD A BIG IMPACT ON HOW WE THOUGHT ABOUT, HANDLED,

AND DEALT WITH THE EPIDEMIC.

I'D LIKE TO GET A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THIS COMMUNITY ANGRY.

THE REST OF THIS SHOW MAY HELP YOU TO GET ANGRY.

- Howard Rosenman: lN THE MIDDLE OF THE RIVER, - ( crowd chanting )

HE WENT AND HE CHANGED THE CURRENT.

YOU KNOW HARD IT IS TO DO THAT?

Russo". IT'S REAL IMPORTANT THAT RIGHT NOW,

WHETHER I LIVE OR WHETHER I DIE, THAT I FIGHT.

HE TOOK A STAND. HE IS OUR GAY HERO.

( Crowd cheering )

Russo". EVERYTHING I'VE DONE, I'VE CHOSEN TO DO.

THIS IS THE LIFE I WANTED.

I'M ONE OF THE VERY FEW PEOPLE I KNOW WHO CAN SAY

I NEVER DID ANYTHING I DIDN'T WANT TO DO

AND I ALWAYS DID EXACTLY WHAT I PLEASED.

VERY FEW PEOPLE CAN SAY THAT ABOUT THEIR LIVES.

SO I'M A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS IN THOSE TERMS.

I MEAN, I'M VERY HAPPY WITH THE WAY I'VE CHOSEN TO LIVE.

I'VE MADE THE LIFE I WANTED,

AND I'VE ALWAYS HAD EVERYTHING I WANTED OUT OF IT.

Charles Russo: WE GREW UP IN EAST HARLEM

ON 120th STREET IN THE '50s.

VITO WASN'T ACTIVE IN WHAT EVERYONE ELSE WAS DOING.

STICKBALL, FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL.

YOU KNOW, PLAYING CARDS ON THE STOOP.

HE WASN'T ACTIVE IN THAT.

Phyllis Antonellis: HE WAS JUST OUT OF PLACE.

I THINK HE KNEW AT A VERY EARLY AGE

THAT HIS INTERESTS WERE DIFFERENT.

HE KNEW HE DIDN'T WANT TO BE ONE OF THE BOYS.

- ( Chattering ) - GETTING TO THE MOVIES, THAT WAS HIS PASSION.

VITO WOULD BEG TO GO ON DATES WITH ME

BECAUSE WE WOULD ULTIMATELY GO TO A MOVIE.

AND WHEN WE RETURNED FROM THE MOVIE,

HE WOULD TELL EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE

THE ENTIRE MOVIE.

MY MOTHER WOULD SAY WHEN HE LEFT,

"I FELT LIKE I SAW THAT MOVIE."

I WAS UNAWARE OF HOMOSEXUALITY.

I DID NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT IT WAS.

BUT I KNEW EVEN WHEN HE WOULD LOOK

AT MY MOVIE MAGAZINES

THAT HE TENDED TO SAY, "ROCK HUDSON"

INSTEAD OF "AVA GARDNER."

Charles: VITO WAS ALWAYS BEING TEASED AND ABUSED

IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

BUT I ALWAYS THOUGHT IT WAS BECAUSE HE DIDN'T PLAY SPORTS.

HE WASN'T ROUGH AND TOUGH AND A FIGHTER

LIKE EVERYONE ELSE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

THE THREE NAMES AT THAT TIME WERE

HOMO, FAG, AND QUEER.

THAT'S WHAT YOU HAD TO NAVIGATE.

THAT'S WHAT VITO HAD TO NAVIGATE.

Russo". IN TERMS OF KNOWING I WAS GAY,

I THINK THAT THAT HAPPENED VERY EARLY.

BY THE TIME I WAS 10 OR 11,

I MEAN I WAS A FAGGOT.

YOU KNOW, I WAS QUEER.

I ALWAYS HAD THIS INSTINCT OF KNOWING THAT I WAS GAY.

AND WHEN I BECAME, LIKE, 12 OR 13 YEARS OLD,

I LEARNED HOW TO LEAVE THE NEIGHBORHOOD,

WHICH NOBODY ELSE IN MY FAMILY

OR ANYBODY I KNEW DID.

I LEARNED HOW TO USE THE SUBWAYS.

I WENT TO MATINEES.

I SAW "THE ROSE TATTOO” WITH MAUREEN STAPLETON.

I WENT ALL OVER THE CITY BY MYSELF.

AND WHEN I COULDN'T AFFORD IT, I WOULD PUT ON ROLLER SKATES

AND I WOULD HOLD ON TO THE BACK OF A BUS.

lT WAS ALWAYS LIKE A GREAT,

LUXURIOUS SENSE OF FREEDOM

OF BEING ON MY OWN.

Michael Schiavi: ONE OF HIS FAVORITE PLACES TO GO

WAS THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY.

AND CENTRAL PARK WEST

IN THE '50s AND '60s WAS THIS HUGE CRUISING GROUND.

LITERALLY ONE LONG BENCH

FOR 50 BLOCKS OF GAY GUYS

WHO WERE JUST INTERESTED IN FINDING EACH OTHER.

VITO WENT THERE A LOT BY THE TIME HE WAS ABOUT 14.

HE STARTED EXPERIMENTING WITH BOYS

AND NEVER REALLY SUFFERED ANY GUILT ABOUT THAT,

ALTHOUGH HE WAS BEING TOLD CERTAINLY BY THE CHURCH AT LEAST

THAT THIS VVAS AN ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING THING TO BE AND TO DO.

VITO WOULD GO TO CONFESSION

AND TALK ABOUT THESE EXPERIENCES THAT HE VVAS HAVING WITH OTHER BOYS.

AND FINALLY THE PRIEST SAID TO HIM,

FROM YOU EVERY SINGLE WEEK.

IF YOU COME BACK AND TELL ME THIS AGAIN, I'M NOT GONNA GIVE YOU ABSOLUTION."

Russo". I NEVER BOUGHT IT,

NOT FOR ONE SINGLE, SOLITARY SECOND.

I DON'T KNOW HOW I ESCAPED IT.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT WAS DIFFERENT ABOUT THE WAY I WAS RAISED

OR THE WAY I REACTED,

BUT I NEVER ONCE, NOT FOR A SECOND,

BELIEVED THAT IT WAS WRONG TO BE GAY,

THAT IT WAS A SIN,

THAT HOMOSEXUALITY WAS EVIL.

I ALWAYS KNEW THEY WERE FULL OF SHIT

AND THAT I WAS RIGHT

AND THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THIS.

'CAUSE SOMETHING THIS NATURAL, COULDN'T BE WRONG.

( Bicycle bell rings )

Charles: WE MOVED TO LODI, NEW JERSEY, DECEMBER OF '61.

VITO WAS NOT HAPPY WITH THE MOVE.

VITO HATED BEING IN NEW JERSEY.

Schiavi: VITO HA TED IT FROM THE MOMENT HE WENT.

LODI! HIGH SCHOOL, LIKE PRACTICALLY EVERY HIGH SCHOOL IN AMERICA THEN AND NOW,

IS A JOCK BASTION.

SO IF YOU WERE A SKINNY, SMART, EFFEMINATE BOY,

LIKE VITO WAS, YOU TOOK ABUSE.

VITO DISCOVERED A GROUP OF BOYS

AT LODI HIGH SCHOOL WHO WERE ALSO GAY.

Russo". THERE WERE FOUR OF US.

WE FORMED A LITTLE BAND OF PEOPLE

WHO WERE DEFINITELY GAY.

WE WERE LIKE SORT OF BEST FRIENDS

'CAUSE WE COULD BE HONEST WITH EACH OTHER

AND HAD CRUSHES ON BOYS AT SCHOOL WHO WERE STRAIGHT.

AND, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD NEVER TALK ABOUT THOSE THINGS BEFORE.

Schiavi: BY THE TIME HE WAS A HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR,

HE HAD HAD A FAKE l.D. MADE

AND HE WAS BEGINNING TO CONNECT WITH DRAG QUEENS

WHO WERE IN NEIGHBORING TOWNS.

Russo". THIS WAS MY SENIOR YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL.

BY COMPLETE ACCIDENT,

I HAD STUMBLED UPON A FRIEND

WHO INVITED ME TO A NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY,

AND HE KNEW ONLY DRAG QUEENS AND DYKES,

WHO WERE ALL OUTRAGEOUS.

THESE WERE THE KIND OF GUYS WHO WORE MAKEUP EVEN WHEN THEY WEREN'T IN DRAG.

I HAD THE NERVE TO BRING THEM HOME

AND INTRODUCE THEM TO MY PARENTS.

AND THAT'S HOW I REALLY, REALLY MET

PEOPLE IN GAY LIFE.

THEY BECAME, LIKE, MY MAIN GROUP OF GAY FRIENDS.

Antonellis: OF COURSE HE LEFT NEW JERSEY

AS SOON AS HE COULD.

HE SAID THAT WHEN HE TURNED 18, HE WAS LEAVING, WHICH HE DID.

Arnie Kantrowitz: NEW YORK WAS THE PLACE WHERE THINGS MATTERED.

lF SOMETHING HAPPENS IN NEW YORK, THEN IT HAPPENS.

IF SOMETHING HAPPENS IN LODI, NOBODY KNOWS ABOUT IT.

HE WANTED TO BE WHERE THE ACTION WAS,

AND HE WANTED TO BE WHERE THERE WAS A LARGE GAY POPULATION

AND WHERE THERE WERE A LOT OF FILM LOVERS.

SO NEW YORK WAS LIKE A PERFECT PLACE FOR HIM TO BE.

( Music playing )

Schiavi: WHEN VITO WAS LIVING IN THE VILLAGE AND IN COLLEGE

SURROUNDED BY GAY MEN,

HE WAS ATTRACTED TO THESE GUYS.

HE WAS OFTEN HAVING SEX WITH THEM,

BUT NOBODY WOULD TALK ABOUT IT.

THEY WOULD GET TOGETHER, HAVE THIS SEXUAL ENCOUNTER,

AND THEN WERE ASHAMED OF THAT,

AND PEOPLE WOULD JUST SORT OF DEPART.

VITO WAS BEGINNING TO GET A SENSE

THAT THIS WAS WRONG.

Russo". I'LL NEVER FORGET WHEN I WAS A MINORITY PROBLEMS CLASS,

I SUGGESTED TO THE TEACHER THAT WE DISCUSS HOMOSEXUALS.

AND HE SAID, "WELL, THAT'S A MINORITY GROUP.

MR. RUSSO, WHY DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD DISCUSS THEM?"

I TOOK A BREATH AND I SAID, "BECAUSE I KNOW SOME."

AND IT MADE ME FEEL SO ROTTEN

AND SO SAD INSIDE ME

THAT I COULDN'T EVEN STAND UP AND BE A PERSON

AND SAY THIS IS WHAT I AM.

AND I PROMISED MYSELF I WOULD NEVER DO THAT AGAIN

'CAUSE IT MADE ME FEEL SO AWFUL.

Gabriel Rotello: AT THE TIME THAT VITO WAS IN NEW YORK,

NOBODY WAS OPENLY GAY.

THE STRAIGHT WORLD WANTED HOMOSEXUALITY TO GO AWAY.

Lou Maletta: OPENLY GAY AS FAR AS BEING

OPENLY GAY IN GENERAL?

IMPOSSIBLE. THERE WERE TOO MANY

STIGMAS ATTACHED WITH IT.

Announcer: A CBS NEWS SURVEY SHOWS

THAT MOST AMERICANS ARE REPELLED

BY THE MERE NOTION OF HOMOSEXUALITY.

Kantrowitz: THERE'S ONE STORY THAT WHEN

VITO WAS WORKING AT MAMA'S CHICKEN AND RIB,

HE KISSED A FRIEND GOOD-BYE,

AND HE LOST HIS JOB FOR DOING THAT.

SO EVEN IN GREENWICH VILLAGE,

IT STILL WASN'T SAFE TO ACT GAY.

Tommi Avicolli Mecca: PSYCHOLOGISTS, SHRINKS,

ALL THE MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS,

CONSIDERED HOMOSEXUALITY A DISEASE.

Man: HOMOSEXUALITY IS IN FACT A MENTAL ILLNESS

WHICH HAS REACHED EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROPORTIONS.

Hal Offen: THE TENOR OF THE DAY WAS THAT WE WERE SINNERS.

WE WERE CRIMINALS.

( radio chatter )

Arthur Evans: RAIDS ON GAY BARS HAPPENED ALL THE TIME,

AND PEOPLE WOULD GET BEATEN UP AND CARRIED AWAY

AND THEIR LIVES WOULD BE RUINED AND THEY'D BE HUMILIATED.

THEY WOULD NOT FIGHT BACK AND THAT WAS THE END OF IT.

Reverend Malcolm Boyd: I OFTEN HAD LUNCH WITH SOMEONE WHO WAS ARRESTED

ON A GAY CHARGE OF SOME KIND,

AND HE HANGED HIMSELF IN THE JAIL CELL.

ONE PUT A GUN IN HIS MOUTH AND SHOT HIS HEAD OFF.

SO YOU HAD TO ABSORB THAT INFORMATION.

AND SO WE WENT UNDERGROUND

LOOKING FOR SEX AND LOVE.

Schiavi: THE FIRST TIME THAT VITO WENT TO THE BATHHOUSES IN NEW YORK

WAS GOING TO THE ST. MARKS BATHS

WHEN HE WAS A COLLEGE SOPHOMORE,

IN LIKE 1965.

VITO WITNESSED RAIDS.

POLICE WOULD COME THROUGH THE HALLWAYS

SWEEPING UP DOZENS OF GUYS

AND HAULING THEM OFF TO JAIL.

AND IN FACT ON ONE OF THOSE EARLY VISITS TO THE ST. MARKS,

HE WAS ARRESTED IN A MASS RAID

AND TAKEN OFF TO JAIL WITH A BUNCH OF OTHER GUYS.

THIS WAS KIND OF THE ATMOSPHERE

WHERE VITO, AS A YOUNG MAN AT 20 YEARS OLD,

WAS COMING OUT.

Kantrowitz: HE RESENTED IT.

EVEN WELL BEFORE THE MOVEMENT, HE SAW THE FLAW IN ALL OF THIS.

Russo". IN THE LATE '60s. I WOULD RANT AND RAVE AND COMPLAIN

AND PISS ABOUT THE WAY GAY PEOPLE

WERE TREATED IN SOCIETY.

THEY WERE WILLING TO PAY EXORBITANT PRICES

FOR WATERED-DOWN DRINKS IN VICE-COP RIDDEN BARS.

AND BE ARRESTED AND SUFFER THROUGH RAIDS AND EXPOSURE.

THAT AS FAR AS THEY WERE CONCERNED, THIS WAS THEIR LOT.

I COULDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT, YOU KNOW?

I MEAN, "WHEN DO YOU PEOPLE GET ANGRY?" WAS MY ATTITUDE.

AND THEN STONEWALL HAPPENED.

( Window breaking )

Evans: THE POLICE RAIDED THE BAR LA TE AT NIGHT.

THE PATRONS, UNEXPECTEDLY TO EVERYONE,

DECIDED TO FIGHT BACK.

Offen: IT WAS UNPRECEDENTED.

THERE WAS THIS COMMUNITY RESPONSE,

"WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE."

Crowd: GAY POWER!

Mm Fouratt: THE STONEWALL SPARKED SOMETHING AND IT ALLOWED TO BE RELEASED

ALL OF THAT REPRESSED FEELING OF ANGER

AND HOPE AND DESIRE

THAT IT COULD BE A DIFFERENT WORLD.

Reporter. COULD YOU TELL US WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?

Man: YEAH, IT WAS A SPONTANEOUS UPRISING

BY HOMOSEXUAL OPPRESSED PEOPLES

IN RETALIATION TO POLICE BRUTALITY IN THE CHRISTOPHER STREET AREA.

Russo". WHEN STONEWALL HAPPENED, I WITNESSED IT,

BUT I DIDN'T TAKE PART IN IT.

I REMEMBER SITTING IN A TREE IN THE PARK

AND WATCHING ALL THIS GOING ON.

IT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING BUT SCARE ME.

