Lake View East in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Vito Russo
The Legacy Walk
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, August 26, 2021
1. Vito Russo Marker
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Vito Russo. The Legacy Walk.
Vito Russo Gay U.S. Activist and Film Historian (1946 - 1990), . "I don’t know what was different about the way I was raised or the way I reacted, but I never once, not for a second, believed that it was wrong to be gay, that it was a sin, that homosexuality was evil.”, – Vito Russo, Pioneering journalist, lecturer, and author Vito Russo’s activism began in the early years of gay liberation following the Stonewall riots. His ‘Movie Nights’ screenings of camp films were cultural touchstones for the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA), a gay rights organization founded in late 1969. A charismatic speaker and film buff, from 1973 to 1990 Russo traveled throughout the United States and to several European cities delivering lectures about 'The Celluloid Closet' - with accompanying film clips, at college campuses and at assorted venues. Russo’s presentations, as well as his 1981 book The Celluloid Closet, explored the history of gay and lesbian representation in film, explaining how such depictions in movies were surprisingly open before the advent of the Hays Hollywood Production Code in 1930 and viciously demonized thereafter. In 1983 Russo wrote, produced and co-hosted a WNYC-TV public television series focusing on the gay community called “Our Time”. In 1985, the same year he was diagnosed with HIV, the defamatory and sensationalized coverage of the AIDS epidemic by ‘The New York Post’ prompted Russo to co-establish the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). The organization continues to monitor LGBT representation on television, in print, and in film and still presents an annual award in Russo’s honor. In 1987 Russo and activist/author Larry Kramer co-founded the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) – which focused the nations AIDS activism by forcing a brutally homophobic government to respond to the worst health crisis of modern times. In 1990 Russo appeared in the Oscar winning documentary “Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt.” He died of AIDS-related complications on November 7, 1990 at the age of 44. His definitive biography – Celluloid Activist – was published in 2011; and the film documentary of his life – “VITO” – was released in 2012. Vito Russo’s enduring legacy – the 1996 HBO documentary of “The Celluloid Closet” (a film project funded almost entirely by small donations) was co-executive produced and narrated by his close friend, Lily Tomlin, just as she promised it would be.
Vito Russo
Gay U.S. Activist and Film Historian
(1946 - 1990)
"I don’t know what was different about the way I was raised or the way I reacted, but I never once, not for a second, believed that it was wrong to be gay, that it was a sin, that homosexuality was evil.”
– Vito Russo
Pioneering journalist, lecturer, and author Vito Russo’s activism began in the early years of gay liberation following the Stonewall riots. His ‘Movie Nights’ screenings of camp films were cultural touchstones for the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA), a gay rights organization founded in late 1969. A charismatic speaker and film buff, from 1973 to 1990 Russo traveled throughout the United States and to several European cities delivering lectures about 'The Celluloid Closet' - with accompanying film clips, at college campuses and at assorted venues. Russo’s presentations, as well as his 1981 book The Celluloid Closet, explored the history of gay and lesbian representation in film, explaining how such depictions in movies were surprisingly open before the advent of the Hays Hollywood Production Code in 1930 and viciously demonized thereafter. In 1983 Russo wrote, produced and co-hosted a WNYC-TV public television series focusing on the gay community called “Our Time”. In 1985, the
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same year he was diagnosed with HIV, the defamatory and sensationalized coverage of the AIDS epidemic by ‘The New York Post’ prompted Russo to co-establish the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). The organization continues to monitor LGBT representation on television, in print, and in film and still presents an annual award in Russo’s honor. In 1987 Russo and activist/author Larry Kramer co-founded the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) – which focused the nations AIDS activism by forcing a brutally homophobic government to respond to the worst health crisis of modern times. In 1990 Russo appeared in the Oscar winning documentary “Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt.” He died of AIDS-related complications on November 7, 1990 at the age of 44. His definitive biography – Celluloid Activist – was published in 2011; and the film documentary of his life – “VITO” – was released in 2012. Vito Russo’s enduring legacy – the 1996 HBO documentary of “The Celluloid Closet” (a film project funded almost entirely by small donations) was co-executive produced and narrated by his close friend, Lily Tomlin, just as she promised it would be.
Erected 2016 by The Legacy Project.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, August 26, 2021
2. Vito Russo Marker - wide view, looking south on North Halsted
The marker is visible here on the rainbow pylon that it shares with a marker for Billy Strayhorn.
• Entertainment. In addition, it is included in the The Legacy Walk series list. A significant historical date for this entry is November 7, 1990.
Location. 41° 56.652′ N, 87° 38.959′ W. Marker is in Chicago, Illinois, in Cook County. It is in Lake View East. Marker is on North Halsted Street north of Webster Street, on the left when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3411 North Halsted Street, Chicago IL 60657, United States of America. Touch for directions.
"Vito Russo (July 11, 1946 – November 7, 1990) was an American LGBT activist, film historian, and author. He is best remembered as the author of the book The Celluloid Closet (1981, revised edition 1987), described in The New York Times as "an essential
Photographed By Andrew Ruppenstein, August 26, 2021
3. Marker inset: Vito Russo
reference book" on homosexuality in the US film industry. In 1985 he co-founded the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, a media watchdog organization that strives to end anti-LGBT rhetoric, and advocates for LGBT inclusion in popular media."
Kay Tobin Lahusen (courtesy of the New York Public Library), 1970
4. GAA and Vito Russo marching in 1st Christopher St Liberation Day Parade
Vito Russo is the person with the striped pants and carrying the banner.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 30, 2023. It was originally submitted on November 4, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 140 times since then and 12 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on November 4, 2021, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California.
