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Melvin Dwork

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Melvin Dwork
BornFebruary 9, 1922
Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.
DiedJune 14, 2016(2016-06-14) (aged 94)
New York City, U.S.
EducationSoutheast High School
Alma materKansas City Art Institute
Parsons School of Design
OccupationInterior designer
SpouseJohn Butler
Parent(s)Henry Dwork
Esther Brown

Melvin Dwork (February 9, 1922 – June 14, 2016) was an American interior designer and LGBT activist. He was discharged from the United States Navy in World War II for his homosexuality. He eventually had his dishonorable discharge changed to honorable in 2011. Following the war, he studied design and won several awards.[1]

Early life and education

Dwork was born on February 9, 1922 at Kansas City, Missouri to parents Henry Dwork and the former Esther Brown.[2] After graduating from Southeast High School in 1939, he spent two years as a student at the Kansas City Art Institute.[2]

Dwork then attended the Parsons School of Design in New York City in 1941 and 1942.[2]

Adult life

During World War II, Dwork served in the U.S. Navy and then applied for officer candidate school. In 1944, he began classes at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. After his partner was arrested and revealed that Dwork was his partner, military police arrested Dwork in Charleston in 1944.[2] He was jailed, labeled "deviant" by psychiatrists and then discharged as "undesirable."[2]

After leaving the Navy, Dwork returned to New York City and went on to become a successful interior designer in New York City.[2] He took classes at the Parsons School of Design, worked for antique dealers and worked alongside Yale Burge in the 1960s and James Maguire in the 1970s before striking out on his own.[2] Dwork was elected to the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 1993.[3]

Dwork spent years trying to remove his naval discharge status from "undesirable" to "honorable." With support from pro-gay and lesbian military employees and veterans, Dwork succeeded in winning that status change in 2011, shortly before the U.S. military ended its "don't ask, don't tell" policy.[2] Dwork is thought to have been the first World War II veteran to expunge an "undesirable" discharge.[2] The ruling entitled him to veterans benefits.[2]

Filmmaker Michael Jacoby made a still-unreleased documentary, titled The Undesirable, about Dwork's case.

Personal life

According to Dwork, he and choreographer John Butler were companions from 1961 until 1993, when Butler died.[2]

Dwork lived in Manhattan until his death on June 14, 2016 at the age of 94. He was survived by a brother, Irvin.[2]

References

  1. ^ McFadden, Robert D. (June 16, 2016). "Melvin Dwork, Once Cast From Navy for Being Gay, Dies at 94". NYTimes.com. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Melvin Dwork, Once Cast From Navy for Being Gay, Dies at 94". The New York Times. June 17, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  3. ^ "Melvin Dwork: 1993 Hall of Fame Inductee". Interior Design Hall of Fame. Interior Design. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
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