I JUST THOUGHT THAT THESE WERE A BUNCH OF CRAZY QUEENS

AND THAT THEY WERE GONNA GET US ALL INTO A LOT OF TROUBLE

AND THAT THEY SHOULD GO HOME.

NONE OF THIS STRUCK ME IN ANY WAY AS POLITICAL.

IT WASN'T UNTIL THEY RAIDED A BAR

THAT I USED TO GO TO CALLED THE SNAKE PIT

WHICH WAS AN AFTER-HOURS BAR ON 10th STREET.

( Sirens wailing )

Kantrowitz: THE POLICE RAIDED IT ONE NIGHT

AND ARRESTED SOMETHING LIKE 180 PEOPLE

AND TOOK THEM TO THEIR PRECINCT HOUSE.

A YOUNG MAN NAMED DIEGO VINALES,

WHO WAS AN ARGENTINE NATIONAL,

AND WAS AFRAID OF LOSING HIS VISA,

TRIED TO ESCAPE BY JUMPING FROM A WINDOW TO A SAFE PLACE

BUT INSTEAD FELL AND LANDED ON A SPIKED FENCE.

Russo". IT WAS VERY VIOLENT AND VERY FRIGHTENING.

HE WAS CRITICAL FOR, LIKE, THREE WEEKS,

AND THERE BEGAN TO BE DEMONSTRATIONS OUTSIDE THE HOSPITAL.

( Chanting ) GAY! GAY! ALL THE WAY!

Russo". I WAS WALKING HOME FROM WORK ON 7th AVENUE,

AND SOMEBODY HANDED ME A LEAFLET OUTSIDE ST. VINCENT'S HOSPITAL.

AND THE LEAFLET SAID,

"NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT, DIEGO VINALES WAS PUSHED."

IT VVAS THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE THAT I EVER MADE A POLITICAL CONNECTION

TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO GAY PEOPLE.

THAT, IN FACT, HE WAS PUSHED FROM THAT WINDOW BY SOCIETY.

THAT WAS MY TURNING POINT.

THE FOLLOWING WEEK ON A THURSDAY,

I WENT TO MY FIRST MEETING AT THE GAY ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE,

AND THEN THE ORGANIZED REACTION REACHED ME.

POLITICAL FEELINGS THAT I HAD

FINALLY CAME OUT AT THAT POINT.

THAT WAS MY TURNING POINT

IN TERMS OF HOW I SAW LIFE AND HOW I SAW GAY POLITICS.

AND THAT'S WHEN I GOT INVOLVED IN THE MOVEMENT.

( whistling, cheering )

Evans: THE GAY LIBERATION MOVEMENT WAS AN EXHILARATING EXPERIENCE

BECAUSE THERE WERE ALL THESE PEOPLE WHO HAD A SENSE OF GAY PRIDE.

THEY SAW BEING GAY AS SOMETHING POSITIVE.

Crowd: I'M GAY AND I'M PROUD!

IT VVAS NOT A NEGATIVE THING AT ALL. IT VVAS SOMETHING

TO BUILD ON AND TO CELEBRATE AND BE HAPPY ABOUT.

Reporter: WHY ARE YOU HERE TODAY?

DARLING, I WANT MY GAY RIGHTS NOW.

Evans". THE STONEWALL RIOT ENGENDERED

AN ENERGY THAT LIVED BEYOND ITSELF.

THE ENERGY BECAME CHANNELED INTO ORGANIZATIONS.

ONE OF THE FIRST WAS THE GAY ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE.

"LET'S GO OUT AND CONFRONT THE SYSTEM

AND MAKE A BETTER WORLD."

Kantrowitz: THERE WAS NO ARGUING WITH US. WE WERE ANGRY PEOPLE.

WE HAD JUST DISCOVERED THIS INJUSTICE

THAT SOCIETY HAD PERPETRATED ON US.

OUR PLACE lN THE SCHEME OF THINGS DIDN'T HAVE TO BE WHAT IT WAS.

WE WERE ENTITLED TO FULL RECOGNITION AS CITIZENS.

Rotello: AND VITO, HE WAS A VERY EARLY

AND VERY ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE GAY LIBERATION MOVEMENT.

HE JOINED THE GAY ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE

RIGHT WHEN IT FIRST STARTED.

Russo". THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS

THAT HOMOSEXUALITY IS NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU DO,

HOMOSEXUALITY IS SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE--

THE WAY HETEROSEXUALITY IS SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE,

AND PEOPLE HAVE NEVER LOOKED AT US LIKE THAT BEFORE.

AND I THINK PD LIKE TO TRY

TO MAKE IT CLEAR

FOR PEOPLE WHO JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND US.

David Ehrenstein: HE WAS FULLY LOADED.

HE WAS FULLY EQUIPPED WITH IDEAS AND ARGUMENTS,

AND HE WAS READY TO TAKE YOU ON.

I THINK MIDDLE AMERICA IS GAY AS WELL AS STRAIGHT, YOU KNOW?

AND THIS FAMOUS "PUBLIC" THAT WE'RE ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT

IS GAY AS WELL AS STRAIGHT AND PEOPLE FORGET THAT.

Charles: IT WASN'T UNTIL LIKE 1970, '71,

THAT IT ALL CAME TOGETHER THAT VITO WAS GAY.

VITO HAD INVITED MY MOM AND I TO COME TO THE VILLAGE.

WELL, HERE'S VITO IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET:

BELL BOTTOMS, THE WHOLE BIT,

IN A LIP LOCK WITH ANOTHER GUY.

A TOTAL LIP LOCK, AND I WAS LIKE...

I JUST NEVER SAW THAT BEFORE.

Antonellis: WHEN HE DID COME OUT,

WE ALL WERE AWARE THAT VITO HAD MALE FRIENDS

WHO WERE MORE THAN FRIENDS

COMING TO THE HOUSE AND HOLDING HANDS.

lF THEY SHOWED UNDUE AFFECTION,

HIS DAD WOULD LEAVE THE ROOM AND WE WOULD SAY, "VITO, PLEASE DON'T DO THAT."

AND HE'D SAY, "WHY? HETEROSEXUALS CAN BE BLATANT

AND WE CAN'T?"

SO THEN IF I WOULD SIT ON HIS LAP OR I WOULD...

HE'D SAY, "YOU CAN'T DO THAT. THAT'S NOT ALLOWED."

Charles: AND THEN OF COURSE OUR PARENTS KIND OF CAME TO TERMS

WITH VITO BEING GAY.

MY FATHER WAS SO ACCEPTING AND GENTLE AND...

MY MOM JUST... SHE WAS PRETTY WONDERFUL.

HERE'S MOM AND DAD SO SUPPORTIVE OF VITO.

HE KNEW THAT THEY HAD UNCONDITIONAL LOVE FOR HIM.

I THINK IT GAVE HIM A LITTLE POWER AND STRENGTH

THAT OTHERS MIGHT NOT HAVE HAD.

Evans". WE HAD OBTAINED

AN OLD, RUNDOWN FIREHOUSE,

AND WE MADE IT INTO A WONDERFUL COMMUNITY CENTER.

NO SUBSIDIES, NO BUREAUCRATS,

NO NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS,

NO POLITICIANS HELPING US. WE JUST WENT IN AND DID IT.

Russo: IF AN INSTANCE COMES BEFORE THIS ORGANIZATION

WHERE A HOMOSEXUAL HAS BEEN THE VICTIM OF SYSTEMATIC OPPRESSION,

IT THEN FALLS WITHIN THE PURVIEW OF THIS COMMITTEE

AND THE ORGANIZATION

AND IS GROUNDS FOR INTERVENTION BY THIS ORGANIZATION

ON A SYSTEMATIC BASIS.

Evans". IN THE GAY ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE,

THERE WAS A GREAT EMPHASIS ON STREET ACTIVISM.

WE FACED ALL THESE INSTITUTIONS.

THE CHURCH, THE STATE, LABOR UNIONS,

POLITICAL PARTIES, PSYCHIATRIC ORGANIZATIONS.

Russo". A ZAP IS AN ACTION.

WHAT IT MEANS IS YOU TARGET A PERSON OR AN ORGANIZATION.

IT CAN BE ANYTHING FROM A PICKET

TO A TAKEOVER OF A BUILDING OR A PERSONS OFFICE.

IT'S LIKE lF A FLY IS ON THE WALL AND YOU SWAT IT WITH A NEWSPAPER,

YOU'VE ZAPPED IT.

FOR INSTANCE, A MAN NAMED JOSEPH EPSTEIN

WROTE A PIECE IN "HARPER'S MAGAZINE."

HE SAID, "IF I HAD THE POWER,

I WOULD WIPE HOMOSEXUALITY OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH."

SO WE DECIDED THAT WHAT WE WERE GOING TO DO

WAS TAKE OVER THE OFFICES OF "HARPER'S MAGAZINE."

Announcer: THE GAY ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE SANG SONGS

AND TALKED WITH SOME OF THE OFFICIALS OF "HARPER'S"

ABOUT AN ARTICLE IN LAST MONTH'S ISSUE

WHICH THEY, THE HOMOSEXUALS, CONSIDERED OPPRESSIVE.

Russo". WHAT WE DID WAS,

THEY WERE HEADQUARTERED IN A HUGE OFFICE BUILDING,

AND WE GOT THERE AT 8100 IN THE MORNING.

THERE WERE A LOT OF US,

AND WE TOOK OVER THE OFFICE BEFORE ANYONE EVEN ARRIVED FOR WORK.

lT GOT ENORMOUS ATTENTION ALL OVER NEW YORK AND NATIONALLY.

Announcer: A SPOKESMAN SAID THE MAIN THRUST OF TODAY'S DEMONSTRATION

WAS TO PUT THIS AND OTHER MAGAZINES ON NOTICE

THAT ANY ARTICLE THEY WRITE ABOUT HOMOSEXUALS

HAD BETTER NOT BE OPPRESSIVE.

Evans". IN 1971,

THE CLERK OF NEW YORK CITY, HERMAN KATZ,

WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO MAKE GRATUITOUS HOMOPHOBIC REMARKS

TO THE "NEW YORK POST” ABOUT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE.

SO WE DECIDED TO

RAISE HIS CONSCIOUSNESS A LITTLE BIT.

AND NOW, WE'RE GONNA GO TO THE G.A.A. FIREHOUSE,

PICK UP WITH THE G.A.A. PEOPLE,

AND CONTINUE TO THE MARRIAGE BUREAU,

WHERE I UNDERSTAND AN ENGAGEMENT PARTY IS DUE TO BE HELD.

Marc Rubin: GAY PEOPLE HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIFE,

LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.

GAY PEOPLE HAVE THE RIGHT TO LOVE.

AND NO PETTY MUNICIPAL CLERK

HAS THE RIGHT TO TELL GAY PEOPLE HOW TO LIVE.

Schiavi: VITO, AND HIS THEN LOVER, STEVE KROTZ,

DECIDED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS VERY DIRECTLY.

THEY SENT OUT A HUGE BARRAGE OF INVITATIONS.

( Rubin reading)

( crowd laughs )

Schiavi: G.A.A. ARRIVED IN FORCE

AT THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE

WITH A WEDDING CAKE THAT HAD PLASTIC GROOMS IN A PAIR.

IT HAD PLASTIC BRIDES IN A PAIR.

AND THEY WERE HANDING OUT TONS OF LITERATURE.

- Man". GIMME A G! - Crowd". G!

- GIMME AN A! - A!

- GIMME A Y! - Y!

Russo: IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL DEMONSTRATIONS

THAT WE HAD EVER HELD,

AND I THINK IT WAS PARTIALLY OUR FERVOR.

AND IT WORKED REALLY SPECTACULARLY.

All: GAY POWER!

Evans". THE GAY ACTIVISTS ALLIANCE

WAS ORIGINALLY A POLITICAL ORGANIZATION.

BUT THERE WERE OTHER PEOPLE IN G.A.A.,

ESPECIALLY VITO RUSSO,

WHO SAID, "WHAT ABOUT THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION?"

( chattering )

Schiavi: VITO'S IDEA WAS THERE WERE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS

OF GAY PEOPLE IN NEW YORK CITY

WHO WOULD NEVER GO TO A ZAP,

WHO WOULD NEVER COME TO A MEETING,

BUT WHO VERY MUCH WANTED TO DANCE WITH OTHER GAY PEOPLE.

( Dance music playing )

Ehrenstein: WHEN WE GOT THE G.A.A. FIREHOUSE,

WE HAD DANCES EVERY WEEKEND.

THAT'S THE ESSENCE OF GAY LIBERATION--

IT'S POLITICS THAT YOU CAN DANCE TO.

Mecca: INCREDIBLE DANCES. ( laughs )

ABOUT A ZILLION MEN WITH THEIR SHIRTS OFF

DOING ALL KINDS OF THINGS.

FOR ME IT WAS LIKE, "I'VE JUST ARRIVED IN HEAVEN."

THERE WAS A HUGE SOCIAL ASPECT TO G.A.A.

WE SAID VERY OPENLY

WE WERE OUT FOR THE SEXUAL LIBERATION OF ALL PEOPLE.

WE PRACTICED WHAT WE PREACHED.

YOU WOULD GO TO DEMONSTRATIONS.

THE HORMONES WERE RAGING AT THESE THINGS.

LET'S BE REAL, YOU KNOW.

EVERYBODY WAS LIKE 19, 20 YEARS OLD

WITH THEIR SHIRTS OFF ON A HOT, SWEATY DAY.

WE'D BE CRUISING OUR BUTTS OFF.

YEAH, OF COURSE, THE POLITICAL CAUSE WAS IMPORTANT

BUT, SHIT, IF YOU COULD GET A TRICK OUT OF IT, TOO,

WHY NOT?

Vilanch: NEW YORK WAS A GAY MECCA, IT WAS A SEXUAL MECCA.

A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WERE IN NEW YORK

WERE HAVING A LOT OF SEX A LOT OF THE TIME

BECAUSE IT WAS AVAILABLE.

IT VVAS THE BIG APPLE. IN THIS CASE, IT VVAS ALSO THE BIG BANANA.

( Splash )

Leonard Bloom: AND VITO, HE UNDERSTOOD THAT HEALTHY HUMAN BEINGS

HAD HEALTHY SEX LIVES.

AND HE LIKED HAVING SEX.

OH, YEAH. VITO WAS A SLUT, AND HE WAS PROUD OF IT.

FOR HIM, GAY LIBERATION WAS VERY MUCH SEXUAL LIBERATION.

THE FREEDOM TO GO OUT AND HAVE SEX

WITH WHOEVER YOU WANTED

WHENEVER, WHEREVER HE COULD, I THINK, WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO HIM.

Schiavi: VITO LOVED SEX,

AND VITO WAS OF A GENERATION

WHERE HAVING SEX WITH AS MANY MEN AS YOU POSSIBLY COULD

WAS A WAY OF EXPRESSING GAY PRIDE.

VITO WAS VERY POPULAR.

A LOT OF GUYS LOVED THIS WIRY,

FURRY ITALIAN GUY WITH THE BIG GRIN.

THE ONLY THING THAT VVAS SCANDALOUS ABOUT VITO THAT I REMEMBER

WAS THAT WHEN HE PROUDLY WOULD TELL US THAT HE WAS AT THE BATHS.

AND THE BOYS SAT AROUND NAKED

OR SCANTILY CLAD IN TOWELS.

HE MET BETTE MIDLER THERE.

HE WOULD SAY SHE WAS THE MOST INCREDIBLE TALENT HE'D EVER MET.

THIS IS MY 800th FAREWELL APPEARANCE HERE AT THE CONTINENTAL BATHS.

- I LOVE IT. HEALTH SPA FOR HAIRDRESSERS. - ( laughing )

Ankonems: HIS MOTHER WOULD SAY. "WHAT DO THEY DO AT THOSE BATHS?"

AND I'D SAY, "I DON'T WANNA THINK ABOUT IT. I DON'T KNOW."

Mark Thompson: HE WAS JUST A LITTLE SHOW QUEEN.

HE HAD A REAL THEATRICAL PRESENCE ABOUT HIM,

AND HIS EYES WERE ALWAYS SPARKLING.

