Earl Kage and Hamilton Driggs

Out in the office place at Eastman Kodak (Rochester)

By the 1950s the Eastman Kodak Company (Rochester, NY) had a number of gay male employees who,  although not "out" by today’s standards, did not keep their sexual orientation secret. Two examples were Earl Kage (1919-2008) and his partner, Hamilton “Bud” Driggs (1925-2008), who shared a home on Lafayette Park and a 100-acre country estate in the Bristol Hills, both in the Rochester area. After their deaths in 2008, the estate was donated to the University of Rochester.

Kodak photographer and arts patron Earl Kage  (photo above) was a one man cultural institution in his native Rochester. Distinguished by his pure white handlebar moustache, he was recognized as a sponsor of opera, dance, fine arts and numerous other cultural institutions. He worked at Eastman Kodak for 44 years, from youth to retirement. In 1987 he received the Culture and Arts Civic Award from the Rochester Chamber of Commerce, and in 1989 a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Arts and Cultural Council. Kage became head of Kodak Camera Research after attending The University of Rochester and serving in the U.S. Army in England during World War II as a photographer for the Stars and Stripes newspaper.

His dedication to the arts resulted in his serving on boards of the Friends of Eastman Opera, Garth Fagan Dance Company, the Rochester City Ballet, The Aesthetic Education Institute, Friends of School of the Arts and affiliations with the George Eastman House of International Photography, Rochester Children's Theater and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. He often served as a judge for many art-related shows over the years.

Hamilton “Bud” Driggs worked for Eastman Kodak for 30 years as head of Exhibits and Displays, following employment at the Atomic Labs at the University of Rochester. He assisted Kage in setting up a photographic studio in Rochester. Driggs was also a talented silversmith who won prizes for his craft work. A professional photographer, he recorded his travels to such remote spots as the Arctic Circle, Nepal and New Guinea. Both Driggs and Kage enjoyed an atmosphere of acceptance while working at Eastman Kodak.

In fact, some historians purport that George Eastman (1854-1932), the father of modern photography and founder of the Eastman Kodak Company, was himself a gay man.  In the late 19th century homosexuality was a major taboo, so Eastman never went public with his sexual orientation. However, his private correspondence of over 700 letters and general accounts of Eastman’s personal life confirm that he was not heterosexual. Eastman was a generous philanthropist, and he established and supported the Eastman School of Music, one of the nation’s preeminent institutions of music. During the 1920s, Eastman was listed as the fifth-largest individual donor in the United States, and by his death he had given away about $100 million.  His total donations to the University of Rochester totaled $50 million. Using the name "Mr. Smith," Eastman gave $20 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) over many years. He also donated to several colleges for African Americans. At the onset of a nerve disorder and general failing health, Eastman took his own life with a pistol in 1932.

Michael Huffington

Republican politician, LGBT activist, philanthropist, business executive and film producer Michael Huffington (b. 1947 in Dallas, Texas) was born rich. His father, Roy Huffington, was founder of the natural gas exploration company, Huffco, and Michael served as the company’s vice chairman from 1976 to 1990. He married Greek-born socialite Arianna Stassinopoulis (of Huffington Post fame) in 1986, but by 1998 he was a divorced man with two daughters who had revealed that he was bisexual.

In a Time magazine article by John Cloud (December 1998), it was revealed that openly gay financial guru Andrew Tobias, an old Harvard chum, said he was the first person Huffington told about his sexuality, forty years ago. In an Advocate interview (2006), Huffington stressed that he is bisexual, not gay. He claimed that on the Kinsey scale (from 0 as totally straight to 6 as totally gay), he is a 4.

According to a 1998 Esquire magazine profile by David Brock, Huffington said he began dating men in the 1970s while working at his family’s energy company in Houston, but suffered guilt and depression over the relationships. An affair with one man lasted about a year, but Huffington also continued to date women. At one point he made a private vow to stop sleeping with men. The profile makes the distinction that Huffington is homosexual, but not “gay”. Brock wrote, "Gay means so much more, carries so much cultural baggage, and he's not that. The word gay just doesn't describe him. It really doesn't.”

In a 2008 New Yorker profile of Arianna, we learned that before their marriage Michael Huffington informed her about his interest in men. “In my Houston town house I sat down with her and told her that I had dated women and men so that she would be aware of it.”   

During the 1990s Michael won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served one term as a Republican from California. By just 1.7 percent of the vote he lost his subsequent bid for the U.S. Senate when Californians re-elected Dianne Feinstein. In the 2003 California recall election, Michael endorsed Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger instead of his ex-wife, Arianna Huffington, who was an opposing candidate. Although she withdrew before the election, her name remained on the ballot.

