1913-05-05

TYRONE POWER was born on this date in Cincinnati, Ohio. Handsome, but not much of an actor, Power led a busy bisexual life in Hollywood and kept the studio busy keeping his name out of the papers.

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Gay Wisdom – Today in Gay History

Born

0383 BCE -

DEMOSTHENES is born in Athens. Anyone who has struggled with public speaking knows the parable about putting pebbles in your mouth. It was Demosthenes who invented the practice. When he wasn't practicing with pebbles he was dating the young men of the city. His father, a rich manufacturer of swords and other arms, died when Demosthenes was seven. The guardians of his father’s estate handled it dishonestly, and at eighteen Demosthenes demanded his rightful inheritance. After studying with Isaeus, an orator and specialist in law, Demosthenes brought charges against his guardians and finally won his case, but actually received little of what was due him. To earn a living, Demosthenes became a professional writer of speeches.

According to tradition, his failure as an orator when speaking before the assembly for the first time only stimulated him to intense study and practice, which included speaking with pebbles in his mouth and other extremely difficult exercises. Demosthenes’ great talent and extraordinary self-discipline eventually made him the greatest and most famous Athenian orator.

Although it is only legend, the story about the pebbles has always been a bit troubling. How on earth could speaking with a full mouth – full of pebbles no less – help one to speak more clearly? It doesn’t make much sense. Considering Demosthenes’ love affairs with the youths Cnosion and Epicrates, perhaps two myths got crossed in transmission: the pebbles actually having been, um, something else.

1840 -

RICHARD VON KRAFFT-EBING, German psychologist, born (d. 1902). His book Psychopathia Sexualis ("Psychopathy of Sex") became his best-known work. He wrote the book, intended as a forensic reference for doctors and judges, in high academic tone and in the introduction noted that he had "deliberately chosen a scientific term for the name of the book to discourage lay readers". In the first edition in 1886, Krafft-Ebing divided sexual deviance into four categories: paradoxia, sexual desire at the wrong time of life, i.e. childhood or old age; anesthesia, insufficient desire; hyperesthesia, excessive desire; paraesthesia, sexual desire for the wrong goal or object. This included homosexuality (or "contrary sexual desire"), sexual fetishism, sadism, masochism, pederasty and so on.

Krafft-Ebing believed that the purpose of sexual desire was procreation, and any form of desire that didn't go towards that ultimate goal was a perversion. Rape, for instance, was an aberrant act, but not a perversion, since pregnancy could result. Krafft-Ebing saw women as basically sexually passive and recorded no female sadists or fetishists in his case studies. Behavior that would be classified as masochism in men was categorized as "sexual bondage" in women, which was not a perversion, again because such behavior did not interfere with procreation.

After interviewing many homosexuals, both as his private patients and as a forensic expert, and reading some works in favor of gay rights (male homosexuality had become a criminal offence in Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire by that time; unlike lesbianism, but discrimination against lesbians functioned equally), Krafft-Ebing reached the conclusion that both male and female homosexuals did not suffer from mental illness or perversion (as persistent popular belief held), and became interested in the study of the subject.

Krafft-Ebing elaborated an evolutionist theory considering homosexuality as an anomalous process developed during the gestation of the embryo and fetus, evolving into a sexual inversion of the brain. Some years later, in 1901, he corrected himself in an article published in the Jahrbuch für sexuelle Zwischenstufen, changing the term anomaly to differentiation.

But his final conclusions remained forgotten for years, partly because Sigmund Freud's theories captivated the attention of those that considered homosexuality a psychological problem (the majority at the time), and partly because Krafft-Ebing had incurred some enmity from the Austrian Catholic church by associating the desire for sanctity and martyrdom with hysteria and masochism (besides denying the perversity of homosexuals).

Some years later Krafft-Ebing's theory led other specialists on mental studies to reach the same conclusion and to the study of transgenderism (or transsexuality) as another differentiation correctable by means of surgery (rather than by psychiatry or psychology). Reputable contemporary psychiatrists no longer consider homosexuality as pathological (as Krafft-Ebing did in his first studies): partly due to new conceptions, and partly due to Krafft-Ebing's own self-correction.

1906 -

HORST P. HORST (ne Horst Paul Albert Bohrmann) born on this date (d: 1999) was a German-American fashion photographer. His father was a successful merchant. In his teens, he met dancer Evan Weidemann at the home of his aunt, and this aroused his interest in avant-garde art. In the late 1920s, Horst studied at Hamburg Kunstgewerbeschule, leaving there in 1930 to go to Paris to study under the architect Le Corbusier.

While in Paris, he befriended many people in the art community and attended many galleries. In 1930 he met Vogue photographer Baron George Hoyningen-Huene, a half-Baltic, half-American nobleman, and became his photographic assistant, occasional model, and lover. He traveled to England with him that winter. While there, they visited photographer Cecil Beaton, who was working for the British edition of Vogue. In 1931, Horst began his association with Vogue, publishing his first photograph in the French edition of Vogue in December of that year.

