Leonard Matlovich was an LGBTIQA+ trailblazer
On September 8th, in 1975, US airman and Vietnam veteran Leonard Matlovich became the first serving member of the US military to purposefully ‘out’ himself. Matlovich also became the first openly gay person to appear on the cover of a major weekly magazine in the USA.
The groundbreaking issue of TIME magazine revealed Matlovich as a serving member of the US forces who was declaring that he was gay. It made the serviceman one of the most well know gay people in America, next to politician Harvey Milk.
Matlovich worked in the Airforce teaching incoming servicemen that racism was not acceptable within the forces, and he saw a lot of parallels between racism and the discrimination of gay people.
Matlovich officially informed his superiors of his sexuality to create a test case about discrimination within the military. Matlovich was honourably discharged from the service.
On July 16th 1976 the decision to discharge Matlovich was upheld in a civilian court by Federal District Judge Gerhard Gesell.
Commenting on his discharge Matlovich said, “Maybe not in my lifetime, but we are going to win in the end.”
It would be another 36 years before the USA military removed all forms of discrimination from their rule book.
He went on to volunteer on many gay rights campaigns and following his diagnosis of contracting HIV, he became a vocal campaigner for the rights of positive people.
He passed away, aged just 45 in March 1988. He was buried at the Congressional Cemetery and his tombstone states the famous quote;
“When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one.”
In 1989 author Mike Hippler detailed Matlovich’s life in the book Matlovich: The Good Soldier.
Find out more about Leonard Matlovich at his official website.
Playright Tony Kushner was born on this day
Tony Kushner was born on this day in 1956, he’s best known for his ground breaking play Angels in America which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play in 1993.
Angels in America is a play delivered in two parts, Part One Millennium Approaches was first performed in 1992 with the second segment Part Two: Perestroika being delivered the following year. Both segments made their Broadway debut in 1993.
The complex and often metaphorical play is a study of HIV/AIDS and attitudes towards homosexuality in America. The play is often presented as a whole piece, but is often performed as separate entities as well. Performed together the play runs for seven hours.
In 2003 it was adapted into a HBO mini-series with an all-star cast including Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Mary Louise Parker, Emma Thompson, Jeffrey Wright, James Cromwell, and Simon Callow.
While Angels in America is Kushner’s best known work he is a prolific author writing many other plays as well as several books, many essays, opera works, and some well known films.
As a screenwriter he has worked exclusively with director Stephen Spielberg creating the scripts for Munich, Lincoln, and most recently the adaptation of West Side Story. Their next collaboration is the upcoming film The Fabelmans which is scheduled for release later this year.
In 2003 Kushner held a commitment ceremony with is partner, the writer Mark Harris. Their ceremony was the first same-sex ceremony to be listed in the “vows’ section of the New York Times. The couple were legally married in 2008.
OIP Staff, this post was originally published in 2020, and has been subsequently updated.
