Randy Shilts (August 8, 1951February 17, 1994) was an American journalist and author. After studying journalism at the
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
, Shilts began working as a
reporter
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
for both ''
The Advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law.
The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to:
Magazines
* ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States
*''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...
'' and the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pap ...
'', as well as for
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...
television stations. In the 1980s, he was noted for being the first openly gay reporter for the ''San Francisco Chronicle''.
His first book, ''
The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk'', was a biography of LGBT activist
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was born and raised in ...
. His second book, ''
And the Band Played On'', chronicled the history of the
AIDS epidemic. Despite some controversy surrounding the book in the LGBT community, Shilts was praised for his meticulous documentation of an epidemic that was little-understood at the time. It was later made into an
HBO film of the same name in 1993. His final book, ''
Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the US Military from Vietnam to the Persian Gulf'', examined discrimination against
lesbians and gays in the military.
Shilts garnered several accolades for his work. He was honored with the 1988 Outstanding Author award from the
American Society of Journalists and Authors, the 1990 Mather Lectureship at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, and the 1993 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists' Association. Diagnosed with
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...
in 1985, Shilts died of an AIDS-related illness in 1994 at the age of 42.
Early life
Born August 8, 1951, in
Davenport, Iowa, Shilts grew up in
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located primarily in DuPage and Kane counties, it is the second most populous city in Illinois, af ...
, with five brothers in a conservative, working-class family.
He majored in journalism at the
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...
, where he worked on the student newspaper, the ''
Oregon Daily Emerald'', as managing editor. While an undergraduate he
came out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
publicly as gay,
["Randy Shilts was gutsy, brash and unforgettable"](_blank)
Weiss, Mike; ''San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pap ...
'', February 17, 2004; Page D-1; Retrieved on July 10, 2019 and ran for student office with the slogan "Come out for Shilts."
Randy Shilts was one of the first openly gay journalists to write for a major newspaper. His writing focused on LGBT issues, including the struggle for gay rights.
Journalism
Shilts graduated near the top of his class in 1975, but as an openly gay man, he struggled to find full-time employment in what he characterized as the
homophobic
Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...
environment of newspapers and television stations at that time.
Shilts wrote for gay news magazine ''The Advocate'' but quit in 1978 after publisher
David Goodstein began requiring employees to participate in
EST; Shilts later wrote an exposé of Goodstein's brand of EST, the Advocate Experience. Shilts also says ''The Advocate'' was a "publication that had all these dirty classified ads in it. That I couldn’t send the publication to my parents that I worked for because it was all filled up with 'Gay white man wants somebody to piss on,' you know?"
He subsequently worked as a freelance journalist until he was hired as a national
correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locat ...
by the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' in 1981, becoming "the first openly gay reporter with a gay 'beat' in the American mainstream press."
[Randy Shilts at Queer Theory](_blank)
Retrieved on January 3, 2007 AIDS, the disease that would later take his life, first came to nationwide attention that same year and soon Shilts devoted himself to covering the unfolding story of the disease and its medical, social, and political ramifications. During the early years of the AIDS crisis, he denounced San Francisco's gay leaders as “inept” and “a bunch of jerks,” accusing them of hiding the emerging epidemic.
In 1984, Shilts controversially supported closing the city's gay bathhouses.
Books
In addition to his extensive journalism, Shilts wrote three books. His first book, ''
The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk'', is a biography of openly gay San Francisco politician
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 – November 27, 1978) was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Milk was born and raised in ...
, who was
assassinated
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
by a political rival,
Dan White
Daniel James White (September 2, 1946 – October 21, 1985) was an American politician who assassinated San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, on Monday, November 27, 1978, at City Hall. White was convicted of manslaugh ...
, in 1978. The book broke new ground, being written at a time when "the very idea of a gay political biography was brand-new."
Shilts's second book, ''
And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic'', published in 1987, won the
Stonewall Book Award and would sell over 700,000 copies until 2004.
The book made Shilts a trusted commentator on AIDS, to the point that he was the closing speaker at 1989's Fifth International AIDS Conference in Montreal''.And the Band Played On'' is an extensively researched account of the early days of the
AIDS epidemic in the United States
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
. The book was translated into seven languages,
[School of Journalism and Communication Hall of Achievement](_blank)
Retrieved on October 11, 2017 and was later made into an
HBO film of the same name in 1993, with many big-name actors in starring or supporting roles, including
Matthew Modine,
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in '' Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...
,
Anjelica Huston
Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress and director. Known for often portraying eccentric and distinctive characters, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as no ...
