March 22nd

03-22-1930 – 11-26-2021 Stephen Sondheim – Born in New York City, New York. He was an American composer and lyricist known for his contributions to musical theatre for over 50 years. Oscar Hammerstein II mentored him. He was the winner of an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards, including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, eight Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, and the Laurence Olivier Award. Sondheim wrote the lyrics to West Side Story and Gypsy and is the composer and lyricist of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, and Into the Woods. Sondheim didn’t come out as gay until he was 40. He lived with dramatist Peter Jones for eight years in the 1990s. As of 2010, the composer was in a relationship with Jeffrey Scott Romley. On December 31, 2017, the couple married. 

03-22-1946 Carol Anshaw – Born in Grosse Point, Michigan. She is an American novelist and short story writer. Her books include Lucky in the Corner, Seven Moves, Aquamarine, and Carry the One. Her stories have been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories in 1994, 1998, and 2012. Since 1996, Anshaw has been with documentarian and special education teacher Jessie Ewing. They were married on May 25, 2014. The couple are acknowledged in Out and Proud in Chicago.

03-22-1956 Ilana Kloss – Born in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is a former professional tennis player and the commissioner of World Team Tennis, a position she has held since 2001. Kloss was ranked No. 1 in the world in doubles and No. 19 in singles in 1976. That year she won doubles titles at the US Open, the Italian Open, the US Clay Courts, the German Open, the British Hard Courts Championship, and Hilton Head, as well as the mixed doubles title at the French Open. Kloss, who is Jewish, was inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. She is the life partner of Billie Jean King.

03-22-1971 Guillermo Diaz – Born in New Jersey, to Cuban parents, he grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York. He is an American actor. On Out’s 3rd Annual 100 Most Eligible Bachelors (2013). Diaz is known for his movie roles in Half Baked (1998), 200 Cigarettes (1999), and Stonewall (1995). He currently stars in the ABC drama Scandal as Huck. Diaz is openly gay, but told Out magazine that the fact he grew up in a rough neighborhood made it necessary to hide his orientation. “That facade of being somebody I’m really not just to protect myself definitely helped with acting.”