West Hollywood 1980
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- Опубликовано: 27 ноя 2016
- The city of West Hollywood celebrates its 32nd birthday on November 29, 2016. Two years before it was born, I was contributing a monthly feature about streets in L.A. to "Two on the Town," a local series broadcast by KCBS-TV hosted by Steve Edwards and Connie Chung and directed byJoel Tator. One of the streets that I profiled was Santa Monica Boulevard in the area of what was then an unincorporated area of L.A. County.
Thank you to the older gays who fought the fight to make it easier now.
Don't forget to thank them for spreading AIDS.
@rrr ccc Extremely sexually active men who had sex with large numbers of other men unknowingly helped spread HIV in the early stages of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. ( you're uneducated )
@@Iceis_Phoenix 😄😄
The older gays killed and spread diseases at a high rate. MS 13 gate can't compete. Lol🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
@@Iceis_Phoenix Do you really think people willfully spread a disease like this or is it possible no one knew what it was or how it was spread for at least a few years when it first appeared? You seem to want to paint my generation as evil or nasty, but straights were also "promiscuous" in the '70s and early '80s. I guess you weren't there so you wouldn't know. You sound strangely ill-informed in regards to the history of the epidemic and gay peoples' reaction to it.. Take the time to educate yourself and you will see a different picture of a community that responded heroically and most practically to a monstrous disease no one saw coming. What you are referring to is the initial denial phase. I assure you people responded as soon as the medical community figured out what was going on as I was a hospital social worker at that time.
I was there in the early 80s and I am still here in the 2020s.
Same here, but a lot of my friends aren't.
You made it OK, Ron. As David before says, many he knew did not.
What might account for it? Part circumstance, part luck and part
stars shining just-right.
@@jamesmiller4184 Or maybe it's true...only the good die young.
TOPS lived, BOTTOMS died. @@DavidLS1
@@LannieLord I was VERSATILE.
Amen. My father is gay and I was born this year, 1980. When I was a kid back then, having a gay dad, in the height of the AIDS crisis, made a lot of people uncomfortable. Things have gotten so much better. The youth of today have no idea how hard it was for the homosexuals before them.
1980 wasn't the peak of the A.I.D.S. epidemic. It was just beginning to appear in America. Mid-late 80s, possibly early 90s, was its peak.
@@kjk7611He only says he was born in 1980. He doesn't actually say when the peak of the AIDS pandemic happened.
@@mrxman581 Yes, your right. I just re-read @manmelt4037's post. When he would've been a kid from '80 to the late 2K teens, arguably early 2K 20s. A.I.D.S. was indeed a death sentence, for most ppl, well within those yrs. Sorry.
It was only a death sentence if you took their poison.
AZT did the killing.
Not HIV.
You need to remember that.
Thank you for using the term homosexuals. Lots of people prefer it over the political “gay” word.
I arrived in West Hollywood on June 22, 1980 two days shy of my 22nd birthday. I first worked at Marvin's Pharmacy and then across the street at a great men's shoe store called the Paradise Packing Company. The scene in the 80s was great. We used to get lunch at Eats, then in 1982, the Greenery opened and it was a must after the bars closed at 2AM. All of the owners and employees of the stores and restaurant were like family. We'd all drop by to say hello and we all had an agreement of giving a discount to all that worked in those establishments. The shoe store I worked in attracted many celebrities as did the restaurants and bars. I saw everyone from Natalie Wood, Farrah Fawcett, Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, etc. It was a who's who of A-listers. I miss the Blue Parrot, Side Street (it was replaced by Video West), All American Boy, Unicorn Bookstore, Sports Connection, etc. I worked there during the day while going to school at night. Every weekend nights were spent in that gay mecca. It's truly not the same anymore but I hold on to my great memories.
It's changed so much. And it feels much more straight, too. Spent many dinners at the French Market and the Yukon Mining Company diner that would fill with drag queens at 3am. A lot of fun memories. All American Boy was a great little store, and International Male, near Studio One, was much more well known. They even had their own magazine.
@@mrxman581 One thing that never changes is God's Law. Leviticus 18:20 - 20:13, Romans 1:26-27, Corinthians 6:9-10.
🤣🤣🤣@@christophersansone2755
@@christophersansone2755.... come on, let these people live. Sin or no sin...they are awesome people. FACTS.
@@christophersansone2755The Bible also says Thou Shalt Not Judge Lest Ye Be Judged!
That was only 40 years ago kids
you have no idea the kind of suffering your elders endured.
Show the respect by enjoying your freedom.
Don't validate yourself through a victim identity. No one today is a victim.
You have opportunities we never did.
Enjoy them.
@Nancy PelosiWell, yo'mama has seemingly had no problems with IT, sooooo....🤣👍
So suffering has ended in the last 40 years? How? How is the fact that 3/4 of Americans continue to live paycheck to paycheck not suffering? How is the fact that 500,000 Americans go bankrupt every year due to lack of health insurance not suffering? The American dollar actually went a lot further in 1980. The cost of living was way more affordable. This was right before inflation and wage stagnation began to screw most people over.
