Celluloid activist : the life and times of Vito Russo

The Resource Celluloid activist : the life and times of Vito Russo
Label
Celluloid activist : the life and times of Vito Russo
Title remainder
the life and times of Vito Russo
Statement of responsibility
Michael Schiavi
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
Annotation
Member of
Biography type
individual biography
Cataloging source
N$T
Dewey number
  • 791.43092
  • B
Government publication
government publication of a state province territory dependency etc
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
PN1998.3.R885
LC item number
S35 2011eb
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
  • dictionaries
  • bibliography
Summary expansion
Celluloid Activistis the biography of gay-rights giant Vito Russo, the man who wroteThe Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies, commonly regarded as the foundational text of gay and lesbian film studies and one of the first to be widely read. But Russo was much more than a pioneering journalist and author. A founding member of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and cofounder of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), Russo lived at the center of the most important gay cultural turning points in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. His life as a cultural Zelig intersects a crucial period of social change, and in some ways his story becomes the story of a developing gay revolution in America. A frequent participant at zaps and an organizer of Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) cabarets and danceswhich gave the New York gay and lesbian community its first social alternative to Mafia-owned barsRusso made his most enduring contribution to the GAA with his marshaling of Movie Nights, the forerunners to his worldwide Celluloid Closet lecture tours that gave gay audiences their first community forum for the dissection of gay imagery in mainstream film. Biographer Michael Schiavi unravels Vito Russos fascinating life story, from his childhood in East Harlem to his own heartbreaking experiences with HIV/AIDS. Drawing on archival materials, unpublished letters and journals, and more than two hundred interviews, including conversations with a range of Russos friends and family from brother Charlie Russo to comedian Lily Tomlin to pioneering activist and playwright Larry Kramer, Celluloid Activistprovides an unprecedented portrait of a man who defined gay-rights and AIDS activism. Schiavi is thorough and compelling both in bringing this complex character to life and in delineating the people and events that shaped him. Highly Recommended. CHOICEFinalist, Over the Rainbow List, American Library Association

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Context of Celluloid activist : the life and times of Vito Russo

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