Since his coming out as bisexual, Michael has worked with various organizations such as GLAAD, GLSEN, the Human Rights Campaign, the Log Cabin Republicans, the Point Foundation and other groups to help educate Americans about gay, lesbian and bisexual people. Earlier this year Huffington was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.

Huffington's philanthropic activities and commitments are varied and worldwide. A partial list of those organizations that he has supported financially and on which he has served on the Board of Directors include: the Aspen Institute (Aspen, Colorado), the Cathedral of St. John the Divine (NYC), the Culver Educational Foundation (Culver, Indiana), Georgetown University (Washington, DC), the Greek Orthodox Archdioceses of America (NYC), the Music Center of Los Angeles, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NYC), the Salzburg Seminar (Salzburg, Austria) and the University of California at Santa Barbara.

From 1991 to 2000 he was the co-owner of Crest Films Limited, a full-service film production company known for its Emmy-winning commercials, documentaries, and adventure films as well as its work on behalf of non-profit organizations. He produced or executive produced many award-winning films, including For the Bible Tells Me So, an insightful non-fiction film which was shortlisted for the 2008 Academy Award nominations for best documentary. Some of his other credits include Bi the Way, Dissolution, American Primitive, Grassroots and Father vs. Son. Huffington is also a producer of The Geography Club, a gay/bisexual-themed film that opens in limited release on November 15, 2013.

Juan Gabriel

Born in Mexico as Alberto Aguilera Valadez (1950), the life of singer Juan Gabriel is a rags-to-riches story. He grew up poor, working as a craftsman at age 13, to become a legendary singer of Mexican ranchera music, as well as a star in the genres of Latin pop, mariachi music and Latino ballads. After several years spent honing his musical composition skills in a boarding school away from his family, he decided to escape at the age of 15. Taking advantage of having daily garbage duty, one day Alberto walked out of the school with garbage in his hand, headed for the dumpsters, and never returned.

He soon established himself as a performer in Juárez and Mexico City. In 1971, at the age of 21, Alberto signed a contract with RCA and changed his name to Juan Gabriel (Juan, in honor of a schoolmaster whom he held in high regard, and the surname Gabriel, after his deceased father, Gabriel Aguilera). He has become a legend in Latino music as a singer, composer and entertainer, selling in excess of 100 million albums.

As a philanthropist, Gabriel has consistently given large sums to support Mexican orphans. He has four adopted children of his own. To be an out-and-proud entertainer in Hollywood is one thing, but in rigidly traditional Mexico it is another, so when asked if he were gay, Gabriel famously responded, "What is seen does not need to be asked. I don't have to tell you things that do not concern you or others. I think that I am an artist who has given much with my music" (Lo que se ve no se pregunta. Yo no tengo por qué decirle cosas que a usted, como a muchas otras personas, no les interesa, yo pienso que soy un artista que he dado mucho con mis canciones). However, proving that actions speak louder than words, he recently confirmed that he was engaged to marry his male partner, 23-year-old Spanish singer Jaz Bael, shown below.

Gabriel has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and there is a statue of him on Mexico City's Plaza Garibaldi, a favorite performance area for mariachi bands. The sculpture, erected in 2001, was crafted by artist Oscar Ponzanelli.


In this live performance clip Gabriel performs his signature tune Querida:

Billionaire David Geffen

Update!
Less than 48 hours after publishing this post, I learned that Geffen and Lingvall have announced a split. Maybe Geffen should consider a reconciliation with Cher - she has no problem hanging with the boys. Here's the report:

“After six years of a life he could only dream of, former California college student Jeremy Lingvall (28) has split from his partner, billionaire media mogul David Geffen. The pair have parted ways because ‘the relationship had simply run its course’, the New York Post reported. A  source also claimed that there was ‘nobody else involved’.”

During their relationship Lingvall accompanied Geffen everywhere, even to the White House. Jeremy attended dozens of A-list celebrity parties he would have never have had access to on his own. But with no civil partnership or other property arrangement, Lingvall will not be entitled to any of Geffen’s riches now that they have split. Lingvall and Geffen began a relationship the year Jeremy graduated from college, 2006. I suppose Lingvall will have to dust off his resume and beef up his gigs as a DJ, often in partnership with Scissor Sisters’ front man Jake Shears; they call themselves Krystal Pepsy. I’m not kidding. So read my original post with those facts in mind: 

I try to avoid posting snarky stuff, but I am possessed of demons this morning.