You can critique your country’s problems and still “respect” it. If you think America is perfect the way it is and doesn’t require any improvement, you aren’t a real patriot.
Jarma AMEN!
Alex W - You’re a way off on what this video and comments represent. This clip has nothing to do with inflation, Cody of living or medical coverage. It’s about the gay movement of the early 80’s calling a neighborhood their own and being happy there. It’s about coexistence between gays and straights. You should rewatch the video.
@@allgone4615 Honey, it's no use. But you're a kind and patient soul to try. Unfortunately you're talking to a wall. The majority of us understand though ❤
1980 in West Hollywood was awesome for me. I was young and employed. I’m still alive. So, FU to the negative comments 😊. I’m also still living in West Hollywood.
SuperMike1955 I would love to hear your stories from that era. I bet your memories of that time are fascinating. I’m a heterosexual woman who first started going to the clubs in WeHo in my late teens (90s).
West Hollywood always had really good restaurants, Gays must be good and running and owning restaurants to I guess I'm straight but would eat there cause the food was always really good in most of those restaurants
Supermike1955 - I'm glad that you are still with us. I moved there in 1981 and worked as a phone installer in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills. I worked at the phone garage at 8759 Santa Monica Blvd. I lived on Palm and then lived on Larrabee below Sunset. It was a great time for me. I had a good job and money to party. It's a miracle I'm still here. I never expected to live this long. Best Wishes!
SuperMike1955 good 4 you
@@ivorwm2291 it a blessing that you Are living this long to tell your story.
I was 18 when I moved to Hollywood in 1979 with my dad to help him renovate a house from a small town in the mountains in Northern California. I was skinny, tall with curly dark hair and hot as f*ck but didn’t have a clue. For fun I would walk down a couple of blocks to Hollywood Blvd and then down to Santa Monica Blvd with my shirt off in the summer to check out the new to me exciting city. Every few minutes a car with a middle aged man would pull over to the sidewalk and ask if I needed a ride. I would reply with a confused “no” and wonder WTF was going on. That’s how small town clueless I was, never realizing that was exactly the spot where the boys of the streets would ply their trade.
It was a crazy, quick city street smarts education that cost me very little - got ripped off trying to buy pot a couple of times - but was never picked up by the Hillside Strangler or his gay equivalent thank God. Doing just fine now, married with the same guy for 33 years and own a beautiful house in a great city on the coast. So, many of us were able to safely dip our toes in what was there and come out unscathed.
T Damon beautiful account of your time there😊
Just read your post enjoyed it I'm 52 gay., since high school can relate some to your account
@Ronald McFondle ,It was a Hot summer day back in the seventies and I was hitchhiking, this car pulled over on this busy Highway. I jumped in and the man said how far you going,when I turned to reply I realized he was completely naked!!!! Jumped out at next red light!
"Hot as f##"? You have a really high opinion of yourself, don't you? Ever hear about humility?.......You did get the "clueless" part down, it sounds like
T Damon great story
Really something to think about, that the reporting style of this was that "the gays" were some sort of anthropological outlier and phenomenon. As if they were reporting on some uncontacted tribe.
So true. Meanwhile it's the tamest looking thing I've ever seen. A bunch of guys playing pool and having a beer. Oooh scandal of scandals!!
@@johnkelly2663 LOLOLOLO...Who's the fucking moron coming to watch a gay video? Maybe you should quit your internal homophobia and you'll be a much happier person.
That's pretty much how gay people were viewed.
@@johnkelly2663 I think most of the world is probably sick of hearing about you, too.
I think their should be a branch of the LGBTQIApluswhatever called LGBT-A. A for assimilationists. Anyone who is LGBT who wants to assimilate into current society rather then redefine it. That was the goal for decades then post Covid it seems things went wild.
The Motherload is still there going strong. great to have some history on the street after so many bars and clubs come and go. I arrived in 1987, in the closet and these were the places filled with the people who taught me not to be ashamed and afraid. Good times.
Of course: birds of a feather; like attracts like; the echo chamber. It's no mystery, but good for you. Stay well and prosper
this brings back so many memories, bittersweet, at 2:20 the person speaking I dated back then, his name was Ken Friedman, his company, Provocative Promotions later was aquired by Casablanca Records, Ken was in promotions for Casablanca Records, he would bring first pressings to all the discos across the country. Sadly he passed away from AIDS as so many did at that time. RIP Ken. I miss you....xoxox
I'm straight and spent a lot of time there and it is very clean.
In my youth it was Jim Morris's Gym, Studio One, Blue Parrot, Revolver, The Greenery. Dukes when it was on Sata Monica. I'd always run into AL Parker there. Damn he was good looking and a really sweet guy. I'm so sorry he didn't make it. Those were my haunts1974-1994. I loved every minute !
don't forget the Athletic Club!