,
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...
,
Lily Tomlin
Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the vari ...
,
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. His career spans seven decades, having performed in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. Regarded as a British cultural ...
,
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. He has won five Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and was awarded an Honorary Academy Award in 2013. Additionally, he was nominat ...
, and
Alan Alda
Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the war come ...
, among others. The film earned twenty nominations and nine awards, including the 1994
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for Outstanding Made for Television Movie.
His last book, ''
Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the US Military from Vietnam to the Persian Gulf'', which examined discrimination against
lesbians and gays in the military, was published in 1993. Shilts and his assistants conducted over a thousand interviews while researching the book, the last chapter of which Shilts dictated from his hospital bed.
Shilts saw himself as a
literary journalist in the tradition of
Truman Capote
Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...
and
Norman Mailer
Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, playwright, activist, filmmaker and actor. In a career spanning over six decades, Mailer ...
.
Undaunted by a lack of enthusiasm for his initial proposal for the Harvey Milk biography, Shilts reworked the concept, as he later said, after further reflection:
I read ''Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...
'' by James Michener
James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and ...
. That gave me the concept for the book, the idea of taking people and using them as vehicles, symbols for different ideas. I would take the life-and-times approach and tell the whole story of the gay movement in this way, using Harvey as the major vehicle.
Criticism and praise
Although Shilts was applauded for bringing public attention to gay civil rights issues and the AIDS crisis, he was also harshly criticized (and spat upon on
Castro Street) by some in the gay community for calling for the closure of
gay bathhouse
A gay bathhouse, also known as a gay sauna or a gay steambath (uncommonly known as a gay spa), is a commercial space for gay, bisexual, and other men to have sex with men. In gay slang, a bathhouse may be called just "the baths", "the sauna" ...
s in San Francisco to slow the spread of AIDS.
Fellow Bay Area journalist
Bob Ross
Robert Norman Ross (October 29, 1942 – July 4, 1995) was an American painter, art instructor, and television host. He was the creator and host of '' The Joy of Painting'', an instructional television program that aired from 1983 to 1994 on ...
called Shilts "a traitor to his own kind".
In a note included in ''The Life and Times of Harvey Milk'', Shilts expressed his view of a reporter's duty to rise above criticism:
I can only answer that I tried to tell the truth and, if not be objective, at least be fair; history is not served when reporters prize trepidation and propriety over the robust journalistic duty to tell the whole story.
Shilts was also criticized by some segments of the gay community on other issues, including his opposition to the controversial practice of
outing
Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia in order to discredit political opponents or to com ...
prominent but
closeted
''Closeted'' and ''in the closet'' are metaphors for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and other ( LGBTQ+) people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and hum ...
lesbians and gay men.
Nevertheless, his tenacious reporting was highly praised by others in both the gay and straight communities who saw him as "the pre-eminent chronicler of gay life and spokesman on gay issues".
Shilts was honored with the 1988 Outstanding Author award from the
American Society of Journalists and Authors, the 1990 Mather Lectureship at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
, and the 1993 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists' Association.
In 1999, the Department of Journalism at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, ...
ranked Shilts's AIDS reporting for the ''Chronicle'' between 1981 and 1985 as number 44 on a list of the top 100 works of journalism in the United States in the 20th century.
Illness and death
Although Shilts told ''The New York Times'' he had declined to be told the results of his HIV test until he had completed the writing of ''
And the Band Played On'', concerned that the 1987 test result would interfere with his objectivity as a writer,
he had earlier announced knowing that he was HIV positive since 1985.
In 1992, Shilts became ill with
''Pneumocystis'' pneumonia and suffered a collapsed lung; the following year, he was diagnosed with
Kaposi's sarcoma
Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) is a type of cancer that can form masses in the skin, in lymph nodes, in the mouth, or in other organs. The skin lesions are usually painless, purple and may be flat or raised. Lesions can occur singly, multiply in a limit ...
. In a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' interview in the spring of 1993, Shilts observed, "HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more
T-cells and a little less character."
Despite being effectively homebound and on oxygen, he was able to attend the Los Angeles screening of the HBO film version of ''And the Band Played On'' in August 1993.
Shilts died at 42 on February 17, 1994, at Davies Medical Center in San Francisco, California, being survived by his partner, Barry Barbieri, his mother, and his brothers. His brother Gary had conducted a commitment service for the couple the previous year.
After a funeral service at
Glide Memorial Church
Glide Memorial Church is a church in San Francisco, California, formerly a United Methodist Church congregation, which opened in 1930. Since the 1960s, it has served as a counter-culture rallying point, as one of the most prominently liberal ch ...
