by Randy Shilts
Harvey Milk’s Manhattan Years (1956–1972): Among Harvey’s friends who shared their memories about this period in Milk’s life were Joe Campbell, Tom O’Horgan, author Eve Merriam, Elmer Kline, Craig Rodwell, Jim Bruton, Ellen Steuart, Tom Eure, Joe Turner, and Scott Smith. Oliver “Billy” Sipple was contacted through his attorney and declined to be interviewed. Jack Galen McKinley had commited suicide by the time primary research began on this book. Bache and Company provided Harvey’s personnel file and helped me contact Charles Morgan, Monty Gordon, and George McGeough, Milk’s colleagues at the firm.
Early San Francisco Gay History: Allan Berube of the San Francisco Gay History Project provided the bulk of the information on the impact of World War II on the San Francisco gay community. Among other people interviewed about San Francisco gay history were the late Terry Mangan of the California Historical Society; Jose Sarria; Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, founders of the Daughters of Bilitis; Pat Bond; Dorr Jones, Steve Kellogg and Hal Cal, former presidents of the San Francisco Mattachine Society; Bill May and Larry Littlejohn, early leaders of the Society for Individual Rights; Charles Morris, publisher of The Sentinel; Bob Ross, publisher of the Bay Area Reporter. Much of the information on gay life in the 1930s and 1940s came from Bay Area Reporter columns written by the late Lou Rand.
Harvey Milk’s Navy Career: Determining the truth about Harvey Milk’s career in the navy proved the most difficult aspect of this book. On one hand, he freely spread the story that he had been dishonorably discharged. No one who knew Milk before his political career, however, could remember Milk commenting about anything to do with a discharge. Finally, Anne Kronenberg recalled a conversation in which Milk offhandedly mentioned he had made up the story to get votes. Tom Randol also remembered coming across an honorable discharge certificate among Milk’s effects after the assassination. The particulars of Milk’s ranks came from his 1963 job application with Bache.
San Francisco Gay Politics (1973–1978): Jim Foster, Jo Daly, Rick Stokes, and Frank Fitch, all past presidents of the Alice B. Toklas Memorial Democratic Club; Elmer Wilhelm, past president, Stonewall Democratic Club; Bill Kraus, Chris Perry, Harry Britt, and Gwenn Craig, past presidents of the San Francisco Gay—now the Harvey Milk Gay—Democratic Club. Les Morgan, George Raya, Ken Maley, Mark Feldman, and Jack Davis also discussed various aspects of this period with me. David B. Goodstein declined to be interviewed.
San Francisco City Politics: A number of politicians took time to discuss their analyses of the changing San Francisco politics of the 1970s for this book. Among the politicos who agreed to be interviewed on the record were Mayor Dianne Feinstein, District Attorney Arlo Smith, Assemblyman Art Agnos, State Senator Milton Marks, Board of Supervisors President John Molinari, Supervisors Harry Britt, Carol Ruth Silver, and Richard Hongisto, and former Supervisor Gordon Lau.
Harvey Milk’s Campaigns (1973–1977): Michael Wong, Dennis Peron, Tom Randol, Arlo Smith, Rick Nicholls, Medora Payne, John Ryckman, Dick Pabich, Jim Rivaldo, Anne Kronenberg, Wayne Friday, Bob Ross, Walter Caplan, Hank Wilson, Ann Eliaser, and Bill and Tory Hartmann all discussed their roles in Harvey’s various campaigns. Among the organized labor leaders interviewed about their support of Milk’s campaigns were Stan Smith of the Building and Construction Trades Council, Leon Broschura of the Firefighters Union, George Evankovich of the Laborer’s Union, Teamster Allan Baird and Jim Elliot of the Automotive Machinists.
Harvey Milk’s Personal Life (1973–1978): Scott Smith provided the bulk of this information with former Castro Camera employees Danny Nicoletta and Ken Denning and Harvey’s friends Frank Robinson, Hector Cacares, Carl Carlson, Tom Randol, Rick Nicholls, Dennis Seely, Ric Puglia, Don Amador, Tony Karnes, and Milk’s personal lawyer, John Wahl. Jack Lira had committed suicide by the time research on this book began. Doug Franks, Bob Tuttle, and Bill Wiegardt also candidly discussed their relationships with Harvey.
Michael Wong’s Diary: Many of the dialogues recreated in the book come from Michael Wong’s diary. Virtually all the figures mentioned in Wong’s meticulous recording of his experiences with Harvey Milk have corroborated the journal’s accuracy.
Castro Street: The information on the history of the Castro neighborhood was drawn from nearly one hundred interviews I have conducted on the area over the years, especially with older Castro residents. Particularly helpful in the primary research for this project, however, were Allan Baird, Rick Slick, Cleve Jones, Steve Lowell, and two past presidents of the Castro Village Association, Ernie Astin and Donn Tatum. The stories about the outbreaks of police brutality in the Castro during 1974 and 1979 came largely from news accounts in the Bay Area Reporter and The Sentinel.