I'M SURE VITO WAS THE FIRST TO SAY,

"LET'S PUT ON A SHOW."

Rich Wandel: WELL, OF COURSE FOR HIM, THE MAIN FOCUS WAS FILM,

AND SO HE DID THE FILM NIGHTS, MOVIE NIGHTS.

Evans: ONE NIGHT, VITO SHOWED UP WITH A SHEET.

HE TURNED ON THE PROJECTOR AND HE SAID,

"I WANNA SHOW MOVIES."

Kantrowitz: THOSE WERE WONDERFUL EXPERIENCES.

HE WOULD HAVE ALL-NIGHT FESTIVALS.

WE WOULD LIE ON THE FLOOR WITH SLEEPING BAGS.

Wander. NOT BEING A MOVIE PERSON MYSELF,

HE BROUGHT THINGS IN THAT I NEVER WOULD HAVE HEARD OF.

THEY WERE THE WHOLE RANGE.

BOY, HAVE I HAD A DAY.

MY DAY HASN'T BEEN SO HOT EITHER.

Steve Krotz: EVERYBODY HAD A BALL.

HE WOULD SHOW THE CLASSICS:

"HELLO DOLLY," "AUNTIE MAME,"

(laughing) "SOUND OF MUSIC."

AND EVERY GARLAND FILM THAT WAS EVER MADE. ( laughs )

MRS. NORMAN MAINE.

Rob Epstein: JUDY WAS EVERYTHING TO VITO.

YOU KNOW, IT WAS A CLASSIC GAY MALE SYNDROME.

JUDY WAS THE SUN AND THE MOON

AS FAR AS VITO WAS CONCERNED.

Bloom: VITO LOVED THE ENTERTAINMENT.

A GOOD MUSICAL OR A GREAT WOMEN'S PRISON FILM.

Announcer: HERE, WOMEN WITHOUT MEN

LIVE ONLY FOR THE MOMENT OF FREEDOM

WHILE THE BARS OF THEIR CAGE SEEM TO CLOSE IN ON THEM

IN A MAD SWIRLING PATTERN OF TERROR.

Evans". VITO SHOWED THESE MOVIES

AND WE WERE ALL THESE GAY PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE WATCHING THESE FILMS,

AND WE DISCOVERED THAT WE ALL LAUGHED AT THE SAME PLACES.

I'VE HAD TWO YEARS TO GROW CLAWS, MOTHER.

JUNGLE RED!

( Iaughing )

Russo". THE EXPERIENCE OF SEEING THOSE MOVIES

WITH AN ALMOST ALL-GAY AUDIENCE

IS QUITE DIFFERENT THAN SEEING THEM IN MAINSTREAM THEATERS.

AND SO I WANTED TO PROVIDE THAT EXPERIENCE.

Kraut IT WAS A SENSE OF COMMUNITY.

EVERYBODY FELT THAT THEY COULD BE SAFE AND OPEN

IN THAT ENVIRONMENT.

WHEN THE ENTIRE AUDIENCE IS GAY,

JUST LIKE WHEN YOU'RE WITH GAY PEOPLE

AND YOU HAVEN'T BEEN BEFORE,

YOU IMMEDIATELY FEEL MORE LIBERATED.

THE MOVIE NIGHTS REALLY PROVIDED THAT IN A VERY ENTERTAINING WAY.

I'VE NEVER TAKEN ORDERS FROM ANYONE.

AS LONG AS I LIVE, I'LL NEVER TAKE ORDERS FROM ANYONE.

I'M YOUNG AND STRONG AND NOTHING CAN TOUCH ME.

Thompson: FOR VITO, OF COURSE,

TO BE OPEN, PROUD, SELF-RESPECTING...

TO FOSTER THAT, TO HELP THAT GROW,

TO PROMOTE THAT... THAT WAS HIS LIFE.

THE STRUGGLE FOR GAY AND LESBIAN CIVIL RIGHTS.

I DON'T THINK THERE WAS ANYTHING MORE IMPORTANT TO HIM.

Russo". THIS IS A GOOD QUESTION:

WHAT MAKES PEOPLE POLITICAL IN THEIR LIVES?

YOU KNOW, LIFE IS FULL OF INJUSTICE

AND SOME PEOPLE IT BOTHERS AND SOME PEOPLE IT DOESN'T.

AND ME, IT BOTHERS.

I DON'T THINK I COULD LIVE ANY OTHER WAY.

I DON'T THINK THERE'S A CHOICE INVOLVED.

THIS IS WHO I AM.

Krotz: G.A.A. BECAME VERY BIG, VERY FAST.

WE WERE DRAWING 5-. 6-. 700 PEOPLE FOR MEETINGS.

AT THAT POINT G.A.A. AND THE MOVEMENT ITSELF

WAS BEGINNING TO FRACTURALIZE.

WE WERE HAVING ALL OF THESE GROUPS

STARTING TO FIGHT WITH EACH OTHER.

THE DRAG QUEEN IS SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN STUCK WITH, FRANKLY,

BECAUSE THE DRAG QUEEN MAKES UP ABOUT ONE PERCENT

OF THE HOMOSEXUAL POPULATION.

Michael Denneny: OFTEN THE MEETINGS WOULD DEGENERATE

INTO WHO WAS MORE OPPRESSED THAN WHOM.

THE WOMEN WERE MORE OPPRESSED THAN THE MEN,

AND THE BLACKS WOULD SAY THEY WERE MORE OPPRESSED THAN THE WOMEN,

AND THEN THE TRANSVESTITES WOULD SAY

THEY WERE MORE OPPRESSED THAN THE BLACKS.

AND YOU WOULD GET INTO THESE INCREDIBLE WRANGLES.

Russo". IT ALL CAME TO A HEAD

AT THE 1973 GAY PRIDE RALLY

AFTER THE MARCH lN WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK.

I WAS THE MC.

JUST A MOMENT, JUST A MOMENT, JUST A MOMENT.

I WOULD LIKE TO AVOID ANY TROUBLE.

THIS IS A DAY OF UNITY FOR US.

I WANT US TO BE HAPPY. LET US BE.

RAY RIVERA, WHOSE DRAG NAME WAS SYLVIA,

WAS A 42nd STREET HUSTLER, A DRAG QUEEN.

AND HE FOUGHT HIS WAY TO THE STAGE PHYSICALLY.

HE WAS PUSHED OFF THE STAGE BY MARSHALS.

WE SAID, "LISTEN, YOU KNOW THIS IS RIDICULOUS.

WE'RE BEATING UP OUR OWN PEOPLE. LET HIM SPEAK."

I HAVE BEEN THROWN IN JAIL.

I HAVE LOST MY JOB.

I HAVE LOST MY APARTMENT FOR GAY LIBERATION.

AND YOU ALL TREAT ME THIS WAY?

WHAT THE FUCK'S WRONG WITH YOU ALL?

THINK ABOUT THAT.

Russo". SO THEN JEAN O'LEARY CAME UP TO ME AND SHE SAID

"I THOUGHT THERE WERE GONNA BE NO POLITICAL SPEECHES TODAY."

I SAID, "JEAN, AS LONG AS WE'RE GONNA MAKE AN EXCEPTION FOR HIM,

NOW WE HAVE TO THROW IT OPEN,

SO, OF COURSE YOU CAN SPEAK.”

LESBIAN FEMINIST LIBERATION

- HAS NEGOTIATED FOR A WEEK AND A HALF. - Man: BOO!

LISTEN TO HER. YOU LISTENED TO EVERYONE ELSE, LISTEN.

THAT IS THE LEAST WE CAN DO FOR EACH OTHER.

LISTEN TO HER.

Schiavi: JEAN GOT UP THERE AND SAID,

"THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I'M ASHAMED TO BE GAY

BECAUSE IN ADDITION TO BEING A LESBIAN, I'M ALSO A WOMAN.

AND THESE PEOPLE ARE MAKING FUN OF WOMEN."

Russo". THE DRAG QUEENS. THEY FELT REJECTED ON ALL SIDES.

AND THIS QUEEN NAMED LEE BREWSTER

GOT UP AND SAID, "IT'S JUST SO SAD

THAT WE HAVE TO REMIND YOU

THAT WHAT YOU'RE CELEBRATING TODAY

WAS WHAT THE DRAG QUEENS DID AT THE STONEWALL."

YOU GO TO BARS BECAUSE OF WHAT DRAG QUEENS DID FOR YOU

AND LET THESE BITCHES TELL US WE'RE OFFENSIVE?

( Cheering )

Karla Jay: I WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO GOT INTO A FIGHT IN THE AUDIENCE.

IT WAS SORT OF ESCALATING.

GOODBYE. GOOD LUCK,

MY SOMETIMES FRIENDS.

Russo". PLEASE DON'T FIGHT WITH EACH OTHER.

PLEASE, THAT'S ALL I VVANT IS THAT YOU DON'T FIGHT WITH EACH OTHER.

Karla Jay: VITO, HE WAS TRYING TO BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER

BUT AS SOMEONE WHO WAS IN THE AUDIENCE,

I DON'T THINK HE HAD A REAL IDEA

OF THE DEGREE TO WHICH THINGS HAD DETERIORATED.

Kantrowitz: VITO DID HIS BEST TO GET US TOGETHER ON THE SAME TRACK,

BUT IT GOT TOTALLY DISRUPTED.

AND VITO, MUCH AS HE TRIED, COULDN'T HOLD IT ALL TOGETHER.

I HEARD A LITTLE BIT ON THE RADIO

AND IT SOUNDED LIKE YOU WERE BEATING EACH OTHER UP OUT HERE.

ULTIMATELY HE SUCCEEDED BY BRINGING ON BETTE MIDLER,

WHICH KIND OF WOULD DO IT.

♪ YOU GOT TO HAVE FRIENDS ♪

♪ OH, THE FEELING'S OH SO STRONG ♪

♪ YOU GOT TO HAVE FRIENDS. I'

Schiavi: IT BROUGHT THE CROWD TOGETHER.

IT ACTUALLY WAS THIS TREMENDOUSLY HEALING MOMENT.

Vilanch: THEY LOVED BETTE BECAUSE SHE'D APPEARED AT THE TUBS.

SHE WAS A STRAIGHT WOMAN ALLY.

SO THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF GOODWILL TOWARDS HER.

- ( Cheering ) - THANK YOU!

Vilanch: BUT AT THE SAME TIME, IT WAS LIKE...

THERE WAS A FACTION SAYING, "WHAT'S SHE DOING HERE?"

A LOT OF THEM DIDN'T WANT TO MAKE FRIENDS.

THEY JUST WANTED TO

ESTABLISH A POLITICAL BASE OF GAY PEOPLE.

- ( Crowd ) AW. - GONE, SHE'S GONE. THANK YOU.

Russo". G.A.A. DIDN'T LAST LONG.

G.A.A. BEGAN TO FALL APART AFTER '73.

I THINK HISTORICALLY IT PASSED ITS TIME,

AS EVERY GROUP DOES AND EVOLVES INTO SOMETHING ELSE.

EVENTUALLY, G.A.A. SORT OF PETERED OUT.

ITS TIME WAS OVER.

IT WAS TIME FOR SOMETHING ELSE.

Schiavi: AFTER VITO LEFT G.A.A.,

HE BASICALLY FOCUSED ON HIS WRITING CAREER.

HE VVAS MAKING A VERY STRONG NAME FOR HIMSELF AS A GAY JOURNALIST.

Epstein: HE MADE A LIVING AS A FREELANCE WRITER,

WHICH YOU COULD DO AT THAT POINT,

WRITING FOR PERIODICALS.

FILM MAGAZINES, CINEASTE MAGAZINES.

Thompson: VITO HAD EMERGED AS A POWERFUL CONTRIBUTOR TO "THE ADVOCATE,”

PARTICULARLY KNOWN FOR CELEBRITY PROFILES,

WHICH WERE ALWAYS PUT RIGHT ON THE COVER.

Richard Berkowitz: THE ONE MOMENT THAT REALLY SEEMED TO HAVE A HUGE IMPACT

WAS HIS INTERVIEW WITH LILY TOMLIN.

I ADORED LILY TOMLIN AS A KID.

I DON'T KNOW WHY WE'VE HAD A LAG IN OUR COMMUNICATION.

MUST BE SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR INSTRUMENT.

HERE WAS SOMEONE I REALLY ADORED AND ADMIRED,

THEN THERE'S VITO INTERVIEWING HER.

Schiavi: LILY TOMLIN AND VITO HAD THIS VERY CLOSE FRIENDSHIP

IN THE '70s.

AT THE TIME, SHE WAS THIS HUGE RISING STAR.

I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL ACTRESS.

I AM A REAL PERSON LIKE YOURSELF.

( Iaughter )

Lily Tomlin: HE NEVER REALLY TRIED TO MOTIVATE ME

TO COME OUT IN A BIG WAY,

BUT I KNEW HE WOULD HAVE LIKED IT.

OF COURSE I WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY NERVOUS ABOUT IT ANYAY, CAREER WISE,

BUT NOT THAT I'D EVER

FELT THAT I WAS REALLY PERSONALLY CLOSETED,

BUT, YOU KNOW, I HAD A BIG,

HUGE AMERICAN AUDIENCE FROM TELEVISION

AND I'M SURE MANY PEOPLE JUST THOUGHT I VVAS A NICE GIRL FROM DETROIT.

IN FACT, IN '75

"TIME MAGAZINE" OFFERED ME THE COVER OF "TIME" IF I WOULD COME OUT.

WHEN THEY OFFERED IT TO ME, I CALLED VITO

AND I SAID, "YOU KNOW, IT FEELS LIKE I WAS BEING BOUGHT."

THEY WANTED SOMEBODY AND THEY WERE JUST OUT FISHING AROUND TO GET SOMEBODY.

THAT'S WHY I WASN'T AFRAID TO DO "THE ADVOCATE“ INTERVIEW WITH HIM

BECAUSE I FELT HIS HUMANITY WAS SO EVOLVED

THAT IT WASN'T LIKE HE WAS OUT TO MAKE POINTS.

Berkowitz: I THINK WHAT SHE SAID WAS,

"I WOULDN'T GIVE AN INTERVIEW TO A GAY NEWSPAPER AND NOT COME OUT."

HENCE, SHE WAS COMING OUT.

I REMEMBER READING IT AND JUST BEING ABSOLUTELY JOYFUL

AND OVERWHELMED

THAT SOMEONE I ADMIRED AND DIDN'T KNOW WAS GAY WAS.

Man: EXCUSE ME, CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION?

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE GAY LIBERATION MOVEMENT?

Tomlin: THE GAY LIBERATION MOVEMENT.

WELL, I SAY ALL HUMAN BEINGS

HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO WHATEVER THEY WANT TO DO.

OF COURSE, I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THEY DO IT.

BUT FROM ALL REPORTS IT IS GETTING DONE SOMEHOW.

Russo". I WAS A GRADUATE STUDENT IN CINEMA AT N.Y.U.

AND THEY NEEDED SOMEBODY AT THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART

TO HELP IN FILM DISTRIBUTION.

IT WAS MY FIRST JOB, REALLY.

Jon Ganenberg: WORKING IN THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART,

IT WAS ACTUALLY AN INCREDIBLE PERIOD OF TIME

BECAUSE WE WERE ALL REALLY EXCITED ABOUT WHAT WE WERE DOING.

IT WAS A REAL TIME OF GREAT DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION.

THERE WERE PEOPLE DOING RESEARCH, PEOPLE PROGRAMMING.

BUT IT REALLY WAS A PIONEERING TIME.

Rotello: IN THOSE DA YS--

THIS WAS BEFORE EVEN V.H.S. EXISTED-

MOVIES CAME OUT,

THEY PLAYED lN THE THEATER FOR A WEEK OR TWO,

AND THAT WAS IT. THEY DISAPPEARED.

YOU NEVER SAW THEM AGAIN.

SO VITO HAD PRETTY UNIQUE ACCESS,

FOR A YOUNG GUY WHO LOVED MOVIES,

TO JUST» THIS HUGE, HUGE DATABASE.