@@sekinsocal That took over in the 80's.
This is a really well-done, non-exploitative, serious news piece. Very professional.
I lived in West Hollywood, in 1992,93,94 and 95. Best times
90s weho was a good weho ❤
Four minutes in to this video, I realized that most of these men are probably gone. The early 80’s was a brutal time. 😞
1981 was the last Golden Year for gays before AIDS hit.
The ones that survived were "TOP ONLY". @@geoff3103
yes, Ken Friedman died of AIDS RIP
@geoff3103 No, it was later than that. It was more like 1986-7. There wasn't even a test for HIV until 1985. I took my first HIV in 1986. I was negative, and it was the greatest relief I've ever felt in my life. Things changed for me after that. Was much more safe sexually, and still am. I've been able to remain negative all these decades later.
Of all the people I've known over the years, I am the last one standing. There's not one queer in Greenwich Village or in Chelsea where I have lived 50 years. All the bars have shut down. The sidewalks now are clogged with baby carriages and rude millenniums. It is so boring you could tear tissue. The Zoomers and Mills who flame down the street, the ones congress hates do much, the ones who have brought such suffering back into the Gay community and they aren't even Gay, are disgusting. It's enough to make you donate your dick to science. These kids are so stupid about everything , especially gay history. I've lived gay history. I've tried to share, to mentor. These duds are absolutely not interested in anything that happened the day before they were born. They talk so big to be so shallow.The problem dealing with stupid people is that they have no idea how stupid they are. Like talking to a light bulb. Verbal history is how gays survived. So what? Who needs history? Donald Trump is a kind man. He has the welfare of all gay men on his agenda, doncha know?
Memories of a long time ago. Familiar locations. Familiar faces.
A walk down memory lane.
I lived in West Hollywood in 1980, I was 25 and had a fabulous time. I still think about those wonderful days with fond memories, the Blue Parrot was my favorite bar. I live a much more subdued life now in San Diego, a much quieter town.
As of 2019 about 70 percent of gay bars have closed in west hollywood, And wealthy straight people have moved into the area. Very little of the commercial land is owned by gay people and landlords are jacking up rents and not renewing leases. The remaining establishments have a stressed out moribund feeling to them as if they are under assault.
Makes me sad for young people who used to be able to move to a gay Village in a prominent City and get a room in a house for not too much money, and a job and start their lives and recover from homophobia they experienced in smaller towns and rural areas. I think these diaspora gay Villages are a Triumph of modern Liberation and should have protections and be preserved for future Generations as much as possible.
When I left LA in '06 the gay community had spread out and bought houses near ours above Melrose and Near LA Brea. We got out just before the housing crash of '08.
This IS what we asked for though! Not me personally however. I lived in Dupont Circle in DC for decades and I liked it the way it was. It has been taken over by straight yuppies now as well. Not complaining, just saying that we wanted to be mainstream and now we are all integrated like it or not! We lived in a very special time from the 1960's through the 1990's when it all changed!
@@DISCODAN1
I dont think it is acceptance... In fact I get the feeling the 1 percenter landlords feel that screwing over the gay community is an added bonus of gentrification and cashing in on their long term investments. I think acknowledging our unique culture and preserving our villages through some kind of preservation would constitute true acceptance.
@@frankpeter6851 I'm not sure about where you live, but in DC the gay community is known for having money and owning their own places. Yes some rent, but the majority own. At least my friends and from what I gather in conversation. I liked Dupont Circle when it was a little seedy and trashy lol! I miss it. I wish that we could go back to the gay ghettos.
frank peter I remember the bars, restaurants, and dance clubs that I went to in Fort Lauderdale in the early 1980s. Sadly, they have ALL disappeared.
I wish I was 20 back then, I would have FUCKING loved it! Like Studio 54 in the 70's! I love Life!!!!!!!!!!!!1
In West Hollywood they had Studio One. Not as much drugs and overt sex but a great place to party.
Studio 54 lasted as a club for maybe two and a half years ! Disco does not define the 70s
That attitude of wild sex, etc, is why most gay men never reached 40
J.R. White 🙄
i was 20 back then and it was amazingly fun. it wasn't just WeHo either. there were tons of gay bars in Orange County. but it was also the eve of the catastrophe that killed off so many of my generation.
Wow, I really have to give it to KCBS, Two on the Town, and you, for having the balls to to do this story. Ya'll helped move us out of the dark ages. And pretty much the only way something like this from way back in '80 would be available to be seen today is coming from a journalist. BTW, the guy @4:29 looks so much like Wesley Eure--exactly how HE looked back then!
And right at the start, a 34 year old Connie Chung. Very nice.
That's a more masculine version of him. Who knew he and Dick Chamberlain ......
