Part 2: Our Hall of Fame

Any celebration of the The Advocate's founding in 1967 must honor the LGBT rights heroes that we've covered for 45 years. With one honoree named per year, the list will be announced in segments and culminate in an event in Los Angeles this month.

BY Advocate.com Editors

March 19 2012 2:00 AM ET

While many of us associate the 1960s and 1970s with sexual liberation, mainstream films were still fairly buttoned up. But Pat Rocco made gay films when no one else dared take the risk.

His homocentric, erotic love stories and were the first films of their kind to be shown in public movie theaters.

Yet while the prolific gay beefcake photographer was defining modern male erotic film, Rocco in his spare time was documenting the fledgling gay rights movement. Rocco was behind the scenes, often working with his friends at The Los Angeles Advocate as a photographer capturing early pride festivals, rallies, and other historically important events from which images are rare. Rocco wasn't always behind the camera, though. He became the first official president of Christopher Street West Association, the organization behind Los Angeles's pride festival, and he helped launch the first festival in 1974.
—Michelle Garcia