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THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … April 19

1759 – August Wilhelm Iffland the German actor, playwright and librettist was born on this date (d.1814). Iffland was a powerful force in the German theater of the 18th century, even though his plays are generally unknown outside his native country.

In 1810, he was "outed" by Heinrich von Kleist, the poet, author and playright. Kelist offered August Wilhelm Iffland, who at that time was the director of the Nationaltheater, the chance to stage his play Käthchen of Heilbronn. When Iffland refused, Kleist branded him a homosexual.

On 1 October 1810, Kleist surprised the people of Berlin by setting up a daily newspaper. The Berliner Abendblätter appeared every day except Sundays for half a year in the convenient octavo format at a price of eight Pfennigs. The newspaper provided a diverse mixture of information to suit every taste: police announcements, military anecdotes, poems, aesthetic essays such as Kleist's famous article "On the Marionette Theatre", critical looks at the Prussian government, and polemic attacks on Iffland's theatre and his homosexuality. Kleist's paper was shut down by Germain authorities and the attacks ceased. Kleist committed suicide soon after.

Iffland died in Berlin on 22 September 1814. A bronze portrait statue of him was erected in front of the Mannheim theater in 1864. A street in Berlin is named after him. The Iffland-Ring bears Iffland's likeness, and is borne by the most important German-speaking actor, as decided by his predecessor.

1834 – Prince Edmond De Polignac the French composer was born on this date (d.1901). A descendant of one of the more illustrious families of France. His father Auguste Jules Armand Marie, Prince de Polignac (1780-1847) was the Minister of State in the Restoration government of King Charles X, and was the author of the Thirty Ordinances in 1830, which revoked the Constitution, suspended freedom of the press, and gave the king extraordinary powers, including absolute power in the name of "insuring the safety of the state".

In 1875 a new friend entered de Polignac's life, Comte Robert de Montesquiou, a beautiful and intelligent man twenty-one years his junior. They shared many interests, and began an intimate relationship at that time. In his later years, Montesquiou used his wit to shield himself from sincere emotional interaction. He is remembered as a model for Des Esseintes in Huysman's A Rebours, and the Baron de Charlus in Proust's À la recherche du temps perdu. Through Montesquiou's circle, Polignac made the acquaintance of Elisabeth, comtesse Greffulhe and of Gabriel Fauré, and became a member of the Société Nationale de Musique, where his compositions were performed alongside those of Chausson, Debussy, and Fauré.

By 1892, Polignac, inept with money and impoverished through investments in a series of get-rich-quick schemes, was destitute; his nephews helped him with loans, but noted that desperate action was needed. The solution they suggested was marriage to a woman of appropriate means. Polignac discussed the matter with Montesquiou, and Montesquiou with his cousin Élisabeth Greffulhe, and out of these conversations the name of Winnaretta Eugenie Singer, daughter of Isaac Singer, the sewing machine tycoon, with her marriage to Prince Louis de Scey-Montbéliard lately annulled, arose.

Singer's social status could be improved by marrying a prince, even a poor one. And the arrangement would have other benefits: Winnaretta was Lesbian and not sexually interested in men at all. She was intimately interested in music, however, something the two did have in common.

Polignac asked the Comtesse Greffulhe to sound out Madame Singer on the subject of a mariage blanc (unconsummated marriage), in which each partner would have their own bed but would share artistic interests. Montesquiou, who collaborated with Winnaretta on some artistic projects, asked her to speak with Madame Greffulhe, and there the arguments were reviewed; her social position, compromised by divorce, would be improved by an alliance with one of the oldest and most distinguished aristocratic families in France; with the thirty-one year age difference, and the predilections of the bride and groom, Winnaretta would be free to lead her personal life as she wished, with no sexual demands from Edmond.

