fallof55.com Blog

Dear Friends,

Get regular updates on the film projects, as well as other musings and insights by following me on Twitter and Facebook.

I’m on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SethRandal.

On Twitter, it’s @SethRandal.
You can also find us at @SgtPaine.

Talk soon,
Seth

Dear Friends,

Check out this amazing picture! We recently learned about this image that appears to show two men in a romantic embrace in front of an Idaho First National Bank branch, sometime in the 1950s. DO YOU KNOW WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE OR WHO TOOK THIS PICTURE? One of our friends discovered it on the gaytwogether.typepad.com blog, but so far the blog has not responded to our requests for information. Please contact me if you have any leads!

Talk soon,
Seth

Dear Friends,

I’m really excited to tell you more about our current project, a short documentary called SERGEANT PAINE. It’s about an Army Sergeant who faced retaliation after reporting dangerous gear and fraud. He and his wife faced constant threats, he says he was driven off the road, their dogs were poisoned, he was demoted to janitor and ultimately forced into early retirement – even though he had the support of the Department of Defense Inspector General.

Even if you aren’t traditionally a fan of military-themed stories, I know you’ll be moved by the power of this dramatic real-life tale of a man punished for doing the right thing.

We’re trying to raise $25,000 in the next three weeks to complete this powerful documentary in time to enter in top film festivals! Please watch my short video to learn how you can make a valuable contribution. Will you join our team today?

I could not have completed THE FALL OF ‘55 without the enthusiasm and support of people like you, and the same will be true of SERGEANT PAINE! I will always be grateful for the faith and support of the community. Thanks for your support!

Talk soon,
Seth

Dear Friends,

This October 31st marks the 55th anniversary of the start of the 1955 Boise Morals Drive. The Advocate magazine & advocate.com are tentatively planning a story for October. I gave the magazine a phone interview, and may be quoted. If and when a link is available, I’ll be sure to send it out! We’re also looking at possible screenings during the season to coincide with the anniversary.

Talk soon,
Seth

Dear Friends,

I want to welcome people who are learning about our film through TLAvideo.com! We’re very excited that TLA has just started carrying THE FALL OF ‘55. You can see clips of the film on the front page of our site, www.FALLof55.com

If you’re not familiar with TLA, they’re one of the largest retailers of LGBT films in the world. Right now, they have film sales priced at $19.99! Your copy is ready to be shipped. Just visit http://www.tlavideo.com/product/2-0-297086_the-fall-of-55.html?sn=1

Talk soon,
Seth

Dear Friends,

You’re invited to join our “Friends of the Documentary” email list. I send out updates on the film, including different screening locations, DVD Sales and information about some of my other film projects.

Sign up today. Just send your email address to fallof55@gmail.com. Your address is never sold or traded, and we generally send no more than one email a month.

Talk soon,
Seth

Dear Friends,

I want to share the story of an adventure exploring Kentucky’s gay history during my recent visit.

Before the film screened at Morehead State University, I received a news clipping in the mail from Mike Esposito, the director of Student Activities. It was from the October 15, 1960 Lexington Herald, with the headline, “Two Female Impersonators Booked During Stage Show.” He had discovered it with a search of the newspaper’s archives.

The article talks about a Friday night bust at the Lyric Theater. Female impersonators “Tuesday Taylor” and headliner “Princess De Carlo” were charged under a lewdness ordinance.

The four-man detective team led by Sgt. James Perkins, raided the show minutes after [Tuesday Taylor] performed a “strip dance” and while [Princess De Carlo] was on stage during a singing act. Both men were dressed as women.

An estimated 200 persons, including some youngsters, attended the 9 p.m. show, the second of three performances.

Police allowed [Tuesday Taylor] to complete his twisting, grinding dance and stopped the show toward the end of [Princess De Carlo's] act. –LEXINGTON LEADER, 10/15/1960

It also says, “It was the second time in two weeks that police have arrested men posing as women.”

The article is light-hearted in some ways, including a description of the dresses the duo were wearing, with Tuesday in a “red one-piece dress, large hoop earrings and black high-heel shoes,” and the Princess in a “black chiffon dinner dress, long white gloves, and high-heeled shoes.” Fabulous! As if ripped straight from the society page.

I mentioned this case during my introduction of the film at MSU. It was great to be able to give a little local gay history, a set of arrests that happened just five years after the so-called “boys of Boise” cases.