Epstein: AND WHILE AT THE MUSEUM,

VITO STARTED MAKING THESE DISCOVERIES

OF REPRESENTATION OF GAY CHARACTERS

IN THESE VERY EARLY MOVIES.

Michael Lumpkin: HE WAS LOOKING AT FILMS CONSTANTLY,

LOOKING FOR THOSE GAY PIECES AND GAY BITS

IN MOVIES FROM THE BEGINNING.

Jerry Friedman: HE STARTED JUST COMING ACROSS THESE IMAGES

AND RECOGNIZING HIS EXPERIENCE

AND BEING BLOWN AWAY BY IT.

Russo". IF YOU LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF THIS SUBJECT,

YOU FIND THAT GAY CHARACTERS HAVE EXISTED ON FILM

SINCE THE TURN OF THE CENTURY.

THOMAS EDISON'S 1895 PIECE OF FILM

IS TWO MEN DANCING A WALTZ.

SO A COMPONENT OF WHO GAY PEOPLE ARE

HAS EXISTED SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THIS ART FORM.

CLUES TO WHO GAY PEOPLE ARE EXISTED IN THE MOST OBSCURE FiLMS.

BEFORE 1933, THERE WERE AN ASTONISHING NUMBER OF GAY CHARACTERS ON THE SCREEN.

VERY EXPLICIT, YOU KNOW WOMEN WITH THEIR ARMS AROUND ONE ANOTHER.

MEN HOLDING HANDS AND DANCING.

I WAS JUST AS SURPRISED

WHEN I DISCOVERED SOME OF THIS STUFF.

YOU KNOW, YOU JUST FIND THINGS THAT MESMERIZE YOU.

I DIDN'T KNOW HALF OF THIS STUFF EXISTED.

♪ AND ON A GREAT BIG BATTLESHIP ♪

♪ YOU'D LIKE TO BE ♪

♪ WORKING AS CHAMBERMAIDS. ♪

(laughing)

Ehrenstein: AND WHAT HE DID WAS HE SIMPLY WENT THROUGH THE MOVIES

AND CATALOGED

WHAT IMAGES OF GAYS AND LESBIANS THERE WERE.

James Saslow: HE JUST SAID,

"THERE'S A LOT OF HISTORY IN THE MOVIES OF US,

AND PM GONNA DIG THIS ALL OUT

AND LAY IT OUT SO NOBODY CAN

DENY IT ANY MORE."

Schiavi: AND AT THE TIME, WILLARD VAN DYKE

WAS THE HEAD OF THE FILM DEPARTMENT AT M.O.M.A.

AND HEARD VITO TALKING IN THE OFFICE

ABOUT GAY IMAGES IN FILM.

VAN DYKE WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH THIS

THAT HE SAID TO VITO,

"YOU REALLY SHOULD BE THE ONE TO WRITE A BOOK

ON GAYS AND LESBIANS IN THE MOVIES."

Rotello: WILLARD VAN DYKE SAID TO VITO,

"YOU KNOW, NOBODY ELSE IS DOING THIS.

YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THE MOVIES,

YOU'RE INTERESTED IN GAY RIGHTS

AND THE PLIGHT OF GAY PEOPLE,

CONNECT THE DOTS, WHY DON'T YOU DO THIS?"

THAT'S WHAT HE THEN EMBARKED ON.

BUT HE THOUGHT, I THINK, ORIGINALLY

THAT IT WAS GONNA TAKE A YEAR OR SO

AND REALIZED THAT HE JUST DIDN'T HAVE ANYWHERE NEAR THE AMOUNT OF RESEARCH.

AND THIS WAS GONNA TAKE YEARS.

Kantrowitz: ONE SUMMER I WAS WITH HIM ON FIRE ISLAND,

AND HE WAS SETTING OUT TO WRITE A BOOK

BASED ON HIS KNOWLEDGE OF FILM.

( Clock ticking )

AND EVERY DAY, HE WOULD GET UP AND SIT THERE BY THE TYPEWRITER.

AND WHAT HE REALIZED EVENTUALLY

WAS THAT HE WASN'T READY YET TO WRITE THIS BOOK.

Thompson: THE MATERIAL BACK THEN WAS DEEPLY BURIED,

AND SO HE WAS LIKE A SHERLOCK HOLMES

ON THIS DETECTIVE JOURNEY,

FOLLOWING DOWN EVERY LEAD,

EVERY PATH, EVERY TRAIL.

Russo". THERE'S NO "HOMOSEXUALITY IN THE MOVIES"

IN THE CARD CATALOG, BELIEVE ME.

I HAD TO PIECE IT TOGETHER BY WORD OF MOUTH.

Schiavi: THOUSANDS OF NOTES POURED IN

AND HE HAD JUST CATALOGS AND FILES

OF ALL THESE OBSCURE,

TOTALLY DISCONNECTED REFERENCES.

HE ALSO STARTED VISITING FILM ARCHIVES AROUND THE COUNTRY.

HE WENT TO THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.

HE SPENT AN ENTIRE MONTH IN WASHINGTON,

AND HE WOULD SEE THREE FILMS A DAY.

HE THEN WENT TO EUROPE.

HE WENT TO THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE.

HE WENT TO THE SWEDISH FILM INSTITUTE.

lN A PERIOD OF ABOUT FIVE YEARS,

HE SAW OVER 400 MOVIES

AND GRADUALLY WHITTLED THEM DOWN

INTO THE ARGUMENT THAT BECAME "THE CELLULOID CLOSET."

Kantrowitz: THE RESEARCH CONTINUED

UNTIL HE PUT TOGETHER SOME FILM CLIPS.

HE GAVE LECTURES AND USED THEM AS ILLUSTRATION.

Man: "WE'RE TALKING WITH VITO RUSSO,

THE FILM CRITIC AND HISTORIAN,

WITH HIS FILM PROGRAM "THE CELLULOID CLOSET,"

A SURVEY OF HOMOSEXUALS IN THE MOVIES.

Schiavi: VITO'S "CELLULOID CLOSET" LECTURES CAME ABOUT

IN ABOUT 1973.

HE STARTED DOING THESE PRESENTATIONS AT SMALL COLLEGES AROUND THE AREA.

Russo". AS USUAL WE'RE GONNA TRY TO DO

AS COMPREHENSIVE A SELECTIVE SURVEY TODAY

OF HOW LESBIANS AND GAY MEN ARE DEFINED ONSCREEN

FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF SOMEONE

WHO REALLY LOVES THE MOVIES.

Rotello: VITO WAS A GENUINE ENTERTAINER

AND SO PEOPLE LOVED THAT SHOW.

lT QUICKLY GOT A REPUTATION OF, YOU KNOW,

IF HE'S COMING TO YOUR TOWN,

DON'T MISS THIS.

YOU MUST EXCUSE MY COMING IN MY TOWN CLOTHES,

BUT YOUR CHAUFFER SAID THERE WASN'T A MOMENT TO LOSE

SO I CAME JUST AS I AM.

Both: HELLO, LOU.

- CHERRY SISTERS. - ( laughs )

Russo". IN EARLY FILMS. WE HAD A NATURAL EXPOSITION

OF LIFE AS IT WAS LIVED IN THIS COUNTRY.

AND THAT INCLUDED GAY PEOPLE.

HAVE A CIGAR.

WHY YOU BIG SISSY.

Russo". PEOPLE FORGET THIS.

THIS IS A SORT OF REVISIONIST HISTORY.

YOU KNOW, GAY PEOPLE DIDN'T EXIST.

OF COURSE THEY EXISTED.

THEY'VE ALWAYS EXISTED ON THE SCREEN.

OH! THE HUSSY!

( Screams ) A MAN!

( Gasps )

IT'S AN ERA THAT's FORGOTTEN

AND THAT WAS WIPED OUT BY THE CENSORSHIP CODE

FROM '33 TO '61.

THE PRODUCTION CODE BANNED

ANY REFERENCE TO THE EXISTENCE OF HOMOSEXUALITY.

NOT ONLY COULD YOU NOT DO SOMETHING GAY IN A FILM

OR SAY SOMETHING GAY

BUT YOU COULD NOT MAKE REFERENCE TO THE FACT

THAT SUCH PEOPLE EXISTED.

AND SO WHAT HAPPENED WAS

DURING THAT TIME, FROM 1934 UNTIL 1961,

THERE WAS A LOT OF SUBTEXTUAL SUBLIMINAL

UNNOTICED LESBIANISM AND HOMOSEXUALITY.

- YOU DECENT? - NO, I'M NOT. MARTHA'S HERE.

- HELLO, MARTHA. - HELLO.

HE STARTED TO TALK ABOUT WHAT HE WAS OBSERVING IN THE MOVIES.

WHAT POSITION HAVE WE, I WONDER,

FOR A BOY OF SUCH VARIED GIFTS.

JUST THOSE INNUENDOS THAT NOBODY EVER SAW.

YOU MUST LEAD A GAY LIFE.

I LEAD THE LIFE I LIKE TO LEAD.

AND WITH HIS GAY EYE, HE DIDN'T MISS IT.

- SEE YOU AT 9:00 THEN, AMY. - FINE.

IT'S BEEN A WONDERFUL PARTY.

DIDN'T YOU SEE WHEN THEY LOOKED AT EACH OTHER?

EVERYBODY WOULD SAY, "ARE YOU CRAZY?"

WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

WELL, WELL. HAND ME MY ROBE, PLEASE.

BUT lN ANY MOVIE, I DON'T CARE WHAT MOVIE HE EVER WATCHED,

HE WOULD TELL YOU WHERE THE HOMOSEXUAL CONNECTION WAS.

WHY ARE YOU WEARING THESE CLOTHES?

BECAUSE I JUST WENT GAY ALL OF A SUDDEN!

Richard Barrios: FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE 1930s AND '40s AND '50s,

LEADING VERY, VERY KIND OF CLOSETED LIVES,

EVEN A BRIEF REFERENCE OR A SUGGESTION.

THAT'S A GOOD-LOOKING GUN YOU WERE ABOUT TO USE BACK THERE.

CAN I SEE IT?

IT WAS SORT OF LIKE A PERSON IN THE DESERT WITHOUT WATER

STUMBLING ON AN OASIS. YOU GRAB ONTO IT.

YEAH, THAT'S VERY GOOD.

Russo". LESBIANS AND GAY MEN THROUGHOUT MOST OF THEIR LIVES

HAD TO HIDE WHAT THEY WERE

AND THEN BECAUSE OF THAT THEY HAD TO DEVELOP A SECRET LANGUAGE

TO RECOGNIZE EACH OTHER.

AND I THINK THAT WAS PART

OF THE SENSIBILITY THAT WAS OPERATING IN HOLLYWOOD.

MY JACKET. IT'S WARM.

FOR INSTANCE, "REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE"

- CAN I KEEP IT? - WELL, WHAT DO YOU THINK?

YOU KNOW, ANY OF THOSE FILMS WHEN YOU THOUGHT

THIS HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH MY LIFE

EVEN IF PM NOT SURE WHAT IT IS YET.

EVEN BEFORE YOU KNEW THE WORD FOR WHAT YOU WERE.

YOUNG LADY, I'D LIKE TO ORDER A CAKE.

A BIRTHDAY CAKE. CHOCOLATE, ALL CHOCOLATE.

I LOVE CHOCOLATE.

WOULD YOU LIKE A LITTLE ROSE ON TOP?

NO, MAKE IT A PANSY.

Armistead Maupin: THE CLOWN IN VITO'S CANON

WAS THE CHARACTER WHO WAS THE HARMLESS SISSY

WHO HAD NO SEXUALITY WHATSOEVER.

AHEM, JUST THE SAME TO YOU,

I'D RATHER REMAIN ON THE SIDELINES.

CHARACTERS THAT AREN'T THREATENING

BECAUSE THEY'RE FLUTTERY FLIBBERTIGIBBETS.

IT'S A GORGEOUS GARMENT, ISN'T IT?

OH, ISN'T IT GORGEOUS?

Reverend Boyd". SISSIES WERE ALWAYS ON SCREEN.

INEVITABLY TO BE LAUGHED AT.

( Screaming )

SOPS, INEFFECTUAL.

NOT PEOPLE TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY.

Bob Hawk". THE IMAGES WERE SO STEREOTYPED,

SO SUPERFICIAL.

IT WAS LIKE WATCHING CARTOONS.

(laughing evilly)

( laughing maniacally)

Russo". AS HOMOSEXUAL CHARACTERS

WERE INTRODUCED INTO AMERICAN MOTION PICTURES,

THEY EMERGED AS ALIEN CREATURES,

AS THE MONSTERS.

AND SO THE DISCOVERY OF A CREATURE

IN THE MIDST OF NORMAL SOCIETY

WAS A DEVICE THAT WAS USED TO PORTRAY GAY CHARACTERS

AND IN FACT, IT'S PERFECTLY ANALOGOUS TO A HORROR MOVIE.

WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME THAT WAY?

WON'T I DO?

YES, YOU'LL DO VERY WELL INDEED.

Reverend Boyd". IN THE YEARS OF REPRESSION,

THE PRESENTATION OF SOMETHING GAY...

LOOK, YOU CAN SEE MY HAND THROUGH IT.

TENDED ALWAYS TO BE SHADOWY.

- WHY, YOU CRAZY FOOL. - DON'T YOU CALL ME THAT.

Earths: GAY CHARACTERS BECAME DARKER,

AND YOU SEE GAY CHARACTERS BEING USED FOR THEIR THREAT.

LET'S YOU AND ME GET ACQUAINTED, HONEY.

YOU MAY BE A NUMBER TO THE OTHERS BUT NOT TO ME.

SIT DOWN IN THIS CHAIR, IT'S KINDA ROOMY.

Jenni Olson: IT WAS OVERWHELMINGLY

THAT THEY WERE VILLAINS

AND AWFUL PEOPLE.

Friedman: EVEN WHEN THEY WERE VILLAINS

THEY WERE THE ONES THAT YOU SORT OF REMEMBERED

BECAUSE THERE WAS SOMETHING WEIRDLY TWISTED ABOUT THEM.

YOU'RE VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE BEEN CHOSEN

FOR SUCH A SIMPLE, DELIGHTFUL DUTY.

Maupin: AND IT WAS QUITE COMMON TO SEE MOVIES

IN WHICH A GAY OR LESBIAN PERSON WAS A PSYCHOPATH, KILLER.

WE'VE KILLED FOR THE SAKE OF DANGER

AND FOR THE SAKE OF KILLING.

SOMEHOW OR OTHER THAT MADE IT

OKAY TO COVER THE SUBJECT

AS LONG AS YOU WERE SHOWING THAT IT WAS SOMETHING DEEPLY EVIL.

MRS. MORTAR SAID

THAT IT WAS UNNATURAL FOR A WOMAN TO FEEL THAT WAY.

Vilanch: LATER ON, THEY STARTED MAKING MOVIES

THAT ACTUALLY INVOLVED GAY CHARACTERS

WHO ACTUALLY WERE HOMOSEXUAL

AND WERE SHOWN INTERACTING WITH OTHER GAY PEOPLE.

THEN THE RULE WAS THAT lF YOU WERE GAY, YOU WERE BAD,

OR IN SOME WAY UNDERMINING ALL GOOD THINGS AMERICAN.

Colin MacGiver: THE THOUGHT OF TURNING INVOLUNTARILY

INTO ONE OF THEM FRIGHTENED ME

AND MADE ME SICK WITH ANGER.

Rotello: THE TERRIBLE THINGS, THE OPPRESSION,

WHICH IS SOMETHING THAT GOT VITO SO PISSED OFF.

EVERY IMAGE OF GAY PEOPLE

WAS SOMEONE WHO WAS TO BE PITIED

BECAUSE THEY WERE SO TRAGIC.

THERE'S SOMETHING IN YOU

AND YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT

BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW IT'S THERE.

Russo". THE FIRST TIME I EVER SAW A GAY CHARACTER ON THE SCREEN,

I WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL.

AND IT VVAS OTTO PREMINGER'S FILM "ADVISE AND CONSENT" WITH DON MURRAY.

AND HE SLIT HIS THROAT AT THE END.

AND I TOOK THAT HOME WITH ME. I REALLY DID.