The advantages clear, a friendship and affection grew. In November 1893, Edmond proposed marriage to Winnaretta, and she accepted, a year after the idea had first been broached. On 15 December 1893 the couple were married by the Abbé de Broglie in the Chapelle des Carmes. The union received the blessings of Pope Leo XIII.

Montesquiou felt slighted when Edmond was not sufficiently grateful, and the friendship was irrevocably broken.

Ed. Note: The house of Polignac is also (technically) the current Princely House of Monaco; Prince Ranier (late husband of Grace Kelly) was the son of a Monagasque princess and a Polignac. For patriotic reasons, the princely house still keeps the name Grimaldi, though it has passed through the female line a couple of times. This is certainly a family with an interesting past and present.

1913 – The Illinois Supreme Court rules that cunnilingus is not a "crime against nature" under that's state's sodomy law, even though the Court had ruled fellatio to be one due to the state's unusually broad language.

1946 – Tim Curry, British actor and famed on-screen outerspace transvestite was born on this date. Curry's first full-time role was as part of the original London cast of the musical Hair in 1968, where he first met Richard O'Brien who went on to write Curry's next full-time and perhaps still most famous role, that of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show. Originally, Curry rehearsed the character with a German accent and peroxide blond hair, but the character evolved into the sly, very upper-class English mad scientist and transvestite that carried over to the movie version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show and made Curry both a star and a cult figure.

He continued to play the character in London, Los Angeles, and New York until 1975. For many years, Curry was reluctant to talk about Rocky Horror, feeling that it was a trend that had gone too far and had distracted attention away from his later roles.

On 23 May 2013, Curry was reported to have suffered a major stroke at his home in Los Angeles. Although many sources suggested the stroke had made it difficult for him to speak, his longtime agent Marcia Hurwitz told the Daily Mail "Tim is doing great," and that 'He absolutely can speak and is recovering at this time and in great humour'. Shortly after the initial report, Hurwitz told The Hollywood Reporter that the stroke actually occurred in July 2012, and that Curry had been going to physical therapy. As a result of the stroke, he uses a wheelchair.

1967 – The Student Homophile League of Columbia University becomes the first U.S. gay college group to obtain a campus charter. The SHL had twelve members who fought with university administrators for a year before the group was officially recognized.

Stephen Donaldson, a bisexual-identified LGBT rights activist is commemorated by a plaque in the Queer Lounge that bears his name in one of Columbia’s residence halls for spearheading the creation of the group.

When the charter was ultimately granted in April 1967, it earned media attention with the New York Times printing a story on the front page. The Columbia Daily Spectator reported that some students believed that the creation of the group was an April Fool’s joke. The group is still in existence to this day and is now called the Columbia Queer Alliance

1978 – James Franco is an American actor, filmmaker, and teacher.

His first prominent acting role was the lead character Daniel Desario on the short-lived cult hit television program Freaks and Geeks. He later played the title character in the TV biographical film James Dean (2001), for which he won a Golden Globe Award. He played Harry Osborn in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (2002–2007). He is also known for his roles in the films Flyboys (2006), Pineapple Express (2008), Milk (2008), 127 Hours (2010), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Oz the Great and Powerful (2013), Spring Breakers (2013), This Is the End (2013) and The Interview (2014). He had a recurring role in the ABC soap opera General Hospital. For his role in 127 Hours, Franco was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Franco volunteers for the Art of Elysium charity and has taught a class at New York University in feature filmmaking and production. In 2013, he began teaching a course in short film production at the University of Southern California and a course in screenwriting at his alma mater, University of California, Los Angeles.

In response to questions regarding his sexuality now that he has portrayed three gay characters during his acting career, he insists he finds plenty more dimensions to the characters than their bedroom proclivities. "Or, you know what," he quipped, "maybe I’m just gay."

