BAYARD RUSTIN American civil rights activist, born (d: 1987) Largely behind the scenes in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and earlier, and one of the organizers of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, it was Bayard Rustin who counseled Martin Luther King Jr. on the techniques of nonviolent resistance.

For much of his career, Rustin lived in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood, in the union-funded Penn South complex, from 1978 with his partner Walter Naegle. He became an advocate on behalf of gay and lesbian causes in the latter part of his career; however, his sexuality was the reason for attacks from within the civil rights movement as well as from many governmental and other interest groups.

A year before his death in 1987, Rustin said: "Twenty-five, thirty years ago, the barometer of human rights in the United States were black people. That is no longer true. The barometer for judging the character of people in regard to human rights is now those who consider themselves Gay, homosexual, or Lesbian."

The French model and actress CAPUCINE was born on this date (d: 1990). A Golden Globe-nominated actress and fashion model best known for her role as Simone Clouseau in the 1963 comedy The Pink Panther. At 17, while riding in a carriage in Paris, a commercial photographer noticed her. She quickly became a successful fashion model, working for fashion houses Givenchy and Christian Dior. She also adopted a new moniker, Capucine (French for “nasturtium”).

During this time, Capucine met future actress Audrey Hepburn. Both were modeling in Paris, and the two would remain friends for the rest of Capucine's life. A manic-depressive, Capucine's life had on several occasions been saved by Hepburn (both women lived at the time in Switzerland) after repeated suicide attempts. In 1949, Capucine made her film debut in the French film Rendez-vous de Juillet. On the set of Rendez-vous, she met Pierre Trabaud. The two married the following year. The marriage lasted only six months, and Capucine would never marry again.

RUDOLPH NUREYEV, Russian-born dancer and choreographer (d. 1993); Nureyev became the most famous male dancer in the West before he was thirty – and the most publicized. His influence on the world of ballet changed the perception of male dancers; in his own productions of the classics the male roles received much more choreography. Another important influence was his crossing the borders between classical ballet and modern dance by performing both. Today it is normal for dancers to receive training in both styles, but Nureyev was originator, and the practice was much criticized in his day.

That he partied everywhere and was photographed partying everywhere was as clever a manipulation of the press as Diaghelev’s successful attempts to get the public to focus on Nijinsky’s crotch. “We want Rudy,” the fans screamed, “especially in the nudi!” It was all part of the show. So when Dave Kopay, an athlete of a different sort, casually mentioned in his best-selling autobiography that Nureyev visited Gay bars, no one particularly cared. The Celebrity Register had already printed the peculiar warning of an English friend: “I told Rudy he can be as naughty as he likes, but if he isn’t more careful, they’re going to find him…some morning in an alley in Soho, his lead laid open with a lorry driver’s spanner.  This writer actually found him at his kitchen table in the mid-70’s, in the company of his attractive roommate.

When HIV-AIDS appeared in France in about 1982, Nureyev took little notice. For several years he simply denied that anything was wrong with his health: when, about 1990, he became undeniably ill, he is said to have attributed these to other ailments. He tried several experimental treatments but they did not stop his deteriorating health. Towards the end of his life, as dancing became more and more agonizing, he resigned himself to small non-dancing roles. At the urging of Fonteyn, he had a short but successful conducting career, which was cut short due to health problems.

Eventually, he had to face the reality that he was dying and he won the admiration of many of his detractors by his courage during this period. The loss of his looks pained him, but he continued to struggle through public appearances. At his last appearance, a 1992 production of La Bayadere at the Palais Garnier, Nureyev received an emotional standing ovation. The French Culture Minister, Jack Lang, presented him with France's highest cultural award, the Commandeur de l’ordre des Arts et des lettres. He died in Paris a few months later, aged 54.

Today is the birthday of gay British director RICHARD KWIETNIOWSKI. Born in London, he studied film at the university of Kent and Berkeley. His films include:Alfalfa (short, 1987), The ballad of Reading Gaol (short, 1988), Flames of passion (short, 1989), Proust's favorite fantasy (short, 1991), The cost of love (short, 1991), Love and death on Long Island (1997), Owning Mahowny (2003), Regret Not Speaking (2003).  His film Love and Death on Long Island was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival.

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN, British fashion designer, born (d: 2010); An English fashion designer, Alexander McQueen's early runway collections developed his reputation for controversy and shock tactics (earning the title "enfant terrible" and "the hooligan of English fashion"), with trousers aptly named "bumsters", and a collection entitled "Highland Rape".

It has also been claimed that he was on welfare and that he needed to change his name for his first show so that he could continue to receive benefits. Some of Alexander McQueen's accomplishments include having been one of the youngest designers to achieve the title "British Designer of the Year", which he won three times between 1996 and 2003.

He was also awarded the CBE, as well as being named International Designer of the Year at the Council of Fashion Designer Awards. December 2000 saw a new partnership for McQueen withGucci Group acquiring 51% of the company, and McQueen serving as Creative Director. Plans for expansion have included the opening of stores in London, Milan, and New York, and the launch of his perfumes Kingdom, and more recently My Queen.  McQueen committed suicide in 2010.

LUCHINO VISCONTI, Italian director, died on this date (b. 1906); An Italian theater and cinema director and writer, best known for films such as The Leopard (1963) he was born into a noble and wealthy family (one of the richest of northern Italy), in Milan, Visconti's father was the Duke of Grazzano. Visconti made no secret of his sexuality. His last partner was the Austrian actor Helmut Berger, who played Martin in The Damned. Berger also appeared in Visconti's Ludwig in 1972 and Conversation Piece in 1974 along with Burt Lancaster. Other lovers included Franco Zeffirelli. He died in Rome of a stroke at the age of 69. There is a museum dedicated to the director's work in Ischia.

On this date the film-adaptation of Mart Crowley's groundbreaking gay play, THE BOYS IN THE BAND, premiered in New York City. A new documentary, Making The Boys about the making of this play and Mart Crowley’s career is a wonderful appraisal of this groundbreaking play, often misunderstood in today’s more liberated mentality.  If you are one of those who found The Boys in The Band, at best, dated and at worst slightly embarrassing, hie thee to Netflix and rent this documentary. It is enlightening.

John Waters' Pink Flamingoes was released.  A star is born …DIVINE!