I SORT OF THOUGHT, "WELL, IF YOU'RE GAY, THIS IS IT.

THIS IS WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN TO YOU."

( slams phone )

WHAT'S THE MATTER?

HE'S DEAD.

Russo". THERE WAS IN THE 1960s AND '70s

WHEN THE CODE WAS DISMANTLED,

A SORT OF CRUEL EDGE WHICH EMERGED.

LOOK AT YOURSELF, YOU PATHETIC OLD DYKE.

YOU DON'T SERIOUSLY IMAGINE

THAT YOU'RE ANY YOUNG GIRL'S DREAM OF BLISS.

Russo". GAY CHARACTERS BECAME EXPLICITLY GAY

AND THEY BECAME THREATENING AND THEN THEY HAD TO BE PUNISHED.

( grunting )

AND WHAT YOU FIND IN THOSE FILMS

IS A FEAR OF HOMOSEXUALITY.

I DON'T HAVE TO PROVE NOTHING TO YOU.

YOU THINK I'M SOME KIND OF FLAMING FAGGOT?

Russo". IT CREATED A "KILL THEM OR CURE THEM" CLIMATE.

YOU SHOW ME A HAPPY HOMOSEXUAL,

AND I'LL SHOW YOU A GAY CORPSE.

Rotello: WELL, ANY MOVIE THAT ACTUALLY DEALT WITH

THE SUBJECT OF HOMOSEXUALITY,

ALL OF THEM WERE TRAGIC.

YOU ALWAYS HAD TO DIE IN THE END.

Thompson: WELL, A DEAD HOMO IS A GOOD HOMO.

THERE'S NO POSSIBILITY

YOU COULD GO ON AND HAVE A DECENT, SELF-RESPECTING LIFE.

Kantrowitz: VITO ENDED HIS LECTURES

WITH A WHOLE STRING OF CLIPS

ABOUT WHAT BECAME OF THE CHARACTERS HE HAD LOOKED AT.

( gunshot )

THE NUMBER OF DEATHS WAS STAGGERING.

( Screaming )

KILL HER! KILL HER!

KILL HER! KILL HER!

Barrios: TO PUT IT ALL IN THAT ONE PLACE

SHOWS HOW NEGATIVE THE IMAGES HAD GOTTEN.

( Hisses )

Russo". WHEN YOU TAKE A FILM LIKE THAT

AND YOU TYPIFY MILLIONS OF LESBIANS AND GAY MEN WITH IT

SOMETHING IS WRONG.

YOU KNOW, AND lF EVERY HETEROSEXUAL WHO EVER APPEARED ON SCREEN

COMMITTED SUICIDE IN THE END OF THE FILM,

PEOPLE WOULD THINK SOMETHING WAS WRONG, TOO.

- ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? - MM-HMM.

Epstein: THE EXPERIENCE OF SEEING "THE CELLULOID CLOSET"

AS AN AUDIENCE MEMBER WAS REVELATORY.

IF WE COULD JUST LEARN NOT TO HATE OURSELVES...

QUITE SO VERY MUCH.

Berkowitz: IT WAS SO POWERFUL. IT WAS SO LIFE-CHANGING.

I WAS JUST IN AWE.

Friedman: THE HISTORY ITSELF WAS CAPTIVATING AND FASCINATING.

BUT I THINK IT WAS ALSO

THE FIRST REAL VISCERAL UNDERSTANDING THAT I HAD

THAT THERE COULD BE SUCH A THING AS A GAY COMMUNITY.

THAT GROUP IN THAT THEATER

FOCUSED ON WHAT VITO WAS TALKING ABOUT

AND RESPONDING TO WHAT HE WAS SAYING.

IT FELT LIKE COMMUNITY.

Thompson: THIS WONDERFUL LECTURE WITH FILM CLIPS

BASICALLY BECAME THE BOOK,

BUT IT TOOK HIM A DECADE FROM WHEN HE BEGAN.

INTERVIEWING, JUST COLLECTING THE CLIPS, GATHERING THE INFORMATION.

PM SURE THAT HE HAD SOME REALLY LONELY MOMENTS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT

WHERE HE SAID, "IS THIS EVER GOING TO HAPPEN?"

Antonellis: IT'S THE ONLY TIME THAT I FOUND HIM ALMOST RUDE

BECAUSE HE WAS SO INTO THAT BOOK

THAT YOU COULD HARDLY SPEAK TO HIM WITHOUT HIM SAYING,

"HEY, YOU'RE INTERRUPTING THE THOUGHT! YOU'RE INTERRUPTING THE THOUGHT!

Saslow: BECAUSE HE WAS AN INDEPENDENT SCHOLAR,

HE HAD TO HAVE A DAY JOB.

THERE WEREN'T VERY MANY JOBS IN THOSE DAYS

FOR PEOPLE WHO SAID, "I'M DOING GAY CULTURAL WORK."

John Morgan Wilson: HE WAS ALWAYS WORRIED ABOUT MONEY.

HE WAS ALWAYS TRYING TO BUY TIME TO WRITE THE BOOK,

AND HE WROTE REVIEWS AND FILM ARTICLES,

BUT, FRANKLY, THOSE NEVER PAID VERY MUCH.

Schiavi: VITO WAS BEGINNING THE FIRST DRAFT

OF "THE CELLULOID CLOSET."

HE NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO WORK FULL-TIME ON THAT.

SO HE NEEDED A JOB THAT WOULD ACCOMMODATE HIS HOURS.

AS A RESULT HE STARTED WORKING

AT THE COUNTER OF THE ST. MARKS BATHS.

HE WOULD WORK ALL-NIGHT SHIFTS.

GENERALLY, HE WOULD BE THERE FROM MIDNIGHT

UNTIL 7:00 OR 8500 IN THE MORNING.

Epstein: HE WAS LIVING HAND TO MOUTH AT THAT POINT,

- SO WHEN HE SUBLET HIS APARTMENT, - (trolley car bell rings )

VITO STARTED COMING TO SAN FRANCISCO,

AND HE'D COME TO MY HOUSE FOR A MONTH OR SO

AND THEN HE'D GO DOWN TO LILY'S HOUSE.

Morgan Wilson: I REMEMBER HE WAS STAYING AT LILY TOMLIN'S HOUSE.

VITO HAD BEEN THERE WORKING ON HIS BOOK,

BUT THERE WAS NO FURNITURE AND THERE WAS NO HEAT YET.

SHE HADN'T MOVED IN.

AND HE VVAS WORKING IN THE KITCHEN, STANDING UP AT A COUNTER

AND HAD THE BURNERS

ON THE STOVE BURNING TO KEEP WARM.

Tomlin: I WAS WORRIED BECAUSE I WASN'T SURE THE HOUSE WAS WARM ENOUGH.

THERE WAS NO HEAT? IS THAT WHAT HE SAID? THERE WAS NO HEAT.

AW, THAT'S SAD.

Rotello: HE THEN GOT REJECTED WHEN HE WROTE THE FIRST MANUSCRIPT.

HE GOT REJECTED BY ABOUT 15 OR 20 PUBLISHERS.

BASICALLY EVERYBODY SAID NO.

WHO IS GOING TO, YOU KNOW, TO WANT THIS BOOK?

Eric Marcus: VITO FACED ALL THE SAME PROBLEMS

THAT MOST WRITERS FACE WHEN TRYING TO GET ANY BOOK PUBLISHED--

IT'S RARE WHEN THEY SAY YES.

HE HAD THE SPECIAL PROBLEM OF HAVING A BOOK ON A GAY SUBJECT.

AND LIKE A LOT OF AUTHORS, HE TOOK IT PERSONALLY.

YOU KNOW, WE WERE TOLD THIS OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

I VVAS TOLD BY 18 PUBLISHERS THAT THERE VVAS NO MARKET FOR "THE CELLULOID CLOSET."

AND THEY WERE ALL WRONG.

( Applause )

Schiavi: "THE CELLULOID CLOSET" VVAS FINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE SUMMER OF 1981

BY HARPER AND ROW.

AND IT WAS A HUGE, POPULAR HIT.

( Camera clicks )

VITO WAS DELIGHTED THAT WITHIN ITS FIRST MONTH

HARPER AND ROW WAS LISTING IT AS ITS TOP SELLER.

FRIENDS WERE WRITING TO HIM, CALLING HIM CONSTANTLY SAYING,

"I KEEP TRYING TO GO TO BOOKSTORES IN NEW YORK,

AND THEY DON'T HAVE IT. IT'S SOLD OUT."

( camera clicks )

Thompson: IT WAS A HIT, AN INSTANT CLASSIC THE MINUTE IT CAME OUT.

I MEAN IT WAS THE BOOK EVERYONE HAD BEEN WAITING FOR.

( Camera clicks )

Howard Rosenman: WHEN I FIRST READ "THE CELLULOID CLOSET,”

I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA FAINT

BECAUSE IT WAS SO BRILLIANT AND SO RIGHT ON.

I MEAN, NO ONE HAD EVER DONE ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE.

Olson: I READ "THE CELLULOID CLOSET" AND IT JUST CHANGED MY LIFE.

THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS SO EMPOWERING TO FEEL LIKE

I COULD ACTUALLY COME OUT IN RELATIONSHIP TO FILM.

Maupin: I SAW IN THAT BOOK SOMETHING THAT EXPLAINED EVERYTHING TO ME

ABOUT MY OWN ATTITUDES ABOUT MYSELF.

THAT RESIDUAL SELF-LOATHING

THAT A LOT OF GAY PEOPLE CARRY WITH THEMSELVES

WAS FORMED TO A GREAT DEGREE,

ESPECIALLY lN THOSE DAYS lN THE '50s AND 'SOS, BY THE MOVIES.

THE SCALES FELL FROM MY EYES.

I SAW IT VERY, VERY CLEARLY FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Man: OUR GUEST TONIGHT IS VITO RUSSO.

AFTER THE BOOK VVAS PUBLISHED, HE VVAS THE NAME FOR GAYS IN THE MOVIES.

THE QUESTION IS IN MOST PARENTS' MINDS,

"WHAT CAN I DO TO PREVENT

MY CHILD FROM BECOMING A HOMOSEXUAL."

AND THE ANSWER IS NOTHING.

AND SO, SEEING POSITIVE GAY IMAGES ON THE SCREEN

CAN ONLY HELP.

HE SEEMED TO BE AT EVERY PLACE THAT I COULD REMEMBER.

EVERY PARTY,

EVERY READING OF A GAY AUTHOR.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF TODAY'S TURNOUT, VITO?

IT'S REAL GREAT. IT'S BIGGER THAN LAST YEAR.

IT'S FABULOUS.

I REMEMBER VITO AS OUR FIRST GAY CELEBRITY.

GOOD EVENING.

I'M VITO RUSSO, AND YOU ARE WATCHING "OUR TIME,"

WHICH IS A BRAND-NEW IDEA IN TELEVISION.

Rotello: VITO WAS THE HOST

OF ONE OF THE VERY FIRST GAY TELEVISION SHOWS.

YOU KNOVV, IF YOU HAD CABLE IN NEW YORK, YOU COULD GET THAT SHOW.

HI.

DOES DRAG MAKE YOU NERVOUS?

Marcia Pally: PRIMITIVE TELEVISION.

WE HAD A WALL, WE HAD A COUCH.

I THINK WE HAD A LIGHT BULB.

HEY, ARE YOU SICK AND TIRED

OF WATCHING THE GAY SON ON "DYNASTY"

POP IN AND OUT OF THE CLOSET LIKE A JACK-IN-THE-BOX?

Jay Bhukcher: THE SEGMENTS RANGED FROM GOSSIP

TO OUTING.

WE TALKED ABOUT ALCOHOLISM.

VITO'S HOPE WAS TO COVER THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY.

- HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE GAY COMMUNITY TODAY? - WONDERFUL.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE GAY STREET FAIR?

I FEEL WONDERFUL. THEY ARE A WONDERFUL PEOPLE.

THEY ARE GOD'S CHILDREN.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE GAY COMMUNITY TODAY?

GOD, I FEEL GREAT BEING GAY AND BEING HERE.

Blotcher: "OUR TIME" WAS A CHANCE

TO SETTLE THE SCORE

HE HAD DEPICTED IN "THE CELLULOID CLOSET."

HERE WAS A SHOW WHERE THE STARTING-OFF POINT WAS:

GAY IS GOOD, NOW LET'S LEARN MORE.

- EXCUSE ME? - YEAH?

- COULD I ASK YOU A QUESTION? - YOU FROM TELEVISION?

YEAH, WE'RE OUT HERE TODAY

ASKING PEOPLE WHAT THEY THINK OF GAY PEOPLE.

Bhukcher: WHEN HE ASKED LILY TOMLIN TO DO A SEGMENT ON OUR SHOW,

SHE SAID YES.

NOBODY SAYS NO TO VITO.

THIS IS VITO RUSSO FOR "OUR TIME" IN CLEVELAND, OHIO,

WHERE ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE AMBASSADOR

OF GOOD-WILL TOURS IN AMERICA IS TAKING PLACE.

MRS. JUDITH BEASLEY OF CALUMET CITY, ILLINOIS.

Tomlin: I THINK I WAS PLAYING IN CLEVELAND DOING A DA TE

AND MY CHARACTER MRS. BEASLEY TOOK THE QUICHE OF PEACE

FROM THE STRAIGHT COMMUNITY TO THE GAY COMMUNITY.

IS QUICHE A VERY POPULAR DISH IN CALUMET CITY?

WELL, IT ISN'T. I'LL TELL YOU QUITE TRUTHFULLY,

A LOT OF US IN CALUMET CITY USED TO THINK THAT QUICHE

ACTUALLY CAUSED HOMOSEXUALITY.

'COURSE IT DOESN'T.

Denise Romanello: IT WAS SUCH AN EXCITING TIME.

I WAS SITTING THERE WITH MY FATHER, MY MOTHER,

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, VITO CAME ON.

THERE WAS JUST NOT A SOUND.

WE'RE ALL IN AWE

THAT SOMEBODY THAT WE KNEW WAS ON TELEVISION.

FOR EVERYBODY AT "OUR TIME," GOODNIGHT

- AND TUNE IN NEXT WEEK. - GOOD NIGHT.

Ankonems: I PERSONALLY COULD NOT BELIEVE EVERYWHERE HE WAS.

AUSTRALIA AND BERLIN AND WHEREVER HE WAS GOING,

LECTURING TO PEOPLE IN THESE SCHOOLS.

AND I COULD ONLY REMEMBER HIM BEING THAT LITTLE BOY ON THE BICYCLE

OR TUGGING AT ME TO GO TO A MOVIE.

Romanello: HIS MOTHER WAS SO PROUD OF HIM.

HE REALLY ALWAYS HAD THE LOVE AND ADMIRATION OF HIS MOM.

ABSOLUTELY ADORED HIM.

Charles: MY MOM AND VITO,

THEY WERE PRETTY MUCH, LIKE, ATTACHED AT THE HIP.

SHE WENT TO HIS GAY BARS AND SHE WENT TO FIRE ISLAND.

SHE DID ALL THESE THINGS WITH HIM.

THEY WERE MORE THAN MOTHER AND SON,

THEY WERE REALLY CLOSE FRIENDS.

Antonellis: SOMETIMES CHARLES FELT LIKE VITO WAS AN ONLY CHILD

BECAUSE HE REALLY WAS TREATED LIKE THIS FAVORITE SON WAS COMING.

AND VITO'S COMING TO THE HOUSE VVAS ALWAYS A CELEBRATION.

Charles: THIS HOUSE BECAME THE FAMILY PARTY HOUSE.

UNCLES AND AUNTS AND COUSINS,

EVERY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, FROM MORNING TO NIGHT,

COOKING AND EATING AND LAUGHING AND SINGING AND DANCING AND PARTYING.

AND, YOU KNOW, VITO WAS INCLUDED WITH ALL HIS FRIENDS.

Ankonems: HE USED TO BRING HIS FRIENDS HOME

TO SHOW US HOW MUCH HIS GAY FAMILY LOVED HIM

AND HOW THEY SUPPORTED HIM.

Epstein: VITO HAD INCREDIBLE FRIENDS.