Those rumors led to a Gawker article linking him to a New York Post Page Six blind item about a closeted gay actor, nicknamed "the Gay Rapist". Despite the victim of the alleged attack denying that it was Franco, two magazines then contacted Franco's lawyer to alert them that they might run stories suggesting his involvement, but were unable to, as at least part of their stories were fabricated. However, Gawker refused to take their article down as they were simply reporting what another outlet published and instead offered him a chance to make a comment about the speculation on its website. He declined, hoping it would die down. The actor later called the episode very offensive because he has friends who have been raped.

In I Am Michael (2014), he plays real-life figure Michael Glatze, a former gay activist who leaves his boyfriend (Zachary Quinto) behind after declaring himself straight and becoming a pastor.

Franco says of the gay content of many of his projects:

"Some of it's coincidence, or the gay aspect of the project — like Hart Crane in The Broken Tower or Allen Ginsberg in Howl — is secondary. It wasn't like, 'We need to do this because he was gay.' It's because of their art, and then their art was partially informed by their sexuality. But then with something like Interior Leather Bar or Milk, those are obviously engaging with gay themes, gay rights, gay politics. In the case of Milk, once I did that movie, it kind of opened me up to a lot of things I hadn't really thought about because they hadn't been a part of my life. Lee Daniels says that gay rights are the civil rights of our era, so I like doing a movie like Milk or Interior Leather Bar where I can bring themes and ideas I've been engaged with, and do it in such a way that those ideas are pulled into the mainstream more."

In a March 2015 interview with Four Two Nine magazine, Franco again opened up about his sexuality, commenting that it is not who you have sex with that defines your sexuality, but instead how you act. "In the twenties and thirties, they used to define homosexuality by how you acted and not by whom you slept with. Sailors would fuck guys all the time, but as long as they behaved in masculine ways, they weren’t considered gay". Franco added, "Well, I like to think that I’m gay in my art and straight in my life."

1982 – The Gay Officers Action League, Inc. is founded by NYPD Sergeant Charles Cochrane and retired Detective Sam Ciccone etablishing the first official police fraternal society in the world to represent LGBT people within the criminal justice system.

Sergeant Cochrane, a 14 year veteran of the NYPD, created shock waves by testifying before a NYC Council hearing in favor of a gay rights bill. Following the testimony of a Patrolmens Benevolent Association Vice President, who denounced the bill and declared, "I didn't know of any homosexual police officers.", Cochrane stunned all present as well as NYC as a whole by his testimony: "I am very proud of being a New York City Police Officer, and I am equally proud of being gay."

In 1987, at the persistent urging of GOAL, NYPD began a concerted effort to actively enlist qualified gay candidates. In 2002, GOAL was admitted into COPS, The Committee of Police Societies, an organization consisting of all recognized NYPD religious, ethnic fraternal organizations.

Since its ineption, GOAL has evolved not only as a fraternal organization, but also as an activist organization that represents the interests of its LGBT members in all agencies and branches within the criminal justice system.

1992 – James Scully is an American actor, best known for portraying JD in the Paramount Network series Heathers (2018) and Forty Quinn in the Netflix thriller series You.

Scully was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. In his youth, he spent a brief period in England when his father was stationed there as a part of the United States Air Force. He later attended Otterbein University, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in musical theater. Scully was also a cycling instructor for three and a half years at SWERVE Fitness.

Prior to working in Los Angeles, Scully resided in New York performing Off-Broadway. In 2016, Scully made his acting debut in the web series drama series, Sublets. Following on from his first role, Scully later made appearances in television series, such as Quantico and 9-1-1.

He has also done commercial work for Outback Steakhouse and a public service announcement about Vicodin abuse with Riverdale actress, Camila Mendes.

In 2018, Scully starred in the main role of JD on the Paramount Network series Heathers. In January 2019, it was announced that Scully had been cast as Forty Quinn on the second season of the Netflix thriller series You.

Scully is openly gay

1995 – Arizona revises its sex offender registration law to remove sodomy from the list of compulsory registration categories, but permits judges to order registration if the defendant committed sodomy for "sexual motivation."???

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