Wesley Eure is gay!! The original Mike Horton, on Days!!! I was in love with him!😊
RIP TO THAT DUDE
@@ekop1778You sound ignorant
AH MEN! Ha! I moved to WeHo in 1980 as a young man.It was Gay Disneyland. Even going to the 90069 Post Office to get stamps was an E ticket ride. You never knew who’s eye you might catch in the queue 😉. My BFF and I would cruise the streets- San Vicente, Carol Drive, Dicks Street, Larrabee, Olive Drive, Keith Ave and click off which streets we had “done an overnight” lol. Those were the days!
I used to go to that Post Office every day to pick up my mail ! Probably saw you there at some point ! It too was amazing !
Patrick...you're a hottie!! I'd be so horned up listening to your hot stories and show my gratitude by just eating you up!! Thanks, sweet and sexy Patrick... :-)
@@davyboysb Well @davyboysb himself seems not exactly chopped liver!
Send him to James NOW! 😛
Ha! Just kidding. Forty years ago, YEAH but . . . time goes-by. 😪
Thank you for sharing this. Loved it.
Still looks like the 70’s. The 80’s didn’t really begin until around 83’ ish.
the 80s as we "know it" began after Madonna (83)
@@nan1577 No , the 80’s began after Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” in late ‘82.
70s were a groovy time.
Yes, oddly, that is very true - that's an accurate way of stating it - I would say the "80's" were like 1983 - 88 or so, just my way of remembering it. As the 90's came about, the Internet took over and now it feels like we live in a 'virtual world'....or, is it just because I'm considerably older now??
An apt observation. 'Would not have thought of that.
I'm straight and West Hollywood has always been a cool place to spend time in. Santa Monica Boulevard even back then, had some great places to eat. I still enjoy it.
Yeah, I remember the Yukon Mining place, Fatburger, and Astro Burgers, and a friend of mine has operated a pool store there for many years.
I love to eat Str8 guys lol
Stay out of weho
I’ve lived in Los Angeles almost 50 years and this reminds me of when it used to be great. Now it’s just like living inside a corpse.
Marilyn Manson lives in West Hollywood and recently had his house raided !!!
I remember hitting the gay bars/dance clubs as early as 1972 in WeHo. Loved dancing to a live band at the Bitter End West and watching the celebrities come in to let their hair down.
EagleRockers 1978 the Oddyssey in 3rd and La Cienega dancing to Lief Garrett “Souveniers.” And “Funky Town.” I was 18 so it was the one place I could go because it was 18 and over and no alcohol. But I also went to the 8709 LOL just down the street near Cedars Sinai
@@pbohearn I remember both places very well. The Oddyssey was called Cabaret/After Dark in 1975 where I met my husband. We just celebrated our 44th anniversary. I remember those days very well!
I lived there 1992-2020., 28 years. A wonderful street scene till the internet kept people inside on Grinder.....a healthy group of men after AIDS then the crystal meth started destroying lives. SO many young beautiful men who would constantly move to town and have fun in the old days, now a studio is $2500, a one bedroom $3500 and a 2 bedroom $4500. Before I moved I watched the arrival of new young people dwindle. Who can move to a town with rents that high. It is sad what greedy landlords did to that city.
@@afriendtoo6971 Our first, furnished apartment in a brand new building in WeHo was $300/month. This was 1976. We both worked to afford it.
I first visited WeHo in 1973, and I remember going to Oil Can Harry's to dance. Elton John used to go there rather frequently.
I love that motherlode is still open. It’s so amazing to know that back in gay herstory weho was still THAT place to be at. Whoever is in this community knows for a damn fact weho is still thrivingggg. I have fun every Sunday 😍 so many crazy memories already & I’m only 23. Thank you to the gays that ran in 1980’s so us gays could walk in the 00’s+ ❤️
Its the story of every "boys town" in every major city in these here united states. Chicago had a really cool one too. They're all gone now, gentrified out. Just memories.
A bygone era right before the AIDS epidemic. Similar to parts of South Florida when I first arrived in 1981-restaurants, discos, great music, cool clothes...
Michael Miller south beach was golden during the Versace days ..i moved back last year and was horrified what its become i have now moved out..it was a nightmare
@Jeff Nasser Who asked you?
I was 18 and going to school that summer in LA. Wow. It was an amazing place for a young lesbian. Watching this makes me wonder how many of these guys were still alive 10 years later. AIDS hit hard. Kids today have NO idea what all we went through so they could be free to get all up in your face now for inadvertently using the wrong pronoun. I would rather they just said “Thank you,” and went on their way.
Back when I was my own social media
I was a telephone installer in that neighborhood. Whew!
BUNCH OF WAGGIES WALKING AROUND
Any memories or cool stories about the time?
Difficult to believe this was in the 80's, and sad to think that a lot of people appearing in this vid where not around not too long after.
AIDS didn’t exclusively affect homosexual. It was sexually transmitted, those who were most promiscuous were more likely to die.