HIS PERSONALITY DREW THIS REALLY WIDE ARRAY OF PEOPLE TO HIM.

FROM THE MOST DOWNTOWN TO THE MOST UPTOWN.

Kantrowitz: HE USED TO GIVE PARTIES THAT INCLUDED EVERYBODY--

LESBIAN FEMINISTS AND DRAG QUEENS AND LAWYERS...

AND EVERYBODY ENJOYED THEMSELVES.

YOU KNOW, HE WAS SUCH A HOST AND HAD SO MUCH PEP.

AND THEN HE WOULD SELL US ALL ON THIS MOVIE WE ABSOLUTELY HAD TO SEE.

I HAVE NEVER MADE A PRACTICE OF SLAPPING PEOPLE.

BUT I'M DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO SLAPPING YOU RIGHT NOW.

Epstein: THE FIRST YEAR THAT THE GAY AND LESBIAN FILM FESTIVAL

IN SAN FRANCISCO WAS PLAYING AT THE CASTRO THEATRE WAS 1981.

VITO WAS THERE BECAUSE HE WAS DOING "THE CELLULOID CLOSET"

AT THE FILM FESTIVAL AT THE CASTRO FOR THE FIRST TIME.

VITO AND I WERE WALKING DOWN CASTRO STREET

TO WATCH THE MARQUEE GO UP.

ON THE MARQUEE, PUTTING UP THE LETTERS,

WAS THIS TALL, THIN, BLUE-EYED, BLONDE GUY.

AND THAT WAS JEFFREY.

Russo". I MET HIM THAT NIGHT.

THERE WAS A RECEPTION AND A PARTY AFTER "THE CELLULOID CLOSET,”

AND I ASKED JEFF IF HE WANTED TO GO TO THE PARTY

AND THE VERY FIRST THING HE EVER SAID TO ME WAS,

"NO, I'M NOT GOING TO THE PARTY. I DON'T SOCIALIZE." (laughing)

AND I SAID, "YOU DON'T SOCIALIZE?

WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN? YOU DON'T SOCIALIZE?

YOU DON'T GO OUT? YOU DON'T SEE PEOPLE?"

HE SAID, "NO I NEVER GO OUT. I NEVER GO ANYPLACE."

F. Allen Sawyer: JEFFREY WAS THE SWEETEST INDIVIDUAL IN THE WORLD,

BUT NOT EQUIPPED TO BE OUT IN THE REAL WORLD.

EVERYONE WHO KNEW HIM FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM,

AND EVERYONE WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH HIM WANTED TO PROTECT HIM.

I Lumpkin" JEFFREY AND VITO MET,

IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT VITO WAS TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH JEFFREY.

THERE WAS THIS VERY, VERY STRONG ATTACHMENT FROM THE GET GO.

Russo". JEFFREY WAS A VERY UNUSUAL. SPECIAL PERSON.

HE WASN'T LIKE OTHER PEOPLE TO ME.

AND WE SHARED A CERTAIN LOVE FOR MOVIES

THAT WAS PARTICULAR TO US THAT NOBODY ELSE UNDERSTOOD.

- DO YOU LOVE ME? DO YOU? - YES!

ONE TIME AT A PARTY IN SAN FRANCISCO,

JEFFREY AND I WERE STANDING IN THE KITCHEN

AND SPONTANEOUSLY WE DID A WHOLE SCENE FROM "TWO FOR THE ROAD."

AND HE PLAYED AUDREY HEPBURN AND I PLAYED ALBERT FINNEY.

- JOANNA! - NO!

SOME GUEST WHO WE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW LOOKED AS US AND HE SAID,

"I WAS GENUINELY MOVED BY THAT." ( laughs )

AND JEFFREY AND I JUST LOOKED AT EACH OTHER, AND WE SMILED.

WE HAD THAT SCENE DOWN PERFECT.

( Horns honking )

Epstein: THE CONNECTION BETWEEN VITO AND JEFFREY

WAS SO INSTANTANEOUS

THAT SOON THEREAFTER JEFFREY MOVED TO NEW YORK.

Russo". WHEN JEFFREY FIRST MOVED TO NEW YORK,

WE WENT lN THE VEGETABLE STORE ONE DAY,

AND THERE WAS GERALDINE PAGE. AND HE WAS ASTONISHED.

AND I SAID, "DON'T BOTHER HER." AND HE SAID, "OH, MY GOD, SHE'S MY FAVORITE."

AND I SAID, "LEAVE HER ALONE."

AND SO EVENTUALLY I LEFT HIM IN THE VEGETABLE STORE

'CAUSE HE WOULDN'T LEAVE UNTIL SHE DID.

AND I WENT HOME AND HE CAME HOME AND HE WALKED IN THE DOOR AND HE SAID,

"HONEY, IT TOOK HER 2O MINUTES TO PICK OUT TWO TOMATOES AND A YAM."

HE ALWAYS LOVED THAT, THAT SHE LIVED IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

Epstein: I THINK WITH VITO AND JEFFREY,

IT WAS REALLY A CASE OF OPPOSITES ATTRACT.

JEFFREY HAD A LOT OF INTERESTS BUT DIDN'T HAVE A CAREER.

AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT VITO COULDN'T UNDERSTAND.

THAT SOMEBODY COULD BE SMART

AND HAVE INTERESTS BUT NO AMBITION.

THE PROBLEMS THAT WERE GOING ON WITH VITO AND JEFF

WERE REALLY THEIR DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES.

VITO LOVED THE SPOTLIGHT.

VITO WAS VERY OUTGOING.

HE HAD PICKED AS HIS LOVER SOMEBODY SHY

WHO DID NOT LIKE THE GLARE OF THE SPOTLIGHT,

DID NOT LIKE OR UNDERSTAND GAY POLITICS.

OH, IT MAKES ME VERY NERVOUS, BUT THEN AGAIN, MOST THINGS DO.

Russo". WE HAD PROBLEMS LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE.

I MEAN, NOTHING WAS PERFECT ABOUT THIS UNION, BELIEVE ME.

ONE OF WHICH WAS THAT JEFFREY WAS A SAN FRANCISCO BOY,

AND I WAS A NEW YORK PERSON.

AND HE HATED NEW YORK SO MUCH.

HE USED TO SAY-- HE USED TO SAY,

"IT'S DIRTY. IT'S HOT. IT'S CROWDED. IT'S NOISY.

HOW CAN YOU LIVE HERE?"

SO FOR FIVE YEARS, JEFFREY AND I TRIED TO LIVE SOMEWHERE

WHERE WE COULD BE HAPPY, AND WE NEVER STOPPED TRYING.

I THINK WE ALWAYS JUST UNDERSTOOD THAT WE LOVED EACH OTHER.

( cheering )

Reporter. WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT TODAY FOR YOU?

THE CIRCUS, CELEBRATION, GOOD TIMES.

EVERYBODY ENJOYING THEMSELVES.

( Cheering )

Rotello: WE HAD BEEN ABLE TO CARVE OUT

THESE ZONES OF SAFETY FOR OURSELVES.

WE WERE NO LONGER BEING ARRESTED AND HARASSED.

AND WE WERE NOW ABLE TO EXPLORE OUR SEXUALITIES.

FOR MANY PEOPLE, THAT WAS THE

BE-ALL AND END-ALL OF GAY LIBERATION.

PEOPLE GOT WHAT THEY WANTED,

AND ONCE THAT HAPPENED, POLITICAL ORGANIZING

REALLY TOOK A BACK SEAT TO THE PARTYING.

YAY!

Sean Strub: I DON'T THINK THERE WAS EVER A SENSE THAT WE WERE DONE,

BUT THERE WAS A SENSE THAT IT WAS A VERY DIFFERENT ERA.

PREPPY STYLE WAS COMING IN.

WE'RE ENTERING A MUCH MORE CONSERVATIVE ERA.

I, RONALD REAGAN, DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR...

Berkowitz: ONCE REAGAN WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT,

VITO FELT REALLY HOPELESS.

WHATEVER LITTLE PROGRESS WE HAD MADE BEFORE 1980

WAS ABOUT TO BE UNDONE.

MANY GAY PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY GAY MEN,

ARE ABOUT TO VOTE REPUBLICAN FOR RONALD REAGAN BECAUSE--

Crowd: BOO!

BECAUSE THEY THINK THAT IT WILL PROTECT SOME OF THEIR FINANCIAL INTERESTS

AND THEN AFTER THEY FINISH VOTING FOR HIM,

HIS SUPREME COURT IS GONNA TAKE AWAY THEIR RIGHTS.

Epstein: HE WAS MAKING ALL THESE CONNECTIONS

TO WHAT WAS GOING ON AT THAT PARTICULAR MOMENT.

THERE USED TO BE A TIME IN THIS COUNTRY

WHEN PEOPLE FOUGHT AND DIED FOR WHAT THEY BELIEVED IN,

AND THAT ROLEX WATCHES AND PASTA MACHINES WON'T SAVE THEM IN THE END.

( Iaughing, cheering )

Epstein: PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE BEEN SHOCKED

THAT VITO WAS CONFRONTING THE COMMUNITY

RATHER THAN AN EXTERNAL CONFRONTATION,

BUT IT WAS NECESSARY.

Thompson: THEN I BEGAN TO NOTICE SOMETHING BEGINNING TO HAPPEN.

I BEGAN TO INCREASINGLY HEAR

AND SOMETIMES OBSERVE

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF FAMILIAR FACES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD.

WHERE HAD THESE LOVELY YOUNG MEN GONE?

( Seagulls cawing)

Russo". THERE WAS A GUY NAMED NICK ROCK ON FIRE ISLAND

AND HIS LOVER AS A GUY NAMED ENNO POERSCH.

NICK USED TO SHOW MOVIES ON FIRE ISLAND.

HE WAS A DELIGHTFUL CHARACTER.

AND NICK WAS MY FRIEND AND THEN SUDDENLY NICK GOT SICK...

AND GOT SICKER AND SICKER,

AND NOBODY COULD FIGURE OUT WHAT IT WAS.

L REMEMBER ENNO TELLING A COUPLE OTHER PEOPLE,

"YOU KNOW NICK'S GONNA DIE UNLESS WE DO SOMETHING.

HE'S JUST WASTING AWAY HERE, AND NOBODY COULD FIGURE THiS OUT."

Maletta: THERE WAS A YOUNG BOY WHO I WAS INVOLVED WITH

WHO WAS ABOUT 28.

HE WAS SHRIVELED UP LIKE A PRUNE.

HE LOOKED LIKE HE WAS 80 YEARS OLD.

HE WAS JUST A FIGMENT OF WHAT HE WAS.

AND THIS WOMAN CAME DOWN, SAID,

"I THINK HE'S GOT THAT NEW DISEASE."

I SAID, "WHAT NEW DISEASE?" AND SHE SAID, "GRID."

AT THAT TIME IT WAS CALLED

"GAY RELATED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY."

Rosenman: I FIRST HEARD ABOUT GRID ON FIRE ISLAND.

THREE GUYS GOT THESE SPOTS ON THEIR CHEST AND ARMS

CALLED KAPOSI SARCOMA.

SUDDENLY PEOPLE STARTED

BREAKING OUT INTO THESE SPOTS.

Vilanch: AND SUDDENLY PEOPLE BEGAN GETTING

WHAT WAS CALLED "THE GAY PNEUMONIA,"

AND NOBODY WAS QUITE SURE WHERE IT WAS COMING FROM. WHAT 1T WAS COMING FROM.

ALL THEY KNEW IS IT WAS DEADLY.

PEOPLE WHO WERE MY AGE, 30 YEARS OLD,

WERE DROPPING DEAD.

Rosenman: AND THE PARANOIA.

EVERYWHERE YOU WENT, IT WAS SHEER HORROR

BECAUSE NOBODY KNEW WHAT IT WAS.

PEOPLE WERE HYSTERICAL.

Felice Means". AND I REMEMBER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON, 1981,

WE WERE RECOUNTING TO EACH OTHER

ALL THE CONNECTIONS OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WERE SICK

AND HAD DIED OVER THE WINTER.

AND WE CONCLUDED "THIS IS SEXUAL.

AND ALL OF US ARE HAVING SEX WITH EACH OTHER."

Larry Kramer: THERE MUST BE A MILLION GAY PEOPLE

IN THE NEW YORK CITY AREA.

OF THE 350 SOME CASES,

WHY DO WE KNOW SO MANY OF THE PEOPLE?

Russo". LARRY KRAMER TRIED TO WARN THE COMMUNITY.

HE WAS THE ONE WHO WROTE THAT TURNING POINT PIECE IN THE "NEW YORK NATIVE."

Kramer: THE FIRST ARTICLES THAT I WROTE WERE VERY ALARMIST.

"THE FIRST ONE WAS CALLED "1,112 AND COUNTING."

THIS WAS IN '82, I THINK,

OR MAYBE EARLY '83.

IF WE DON'T START PAYING ATTENTION TO THIS, WE'RE ALL GONNA BE DEAD.

AND THAT SCARED A LOT OF PEOPLE AND THAT'S GOOD,

BUT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE GOT VERY ANGRY WITH ME.

AND THE PAPERS WERE FILLED WITH VERY ANGRY LETTERS ABOUT ME.

YOU KNOW, "WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S CAUSING THIS.

WHY ARE YOU TELLING EVERYBODY TO STOP FUCKING?"

Russo". VERY OFTEN I THINK ABOUT PEOPLE

NOT CHANGING THEIR SEXUAL HABITS, AND I DON'T BLAME THEM.

WE HAD TO FIGHT VERY HARD

IN ORDER TO ASSERT OUR RIGHT TO BE FREELY SEXUAL.

AND THEN SUDDENLY,

WE WERE BEING TOLD THAT WHAT WE WERE DOING WAS KILLING US.

SO I DIDN'T CHANGE MY SEX HABITS

UNTIL I GOT SCARED--

UNTIL I WAS FRIGHTENED INTO IT.

SO IT DIDN'T SINK INTO ME

UNTIL PEOPLE LITERALLY STARTED DROPPING LIKE FLIES.

I MEAN LITERALLY DYING IN FRONT OF ME,

AND I THOUGHT, "WAIT A MINUTE, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?"

U.S. GOVERNMENT SCIENTISTS ANNOUNCED IN WASHINGTON TODAY

THEY HAVE ISOLATED A VIRUS THEY BELIEVE CAUSES AIDS.

Friedman: ONCE IT BECAME CLEAR THAT H.I. V. WAS VIRAL

AND WAS A SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASE, HE WAS VERY VOCAL.

THERE WAS A LOT OF FEAR AND CONFUSION.

I'M VITO RUSSO AND TONIGHT ON "OUR TIME"

WE'RE GONNA BE TAKING A LOOK AT HOW THE GAY COMMUNITY

IS COPING WITH THE MOST SERIOUS CRISIS IN ITS HISTORY.

Bhukcher: VITO DECIDED WE NEEDED TO DEVOTE

AN ENTIRE SHOW TO THE ISSUE.

REMEMBER THAT THIS DISEASE IS NOT CAUSED BY GAYS.

IT'S NOT CAUSED BY BEING GAY.

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS GAY CANCER.

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A GAY DISEASE.

THIS DISEASE IS ATTACKING GAYS,

AND ONLY GAY PEOPLE ARE GOING TO STOP IT.

Rosenman: MY FRIENDS WERE DYING OF THIS BRUTAL DISEASE.

AND WHEN I SAY "BRUTAL,"

YOU CANNOT IMAGINE THE HORROR

OF PEOPLE DYING SO QUICKLY AND SO BRUTALLY AND SO FAST.

Strub: PEOPLE WERE DYING WITH SUCH FREQUENCY.

ANY NUMBER OF TIMES

I COULD HAVE GONE TO TWO MEMORIAL SERVICES

OR FUNERAL OR MEMORIAL EVENTS IN ONE DAY.

Russo". I REMEMBER THINKING

AT ONE POINT IN THE MID '80s,

"WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE."

THAT THIS IS NOT JUST A DISEASE,

THIS IS A CATASTROPHE.

THAT AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF PEOPLE

WAS GONNA GET THIS AND DIE.

