November 10th

11-10-1947 – 12-24-2019   Allee Willis – Born in Detroit, Michigan. She was an American songwriter and director. Willis was nominated for an Emmy Award for I’ll Be There For You (the theme song for the sitcom Friends) and won two Grammy Awards for Beverly Hills Cop and The Color Purple. She also co-wrote September and Boogie Wonderland, both hit songs recorded by Earth, Wind & Fire. Her catalog also included the Pointer Sisters’ Neutron Dance  and the Pet Shop Boys’ What Have I Done to Deserve This? (featuring Dusty Springfield). In 2018, she was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Willis died of a heart attack on December 24, 2019 and is survived by her long-term partner, Prudence Fenton, an animator and producer.

11-10-1911 – 03-06-1989 Harry Fleetwood Andrews – Born in Tonbridge, Kent, England. He was an English film actor, known for his frequent portrayals of tough military officers. He made his film debut in The Red Beret in 1953. His performance as Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the 1965 National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the 1966 BAFTA Award for Best British Actor. His long term partner was actor Basil Hoskins, another English actor.

11-10-1861 – 09-10-1889 Amy Levy – Born in London, England. She was a British essayist, poet, and novelist. Levy was the first Jewish woman at Cambridge University. Her feminist positions and the women friends she associated with, including some that were lesbians, were called the “New Woman.” While traveling in Florence in 1886, she met and fell in love with fiction writer, Vernon Lee (born Violet Paget). Both women had themes of sapphic love in their writings, including Levy’s poem, To Vernon Lee. From an early age, Levy suffered from episodes of major depression. Because of the distress in her romantic relationships, and her awareness of going deaf, her depression worsened. She committed suicide two months before her 28th birthday. Oscar Wilde wrote an obituary for her in Women’s World that praised her works.

11-10-1913 – 05-17-1999 James Broughton – Born in Modesto, California. He was an American poet and filmmaker. Part of the San Francisco Renaissance, prior to the Beat poets, he was also a member of the Radical Faeries. In his autobiography, Coming Unbuttoned (1993), he talks about his love affairs with both men and women. Among his male loves was gay activist Harry Hay. He briefly lived with film critic Pauline Kael. They had a daughter who was born in 1948. Broughton is the subject of a 2012 award-winning documentary film, Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton. A quote from James Broughton: “I’m happy to report that my inner child is still ageless.”

1-10-1924 – 04-09-2020   Phyllis Lyon – Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She and Del Martin were an American lesbian couple known as feminists and gay-rights activists. Martin and Lyon met in 1950, became lovers in 1952 and moved in together on Valentine’s Day 1953 in an apartment on Castro St. in San Francisco. They had been together for three years when they founded the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) in 1955, which became the first social and political organization for lesbians in the United States. They also published DOB magazine The Ladder. They remained involved with the DOB until they joined the National Organization for Women (NOW) as the first lesbian couple to do so. In 1995 they were named delegates to the White House Conference on Aging, Martin by Senator Dianne Feinstein and Lyon by Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. They were married in San Francisco on June 16, 2008. Martin died on August 27, 2008, from complications of an arm bone fracture. On April 9, 2020, Lyon passed away from natural causes at the age of 95. In 2003 filmmaker JEB (Joan E. Biren) released a documentary film on the couple, No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, available form Frameline and broadcast on both the Sundance Channel and PBS. The 1993 documentary Last Call at Maud’s also featured Martin and Lyon. The records of Lyon and Martin’s are preserved at the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco. The collection is fully processed and is available for use by researchers. The Online Archive of California offers the complete finding aid.

11-10-1966   Bill Kennedy – Place of birth unknown. He went to high school and college in Phoenix, Arizona. He is an American professional basketball referee for the NBA. In December 2015, Kennedy ejected Rajon Rondo from a game. Rondo responded by using a gay slur towards Kennedy, which resulted in a one-game suspension for Rondo. Kennedy later revealed that he is gay.

11-10-1969 Carson Kressley – Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He was the fashion expert on the American TV show Queer Eye For The Straight Guy. He has his own clothing line “Perfect” for men and women, on QVC. He debuted a new women’s collection on Shop NBC on April 2012. Kressley was a fan favorite on season 13 of Dancing with the Stars. He currently resides in Manhattan, where he is active in many gay rights, animal and health-related charities. He is openly gay.

11-10-1978 Nadine Angerer – Born in Lohr am Main, West Germany. She is a German professional football goalkeeper. Out as bisexual, she told the German newspaper Die Zeit in December 2010 that she does not discriminate on grounds of gender when considering personal relationships. She currently plays for Portland Thorns FC in the NWSL. She is also captain of the German national team. On January 13, 2014, she was named FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, becoming the first goalkeeper to win this award.

11-10-1980 Donté Stallworth – Born in Sacramento, California. He is a former American football wide receiver. He played ten seasons in the National Football League. On April 10, 2013, he joined the group fighting homophobia in sports. He has long been a supporter of marriage equality.

11-10-1982 Heather Matarazzo – Born in Oyster Bay, New York. She is an American actress. Her breakthrough role was as a geeky girl in the film Welcome to the Dollhouse (1985). Her other movies include The Devil’s Advocate (1997), Scream 3 (2000), Sorority Boys (2002), and Hostel: Part 2 (2007). She is an out lesbian.