1961-06-16

RUDOLF NUREYEV defects at Le Bourget airport in Paris. This was the first defection of a Soviet artist during the Cold War and it created an international sensation. He went on to dance with The Royal Ballet in London and from 1983 to 1989 served as director of the Paris Opera. And he made appearances at some of the finest Gay establishments all around the world, including this writer’s San Francisco kitchen one Saturday morning in 1974.