Randy Shilts: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox Writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox Writer/doc]] --> |
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| name = Randy Shilts |
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| image = Randy Shilts 1987.jpg |
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| caption = Shilts in the newsroom of the [[San Francisco Chronicle]], 1987 |
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| birthdate = {{birth date|1951|8|8|mf=y}} |
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| birthplace = [[Davenport, Iowa]], USA |
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| deathdate = {{death date and age|1994|2|17|1951|8|8|mf=y}} |
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| deathplace = [[Guerneville, California]], USA |
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| occupation = Journalist, author |
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| genre = Journalism, history, biography |
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| movement = Literary journalism<!--(literary movement associated with or involving the writer)--> |
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| influences = <!--(other writers who influenced his/her work)--> |
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| influenced = <!--(other writers who were influenced by his/her work)--> |
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| signature = <!--(signature picture)--> |
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}} |
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'''Randy Shilts''' ([[August 8]] [[1951]] – [[February 17]] [[1994]]) was a highly acclaimed, pioneering [[gay]] [[United States|American]] [[journalist]] and [[author]]. He worked as a [[reporter]] for both ''[[The Advocate]]'' and the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'', as well as for [[San Francisco Bay Area]] television stations. |
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==Early life== |
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Born [[August 8]] [[1951]] in [[Davenport, Iowa]], Shilts grew up in [[Aurora, Illinois]], with five brothers in a politically [[American conservatism|conservative]], working-class family. He majored in [[journalism]] at the [[University of Oregon]], where he worked on the student newspaper, the [[Oregon Daily Emerald]], becoming an award-winning managing editor. During his college days, he "[[coming out|came out]]" publicly as a [[gay]] man at age 20, and ran for student office with the slogan "Come out for Shilts."<ref name="SFGATE">[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/02/17/DDGGH50UAU1.DTL "Randy Shilts was gutsy, brash and unforgettable"]; Weiss, Mike; [[San Francisco Chronicle]], [[February 17]] [[2004]]; Page D-1; Retrieved on [[2007-01-03]]</ref> |
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{{LGBT}} |
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==Journalism== |
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Shilts graduated near the top of his class in 1975, but as an openly gay man, he struggled to find full-time employment in what he characterized as the [[homophobia|homophobic]] environment of newspapers and television stations at that time.<ref name="SFGATE"/> After several years of freelance journalism, he was finally hired as a national correspondent by the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' in 1981, becoming "the first openly gay reporter with a gay 'beat' in the American mainstream press."<ref name="QUEER">[http://www.queertheory.com/histories/s/shilts_randy.htm Randy Shilts at Queer Theory] Retrieved on [[2007-01-03]]</ref> Coincidentally, [[AIDS]], the disease that would take his life, first came to nationwide attention that same year, and soon Shilts devoted himself to covering the unfolding story of the disease and its medical, social, and political ramifications. |
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==Books== |
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In addition to his extensive journalism, Shilts wrote three best-selling, widely acclaimed books. His first, ''[[The Mayor of Castro Street]]: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk,'' is a biography of the first openly gay [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] politician, [[Harvey Milk]], who was [[Moscone-Milk assassinations|assassinated]] by a political rival in 1978. The book broke new ground, being written at a time when "the very idea of a gay political biography was brand-new."<ref name="QUEER"/> |
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Shilts's second book, ''[[And the Band Played On|And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic]] (1980-1985)'', published in [[1987]], won the [[Stonewall Book Award]] and brought him nationwide literary fame. ''And the Band Played On'' is an extensively researched account of the early days of the [[AIDS in the United States|AIDS epidemic in the United States]]. The book was translated into seven languages,<ref name="HALL">[http://netvolution.uoregon.edu/awards/hoa/index.html School of Journalism and Communication Hall of Achievement]. Retrieved on [[2007-01-03]]</ref> and in [[1993 in television|1993]] was made into an [[HBO]] film with many big-name actors in starring or supporting roles, including [[Matthew Modine]], [[Richard Gere]], [[Anjelica Huston]], [[Phil Collins]], [[Lily Tomlin]] and [[Alan Alda]], among others. The film earned 20 nominations and 9 awards, including the 1994 [[Emmy Award]] for Outstanding Made for Television Movie.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106273/ IMDb entry for ''And the Band Played On''.] Retrieved on [[2007-01-03]]</ref> |
