Larry Townsend (27 October 1930 – 29 July 2008) was the American author of dozens of books including ''Run, Little Leather Boy'' (1970) and ''The Leatherman's Handbook'' (1972), published by pioneer erotic presses such as Greenleaf Classics and the Other Traveler imprint of

Olympia Press Olympia Press was a Paris-based publisher, launched in 1953 by Maurice Girodias as a rebranded version of the Obelisk Press he inherited from his father Jack Kahane. It published a mix of erotic fiction and avant-garde literary fiction, and is ...

. ''Leatherman's Handbook'', with illustrations by

Sean Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name '' Yohanan'' (), Seán ( anglicized as '' Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; a ...

, was among the first books to popularize BDSM and kink among the general public.

Biography

Born Michael Lawrence Townsend, he grew up as a teenager in Los Angeles, where his neighbors included

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

, Irene Dunne, and Laura Hope Crews. He attended the Peddie School and was stationed as Staff Sergeant in charge of NCOIC Operations of Air Intelligence Squadrons from 1950 through 1954 with the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

in Germany.Laird, Cynthia
"Obituaries: Leather author Larry Townsend dies"
'' Bay Area Reporter'', August 6, 2008. Accessed July 23, 2019. Completing his tour of duty, he entered into the small, underground LA leather scene where he and Montgomery Clift shared a lover. With his degree in industrial psychology from UCLA (1957), he worked in the private sector and as a probation officer with the Forestry Service. He began his pioneering activism in the politics of

homophile Terms used to describe homosexuality have gone through many changes since the emergence of the first terms in the mid-19th century. In English, some terms in widespread use have been '' sodomite'', '' Sapphic'', '' Uranian or Urning'', '' homop ...

liberation in the early 1960s. During this time he met Fred Yerkes (August 27, 1935 - July 8, 2006), who would become his companion of 43 years. In 1972, as president of the '

Homophile Terms used to describe homosexuality have gone through many changes since the emergence of the first terms in the mid-19th century. In English, some terms in widespread use have been '' sodomite'', '' Sapphic'', '' Uranian or Urning'', '' homop ...

Effort for Legal Protection' which had been founded in 1969 to defend gays during and after arrests, he led a group in founding the H.E.L.P. Newsletter, the forebear of '' Drummer Magazine'' (1975). He lived in the Silver Lake neighborhood of

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, ...

, the center of the Los Angeles leather scene (the equivalent of the SoMa neighborhood in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

). As a writer and photographer, he was an essential eyewitness of the drama and salon around ''Drummer'', which often excerpted his novels. Townsend's signature "Leather Notebook" column appeared in ''Drummer'' for twelve years beginning in 1980, and continued in ''Honcho'' to 2008. His last novel
''TimeMasters''
was published April 2008. His last writing wa
''Who Lit up the Lit of the Golden Age of Drummer''
an introduction t

(June 2008). Townsend died Tuesday July 29 2008 at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, at age 77. The cause of death was complications from pneumonia, according to family members. A oral history recording featuring Townsend is housed at the Leather Archives & Museum in Chicago.

Honors

In 1995 Townsend received the Steve Maidhof Award for National or International Work from the National Leather Association International. In 2002 Townsend received the Forebear Award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards. In 2016 Townsend was inducted into the Leather Hall of Fame.

References

External links

Spill a Drop for Lost Brothers: Larry Townsend, author, ''The Leatherman's Handbook''
, by Jack Fritscher. (This article won the 2009 National Leather Association International’s Cynthia Slater Non-Fiction Article Award)
Who Lit up the "Lit" of the Golden Age of ''Drummer''

Leather ''Dolce Vita'', Pop Culture, & the Prime of Mr. Larry Townsend

''Los Angeles Times'' obituary

Larry Townsend Collection (MS 1975).
Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Larry 1930 births 2008 deaths BDSM writers American gay writers Leather subculture LGBTQ people from California Peddie School alumni 20th-century American LGBTQ people