Billionaires love their flashy toys, and David Geffen (born 1943) is no exception. He has a weakness for boy toys and heart-stoppingly expensive yachts. He owns Pelorus+, a 377-ft. $300 million trinket with two helicopter pads and its own submarine (annual operating costs top $10 million - I'm not kidding). At 453 feet, the mega-yacht Rising Sun++ is 76 feet longer, making it the eight largest yacht in the world. It has a basketball court and 82 rooms spread over 5 stories. It's so long that it can't dock at most ports, because it exceeds their size limits. I’m not making this stuff up. Why settle for one yacht, when you really need two?

I think exactly the same way.

He also collects art, especially paintings by American artists. In 2006 he sold Jackson Pollock's  painting No. 5, 1948 (above) from his collection for $140 million. The sale made No. 5, 1948 the most expensive painting ever sold, outstripping the $134 million paid a month earlier by cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder for Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I**. No. 5, 1948 was originally owned by Samuel Irving Newhouse, Jr. and displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.

President Obama meets Geffen's boy toy (above).

Geffen’s super hot 28-year old partner Jeremy Lingvall (born 1983, but perhaps a bit long in the tooth for true "boy toy" status), who graduated from the University of California Santa Barbara in 2006 (!), attended the Obama’s first White House state dinner* (in honor of Indian prime minister Singh) on Geffen’s arm – well, not literally. And Lingvall didn’t have to lie about having a college degree. I should point out that Geffen is 68 years old, and if my math is correct, that makes him 40 years older than Lingvall (below, aboard one of Geffen's yachts, Rising Sun). I know, I know. But the man can afford it.

It doesn’t get any gayer than this: Imagine what Lingvall must think when recalling the fact that Geffen, his current sugar daddy, was gay icon Cher’s boyfriend for two years in the mid 1970s, ten years before he was born! Cher reported that, "People don't believe that, or they don't want to believe it, or they don't understand how it could be. But we were really crazy about each other."

Geffen and Cher in 1974 (left). Geffen's first move was to free the singer from her onerous business arrangement with estranged husband Sonny Bono, under which she was required to work exclusively for Cher Enterprises, which Bono controlled. Cher had no vote in decisions, even though she was the much bigger star. Geffen called the contract "slave labor." In short order, he had her quit The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. She separated from Bono and in time for the Grammys had a butterfly tattooed on her posterior to celebrate her emancipation.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. In spite of Geffen’s over-the-top acquisitions of both metal and flesh varieties, we can’t lose sight of his equally over-the-top philanthropy. He is a major supporter of medical research, AIDS organizations and the arts. In 2002 he gave a staggering $200 million unrestricted endowment to the UCLA School of Medicine. In 1995 he donated $5 million to UCLA's Westwood Playhouse.

Geffen is a self-made billionaire in the music and entertainment industry – by most accounts worth just under $5 billion (that's 5,000 million dollars - think about it). Geffen dropped out of several colleges and started working in the mailroom at the William Morris Talent Agency, where he forged a document in order to prove he had a college degree, a requirement for a promotion he was offered. He went on to found record and movie production companies and sign major talent (Dreamworks SKG, Geffen Records, Asylum Records, etc.). Geffen is an openly gay man named by Out Magazine as one of the 50 Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America, and he is listed by Forbes as one of the top 100 billionaires. And, if we dig down really deep and admit the truth, those of us who smirk and poke fun at Mr. Geffen do so because we’re really envious.

*Also in attendance at the 2009 state dinner were Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes and partner Sean Eldridge, chair of the U.S. Export-Import Bank Fred Hochberg and partner Thomas Healy, as well as activist Urvashi Vaid and her partner Kate Clinton. It is noteworthy that Geffen, a generous and dedicated Democrat, was seated at the Obama table, immediately to Michelle’s left. The times, they are a changin’.

**Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I is on permanent display at the Neue Galerie in NYC, on the corner of Fifth Ave. at 86th St. Don’t miss the street level restaurant to the right of the entrance, the Viennese Cafe Sabarsky; it’s my favorite spot in NYC for breakfast (opening at a civilized 9:00 a.m.).

Pelorus, a 377 ft., $300 million accessory, overhanging the dock a bit:

Rising Sun, with rear basketball court:

Power Couple Chris Hughes & Sean Eldridge

Facebook cofounder Chris Hughes (right) and partner Sean Eldridge (left), political director for Freedom to Marry, announced their engagement a year ago. Hughes had proposed in the traditional way – down on one knee with a ring in a box – while the couple were celebrating New Years in Thailand. Four months later they were on the cover of The Advocate, headlining the annual list of forty LGBT leaders/newsmakers under the age of 40 (in their case, way under 40).