Fundamentalists: The information and analysis of the fundamentalist movement in the late 1970s is drawn largely from my own travels through Dade County, Wichita, St. Paul, and California during the various gay-rights controversies of that period. All the statements from the ministers and born-again Christians quoted come from this research. The archetypal fundamentalist profiled in Chapter 13, Pat of Central Pomona Baptist Church, was the subject of a television special I produced and anchored in 1978 on the emerging political clout of fundamentalists for KQED-TV. Because the interview was granted for purposes of the television documentary and since she would object to having her name in a book about a major gay figure, I did not use Pat’s full name in this account.
Harvey Milk, The Clown: The paragraphs from Letting Their Clowns Out by Ira Kamin, which appeared in the August 20, 1978 issue of California Living Magazine of the San Francisco Sunday Examiner and Chronicle, copyright © 1978 by the San Francisco Examiner, are excerpted with permission.
The Hillsborough Murder: The background information on John Cordova, murderer of Robert Hillsborough, came in part from a team investigation conducted for New West magazine by Francis Moriarty, Nora Gallagher and Randy Shilts.
Background Information on Dan White: The information concerning Dan White’s life was drawn largely from the trial transcript, the probation report drawn up by the California Adult Authority for use in his sentencing, and interviews with Chronicle reporters Warren Hinckle and Maitland Zaine. Details of the FBI investigation of White came from files from the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained under provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.
The Trial: Neither Dan White nor his attorney Doug Schmidt responded to interview requests. Prosecuting attorney Tom Norman initially indicated he would be interviewed for this book. He never made himself available for an interview, however, despite repeated attempts to contact him. Many of the details are drawn from contemporary news accounts.
The Assassinations: The killings were reconstructed from information contained in the Dan White trial transcript and photographs presented as exhibits at the trial. The anatomical aspects of the assassination were verified with a forensic pathologist. The account did not include the sketchy details offered by Dan White during his taped confession, since that statement contains various contradictions which make its truthfulness doubtful.
City Hall: Bill Roddy, former director of the Mayor’s Visitors Assistance Bureau, and Gladys Hanson of the library’s San Francisco History Room helped in my research on City Hall.
Journalists: A number of reporters shared their experiences and memories with me, providing a wealth of background material that made this account much richer. They included Chronicle staffers Jerry Burns, Jerry Roberts, Maitland Zane, and Warren Hinckle, Examiner reporter Jim Wood, Bay Area Reporter editor Paul Lorch and free-lance journalists Francis Moriarty, David Israels, and Mike Weiss.
The following people and news organizations gave me access to video- and audiotapes of Harvey Milk: KQED-TV, KTVU-TV, Jack Davis, Paul Bentley, Tom Randol, Elmer Wilhelm, George Osterkamp, Walter Caplan, and N.A. Diaman of the Queer Blue Light Collective.
Index
The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eR
eading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
Achilles, Nancy
Adler, Kurt Herbert
Adrian, Rev. Ron
AFL-CIO
Agnos, Art
Albany State College
Alcohol Beverage Control Commission (ABC)
Alfred, Randy
Alice B. Toklas Memorial Democratic Club
Alioto, Joseph
Amador, Don
American Psychiatric Association
Amos, Sharon
Aparicio, Richard
Apcar, Denise
Arkansas, anti-gay legislation in
Asmussen, Al
Astin, Ernie
Atlantic-Richfield oil company
Bache & Company
Baez, Joan
Baird, Allan
Baird, Helen
Bank of America
Barbagelata, John
Barcelona, gay demonstration in
Barcus, Rev. William
Barnum & Bailey’s circus
Barry, Bob
Bars
See also specific bars
Batema, Rev. Ray
Bay Area Committee Against the Briggs Initiative (BACABI)
Bay Area Gay Liberation (BAGL)
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART)
Bay Area Reporter
Bay Guardian
Bayshore High School
Beach, Scott
Beer distributors, strike against
Berube, Allan
Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce
Black Cat Bar, The
Blacks
Blinder, Martin
Blum, Richard
