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On This Gay Day: Dancer Vaslav Nijinsky was born in Russia

Nijinsky was proclaimed the greatest dancer in the world Vaslav Nijinsky was born on this day in either 1889, or 1890 – the date is disputed. Historians however can agree that he was born in the Russian city of Kiev. While he was born in Russia, Nijinsky always considered himself to be Polish. His parents […]

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On This Gay Day: The McGowan Government was elected in 2017

The McGowan Government comes to power in 2017 Western Australia saw a change of government on this day in 2017 when Mark McGowan lead Labor to victory over the Liberal Barnett Government. Described as a landslide election result the Labor won 41 of the 59 seats in Legislative Assembly, the largest majority government result in […]

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On This Gay Day: AIDS activist organisation ACT UP formed

In 1987 ACT UP is formed in NYC The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) was formed on this day back in 1987. Two days earlier activist Larry Kramer gave a speech at the NYC Gay and Lesbian Centre as part of a rotating series of speakers. He spoke about his frustration with the […]

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On This Gay Day: Robert Mapplethorpe died in 1989

Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe died on this day in 1989.   Mapplethorpe created large scale photographic works, predominately in black and white, that featured nudes, still life and self portraits. His most controversial works were images focusing on the underground BDSM culture. The photographers work spurred discussions about public funding of art works and censorship. His work […]

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On This Gay Day: The film ‘The Birdcage’ was released

‘The Birdcage’ celebrates an anniversary today Classic comedy The Birdcage will mark an anniversary today, the Mike Nichols comedy was released on this day back in 1996. The film is a remake of the 1978 Franco-Italian film La Cage aux Folles, which was an adaptation of a 1973 play. While the French-Italian original spawned two sequels and the […]

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On This Gay Day: Drag star Divine died aged just 42

Divine found success around the globe in film and music  Harris Glenn Milstead was better known by his stage name Divine. The Baltimore native became friends with filmmaker John Waters in the 1960’s and they collaborated together on many film projects. After appearing in several short films, Divine took a lead role in Waters feature […]

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On This Gay Day: The Jenny Jones Show murder that shocked America

A segment on the Jenny Jones chat show led to a murder Chats shows that tackle social issues and personal stories with a healthy dollop of audience participation have been a big part of the US television industry. Phil Donohue pioneered the format and by the mid-1990’s there was a crowded market with Sally Jessy […]

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On This Gay Day: Ang Lee wins an Oscar for ‘Brokeback Mountain’

In 2006 Ang Lee won the Best Director Oscar for his work on ‘Brokeback Mountain’ On this day in 2006 Taiwanese director Ang Lee won the Best Director statue at the Academy Awards for his work on the film Brokeback Mountain The love story about two cowboys spending time together tending cattle and their subsequent […]

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On This Gay Day: ‘Lesbian’ was said in a film for the first time

The word lesbian was used in a mainstream film for the first time In 1966 the social satire film The Group tackled many topics including free love, contraception, abortion, mental illness and same-gender attraction. It goes down in history as the first mainstream film to use the word lesbian. Directed by Sydney Lumet, and based […]

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On This Gay Day: ‘M*A*S*H’ Actor David Ogden Steirs passed away

Remebering David Ogden Stiers  Actor David Ogden Stiers, best known for portraying Major Charles Winchester III on the long running TV show M*A*S*H died aged 75 on this day in 2018. Ogden Stiers joined the hit TV show in 1977 at the beginning of its sixth season, filling to void left by actor Larry Linville who had […]

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