@@polishherowitoldpilecki5521 "AIDS didn’t exclusively affect homosexual." At that point it did. No judgment, just the truth.
@@polishherowitoldpilecki5521 Exclusilely? no. Predominantly? yes.
The ones that lived were "TOP ONLY". @@anthonydavid5121
@@polishherowitoldpilecki5521 Having 200 men per year come up your poop chute, might have something to do with it. Abusing antibiotics. Getting sexually transmitted infections every week. No one wants to talk about those things.
I remember when that city became incorporated. The constituency makeup was 40% gay, 40% straight & 20% no specified affiliation. They pushed it through by offering some incentives to the elderly, mostly Jewish population. I lived near the area. My husband and I used to cruise the garage sales on the weekends. Decorators used to sell furniture & accessories cheaply. Still have some nice things. Loved Halloween. Talking about open windows facing Santa Monica Blvd. I saw men wearing chaps and nothing else with their naked butts facing the street. Used to eat at The French Quarter alot.
I can only imagine what amazing stuff turned up at those garage sales, from the great old eras of Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Must have been some fun days.
@@rudolfschenker Brought much of my finds with when we moved overseas. They were too good to resell or part with.
I would love to back to that era. People would actually talk to you in the bars. humans had social communication skills then.
I recognized Connie Chung, but I had no idea that was Steve Edwards! 😳
Daliao Ren
Yes, Connie Chung was definitely a trailblazer for Asian American journalists. But it seems that she is not as active now, but then again she is 72
Even then EDWARD'S was a big Republican supporter. Never liked him. He was always a phony!
Great feature Lew! Imagine how much would change in a just a couple years. Nice archive you got here 😊
NOW WE GOT A BUNCH OF WAG HEADS WALKING WITH SMARTPHONES NOW
PINK HAIR AND BAGGIES
It was a good time to be young.
Stephen Golden And swishy.
Wow, how times have change. Thank God for visibility and the freedom of our democracy to be out and free.
Yes we can’t forget it! So tired of hearing about all this supposed “queer oppression”! Just because society won’t play along with someone’s zi/zer made up pronouns doesn’t mean that lgbt is under attack! This new generation could never handle what we went through back then!
4:35 his eyes 😍
ícҽís թհօҽղíx yes , what a beautiful man.
I wonder who that was.
Barney Swayzee
Our daughter moved to a tiny studio apartment on Floris when she started her company. It was on the ground floor and easy to break into which scared me, but since it was in boys town I felt she was safe.
I lived off San Vicente and Cynthia
West Hollywood age 16 to 37
Live in Arizona now. I my next stop is gonna be San Francisco I don't care how expensive it is. When you don't have a strong LGBT community. To be around all the time, you miss and and begin to have an even deeper understanding of why it's important that places like Weho exist
True words indeed, Steven.
West Hollywood was incorporated into its own city in 1983.
1984
I always thought the guys were hotter there than they were in San Francisco
they're more shallow and plastic in WEHO, in SF they're more real
@De St so I take it you're from San Francisco
@@buffedtrainer1 when your 21 shallow and plastic is what you looking for
@De St California is a big place - where ?
aldof hister Hey...are you the one Nostradamus warned us about?
Moved to LA from London in 1980. Bette Davis lived at Colonial House on Havenhurst in apt. I lived a few blocks away on Hollywood/Fairfax. Brilliant time to be there. It’ll never be the same again…
PEOPLE WERE SO MUCH MORE IN THAT ERA. WHAT A WASHED OUT SOCIETY WE HAVE NOW.
YEA I WAS 9 THEN
REMEMBER SEEING THE PIMPS HIDING ON CORNER LOTS WITH MY DAD
NOW ITS SMARTPHONE WACKOS AND TIK TOK PINK HAIR
@@ekop1778 WHATEVER!
@@brettedgar6733 WHATEVER ALSO
"I think gay men started a lot of the fashions that....(long pause, so I thought he was gonna say something profound)...... you see..." So anti-climactic it made me chuckle! We gays also jump started the careers of the biggest female recording stars, do amazing architectural design, act, sing, write.... It is not just West Hollywood. West Hollywood is fine and can be fun but it is also full of itself and a weirdly self-conscious city that is renowned for its "attitude" as if living in an area with a dozen gay bars and gyms is all it takes to be slightly superior. I enjoyed it for years, but you have to look closer at the men who live there, for the outer image is not always the true story. By all means don't miss a few nights of bar-hopping or some shopping and good food in West Hollywood, but when you've tired of re-visiting all the time warped old stereotypes that go as far back as the mid-'70s come over the east side. It's like night and day, although we only have about 3 or 4 bars left.
Steven Kerry thank you for your account of your experience
I came to Philadelphia, Pa. in 1985,I was walking with a friend through StrawBridges and Clothier on Market St.I spy this Stunning Beautiful blonde woman who is eyeballing me,and my friend holler 's Hey Girl! I said, O.M.G. you know her! He said Yes,that's Harlow and it's a he and he had an affair with Jack Kelly ( Grace's Brother)
WeHo was always the 'clone' gay men.
