July 11th

07-11-1931 – 07-08-2018  Tab Hunter (born Arthur Andrew Kelm) – Born in New York City, New York, he grew up in Long Beach, California. He was an American actor, singer, and author who has starred in over 40 films. Hunter had a 1957 hit record with the song Young Love, which was number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart for six weeks. In 1958, Hunter starred in the musical Damn Yankees. Hunter was Warner Bros.’ top money-grossing star from 1955 through 1959. In the 1980s he became a cult star appearing in Lust in the Dust, Polyester, and Grease 2.  In his autobiography, Hunter acknowledged that he is gay. A 2015 documentary about his life, Tab Hunter Confidential, was directed by Jeffrey Schwarz and produced by Hunter’s partner, Allan Glaser. It’s available on Netflix. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. On July 8th, he passed away due to a blood clot. He is survived by his husband, studio executive, Allan Glaser.

07-11-1895 – 04-10-1941 Dolly Wilde – Born in London, England. She was the niece of Oscar Wilde. In 1914, she went to France and drove an ambulance during WWI. During that time, around 1917 or 1918, she had an affair with Standard Oil heiress Marion “Joe” Carstairs. Although she attracted to both men and women, she was primarily a lesbian. Her longest relationship was with out lesbian American writer, Natalie Clifford Barney, starting in 1927 until her death in 1941. In 1939 she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The following year, with the Germans approaching Paris, she fled to England. She died in 1941 of “causes unascertainable,” according to the coroner’s inquest—possible cancer or a drug overdose.

07-11-1946 – 10-12-1999 Martin Wong – Born in Portland, Oregon. He was a U.S. painter of the late twentieth century. He was active in the San Francisco Bay area art scene, including set designer for the performance art groups, The Cockettes, and Angels of Light. Two of Wong’s paintings are in the collection of the Whitney Museum in NYC. He was openly gay. He died in San Francisco from an AIDS-related illness in 1999.

07-11-1968 Esera Tuaolo – Born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is a former American professional football player. He was a defensive tackle in the NFL for nine years. Tuaolo is of Samoan ancestry. In 2002, after retiring from football, he came out as gay on HBO’s Real Sports. He has since worked with the NFL to combat homophobia in the league and is a board member of the Gay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation. He also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2004, to share his coming out story. Tualolo’s autobiography, Alone in the Trenches: My Life As a Gay Man in the NFL, was released in 2006.

07-11-1971 Leisha Hailey – Born in Okinawa, Japan to American parents, she grew up in Bellevue, Nebraska. She is an American actress and musician. Hailey is known for playing Alice Pieszecki in the Showtime series The L Word. As a musician, she was in the pop duo The Murmurs and has continued her music career as part of the band Un Huh Her. She co-wrote the Shakira hit song Don’t Bother. At 17, she came out as gay. Hailey dated k.d. lang for nearly five years until the relationship ended in 2001.

07-11-1986 Sharnee Zoll-Norman – Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is an American WNBA point guard for the Chicago Sky team. Although she had mentioned her wife, Serita Norman, in previous interviews, she never formally came out until a June 2013 interview with the Windy City Times, stating “If I was straight, I wouldn’t have to come out and say that I was straight. So I’ve never had an official coming-out or something where I felt I had to announce that I was gay. But everyone knows. I wear my wedding ring proudly.”