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His last book, ''[[Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the US Military]]: Vietnam to the Persian Gulf'', which examined discrimination against [[sexual orientation and military service|lesbians and gays in the military]], was published in 1993. Shilts and his assistants conducted over a thousand interviews while researching the book, the last chapter of which Shilts dictated from his hospital bed.<ref name="HOME">[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9F0CE1D71E3FF931A15757C0A965958260 "AT HOME WITH: Randy Shilts; Writing Against Time, Valiantly"]; Schmalz, Jeffrey; ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[April 22]] [[1993]] Retrieved on [[2007-01-03]]</ref> |
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Shilts's writing was admired for its powerful narrative drive, interweaving personal stories with political and social reporting. Shilts saw himself as a [[literary journalism|literary journalist]] in the tradition of [[Truman Capote]] and [[Norman Mailer]].<ref name="CALI">[http://www.cateweb.org/CA_Authors/shilts.htm California Association of Teachers of English. California authors: Randy Shilts, 1951-1994]; Albert, Janice; Retrieved on [[2007-01-03]]</ref> Undaunted by a lack of enthusiasm for his initial proposal for the Harvey Milk biography, Shilts reworked the concept, as he later said, after further reflection: <blockquote>I read ''[[Hawaii (novel)|Hawaii]]'' by [[James Michener]]. That gave me the concept for the book, the idea of taking people and using them as vehicles, symbols for different ideas. I would take the life-and-times approach and tell the whole story of the gay movement in this way, using Harvey as the major vehicle.<ref name="CALI"/></blockquote> |
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==Criticism and praise== |
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Although Shilts was applauded for bringing public attention to bear on gay civil-rights issues and the [[AIDS]] crisis, he was also harshly criticized (and spat upon in [[The Castro|Castro Street]]) by some in the gay community for calling for the closure of [[gay bathhouse]]s in San Francisco to slow the spread of AIDS.<ref name="LATIMES">[http://www.aegis.com/news/lt/1994/lt940208.html "Randy Shilts, Chronicler of AIDS Epidemic, Dies at 42; Journalism: Author of 'And the Band Played On' is credited with awakening nation to the health crisis"]; Warren, Jennifer and Paddock, Richard; ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''; February 18, 1994; PAGE: A-1; Retrieved on [[2007-01-03]]</ref> Shilts maintained his sense of integrity in spite of being called "a traitor to his own kind" by a fellow Bay Area journalist.<ref name="SFGATE"/> In a note included in ''The Life and Times of Harvey Milk'', Shilts expressed his view of a reporter's duty to rise above criticism: <blockquote>I can only answer that I tried to tell the truth and, if not be objective, at least be fair; history is not served when reporters prize trepidation and propriety over the robust journalistic duty to tell the whole story.<ref name="LATIMES"/></blockquote> |
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Shilts was also criticized by some segments of the gay community on other issues, including his opposition to the controversial practice of [[outing]] prominent but [[the closet|closeted]] lesbians and gay men. |
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Nevertheless, his tenacious reporting was highly praised by others in both the gay and straight communities who saw him as "the pre-eminent chronicler of gay life and spokesman on gay issues".<ref name="HOME"/> Shilts was honored with the 1988 Outstanding Author award from the [[American Society of Journalists and Authors]], the 1990 Mather Lectureship at [[Harvard University]], and the 1993 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists' Association.<ref name="HALL"/> |
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In 1999, the Department of Journalism at [[New York University]] ranked Shilts's AIDS reporting for the ''Chronicle'' between 1981 and 1985 as number 44 on a list of the top 100 works of journalism in the United States in the 20th century.<ref>[http://www.nyu.edu/classes/stephens/Top%20100%20page.htm New York University: Top 100 Works of Journalism]; Project Director: Mitchell Stephens; announced March 1999; Retrieved on [[2007-01-03]]</ref> |
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==Illness and death== |
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Shilts refused to be tested for [[HIV]] until he had completed the writing of ''[[And the Band Played On]]'', concerned that the test result, whatever it might be, would interfere with his objectivity as a writer.<ref name="SFGATE"/> He was finally found to be HIV positive in March 1987. Although he took the anti-HIV drug [[AZT]] for several years, he did not publicly disclose his [[AIDS]] diagnosis until shortly before he died. |
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In 1992, Shilts came down with [[pneumocystis carinii pneumonia]] and suffered a collapsed lung; the following year, he came down with [[Kaposi's sarcoma]]. In a ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' interview in the spring of 1993, Shilts observed that, <blockquote>HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character.<ref name="HOME"/></blockquote> Despite being effectively homebound and on oxygen, he was able to attend the Los Angeles screening of the HBO film version of ''And the Band Played On'' in August 1993. |
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Shilts died, aged 42, at his ten-acre ranch in [[Guerneville, California|Guerneville]], [[Sonoma County, California]], being survived by his partner, Barry Barbieri, his mother, and his brothers. His brother Gary had conducted a commitment service for the couple the previous year.<ref name="LATIMES"/> After a funeral service at [[Glide Memorial Church]], Shilts was buried at Redwood Memorial Gardens in Guerneville.<ref name="CALI"/> |