@@michaelgaynor6866 LoL did Harlow move to Philly to get away from the LaBeijas? 😂
Lew, Thank you for posting that, i indeed called that home in 1980, The Blue Parrot,The Motherlode , jeesh that was a fun video going back, but i am on the fence about the clearly uptight broadcaster , LOL, thanks again , Douglas, Florence, Oregon ,USA
Ah the days when the media talked about us as if were creatures from another planet or wild animals to be observed in their natural habitats.
Are you suggesting that this report did that? This was one of numerous features that I contributed to "2 on the Town" profiling streets in L.A. It focused on the area of Santa Monica Blvd. then located in L.A. County, and it was prepared at a time when the first substantial influx of gay men into the area was occurring and when many of them were willing to be open -- even to go public -- about their sexuality. What part of the report do you think treated them as "creatures from another planet or wild animals?" That's not far off from the complaints from homophobes who protested at the time that the report was another attempt to "normalize perversion."
@@lirwin1 It does have a National Geographic vibe to it.
Yeah. National Geographic vibe is on point. It was respectful, but had sounded like a narration at the zoo. But given this was 11 years after the ‘hated minority’ thing on CBS its remarkably neutral.
@@wvusciguy Agreed
Omg that guy @ 1:45 is handsome.
He is 👍
the one at 4:29 is MUCH better looking
Duke's Cafe was originally on Santa Monica and then moved to Sunset next to the Whiskey a-Go-Go dubbing itself the Rock and Roll Coffee Shop. It is now closed permanently.
"Baby, take me down to Duke's Place for some breakfast" [in my best Louis Armstrong voice]
Duke's had the greatest food around.
Duke's had THE best apple pancakes - miss weekend breakfasts at Duke's on Sunset in the late #80s/early #90s I used to live just above Sunset right around the block from the iconic, now-closed Tower Records - the good ol days
Brings back memories of eating at High Pockets and Great American Food and Beverage Co. as a kid and later getting rousted by Sherriff's deputies at Oki Dog in the middle of the day because they mistook me for a notorious local hustler. I thanked them for the compliment, grabbed my lunch and went back to my studio job.
I love the outfits 😍
Not the WHITE PANTS though.
Love this 💜
OH! How I remember yourself and that series, and so much more that "just isn't here anymore"!
Beginning in the mid-Sixties for myself, L.A. (W.L.A. my headquarters at the Barrington Plaza) was a veritable playground of interesting people and stuff happening. And YOU and your associates were solid parts of it, Lew.
Good old Connie Chung! 'Hope she's still around and doing things productive.
Well, how could I resist but to sub here?
'Am looking forward to new views of the past, Lew Irwin style.
Fascinating to see Connie Chung during this time period. I was born around this time and remember her on the news growing up, after she had obviously gone to bigger heights in her career.
good times! the Farm was the best gay bar for wild times
Thank u posting this .. its good 2 see the history .. my daughters gay .. she came out 2 me young .. and I'm so happy that she felt she could do that .. when so many parents turned there back on there kids .. I just don't understand how any1 could do that .. some of her boy mates have come 2 me 4 advice .. cos they felt they would get kicked out if they came out .. that hurts my heart ... I have enuff love 2 be there mummas 2 if they need 1 xx
The planet needs more parents like you!
Being Gay shouldn't even be an issue.
No more than being a Blond, or Burnett or having Blue Eyes, Green Eyes, short, tall, thin.... not so thin.. etc.
OMG, my good friend Ken Friedman at 2:20 -- RIP, buddy
Paul V. AIDS huh?
@@tj5945 u said it i was thinking it. I hope we're wrong.
I used to date Ken Friedman back then. A beautiful person. Lost contact with him. Sorry to hear of his passing now in 2021. If anyone knows more info about him please get in touch with me. -RIP
I'm 56 and I missed the AIDS pandemic by 5/10 years --
So many of these men didn't make it and it's appalling that the government handled the pandemic in fear.
Almost all these men would be alive if Reagan would have handled the virus differently and demanded IMMEDIATE research to stop the virus --
I believe HIV was unleashed onto the gays by the US government. What say you? And why?
I read that adult film star Bob Blount was once a bartender at The Blue Parrot (on the corner of Santa Monica and Larrabee).
Wow Motherload was around in 1980 I did not know that...my debut in WEHO was 1993 out every night Rage, Micky's, Revolver, Motherload late 1990's early 2000's club Here, Firehouse, Abbey, 2010s Fiesta Cantina, Eleven, Trunks, 2020's Rocco's, Tom Tom but not every night lol......My hangout coffee shop was 6 Gallery in the early 90s btw great vid thanks for uploading.