At age 19 Hughes was at Harvard on a scholarship when he and three friends founded Facebook. The 2010 movie The Social Network recounted that tale (Chris Hughes was played by actor Patrick Mapel). In 2006 Chris graduated magna cum laude from Harvard, then lived for a year in California. In 2007 he left for Chicago, where he oversaw the social media efforts of presidential candidate Barack Obama, who was then a long shot. The media subsequently put Hughes on a pedestal, honoring him with headlines such as “The kid who made Obama president.” Having made his fortune off Facebook (at least $500 million), he launched Jumo.com, a social networking hub aimed at connecting donors and volunteers to non-profit organizations.

Hughs met Sean Eldridge on a blind date in November 2005, when Eldridge was still a social network virgin. “I literally joined Facebook the day I met Chris,” Sean relates. Eldridge, three years younger than Hughes, also went on to campaign for Obama, as part of the team that put together Students for Obama. Heady from their political success, in 2008 they dined as a couple at the White House, as guests of Obama at his first state dinner. By 2009 Eldridge was a law school student at Columbia University, but dropped out in order to fight full time for the right to marry. Eldridge became communications director for the national group Freedom to Marry in early 2010 and was soon promoted to political director.

Since the couple make their in-town home in NYC’s Soho district, this cause was especially close to their hearts. Then, on July 24, 2011, New York State passed legislation giving gay couples the right to marry. Nevertheless, they decided to stick to their wedding date this coming June. They have planned a rehearsal dinner at Per Se, an intimate wedding at the couple’s home in Garrison, NY, and a reception that evening at Cipriani Wall Street, all orchestrated by Bryan Rafanelli, who planned Chelsea Clinton’s wedding.

With a victory in Washington State still just hours old, there are currently only seven states plus the District of Columbia where gay marriages have legal recognition – Massachusetts, Iowa, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Washington and DC. California allowed gays to marry for six months in 2008, until the Proposition 8 initiative reversed the legislation. A week ago the Ninth Circuit Court of California ruled 2 to 1 that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional, so stay tuned. If there is a momentum gathering for same sex marriage, Eldridge deserves a large amount of credit. Hughes is a major donor to Freedom to Marry and serves as an advisor. “As a gay man, I want the freedom to marry Sean so we can build a family and a life together over the long term,” Hughes says. “I think marriage is a basic fundamental freedom that every American should have.”

We all owe a huge debt to these two men. With the advantage of wealth, the force of passionate conviction and wisdom beyond their years, Hughes and Eldridge are destined to become major forces in progressive politics.

Ric Weiland, Microsoft Philanthropist

Richard Weiland (1953-2006) was one of the first five employees of Microsoft Corporation. A computer software pioneer and philanthropist extraordinaire, his life came to a tragic end by suicide at age 53. Two years after his death his estate announced that he had made the largest single bequest ever to the LGBT community: $65 million. Ric, as he was known, suffered from clinical depression and died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He was survived by his partner, Mike Schaefer*.

High school classmates Bill Gates and Weiland were involved with the Computer Center Corporation and worked together to create a payroll program in COBOL and writing scheduling software for a school. After he graduated from Stanford University, Weiland was hired by Bill Gates in 1975, the same year Microsoft was founded in Albuquerque. As one of only five employees, Weiland was a lead programmer and developer for the company's BASIC and COBOL language systems. After a stint at Harvard Business School, he became project leader for Microsoft Works. Weiland was known as a brilliant programmer and a key contributor to the company's success, but in 1988 he left Microsoft to dedicate most of his time to philanthropy.

Ric was a donor to the Pride Foundation, the Lifelong AIDS Alliance, United Way of King County, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Stanford University, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, AMFAR, The Nature Conservancy, and the National Audubon Society. He was influential as an active member of the Northwest gay community. A member of the Pride Foundation's board of directors from 1997 to 2001, he helped win the fight to get General Electric to include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policy.

Weiland also was a quiet but key second round investor in gay online media company PlanetOut Corp. It is estimated that during his lifetime he contributed $30 million to over 50 organizations. A quiet philanthropist, he was known not to seek publicity for his generosity.

In 2008, Pride Foundation announced that Ric Weiland’s estate had bequeathed $65 million to support gay rights and HIV/AIDS organisations – the largest single bequest ever for the LGBT community. Weiland established a fund at the Pride Foundation that provides $46 million to 10 personally selected national LGBT and HIV/AIDS organizations and $19 million directly to Pride Foundation for scholarships and grants supporting the Northwest's LGBT community. The $65 million is among bequests totaling about $160 million – the bulk of Weiland's estate – to various charities and Stanford University.