I MEAN, YOU SAY THAT TO PEOPLE AND I DON'T THINK THAT TILL TODAY

OR EVEN NOW PEOPLE REALIZE THE IMPACT OF THAT STATEMENT,

BUT IT IS HAPPENING.

HE WAS LIVING IN SAN FRANCISCO AND I WAS LIVING IN NEW YORK.

WE WERE STILL TRYING TO WORK IT OUT.

JEFFREY USED TO CALL ME,

FOR WEEKS, AND SAY...

"THIS IS IN ME. I KNOW IT."

AND I WOULD SAY, "WILL YOU STOP IT?

LIKE, EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD IS HAVING AIDS PANIC.

YOU'RE NOT SICK. YOU'RE GONNA BE ALL RIGHT."

AND HE'D SAY, "I JUST KNOW IT.

SOMEHOW, I KNOW THIS IS INSIDE MY BODY," HE WOULD SAY.

AND NOW I FEEL SO AWFUL ABOUT THIS.

I MEAN, I JUST DIDN'T KNOW HOW SICK HE WAS.

Sawyer". WHEN JEFFREY CAME BACK TO SAN FRANCISCO,

HE KEPT ON SAYING THAT HE KNEW

THAT THIS VIRUS WAS INSIDE OF HIM.

WE TOOK HIM TO THE HOSPITAL, AND HE GOT HIS DIAGNOSIS.

Russo". WHEN I CAME TO THE HOSPITAL, I WALKED INTO HIS FLOOR.

I SAW THE NURSE PUTTING UP A SIGN NEXT TO THE DOOR

THAT SAID "BODILY FLUID PRECAUTIONS," AND THEN I KNEW.

I MEAN THAT WAS THE MOST HORRIFYING THING,

'CAUSE THEN I KNEW WHAT THE RESULTS WERE.

AND I WALKED IN,

AND I REMEMBER HE WAS SITTING IN THE BED,

AND HE SAID, "HONEY DID YOU HEAR?"

YOU KNOW AND OF COURSE I HADN'T HEARD BUT I HAD SEEN THE SIGN,

AND I KNEW AND I SAT ON THE BED AND I HELD HIM AND I TALKED TO HIM

AND I TOLD HIM I WOULD COME TO SAN FRANCISCO...

AND I WOULD STAY WITH HIM AND HE SAID, "DO YOU REALLY VVANT TO DO THAT?

DO YOU REALIZE WHAT A COMMITMENT YOU'RE MAKING?"

AND I SAID, "I'M COMING TO SAN FRANCISCO

AND I'M GONNA STAY WITH YOU AND IT WILL BE ALL RIGHT."

Epstein: WHEN JEFFREY BECAME ILL,

VITO BECAME HIS CARETAKER.

REALLY HELPED JEFFREY JUST TEND TO THE BASICS.

VITO WAS THERE TO REALLY

JUST GIVE JEFFREY EMOTIONAL SUPPORT.

Russo". I WAS LIVING WITH JEFF AND HE WAS SICK,

AND I WAS WORKING AT THE AIDS FOUNDATION ALL DAY DEALING WITH AIDS

AND THEN COMING HOME AND TAKING CARE OF JEFF.

NINE MONTHS WE LIVED HERE, AND THEN...

IN JUNE OF '85...

I NOTICED A SPOT ON MY LEG AND I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH KS.

Dr. Brewer: YOU KNOW, VITO'S A TOTAL EXTROVERT.

HE'S THE MASTER OF SOCIAL WORLD,

CELEBRITY WORLD. THAT'S HIM.

WHEN VITO WAS FACED WITH THE AIDS DIAGNOSIS...

HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

LT WAS ONE OF THE FEW TIMES I'D SEEN HIM JUST REALLY SHAKEN UP.

AND HE WAS REALLY SHAKEN UP.

Charles: AT ONE OF THESE PARTIES

VITO AND I GOT AWAY FROM EVERYBODY.

WE'RE WALKING UP THE STREET AND HE SAID,

"THERE'S SOMETHING THAT HAS AFFECTED A LOT OF MY FRIENDS,

AND IT'S A DEATH SENTENCE."

AND HE'S STARTING TO EXPERIENCE A LOT OF THE SYMPTOMS.

AND I VVAS LIKE, "WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? COME ON, YOU'RE HEALTHY.

YOU KNOW, ALL OF OUR UNCLES AND AUNTS,

EVERYBODY LIVED TO 90. YOU KNOVV, YOU GOT LONGEVITY. YOU'RE GONNA BE FINE."

VITO KIND OF BLASTED ME.

"OKAY, HERE'S THE DEAL. YOU'RE NOT UNDERSTANDING THIS.

PM DYING, AND I NEED YOU TO DO CERTAIN THINGS."

I THINK THAT'S WHEN IT STARTED TO REALLY KIND OF CRYSTALLIZE

AND SAY, "OKAY, YOU KNOW, HE'S REALLY SICK HERE."

HE WAS MY BROTHER AND I WAS GONNA DO WHATEVER I HAD TO.

Antonellis: THE WORST DAY OF ALL WAS WHEN HE ASKED ME TO ACCOMPANY HIM

TO TELL HIS MOTHER THAT HE WAS ILL.

HIS MOTHER OPENED THE DOOR AND HE EMBRACED HIS MOM,

AND HER FIRST WORDS WERE "WHAT'S WRONG?"

lN ACTUALITY, IT'S BECAUSE IT WAS PROBABLY ON HER MIND ALREADY.

SHE WAS ALREADY SAYING, "GEE, VITO DOESN'T LOOK WELL.

HE LOOKS SICK TO ME."

SHE IMMEDIATELY SAID, "VITO YOU HAVE TO COME HOME

'CAUSE I'M GONNA FEED YOU AND MAKE YOU CHICKEN SOUP

AND I'M GONNA NURSE YOU AND YOU HAVE TO BE HOME."

AND HE SAID, "MOM, I'D RATHER DIE IN NEW YORK

THAN LIVE IN NEW JERSEY."

HE SAID, "I AM NEVER RETURNING TO NEW JERSEY.

AS LONG AS THERE'S STRENGTH IN ME,

I'M GONNA RUN AROUND THOSE STREETS OF NEW YORK."

BUT THE NEXT DAY WHEN MY AUNT CALLED, SHE SAID,

"I WONDER HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE FOR THIS DISEASE TO KILL HIM'?

BECAUSE I DIED LAST NIGHT."

AND SHE SAID, "I DON'T WANT TO LIVE TO SEE MY SON PASS."

Russo". I WAS SICK BUT NOT SICK.

I MEAN, I HAD AIDS BUT I WAS STABLE AND FAIRLY OKAY.

WORRIED AS HELL BUT DOING PRETTY GOOD.

AND... l WAS ABOUT TO GO TO AUSTRALIA

AND I WAS GONNA DO "THE CELLULOID CLOSET."

I WENT TO SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE FOR THREE WEEKS.

AND WHILE I WAS GONE, JEFFREY GOT VERY SICK.

Jeffrey over answering machine:

Russo". I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY ABOUT ANY OF IT.

I FEEL VERY WEARY OVER IT ALL.

ALL I CAN DO, AS FAR AS JEFFREY GOES,

IS ACCEPT WHAT HAPPENED

AND TRY TO REMEMBER THE GOOD TIMES.

IT WAS BEAUTIFUL WHILE-- WHILE IT WAS GOOD.

WHILE, YOU KNOW, WHILE-- WHILE HE WAS WELL

AND... I DID MY BEST WHILE HE WAS SICK

AND I FEEL SORT OF STRANGE HAVING SURVIVED.

Friedman: AFTER JEFFREY DIED, I DON'T KNOW HOW HE DID IT.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISM WAS,

BUT VITO HAD AN AMAZING CAPACITY

TO TAKE ANY KIND OF ADVERSITY

AND TURN IT INTO SOMETHING TO FUEL HIS PASSION

AND HIS ANGER AND HIS ACTIVISM.

Russo". THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT I'VE ALWAYS BEEN AN ACTIVIST.

I WAS A GAY ACTIVIST 20 YEARS AGO,

AND I'M AN AIDS ACTIVIST NOW.

I WAS ALWAYS GONNA BE AN ACTIVIST.

I MEAN, IF IT WASN'T GAY RIGHTS OR IF IT WASN'T...

IT WAS GONNA BE SOMETHING ELSE.

BECAUSE THERE ARE JUST TOO MANY THINGS WRONG.

Rosenman: AS WE WERE GOING THROUGH THIS INTERNALLY IN THE GAY COMMUNITY,

THERE WAS NO RESPONSE FROM THE GOVERNMENT COMMUNITY.

WHEN I SAY NO, I MEAN NONE.

CLOSE YOUR EYES, WHAT DO YOU SEE? NOTHING.

Lester Kinsolving: DOES THE PRESIDENT HAVE ANY REACTION

TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT A-l-D-S

IS NOW AN EPIDEMIC? OVER 600 CASES?

- I DON'T HAVE IT, ARE YOU... - ( laughing )

Kinsolving: IN OTHER WORDS, THE WHITE HOUSE LOOKS ON THIS AS A GREAT JOKE.

DOES THE PRESIDENT--

DOES ANYBODY lN THE WHITE HOUSE KNOW ABOUT THIS EPIDEMIC. LARRY?

Speakes: NO. I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT, LESTER.

Nancy Stoller: THE ATTITUDE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

SEEMED TO BE PRETTY MUCH

"HANDS OFF. NO FUNDING."

THE DELAY IN FUNDING RESEARCH

HAS BEEN UNCONSCIONABLE

AND HAS RESULTED IN LOSS OF LIVES.

OH, IT WAS AWFUL.

I MEAN, THEY MADE NO BONES ABOUT IT.

YOU KNOW, THE PRESIDENT HAS GONE ON RECORD

AS BEING IRREVOCABLY AGAINST ANYTHING TO DO WITH HOMOSEXUALITY.

Ronald Reagan: AS I'VE INTERPRETED THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT,

IT IS NOT ASKING SO MUCH FOR CIVIL RIGHTS

AS IT IS ASKING FOR RECOGNITION AND ACCEPTANCE OF THEM

AS HAVING AN ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE,

AND I'M SORRY BUT I CAN'T AGREE WITH THAT.

Stoller: REAGAN AND OTHER PEOPLE IN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT,

THEY HAD A STRONG BASE IN THE RIGHT WING IN THE U.S.

THEY DIDN'T WANT TO LOOK

AS IF THEY WERE DOING ANYTHING SPECIAL FOR GAY PEOPLE.

I THINK IT'S ABOUT TIME THAT THIS SENATE ADDRESSED THE MORAL ISSUE.

LET'S TALK ABOUT WHO'S CAUSING THIS.

WHO CAUSED IT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING?

Russo". PEOPLE ARE DYING OF HOMOPHOBIA.

THEY'RE DYING OF JESSE HELMS.

THEY'RE DYING OF RONALD REAGAN.

THEY'RE NOT DYING BECAUSE WE CAN'T FIND A TREATMENT OR A CURE TO THIS DISEASE.

WE'RE NOT TRYING.

AND WE'RE NOT TRYING BECAUSE THE RIGHT PEOPLE ARE NOT DYING.

WE'RE NOT TRYING BECAUSE IT'S ONLY FAGS AND JUNKIES,

AND NOBODY GIVES A SHIT.

Jeffrey Sosnick: AND IN NEW YORK AT THAT TIME,

"THE NEW YORK POST,” THEY KIND OF CAUGHT ON TO THIS STORY

IN A WAY THAT WAS BOTH HOMOPHOBIC AND AIDS-PHOBIC.

Michelangelo Signorile: TO BE GAY IN THAT ENVIRONMENT,

TO BE A PERSON WITH HIV OR AIDS IN THAT ENVIRONMENT,

PEOPLE AT THE TIME REALLY FELT ATTACKED.

(chanting) NO AIDS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS!

NO AIDS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS!

Russo". NEWSPAPERS LIKE "THE NEW YORK POST"

RAISED ISSUES IN THE WORST WAY,

TO CREATE FEAR AND SUSPICION AND HATRED.

AIDS! GAY RELATED AIDS!

Rotello: BY THAT TIME, PEOPLE WERE GETTING REALLY PISSED OFF.

"THIS HAS GOTTA STOP. WE NEED A NEW GAY RIGHTS ORGANIZATION

THAT IS GOING TO MONITOR THE MEDIA

FOR INSTANCES OF BLATANT HOMOPHOBIA

AND THEN TARGET lT."

Sosnick: GLAAD WAS FOUNDED IN THE FALL OF 1985,

AND VITO, HE WAS ONE OF EIGHT FOUNDING MEMBERS.

THIS CITY IS BEING WHIPPED INTO A FRENZY OF FEAR AND HATRED

BY A RAG CALLED "THE NEW YORK POST,"

AND I WOULD LIKE TO PUT THEM OUT OF BUSINESS.

( Cheers )

Kantrowitz: OUR FIRST DEMONSTRATION WAS AGAINST "THE NEW YORK POST."

VITO WAS THE MC OF THAT.

WE DECIDED TO SHOW THEM THAT THEY WERE A RAG.

( Chanting ) FIGHT AIDS, NOT GAYS!

FIGHT AIDS! NOT GAYS!

Russo". AND WE'VE CHOSEN “THE NEW YORK POST” BECAUSE,

IN THIS CITY ESPECIALLY,

IT REPRESENTS THE KIND OF

SENSATIONALISM AND YELLOW JOURNALISM

THAT WE'VE BEEN FIGHTING FOR 15 YEARS.

Man: DON'T BUY THE LIES! DON'T BUY THE LIES!

Rotello: THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WAS NOT ANYTHING ABOUT "THE POST,"

BUT RATHER WAS A NEW FORM OF ACTIVISM.

DIRECT ACTION TARGETING HOMOPHOBIA AND AIDS-PHOBIA.

BY THE MID 'BUS,

lT BECAME CLEAR TO VIRTUALLY EVERYBODY IN THE GAY AND AIDS WORLD

THAT THE GOVERNMENT AND THE DRUG COMPANIES

WERE NOT TAKING THE EPIDEMIC SERIOUSLY.

THERE WAS NO SERIOUS MOVEMENT TO DEVELOP DRUGS,

TO GET THEM INTO PEOPLE'S BODIES, TO GET THEM TESTED.

TO SPEND THE MONEY THAT WAS GONNA BE REQUIRED

TO BRING THE EPIDEMIC UNDER CONTROL.

Signorile: FOR ME, IT WAS ABOUT SEEING A LOT OF PEOPLE AROUND ME

WHO WERE GETTING SICK,

PEOPLE WHO WERE DYING.

WE NEEDED TO NOW TAKE CONTROL OURSELVES.

THIS IS LIFE OR DEATH. WE ARE DYING.

WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO UNITE.

WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE ANGRY.

WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE PERCEIVED AS BEING A THREAT.

OUR VOTES ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE PERCEIVED AS TAKING AWAY ELECTED OFFICIALS.

WE HAVE TO START BEING POWERFUL OR WE ARE GOING TO DIE.

IT IS UP TO US.

Russo". ACT UP IS A COALITION OF PEOPLE.

BLACK AND WHITE, MALE AND FEMALE, GAY AND STRAIGHT.

lT WAS FOUNDED lN MARCH OF '87 BY 12 PEOPLE,

MYSELF AND LARRY KRAMER

AND 10 OTHER PEOPLE FROM THE COMMUNITY.

WE ARE DEDICATED TO PUTTING AN END TO THE AIDS CRISIS

BY ANY MEANS POSSIBLE.

( Chanting ) ACT UP! FIGHT BACK! FIGHT AIDS!

ACT UP! FIGHT BACK! FIGHT AIDS!

ACT UP! FIGHT BACK! FIGHT AIDS!

ACT UP! FIGHT BACK! FIGHT AIDS!

WE'LL NEVER BE SILENT AGAIN!

- ACT UP! - WE'LL NEVER BE SILENT AGAIN!

- ACT UP! - WE'LL NEVER BE SILENT AGAIN!

HEALTH CARE IS A RIGHT

NOT JUST FOR THE STRAIGHT AND WHITE.