THERE WAS ANOTHER PLACE I THINK IT WAS TWIGGYS? OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT? 1981
STONEYS MAYBE
This is a really great snapshot of a very different time. It's so sad that we came so far but, the past few years, have regressed to a society that is so anti-queer and virulently hateful toward us. BUT, we're not going away, nor are we scared to face our adversaries.
Dukes! That place is awesome. Great breakfast place!
i miss the 80's......
Im not sure why but the term "Gay Ghetto" makes me chuckle
Mmm the guy at 2:00 is yummy
Karen From Finasse yes he certainly is! Very handsome 😍 dreamboat
Oh hell yeah!
Reminds me of Tom Selleck
THIS WAS AN AWESOME OLD REPORT! Kudos to the reporters from yesteryear for not being homophobes.
I hade breakfast many times with Dennis Quaid many times....we just were there often- great guy and great food.
Astounding how this reporting from just 1980, though there’s intent to come across as respectful, the subject of ‘gay’ is treated as an anomaly
I was 22 when I went to the Motherload in 1993 my 1st gay bar.. What a great time to be gay ..
I still go to west Hollywood for dinner or a drink.. I consider myself lucky though I'm 48 now 😉
Nelson Aviles so cool. I love that. Did weho still have all these gay bars one after the other right next to each other? Or is it like hill crest where they are a couple of miles apart
PrinceVreal No, they are still next to each other ..there are new ones and the Motherload has been remodeled... time to stop by for a drink...
Nelson Aviles back in the 1990s they still were next to each other ? And yes I love motherlode rn lol 😝
The Numbers, studio, ml, drakes, mickys, sports connection , the rage, ,,,all great
Spike, La Fabula
I moved to west hollywood in 1991 when I was 21, lived here ever since. Many of the gay bars are gone now, and the city of West Hollywood is a mixed city. It's crazy how much it has changed since when I first moved here.
It’s now a hellhole
@@devinpeirce7152 Thanks for your informative opinion
@@79Cor you’re welcome
@@devinpeirce7152 lol... you forgot overpriced hellhole (with no parking)
Connie's voice was the same back then! Being younger I thought it would be higher.
God I love all those mustaches!! 👨🏻👨🏻
MisterHot That bar owner with the mustache reminds me of Freddie Mercury.
You just want to take a long ride on it. Hahahahahaaa
70s and 80s the era of bell bottoms long hairs big moustache and boxy cars!
Dude they had alfalfa sprouts sandwiches back then? Nice!
Tony Tigre I grew up in Los Angeles and we were healthy people. I remember going to get pita bread sandwiches with tuna salad and alfalfa sprouts as far back as 1974.
That's the only thing that shocked me about this video too lol
Most Def! At the veg places.
Yup, it was called "Health Food" back then - like the Source on Sunset in the #70s!
It was referred to as The Gay Ghetto ! How insulting ! Some of the most expensive real estate around! I lived there back then. Right behind The Beverly Hills Health Club. I was a member of Jim Morris' gym. Boy how it all changed. BOYSTOWN was just coming into its own.
did that later become the Athletic Club?
@@sekinsocal Yes....in the 80's
"Ghetto" doesn't mean poor. It just means a quarter of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social, legal, or (sometimes) economic pressure. Back then it was more social pressure for gays to ghettoize in "boystowns" around the country, namely out of safety and to shield themselves from wider discrimination. It is much, much different now than it was then to be gay (you could lose your job, you couldn't be open in the military and people didn't understand your "lifestyle" and thought you were spreading things to them or were a pedoph!le, predator AND perverted). Much different mindset back then, which is why they keep stressing the term "ordinary" in this clip.
My dream is to own a venue like the Troubadour
Somewhat off-topic, but are any of you old enough to remember the Mineshaft bar in Manhattan's Greenwich Village?
It closed in 1985, so that's not that long ago.
But it was a members only BDSM leather bar.
mmmmm leather!
(cough)...
😜😁
@@BlondieSL Thirty eight years is quite a while. And yes, technically it was a members only club, but as long as you were properly dressed (leather or jeans and a tee shirt), they let anyone in. One of it's most interesting features was the two bathtubs on the basement level...always occupied by happy wet patrons.
@@DavidLS1 ROFL
As we age, time changes speeds, or so it seems.
To me, those 38 years don't seem to long ago. Yet, it is quite a while ago for sure.
Lots has changed.
It's just that for some of us, time if flying by so quickly.
And some of us change as wel.
We used to love going to different bars and having drinks with friends.
Now, we haven't been in a bar for well over 6 years now. I'm not sure how many.
But we don't miss it.
@@BlondieSL It's been longer than six years for me. It's the natural order of things. At least we have internet porn. The generation before us didn't.
@@DavidLS1 ROFL
I'm not sure how we got to "special movies" but ok!
😂🤣😁
Life became worthless when pinball disappeared. And no argument you can present will dissuade me of this conclusion.