, Shilts was buried at Redwood Memorial Gardens in Guerneville alongside his long time friend, Daniel R. Yoder (1952–1995).
Legacy
Shilts bequeathed 170 cartons of papers, notes, and research files to the local history section of the
San Francisco Public Library
The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as '' Library Journals ...
. At the time of his death, he was planning a fourth book, examining homosexuality in the Roman Catholic Church.
As a fellow reporter put it, despite an early death, in his books Shilts "rewrote history. In doing so, he saved a segment of history from extinction."
Historian
Garry Wills wrote of ''And the Band Played On'', "This book will be to
gay liberation
The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoffman, 2007, pp.xi-xii ...
what
Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan ( February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book ''The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the se ...
was to early feminism and
Rachel Carson
Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservation movement, conservationist whose influential book ''Silent Spring'' (1962) and other writings are credited with advancing the ...
's ''
Silent Spring
''Silent Spring'' is an environmental science book by Rachel Carson. Published on September 27, 1962, the book documented the environmental harm caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading d ...
'' was to environmentalism."
NAMES Project founder
Cleve Jones described Shilts as "a hero" and characterized his books as "without question the most important works of literature affecting gay people."
After his death, a longtime friend and assistant explained the motivation that drove Shilts: "He chose to write about gay issues for the mainstream precisely because he wanted other people to know what it was like to be gay. If they didn't know, how were things going to change?"
In 1998, Shilts was memorialized in the Hall of Achievement at the University of Oregon School of Journalism, honoring his refusal to be "boxed in by the limits that society offered him. As an out gay man, he carved a place in journalism that was not simply groundbreaking but internationally influential in changing the way the news media covered AIDS."
A ''San Francisco Chronicle'' reporter summed up the achievement of his late "brash and gutsy" colleague:
Perhaps because Shilts remains controversial among some gays, there is no monument to him. Nor is there a street named for him, as there are for other San Francisco writers such as Jack Kerouac
Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation.
Of French-Canadian anc ...
and Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade (' ...
. ... Shilts' only monument is his work. He remains the most prescient chronicler of 20th century American gay history.
In 2006, ''Reporter Zero'', a half-hour biographical documentary about Shilts featuring interviews with friends and colleagues, was produced and directed by filmmaker Carrie Lozano.
Shilts is the subject of a 2019 biography, ''The Journalist of Castro Street: The Life of Randy Shilts'' by Andrew E. Stoner, released May 30, 2019 from the
University of Illinois Press
The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic projec ...
.
In 2014 Shilts was one of the inaugural honorees in the
Rainbow Honor Walk, a
walk of fame in San Francisco's
Castro neighborhood noting
LGBTQ
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is ...
people who have "made significant contributions in their fields."
In June 2019, Shilts was one of the inaugural fifty American “pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes” inducted on the
National LGBTQ Wall of Honor within the
Stonewall National Monument in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
’s
Stonewall Inn
The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall, is a gay bar and recreational tavern in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which is widely considered to be the sin ...
.
Bibliography
* ''Familiar Faces, Hidden Lives: The Story of Homosexual Men in America Today,'' by Howard J. Brown, M.D., Introduction by Randy Shilts, 1976 ()
* ''The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk,'' 1982 ()
* ''
And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic (1980–1985),'' 1987 ()
* ''Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the U.S. Military,'' 1993 ()
Further reading
* Andrew E. Stoner: ''The Journalist of Castro Street. The Life of Randy Shilts.'' University of Illinois Press, 2019, (paperback), (ebook)
References
External links
"Alband (Linda) Collection of Randy Shilts Materials"at
Calisphere"AIDS at 25 – Reflections on reporter Randy Shilts,"podcast by the
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pap ...
*
Randy Shiltson
glbtq.com
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shilts, Randy
1951 births
1994 deaths
20th-century American biographers
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20th-century American male writers
20th-century LGBT people
AIDS-related deaths in California
American gay writers
American male biographers
American male journalists
Historians from Illinois
Historians of LGBT topics
Journalists from Illinois
LGBT journalists from the United States
LGBT people from Illinois
LGBT people from Iowa
Lambda Literary Award winners
People from Aurora, Illinois
People from Guerneville, California
People with HIV/AIDS
San Francisco Chronicle people
Stonewall Book Award winners
University of Oregon alumni
Writers from Davenport, Iowa
Writers from San Francisco
LGBT historians
National LGBTQ Wall of Honor