RELEASE THE DRUGS NOW!

Signorile: ACT UP WAS AN INCREDIBLE FORCE

THAT SWEPT THROUGH THE GAY COMMUNITY,

SWEPT THROUGH THE AIDS COMMUNITY.

SWEPT THROUGH THIS COUNTRY.

(chanting) HEALTH CARE IS A RIGHT! HEALTH CARE IS A RIGHT!

Russo". THESE ARE PEOPLE OF ALL AGES,

FROM THE YOUNG TO THE OLD WHO ARE ANGRY,

RESOURCEFUL, WILLING TO PUT THEIR BODIES

AND THEIR PHILOSOPHIES ON THE LINE.

WOMEN OF COLOR, THEY ARE NOT GETTING PROPER HEALTH CARE.

AND ARE WILLING TO STICK THEIR NECK OUT TO SAVE SOME LIVES.

SHAME! SHAME! SHAME...

(chanting) FUNDS FOR AIDS, NOT FOR WAR! FUNDS FOR AIDS, NOT FOR WAR...

Man". STOP KILLING US!

WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE!

YOU'RE KILLING US!

Rotello: ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL ACTIONS

WAS AGAINST BURROUGHS WELLCOME ON WALL STREET.

( chanting ) BOYCOTT! BOYCOTT! BOYCOTT!

BURROUGHS WELLCOME MANUFACTURED AZT,

WHICH WAS THE ONLY APPROVED DRUG.

AND IT WAS TOO EXPENSIVE FOR MOST PEOPLE TO AFFORD IT.

THESE DRUG COMPANIES ARE PROFITEERING ON OUR LIVES.

( Bell ringing )

Rotello: ACT UP UNVEILED A HUGE BANNER

THAT SAID, "SELL WELLCOME,”

MEANING, "SELL YOUR STOCK IN BURROUGHS WELLCOME."

THAT IS NOT ANYTHING THAT A DRUG COMPANY WANTS TO SEE.

AND GUESS WHAT? THEY LOWERED THE PRICE.

ALL OF A SUDDEN PEOPLE COULD SEE THINGS CAN BE CHANGED.

WE CAN ACTUALLY GO OUT IN THE STREETS

AND DO SOMETHING TO SAVE OURSELVES.

( Chanting ) ACT UP! FIGHT BACK! FIGHT AIDS!

Stoller: AND VITO WAS RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE FROM THE BEGINNING.

HE WAS PARTICIPATING.

IF THERE WERE A DEMONSTRATION, HE WAS THERE.

NO VIOLENCE! NO VIOLENCE!

NO VIOLENCE! NO VIOLENCE...

Russo: HANG IN THERE, CHARLIE!

Rosenman: VITO WAS ON ALL THOSE ACT UP MARCHES.

VITO WAS ROILING PEOPLE UP.

NONE OF US WHO ARE HERE TODAY ARE GONNA GO AWAY.

NONE OF US WHO ARE HERE TODAY ARE GONNA SHUT UP.

( Cheering )

Bhukcher: VITO WAS ONLY IN HIS EARLY 40s AT THE TIME

BUT BY DEFAULT, HE HAD BECOME THE ELDER STATESMAN OF THE COMMUNITY.

Signorile: YOUNGER PEOPLE IN THEIR 20s

STARTED TO COME IN

AND HAD REALLY VERY LITTLE HISTORY

OF WHAT WENT BEFORE.

AND SO ACT UP WAS REALLY

A HUGE EDUCATION IN GAY ACTIVISM.

AND VITO WAS THE GUY HANDING DOWN

A LOT OF THAT HISTORY.

LIVING WITH AIDS IS LIKE LIVING THROUGH A WAR

WHICH IS HAPPENING ONLY FOR THOSE PEOPLE

WHO HAPPEN TO BE IN THE TRENCHES.

EVERY TIME A SHELL EXPLODES, YOU LOOK AROUND

AND YOU DISCOVER THAT YOU'VE LOST MORE OF YOUR FRIENDS.

BUT NOBODY ELSE NOTICES.

HE KNEW HE WAS ARTICULATE.

HE KNEW HE SPOKE PASSIONATELY, THAT HE WAS PERSUASIVE.

AND HE HAD STATURE IN A COMMUNITY.

VITO WAS SMART. HE WAS EDUCATED.

HE WAS A PUBLISHED AUTHOR. HE HAD AIDS. HIS PARTNER HAD DIED

HE HAD CREDENTIALS. PEOPLE LISTENED TO HIM.

Reporter. VITO RUSSO IS HERE. HE'S A FILM CRITIC AND A HISTORIAN.

HE HAS HAD AIDS FOR THREE AND A HALF YEARS.

ARE YOU ONE OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE THAT THE GOVERNMENT IS MOVING TOO SLOWLY?

ABSOLUTELY, WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT.

Kantrowitz: HE FOUGHT LIKE A DEMON TO STAY ALIVE.

HE WAS SEEING HIMSELF AS A SURVIVOR.

BUT I WOULD SOMETIMES COME INTO THE HOUSE

AND FIND HIM CUDDLED IN A BIG CHAIR

AND SAYING, "I'M VERY AFRAID."

Kramer: HE WAS SICK AND HIS ROLE WAS TO LET US SEE HIM...

SUFFERING AND HOW VALIANT HE WAS.

HE WOULD COME AROUND AND ALLOW HIMSELF TO BE LOVED

AND MADE A FUSS OVER

AND THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO SEE THAT.

Stoller: HE WASN'T ABLE TO COME TO THE MEETINGS ALL THE TIME

BUT WHENEVER HE CAME, HE WOULD SAY THINGS LIKE,

"IT'S KIND OF HARD FOR ME SOMETIMES TO DO THINGS,

BUT PM GONNA BE AT THAT DEMONSTRATION.

AND IF I CAN BE AT THAT DEMONSTRATION,

YOU BETTER BE AT THAT DEMONSTRATION!"

Maupin: VITO WAS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE

WHO JUST STOOD UP AND SAID,

"HERE I AM, LOOK AT ME. I HAVE AIDS."

IT WAS ENORMOUSLY POWERFUL.

Dr. Howard Grossman: IN FACT VITO HAD A NUMBER OF KS LESIONS.

AND HE WAS THE FIRST PERSON THAT I EVER KNEW

WHO WORE SHORTS IN THE SUMMER

IN CHELSEA WITH KS.

THAT WAS A REAL lN-YOUR-FACE KIND OF THING TO DO.

HIS ATTITUDE WAS, "lF PEOPLE CAN'T DEAL WITH IT, FUCK 'EM."

Russo". IF YOU BELIEVE THAT THIS IS A VIRUS

WHICH ATTACKED A GROUP OF PEOPLE

AND THAT IT'S NO MORE SHAMEFUL

THAN HAVING ANY OTHER ILLNESS, THEN YOU HAVE TO SAY SO.

IT'S THE SAME THING WITH COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET AS GAY.

THE MORE PEOPLE WHO DO IT, THE MORE UNDERSTANDING THERE IS,

THE MORE VISIBILITY THERE IS,

THE MORE PEOPLE BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PROBLEM IS.

( Chanting ) WHERE WAS THE FDA? 40,000 DEAD FROM AIDS.

MY LIFE HAS BECOME, IN ANGER,

A LOT MORE SIMPLE.

YOU KNOW, I KNOW WHAT I CARE ABOUT,

I KNOW WHAT I WANNA WORK ON, I KNOW WHAT I WANNA DO,

AND I DON'T WANT ANYBODY

SORT OF MESSING IT UP BY TAKING ME AWAY FROM IT FOR TRIVIA.

(chanting) SEIZE CONTROL OF THE FDA! 52 WILL DIE TODAY!

Reporter. RONALD REAGAN WAS HOISTED IN EFFIGY THIS MORNING

AS AIDS ACTIVISTS DESCENDED ON THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION.

( chanting ) SEIZE THE FDA! SEIZE THE FDA!

Rotello: THOUSANDS OF US CONVERGED,

SURROUNDED THE BUILDING,

AND ENGAGED IN ONE OF THE MOST

INCREDIBLE THEATRICAL DEMONSTRATIONS IN HISTORY.

Signorile: WE HAD A PRESS CONFERENCE

AND THERE WAS VITO, FRONT AND CENTER, AS THE SPOKESPERSON.

I KNOW THAT IT TAKES NINE MONTHS

TO TEST A DRUG IN EUROPE--

IN BELGIUM, IN FRANCE, IN GERMANY, IN ENGLAND--

FOR BOTH SAFETY AND EFFICACY.

I WANNA KNOW WHY IT TAKES

FIVE TO 10 YEARS IN THIS COUNTRY

TO TEST DRUGS THAT YOU CAN TEST IN EUROPE

IN A THIRD OF THE TIME.

WE ARE SIMPLY ASKING THE FDA

TO DO IT QUICKER.

IT IS POSSIBLE TO TEST THESE DRUGS IN RECORD TIME.

( Cheering )

Friedman: THE PROTEST AT THE FDA WAS A MEDIA EVENT.

IT WAS DONE TO GET MEDIA ATTENTION.

AND AS PART OF THAT, THEY ORGANIZED A RALLY

AT THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

AT WHICH VITO AND OTHER PEOPLE GAVE SPEECHES.

( Cheering )

Schiavi: BY THE TIME HE GAVE THIS SPEECH,

HE WAS FIGHTING WITH ANEMIA. HE WAS FIGHTING INSOMNIA.

HE WAS FIGHTING KS.

HE WAS IN DESPERATE CIRCUMSTANCES.

Fours“: HE WAS INCREDIBLY FRAIL

AND HE KNEW HE WAS DYING

BUT HE WAS NOT GOING TO LET HIS ILLNESS,

HIS BEING FRAIL, HIS BEING WEAK,

STOP HIM FROM SAYING WHAT HE WANTED TO SAY.

AIDS IS A TEST OF WHO WE ARE AS A PEOPLE.

( Applause )

AND WHEN FUTURE GENERATIONS ASK WHAT WE DID IN THE WAR,

WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO BE ABLE TO TELL THEM

THAT WE WERE OUT HERE FIGHTING.

( Cheering )

AND AFTER WE KICK THE SHIT OUT OF THIS ILLNESS,

WE'RE ALL GONNA BE ALIVE TO KICK THE SHIT OUT OF THIS SYSTEM

SO THAT IT NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN.

( Cheering )

Rotello: I THINK THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM THAT MOMENT ON

SAW VITO IN A DIFFERENT WAY AFTER THAT SPEECH.

THE CHARISMA, THE INTELLIGENCE,

THE WARMTH, THE WHOLE THING-- HE HAD IT.

BUT JUST LIKE WITH EVERYTHING ELSE WITH THE AIDS EPIDEMIC,

IT TOOK AWAY SO MANY AND IT TOOK HIM AWAY, TOO.

Epstein: HE WAS DIMINISHED IN ENERGY,

BUT HE WAS STILL DOING EVERYTHING THAT HE DID.

HE WAS STILL FULL-THROTTLE VITO.

Antonellis: HE WAS IN TOUCH WITH SOCIALITES

AND PEOPLE KNOWING THAT HE NEEDED CONTRIBUTIONS

TO AN AIDS CAUSE,

AND ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HE MET,

ENABLED HIM TO FURTHER HIS CAUSE.

I'M BUSIER NOW THAN I'VE BEEN m A LONG TIME ( laughs)

- Reporter: ( laughs ) THAT'S GREAT, THAT'S GREAT. - WHICH IS GREAT.

Hawk: I WAS INVOLVED WITH HIM

IN REHEARSING "CELLULOID CLOSET?

I BELIEVE IT WAS THE LAST TIME HE EVER DID THE SHOW LIVE.

WE REHEARSED IN THE AFTERNOON,

AND HE WAS GETTING WEAKER AND WEAKER

UNTIL HE HAD TO STOP BEFORE WE GOT THROUGH THE WHOLE THING.

I THOUGHT, "OH, MY GOD,

IS HE GOING TO GET THROUGH lT?"

VITO WENT ONSTAGE

LIKE YOU WOULD NEVER HAVE RECOGNIZED HIM

FROM THE VERY FRAIL, SICK PERSON HE WAS THAT AFTERNOON.

IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST MIRACULOUS THINGS I'VE EVER SEEN.

( Clapping )

THANKS.

Charles: VITO WAS NOW STARTING TO REALLY SHOW SIGNS.

THE KS WAS STARTING TO APPEAR ON DIFFERENT PARTS OF HIS BODY.

Kantrowitz: VITO SAID HE DIDN'T EVER WANT TO BE ALONE.

AND SO WE PUT TOGETHER A CARE GROUP

OF ABOUT 16 PEOPLE.

PEOPLE TOOK SHIFTS

AND SAT WITH HIM EVEN IF HE WAS SLEEPING.

Sawyer". I VISITED HIM ONE TIME BEFORE HE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL.

HE TOLD ME THAT IT HAD BEEN A LONG TIME

SINCE ANYONE HAD TOUCHED HIM.

THAT HE JUST MISSED

THAT CONNECTION.

Russo". I FEEL VERY WEARY OVER IT ALL.

I MEAN, I MISS JEFFREY TERRIBLY.

I MISS HAVING HIM AROUND. I MISS HIM BEING IN THE WORLD.

Kantrowitz: ONE LOVELY MOMENT TOWARD THE END

WAS HIS LAST GAY PRIDE MARCH.

WE TOOK HIM TO LARRY KRAMER'S HOUSE.

HE HAD A BALCONY OVERLOOKING 5th AVENUE.

( cheering )

VITO CAME OUT ON THE BALCONY

AND THE ACT UP CONTINGENT,

- WHICH WAS ACTUALLY SEVERAL BLOCKS LONG... - Man: VITO!

THEY CAME OUT AND STARTED YELLING,

"VITO! VITO! VITO!

WE LOVE YOU! WE LOVE YOU! WE LOVE YOU!"

"VITO! VITO! VITO!"

- Crowd: VITO! VITO! VITO... - AND HE VVAS JUST THRILLED BEYOND BELIEF.

VITO! VITO! VITO!

Kantrowitz: IT WAS SUCH A MOVING MOMENT, YOU KNOW.

AND LARRY KRAMER SAID TO VITO, "THOSE ARE OUR CHILDREN."

- Man: WE LOVE YOU, VITO! - Man #2: WE LOVE YOU, VITO!

THAT'S THE KIND OF FEELING HE INSPIRED IN PEOPLE,

AND HE WAS REALLY FADING AT THAT POINT.

Epstein: IN THE FINAL STAGES,

VITO WAS IN THE HOSPITAL.

HIS FAMILY WAS VERY INVOLVED,

AND VITO WAS ON THE PHONE WITH HIS MOTHER DAILY.

HE HAD NO DOUBT OF HER LOVE FOR HIM

AND HIS LOVE FOR HER.

I KNOW THAT THEY HAD

NO UNFINISHED BUSINESS BETWEEN THEM.

Antonellis: THE ROOM WAS DARK.

THE ONLY LIGHT WAS MOONLIGHT FROM OUTSIDE.

AND YOU COULD HARDLY SEE

THAT THERE WAS A BODY UNDER THE SHEETS.

THAT'S HOW DEVASTATING THE DISEASE WAS TO HIS BODY.

HE TRIED TO ATTEMPT TO SMILE,

AND I SAW HIS TEETH IN THE MOONLIGHT.

AND I TOOK A CHAIR AND PUT MY HEAD ON THE BED

AND I DIDN'T MAKE A SOUND

BUT IN A VERY BARELY AUDIBLE VOICE HE SAID,

"DON'T CRY. I'M READY."

AND I SAID, "VITO, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE."

AND HE SAID, "I'M NOT AFRAID."

I NEVER SAW SUCH COURAGE AND BRAVERY IN MY LIFE.

AND I SAID, "WHEN YOU GET TO THE PEARLY GATES,

ST. PETER'S GONNA JUST ASK YOU WHAT YOU'VE DONE FOR MANKIND.

AND YOU'VE DONE MORE THAN ANYBODY I KNOW."

THE NEXT DAY, NOVEMBER 7th, HE PASSED.

I JUST MISS HIM SO MUCH.

Q music playing )