I live there now and sadly I can’t wait to get out as crime and homeless have ruined what was once such a fun 1.9 square mile area. I’m the only straight guy in a 24 unit building right off the Larrabee/Cynthia and I love my neighbors but the vibe is so different now and so many businesses close with the rents being insane.
@1:27 The Blue Parrot !! , I remember hearing that this was the influence in the BLUE OYSTER, in the Police Academy 2 movie!
A gay ghetto? I never heard that b4. This will b my new catchphrase.
John Franco Time to remake Good Times!
John Franco that expression has been around for at least 20 years!!
Oh how clinical we were. "Oh look honey, it's a homosexual - let's see what it does!" Thank goodness that was 40 years ago.
I moved to southern California in 1981, and attended college at CSULB in Long Beach.
My first introduction to the gay "world" was going to Studio One, a few times! What an eye opener? Along with the Eagle in Silver Lake, and Apache in Studio City! Breakfast at the French Quarter! 😋
Later on went there numerous times with my ex, as well as lived on Kings Road and Hacienda Place too!
WOW... Eat Well (great omelettes and hot guys), Basix, Marix Tex Mex (great Margaritas and chips), Hamburger Mary's, MotherLode, Rage, Trunks, Revolver (best videos and "fun" in the back lounge 😉), Micky's (dancing on stage with a porno star! 🤗), the Abbey (when it was just a coffeehouse), Dorothy's Surrender (card selection and kitschy gifts), Circus Books (for
the research? 🤣),
A Different Light (the magazines!),
Koo Koo Roo, the "Brazilian?" restaurant near A Different Light?),
International Male (bought my 1st Speedo there? 🤣), 24 Fitness, and of course Gay Pride/Festival!
Have great memories of those years, and would love to time travel back, and stay there! 😍
Great look-back Christoper!
I could have composed some of it but, you did it better ad more.
My years there began in olde '65, when 'ONE Magazine' was still going strong.
(It was really needfully conservative and quite arty; many of it's covers being deserving
of that. One article focused hard-on gay Beatniks!!!)
All the best to you.
"would love to time travel back, and stay there"....can you IMAGINE if time travel were possible? Its like "gee where do i want to go to this weekend? Palm Springs or 1979 Palm Springs???"🤣.
I didn't live in WeHo. I lived in Garden Grove and there were some good bars in the area. I think that all are gone now, except one that may still be there even after all these years.
After all these years, I'm not sure that I can remember all their names, but some of the places that I can remember and liked were:
- Maneuvers
- The Mug
- The Frat House (one of my favorites and it's still there!). I haven't been there is what feels like 2.5 million years. LOL 😜😁
- the Boom Boom Room
But one of my faves was in Laguna Beach... Little Shrimp. It was so nice and calm and great food too. Long gone, of course.
Oh the memories.
For me, it was Christopher Street in NYC. Those were the days.
Do you remember when all the rage with gays were VINTAGE VARSITY JACKETS ? This was in 1980 proper . Buzz cut , mustache , something to accentuate the eyelashes / eyebrows and a vintage varsity letterman's jacket from a thrift store.
@@LannieLord All I remember from the eighties were designer jeans, Members Only jackets and drugs...lots of wonderful drugs.
I worked at The Monster
Born and raised in weho. Great times.
The lad @4:29 is a babe.
I was born in 85 and always wondered what it was like to go out in the 80s and 90s… instead I had 2005 ish and it was crapola!
take a drink everytime you hear the word "ordinary".
I would really love this if it wasn't pushed to fill the screen. It was originally shot in 4:3.
...but beyond specs, aren't we lucky it was saved/uploaded at all? #timecapsule
2:46 right on sister!
Lord I miss the days of imperfect teeth. I truly do.
I moved to West Hollywood in 1988. It was an awesome place to live. Meeting friends at the French Quarter Restaurant and Market Place for dinner then going to clubs after. Renting movies from Video West. Neighbors hosting drop by brunches open to anyone on Sunday mornings before the start of the Gay Pride Parade. It was a real sense of community back then. I am so fortunate I was able to experience it. ☮️✌️☮️
We had a Blue Parrot in Dallas, now I know where it came from.
connie chung wow
Young Connie Chung. Before she became the CBS news anchor!
I was there. That tribe no longer exists. (edit: the former members of my tribe no longer exist).
Isn’t Santa Monica Blvd where the LA Pride Parade is held annually?
Reverend Chris Espinoza yes. That's correct. Santa Monica Blvd is closed from Fairfax to Doheny for the parade.
It used to be. Now the L.A. Pride parade is held in central Hollywood on Hollywood Blvd since 2020.
I'm gay and I can do anything I want now as a young LGBTQ as if its like no one fought for these rights. Thank you to the old gays who paved the path and fought for the rights we have now.
Fascinating and the comments.
2:12 My roommate had the biggest crush on him. (He didn't stand a chance) but we had to keep going to the Mother Lode!