(I wrote an article for Central Track about some of the gay clubs in Dallas in the early ’70s - with photos - here.)Īnd, the 24-hour greasy spoon known to generations of Dallasites, Oak Lawn’s Lucas B & B. Gay clubs were illegal at the time, so you didn’t see a lot of ads for them. Whenever I read his old columns, I think that he must have had the BEST job in town - writing about the Dallas nightlife scene when it was at its sophisticated and sometimes seedy Mad Men-era apex.Īnd - a bit of a change of pace - a little bio of real estate titan Leo Corrigan, who owned the Adolphus, where the show was being held - he was, unsurprisingly, receiving an “Appreciation Award.”Īnd a couple of drawings of Dallas entertainment notables: Pappy Dolson, owner of Pappy’s Showland and legendary agent of strippers, and Joe Reichman, the leader of the Century Room orchestra who was billed as “the Pagliacci of the piano.”Ī few interesting ads include a little “howdy” from Jack Ruby (who was well known to several of the people mentioned above, some of whom testified to the Warren Commission about their relationships with him).Īn ad for Villa Fontana, a gay club, formerly known as Le Boeuf Sur Le Toit (The Bull on the Roof), then managed by Bob Strange. Master of Ceremonies was Tony Zoppi, who wrote a column about the local nightclub scene for The Dallas Morning News. Some biographical information on the pair (click for larger image): Producers of the event were Breck Wall and Joe Peterson, creators of the naughty “Bottoms Up” revue, which is probably still running somewhere. Meeker Jr.) A few names there which should be familiar to aficionados of Dallas live theater. (The previous year’s winner was Charles R. Nominees are: Tom Hughes, Paul Baker, Raiberto Comini, Lanham Deal, Norma Young, Pearl Chappell, and Lawrence Kelly. O’DONNELL MEMORIAL AWARD FOR SHOWMAN OF THE YEAR When he wasn’t frying up corny dogs he did a little singing, and even released at least one 45. Skip Fletcher? Yes, a member of those Fletchers. Nominees are: Mark Carroll, Marty Ross, Earl Humphreys (the previous year’s winner), Skip Fletcher, Charlie Applewhite, Ron Shipman, and Trini Lopez. He worked for WFAA radio for a few years and is a trivia answer in JFK-related quizzes regarding Dallas media coverage of the assassination.
#The stallone gay bar dallas tv#
So – Ted Cassidy? Yes, that is the same Ted Cassidy who later played “Lurch” on TV in The Addams Family (he also played “Thing”). Nominees are: Nick Ramsey (KVIL), Ted Cassidy (“Profile of an Orchestra,” WFAA), Meg Healy (KIXL), Hugh Lampman (“Music ’til Dawn,” KRLD - the previous year’s winner), Irving Harrigan & Tom Murphy (“Murphy and Harrigan Show,” KLIF), Jim Lowe (WRR), and Chem Terry (KRLD). The awards were nicknamed “the Billy award,” or “the Billys.” Dresscode: “semi-formal.” Here are a few highlights. It’s a fun show and very over the top.Here’s an interesting piece of Dallas entertainment history: a program for the 1961 Dallas Entertainment Awards, held in the Century Room, the swanky nightclub in the Adolphus Hotel. I hope people check it out, because I think they will really like it. I think with the gay community, it’s great, but a lot of straight people are going to see themselves in it, too.
I started in theatre when I was 10 and I had a lot of gay actor friends who had to hide who they were to get cast, and this ensemble gets to work in a show about a club where everybody can just be themselves and have their friends and nobody’s judgment. I think the gay community felt like they didn’t get a shot for a long time.
I mean everybody was so excited about the concept, about the gay club, about just bringing people in. “There was also a heatwave in New York when we were shooting it and I had to wear this huge coat during part of it, so it’s like 100 degrees and you’re in this huge coat, trying to get through this big monologue. “We shot all live in New York, all in live locations, and the club there was a real club, which presents its own problems,” Morgan recently told Closer Weekly in an exclusive interview.