August 6th

08-06-1928 – 02-22-1987 Andy Warhol – Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was an American artist who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as Pop Art. After his career as a successful commercial illustrator, Warhol became a renowned and controversial artist. His works explored the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture, and advertisement from the 1960s on into the 1980s. His studio, The Factory, was a famous gathering place that brought together intellectuals, drag queens, playwrights, Bohemian street people, Hollywood celebrities, and wealthy patrons. He managed and produced the Velvet Underground, a rock band which had a strong influence on the evolution of punk rock music. He is also notable as a gay man who lived openly before the gay liberation movement. The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to a single artist.

08-06-1893 -12-16-1955 Dorothy Park Caruso – Born in New York City, New York. She was the daughter of millionaire and art patron, Jakob Benjamin and Gloria Park. On August 20, 1918, she was married in New York to the Italian tenor Enrico Caruso. Three years later Caruso died. In the 1940s, she lived with and was lovers with, lesbian writer Margaret Anderson (11-24-1886 to 10-19-1973) until her death in 1955.

08-06-1938 – 05-13-2000 Paul Bartel – Born in Brooklyn, New York. He was an American actor, writer, and director. He is best known for his black comedy, Eating Raoul, which he wrote, starred in, and directed. Bartel was openly gay; this influenced his career choice, as he found himself more accepted and afforded more opportunities within the independent film industry than he would have in Hollywood. He appeared in over 90 movies and TV episodes. Bartel also directed 11 low-budget films, including Lust in the Dust (1985). Bartel died in May 2000 of a heart attack two weeks after liver cancer surgery. His final screen appearance was a posthumous role as “Dad” alongside Mary Woronov (“Mom”) in the 2001 independent film Perfect Fit.

08-06-1857 – 10-19-1915 Christian Wilhelm Allers – Born in Hamburg, Germany. He was a German painter and printmaker. Allers was a naturalist. His drawings are rich in detail. Allers subjects were everyday life scenes and portraits. While living in Capri, Allers was accused of homosexuality. He managed to escape before the lawsuit began, which led to a sentence of 4 1/2 years imprisonment, pronounced in absentia. According to the author Tito Fiorani, “Allers had distinctly homosexual tendencies and liked to surround himself with boys, often used as models.

08-06-1957 James McGreevey – Born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was the 52nd Governor of New Jersey. Among McGreevey’s accomplishments as governor were implementing a stem cell research plan for New Jersey, heavily lobbying for the state’s first domestic partnership law for same-sex couples, and signing such a law in early 2004. On the afternoon of August 12, 2004, faced with the threat of a sexual harassment lawsuit by Golan Cipel, McGreevey announced at a press conference, “My truth is that I am a gay American.” He also said that he had “engaged in an adult consensual affair with another man” and that he would resign effective November 15, 2004. His announcement made him the first openly gay state governor in United States history. His second wife, Dina Matos and he separated after he revealed that he was gay and in late 2005, McGreevey and Australian-American executive Mark O’Donnell began a relationship. The two live in Plainfield, New Jersey. McGreevey became an Episcopal priest in 2007. His life after politics, his calling as a priest, and his ministry to prison inmates are covered in a 2013 HBO documentary film, Fall to Grace directed by Alexandra Pelosi.