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==Legacy== |
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Shilts bequeathed 170 cartons of papers, notes, and research files to the local history section of the [[San Francisco Public Library]]. At the time of his death, he was planning a fourth book, examining homosexuality in the [[Roman Catholic Church]].<ref name="CALI"/> |
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As a fellow reporter put it, despite an early death, in his books Shilts "rewrote history. In doing so, he saved a segment of history from extinction."<ref name="SFGATE"/> Regarding ''And the Band Played On'', historian [[Garry Wills]] wrote, "This book will be to [[gay liberation]] what [[Betty Friedan]] was to early [[feminism]] and [[Rachel Carson]]'s ''[[Silent Spring]]'' was to [[environmentalism]]." <ref name="LATIMES"/> [[NAMES Project]] founder [[Cleve Jones]] described Shilts as "a hero" and characterized his books as "without question the most important works of literature affecting gay people."<ref name="SFGATE"/> |
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After his death, a longtime friend and assistant explained the motivation that drove Shilts: "He chose to write about gay issues for the mainstream precisely because he wanted other people to know what it was like to be gay. If they didn't know, how were things going to change?"<ref name="SFGATE"/> |
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In 1998, Shilts was memorialized in the Hall of Achievement at the University of Oregon School of Journalism, honoring his refusal to be "boxed in by the limits that society offered him. As an out gay man, he carved a place in journalism that was not simply groundbreaking but internationally influential in changing the way the news media covered AIDS."<ref name="HALL"/> A ''San Francisco Chronicle'' reporter summed up the achievement of his late "brash and gutsy" colleague: |
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<blockquote>Perhaps because Shilts remains controversial among some gays, there is no monument to him. Nor is there a street named for him, as there are for other San Francisco writers such as [[Jack Kerouac]] and [[Dashiell Hammett]]. . . . Shilts' only monument is his work. He remains the most prescient chronicler of 20th century American gay history.<ref name="SFGATE"/></blockquote> |
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In 2006, the award-winning ''Reporter Zero'', a half-hour biographical documentary about Shilts featuring interviews with friends and colleagues, was produced and directed by filmmaker Carrie Lozano.<ref>[http://www.reporterzero.com/index.html Reporter Zero Official Website]; Retrieved on [[2007-01-03]]</ref> |
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==References== |
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<div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;"> |
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<references/> |
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==External links== |
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*[http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=5&entry_id=5697 Podcast, "AIDS at 25 - Reflections on reporter Randy Shilts," [[San Francisco Chronicle]]] |
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*[http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-literary-criticism/shilts-randy "Randy Shilts, 1951-1994," e-Notes Criticism and Essays] |
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*[http://www.nlgja.org/halloffame/randy_shilts.html LGBT Journalists Hall of Fame, National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association] |
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*[http://www.glbtq.com/literature/shilts_r.html Randy Shilts] on [[glbtq.com]] |
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==Bibliography== |
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* ''Familiar Faces, Hidden Lives: The Story of Homosexual Men in America Today,'' by Howard J. Brown, M.D., Introduction by Randy Shilts, 1976 (ISBN 0-156-30120-2) |
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* ''The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk,'' 1982 (ISBN 0-312-52331-9) |
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* ''[[And the Band Played On]]: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic (1980-1985),'' 1987 (ISBN 0-613-29872-1) |
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* ''Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the U.S. Military,'' 1993 (ISBN 0-312-34264-0) |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shilts, Randy}} |
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[[Category:1951 births]] |
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[[Category:1994 deaths]] |
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[[Category:AIDS-related LGBT deaths]] |
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[[Category:American biographers]] |
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[[Category:American journalists]] |
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[[Category:Gay writers]] |
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[[Category:Historians of LGBT topics]] |
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[[Category:LGBT journalists]] |
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[[Category:LGBT writers from the United States]] |
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[[Category:People from Aurora, Illinois]] |
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[[Category:People from Davenport, Iowa]] |
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[[Category:People from San Francisco, California]] |
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[[de:Randy Shilts]] |
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Revision as of 01:32, 4 June 2008
RANDY SHILTS LUVS PENIS!