The next day, Mike and I drove through the Lexington neighborhood where he thought the Lyric Theater had been located and we saw a shell of a building, in a state of deconstruction. What had the theater looked like? What was happening to it?

We headed to the Lexington Public Library and headed for the clipping files. We found a file on the theater, and learned of its rich history, with details like these:

A leading entertainment center in the African-American community, the Lyric Theater hosted first-run films, black films and entertainers like The Temptations, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, The Ink Spots, and Redd Foxx.

The Lyric’s decline began with the integration of Lexington’s other theaters and it closed in 1963. –CINEMATREASURES.ORG

See a photo of the theater in its prime HERE

What was going on? Were they tearing down this landmark? The place looked like it had been run down for years. HERE are pictures from 2000.

I read on in the small mound of newspaper clippings.

NO! They’re rebuilding the long-empty theater! Construction began over the summer and it looks like they’re striping the building to the bones.

City officials committed to restoring the Lyric as an African American arts and culture center… a design that calls for a 588-seat theater, a 2,000-square-foot African American culture museum and a 3,800-foot multipurpose room. –TOM EBLEN

So a happy ending for the Lyric.

While we were there, we also researched an unrelated character from Lexington’s past,”Sweet Evening Breeze,” born James Herndon, who dressed openly as a woman in Lexington from the early part of the 20th century until 1983.

Lexington is known for its unique eccentrics and characters, but none can surpass the notoriety and fame of “Sweet Evening Breeze”, who managed to live openly as an African-American gay crossdressing male in the early-mid twentieth century.

At a time in history when the idea of being “out” was nearly unthinkable, and when most who chose crossdressing not just as a hobby but as a lifestyle had to keep it on the DL, Sweet Evening Breeze would have none of that. Instead of sneaking and slinking around, she walked brazenly down the city streets of Lexington in broad daylight. Everyone in town knew “Miss Sweets” and loved her.– UNUSUALKENTUCKY.BLOGSPOT.COM

As for Tuesday and Princess, we don’t yet know what happened to them. If anyone in Lexington is interested in doing some legwork, we could probably find out more. And, more research could be done on the other arrests two weeks earlier.

“Female impersonators?” Was that really the biggest peril facing Lexington Police in 1960?

My trip to Lexington turned into a History Detectives-type treasure hunt, all because Mike had done a little searching! I believe many cities probably have stories like these from the middle of the 20th Century. It just takes people like Mike willing to do a little digging.

Dear Friends,

I want to offer a big, late THANK YOU to Morehead State University in Kentucky. THE FALL OF ‘55 showed there in October, and I represented the film for an introductory speech and Q&A session afterward. In my introduction, I talked about a newly rediscovered crackdown on female impersonators in Lexington, Kentucky in 1960. That’s discussed in another blog posting.

We had a great question and answer session after the film. The audience was eager to know more about Boise and the factors that contributed to the so-called “boys of Boise” scandal.

In particular, I want to thank Mike Esposito at Morehead State University, an old friend of the film. He helped coordinate our visit, and served as a terrific tour guide around Kentucky. He also discovered the story about the female impersonator crackdown.

Thanks to Toni Hobbs, who designed great promotional materials, as well as members of the Allyance group.

I appreciate the great Kentucky hospitality!

Talk soon,
Seth

Dear Friends,

I’m very excited to announce the upcoming Kentucky premier of THE FALL OF ‘55!

We show the film TUESDAY, OCTOBER 27th at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky. It shows at 6 p.m. in the Rader Hall Theater, Room 112.

Special Thanks to Mike Esposito, the Director of Student Activities for helping coordinate the screening, and Toni Hobbs for doing a great job promoting the screening.

I’ll be introducing the film and doing audience Q&A afterward.

Hope to see you in Kentucky!

Talk soon,
Seth

Dear Friends,

I received this email from Alan Virta, our historian on THE FALL OF ‘55. I thought you might be interested as well!

Talk soon,
Seth

PBS Fronline will use 4 images from our Lyman Wilbur collection on their program next Tuesday night (Oct 13) which is about the war in Afghanistan. The slides can be seen now in a rough cut preview on the Frontline website HERE.

Alan Virta, Head of Special Collections and Associate Professor
Boise State University, Albertsons Library (Boise, Idaho)