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

HEROES 1968 PAT ROCCO X560 | ADVOCATE.COM A diva of the genre before the term "reality television" had been invented, the vivacious and lovably over-the-top Lance Loud made history when he came out as gay on the groundbreaking PBS documentary series An American Family in 1973. An instant gay icon, Loud went on to front the new wave band the Mumps, which became a staple of Max’s Kansas City and CBGBs during the clubs’ heyday. With an irrepressible personality and a tendency toward performance, Loud became a contemporary of Warhol superstars Jackie Curtis and Holly Woodlawn and went on to become a celebrated columnist for the The Advocate as well as Details, Interview, and Creem.

Loud died in 2001, but his legacy as a pioneer and true advocate lives on. HBO’s Emmy-nominated film Cinema Verite, a behind-the-scenes look at An American Family, premiered in 2011 and starred Diane Lane, James Gandolfini, Tim Robbins, and Thomas Dekker as Lance, whose coming-out figured prominently in the film.
—Tracy E. Gilchrist