Stephen F. Kolzak was an American

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

casting director In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra to land the role of a character in a script, screenp ...

. He is best known for ''

Altered States ''Altered States'' is a 1980 American science fiction horror film directed by Ken Russell, and adapted by playwright and screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky from his 1978 novel of the same name. The novel and the film are based in part on John C. Li ...

'' (1980), ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...

'' (1982) and ''

Bachelor Party A bachelor party (in the United States), also known as a stag weekend, stag do or stag party (in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth countries, and Ireland), or a buck's night (in Australia and Canada), is a party held for or arranged by a man wh ...

'' (1984). He is reported to have chosen the ''Cheers'' cast. In the last two years of his life, he was in a long-term relationship with his partner

Paul Monette Paul Landry Monette (October 16, 1945 – February 10, 1995) was an American author, poet, and activist best known for his books about gay relationships. In 1992, he won the National Book Award for Nonfiction. Early life and career Monette was b ...

. He devoted the last part of his life to fighting

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

and AIDS-phobia within the entertainment industry. The

GLAAD Stephen F. Kolzak Award The GLAAD Stephen F. Kolzak Award is a special GLAAD Media Award presented annually by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. It is named in honor of the Los Angeles casting director Stephen F. Kolzak, who devoted the last part of his lif ...

given to an openly LGBT member of the entertainment or media community for his or her work toward eliminating homophobia has been awarded since 1991, with Kolzak being the posthumous inaugural recipient. Kolzak was the president of Key Club International in 1970-1971.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolzak, Stephen American casting directors 1953 births 1990 deaths American LGBTQ rights activists GLAAD Media Awards winners People from Hartford, Connecticut People from Los Angeles AIDS-related deaths in California