Bob Kohler, a
longtime New York gay activist, Charles Street presence,
and former owner of The Loft on Christopher Street, died of
cancer on Wednesday. He was 81.
A native of
Queens, Kohler was among protestors at 1969's
Stonewall riots, co-founded the Gay Liberation Front
and was a member of ACT UP, Fed Up Queers, Irish
Queers, Sex Panic! and several other influential
activist groups. He worked endlessly as an advocate for gay
and transsexual rights, queer youth, and people
suffering from AIDS or HIV.
After serving in
the Navy in the South Pacific, Kohler returned to New
York, where he worked in television and later founded an
advertising agency, according to a biography written
by Kohler's friends. He and his boyfriend Ed
bought a home in Amagansett on Long Island, and they later
moved to Bridgehampton, openly challenging the upscale
hamlet's homophobia.
On the second
night of the riots at Stonewall Inn, Kohler and other West
Village residents founded the Gay Liberation Front, which
some activists credited with sparking radicalism in
the New York gay community. He quickly became a mentor
to budding young activists, including Sylvia Rivera.
In the 1980s,
Kohler fought to close New York's bathhouses to slow
the spread of HIV, and, more recently
he protested Mayor Rudy Giuliani's failure
to provide housing for people with the virus.
Funeral
arrangements have not been announced. A political march to
commemorate Kohler will be held December 9 at 4 p.m.,
starting at the New York LGBT Community Center and
proceeding up Christopher Street to Chelsea Piers.
(The Advocate)