Board of Permit Appeals
Board of Realtors
Bond, Julian
Bradley, Don
Bradley, Tom
Briggs, Jessie Rae
Briggs, John Vern
Briggs Initiative (Proposition 6)
Britt, Fran
Britt, Harry
as supervisor
Brody, Doris
Broschura, Leon
Broshears, Rev. Ray
Brown, Dick
Brown, Jerry
Brown, Willie
Bruce, Lenny
Bruton, Jim
Bryant, Anita
Buchman, Paul
Building and Construction Trades Council
Burton, John
Burton, Phil
Caen, Herb
California Democratic Council
Call, Hal
Campbell, Jack
Campbell, Joe
Carlson, Carl
Carter, Jimmy
Castro Camera
closing of
rent increases for
Castro
Castro Street Fair
Castro Street neighborhood
1978 demonstrations in
Castro Village Association (CVA)
Catholic Church
Champion, Dale
Chavez, Cesar
Chicago Sun-Times
Chignell, Paul
Chinatown
Chinese-Americans
Christian, Meg
Christopher, George
Citizens for Decency and Morality
Civil Service Commission
Cochran, John
Cockettes
Collin
Concerned Voters of California (CVC)
Cone, Russ
Conspiracy theories on Milk-Moscone Assassination
Coors, Joseph
Coors, William
Coors beer, boycott of
Copertini, Cyr
Cordova, John
Costanza, Midge
Council of District Merchants
Council on Religion and the Homosexual (CRH)
Craig, Gwenn
Crocker, Templeton
Dade County, repeal of gay rights law in
Dallas, Texas
Daly, Jo
Daughters of Bilitis (DOB)
Davis, Jack
Defend Our Children Committee
Democratic National Convention (1972)
Denman, Jim
Denver Post
District elections
District
1977 elections in
Dog feces bill
Dymally, Mervyn
Elections
1969
1973
1975
1976
1977
1979
1980
Elephant Walk bar
Eliaser, Anne
Elliot, Jim
Erdelatz, Ed
Eugene, Oregon
Eure, Tom
Eureka Valley Merchants Association
Evankovich, George
Fallek, Max
Falzon, Frank
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
Feinstein, Dianne
as acting mayor
appointment of successor to Milk by
assassination of Moscone and Milk and
elected mayor
gay rights law and
Kronenberg opposed as successor to Milk by
in 1969 elections
riot after White verdict and
Filmore neighborhood
Fire Island
Firemen
Fitch, Frank
Folsom, Fred
Foran, John
Ford, Gerald
Foster, Jim
Franks, Doug
Freitas, Joe
Friday, Wayne
Fundamentalists
Gain, Charles
Garland, Judy
Gay Freedom Day Parade(1977)
Gay Freedom Day Parade (1978)
Gay Liberation Front
Gay rights laws
repeal of
Germany
Golden Gate Democratic Club
Goldwater, Barry
Goodstein, David
Gordon, Monty
Gowan, Jim
Greenwich Village
Haight-Ashbury neighborhood
Hair
Hallinan, Terrance “Kayo,”
Halloween
Harris, Fred
Hartmann, Tory
Hayden, Tom
Hearst Corporation
See also San Francisco Examiner
Hibernia Bank
Hillsborough, Helen
Hillsborough, Robert
Himmler, Heinrich
Hinckle, Warren
Hilter, Adolf
Hollonzine, Steve
Holocaust (Nazi)
Hongisto, Richard
Hunter, Tab
Hymnal, The (newsletter)
Inner City (play)
Irish-Americans
See also Castro Street neighborhood; Warren Hinckle; Dan White
Irwin, Joan
Joe the Pig
John, Elton
Jones, Cleve
Jones, Rev. Jim
Jonestown, Guyana
Judge, Goldie
Kamin, Ira
Kelly’s Bar
Kennedy, John F.
Kilduff, Marshall
Kopay, Dave
Kopp, Quentin
Korean War
Kowalski, George
Kraus, Bill
Kronenberg, Anne
as successor to Milk
Laborers Union
Lau, Gordon
LePlatney, Clifton
Liberals
Lievestro, Christian
Lira, Jack
suicide of
Los Angeles Times
Lowell, Steve
Lyon, Phyllis
McCarthy, Leo
McGovern, George
McKinley, John (Jack) Galen
suicide of
Maley, Ken
Market Street
Marks, Milton
Martin, Del
Matlovich, Tech. Sgt. Leonard
Matt
achine Review
Mattachine Society
Media
See also Press, the
Melia, William
Merman, Ethel
Merriam, Eve
Mexican-American Political Association
Miami, repeal of gay rights law in
Military, the
Milk, Audrey
Milk, Harvey Bernard
as acting mayor
ashes scattered
assassination of
autopsy of
birthday party in memory of (1979)
as Board of Permit Appeals commissioner
California Senate resolution honoring
childhood and adolescence of
as circus clown
as co-alcoholic
as college student
death threat against (1976)
dog feces bill of
forebodings of early death
hate mail received by
hope speech of
inauguration as supervisor
mayorship as goal of
memorial services for
in the navy
in 1973 election
in 1975 election
in 1976 assembly race
in 1977 election
at 1978 Gay Freedom Day Parade
political legacy of
sex life of
speeches of
successor to
as supervisor
tape of political will of
See also specific events, topics, and individuals
Milk, Minerva (Minnie)
Milk, Morris
Milk, Robert
Milk, William (Bill)
Minnelli, Liza
Mission Street district
Mitchell, John
Molinari, John
Mondale, Walter
Moore, Jimmy
Moore, Sarah Jane
Moriarty, Francis