Weiland and Bill Gates in 1976:

*A quote from Mike Schaefer:

My life partner, Ric Weiland, and I talked a lot about our options for giving away our wealth in our lifetimes. After all, why wait until you’re old and senile – or dead – to give to the causes you believe in? It made sense to have a thoughtful giving plan and the commitment to follow through on it while we had energy and intelligence. But Ric died tragically a good 20+ years sooner than planned: in 2006, at age 53. As one of the founders of Microsoft, Ric had a lot more financial resources than I. But we were clear from the beginning of our relationship that philanthropy was a core value that brought us together. We didn’t need or want a $2 million home. After Ric’s death, our family (which was small, just the two of us and 4 nieces and nephews) is just fine knowing the money has gone to support good causes.

Power Couple David Bohnett & Tom Gregory

Chicago-born David Bohnett is a billionaire philanthropist and technology entrepreneur. He is Chairman of the David Bohnett Foundation, a non-profit, grant-making organization with the goal of improving society through social activism. In 1994 he co-founded GeoCities, an Internet-based media and e-commerce company, subsequently acquired by Yahoo! in a $3.9 billion stock deal. Bohnett, 55, is chief executive of OVGuide.com, an Internet directory and search engine (funded by his venture firm), and is active in causes supporting AIDS research and the arts.

He pioneered and championed the concept of providing free home pages to everyone on the web and was involved with diverse web ventures, including NetZero, PlanetOut Inc., Stamps.com, LowerMyBills, Gamesville, MediaVast, and Xdrive. In 1998 he funded the creation of the CyberCenter, at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, for educational research opportunities to the local gay and lesbian community via the Internet. He also sits on the boards of several civic, philanthropic, and privately held ventures. Bohnett has also been a trustee of the Los Angeles County Museum and has served on the board of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where he was involved in the recruiting and hiring of conductor Gustavo Dudamel. Here he is shown with one of the Los Angeles youth orchestras he supports.

Beginning in 1983 Bohnett was in a relationship with Los Angeles Municipal Court judge and AIDS activist Rand Schrader until Schrader's death in 1993. Bohnett was Schrader's life insurance beneficiary, and he used the funds to create Beverly Hills Internet, which was the precursor to GeoCities.

Until late 2010 Bohnett and his current partner Tom Gregory, owned a Beverly Hills house built for screen legend Gary Cooper in 1955. They acquired it in 1998, handsomely restored the A. Quincy Jones designed residence, bought the lot next door for added privacy, then sold both parcels for $15.5 million in 2010. They used the home for entertaining and fund raising events. Less than a mile away they resided in a 9,000 sq. ft. 1940s era Beverly Hills estate on Roxbury Drive, acquired in 2004 and sold for $23 million nine months ago. The house was across the street from homes formerly owned by Jack Benny and Lucille Ball. During the six years they owned both homes, they referred to the Gary Cooper house as their “country house” and the Roxbury Dr. residence as their “city house.” Two multi-million dollar homes a mile apart. Sweet. The couple also maintain a condo on Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive, a New York City pied-a-terre at the Sherry Netherland on Fifth Avenue, and a $12 million house in the Hamptons.

Gregory and President Obama flank Bohnett in this recent photo:

Tom Gregory, noted columnist, radio and television personality, is the owner of the auctioned pair of cowboy shirts worn by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in the film Brokeback Mountain. Gregory bid $101,100.51 for the shirts on a 2006 Internet auction. The shirts were put up for sale by Focus Features, the distributors of Brokeback Mountain, with the winnings being donated to Variety, a charity for under-privileged Californian children. Gregory calls the shirts the “ruby slippers of our time.” The shirts were expected to sell for around $50,000, but ended up going for twice as much when Gregory placed the winning bid just 28 seconds before the auction’s end. At the film’s emotional conclusion, Ennis embraces the entwined shirts as a symbol of loss of his and Jack's enduring love for each other.

Since 2009 the shirts have been on display at LA’s Autry National Center in Griffith Park, across from the zoo. The Autry, which celebrates the diversity and history of the American West, is named after Gene Autry (1907-1998), the singing cowboy, who dedicated the museum in 1988. The Museum of the American West in Griffith Park was founded as the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum, featuring much of his collection of Western art and memorabilia. The Autry is the first major American museum to recognize the contributions of the LGBT community to the American West in a series of programs called Out West at the Autry.

www.theautry.org