Horst rented an apartment in New York City in 1937, and while residing there met Coco Chanel, whom Horst called "the queen of the whole thing". He would photograph her fashions for three decades.

He met Valentine Lawford, British diplomat in 1938, and they lived together until Lawford's death in 1991. Horst adopted a son, Richard J. Horst, whom they raised together. In 1941, Horst applied for United States citizenship. In 1942, he passed an Army physical, and joined the Army in July 1943. In October he received his United States citizenship as Horst P. Horst. He became an Army photographer, with much of his work printed in the forces' magazine Belvoir Castle. In 1945, he photographed United States President Harry S. Truman, with whom he became friends, and he photographed every First Lady in the post-war period at the invitation of the White House. In 1947, Horst moved into his house in Oyster Bay, New York. He designed the white stucco-clad building himself, the design inspired by the houses that he had seen in Tunisia during his relationship with Hoyningen-Huene.

Horst is best known for his photographs of women and fashion, but is also recognized for his photographs of interior architecture, still lifes, especially ones including plants, and environmental portraits. One of the great iconic photos of the Twentieth-Century is "The Mainbocher Corset" with its erotically charged mystery, captured by Horst in Vogue’s Paris studio in 1939. Designers like Donna Karan continue to use the timeless beauty of "The Mainbocher Corset" as an inspiration for their outerwear collections today. His work frequently reflects his interest in surrealism and his regard of the ancient Greek ideal of physical beauty.

Horst's last photograph for British Vogue was in 1991 with Princess Michael of Kent, shown against a background of tapestry and wearing a tiara belonging to her mother-in-law, Princess Marina, who he had photographed in 1934. He died at his home in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida at 93 years of age.

1945 -

BRENDA BENET (born Brenda Ann Nelson) was an American actress, born on this date (d: 1982); She is best known for her roles on the soap operas The Young Marrieds and Days of Our Lives (1979–1982).

Her first acting roles were in 1964, with appearances on Shindig! and The Young Marrieds. She eventually became an actress very much in demand for roles in episodic primetime television in the 1960s and 1970s, including I Dream of Jeannie; McHale's Navy; Daniel Boone; Mannix; My Three Sons; Hogan's Heroes; Love, American Style; Wonder Woman; The Love Boat; and The Courtship of Eddie's Father. She also had a major feature role in the film Walking Tall (1973). Although many of the characters she portrayed seemed to be either sweet or seductive, she became perhaps best known for her role as scheming villainess Lee Dumonde on the daytime serial Days of Our Lives, a role she played from 1979 until her death in 1982.

Her first marriage was to The Donna Reed Show actor Paul Petersen in 1967. In 1969, Benet left Petersen for actor Bill Bixby. After her divorce from Petersen became final, she married Bixby in 1971. The couple had a child, Christopher Sean, in September 1974, and then divorced in 1980. After the divorce and until her death, Benet was in a relationship with future pundit Tammy Bruce.

Benet experienced a number of personal and professional challenges after her divorce from Bixby. Her role on Days of Our Lives made her extremely unpopular with fans; Benet's character was breaking up one of the show's popular couples, Doug and Julie, and fans were outraged. However, Benet's most personal challenge occurred when her six-year-old son Christopher died in March 1981.

Benet was devastated by her son's death and sank into a severe depression. On April 7, 1982, she died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at her home in Los Angeles. She was 36. In her book The Death of Right and Wrong, talk radio host Tammy Bruce writes of her personal involvement with Bixby and Benet. Benet and Bruce were romantically involved for a time, and Benet killed herself in a home she had previously shared with Bruce. Bruce had moved out two weeks prior to the suicide. On the day of Benet's suicide, Bruce thought that she would be meeting her for lunch. According to Bruce, Benet was locked inside the bathroom of her home when she arrived. Bruce sensed something was wrong and went to get help. After Bruce stepped outside, Benet shot herself.

Died

2012 -

RON PALILLO (b: 1949) died on this date. An American television and film actor, perhaps best known for his role as high school student Arnold Dingfelder Horshack on the ABC sitcom Welcome Back Kotter, which aired from 1975 to 1979.

After Welcome Back, Kotter, Palillo appeared in supporting roles in various television series and performed the voice in various animated series such as Laverne and Shirley in the Army, Darkwing Duck, and Rubik: The Amazing Cube where he played the lead character. In 1996, Palillo played himself in several episodes of Ellen, where he became the love interest of Ellen's friend Audrey. He also played a small part on Friday the 13th Part VI.

Outside of acting, Palillo was also an artist, having provided the art for two children's books: The Red Wings of Christmas and A Gift for the Contessa. He is credited on these as "Ronald G. Paolillo", which he used in memory of his father. Palillo returned to New York in 1991, and played roles as Mozart in Amadeus, George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls..

In 2005, his first full length play, The Lost Boy, the true story of Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie, was produced in New York State. Palillo was a teacher at G-Star School of the Arts for Motion Pictures and Broadcasting in Palm Springs. His partner of 41 years was Joseph Gramm