September 30th

09-30-1935 Johnny Mathis – Born in Gilmer, Texas. He is one of the most popular American singers of popular music and jazz. In 1958, Johnny’s Greatest Hits was released. The album spent an unprecedented 491 consecutive weeks through 1967 (nine and a half years) on the Billboard top 100 album charts, earning him a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records. In 1982 he was quoted as having said, “Homosexuality is a way of life that I’ve grown accustomed to.” The statement was retracted after he received death threats. In 2006 he spoke about being gay again and said his reluctance to speak on the subject was partially generational. He is now openly gay. In 2003, the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences awarded Mathis the Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for three separate recordings. On June 21, 2014, Johnny Mathis was inducted into the Great American Songbook Hall of Fame along with Linda Ronstadt, Shirley Jones, and Nat King Cole.

09-30-1924 – 08-25-1984 Truman Capote – Born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and non-fiction are recognized literary classics, including Breakfast At Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood. Capote was openly gay. One of his first serious lovers was Newton Arvin, a literature professor at Smith College, who won the National Book Award for his Herman Melville biography in 1951 and whom Capote dedicated Other Voices, Other Rooms. Capote spent the majority of his life until death with fellow writer Jack Dunphy. Their sometimes separate living quarters allowed autonomy within the relationship and, as Dunphy admitted, “spared [him] the anguish of watching Capote drink and take drugs.”

09-30-1984 Danica Roem – Born in Prince William County, Virginia. She is an American journalist and a Democratic politician. On November 7, 2017, she was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, representing the 13th district. She is the first openly transgender person to be elected to a U.S. state’s legislature. Roem beat anti-LGBT Republican Bob Marshall, who had held office for 25 years. In 2016, Marshall had authored the “bathroom bill”, which died in committee in January 2017, and referred to himself as Virginia’s “chief homophobe.” Roem came out as transgender in 2013 and legally changed her name in 2015. She sings in the metal band Cab Ride Home.

09-30-1949 Liz Malia – Born in Endicott, New York. She is a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. A Democrat, she has served in the Massachusetts House of Representative since March 1998. Malia is openly lesbian and co-founded the Bay State Gay and Lesbian Democrats in the mid-1980s. She is one of the five openly LGBT members of the Massachusetts General Court.

09-30-1957 Elizabeth Sims – Born in Wyandotte, Michigan. She is an American writer, journalist, and contributing editor at Writer’s Digest magazine. Her Lillian Byrd Crime Stories is a four-novel series focuses on lesbian culture, mystery, and love. The second book in the series, Damn Straight, won a 2003 Lambda Literary Award. In addition to her writing, Sims serves as a keynote speaker and presents workshops at writer’s conferences and retreats around North America.

 

 

09-30-1960 Nicola Griffith – Born in Leeds, Yorkshire, England. She is a British-American novelist, essayist, and teacher. She has won numerous awards, including six Lambda Literary Awards. She was aware that she was a lesbian at the age of thirteen, but didn’t come out until she was sixteen and would no longer be a minor. In 1988, she received a scholarship to attend the Clarion Workshop at Michigan State University. It was there that she met her future wife, Kelley Eskridge. In 1993, Griffith was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The couple lives in Seattle, Washington.

09-30-1966 Tina Kotek – Born in York, Pennsylvania. She is an American politician from Oregon. A Democrat, she serves as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives. Kotek, a lesbian, is the only (but not the first) out gay member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. After Democrats won a majority in the House in 2012 election, they nominated Kotek for Speaker of the House for the 2013 legislative session. Kotek was elected to the position and then reelected in 2015.

09-30-1986 James Barnett – Born in Hutchinson, Kansas. He is an American entrepreneur and community activist from Dallas, Texas. At 17, he created a social networking site for gay teens and young adults.

09-30-1992 Ezra Miller – Born in Wyckoff, New Jersey. He is an American actor, singer, musician and model known for his roles as Vincent “Vinnie” Rizzo, Jr. in City Island (2009), Elliot Hellman in Another Happy Day (2011), and the title character of We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011). He also starred in the teen drama The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012). Warner Bros. has announced that he will star as the lead in a live-action film adaptation of the DC Comics character The Flash set to be released in 2018. He describes himself as queer. He has stated “The way I would choose to identify myself wouldn’t be gay. I’ve been attracted to mostly “shes” but I’ve been with many people and I’m open to love wherever it can be.”